Board of Education - Regular Meeting

Okay. Good evening and welcome to the Albany City Council meeting for February 2nd, 2026. Council member Jordan will please read the land acknowledgement.

Yes. Thank you, Mayor. City of Albany recognizes that we occupy the land originally protected by the Confederated villages of the Shawn. Acknowledge the genocide that took place on these lands and must make strides to repay the moral debt that is owed to this indigenous people, specifically the Aloney tribe. We thank them for their contributions which have transformed our community and will continue to bring forth growth and unity. The city of Albany commits to sustaining ongoing relationships with the tribe and together build a better future for all that now make this their home. Thank you. May we have a roll call, please? Council member Jordan here. Council member Lopez here.

Council member Mickey is absent. Um, Vice Mayor Anson Romero here. Mayor McQuay

here. That brings us to ceremonial [clears throat] matters 4-1 proclamation of Black History Month. U council member Lopez will read the proclamation. Terra, would you like to meet him at the podium in recognition of Black History Month February 2026? Whereas Black History Month observed in February celebrate the achievements and contributions African-Americans have made and recognizes essential role of African-Americans in United States history. And whereas the year 2026 marks a century of national commemorations of black history. And whereas historian and author Dr. Carter G. Woodson funded the Association for Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 and initiated the first Negro History Week in February 1926. selecting that week to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas, two key figures in the history of African-American. And whereas in 1986, Congress passed public law 99-244, officially designating February as National Black Afroamerican History Month. And whereas President Ronald Reagan declared in 1986 that the American experience and character can never be fully grasped until the knowledge of black history assumes its rightful place in our schools and our scholarship. And whereas Black History Month promotes the research, preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of information about black life, history, and culture to the global community. And whereas Black History Month also recognizes the important though often untold roles and achievements African-Americans have played globally in shaping history, identity, culture, the economy, literature, sports, and

politic. And whereas Black History Month reminds us that African-American struggles for equal opportunity and against discrimination began hundreds of years ago and continues to this day. and where the observance of Black History Month calls attention to the continued need to confront racism and to build a society that lives up to its democratic ideal. And whereas the selected theme for 2026, a century of black history commemoration celebrates 100 years of organized observances of black history. And whereas as the nation also commemorates the 250th anniversary of the United States independence in 2026, it is essential not only to tell an inclusive history, but an accurate one. And where the need to examine and uplift the role of Black History Month is especially urgent at a time when forces seek to erase black history from America's school and public culture. And whereas the value of black history lies not only in its contribution to mainstream historical narrative, but in its enduring resonance in the lives of black people. Now, therefore, be it pro proclaimed, the Albany City Council does hereby recognize February 2026 as Black History Month in the city of Albany, honor the many and varied contributions of African-Americans in our community, and acknowledge that Albany journey towards a fully inclusive city and society is ongoing and requires continued attention and support. And here accepting, as mentioned earlier, teacher Wilson.

Hello. Thank you very much. On behalf of the Black Parent Advisory Group where its leaders myself, Tedra Grogan, Linda Williams, and Melissa Boyd would like to thank you for this opportunity to recognize Black History Month. Um, it's very important and I hope that you continue to support the endeavors. Just want to let you know that on February 12th, which is a Thursday, we will be having the district's Black History Month celebration at the high school in the Little Theater from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. All are welcome. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I'll just I'll say one thing and this is something I've learned recently after uh moving to Albany when I moved into the village. black history that is often forgotten, maybe intentionally. Uh when University Village was Cordis Village after the great migration of many black folks from Louisiana, one of the folks that set up shop over there um happened to be the parents of uh Bobby Seal, one of the co-founders of the Black Panther Party. And so I think that is interesting history worth acknowledging in Albany. And I hope that there are ways we can better acknowledge that uh in the years to come. But I think this is an opportune time to highlight that and to mention that that the legacy of one of the most powerful and intentional groups of uh black empowerment is actually rooted here.

Thank you for sharing. Do you want a photo with the council? [laughter] A very nice. I'll shoot a few. Thank you so much. That is really good. And that brings us to item 4-2, recognition of newly appointed Chief of Police Greg Leaniano. City Manager, would you like to take it away?

Thank you, Mayor. We have the unique opportunity here at this council meeting to welcome a new employee on their first day of service to the city of Albany. So I think that is incredibly special and as you know we've had a long legacy of exemplary police chiefs within the city of Albany. Greg Galliano brings that same energy and spirit and commitment to the position. He has significant expertise in his long career of public service and I would like to welcome him up to say a few words to the council. [applause] This is the right podium, right? Uh thank you. It was a absolute honor and privilege to be sworn in today as your next chief of police. Uh from everything I have learned and everyone I have spoken to, this is an excellent police department in a very well-run city, and I'm proud to be a part of it. Public safety for me is not just about law enforcement, but it's about building partnerships. It's about listening. It's about building relationships and working collaboratively to solve problems. And I look forward to getting to know all of you and your communities as I understand what those issues and concerns are and we look for ways to find forward progress together. Thank you.

Thank you, Chief. Any council comments? Thank you so much for seeking the position for joining us.

Thank you. I know I said this privately to you earlier after you're swearing in, but and I'm happy to share this publicly as well that um I'm excited to have uh someone of your caliber coming into our city. Um when I was reading the initial background that our city manager had provided to us via email, I was like, "This is hella dope. we got someone with, you know, quite a bit experience and um it says a lot because um both literally and figuratively they're big shoes that you're walking in to fill. Um our previous uh permanent chief um was phenomenal. Even our intern uh chief who was uh here um was great. I look forward to being able to work collectively and I love your intentionality of using the word partnership. Um, and I'm going to out my chief of staff right now. He websed uh our new chief of police. Um, I will hold him accountable. Um, but if need be, I will I will walk that boy in uh on any appropriate charges. But thank you and welcome. You

are there any public comments? Are there any online? Well, I'll just say one more time, welcome. Welcome to our family and we're really thrilled to have you here. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thrilled to be here.

That brings us to the city manager report. Thank you, mayor. Uh this morning it was a little bumpy. If you noticed, we had a handful of earthquakes, which is a reminder to all of us once again, are you prepared um with the series of earthquakes that occurred today in the Bay Area, we're reminding everyone to visit ready.gov/earquakes. This wedge page provides helpful information on how to prepare for earthquake, best ways to stay safe, as well as how to stay safe after an earthquake. So again, check those resources, please, and please uh continue to monitor our own e-news for additional resources and information as we work to prepare additional emergency preparedness opportunities locally. Also, please check our website for the 2025 year in review. This is a highle summary of a number of accomplishments across the city as a whole in each of our departments. It's always um great to reflect on as we get so caught up in the go go go do d do to stop and understand what we've achieved together. So great uh informative piece and we will also be mailing out postcards to share communitywide about this opportunity to learn about accomplishments. It also includes a brief survey as we continue to track progress towards uh satisfaction within the city. The tax exemption renter rebate for 2026 has begun. Applications are available on our website and by calling Albany Cares 510-524-9283 or by picking up an application in person at the community center. As a reminder, this program includes six separate parcel taxes with the opportunity to receive rebates for those

taxes. and staff is available to assist in filling out those applications and opportunities for assistance center services will be offered this spring. We have an Albany Parah transit workshop coming up by the recreation and community services department this uh Friday, February 20th from 1:30 to 2:30 at the senior center. Come learn about various city and county partnerships for paratransit services. Ask questions and share feedback and suggestions on help to ensure the program meets community needs. We have a kids family kids and family expo coming up. This is a new event for us and I think it might be a great one. Uh it brings in a bunch of service organizations specifically for families and kids as well as all of the local citywide resources for that same group which is a lot of our Albany community. There's also cotton candy I believe. [laughter] Uh so that will be at the community center February 28th from 1 to 4 pm. Also free face painting, a raffle, free biking, and a strolling magician. Uh friends of Albany seniors are having their pancake breakfast on Saturday, February 21st from 9 to noon. This will be at the city the city's senior center. Pancake breakfast cooked by the Albany Fire Department. Another not to miss event. And let's see what else. If you haven't had the opportunity to go to the lobby of our community center, please take some time. We have some amazing path to belonging exhibit hung throughout the foyer and there are

some well-known uh displays there. So really appreciate this project and the ability to make community partnerships through it. Yesterday, February 1st, we hosted the opening of the Journeys to Albany: Paths to Belonging. The ex exhibition explores where residents come from and how they arrived in Albany, featuring largecale collages depicting the diverse migration stories of seven Albany families. This project is sponsored community building project funded by art and public places fund and special appreciation to Susan Moffett for all of her work on this project. Recap of our city planning expo that was held on January 22nd. Again, sincere appreciation to our public works department and associated consultants for putting this on. We had over 60 attendees engaged in both conversations on our active transportation plan and how to make our streets and sidewalks safer as well as our watershed management plan which was on the heels of some major storms. Got some great feedback on things that residents are concerned about. So again, thank you to everybody for attending those. We also have opportunities if you missed that event to engage with us online regarding those issues. And that's it for my report. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Are there any council questions, comments? Anything from the public?

Is there a specific question I'm can answer? Sure. I don't have those details handy with me right now and I want to make sure we don't get into a back and forth discussion, but you're happy to email the Albony Cares team and we can provide that information. Are there any public online? Thank you.

Okay, that brings us to good of the city. Um, a time for persons desiring to address the city council on an item that is not on the agenda. Please note the city policy limits each speaker to up to three minutes. The mayor may reduce the time per speaker depending upon the number of speakers. The Brown Act limits the the council's ability to take and or discuss items that are not on the agenda. Therefore, such items may be referred to staff for comment or to a future agenda. Comments related to items appearing on the agenda are taken up at the time of the city council deliberates each item. The mayor will announce when the period for public comment is open on each agenda item. Have public comment.

Yes.

Stephen Alpert and then Elaine Eton. Good evening. I'm Dr. Steven Alpert. The city of Albany adheres to the absolute minimum state mandate of only alerting those within 300 feet of proposed new construction by mailing postcards but 10 days before first planning zoning hearing. Moreover, Albany does not require posting of signs at the project site detailing the proposed structure. As documented, other California cities have expanded public notification beyond 300 ft. Irvine alerts all property owners within 500 feet of new construction with notices mailed 15 days before a first hearing. Burbank alerts all residents within a,000 ft of new construction. Alerting only those within 300 ft allows limits public discourse, allowing the planning and zoning commission to propose and the council then pushed through new projects no matter how inappropriate with minimal awareness and input from the public, the community. Such was the case for the oversized five-story mixed commercial residential modern box proposed for 1600 Solano. Only 73 properties were alerted about the project, which clearly is not functionally appropriate nor harmonious with its surroundings in total violation of Alby's planning and zoning mission statement shown here. Density bonus allowed for the building's increased height, no setback, and no resident parking. Nonetheless, in 2022, the planning and zoning commission and the council should have directed that the building's exterior be more compatible with the neighboring crafts and air structures and failed to do so. In previous meetings, it was asserted that enacting varied public notice distances for different projects would violate for different size projects violate both the California and federal

affair housing acts. Whereas the issue of varied notice for a different size project is not settled at this juncture. Let's assume that uniform noticing distance is required. Increased cost was offered as a reason preventing wider notification. Mailing postcards to 73 properties about 600 Solano cost $45. Extrapolating to 500 ft the mailing cost will be $126 and for a,000 ft $515. hardly much of a financial burden as was stipulated for either city or the epicant. Indeed, there is no legal reason preventing Albany from expanding public notification. If the current council generally believes the alerting only those within 300 ft proposed new construction just 10 days before his hearing is appropriate, defend this pro this practice. Submit 300 feet notifications of meeting agenda item to offer extended in-depth public discussion. Celeste and I have appeared more than two dozen dozen times here to ask the council to justify while Albin adheres to the absolute minimum state mandate. Undoubtedly, the council is tired of hearing from us and we too are perplexed at your reluctance to address this issue. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you for your comments. Good evening. My name is Elaine Stelton. Um, honorable council, as you know, the earthquake ordinance passed in July of 2023. Albany property rights advocates were part of every meeting to discuss the formation of this ordinance and we wholeheartedly support the safety of those living in multifamily structures. Our one ask at that time and it was I asked on every occasion where we met with Jeff Bond or anyone from the city was please try and get us the same funding that Berkeley property owners have to do their earthquake retrofits. Unfortunately, nothing was done. Um Peter Campbell, who's sitting in this room, just spent $100,000 on his earthquake retrofit. Another board member also spent an extraordinary amount of money on a retrofit. Again, nobody disagrees with the need for this. All we're asking for you to do is please reach out. Whether it's Leslie Mendes who worked in Berkeley for 10 years, whether she makes a phone call and said, "Hey guys, where did you guys find the funds to help property owners?" That's really all I'm asking. Um, and uh, in a different matter, I just also want to ask you please, you're going to be considering a number of different things to do with rent stabilization and tenant protections. Um, one of the things I want to ask you about is to please keep in mind that some extraordinary expenses

like these $100,000 earthquake retrofits can in fact come our way even when we are being diligent about attending meetings and trying to do everything we can properly and very large unexpected expenses can happen and I really want you to take that into consideration. when you look at rent uh rent stab stabilization measures. Thank you very much. Thank you

Peter Campbell and Adam Nasa. Yeah, I affirm what Elaine just said about the cost of the retrofit to our 4unit building. As a rental provider, I am concerned that this is just the beginning of extra required expenses that may be coming down the line. such items as forced removal of gas heating and cooking, EV charging infrastructure, installation of heat pump, water and space heaters, insurance company and city required electrical changes. These are just a few of the items I can think of that may come to may come to pass in the not too distant future. Rental providers have to pay for these items somehow. Now, don't get me wrong. Perhaps these items are good for tenant safety, convenience, environmental protection, and protection of the housing stock. The problem is that rental business owners need to pay for these somehow. And the source of these dollars has to come from rents. What tenants pay for their housing. There is no other source. The city has a responsibility to encourage the business sector of this community. Without a thriving business community, the city will die. It is the responsibility of the city to provide an environment where um where businesses will want to operate. Housing is a vital part of any community. If housing were not available, there would be no local residents. If city policies are perceived as anti- business, businesses will not come to or stay in the city. It is your job to make Albany a businessfriendly place. You will be considering rent restrictions and other

so-called tenant protection items in the coming weeks and months. Maybe some of these changes are a good idea. Not finding a way to pay for them is not a good idea. It is the responsibility of the city to find a way to fund its housing and business goals other than just by taxing and excessively regulating the providers. Please do your job. Don't just take the easy way out by charging only the businesses. fund your programs the way they should be. If they are for the good of the community, find a way for the community as a whole to pay for them. Whether it be general tax measures, government grant form, governmental grant programs, or other measures that don't just penalize the business owners. Thank you very much and good night.

Thank you for your comments.

Good evening. Along the same lines as Elaine and Peter, uh I'd like the city council to consider the extra hardship on people that bought properties, investment properties in Albany recently who have mortgages that are going to become due. They would have to refinance and they're looking at much higher interest rates. That's on top of the added expenses, the crazy insurance that's going on. So, it's making it very hard. And if the the retrofit if there's no help from the city would u impose an extreme hardship on the property owners. I'd like the city council to consider that. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Do we have any online comments? Okay.

Good evening, council. This is Lucinda Young, Albany Climate Action Coalition. Um, a few members of our organization have at recent meetings um, asked the council to consider um, solar and battery installation at the community center as part of establishing it as a resilience hub. Um, why would we um why should that be considered? Um, well, it would go a long way to help our city prepare for an emergency. And whether it's a earthquake, wildfire, smoke, storm, or flood, we need to remember it's not an if, it's just a it's a matter of when. It would also advance our climate action adaptation plan and recognize the climate emergency declaration. Um, the city is urging its citizens to decarbonize their buildings. That's a huge part of our app and the city needs to set an example for its citizens. Um because this conversation has been happening, I attended a public webinar last week presented by AVA community energies consultant, local clean energy alliance. Um the purpose of that webinar was to inform the community about incentives being offered by AVA to municipalities and to nonprofits uh to install solar and battery as part of establishing community resilience hubs. Um, AVA is offering free technical support to municipalities for solar and battery installation. And that support includes a professional estimate of the cost of installation and a list of incentives that our city would be entitled to. And this is not a competitive kind of thing. Um, you know, everybody, we're not competing with other entities to get this service. It's being provided to all municipalities and nonprofits that provide the information needed to get the technical assistance get the

technical assistance. And I know staff time is really precious uh commodity. The webinar advised that the amount of time required for city staff to submit the information ranges from half an hour to two hours. And they could even reduce that if city staff didn't have that much time. the consultant would take over some of that time, would enter some of the information. And I understand that uh community development staff uh talked with the Avis consultant last summer, got a list of the information the city needed to submit to get the technical assistance. And that list of information comes from public works and it was the request the list was sent to public works and then it kind of the ball kind of got dropped. My understanding is nothing further has happened. I think it'd be well worth half an hour to two hours of staff time for our city to get this technical assistance. There's some huge incentives available right now. Federal uh tax credit which is available as a rebate as well as AVA um rebates and I think it's I would like to see our city pursue that. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. Um, hi, good evening. This is Jean Woo. I um was one of the people in Alby's climate action coalition that has looked at our situation, our just ju just ju just justosition to a potential earthquake fault just up the road here and multiple other issues and seeing that we have no actual plans to create a resilience hub for the people of Albany. It turns out this is a very opportune time because not only is AVA Community Energy putting out an extraordinary incentive to build these solar and battery hubs, they're also providing a VPP plan to help provide funding for a period of five years afterwards. And there's um a loophole in the federal bill OBB, whatever that's called, that allows municipal governments and nonprofits to continue to grab the 30% tax credit as an actual check. In addition, there's a 10% increase um in the value of that check because we live in Alama County, which is considered an energy community, and another 10% available if we are [clears throat] uh using the appropriate materials as guaranteed or required by OBB. There's also something that's coming up March 3 which if we would be considered a lowincome community and I believe we do have several census tracks that are considered lowinccome that we could enter it's a lottery that can get you another 20% in incentives from the federal

government giving you 70% right there. Um, I outlined all of these things and that the requirement to actually start funding the program uh prior to July 4th of 2026. I urge the city to allocate a modest amount of funding prior to July 4th so that we can secure the available federal rebates which can be 30 to up to 70% and also preserve the maximum amount of time which is available if we do this before July 4th you get four and a half years if you wait until after July 4th you only get something under 18 months to actually complete the project as I envision it. It's a fairly large project, but it may not be the only project the city wants to pursue. This would apply to any city project that they may want to pursue in and around the city of Albany. For instance, someone mentioned University Village. That's an option or even the schools. So, I think this is a multiple site option as well, but as far as I can see, the most obvious one is going to be um the community center. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for your comment.

Good evening, Mayor McQuade, Vice Mayor Hansen Romero, and council members. My name is Milan Michael. I'm a student at Albany High, an Albany resident, and a Tupi Pure educator. As we recognize February as Black History Month, this is a critical time to discuss tobacco industries, how tobacco industries have long targeted black communities, contributing to higher rates of preventable disease. Ending the sale of tobacco is a meaningful step Albany can take to address this harm. In June 2024, the city council voted to form a subcommittee to explore ending tobacco sales. We have not heard any updates. Since then, Ross and Tberon have joined Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach in prohibiting tobacco sales, taking proactive steps to protect public health. As you consider allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote in local elections, I hope you will continue to value youth perspectives. These decisions affect us, and we care deeply about our community's future. Thank you for your comments.

Good evening, mayor and members of the council. Tonight, I'd like to just ask you in consideration of just cause Oh, I apologize. My name is Sia. I in consideration of the just cause eviction protections um to take note that the phrase itself is it it generally does more substance I'm sorry generally does more work than the substance behind it. Just cause is often treated as something that must always be expanded to be fair but fairness depends on balance and balance depends on guard rails. Under the current framework, tenants receive strong pres protections after a meaningful period of tenency and housing providers are required to provide relocation assistance in no fault situations. But within limits, there are timelines, thresholds, and there's a sunset that allows for adjustment as conditions change. Those guardrails matter. When those guardrails are removed, the system changes in predictable ways. financial exposure moves to the very beginning of a teny and loss stops being incidental and starts becoming expected. And when major penalties attached almost immediately, uh qualifying standards rise and housing providers become more cautious, not less fair. The people most affected aren't bad actors. They're first-time renters, people rebuilding credit, and people coming out of unstable housing. So, a system intended to protect tenants can end up shrinking access for the very households it's meant to help. There's a second consequence to consider. When early tendencies carry high exposure, providers are incentivized to avoid getting stuck. That leads to quicker decisions, less flexibility, and more churn, not more stability. Stability comes from time and discretion. Removing that runway doesn't strengthen the system, it destabilizes it. I want to share one real example. We dealt with a domestic violence incidents that u escalated into threats of death and pursuit and pursuit um uh and police arrived just in time. Under the just cause framework, we were able to negotiate a mutual termination allowing

everyone to leave safely, quietly, and with a chance to start over. Um if if a large mandatory relocation payment had been required, the only practical option at that point would have been uh a formal eviction, slower, harsher, and leaving people worse off. Added penalties don't create better outcomes. Sometimes they remove discretion, compassion, and the ability to resolve real world crises humanely. That's how a good that's how no good deed goes unpunished becomes a standard practice in property management. Um, it's also worth noting that how easily the phrase just cause can outpace its substance. I'd like to make one note that at the housing commission meeting on September 3rd, 2025 around the 42minute mark, routine issues like garbage separation were discussed as a potential just cause trigger. Everyday man management frustrations are not eviction triggering offenses under the current law. And my concern is is that perhaps the understanding of what just cause currently exists um may or should be um reviewed before any serious decisions are made on the matter. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you for your comments.

Um hi. Uh I guess you can hear me. Yes. Go ahead, please. Um, okay. Uh, my name is Katherine Enos. Um, uh, I just was jotting down. This is a little bit, uh, like, you know, I just wrote this up, so hopefully hopefully I'll I'll I better move on it. Anyway, [clears throat] uh I'm I propose that the council review and revamp the block coordinator program to ensure there's adequate oversight to review and decide whether the program should be continued and if so to see that citizen residents are provided with the same constitutional oversightes that are provided to citizens when it comes to the police. uh blockwatch groups. The reasons for that I'm proposing this are blockwatch groups are considered to be uh of an exclusionary nature. Um they're based on the principle of exclusion and not inclusion as we've seen with uh the way that they often work based on surveillance. Uh the block coordinator program is the successor to the neighborhood watch program. A program that was uh known to attract uh vigilantism and in some re regions the program that's been used to really con complain to the city or the police about the actions of uh rogue block coordinators. Um the block coordinator program since 911 has been uh part of homeland security which also raises great concerns uh when you have a program that is uh known to sometimes watch out for its own uh or to use the to use their position uh between the citizen and the city to

uh wage war on certain people. Um, and these days with ICE, uh, you you know, you might almost wonder if, uh, the block coordinator, block coordinators would be involved in, uh, identifying people to ICE if they so chose. Um, block coordinators per the Albany manual, I already dealt with this, they're liaons between police and residents. This means they have a special relationship. I only have 18 seconds left. Um, basically in my experience, block coordinators are involved with helping to turn properties over in Albany to contractors and investors these days. Uh, the with people like uh uh Okay, my time's up pretty much. So, how do I proceed?

Thank you very much for your comments. Uh, do we have any other speakers? I didn't expect to speak, but I figured I might offer a solution for the previous comment. I'm Kathy Ry, um, resident on Albony Hill neighborhood, and you really need to be addressing the council on issues that concern you.

Mayor, vice mayor, city council members. Thank you, um, for your attention. I'll try to keep it short. um that might be able to piggyback on what our block did which has no block captain but we ended up crowdsourcing for the cert in case there's um event of an emergency or disaster where there's an actual spreadsheet and the neighbors are able to keep tabs of who has whose contact and um are able to selfcheck in and those handful who cannot we have them covered. So, it's basically only eight homes out of the 32 homes on our block and now it's expanding. So, maybe this might be an answer where there's actually those neighbors who are concerned and have listed themselves just be more like a crowd sourcing instead of just be funneled through one single captain. Just just something I'd throw out there.

Thank you for your comments. Staff, are there any uh responses to any issues raised?

Sure, Mayor. Um, let's see. Uh with regard to um tenant protections, we will be providing a staff report to the council forthcoming. Um as soon as I have a more firm date on that, I will be sure to um share that as well as through e-news. So those concerned about those conversations, absolutely have awareness in terms of when that meeting date will be and we are really aiming to capture all of the uh conversation that has been held to date with all interests in mind. Um, with regard to the block captain program, I would refer folks back to the existing program which is actually established by the Albany Fire Department and is primarily focused on disaster preparedness. Um, I believe those are all the direct responses I have as of now. I am also looking into um funding opportunities for seismic retrofit as raised of concern.

Thank you very much. That brings us to consent calendar. Consent calendar items are considered [clears throat] to be routine by the city council and will be enacted by one motion by approval of the consent calendar. Staff recommendations will be adopted unless otherwise modified by the council. There will be no separate discussion on these items unless a council member or a member of the audience requests removal of an item from the consent calendar. Council, is there any items you'd like to see removed? Is there any from the public? [clears throat]

Hi, council members. Henry Simons, principal government community relations representative for BART, and I'm here to thank Mayor McQuade and the council for considering a letter of support for BART's 2026 application to the US Department of Transportation's build grant program. Um this year BART is seeking funding for phase six of our train control modernization program which will upgrade train control infrastructure in Richmond, Elsto, Albi and Berkeley. Um when the system when complete systemwide, the train control modernization program will allow BART to reduce headways and increase train frequencies from 24 trains per hour to 30 trains per hour through the Transbay tube in San Francisco. And [clears throat] currently when there are problems like medical emergencies or police activity, our train control system limits how quick how quickly our system can recover. And the new system will allow our trains to safely communicate with each other and move more closely together to get our riders on their way faster. And together, these improvements will make riding BART a better and more reliable experience for all Albany Bart riders.

[clears throat] And I just also want to note some positive news on the BART front. Um, last week the Department of Finance and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission reached an agreement on a $590 million loan that will help avert a major transit service cuts for BART and other transit agencies in the coming fiscal year that begins July 1st. So, thank you so much for your continued partnership. Thank you very much. Any other comments online or anything? I'll accept a motion to approve consent. So moved. I'll second. You may have a roll call, please. Council member Jordan, yes.

Council member Lopez, yep. Vice Mayor Hansen Romero, yes. Mayor McQuay, yes. Motion carries. That takes us all the way down to new business. Um 11-1 implementation of view use voting per Albany charter amendment. May we have a staff report, please?

Good evening, council. You may remember Albany voters on the uh 2024 election ballot approved a charter amendment allowing Albany register youth voters to vote for local candidates and ballot measures uh for municipal um and school district elections. According to the amended charter, implementation shall be postponed until the city council by ordinance or resolution finds that the Alama County registar voters can feasibly accommodate a city election that includes 16 and 17 year olds as electors um and at a cost-effective price for the service. This item placed on the agenda is to provide us an introductory uh discussion um regarding implementation of youth voting in Albany. if uh council makes the finding per the charter and to seek council direction and feedback. Staff has also been in communication with the registars's office and waiting for their responses on the requested information in regards to the cost estimate and the timeline needed for implementation of youth voting. Thank you.

Thank you. Are there questions from council? I think I know the answer, but just to put it in the record, um there was a charge for what's called DIMS, which is the information management system used by the registar uh that was included in the invoice to Berkeley and Oakland for um their 16 and 17 year old voting. And I sort of presume that because that was for software, it would be a onetime charge. Um but I guess that's not confirmed at this time whether that would be an ongoing charge or not. I'm waiting for confirmation from Okay, thank you.

Have any questions? Um I I have a couple of questions. We need to do the same thing as the board of education. In other words, if we have 16 and 17 year olds, you have to have 16 and 17 year olds or vice versa. No, you don't. You can act independently. So the city council could make this decision and the school board could decide not to make this decision at this time and vice versa. Thank you. Um and assuming we were both doing it, we each pay a pay half of the cost or does it depend on how many ballot measures we also have?

Um pre per previous practice. I mean we usually uh depends on how many ballot measure they have and how many uh candidates they have um running. Okay. And the last one is because we have rank choice voting the entire city as opposed to Oakland and Berkeley. Would that impact our cost? Ours is a little different system. Well, ours is a different system compared to Oakland and Berkeley in that they um they only allow u for school district

seat election whereas ours is allowing besides the um candidates we also allow ballot measures. But in terms of rank choice voting, Oakland also has rank choice v voting as well as Berkeley. Right. But I thought because they were districts and we were whole city that it made a difference in the cost. Is that not right? Um well we we'll have to wait for their cost to estimate. Okay. Is there

I I could offer that um for the non for 18 and up elections that there's no the registar in the two rank choice elections we have had charge the same amount per registered voter as they charge Berkeley and Oakland. So there was no difference between at large and by district.

Wasn't there an issue with the software originally that our software was different? So before 2020, the system that the county used could not run a multi-seat rank choice, but the new system that was acquired and in effect as of the 2020 election had that capability standard built into the rank choice module. So there was no additional charge specifically for at large or multi-seed. Okay. Thank you.

Do we have public comments on this? I do have one hand raised but I think well um for the Katherine if you're raising your hand for public comment um really if you're uh if you have a comment for the youth voting item please keep your hand raised otherwise please lower it. This is the time only for the youth voting item. Go ahead. Um, hi. Uh, I just was trying to figure out if uh there was if if my comment was just wholly rejected. Uh, you know, if I can come back if I come back next time and amplify my statement, is that uh, you know, is that something that's possible? Will is my comment being taken under consideration? Uh, you know, should I follow up briefly with Nicole since it seems like she basically relegated me to uh to going somewhere else when what I really wanted was uh consideration of action on the part of the city council to talk about this matter. At this point, we're taking public comment simply on the youth voting um item. We did hear your comment. Um and we we recognize your your concern. Is there any other comments on this? Okay. Bring it back to council for final comments. So in summer of 2024, registar provided a staff report to the

board of supervisors in which he relayed that the cost of running 16 and 17y old elections or elections for those voters would be equal to the cost for a special election which at that time if I recall was $ 199 to $21. per registered voter. So just to be clear, that's per registered voter, not per voter that turns in a ballot. That is the way the charges work for 18 up is per registered voter. Then the registar a few months later ran those elections for Oakland and Berkeley and sent them bill for over $150 voter. Um I have well we as a council via the mayor letter from the mayor raised this issue to the board of supervisors. Um that was last fall if I recall among a number of other issues the registar and how much the registar has been charging and the cost escalation. Um the the action at this time is that the county elections commission has taken up the matter of the registar needing to provide accurate estimates for election costs well ahead of elections so that jurisdictions can make financially informed decisions. Uh that was to be taken up the um September election. Uh the president of that body is is Jim Lindseay who's an Albany resident. Um he asked me to be prepared to comment and I was unfortunately um the meeting started at 4 and by 4:30 they had no quorum so they had to cancel the meeting but this item is continued or is going to be on the agenda for the February meeting. And so I will certainly be there to comment and I welcome anybody else um in any any cities uh or even school districts in the in Alama County to uh to jump on the bandwagon. Um, but the long and the

short of it is is at this cost, I don't find it feasible to implement at this time. It's pretty unfortunate and I'm quite worried for Berkeley and Oakland because with only a month to get ahead and register 16 and 17 year olds. Last time the registration numbers were fairly low, but um Oakland has about 10,000 people who are 17 and 16 and if they get charged $150 and they actually per and they actually register most of those people, that's going to be a huge astronomical bill that I'm not sure Berkeley or Oakland are aware is coming at them. I've tried to warn them, but I certainly don't want us to be in that position. um about half that charge was for this software dims I mentioned earlier and well I don't think that makes a difference for me in terms of financial feasibility um because the if you remove that charge the charge is still over 80 or was still over $80 per 16 and 17-year-old who was registered um that certainly would be good to know but I think more importantly it's holding the registar to statement that he made to the board of supervisors which is just stunning to me that that he could charge 40 times that just a few months later on the board of supervisors. Now, I don't know. I wouldn't say they're okay with it, but uh there's been no action so far on that.

Thank you. This is not an action item. Um I I guess I will say that there have been discussions with the supervisors or at least one of them. Um so did that give you anything that helps you? Yes. And also if I receive more information I will definitely bring it back to the council. I think I think that's where we are. or just needing information before we can even think about this. Thank you. Thank you.

I guess it's worth also noting that the the current registars is retiring in March. Um and I don't know if they have a position um announcement out on the street already so to speak, but I know if they don't the county it's it's coming very soon. So there is a search for a new registar and it will be a separate position. registar was also the head of the information technologies department which uh it was not the best you know just in terms of the capacity of any individual person to be able to do both those jobs.

Thank you. Okay, moving to 11-2 city council procedures and policy update. May we have a staff report, please?

Yes, mayor. I This is a standard item that the council reviews from time to time. typically each year in terms of your overall procedures and policies that guide both city council meetings and a number of businessoriented items that the council oversees as well as a number of different policies. Uh with that, the council typically walks through the existing document and early speaking and identifies any areas that may be dated or not in alignment with current practice. Uh staff would be happy to take any feedback or direction on those concerns, formulate some options in terms of language adjustments, and return. Uh, as you see, the last update was from April 7th, 2025, and that is executed by resolution. So, action would be returned with a resolution for adoption. Um, one item that you do have included in your staff report is a attempt at some draft language with regard to your conversation that you had recently on the city council discretionary fund. This is intended to try and capture the interests of the council in adding clarity as to how that fund is administered across the council and also some procedural information there to help take the guesswork out of it going forward. Absolutely open to any fine-tuning there and further consideration of inserting that language. With that, would be happy to answer any questions and uh take direction on any additional changes you'd like to see. Okay, thank you. Um, what I would suggest is that as we do our questions, we sort of think of them as questions to ourselves. We go through the whole question period, the public comment, then come back and discuss the items

that have been that works for the council over here by yourself. Um, so are there questions that any council member would like to raise? I have a few. Right. Um I think I have four on page 10 item um agenda item or regarding the agenda. I'd like us to discuss flipping the city manager report with the good of the city. It seems that way the city manager could respond to any questions that arise during the public comment during their report. and it sort of right now it seems like they're sort of two separate but repeating questions that happen sometimes. Um page 30, the council reorganization. I'm just curious if we all think that it's working as desired. We've gone through it I think or three times now. Sometimes it seems a little complicated but I and I don't want to rewrite it here tonight. Just kind of thinking about yes, we love it or know we'd like to figure out a way to tweak it. Um the administrative policy as far as meals, I'm wondering if we could adjust the PDM to be a daily rate and not per meal. Um and then the last one is just to think a little bit about the discretionary funds. Do we like the way it's written or does it need any any speaking? And with that, we'll take any public comment. Do we have any on hands raised? Okay. Um maybe we'll if you don't mind, we'll just go back to the through them in order. Um you have any thoughts about flipping the manager report and the good of the city? I actually like that. I think that makes a lot of sense.

I can see that the efficiency advantage um only concerned about what that might do to tenor though because the C manager report in my experience is generally you know a positive report of accomplishments and things that are ongoing. Um and the tendency is going to be potentially for the for expectation to be for the city manager to address it's set up that it it follows public good of the city public comment. Now I'd set up an expectation that the city manager is going to address those comments to the extent is appropriate at the outset which might potentially cut against the tenor of what I think the city manager report does. So, I'm I'm not saying no or yes. I'm just on a process. What would that do to the flow and the the feel of the the meeting? And I'm curious if the city manager has any thoughts on on that.

I appreciate the thoughtfulness of that. Um [clears throat] I'm happy to go either way. Excuse me. And we do aim to respond when we have something immediately available. Otherwise, we get into a discussion that's really not businessoriented to your agenda. Um, flipping them gives those that may not need um a response to get in and out quicker. Uh, if that is a consideration point, however, my report typically isn't too verbose anyway. So, I I'm fine either way. Council member Lopez,

I I have no particular leaning. Um I think um I was happy to hear what city manager had to to say there, but I think it just leave me all the more ambiguous over here. Um yeah, wherever wherever the vote tips on that, I'm I'm all for.

And you know, may I just offer like I I think there are some times um that have come up. It may not be something that obviously you have a specific response to, but just even being able to this is also an opportunity to just uh bring the transparency out of this. You know, you can locate this here on our website. Um, and just remind people that a lot of the information because we get a lot of um, people calling sometimes looking for things that are existing on our current website and maybe they just need a little bit more direction and that might help maybe clear up some um, confusion sometimes to some of these callers as well. So, I don't know if that you could look at that as a possible opportunity.

If I may, uh, you know, I I'm recalling here that as you currently have good of the city once it's closed I do respond within that agenda item. So I'm not sure that we're c doing a catch all uh necessarily because if you move that agenda item up, I would likely respond under that agenda item and then do city manager report. So I don't know if we're doing anything different except changing the order. I I was thinking more that you could sort of tack on to the end of your report, city manager report. It doesn't sound like anybody's terribly excited about this one way or the other, so perhaps leaving it alone is fine.

Yeah. Um I think if if the city manager were to respond at the end of a report then it doesn't have the immediiacy so that people who looking for a response and might get a response might not wait around for that. So I think it needs to I think it's better if it does wherever it is follows. Um, I do appreciate the idea that some people maybe don't want to sit through the city manager's report in order to make a public comment. Um, that's that's tough balance to strike. On the other hand, I think there's some benefit to people are making public comment hearing the texture of the city through the city manager report. Um, they're going to make a public comment. Um, that's going on, everything that's being done. So, I'm more inclined to leave it the way it is. Okay. Okay. Then my next question was about the um mayoral rotation the way it's set up right now. Not not necessarily the order, but just is it is it really working for all of us? Again, I don't really have a thought, but I just it mean I think mine was a little weird the way that the transition came in. And I appreciate you like, you know, bringing that up and and offering to to allow me my time as a vice mayor as otherwise I would have been skipped um in the current way that the rotations go. So fortunately I don't think we have that happen quite very often but um I mean are there any other um examples that you can think of that that might cause So, a couple things there. I may um

so my stepping aside moved up when you would be vice mayor and then mayor by year. Um if I had not stepped aside, you would have been vice mayor the following year and then mayor potentially your last year under term limits. um since well I that I don't know if your first appointed period was considered a term or not I can't was yeah okay um so you might be raising more the question of whether appointed members should be in rotation or not there's that aspect of it as well um I don't know if that's correct or not once you're elected then you're in you're in rotation I guess just to finish out, I would say that you've not this process long enough, I would say to really know um because we've only used it maybe three times. And I think it takes a a couple full cycles to really see how well it's working. Um and I think it was, you know, a bit of an unusual situation of having somebody appointed and that first period counted as a full term and so was only going to be on the council for four years to make sure that you know there's fairness that they were elected. My grandfather always said if the wheel ain't broken don't fix it. If it ain't broken don't fix it. Um, no. I think right now things working well and they're working the way they should. Um, and the language as it leaves us flexibility to do like what council member Jordan had done previously. Um [snorts]

I will say this also as language as is um though it gives us flexibility to make adjustments as needed. It also gives us enough framework for this to functionally exist and make sense for us. Um be able to explain what a rotation what a marrow rotation looks like. Um, I've seen smaller cities where the rotation isn't quite a rotation and it become a popularity contest and it gets messy. And I say that because I think the system we have as is truly does enable us to have a really good collegial relationship with each other because there's no competitional edge like, oh, are you are you a threat to my seat? Are you a threat to my popularity contest? Um, so I'd say as it language has been working pretty solid. Um, knock on wood, we don't come across anything weird that makes us have to like completely alter uh the system. But I think the benefit of this too is that it's applicable to people who are elected by this community. meaning you know that the folks who adhere to this language are folks who are responsible and wouldn't abuse the flexibility of this language. Hence, if the wheel ain't broken, don't fix it.

Great. That's that's what I wanted to know because hadn't ever really talked about it since we put it in place that I remember. Um okay the next one is about if I just maybe had something else said because in explaining the system to people I uh I'll often say it's the system we learned in kindergarten line take your turn and it also provides the uh an incentive for collegiality because whoever's mayor knows that everybody else is going to be mayor eventually. So I think that provides bit of an incentive. Not that we have been uncollegial, but not the ones that will always be here. So,

great. Thank you. So, then moving on to the PDM rate. Is it possible to have a daily rate rather than specific amount for three different meals? Can double check that. I was trying to check that as we were speaking because I think there's still a requirement you may need to turn in the actual um receipts. I I can if we can do that. Um there's a desire I can confirm that that's not an issue. That would be great. Thank you. Um and basically we're just giving direction tonight. So that could come back as part of that. And then the last one is the um

I could ask a question. Um not having ever uh turned in for PDM um maybe you could talk about your experience that led to this suggestion.

Right. What I've what I've discovered a couple of times and I don't remember what the rates are. I think breakfast is the smallest lunch or dinner biggest. A lot of times the conferences lunch and dinner are provided. Breakfast isn't that you go out and buy get a huge huge breakfast but it doesn't cover it but then you're leaving much larger amounts of money on the table. Basically it seems like well the whole thing is certain amount of money still spending less than that. Why can't I have my whole just for what I've spent? That makes sense. It makes sense. Also, the some people their biggest meal is breakfast, their smallest meals dinner. So, it shouldn't be hardwired in that way.

Okay. And then the last one is the basically the new piece to to all of this is the discretionary fund. I just wondered if if you like comments about it, if you like the way it's written, if you want to tweak it and I don't want to write it here at the dis but some thoughts. I love it. Run with it. Right. Job staff. Um, any any thoughts? If Preston loves it, I think it's a surefire victory. [laughter] I don't say anymore.

Yeah, right. Preston, pull out the graphs. Staff, did that give you enough to bring us back a resolution or something? Okay. Thank you all very much. That was that was quick. Hey. Okay. Number 12. Council member reports on meetings attended. Announcements. Period. Stop. Meetings attended. Um I'm going to start with you. Feel like you're lonely over here.

Um yeah, it's always lonely at the top. What can I say? Um I was unable to attend attend the AVA community energy meeting uh [snorts] in January. I had gotten pretty ill earlier that day and um so I wasn't able to tap in. Um feeling much better. Uh but in terms of other things that had been going on um as highlighted earlier in the city manager report um I was in attendant at the path to belonging uh opening exhibit

partly because I was also one of the featured individuals. Um, and I I'll just note that I know I've mentioned this in the past about my great-grandmother and her place in West Berkeley, but I do think it's extremely interesting, but also empowering that like stories like hers now is no longer rendered into the peripheries of historical narrative over here. um someone who had 17 children and those 17 children had more children than they probably should have had as well. Um including my grandmother and my father. Um but being able to share those legacies um was incredibly powerful and to hear from other folks too. So, I do uh you know, while acknowledging my participation there, I do encourage people to go check it out and uh go read the stories of some of your neighbors. It's pretty incredible. I was sitting next to someone who apparently used to work in a coal mine. I thought that was pretty badass. Um, but it was just something uh really powerful about that and just knowing that uh in these times and Mayor Mcuade did give uh a statement earlier to open that exhibit, but in these times when we're facing a lot of challenges, being able to find something that we all connect with and that's important uh and art has a very beautiful way of doing that. Um, additionally, uh, I was also an attendant at the, uh, grand open for Anowok, the new restaurant up the street. Um, uh, joined by couple other colleagues here on the council. um was uh very excited to see uh some of the other folks who uh were from my great-grandmother lineage also there who

run the car club that was uh showcased there. But also uh being able to see some of her culture shared Aztec dancers, I have no relatives that I know of that are part of that group. Um, but watching the Aztec dancers and the mariachi band and seeing our community embrace that, enjoy it and uh, you know, watching people take videos and, you know, being able to share that. And again, in this time when we're being confronted with some some pretty wild things at the federal level, we're identity and culture to be shared like that while we're going to events as elected leaders is pretty powerful. Thank you. Um Jennifer,

I was also in attendance to that grand opening which was really fun and um wish them many many years of success. Um I was bummed that I missed the last mayor's conference because I was also ill and uh had no voice. So, um, but I look forward to attending the next one coming up. And also uh we had a stop waste uh meeting was it last Wednesday um and uh talking about um some there's there's going to be a small fee added on but the subway staff will be working with all of the different cities within Alama County to make sure that they bring that messaging forward. word. What is it for? It's very very small small fee, but it will um be there in order to help um continue the stop waste um programs and um continue to work through the systems to uh help continue to reduce our waste. And um and I I just feel very lucky that we have Stop Waste in Alama County who comes in and holds the hands of our staff and helps our businesses and implement some of the new bills and laws that are going to effect. And also [clears throat] um just to be aware of some new additional bills um that are being proposed right now um to help reduce other uh lines of of waste that are coming in um

that were not previously part of our system. So um one of the bills in particular is um directly uh trying to find ways of reducing um the e the ecigarette or e or vape pen that are single use with batteries and it's a real mess. So um anyway those are kind of some of the things just to pay attention to u coming down line. So I appreciate everybody in the stopweist.org for what they do and and keeping our eyes out for what's coming down. So if I may ask that. So that'll be an on bill e

we know. Yeah, it it will you can help me with this. Yeah. Yeah. It'll be uh added on similar to measure D uh onto oh county measure D onto the um waste bill through our franchise agreement. So any hauler will add it to their bill as a pass through and it'll be a line item. Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Thank you. um just fascinating because when I served on the stop waste board had a a huge reserve which was interesting because they said well because our job is to extinguish ourselves. I'm fascinated that maybe they'reishuished waste fast enough that now they need this this bolstering. Yeah, we we've actually been able to reduce the the tonnage fees quite a bit and it's it's they're very good at projecting out where they need to be and and keeping it within a very tight range of what their actual need is and this is actually going to still be a um you know there still will be a deficit. they're not, you know, implementing this fee to completely come up to and I believe this residential I think it was 32 cents per month I was. So anyway, but yeah, there will be more information out and they're going to be working with the cities to get the messaging out to the community and the residents and um so that we so that everybody understands it ahead of time and is prepared for it before the implementation in July. So

great, thanks. Um, so the Alam County Transportation Commission had a meeting and main item was the countywide transportation plan that will be adopted later this year. It's a five-year plan and the agency's been deferring with the various jurisdictions regarding what projects they would like to see in that plan. So Albany is presumably one of those. Um, I've realized I should get with staff and find out what project staff is advocating so I can be sure to be on the page with that should any little hiccup or anything occur. I will do that.

And um, I attended the League of California Cities Mayors and Council Member Academy. My reports attached. I'm also now on the community services policy committee. Um, Senator Era had a small cities mayor's meeting right after that. Actually, we all zipped back from Sacramento to get to the next meeting. Um, attended the urban league breakfast, the pension board. Um, city manager and I met with supervisor Fortonado Bass last week and I was at the ribbon cutting and as I was standing there, I was thinking this this is not old Albany. This is this is really wonderful. Um the yard opening was amazing. This morning I um had the honor to attend the swearing in of um the new police chief and uh council member Lopez and I were out here at the protest last week. Um we have any future agenda items any public on that? That brings us announcement of upcoming meetings. They are online. Our next meeting is on a Tuesday because we have President's holiday. Our next meeting is Tuesday, February 17th. Which brings us to adjournment. And as we close tonight, I'd like to acknowledge the pain and fear some in our community are experiencing. May we leave here committed to supporting one another, to standing up and showing up, and to leading with grace and kindness. And with that we are