City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome to the city council meeting of uh February the 24th, 2026. Uh Mr. Mr. Clerk, may we please have the role? Yes. Yes. Thank you very much. Council member Roachcha here. Council member Torres Walker present. Council member Wilson is absent. Mayor Prom Freighus present. And Mayor Bernol here. Thank you. We have a quorum at 5:32 p.m.

All right. Will you please join me in the pledge of allegiance? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right, we have three uh items for close session tonight. Um Mr. City attorney, could you please let us know what those are?

Yes. Good evening, mayor and council. This evening, the city council will meet in close session to discuss three items. The first is a conference with labor negotiators. This is uh various bargaining units as indicated in the agenda. The city manager is the city's designated uh negotiator and uh that is the first item. The second item is a conference with legal counsel. This is anticipated litigation. This is one potential case. Finally, there will be a conference with real property negotiators. This is concerning the property located at 602 West 2nd Street. the city manager is our negotiator. Uh the uh for the other side, Tung Buie, agent for Buoie Theaters LLC is the negotiator and under negotiation are the price and terms of payment.

All right. Thank you. We will adjourn to close session. Meeting is adjourned at 5:33 p.m. Heat. Heat.

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All right. Good evening everybody and welcome to the February 24th, 2026 Antioch City Council meeting. Uh, Mr. Clerk, can you please take the role? Thank you. Council member Roachcha here. Council member Torres Walker, present. Council member Wilson is excused. Mayor Prom Freighus, present. Mayor Bernal here. Thank you. We have a quorum at 7:11 p.m.

All right. So, tonight we have the uh honor of having um troop 153 uh Antioch only troop scoutmaster Gomez is going to have his troop come down and lead us in the pledge of allegiance tonight. So, if you all could please stand. Please join me. Please.

Please join me in the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation indivisible andice for all. God this.

All right, you can all be seated. Mr. Mr. Mayor, before they leave, maybe one should come up and kind of explain about the troop and what they're involved in and if somebody's interested, how they would contact you to join.

Hello, I'm uh Jeremy G, Scout Master for 153. Uh we're the last boy troop. There's 153G. Oh, come here, guys. And uh I have the honor of being the scout master. It's a it's a privilege because we have uh some really dedicated uh youth. Uh everyone here is is willing and and is part of the uh troop. Uh if you if you want, you can come down. I don't think I'm going to get involved. Yeah. Come on. Come on down. Why don't you guys all come down, please?

And you know, scouting is is one of those things. It's it's you have to want to be in it. And you know, we have a lot of adventures. Obviously, summer camp's one of the big things. You know, there's a lot of stuff like archery, camping, and and all the things. Scouting has a been around for 116 years now. Uh we have a recent Eagle Scout, Oliver Dovite, and uh several life scouts. I'm not sure where to go with this, but be a Scout is our website. If you're interested in scouting, you can go on there and get information for Annioch. You just put in the zip code and it'll point you to our direction.

Perfect. Well, we would like to as a council come on down and take a picture with you all if that'd be okay. It would be awesome. All right. Thank you. Which way do you want us facing? Come come forward.

Okay. Line up, guys. We should have just stayed there. You want to take Okay. All right. Here we go. Three, two, and one. Thank you so much. All right. So, that was a nice treat. I'm a I'm a former Boy Scout myself. Made it Eagle Scout project away from getting there, but you know, cars and sports and girls and you know, that went out the window. So, um actually a girl, not girls. I'm going to get in trouble. But but no, it's a it's a great organization. Some some great memories.

So, if anybody's interested in joining a good good group and you know, I remember 50 Mers and all kinds of stuff. So, it's good good organization. All right, moving moving right along. We were in close session tonight and um uh if the um city attorney can report out, please. I apologize. We started a little bit late because we uh we finished up late.

Yes. There were three items on the close session calendar tonight. The first was conference with labor negotiators pursuant to California government code section 54957.6. The second was conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation uh pursuant to California government code section 54956.9 subd sub 2. And the third was conference with real property negotiators pursuant to California government code section 54956.8. eight. On all three items, there was direction provided to staff. All right. Thank you very much. Uh we are moving on to public comment. How many uh speaker cards we have tonight? We have seven speaker cards.

All right.

Can we have Debbie Blazier, Maria, and then Teresa? had to write it down. I had so much to talk about. I had to write it down this time so I don't miss anything. Uh good evening, mayor, uh council members, city staff, and um people in the audience and watching online. Um, I'm Debbie Blazier with the downtown Antioch Association and I want to read some um notes that we have that our board and and us have wanted the city to know about things that we were doing and trying to accomplish this year. So, um, you've heard me say that our mission is simply to increase the foot traffic downtown and into the businesses. It seemed at first like a simple task. Um, however, it isn't. We all know in this room the challenges that downtown Antioch and Antioch itself face. So, it's much more than just bringing businesses um some sales downtown. So, uh, I want to thank each and every one of the members of the council that have worked with me, the APD, public works, everybody that we've talked to about safety and cleanliness and and everything that goes with it. And we'll continue to do all of that as well, too. So, um, it's a good start this year. We just need to do more and we need to continue to do more of what we've already started. And I want to let everybody know that the downtown Antioch

Association is also collaborating with the city and other organizations um continuing with some of the historic events that calf has sponsored and also creating our new our own new ones. We recently were granted some working together and civic enhancement funds from the city which we have some new ideas to bring arts and culture. Jose Cordone is here in the audience as well that we're working with and beautifification projects to downtown. Watch for our first introductory meeting because there's a lot that we're going to do with even the the we appreciate the funds that were given, but we hope to prove that we're worthy of that and so much more. Um, we've also opened up our membership and sponsors in order to help these DAA projects along. So, you can find that on our downtown.com site or get information from me at the downtown Antioch Association at Gmail. So, before I run out of time here, tomorrow, endless uh timeless elegance, we have a ribbon cutting for a brand new business downtown at 11:00. I'd love to have you all come out and support her. Um, she is an antique collectible vintage new shop and also has an estate business. So, there's going to be a lot of goodies that she'll be doing. Her name is Glattis Taus and um, one great lady and we'd like to support her. So come and join us tomorrow at 11 o'clock. Thank you very much.

Thank you Debbie

Maria followed by Teresa and then Mike. Good evening, Mr. Mayor and city council and of course residents of Annoch. Um I've been a resident in this city since 1989. I grew up in San Francisco, moved over here because at the time it seemed like a safer place to raise my kids. Both of my kids were raised here in Anochuk, attended public schools, Ann High School, both of them. And uh they both have left the city to raise their families because Enoch is no longer a place to raise kids. It's no longer safe. I hate to bring down what this beautiful lady just said, what we're trying to do for the city, but safety is the biggest issue in Antioch. Uh I live in the laundry states and I been my house has been broken in at 6:10 in the morning, the day before the time change. The police arrived timely. Uh after they left, I noticed there was some blood in my um window, so I called them back. maybe you know DNA they can probably never heard back from them. The city continues to lose businesses, grocery stores as you probably already know. Uh Ra is leaving. Uh we don't have a re a decent restaurant to have dinner here. Everything we have and keep on popping up is fast food. We have a Chipotle and a Habit coming up on laundry states, but there's no decent restaurants. Uh we're about to probably lose Ebart after many of us have play pay towards BART and we ended up with Ebart which wasn't BART but now the BART

station here is also on the list of probably being closed as well. I voted for you Mr. Bernal because you promised change. You promised a safe city. I'm still waiting and I hope you dis don't disappoint me. Thank you. All right. Thank you,

Teresa, followed by Mike and then Jim. Good evening, city council and council members and mayor Bernal and of course Annioch. Um, I've never been here. It's actually been 40 years since I've been in this spot. My name is Teresa Romo and I'm here to address just one issue. I have many concerns about our city. Um, like her, I have lived here my entire life. I was born here and um, I left for just a minute to to serve the military for eight years. Um, but tonight I'm just going to talk about one thing. Um, I work across the street at the Prospects Alternative Ed building. Every morning I drive I'm actually supposed to be at work right now. Don't tell my boss. Uh, but I drive to work every morning. Every morning at the corner of 6th and 8, there are piles of garbage. Every morning at the corner of 6th and A, there's a city truck picking up the garbage. Um, my concern is that nothing is being done about it except they're picking it up every day. So, yesterday I stopped and I stopped traffic and I said, "Hey, can I ask you guys a question? Where is this trash coming from?" And they said, "We don't know." And I said, "Well, what are what is the city doing about it?" And he said, "Nothing. We've asked for cameras. We've asked for other help. Nothing. I've worked at the Prospects building for three years. This has been going on for quite some time. Um, I would say it happens three to four days out of five, maybe three, sometimes four. My question to you as a board is what is being done about it?" Um, it's been happening, like I said, for a long time as a city resident, and I was just talking to my neighbor. Um, we pay for garbage service. If you don't have garbage service, you get a letter in the mail. I've received one many years ago. Um, but the message I'm

getting every morning when I drive to work is that it's okay to dump trash because the city's going to come clean it up. No cameras, no nothing. Nothing's being done about it. Like I said, three years I've worked there. So again, and this is one tiny like great grain of salt in the ocean right in our city. I know we have bigger problems. Catalytic converter was stolen on the street next to us two days ago. I get it. But I drive by every day and every day I think to myself, where is this garbage coming from? And what are we doing about it? Because the message I'm getting is it's okay to dump your trash. Somebody's going to pick it up for you. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it and I hope you have a wonderful evening.

Thank you. Mike followed by Jim and then Ben. Mike who?

Mike Shhatz. Good evening, council. My name is Mike Chz and I do work for public works. I've been fortunate enough to be hired get hired some 20 years ago and I've been able to see the culture change. So back in the day there used to be some hazing, you know, just to make sure you got what it takes. And now it is truly as much information and as knowledge and support as the new earth people need. And it's just wonderful to be able to see these changes over this many years. Now, mostly I'm here because of a uh I've been able to work my way up to a lead worker and then I took on a cross connection control program and I am actually earning less money than the other four lead workers in the same room. So I am being rather punished for being a specialist that takes care of some of the upper echelon harder more longevity skills that uh need to take place throughout the city. And here we go. I got a couple of dragons I still need to slay before I leave into the sunset. And one of them is speaking in public. Thank you all. And the other one that's going to happen this year is yes, I'm going to turn the water off to Deer Valley Hospital and replace an 8 in device to their surgery room. So, okay, you don't really begin your career with a move like that. There's an awful lot of coordination

that needs to take place. And this piece that will be done this year is number seven. Six of them have already been done. This is the last one. And these are the the primary pieces for the hospital. Right. You'd think Deer Valley is a new hospital. These pieces of equipment have been put in motion 21 years ago and it's time. And yes, to put in the most reliable pieces out there is my obligation. All right. Thank you, council. Thank you, Mike.

Jim. Yep.

Uh, Mayor Bernell, council members, good evening. My name is Jim Becker. I'm a resident of Antioch. And tonight I'm wearing my new hat, which is the board president for the Antioch Chamber of Commerce. So, first of all, I want to say thank you. I know last council meeting uh Jim Lantern stepped forward and was talking about food vendors and the desire and the need for licensing and health and safety and all of that and the city responded and um the feedback I got from the chamber members is they're happy with that. Um that has been sort of a positive thing, right? They want a they want an even playing field. you know, there are a lot of really great restaurants that have opened, particularly in downtown. It takes a while for them to get going and rolling, but they're struggling. So, this was a real sort of shot in the arm for them to say, "Yeah, the city cares about us." They heard what was said and they stepped forward. So, now I'm going to bring another issue forward. Um, we've lost two businesses in the last week. We lost Carbon Health, which was a health clinic and health center. They unfortunately uh got notice from their corporate offices that they were closing in a day and they shut down and they closed up. They were supposed to hold the chambers mixer this Thursday. Fortunately, we got the Antioch Historical Society to step in and they'll be hosting the mixer for us, but Carbon Health is gone. Uh and the next one was raies. Uh the railies on laundry that's been a a real sort of central store. I've lived in that neighborhood for years. That's been my go-to store. And um it's disappointing that they're leaving. Lots of reasons. They they quote unsafe theft, all of that. I think there's probably some corporate issues there involved as well. But the other thing they were losing is US Bank. US Bank was

located in that center and they are a 700 account, excuse me, 7,000 account bank. They serve mostly people with disabilities and low-income families who live in the community. They want to stay in Antioch and they're going to need help finding space and getting a new facility to keep the bank here. So, I'm going to encourage the council to work with the chamber, downtown merchants, all of us so that we can keep US Bank in the city of Antioch. Thank you. Thank you. Ben followed by Jenny.

Good evening, Mayor Bernell, city council members and senior staff. I'm Ben Miagi, a lead advisor for artccas county, the arts organization for the county. Joining me tonight are Jenny Balilele, who is the founding executive director of RCCCC, and Jose Cordone, who's been previously mentioned. He's an innovator and an amazing Antioch artist. We wanted to take this opportunity to introduce ArtCCCC to you and the public. Jenny will speak later about ArtCCCC and its mission. The arts are a revenue generator for the community. And I want to quote somebody that said something about that. Mayors understand the connection between the arts industry and city revenue, said Reno, Nevada Mayor Hillary Sheave. Arts activity creates thousands of direct and indirect jobs, and generates millions in government and business revenues. The arts also make the cities a destination for tourists, help attract and retain businesses, and play an important role in the economic revitalization of cities and the vibrancy of our neighborhoods. Theater performances, festivals, parades, murals, and other related arts events generate revenue for local businesses and the city. Attendees spend money on tickets, parking, eating at restaurants and food trucks, and shopping in stores and shops. In some communities, arts events are the main income source for many businesses and restaurants. Events like the food truck Thursday generate revenue for Antioch. For every dollar spent by a city on the arts, the revenue generated can be five times or more returned to the city. While most

people see an arts event, they just see the event, not the behind thescenes activity that brought that event to life. The coordination to bring vendors, city services, volunteers, permits, and securing the venue for the event. The money spent by the city helps with these activities, and the return to the city is multiffold, not just in revenue, but in the goodwill generated by the event. The arts are a good solid investment for the city and the return can be measured not just in revenue but also the favorable in impression on the attendees to talk about the event and make Antioch a destination for the arts. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening. My name is Jenny Balilele. I am the executive director of Arts Contraosta County. And thank you, Ben, for introducing yourself. We are a brand new arts agency, so only two years old. And we are the designated local arts agency with our fiscal sponsor, Independent Arts and Media, and our focus is truly creating a sustainable and equitable arts foundation for the first time in this county. As part of our five-year county county contract, we've created a comprehensive website newsletter. We do county administration building exhibits. We just completed our poetry out loud high school arts re recitation program. And our databases exclusively feature Contraussa County artists, art organizations, and venues and public artworks. And we encourage the arts community to create that free profile because we want to advocate. We want to be able to create grants and secure that funding for artists in this county. Our signature programs include those art passages programs, our district arts partner grant, and our poetry series program at Juvenile Hall that serves youth throughout the whole county. We're very proud to announce our new youth arts connection workshops that are led by professional Contracasta County artists like Joseé Cordon here of Antioch. They're for youth ages 12 to 18. They're at district three and five libraries in Antioch. So Puit and 18th Street and Brentwood libraries. They are spoken word, their poetry, their artistic workshops. And the goal of it is really to create a creative and

supportive artist team that work with youth to develop skills for personal growth, team building, educational skills, and professional opportunities. These are professional artists working with the youth, and they're free with supplies and snacks at the libraries. This is a two-year program that we're having. We've also developed a strategic plan to integrate arts into diversion programs working with key um countywide service organizations. But we really encourage local agencies and local cities to invest in local artists first as a top priority. Circular investment, invest in the communities first. We see that this builds longlasting, sustainable, and trusting partnerships. We know that there's little and precious arts investment. So, please think of local first. It will come back and our priority is to support those artists and we look forward to all the future partnerships with you. So, thank you for your time.

Right. Thank you,

Edgar Martinez followed by Devin Williams. All right. Uh, good evening, mayor, council members, and uh, neighbors. So, it's been a while since I've talked on here. Um, so recently, I moved um, within the city, and I really just want to, uh, raise awareness and a call for action on pedestrian safety and traffic enforcement across our city. So, I want to start with honesty. Um, I've historically have never or haven't really been a supporter of red light cameras or speed cameras. I've had concerns about privacy, about how footage is used, and about the role of third party companies and how they manage that technology. But honestly, my perspective has evolved because the risk we face today is greater than the concerns I once held. Across Anoch, we've seen troubling rise in pedestrian accidents, people injured, people killed, families devastated. And this isn't an isolated um an isolated one to one specific corridor. We're seeing dangerous driving patterns on some of some of our most heavily traveled streets. Obviously, James Dalan, Lreeway, Deer Valley Road, Hillrest Avenue, and I would even add stretch stretches of 18th Street. These corridors have become increasingly hazardous. Traffic flow has changed dramatically as our population has grown and is expected to grow uh 1% each year. Drivers are more rushed or more anxious and congestion has intens intensified. And while everyone is trying to get to work or get home, the urgency is translating into reckless speeding and failure to follow traffic laws. And this

creates not only a public safety crisis, but a public health one. So people are afraid to walk, afraid to run, afraid to bike. Um, and this really does erode the quality of life in our city. And it it's really just spreading. You know, not just in certain areas that have always been neglected. Um, you know, I've lived here on 18th Street for close to 20 years. Um, I do walk from time to time, but I've moved to a different part of the city. And honestly, it's it's really interesting the different dynamics. It's um, little to no different, but I really want to acknowledge uh that the city has taken steps. Traffic calming conversations have happened before, particularly around James Dalan Boulevard. I know a couple years ago something had fallen through with the county, I believe. But I do understand there's prior projects uh that were delayed uh for you know uh reasons. But respectfully, now is the time to bring those conversations back. Um not just for for one for the road, but this is a citywide issue that warrants city-wide strategy. Traditional calming tools like speeding speed bumps or roundabouts may not be feasible in different parts of the area. Um, I'm noticing that in, for example, in uh Tracy, Mantika, they're implementing a lot of red light cameras, their speeding cameras as well. Their population is growing at a much more faster rate than ours. So, I think we should try and be a little more proactive. I know budget constraints also affect that. Thank you.

Thank you,

Devin. All right. Good evening, uh, mayor, council members, uh, city staff, and, uh, community. Um, I'm Devon Williams, and I'm here tonight as a community member, um, a youth advocate, and someone who has now dedicated most of their life to, uh, building spaces where young people and community members can thrive. Um, and Antioch I feel is in a season of rebuilding um rebuilding trust and rebuilding opportunity and reimagining uh what is possible for our future. And um if we're serious about the work that we're trying to pursue, um the arts have to be a part of it. And I had a really great conversation earlier and in the the past few weeks with my friend Jose. Is he still he's still there? And I'm happy to see that some of his colleagues have come out tonight to speak. And we we talk about public safety, economic growth, and youth engagement as separate conversations, but the arts, they they always sit in the middle of those conversations. And as a former artist myself, I just love to see like others uplifted uplifted in those spaces where they can feel um that they have a voice in the community. And so that's why I wanted to uplift his work tonight. Um he sent he's our poet laurette for the city of Antioch. And it's not just a title for him. It's an an investment and priority. Um he he is actively engaging with young folks uh through poetry, mentorship, and innovative programming. And it creates those spaces for expression, healing, and leadership. Um and when young folks learn to express

themselves, they build confidence. When they feel heard, they engage. And when they engage, they contribute positively to the community around them. And so, since I've been working very briefly um with youth um in this community, um I can tell you that prevention doesn't only look like enforcement, it looks like investment and creativity and culture building, excuse me. Uh programs like the ones that Jose are leading are not extras. They are infrastructure. They are pathways. They are opportunities for young folks, especially those who don't always feel seen, and to find their voice in their power. And so I urge the council to extend and strengthen its support for arts programming here in Antioch, support innovation, youth voice, um leaders who are uh turning poetry into possibility. And so I'll say that because I believe that Antioch does have a future in artists, um in artists that are invested in through the city. So, thank you very much.

All right. Thank you. We have no further comment cards. I see one more over there. Thank you. Uh so to just you know address some of the struggles that the city is going through um and the disconnect that I think business owners and residents are having. Um I want to put a a real life scenario out there here in our city. Uh we talk about economic development, we talk about um building uh and we talk about resources like community banks to our city and how important they are and how we're losing them or we're not seeing them grow. In 2005, the Bank of Agricultural Commerce out of Stockton purchased property on the corner of Country Hills and Lone Tree Way. I imagine they probably wanted to build a new bank there. Um, today, 21 years later, they exist in a retail shopping center that they moved into six or seven years ago over across from the Safeway on Deer Valley. And that property that they own and that is vacant over on Loanree, the city of Antioch reszone to highdensity residential. So, how does a business owner that builds and manages banks own a property that is now zoned residential? Are they going to build the residential? Are they going to sell the property? What is happening? These properties sit vacant.

Properties move across the market. the Terrace apartment or the Terrace shopping center down the road from the shopping center where um Travis Credit Union used to be located just recently went through a sale uh very difficult and under market value and now that old bank location sits vacant. And so as we talk about finding new locations or helping businesses stay in Antioch, there's no comprehensive plan between our zoning, our land use, um who currently owns these properties, and who's going to develop these properties. And so we have a Mr. car wash that is a national brand that just went up 1,500 feet away from Ducky's car wash received their approvals. And so now is Ducky's car wash going to build their car wash or are they going to sit on that vacant land which happens to be the next door neighbor to that BAC property which is adjacent to our Makalumi Trail which is across the street from Lone Tree Estates. And so when residents come here and they talk about there's no economic drivers or there's no development opportunities here in our city, it's because there's no comprehensive plan. Our our land use changes every couple of years. And how did our city decide that residential would go where a bank should have been? Thank you.

Thank you.

We have no further comments. All right. Thank you very much. Uh moving on now to our proclamations. Uh our first proclamation is um American Red Cross month uh March 2026. Uh and um receiving this uh is going to be um I think it's uh Mike Lance. Is Mike here tonight? Yes, I am. Okay, perfect. Thank you, Mike. Yes. Do you want to have a motion approving the proclam? Oh, I'm sorry. That does. Yes. Could I please have a motion approving both proclamations? So move.

We have a motion from Mayor Pro Tim Ro Freighus, second by Council Member Roach. Please cast your votes. Tap it again.

Motion passes 40. All right. Thank you. So, uh, whereas March is American Red Cross month when we recognize the compassion of people in the city of Antioch and renew our commitment to lend a helping hand to our neighbors in need. Whereas American Red Cross volunteers have stepped up to deliver re relief and care across our country and around the world, bringing out the best of humanity in times of crisis, as Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross did over 140 years ago. Whereas the volunteers, blood and platelet donors, and supporters shine a beacon of hope in people's darkest hours, delivering shelter, food, and comfort during disasters, providing critical blood donations for hospital patients, supporting service members, veterans, and their families, saving lives with first aid, CPR, AED, and other skills, or delivering international aid, and reconnecting loved ones separated by global crisis. Whereas the 1148 volunteers in Contraosta County, the American Red Cross assisted or responded to 101 disasters, assisted 190 families, and through our sound the alarm program, the American Red Cross installed 778 smoke alarms, making 241 homes safer, and trained 425 students through through the youth preparedness programs. And whereas Contraosta County residents donated 18,299 units of life-saving blood, hosted 530 blood drives and trained 12,164 citizens in first aid, CPR, AD, and aquatics, provided 463 case services to military members and their families, and provided humanitarian aid internationally. And whereas this work to uplift our community is made possible by those who selflessly answer the call to help whenever and wherever it is needed. We hereby recognize this month of March in honor of their remarkable service and we ask everyone to join in their commitment to care for one

another. Now I therefore Ron Bernell, mayor of the city of Antioch, hereby proclaim that March 2026 is American Red Cross month and we encourage all residents to reach out and support its humanitarian humanitarian mission. All right. Thank you, Mike, for coming out. May I say something? Yes, please do.

Yes, indeed. Thank you. And I'm very impressed by the people that can do this from their cell phone. It's like I had to print this out on 18point font to be able to read this. So, Mayor Bernol, members of city council, and uh senior staff, thank you for this proclamation in support of the Red Cross and for the opportunity to speak to you this evening. My name is Mike Lance. I am a volunteer with the Red Cross uh currently serving as the disaster co-chair for Contraosta County. On behalf of the American Red Cross, thank you for your continued support and collaboration. This proclamation follows a tradition started by President uh Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1943 to raise awareness of humanitarian efforts after World War II and has been continued by every US president since then, designating March as Red Cross Month. Now the statistics you gave were contraosta. Let me talk about Antioch. I got my staff to give me some very specific details. This past year in Antioch, Red Cross has responded to 13 single family fires and provided assistance to 57 clients. We held community preparedness events, have installed 35 fire alarms in 18 homes. We additionally reach 77 first graders through our uh Pedro disaster preparedness program and have an active Red Cross club at the Doure Libby Medical High School. So very impressed with the activities we do here with with uh our our good citizens of Antioch. So we are grateful for the city's partnership for your shared commitment to building a resilient and uh resilient and prepared community. Thank you again for this proclamation and for your continued support.

All right. Thank you very much, Mr. um Mr. Lance. We're going to um have our next proclamation read and then we will come down and present your proclamation as a council and take a picture with you after afterwards. Awesome. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Wait. Yes. So, if people wanted to reach out and volunteer, how would they do that? 1 800 Redc Cross. And if you just mention you're in Antioch or Contraosta County, it will get routed to myself, my co-chair or our disaster community program manager. So, thank you. All right. Thank you very much.

All right. Our next uh proclamation is recognizing found um foundation mega mega ga mind elevated game accelerated. And is Tamara Johnson here to receive that? Hi Tamara, how you doing? So I'll go ahead and read this. Whereas Foundation Mega, Mind Elevated, Game Accelerated, is a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth through football, cheerleading, mentorship, academic accountability, and life skills development. Whereas Foundation Mega has served hundreds of Antioch youth and families by providing a safe, structured, and supportive environment that promotes discipline, teamwork, leadership, confidence, and positive character, positive character developments. Whereas the organization's programs intentionally focus on whole child development supporting not only athletic excellence but also academic achievement um sorry oh I'm sorry mental wellness family engagement and community responsibility whereas foundation mega's football and cheer program have brought regional national and global recognition to the city of Antioch through competitive excellence earning multiple national titles and international accolades while representing the city with pride, integrity, and sportsmanship. Whereas Foundation Mega uh actively collaborates with local partners, schools, families, and public safety agencies to strengthen community relationships, foster trust, and create positive youth engagement opportunities, including meaningful interactions between Antioch youth and local leaders. Whereas the organization has consistently invested in Antioch by utilizing city facilities, supporting local events, and elevating the city's visibility on national stages, reinforcing Antioch's commitment to youth development, equity, and opportunity. And whereas the leadership, coaches, volunteers, and families of Foundation Mega exemplify service, resilience, and dedication working

tirelessly to ensure that Antioch's youth have access to opportunities that inspire them to dream bigger and achieve more. Now therefore, I Ron Bernell, mayor of the city of Antioch, do hereby recognize and commend Foundation Mega Mind Elevated Game Accelerated for its outstanding contributions to youth development, community engagement, and positive representation of the city of Antioch. Thank you. Thank you. Um, so good evening, Mayor Brow, um, the city council members, our city manager, and members of the the Antioch community. U, my name is Tamara Johnson, and I'm here on behalf of Mega Football and Chair and Foundation Mega. First, I want to sincerely say thank you for the proclamation and your generous donations supporting our organization. This recognition means more to us than I can fully express. So, as you stated, MEGA stands for Mind Elevated, Game Accelerated, and that's not just a slogan. It's the standard that we hold ourselves and our youth to every single day. We are a nonprofit youth football and cheerleading program serving over 300 Antioch children ages 5 to 14. Many of our families and athletes or many of our athletes, excuse me, come from families navigating economic and social challenges. For them, MEGA is more than a sport. It's a safe space, a second family, and a pathway to confidence, discipline, and possibility. Our values are simple but powerful. Excellence, accountability, discipline, education, community, and family involvement. We don't just coach athletes. We develop young leaders. Our program requires academic accountability, mentorship, parental engagement, and character development. Many of our older athletes will come into return as junior coaches and mentors, reinforcing the cycle of leadership and service right here in

Antioch. And yes, we are proud of our winning record. Our cheer teams have earned multiple consecutive national championships and a global title. Our football teams are also equally nationally ranked as well. Every time our youth travel to compete, they represent Antioch and the Contraosta community. They bring national recognition to the city and they do it with pride, sportsmanship, and heart. But what matters most for me is what happens off the field and the sidelines. We build k kids who have confidence, families who find their community, and a youth who learn they belong somewhere safe, structured, and supportive. Tonight, your proclamation and donation tell our families something powerful. Antioch sees them. Antioch believes in them and their community supports them. On behalf of our athletes, our parents, our volunteer coaches, and our entire our entire mega family, thank you for investing in our youth and standing with us. Your support helps us continue creating opportunities, opening doors, and changing lives. We are proud to represent Antioch, and we look forward to continuing this partnership as we build a stronger, healthier future for our city's youth. Thank you.

All right. Thank you, Tamara.

Good evening, council. I stand here and I just really want to first say thank you. You heard me. You listened, and you did action. Thank you. As I stood here, a council member, a council meeting prior to pitch and lodge support for this amazing organization that just came off the heels of celebrating Black Heritage Night at the Chase Center for the Golden State Warriors. What they did on that court was nothing short of amazing. The impact they left at the Chase Center for that night was just phenomenal. I wish more of you could have been there and watched them work. The Bible says says a little child shall lead them. I believe our children are our future. We're going to teach them well and we're going to let them lead the way. Show them all the beauty that they possess inside. And we're gonna give them a sense of pride to make it easier. I could have sang that song, but but listen, it's not even about the harmony of the song or the lyrics. It's about do we really believe in our youth. Thank you again to you, Mayor Ron Bernell, Mayor Pro Tim Freighus, Council Member Roachcha, and representing that black girl magic, Tamisha Torres Walker, Monica, in her absence, and to our phenomenal and just amazing representation of what leadership looks like as you lead this city and to help and support our city manager, Bessie shot. I know that your work is tireless. I know how much you pour into this community.

This is an example of just that. I would like to introduce not just the president of MEGA, of the whole entire system of Mega. This is the president. You see a black male doing some things. But I made him come representing deputy district attorney in the city and county of San Francisco. I know he's going to kill me after this is all done. But Mr. Rainan Ross, he is over the league American youth football and cheer. So you don't have no no little short players here that are making sure that these kids are doing positive things within this community. Then you have Porsche Taylor who we all know she sits on our police commission doing the work. This is what this community looks like. We got our youth doing positive things, not ripping and running the streets. But thank you. You all poured into them when they needed it the most. But it's not going to stop there. as they continually to thrive and go forward. I hope and they continue to get your support and you out there in the community, let's remember our children are our future. Thank you.

All right. Thank you. Before we before council comes down, do we have any public comments on Can I say one more thing? I'm sorry. Yeah, please. So, if anyone is interested or if they have any young athletes that want to join us, you uh our registration will be open for our next season um in a few short weeks and that's www.mmegaffer.com. All right. Thank you. All right. Were there any public comment on this? Do you have a public comment card, Velma? Oh, I think I think she already spoke. Nope. No, don't worry about All right. public comment is after.

So, we're gonna we're gonna come down and and give you a proclamation and um take some pictures with you real quick. We don't do pictures.

How you doing? I'm coming. All the young kids Okay,

one. Thank you so much.

One more. Can I have you guys take four steps to your right?

Perfect. Thank you. one. Thank you so much. Of course.

So, I'm next on the civic announcement, right? making.

All right, moving on to item number um or actually item number one still announcements of civic and community events. Yes. Velman Wilson Civic Events. Facing the rising sun of our new day beun. Let us march on till victory is won. Yep. That is a part of Lift Every Voice and Sing, the black national anthem. I stand because I want to invite the entire city you council, our city staff. On Thursday at Antioch High School BD Auditorium, we will celebrate Antioch Unified School District Black History Celebration. This is a commemoration of what our ancestors have poured into our youth today. So we will be filled with spoken word. We have music, live music, dance, African dance and drummers all put on by our students of Antioch Unified School District from elementary, middle, and high school. Please come out and show your support to our young people as they reflect and commemorate such a rich history that so many often forget.

Also coming up April 23rd, an opportunity for everyone, the community, everyone to celebrate the amazing work of our teachers and educators and our teacher of the year and our teacher of the year runnerup for the Antioch School's Education Foundation. We will be hosting it for the first time at the Antioch Community Center April 23rd from at 6 o'clock, excuse me, 4 to 6:00. Please come and show your love and support for these teachers who are going through so much. April 23rd, 2026. Yes, it's at the Antioch Community Center.

Miss Wilson, on Thursday, what time does the event start? This Thursday, six o'clock. Six o'clock. Six o'clock Antioch High School BD Auditorium 6 to 8. And on the 23rd, I have 5:00 for the function. Did I send you the fly already? I I I already sent you the check.

Yes, you did. You did. Anyone else that would like to be a sponsor? We are looking for more sponsors and donation. All the donations that the Antioch schools education foundation raised go back into the teachers through our donors to math matching program. Also, they are the big supporter for the Forever Me Foundation stuff the bus and annual event that's held always the first weekend in the month of August. So, we're preparing our kids to go back to school ready and prepared to learn. So, your support goes it spreads a long way. Louis Roachcha, I can attest as a former principal of Antioch High School, he knows oh so well how much we need to do to prepare our students. So again, please come out and support our teachers and educators. And this is a time now as we're dealing with so many budget deficits and so much uncertainty in education. Your support and your love to keep cheering on these teachers doing their job in and out of the classroom is much needed. Again, that's April 23rd, put on and hosted by the Antioch School's Education Foundation, and I am the vice president.

So, this Thursday, 6 o'clock at BD Auditorium, that's the Black History Celebration. And the 23rd at 5:00. Yes. Thank you. And that's at the Antioch Community Center. You can see me for your tickets. All right. Thank you. Any other announcements of civic or community events? Mr. Becker.

Yes. I just wanted to share that uh March 7th out at Thunder Valley Casino uh our young Julian Bridges will be out there representing the city of Antioch boxing uh in the uh I think amateur professional round uh or my actually it's professional I'm not that into boxing but I know he's going to be out there representing the city of Antioch and he's been doing phenomenal things. So, um, this kid is 24 years old. Uh, you know, he goes out there, he represents the city of Antioch. He grew up out here. He trains hard every day. He's a phenomenal kid. He's a great boxer. Uh, I'm excited to go out there to support him. I know some other individuals will be out there supporting him. And, uh, just wanted to lift this kid up because he's he's a phenomenal kid. And um you know we need individuals like this, organizations like MEGA, you know, that are doing phenomenal things in the youth space. So that's Julian Bridges Fighting Out at Thunder Valley Casino March 7th. And I think you can still get tickets on Ticket Master at 7 p.m. Thank you.

All right. Thank you.

Excuse me. I just had a quick announcement. Um, Liftup Contraostasa will be partnering with um SR the safe return project on Saturday March 14th 2006 26 uh 5 years um to celebrate the SH Ready event from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Teamsters Local 3:15 uh building in Martinez. Um you can reach out to me and register now. Uh this is an event to uplift women in um elected office and women who support. Um and I would love to see you all there. Um we have a full program food and it's going to be um a great time. Um and am I missing anything? Council,

we don't want to forget to mention that our very own wonderful Yes. Yes. city manager, um, Miss Bessie Scott. Miss Bessie Scott is actually sitting on a panel that day to talk about her self as a woman in municipal leadership and what that means. And so definitely want to have young ladies come out um, who are interested in becoming leaders in our community on their own and see our own city manager Scott talk about and share her story of leadership in the city of

Absolutely. And so you are all invited. Just please register um before I don't see your registration. Okay, keep registering and we'll see you there. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Any other announcements? No further announcements? Seeing none, we're going to go to announcements. Uh item number two, announcements of board and commission openings. Do we have any uh public comment on this first? No public comment. All right. If you could please announce those.

Thank you. The city of Antioch has the following positions available. Any interested resident is invited to apply for the following vacancies by 5:00 p.m. Friday, February 27th, 2026. The Board of Administrative Appeals has three full-term vacancies, which expire March of 2030, and one alternate vacancy, a two-year term. Parks and Recreation Commission has one partialterm vacancy expiring March of 2028. The Antioch Police Oversight Commission has one partialterm vacancy expiring November of 2026. The General Plan Advisory Committee has five committee member vacancies and two alternate committee member vacancies. and the sales tax citizens oversight committee has five fullterm vacancies expiring March of 2030. To be considered for any of these positions, please complete an application and submit it to the city clerk's office by the deadline above. Application are located at the city's website and may be picked up in person here at Antioch City Hall. You can email those to the city clerk or you can drop them off in the water billing drop off box located in the parking lot just outside city hall. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Um moving on to uh city council committee reports. Mayor. Yes. I would like to ask to um suspend the rules and move items seven and eight from the council regular agenda up to right after presentations or right after present. Okay, we have a motion from council members Torres Walker to move items number seven and eight. Do we have a second? A second. Second from council member Roachcha. Please cast your votes. You need me. That's why you shouldn't have moved.

Motion passes 40. All right, moving on to city council committee reports and communications. Council member Rocha.

Uh just that on Monday um this past Monday, the um council member Torres Walker and I attended the city schools committee and um that's an ongoing standing committee. We meet once a month. We're working in collaboration to develop a um whole child blueprint looking at how the city and the schools can combine our efforts to to try to better serve our community from children in in school to our seniors. So, it's pretty much looking at the whole family, whole child. What can we do? Uh especially when you look at some of the challenges we're being faced with with federal deficit cuts and so forth to services. Um we're filling it in the schools also in the city. So one of the things we do share obviously whether you're in the schools or the city is our community at large and looking at ways that we can work together strategize some best practices of of of providing better services to the best of our ability. Uh also this week uh count I mean Mayor Proim Raidus and I sit on the board for Tri Delta. We meet on Wednesday. That's also um a lot of uh important things happening there because um as we'll learn moving forward, there's a big um measure that's going to come before the voters in November that will determine uh the outlook for what transportation is going to look like in the Bay Area in the five counties. And so that's something that we're actively having a discussion about because should this ballot measure not pass in November, it could have a serious impact to try Delta Transit and uh and BART for our our residents and throughout the Bay Area. So I think it's important that Mayor Pro Tim Frerus and I are at the table for those discussions.

All right. Thank you very much, Council Member Torres Walker. Thank you. So, I have um another presentation. Tada. No, just messing around. Um I So, I also sit on the school and standing committee with um why do I keep want to call you mayor profil

um with uh council member Roachcha. And um the thing that I liked about this meeting was that we actually had presentations from bridgebuilders to a new generation who has been doing work in the district for more than 5 years now who just expanded their youth um services to the west contracasta school district and they sat down to talk to us about what they're doing in the district how they're working with the city and how we can continue our collaboration because the city and school standing committee is really about the city and the district finding synergy. How do we um have a shared um vision for how we support families and residents across Antioch including students? Tri Delta Transit also did a presentation at the standing committee and informed us um Rashidi Barnes informed us that Tri Delta Transit covers 225,000 square miles of eastern Contracasta which includes some of Conquer as well as Martinez and that 80% of their rider of their routes go through Antioch and that 60% of riders in Antioch actually take a ride from home to the bar station. So that also gets us into this conversation around regional transit and what it would mean to our communities who are transit dependent. If in fact our EBAR station is shut down, if in fact our Elmra station is also shut down, what could what the potential consequences for PE could be for Antioch residents who are transit dependent dependent? We also had Club Waka East Bay come and present to talk about adult sports fun leagues, which is right up council

member Roach's alley because I'm not a real big sports fan, but they talked about adult sports for for folks. I sit on the cannabis standing committee meeting with Mayor Pro Tim um Freighus and that meeting we talked about both of our equity um programs um and what do they mean for the city of Antioch and our mayor pro Tim was very candid about his desire to know more about how those programs how they operate in the city what are the benefits to the city as well as making sure that our guidelines are in alignment with our local laws under our ordinance to make sure that the dispensaries are al operating effectively also being adequately regulated and that we are um doing our annual check-ins and I know that the city manager is currently working on getting myself and Mayor Pro Tim some tours because he would like to have his first time entering in the dispensary. No, I think it might be your second time. um just to kind of get familiar with operations and what that means uh for the city of Antioch. I also am a part of the green empowerment zone. Um there's a lot that goes into the green empowerment zone. I'll talk about that more at our next meeting, but I was able to get a have a meeting with Zach Seal of the Community and Economic Development Department. Um I'm sitting at that table, but every city from Salano Salano County and Contraosta County that is involved in the green empowerment zone, they send their economic development staff. They have their entire teams there to talk about um ports and marinas and bringing jobs and economic growth to their cities. And we in Antioch really need a team in that space so that we can prop ourselves up

and be prepared uh for some of that work. I'm wrapping I just wrapped up my meetings with department heads. Not all department heads, but look at these wonderful faces up here. I couldn't um you know um Don Merchant kind of ducked me. I couldn't get a couldn't get a photo with her. No, she had had a dentist appointment. But thank you so much um Don Merchant for also um meeting with me even though I couldn't capture your beautiful face that day. Um I learned a lot from our department heads and how hard they're working for the city. So these are summaries and snapshots. This is not the full conversations I've had with department heads. So our finance department will be conducting an operational assessment and this assessment will help with streamlining operations, cross department learning and secession planning. I think succession planning is super important and I know that director Merchant mentioned this is that like their department is really working hard for this city and there needs to be an idea that there is upward mobility or else we won't be able to retain quality employees in the finance department. Our city attorney's office has been focused on customer service and on guiding the city and making informed policy decisions as well as providing counsel to all city departments and working really hard with our city manager to also make sure that we are getting all of our settlements done that we are in compliance with all of our settlement agreements and things of that nature as well as onboarding our new city attorney hopefully soon. Public works was an amazing conversation. Um, lots of work is being done in district 1, mostly capital projects. Downtown, the downtown Wi-Fi

project is almost done, extending coverage to areas between east between East Street and O Street. I hear some cheering. Um, traffic calming measures are underway with speed bumps, um, center line striping, signs, crosswalks, and enforcement. Street lighting is also being improved throughout District 1. And in my conversation with the Department of Public Safety and Community Resources, they are currently working on improving tenant protections in the city, improving youth network services, and un and the unhoused resident program. The department's apprenticeship program is set to have served 115 young adults by the end of this year. And the department was awarded 2 million in California violence prevention act funding to improve violence prevention and intervention in the city of Antioch. One of the things um my next meeting will be with the city manager's office. So looking forward to that. I also would like to thank city manager Scott, finance director Don Merchant, city attorney Derek Cole, public works director Scott Bunty, which we need another follow-up meeting because public works is a large department and we couldn't get to everything, community and economic development director Zach Seal, Master City Clerk Christina Garcia, and Stephanie um Voraha Brown, and as always, Nicole Baptista, assistant to the city manager's office for assisting and coordinating all of this. In summary, what I will say I learned from city staff was that each department is trying to figure out right sizing for the city of Antioch. And where and what right sizing means is that departments are not right sized in this current moment to fit the needs of over 115,000

residents. And I know as the council continues our budget discussions and the city manager continues to assess overall operations and some of our structural deficits, it will be important for the city the city and residents to know that we have we lost 46 employees between 2025 and now in the city. And what that means is that we hired 51 individuals in 2025 and we lost 46 of those individuals. And so the departments as well as the city manager is working on what does it look like for the city to staff up? What does it look like to rightsize all departments to meet the needs of all residents of Antioch? And I just want to thank everybody who assisted in this. And I'm looking forward to meeting with our city manager. City Manager Scott, is there anything you would like to add?

No, I just I want to thank you for meeting with our directors and I know that several of you are um coming right on the heels of Council Me Councilwoman Torres Walker to meet with our directors and looking forward to meeting with the mayor as well as um Council Member Roach. I I am also struggling with not calling you mayor pro Tim because it was a year that I've been doing that. Um, and I do want to say that, you know, our staff is very resilient. Um, even in the face of, you know, really big workloads. Uh, the mayor pro Tim Fredus and I have a joke about bandwidth. I think he is sick of me saying it. I have played it like a broken record. He's been really patient. Um, and even in the face of all that, we continue to win in many ways. Um, last week we won uh the American Waterwork Association for our our uh plant supervisor Marcus Whittland who won exemplary operating supervisor. Um, a few days ago, our director, parks and recck director won an award from the California Park and Recreation Society for Excellence in Marketing. Um, I believe in the last few months we've won five awards. Um and so there is you know when I say that you know the biggest capital we have is human capital I think that what I said before have you thanked uh city staff today because they are really out here doing God's work um even in the face of of extreme challenges. So I'm very grateful to have a team that is very dedicated to the city um and they continue to rise to the occasion. So

thank you. Thank you mayor. All right. Thank you. Uh, Mayor Promis, sorry, I'm having a hard time, too.

Mr. Roachcha, if you want the title back, it's okay with me. It really just call me Dawn, you know. That's okay. Um, uh, Mr. Mayor, uh, so it's it's kind of nice having Council Member Tamisha Walker, Torres, and Roachi give my reports, you know, and I appreciate that. But I do want to call out one thing that happened last night and that was and I think it's important for our community and that is that we had a neighborhood watch program on Lily Court and you we had a very very robust uh neighborhood watch program for a long time and then it basically dissipated but it is coming back and a lot of times you know people ask well what can I do for the community? Well, I'm the son of a deputy sheriff for Contraostasa County, and he often would remark that, you know, police work is is helped by citizens who see something and report it. And having neighborhood watch programs, I think, are one of the best things that we can have. And clearly the city has shown its dedication to reviving the neighborhood program because uh our community officer Joseph Amary was the one who who organized it. But we had the city manager there, Bessie Scott. We had the chief of police there. We had uh Antioch police officers uh commission member Susan Kennedy there as well as several other officers. I think from the city side there were at least 11 people and that is you know the optics are good. We believe in neighborhood watch programs. we need to promote them and support them. And I think last night it it did my heart good to see that all the representatives and I want to thank them, you know, for being there and hopefully that we can expand, you know, the neighborhood watch program to help, you know, public safety

but also the quality of life that we have in our community. So that's since the other reports were given, I just wanted to make mention. Thank you.

All right. Thank you very much. Um none of my uh committees met. So I'll just jump into mayor's comments. Uh this morning I was able to participate in um um East Bay Leadership Council, which is a group that's been around for a long time. Uh they came to the uh the water treatment plant to have a tour of the brackish water diesel plant. And uh in preparing for that uh that meeting and saying a few words, what what really came to mind was a couple of things. One is that you have to have a really good staff to be able to pull something like that off. And it starts from the very beginning believing in something like this or not. Isn't in the beginning the staff didn't believe in it. They thought it was going to be just a lot of money and a lot of work without any good outcomes. And uh here we are over 10 years later with an operable plant. And we had East Bay uh mud there. We had Contraosta Water District there. We had mayor another community there. and East Bay Mud and Contraosta Water District are by far much bigger organizations than we are. And the the comment was they were amazed that Antioch was able to pull something like this off because they've been trying for over 30 years to do something similar. And so I realized that it's it's getting to the point where the project is completed, which was which was a lot, but then also having people like Marcus Woodland up there who's allowing people to come up there and tour the plant. uh being able to uh keep that thing going, fighting for our water rights. Uh public works work works director uh Scott Bunting, you know, he's been involved in this project for a long time. And so I just want to commend staff for um for being a big part, not a big part, but the part of why this thing is successful. Um Jaden was up there, you know, our our PIO. One of the questions was how do we market this project throughout the the the time that it was being developed and and uh and constructed? And the answer was we really didn't. We kind of flew

underneath the radar with this project because there's so much controversy around projects of this type. But when we popped our heads up, we had a lot of uh recognition from the state, from other agencies around us. And I say all that to say that we have a a facility that's going to be part of our economic development future. It doesn't just provide clean um clean, reliable, affordable water to our drought proof water to our residents, our community, but it's also able to be scalable into the future. And so that's something that other water agencies are are coming and asking about. So I'm just very proud of the staff. I'm very proud of the fact that uh something that a lot of other agencies that are a lot bigger and more sophisticated have not been able to accomplish Annoch was and that we are going to have an asset going into the future that's going to help us um gain more resources and actually be part of uh one of our biggest challenges in this state is going to be water. I want to I want to mention one more thing. I I really appreciate the public speakers that all came up here tonight before the meeting. It was really a good cross-section of our community. The comments were really well communicated. Mike Shots um getting up here. I know he hates public speaking and gave it a shot and came up here and spoke about, you know, what was on his heart and and the great work he's doing here in the city of Antioch. I just really appreciate all of that. And as I was listening to the speaker speak, really we are covering a lot of these things in the upcoming items tonight. We have the police chief giving a report. We have our DOJ monitor giving a report. We have a public safety, safe schools item on the agenda where we heard about pedestrian safety. We heard about economic development and having a plan. We have our general plan update coming up. We're going to be having an economic development plan coming forward in a meeting or two to to be able to communicate that. Um there was uh talk about street vendors and the fact that at last city council meeting there was a comment made and that uh

city manager had code enforcement in cooperation with the police department out into our community addressing that. So with with limited staffing and being able to real time respond to the needs of the community is something that isn't easy to do. And so, uh, I'm just grateful that the things that are of concern to our community and to a council are actually being being addressed as we're moving along. So, with that, let's let's get into the to the meat of the meeting. Um, we have our first presentation, which is going to be a PFM, asset management, investment performance review.

Um, we move seven and eight up. So, I think we're actually going to hold on the um consultant. He's That's okay. Oh, I thought it was after pres. I thought that's what the maker of the motion. Was it after presentations or before? No, I moved it up to after. I thought we said after presentation. Yeah, you did. But but these are pres This is We have a public comment on item number two. Uh after mayor's comments.

Oh, okay. You have public comment on that. Okay, Mr. Becker. Thank you. I just had a quick comment actually on council committee report outs and I appreciate once again um uh the uh presentation um or the report out. Uh so I had a quick comment though on the green empowerment zone. wanted to get an understanding if um the uh green empowerment zone is addressing the Solano shipyard project that's across the water and the Cissoon expansion project because that's 7500 acres of projected shipyard development east of Collinsville which is directly across from us. And so if that project comes to fruition, it could potentially in fact impact our shipping channels, uh the ship traffic through this area. Um and also if that is a project that is coming to fruition and we're talking about building out our industrial waterfront, it would make sense that we would try to cater towards that specific project and that workforce development. you know they are expecting that that is going to bring 40,000 plus jobs uh through that Cissoon expansion and that Solano shipyard project and so um if we could possibly get an understanding if that is a conversation piece of the green empowerment zone uh I know Bay Area council uh or yeah Bay Area council uh put out a economic report last year that included the Solano shipyard and Sissoon expansion so uh I don't know if Antioch is a part of those conversations with that group. Um, but you know, these things are happening. If you go right out to Monica's and you look across the water, that's where that shipyard would be. Uh, so you know, it would be helpful

if you know these things are happening. Even though they are in Solano County, we are the neighbor, right? Even though it's Solano, Sacramento, Contracasta, um, for them to come out and possibly engage us as well, right? Like we're going to be sending workforce over across the bridge through Rio Vista. Um, so it just makes sense that we would align at this point if they're still in the design. It's also really conflicting online. You literally see some reports that say they're breaking ground in 26 and you have some reports that say they're still going through their strategic process and environmental review. So, um, if we could get a better understanding, you know, I I'm really concerned about what that could do to our deep water ports. Um and especially with Ampports here, uh you know, and talking about increasing traffic, you know, it's it's a big concern. So, thank you.

All right. Thank you. Yes. Point of order. Uh normally we don't raise a comment, but this is the first time I've heard about this. Uh it it's concerning to me because of water quality issues and that our city staff Scott Bunting and others you know it's water treatment, water delivery, water quality, not only for the city of Antioch but also for the Contracasta water district. So, I would like staff to inform us a little better about this project because it could have dramatic impacts on the city of Antioch. Please.

All right. Thank you, Council Member Torres Walker. Mayor, I would like to make a motion to suspend the rules and move items six and seven up to right now. Seven and eight. I mean, six. Wait a minute. Seven and eight. Yeah, it's seven and eight. Oh, items seven and eight up to um right now in the agenda. Just a point of order. Since we've already taken a motion, I think part of your new motion should be to resend the last one. Oh, okay. Otherwise, it stays. Would like to make a motion to resend my last motion. I suspend the rules and move up items seven and eight. Seven and eight. So, right now in the agenda.

All right. We have a motion from council member Torres Walker. Second from Mayor Prom Freighus. Please cast your votes. Motion passes 40. All right. So we are moving on to item number seven, which is the Antioch Police Oversight Commission appointment for one fullterm vacancy expiring November 2028. Uh I am um recommending the appointment of Addison Peterson to this role. Uh Addison came and interviewed with the city manager and myself regarding this opportunity. He has a a rich history from his youth growing up to um his uh pursuit of becoming a police officer at one point in his life and then being an Antioch resident and uh his own experiences currently. So, Addison, if you would like to come up and say a few words about uh why you are the right candidate to fill our seventh and final slot in the Antioch Police Oversight Commission.

How much time do I have? Uh probably keep it brief, but say what you have to say.

All right. Thank you. Uh good evening, mayor and city council members. Thank you for the opportunity to serve on the Antioch Police uh commission. This is a real uh honor for me. I'm seeking appointment to the police oversight commission because I believe public institutions must operate with integrity, fairness, and transparency. Trust between community and its police department is not automatic. It's earned through consistent accountability and a shared commitment to justice. I care deeply about Antioch and about ensuring that our city continues to grow in a way that reflects our highest values. Oversight, when done thoughtfully and professionally, strengthens our institutions rather than weaken them. It affirms that every resident deserves dignity and that every officer deserves clear standards and due process. Professionally, I spent over 15 years working in public policy and governance, helping design systems that are fair, durable, and grounded in equity. I will bring that same principle steady approach to this commission. My goal is simple. Serve the public in a way that strengthens public trust, support transparency, and ensure Antioch's institutions reflect the values of the community they exist to serve. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Do Do the city council have any questions for Mr. Peterson before he steps down?

All right. Do we have any public comment on this item?

Yes, Devin Williams. Good evening once again, uh, council, mayor, and the city staff and community. I I just wanted to uh as the vice chair of this commission, I wanted to support the appointment of u Mr. Peterson. um his statement kind of said it all already and I just wanted to uplift my um support and I look forward to working with someone that is grounded in in policy and has a um rich history of working in uh I guess you could say not law enforcement exactly but you know with the mindset but you know we need community members that have an understanding of uh what it means to rebuild trust and community um involvement with our police department and as we restructure um and then he has a rich history in policy already. Like I said, um we've already worked on that, but we would look forward to working with Addison on this commission. So, I would urge you to support his nomination tonight. Thank you so much.

All right. Thank you. Any other public comment? No further public comments. All right. No, no questions or comments from council. Could I get a motion then to um adopt a resolution approving uh my nomination of Addison Peterson for the appointment of the Annioch Police Oversight Commission for a full-term vacancy expiring November 2028. So moved. I will second. I have a motion from Council Member Torres Walker, second from Council Member Roachcha. Please cast your votes. Motion passes 40. Congratulations.

All right. Congratulations. If you if you'll stay there for a second, we're going to go through planning commission and we're going to um give you your oath of office. Yes.

Okay. Moving on to item number eight. Um this is a planning commission appointment for one full-term vacancy, a four-year term expiring October 2029. Um this uh recom uh recommendation or nomination is for Don Aguilard. Uh Don came in and um expressed an interest actually this was his second time applying. He uh he has a past history being a planning commissioner in the city of Stockton where he was also uh actually ran for city council there. He runs a nonprofit that focuses on agriculture and far urban farming and uh he brings uh an element that I thought was very interesting and relevant uh that has to do with uh has to do with the fact that he um is is disabled and is sensitive to the needs of the disabled community. So um that is who I am nominating. Mr. Agular, would you like to say a few words?

We're trying to get him a mic. Oh, we got Okay, we can probably speak pretty loud. We can see I don't think I need a mic, but um I just want to uh first of all thank God for um putting me in a position uh throughout my lifetime to serve communities from Oakland to Stockton to now Antioch. Also want to thank the mayor for his uh his appointment uh and has trusted me to to run do the job. uh you know, planning commission uh plays a pretty pretty critical role pretty critical uh role and leadership role in shaping how our city grows and develops and protects our community and character. Um given my strong interest in in Antioch since I've been here, u I'm I'm really in involved with the land use and the role and and the rights of um of how this city is being developed. Um and a planning commission plays that role as far as policies and making sure that uh we keep control on on how and alcohol ordinances, right? I mean um making control that we have uh people's rights and how you know people want to have the community come together to make a decision on what they want in their community. Um, and I think how it's built and with the many different changes that and and developments we have going on right now, especially in the process of a general plan, which um I love I love uh doing because I was part of our uh general plan for city of Stockton. Um I'm just enthused about being a part of this this community. Um, I've been here for about uh 2000 probably about what 20ou right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right right at the end of uh co and uh I lived at Oakley first with my daughter and her husband and now we we moved to Oakley about two almost exactly

two years ago. So uh I've got quite a number of of of uh interest in this area and and um I'm excited to get get involved. Um, I I have arts commission. I have arch I have arch uh interest as well. I also developed the mayor's task force on disabilities for the city of Stockton. And also uh I've drafted uh two ordinances that deal with uh ordinances and urban agriculture for the city of Stockton as well. So I I come well equipped and well aged to uh to serve serve the city well. So I I would appreciate uh your vote and uh I appreciate being here.

All right. Thank you, Mr. Aguilard. Any um any comments or questions from the city council? Do we have any public comment? Yes, we have one public comment. Pastor Ed, praise the Lord, everybody. Can you can you go up and grab a microphone, please? I will. I will. Okay. I know you got a loud booming voice.

Greetings and praise the Lord everybody. I didn't need the mic for that. I have opportunity uh to stand mayor and council community. Uh I'm pastor Ed Harris. I'm standing as a community representative uh on behalf of this fine gentleman standing next to me. Um we both happen to be members of the finest organization in the world called the Omega Sci-Fi Fraternity Incorporated founded in 1911 on Howard University. Built on the card principles of manhood, scholarship, perseverance, and uplift. And as we we we lift as we climb. So as we look at the work and that we are behind and the community work that the organization is from is about I remind you that um the late Reverend Dr. Jesse Jackson also is a member of our fraternity. So as we look and see the work that we have that we do we're community-minded and I believe the brother Freighus I mean excuse me Freighers why am I looking at you? I believe that brother Aguilard has an opportunity has an opportunity to bring value to the city um with his integrity and the things that he uh and I stand for with the organization which we are proudly a part of. So I solicit your vote on behalf of this gentleman. He's going to bring great work as also as a disabled individual. So we can see things uh from that perspective and that point of view that will be helpful as we plan the city uh for those individuals who are differently aabled and as we work through the work together then we'll get stronger and better as we go through. I thank you for your time. I appreciate your vote for these gentlemen and uh just remember if you see somebody doesn't have a smile give them one of yours and if you don't know what to say just look to the father and pray. God bless you.

All right. Thank you, Pastor Ed. Any other public comment on this? No other public comments. Mr. Mayor, I will move your nomination for All right. We have a a motion from Mayor Prom Freighus. Second. Second from Council Member Torres Walker. Please cast your votes.

Motion passes 40. All right. Congratulations. If we could have the city clerk please uh swear them both in at this time. Yes. Thank you very much. Yep. Right there's fine. Microphone between the two. Raise your right hand. I state your name. I, Adam Peterson, do solemnly swear domly swear or affirm

or affirm that I will that I will support and defend support and defend the Constitution the Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution and the Constitution of the State of California in the state of California against all enemies against all enemies foreign and domestic foreign and domestic that I will bear that I will bear true faith and allegiance true faian to Constitution of the United States of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California in the state of California. I take this obligation freely. I take this obligation freely without any mental without any mental reservations or purpose or purpose of evasion

or evasion. And that I will that I will well and faithfully well and well and faithfully discharge the duties discharge the duties upon which upon which I am about to enter what I'm about to enter. Congratulations. Congratulations. Get your

Okay. Can I get your autograph right there? If I use this,

please. Please do. you. That's for you. Thank you. Thank you very much. All right. Thank you. Thank you both very much.

Yeah.

Oh, are we Oh, okay. What do you want? Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, thank you.

All right, the next uh the next group of items are going to take a few minutes. So, we are going to take a break until 9:05. Um take a recess. Meeting is recessed at 8:55 p.m. Oh,

hey.

Oh, hey.

Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat. All right, welcome back from our recess. Uh, Mr. Clerk, can you please take the role? Thank you. Council member Roachcha

here. Council member Torres Walker present. Council member Wilson is excused. Mayor Prom Freighus present. Mayor Bernol uh here. Thank you. We have a quorum at 9:07 p.m. All right. Item number three, presentations. Our first one is from PFM Asset Management Investment Performance Review and our city treasurer um Jorge Rojos will introduce them.

Good evening, Mayor Council. Uh tonight we're bringing a new presentation from uh PFM Asset Management as we agree from last meeting that we have with them for the presentation to be able to be uh transparent as well as for you and the community to know where our investments are standing right now. So with that said, uh Justin Ruelo is here. He'll be doing the presentation for us. Thank you. All right. Thank you.

Thank you, Treasur Roas, Mr. Mayor, Council, Staff. It's a pleasure to be with you all again. I I know you have a packed agenda um and I would have much rather have preferred to talk about gold medal wins and winning hockey and all that sort of stuff, but you know, I'm going to try to keep my comments very brief. Um you know, as we think about the investments of the city, it's really kind of tied to where monetary policy sits with the Fed. And the Fed, as you might remember from our prior conversations, is focused on maximum employment and goods price affordability. And through those two lenses in this very myopic view, we think about inflation and we think about unemployment. Now inflation certainly that's, you know, been a hot topic. You think about affordability, you think about going out to restaurants, you think about groceries, gas at 450, those prices are still pretty high. That said, there has been some cooling with respect to the consumer price index now at about 4.3%. But uh personal consumption expenditures which is the Fed's preferred measure for inflation that has increased slightly. So we continue to keep a very close eye on that. But over the last year we saw the Fed really lean on labor and unemployment and the concerns around slowing job growth as the main factors for why they decreased rates. Three times last year we saw three rate cuts. Now we see a target rate of about 3 and a half to 3.75. So with that said, as we look forward, it seems like the Fed continues to lean on these data as it thinks about its monetary policy setting policy setting ability and their current forecast is for one rate cut this year. Now, we all know the president has been very vocal about appointing a new Fed chair. If this Fed chair and the FOMC uh want to continue in their roles, certainly we'll probably see one rate cut probably in

June or July after the new Fed chair takes the seat. As for the market, most of us including uh PFM asset management feel that there's probably going to be two to two and a half cuts this year with the second in October, November or December. So things to keep in mind as you think about the city's liquidity and how this strategy plays out. I had mentioned in prior conversations that the two-year Treasury is really the benchmark for how you think about how the investments of the city are performing. So with that, I'm going to fast forward um to the Treasury yield curve slide, which is on page seven of the presentation. And you can see over the past year, the shaded area is where we've been with respect to yields from three month, two-year, and so on. Now if you go out 30 years certainly housing affordability the sort of questions around um you know the sustainability of the US economy you can see that sell America trade with the 484 rate at 30 years. It seems that longer yields have risen with the increased risk the increased sort of um uncertainty that we have endured over the past year with tariffs and the like. But that's not where we're invested for this investment portfolio. We're really 5 years and in really in the belly of the curve, call it at around that 2-year period that's at 347. And that continues to be pretty stable even as of today. Uh the one area perhaps that we will see things change with the next rate cut is really in that 3mon slot. So you can see overnight yields of approximately 3.63 at the end of the quarter. With 125 basis point rate cut, you subtract 0.25 25 from 3.63. We would expect the 3-month yield to be lower than the 2-year yield and now to be in a normal yield curve scenario. One

should expect short yields, shouldn't pay you as much as longer yields. So now just thinking about the strategy on the next page, page eight, I spoke about how the two-year is really the benchmark for the assets of the city. The two-year continues to perform relative to historical averages. You know, you can see 347 outpaces the 5-year in the black in the blue dashed line, the 10-year in the yellow line, and the uh 20-year averages in the orange line. So, we continue to maintain a very strong bias for the city's investment policy and portfolio that continues to generate meaningful total returns and income. So um at a high level uh you can see here on slide 11 just a snapshot of the assets. You know these have certainly risen since we last spoke. Uh you can see a balance of about 121 million which is up from about 117 when we last spoke about the J the March 31st quarter uh several months ago. uh portfolio duration continues to be right around the benchmark which is the 1 to threeyear US treasury index uh so at 1.75 years and yield at cost and yield at market those numbers continue to be uh within reason uh aligned with how treasury yields have been moving yield at cost as a reminder is yield on the portfolio if we held all of the fixed income holdings through maturity whereas yield at market is uh the yield we would expect on the portfolio if we sold it entirely at the end of the quarter. Finally, um just with respect to performance on slide 14, you can see uh certain periods illustrated here, including the 3-month period that that I want to speak most closely about. You can see interest earned of about 1.2 million through the quarter ending December 31st, as well as a positive

change in market value of 164,000. That led to total dollars returned of nearly 1.4 million and total portfolio return that was 1.15%. On an annual basis, I would continue to highlight that interest earned is still very high. It's still very close to that one-year period that was 4.8 million. If we annualize that number, in fact, uh it looks like we generated approximately 4.88 million. So slightly less than the rolling one-year but still meaningfully high with the generally higher coupons that we've locked in over the past several periods actively investing the portfolio. So with that uh again I know you all have a lot of presentations to go through but I'll pause to see if there are questions.

There are questions. So I am curious. So you're saying that will you never invest in anything greater than three years because you know I most of the things that I see with regards to the bond market is that this has been an anomaly for about the past three four years and it looks like it's beginning to trend down. So I I am a little concerned that you have no investments beyond three years. So, if this is true that these rates are some of the highest that we've experienced and it's an anomaly, why wouldn't you put some some of these investments in longer term? That that's a fair question. I mean, I think for many periods, we've had uh we've been benchmarked against the 1 to threeyear US Treasury index and prior to 2011, it looks like frankly the duration was even shorter benchmarked to a one-year Treasury index. So the city seems to have a strong preference at this point in time for liquidity. So that's why it's invested pretty short, but we can certainly engage with staff as we evolve the investment strategy.

So what do we need in the next year for liquidity? I think that might be um a question outside of my realm, but we do you are the financial analyst. uh we're the investment manager, but with respect to city liquidity and day-to-day need, um I I don't have those numbers in front of me. So, I'd have to uh work closely with staff to make sure that um I I would be able to answer that question more thoroughly for you.

Yeah, if you're telling us these are the characteristics, I really think we need to have a clearer understanding if liquidity really is an issue. I mean how how much does the uh investments that you have how much how often do they flip over? Well, they they are actively managed. You know, as we looked at portfolio durations that um I talked about briefly on the portfolio snapshot side about 13% of uh the holdings mature within one year. So that would be you know approximately call it $12 million plus available

87 87% of it is stagnant. Uh, no, I wouldn't say it's stagnant. It's it's certainly rolling down or actively managed because it's in that one that you know two to threeyear bucket then if not within one year. Okay. All right. Any other questions or comments? I I have a quick question. So the the three the threemonth um return was a 3.63 that you mentioned apart from the quarter% reduction you're expecting. Do we have anything I couldn't tell from the information. Do we have anything invested in anything that short? Do you do do you invest anything that's in three months when you see this little bit higher rate?

For for a while we did have a bias for shorter term investments. So there were uh treasury holdings that were uh maturing within one year within the portfolio. Certainly any any within three months? Did you were you invested in anything in that short of that short a term? As I look to the current quarter and the investments that we made, none of the treasuries we purchased were within three months, most of them matured later than September of 2028.

Okay? Because, you know, when you have that that that little slot right there that's returning higher, you know, it's a it could be a quick uh a quick return, right? And then get the money out and roll it back over again. So, um that was my only question. Just just was wondering about that. Any other questions, council? I do. Of the city treasurer. Thank you. Yes. So, we've had about four of these, you know, in the last year that we've all been elected. And so, the curiosity, you're the city treasur, you're the elected representative, you provide the community oversight both for the council as well as the community.

What's your opinion? Well, uh, as an investment person, I cannot answer that question because we are not required to be licensed to speak about investments. But then again, on my personal opinion, if you that's what you're asking. As a city treasur, oh, as a city treasure, not asking you personally, but as a city treasurer, I mean, we have I don't know where you're at, you know, are you comfortable with these reports? Are you comfortable with the I am very comfortable with the reports that the asset management is bringing. Why is that?

Because of the main reason that I can see the return and on the safety issue that we cannot just looking at liquid investments for like the mayor saying like three months. Yes, it could be a quick return but then again we can have a risk on it too. So like Justin was saying here and the stock market is not just something that we can throw money at without really knowing what's the expectation would be even though we want that return to be a quick return. But then again I do feel comfortable with what the presentation uh has been since the first time and besides not obviously knowing what was before I took over that treasury department. So on page 11 under duration uh uh duration distribution most lion share of our money is in the one to twoyear and we're below the benchmark.

Answer that question investment level. I'm sorry was there a question? Yeah I mean my question is why do you keep on the lion share put the money there? Um c can we please have the slides so that I can highlight what mayor promis is speaking to because I don't think we're aligned with what I'm seeing here. If you look at duration distribution in the lower right, you can see the 0ero to one-year bucket at a 13% not outrageously above benchmark. That's within five points of benchmark.

But some of the longer term, the five 10 years, especially in the past several years that we've had are we're four and a quarter, four and a half or above. Well, that and and clearly you've made the decision not to invest in anything longer than three years, and that's a concern. Well, that's that's a fair concern, but state code only permits investments within 5 years. Okay. So, 53601 is what we're regulated by with this portfolio. So, there's no four years and there's no five years. Well, that's certainly an area of the of the investment strategy that we can revisit with staff. So, we're happy to do that.

But I I as a policy issue, you know, it's not just staff, it's the city council because we depend on a very good rate of return on these investments. And frankly, I'm not satisfied with how it's being invested. So, it's not just a staff person, it's a city council. Well, sir, I I I I respectfully would disagree. I mean if you look to total returns on slide 14 you can see outperformance over the past year of for of 39 basis points over the past three years 50 basis points

on instruments of three years and below what would it have been had you invested in four and five years you don't have that information I would be curious to see what that is we can certainly follow up with the information you've requested thank All right. Do we have any public comment on this item? No public comments.

All right. Hey, good to see you all. It's been a minute. I haven't been here for a while. Um, we have spoke about ethical investment in the past and I was here. I remember you were uh had some comments about it. Um, I haven't worked on it in a while if it uh we got these crazy ICEN Nazi goons running around kidnapping our folks. So, I've spent a lot of time working on that area. So, I have left the ethical investment for a moment. Um, but I am still working and stay in touch with the folks. And I do remember um oh and let me say a big shout out to Tamisha and Assemblywoman um Anna Maria Aila Pereas that came out and uh walked with the students during the ice walk out and shout out to the uh the cops that came out, the police that came out when there was a small traffic accident that almost ruined the walk out. Um how you handled it saved the day. So thanks. Um but back to the investment stuff. I haven't been here to talk about that really because I've been doing the other stuff and I saw that it was up tonight for this presentation and I did remember your comment um uh council member Freighus said my idea or the idea I was working on was stupid probably wasn't directed at me I remember and uh I would just ask uh for a chance to prove that it's not because the team I work with have identified stuff in the investment portfolio that we could change to conform with an ethical investment policy such as Alama County has passed, the city of Alama, Albany just passed one, Richmond, Hayward. These are just ones in the local area. And I bring it up because do we really want city investments in companies or um uh countries that may have uh violated human rights violations or war crimes or companies that profit from private prisons. I'm not saying that they're in there. Um but we have

identified some spots that we could change. And if you maybe would um give a little time, we could meet with you and show you what we have found in there. and that if it does change your mind, maybe we could um bring up again the chance of a ethical investment policy. I have spoke with uh Council Member Roachcha. I've met with uh city uh treasurer Jorge and we've had some pretty thorough discussions about what could be done and what uh we've identified in there. So, I would offer you that opportunity uh Mr. Freighus, council member Freighus Pro, Mayor Proim um to hear that um what we have found and to see if that changes your mind and maybe we could all agree that we would want city investments to be invested ethically in our community and investments that don't bring harm to the community but do good. And I'll leave you with that. Thank you.

So wait a minute, Mr. Sterling. So let me just indicate number one, I did not say your your opinion was stupid. That was not true. Number two, you are you were specifically calling out companies and things of that sort. The questions that I asked the professional staff is, do we invest in any of those companies? And the answer was no. But if you have different information that the city of Antioch has invested in those firms, our money invested, I would be more than happy to meet with you and discuss it with you. Thank you very much.

All right. Thank you. Any other public comment? No further public comments. Any council comments? All right, thank you very much for the presentation. All right, moving on to our next presentation. This is the 2026 first quarter Antioch Police Chief's presentation. Um, city manager Scott. Yes, thank you so much, Mayor and City Council. Um, Chief Vehill will be coming up. He's walking up right now to give his presentation. Um, first quarter, um, APD, all things APD. Okay. Yeah. just hang out.

Good evening, council community. Uh, Miss Scott, Mr. Cole, let me see if I can get it going here. So, we'll kind of start at the beginning and talk about our personnel and how they're uh actively being dispersed through the department right now. So, currently we are authorized to have 105 sworn officers. Uh 85 of those positions are filled. Three of them are on injury leave. We have three officers in field training. And just if I can note uh because I got this question a lot uh in the last couple weeks. Uh recruits we have in the policemies do not count towards this sworn number. Um they don't count in the overall sworn number until they complete the academy and uh they're able to be sworn in as police officers. Um so currently at our patrol staffing we have one captain who oversees two lieutenants, four sergeants, three corporals and 42 patrol officers. And we have five community service officers assigned to patrol. Uh in that number I have one acting lieutenant and one acting sergeant. So just for the patrol officer numbers, 54 is our preferred target that we'd like to have here. Um, in our investigations, we have one captain overseeing one lieutenant, 12 investigators, and two crime analysts, and I have one acting sergeant. And again, 16 is the preferred number for investigators that we'd like to have, and I apologize for the typo. Um, in looking at the overall numbers in patrol, uh, 91, we have 85 up there now. 91 is the most that we've had in the last three years. Um, we also have a traffic unit and a set team. One sergeant oversees two traffic officers. Uh, you'll all be glad to know. I heard the traffic complaints earlier. We added a second traffic officer to the traffic unit two weeks ago and hopefully after summer we'll be able to add two more. Um, we have two

officers working on the set team along with two code enforcement officers and they work in conjunction together. Um, parking enforcement also falls under the traffic uh division and we have two CSOs and two part-time CSOS. Uh, we had a injury to our one of our CSOS uh before we picked up the part-timers and at one point in time in the last two months we had over 500 complaints sitting in the queue. Um, between the four of them in the last three to four weeks, they've got that down to less than five daily. So, they've been really working hard. Um, and for our traffic division, we'd like to have six officers is what we prefer to have out there. Um, traffic remains our our number one complaint throughout the city. I think you've heard it tonight. We hear it a lot in our community meetings. Um, people are concerned with how people are driving. So, we're constantly working in and re-evaluating to how we can add and force multiply in that area. And then lastly, we have our professional standards division. One captain oversees one lieutenant, three sergeants, and one officer. Um, someone had mentioned it before, that one officer is officer Joseph Amiri, who's doing a a fantastic job.

And can you say what set and cso stand for?

Community service officers and our community engagement team. So, talking about our hiring and recruiting, and I'd like to give a shout out to the HR department and Miss Cortez and her staff. Um, we've processed in the last year well over a hundred applicants. um not only for the position of police officer um but for dispatchers and our various animal service positions. Uh it is open, continuous and ongoing. Uh right now currently we have one recruit in the Contraosta County Academy. Uh he's projected to graduate July 17th. We have four recruits in the Alama County Academy that started last week. And then uh we have hopefully tenative uh reserve six spots for the next contraosta academy that starts a April 27th. We had our recruitment is still doing fantastic. Uh at our last open recruiting for police officer entry level we had over 70 people show up. Um the testing before that we had well over a hundred. So, not only do we have the police department, but we also run a full-time communication center. Like the police department, our communication center runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Um, that is comprised of one civilian manager, four leads, and 12 dispatchers. Out of those 12 dispatchers, currently we have four vacancies, and I have one on injury leave. Um here's just a few of the functions that our our radio and communications teams travel handle. Sorry. Um they handle the radio traffic on our primary channels as well as our backup channels for a host of uh departments and bureaus within the police department. So for our police officers, for code enforcement, for our CSOS, for parking enforcement, animal services, and the Angelo Kinto community response team, um, as well as answer calls, they take care of all the

fire transfers, medical, CHP, and sheriff's transfers. So if somebody calls in, hey, this is where I'm at. This is what's going on. Our dispatchers have to, hey, that's not in our city. Let me transfer you to the right city. Let me transfer you to the right fire department. Let me transfer you to CHP. Um, and as on top of all that, they do all of our CAD entries, which are our computer aided dispatch. So, they keep notes on the call for the officers. Um, they enter all of the notifications for missing persons after hours. Uh, yeah, I was going to add something else. And all of our uh restraining order after hours entries. Um, they also handle all the after hours public works notifications. So, here's a breakdown of the calls for service, and I'll kind of explain this in a in a way that makes sense without confusing anybody because it's kind of it can be kind of confusing. Um, our communication center runs off of a seven and a 10-digit phone number, incoming call program, if you will. Um, there's for the phone calls taken, and I'm just going to look at focus on 2025 for right now. our communication center. 14 people, four leads, and one supervisor took over 200,000 phone calls last year. Um, and that's everything you saw on the previous slide. These are all the transfers. These are all the uh sheriff's calls, animal service calls. Our tiny comm center takes care of all those phone calls. Only looking at 2025. of those 200,000 phone calls, 86,000s of those became a calls for became a call for service. So, um, a burglary, a robbery, um, a panhandling call, whatever you could imagine, that's what turns into a calls for service where an officer needs to go out. So, keep in mind, multiple people depending on the incident can call on the same call. So, it's hard to look at

the numbers and go, "Hey, how do we go from 209,000 to 86,000?" A lot of those callers are multiple people calling on the same incident. Um, I like to use the uh the example when there's a car crash, somebody calls, another witness calls, another witness calls, four or five witnesses can call for one call. Um, out of all those calls for service where an officer, a cso, or someone from the police department is dispatched, 11,000 of those resulted in police reports where we actually took a report documenting a crime. Here's just a snapshot of our response times over time. Um, keep in mind in 2023, um, the RIPER reporting changed and so did our our DOJ and FBI reporting for crime. So, some of our crime priorities changed. Um, steady improvement for our priority ones, which are our emergency primary phone calls when someone needs immediate assistance. Um, we're at 11 minutes, steady drop. Um, so we're getting better. our priority two and three calls are lingering a little bit longer. Um with an impacted workforce, uh the focus is priority one calls. So the priority 2 and the priority 3 call sit a little bit longer till an officer can get it. Uh or a cso. Um and keep in mind a majority of our priority 3 calls do hold for some time for a cso. Um so the officers are free to handle priority ones and priority two calls. Let's switch gears and talk to about our records department. Uh our records department is the only department in the police department that's fully staffed. Uh and they have been for quite some time. Um they work Monday through Fridays from 8 to 5:00 and they comprise are comprised of one manager, two leads, seven full full-time positions and four

part-time positions. And um they are busy from start to finish. They log all of our warrants. They take care of all of our California law enforcement telecommunication entries as well as our national crime index entries. They adhere to all of our records retention uh for all of the documents the police department holds. They process citations. They do missing person entries and they uh oversee all of the online reporting management. Um, they process the updates for the district attorney's office, do crime crime lab data entry, manage public records requests, cover the front counter, and take all the non-emergency phone calls to the front desk that do not go through the comm center. Um, so they are busy all the time. Um, on top of that, they also uh reviewed all of the police reports from last year. They handle all of our P requests, public records acts, which was well over 300 last year. Um, and they filed over 1500 cases with the district attorney's office. So, the records department is a very integral part of the police department, especially when it comes to the day-to-day operations and not only maintaining records, but taking care of all of the data entry at the city, state, and national level for everything that the police department does. Animal services. Um, our Yeah, right. Animal services. and we have a lot of animals available to adopt, so come get some. Um, our animal services is open uh from Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 to 5:00. Um, we are currently uh outfitted to handle 51 dogs because we have 51 dog kennels and 70 cat kennels for a total of 121 animals. We are over capacity every day. The space uh has not grown with the city. Um, and the shelter size has significantly lacked growth for the last couple of years. So, our animal

service people work extremely hard. They handle 25 walk-ins daily. Our vet is doing spay and neuters daily. Our ACOs are handling between 10 to 20 shifts calls per shift. Uh, and we have between 80 and 160 animals in the shelter on any given day. Um, our animal service team works hard. We have 18 positions in the unit, nine full-time employees, uh three full-time vacancies, and four five part-time employees and no vacancies there. Um we current have currently have open uh recruitments for the shelter manager and two animal control officers. So, it just kind of seems uh it's a lot of work. And again, to HR for trying to help us diligently fill um these positions. our animal services probably one of the hardest working departments in the city um because of what they do on the day-to-day and what their staffing level is. So, as we kind of round out the animal services, here's some of the big accomplishments they had last year. Uh 852 spay and neuter surgeries. Um they do this in-house and they also have uh vouchers to have this done offsite. Um we replaced our walk-in cooler. I know you all helped us with that last year. That was a big ordeal. Um because our walk-in cooler kind of takes care of our animals that are no longer here no more. Uh through uh through donations, we distributed over 200 pounds of food uh for animals throughout the city, hosted five free vaccination and microchip clinics, hosted a pizza potty adoption event um where we partner with uh different nonprofits and help in waving fees, highlighting animals and helping pe animals find uh homes out in the community and fundraising to assist with adoption uh prices because it can get kind of pricey uh especially if people who are on a limited income find that animal that they have to make part of

their family. We'll transition here and talk a little bit about some of our our crime statistics. Here is a breakdown year by year. I went all the way back to 2021. Um we are very much um trending where everyone else in the Bay Area is trending in terms of our crime stats. Um there's a host of different reasons why we have reductions and increases. Um, and I'll just kind of go down the list. Um, we're seeing a big increase in, not a big increase, it's not a big increase, but an increase in rape and aggravated assaults. Um, because we are having a spike in family domestic violence and sexual assault activities. Um, we're also seeing a little bit of a spike because now there's more advocacy out for victims of certain crimes and they're being encouraged to come forward and contact the police. Um, not only through within the city, but we're seeing it at uh the local medical centers and some of the counseling centers within the city too. Um we are seeing a large reduction in some of the property crimes, burglary and theft. Um part of partly in due to some of the law changes. Uh we were able last year to work with some of some of our partners on this side of the county um to target some of the larger groups, theft groups, theft rings. Um, I think one group was responsible for 20 robberies. Uh, and we took part in not only arresting members of that group, identifying other members in that group, and then successfully prosecuting them uh, in the later part of last year. Here's a breakdown of our Shot Spotter statistics. Um, much like I do every

year, I I'll kind of help you guys go through it line by line. Uh the first section are alerts. That's when the system detects gunshots or perceived gunshots. Um the second se section incidents that's when uh it is determined there was an incident and a call is made up. Now there is a difference in the numbers here because some of the numbers in the very first aisle can be from the same incident in the second aisle. So much like the calls for service, if there's multiple shots detected in one area, one location, one street, it gets categorized into one incident. So you could have four or five alerts for one incident. Um the cases the next aisle down that's where something or someone was hit by gun struck by gunfire. The category after that non-fatal shootings that is when a person is shot and then survives. And then the last section is a person is shot at and not hit. Talk a little bit about our traffic unit. Again, like I said, number one biggest complaint that we receive daily. Um, last year we saw a 20% reduction in speed related collisions, a 17% reduction in DUI collisions, an 8% reduction in overall collisions, and an 85 decrease in fatal collisions. Uh, I think everyone is is familiar with Rob Green and how dedicated he is to the traffic unit. He has been very aggressive in pursuing grants and partnerships to bring to the city uh so we can focus on traffic safety. Um he was able to get uh a grant that helped pay for a lot of education uh as well as a lot of operations but also to help bring us uh up to speed with the Contraosta County DA's office with our e-site program um which streamlines the workflow make sends everything straight to the district attorney's office for filing so it's less paperwork so they can spend more time out on the streets.

We'll talk a little bit about the community connect update. This is formerly Spider Tech. Um, so what this does, this is a computer system we purchased a couple of years ago to kind of let us know how we're doing, gives us feedback. Um, anytime someone calls the police department, uh, they're able to leave a phone number, leave an email address to get updates and to get a response. at the close out of the call, the caller gets a brief survey and then they can fill it out and replace it. So, out of the 52 of just out of out of just over 52,000 uh surveys that we sent out, we received just over 12,000 responses, which is an 11% response rate. And on a scale of one to five, that's how every each area, and there's not a laser pointer, so I can't point it out no more. Uh that's how each area of the police department did. Our dispatch center a 4.6 out of five. Fantastic. Uh our response time a 4.18, officers professionalism a 4.6 and overall the police department a 4.9. Um we do take community feedback seriously and we're striving to steadily make improvement uh in all areas of the police department so those scores can come up across the board. Um, our biggest complaints when I'm going through the spider texts because I get each and every one of them every day is uh our response time and then people who don't want to use our online reporting system. Let's talk a little bit about community engagement over the years. Uh, a big increase between this year and last year. Uh, Sergeant Dan Fashner and and Officer Joseph Amiri wanted me to remind everyone the big jump is because of them. uh coordinating uh various events throughout the city and participating in different events and finding new partners out in the community um who want us to be part of what they're working on, spread education, build relationships. Um so

they're a big reason why our numbers are so big and I'm expecting this year's numbers will be even bigger um because they are constantly working at finding ways in the community that they can uh get access to. Oh, missing a slide here. Oh, we are missing a slide. My apologies. Um, just some of the community engagement things that we've done in the past year, and I'm only going to name a few because we had a lot. uh our neighborhood cleanups, our neighborhood watch meetings, our quarterly council and district meetings, national night out. Of course, we do a lot of events with AO USD trunk or treat, um our holiday drive, which is huge for us, the Fourth of July event, and the Junior Giants uh event, which is several sports throughout the city um that we go out and participate and show support for. So, we'll kind of switch gears a little bit here. Let's talk about some of our DOJ updates. Cow DOJ. We're pretty much in the same spot we were in last year. Um we have our first meeting of the year next month. Uh we haven't met with them since the end of last year. We're still in the pattern and practice investigation stage. There is still no timeline. Um and we'll I'm hoping that we will have a better sense uh of what the next steps are when we meet with them next month. Um I won't too much I won't touch too much on the US DOJ agreement because Mr. Sapal is here and I don't want to steal his thunder. Um, but we're moving on several areas, not only in training with some procedural justice training and some ABLE training, the active bystandership for law enforcement. Um, we've completed our policy review in conjunction with Apoch and the DOJ uh our hiring and recruiting initiatives. We've been working with not only HR but internally um to get those knocked out. And uh Mr. Saul, I'll let him give you a more detailed uh view of of everything that's kind of happened u since his last presentation.

Uh I'll just touch on the negotiated settlement. I think everyone was in uh council a week before last one we talked about it. Um we finished drafting the agreement in December. Uh went before the judge a couple weeks ago and it came back for some minor edits. Um so I'm hoping we'll have something tangible that we can move forward with here by the middle of March. Uh and then definitely we'll be coming back and having a conversation about that substation. March 11th, 5:30 to 7, grand opening. You're all invited. Um, I didn't want to send out the uh I didn't want to send out the invitations before I got to tell you all first. Um, so tomorrow morning, hopefully first thing in the morning, you'll get a a calendar invite followed by an invitation later this week. But that's the date that we're tenatively prepared to open the substation. Um, March 11th, 5:30 to 7. I'll see you all there. Right. So, let's just talk about some of the things that we accomplished uh in 2025 as a department. And there are too many to list. I could probably um sit here for an hour and talk about all the work that we did last year in a host of different areas. Um so, I'll just kind of leave this up there. I'll let you all work your way through it. Um and then I'll I'll pop to the next slide. And again, this is just a small snapshot of uh everything that we were able to accomplish last year. Um this doesn't include uh the 25 vehicles that we purchased. It doesn't include um all of the other equipment and training that we brought into the department that we had not done um prior to this last year. So, we really were able to move through a lot last year uh especially with our impacted staff and our staffing capacity. Um,

and I'll just kind of round out with uh what our expectations and our goals are for this year. Um, I'll leave that up there. I'm going to highlight a couple of these. Um, crime reduction, increased traffic enforcement, hiring and recruiting. Sorry, Ella. Um, but some of the big things on here that I want to highlight, um, our policy manual roll out. Now that we finished going through it, now it's time to adjust the policies, roll it out, adjust training, and um get everyone out there reading it and acknowledging the changes. Um I also want to talk about our post team building. Um this was something that happened last week. Um the post team building something we have not done here as a department in almost seven years. Uh the last one we did was very different um just because the department was very different. This is a grant-f funed program through post that we applied for last year and received. Um they cover a majority of the costs related to this up to all the costs depending on how many people go. But this team building is set up for agencies to take their supervisors uh and the super the supervisor group is dependent upon the police chief. I took all of my supervisors, sworn and nonsworn, from sergeant and above to this team building and basically uh we plan out the future, the expectations, the vision for the police department, get everyone on the same page so we we can continue to move the police department forward. Um the second thing I want to talk about that's kind of a big deal up there is the California Accreditation for Public Safety. Um we have applied and are hoping to get notification that we'll be enrolled in the accreditation for public safety through Cal Chiefs and POST uh in the next month or two and we will start working diligently on becoming one of the first agencies in California to be accredited by the state not only through post but through California police chiefs association as an accredited police department in California. There

are a host of other accreditations out there. Um the requirements are very different because it is not specific to California. It's specific uh to the United States and some outlying countries. Um so some of those benchmarks, some of the requirements for that are just unattainable due to our staffing levels. Um, we looked at the accreditation for public safety in California and thought, hey, what a great way to see not only how we can become accredited, but how we're going to work with our our partners in the community and within the city to knock off some of those benchmarks early on. I feel like I talked a lot. I know you guys have questions.

All right. Thank you, Chief. You're welcome. Um, any questions from council? Yes. Yes. Council Torres Walker. Thank you for the presentation. You're welcome. Um, just want some definitions because I know the public don't always understand what you mean when you say part one, part two, and part three crime. Can you kind of just give a

Yeah. So, anytime someone calls the police department and they're the victim of a crime or they need to make a police report, it gets a priority. Um, a higher priority call is a priority one and so forth down the list. Uh, your petty theft with no suspect info, lower on the list. Um, all of the crimes that occur in the city fit into those subcategories. Our dispatchers work with our data analysis um to categorize those. So, the more prevalent violent emergency crimes are higher in the priority list, in the parts list, and then they work their way down. Thank you.

Would um excuse me, would would under your list of crimes against persons and crimes against property that you had on your stats, would all one, two, six, all 10 of those fall under part one crimes? I'm sorry, one more time. That's on the the Antioch Police Department crime stats, the January through December. Would would the crimes against persons those four and the crimes against property those six would those all be considered priority one calls? It would depend on the circumstances. Okay. Whether it's in in currently occurring or past. Correct. Okay.

And then suspect info plays into that too. they're still around, if they're gone, if it's a cold crime. Um, all of that plays a part in how they get categorized. Okay. Thank you. Yes. Just a definition. What is active bystandardship? What does that mean? Oh, do you guys have the video? Do they have the video? What? Nice. Able. I can't I don't know how to make it work for through the clicker. I don't think you do it. Is this going to give me the definition? Yes, sir. Okay. Jennifer, can you play it?

While that's waiting, I notice in 26 and beyond, you know, working with the Antioch Unified School District. I'm just curious, do we work with private schools here in town? I mean do we have any any interaction with them? We have some interaction with them. Um we try not to be we we try not to force um relationships especially on the schools and the private schools. Um we do have interactions. We do have points of contact. We do have some policies and procedures in place when something does happen at a school.

Okay. I just as I was reading I thought well what do we do with the private schools? Well, Rocket Shift is a um a charter and it's up the street from me and my granddaughter goes there and every event the chief almost every event I've been to, the chief is there, other staff from the police department, having a connection with the principal and teachers and other folks. It always feels good to know that like the partnership is there and when they have traffic incidents, they also show up. I was just curious and they have really good food at their events.

Yeah. Council member,

since you brought up schools and having been in that role before, I'm just curious um when it comes to like intruder type trainings and that sort of thing, does the police department work with um the school district on updating any active shooting type of how to handle an incident? And I know when I was principal at Antioch High School, we would work with our staff to prepare how to do a lockdown, how to interact in in a crisis, who we would report to and all that sort of thing. I'm just curious. I've been out of uh the high school uh for three years now, and I just don't know what's happening in terms of the partnership between the city and the schools when it comes to something like that. No, we do um we do a lot uh we have a standing meeting with AOSD staff um and talk about issues at a lot of the schools as well as what training we can provide them as well as resources. Um we've recently started a program where we have some of our older police radios in some of the schools. So if there is an incident they can have a direct line to contact us without having to go through the phone tree

um or without having to worry about picking up a busy signal. They have direct access to our dispatchers in the comm center and to a degree our officers on the streets. Okay. Another question. Um you were talking about grants. It's always nice to see when we're receiving either state or federal funding to support the good work that you're you're leading and doing in the in the police department. I was trying to recall if I saw that was there a federal grant of some type where we received um additional funding for officers. I thought that we did. I thought we got something. I don't know if it was a cops grant, what it was called, but I thought I read something about that. We did, but we turned it down because it would cost us more money than they were going to give us.

I did not know that. Yeah, that's I was just curious if that was still on on the table or not. So, would it cost more than it was worth?

Yeah, it would cost us more than it was worth. And uh it's the kind of grant we can revisit every year. Um, so we'll re-evaluate next year when the grant season opens up for that particular grant and we'll see if there is more of a benefit to us at that time than there was this year. And then one final thing, it was brought up earlier by one of the um public comments and I brought it up previously about red light cameras. I don't know the pros and cons, cost, if it's beneficial or not. Has that been explored? Because one of the things um that people bring up, I'm sure you hear about it, is people who run red lights and major intersections, I know uh living here in Antioch for a long most of my life. Um when I come to a stop sign before I take off when it's green, I always make sure I pause because people will come flying through and um to avoid any potential major risks, I usually tell my family and friends, pause before you go. Um, and I'm just curious when I go to other cities sometimes I'll see it'll pop up it'll say red light camera or on your GPS it'll tell you. I'm just curious what's the pros and cons. Is that something that's being looked into by our city? I don't know if it's so

it is something we're looking into. We had a presentation from a company a lot of cities in the Bay Area used at the end of last year. Um, we asked them for a quote um to build out a couple intersections. We have a little money in our camera fund for that. So, we're just waiting to see what kind of what it looks like, uh, what the cost is up front, how long we're going to be able to do it, and how many intersections we can build out at a price point that works for us. Yeah. I'm just curious. I'm glad to hear that you're at least looking into it to see if that's a viable option. Yes, we are. Or not. Thank you.

When when you public surveillance is a pretty nuanced issue. I'm not I'm not a big supporter all the time, but I know the necessity of needing community cameras. It would be important for me to kind of know, and I'm sure y'all will talk about this when you come back with the red light camera information is around data sharing, what the data sharing policy is going to be, who's going to have access to, you know, the footage, the photos, things like that. What would they be used for? Um just because I know it's a lot of heightened concern in the community right now, especially with the issues around flock cameras and ICE having access to camera systems in different cities with you know the immigration issues. So just really concerned about hyper surveillance, how it's being used, the policies, how the data sharing. So if that could be something that's shared when you come back, that would be great.

Yeah. And I believe uh Lieutenant Whitaker included this in his presentation. We don't share our It's a settings. Um I don't know if it's an issue, but it's how you set your cameras up. It's a settings for who has access to it. We do not share with any federal agencies. We never have. We just did an audit two weeks ago. The function is functionality is not turned on on our cameras. Um they never have been. there. Um, Chief, there was also I had read some new technology where they have some um, speed detection cameras that can catch people speeding and write them tickets for that. Is that something that we also would look into potentially?

That's part of the same red light camera package that we're looking at. Um, again, it has to work for us and it has to be at a price point um, that's in our range. I will say just to clarify because I think uh, a lot of people think, ah, you get the cameras and it's automatic. It's not uh some of these programs need a dedicated officer who needs to monitor the cameras. There's a a component of pulling the evidence, preparing for court. So when we look at the cameras and the options, we're going to be looking at all that. Okay, perfect. Uh how's our PAL PAL pro program doing? PAL program's going good. Okay. I mean,

I'm the president of PAL, so I think it's going all right. I heard you mention Junior Giant Junior Giants and I was curious, you know. Yeah, we are just wrapping up the Junior Giants flag football season. Uh we've hit a couple of game I've hit a couple of games. I know uh a lot of the other officers have hit a couple games every Tuesday and Thursday at the middle schools 4 to 7. Uh if you're bored. Um but yeah, Junior Giant season's getting ready to wrap up and we're getting ready to start our spring programming.

Okay, perfect. uh the uh we had previously as far as recruiting is concerned offered $30,000 bonuses which I understand we're no longer offering signing bonuses. What what's your what's your thoughts on that as far as whether that was beneficial? Would you recommend starting them back up again?

Uh we let that sunset last year at the end of the fiscal year because it wasn't working. Um, we were finding the laterals who were coming here had to go through a full training program and the whole point of having the lateral incentive is to bring laterals who are plug-and-play um, who can help and we were paying lateral officers the same thing we were playing academy graduates to be in training the same amount of time. Um, so it wasn't beneficial. Okay. Uh, reserves. Have you considered using reserves? I I noticed that you you know have the the chaplain program and um recruit I go ahead. Yeah, I have not. Um the cadets

our our priority is hiring police officers. Um I like the reserve programs. Uh but the reserve programs I think a lot of people forget they have to do uh so many hours of training a month. My staff has to regulate that training, provide that training, and then make sure they're getting to that training on top of letting them work. Um, so our priority is going to be hiring police officers first. That's definitely the reserve conversation is a conversation we can have when we get uh close to to full staffing. Um, but we're not entertain I'm not entertaining a reserve program at all right now.

Okay. Um, community center substation out community center. That was something that council had mentioned during our priority setting. Uh, what's what's happening if anything with that? Uh, in talking with public works, we're we're not going to be able to occupy that space until the people occupying that space move into the offices down here. Okay. Yeah, I can give you an update operationally on that. Um, because a lot of times our operations at city hall also impact the chief's operations. It's a a big puzzle. So, I'll come back with um information on that. Okay, perfect. Um, are we ready to pop up that able video real quick? Jennifer, thanks. Fingers crossed.

Yep. You asked for it. Can you put it on the big speakers, Jennifer? You know, a little different. When you're really new, you may not have the courage to stand up and say something. Even if you see, I wouldn't say something wrong, but if you see something that you felt could have been done a different way, they may not have felt comfortable enough to do that. ABLE is an intervention program designed to reduce harm and transform culture. So, we have a lot of policy out there related to duty to intervene as well as law. Officers don't know how to intervene and that's where AEL steps in.

In this career field, you're going to have awkward conversations all the time. You could be out on patrol and somebody comes up to you asking you a question that you really don't know the answer to, but you got to give them something because you're wearing the badge. You know, anytime we have a training um with people coming in and talking to us, the biggest fear is always people are going to come in and tell us we're doing everything wrong and and we're the bad guys. But what was refreshing about able training was at least the instructor's personability and interjecting early and often. It's not about jamming up your guys. It's about making sure we don't get into a situation that people have to get in trouble for.

I think the key to the procedural justice, the principal policing is this. When I had first started, it was one of those things where you keep your head down. Yes, sir. No, sir. And you you do what's you do what you're told.

Back in the day, it was kind of, you know, a little different. When you're really new, you may not have the courage to stand up and say something. Even if you see I wouldn't say something wrong, but if you see something that you felt could have been done a different way, they may not have felt comfortable enough to do that. ABLE is an intervention program designed to reduce harm and transform culture. So we have a lot of policy out there related to duty to intervene as well as law. Officers don't know how to intervene and that's where AEL steps in.

In this career field, you're going to have awkward conversations all the time. You could be out on patrol and somebody comes up to you asking you a question that you really don't know the answer to, but you got to give them something because you're wearing the badge. you know, anytime we have a training um with people coming in and and talking to us, the biggest fear is always people are going to come in and tell us we're doing everything wrong and and we're the bad guys. But what was refreshing about able training was at least the instructor's personability and interjecting early and often. It's not about jamming up your guys. It's about making sure we don't get into a situation that people have to get in trouble for. I think the key to the procedural justice, the principle of policing is it says, "Hey, interactions, but but it doesn't tell you how to do it."

It does. There's no playbyplay. There's hey yeah go out there and let and give people a voice and listen to them. Okay. But active listening for everyone is very different. I think with this training it is going to give the community an opportunity to be able to build back whatever relationships were kind of broken down over the last couple of years in the police department because there there were struggles. There were people who were like we trusted you and this is what happened.

In the able training we were all on the same field. The chief wasn't the chief anymore. I wasn't the sergeant, right? The captain wasn't the captain. We were all kind of one there. And you don't get trainings like that. You know, the cool thing about AEL is when we did this training, everybody was in this class from the top down. So, all the way up to the chief to the junior probationary officer that's still in the field training program. And one thing that we talked about was encouraging the youth to be comfortable with speaking up appropriately. I think AEL helps with the overall officer wellness by being able to have that kind of firsthand knowledge of each other to grasp that we all have our issues no matter what rank you are. That rank honestly doesn't matter. When you need to have these conversations and when somebody needs the help, you kind of recognize it as soon as you possibly can to try to get them help they need, which will ultimately be in everyone's best interest and officer wellness.

Well, it's going to start in our police department first and it it starts from the top down. So, we're going to see it from the chief making sure that the program is a priority and isn't just something that we're just doing because we have to or because it looks good, checking a box. We want it to be something that's going to be culture changing and then it will affect the police department, the officers, and then it will move its way out into the community. And that's where it's really going to make its impact because the people, you can't fake the people out. There's enough people that don't trust the police as it is right now, whether it's our department or just police in general. And so this gives us an opportunity to have a new set of skills and a new paradigm on how we're going to approach policing but public safety in the city of Annioch.

We want to have a balanced approach, right? Like it's not going to be I think the challenge this department had was it was trying to push positive positive positive all the time when that wasn't the overall collective experience in the community. Given all of the challenges the agency has been through in the last couple of years when really trying to affect culture change and connecting with the community, we thought this was a great opportunity to be involved with a program that will not only help officers and give them the tools to go out there and meaningfully connect with each other in here on a different level. I think it's no surprise given everything that we've been through, we want to develop our officers. We want to give them the skills they need so they can interact not only with the community but with each other to have hard conversations. only training that we heard people really saying they liked like that was a good training. A lot of people didn't really know what they were going into doing a training on our day off or whatever and but that was something that they actually felt worth it was worth going to.

And you don't get trainings like that. You know, trainings are usually junior guys at basic trainings, your advanced trainings, you got senior guys in there. You usually don't get that mix. And so Ael brought us all together and put us on the same playing field. Thank you. Yeah, that was great. We're gonna have a video. Yeah, you asked for it, you're going to get it here. Yeah. All right. ALE stands for what? Active bystandership and law enforcement.

All right. Well, Chief, thank you very much. Do we have any public comment on on this item here, Mr. Becker? Thank you. Uh so some of my questions were uh more around traffic because I know that that's uh something that we all see out in the community every day. Um I'm wondering what the collaboration is between different departments within the city um or regionally um to address how you know some of those um traffic incidents could be uh maybe mitigated without a law enforcement approach like so I live over near the uh Puit and Deer Valley intersection there by by Deer Valley High School and so I have Deer Valley High School at the bottom bottom, Doure Libby at the top. There's uh Diablo Vista Elementary and then Lone Tree Elementary on either side of Puit Ranch. So when school hours uh occur, pickup and drop off, uh there's very heavy traffic flow. Uh what you end up seeing is that the intersection point at Deer Valley and Puit Ranch, those light cycles are consistent throughout the whole day. And so what ends up happening is you get a very short light cycle going east to west on Puit um during those traffic times and having lived in that area for almost 30 years now. Uh I have probably seen conservatively 200 vehicles run that red light because they couldn't make it through that light. And then you have the vehicles that are flying up and down

Deer Valley. And so it's a collision point constantly. We had a motorcyclist that passed away at that intersection point just a couple years ago. Um there's always accidents there. And so, you know, I'm wondering um could that be addressed through addressing those light cycles? Is there an opportunity to during the time period increase the the time for those green lights going east to west on Puit? And is that also something that could be done at other intersection points at the city? Because I know that our traffic signals are um managed through the county, I believe. Uh but I'm wondering who maintains the light cycles or if they're or if they're paid for through the county, however that relationship works. I know I've seen Contracasta County out there at the intersection points up on the replacing the signal beacons. So, um, and then the other question I had was on the training, you know, right next to APD, you have where this boat storage was, over 200,000 square ft of vacant industrial space, and I know APD used to like to go out to AMC theaters and train in there when it was vacant. Is there an opportunity to create a training space that not only works for APD, but also could work regionally for other law enforcement agencies? I know Contraosta Sheriff's moved into the Inshape building. That could be an economic driver and Swenson is just sitting on that property with low uh lease rates. Thank you.

Any other comments?

Hello everybody again. Um we'll see if I can get through it in three minutes. If not, I'll come back after the DOJ one. But um I saw Tamisha's post about um the transformation that's happening and it kind of inspired me to come down um because I felt like I was a part of this since um mo most of you already know that um I was attacked in 2009. I was um choked unconscious. I was beaten with flashlights, punched in the face. After I woke up, I was kicked like right in my eye and in my nose, which broke my nose and busted my eye open. Um, so I was really inspired um by the change that's starting to happen um in the Antioch Police Department. And I would say I was proud to be a part of it because I was down here when the kids we were camping on the front lawn of the police department. Um we actually taped up the city hall with police tape and didn't let no one in one day. And we were doing all this before the text message scandal happened, right? So, we were out there. Um, people were calling us names. People threw eggs at us when we were out there. Um, some of the younger folks even got threatened with violence from passers by. And, um, after my attack, I started speaking out when I felt like I could. I came down here to the city council for the first time. I was terrified. Um, there was a chance of oversight. I think it was like 2011 or 10. And I came to speak out for it. And I was the only one at that time. There was like all kinds of police officers that were lined up up here against the walls. Some of them just a few months earlier might have been in my house after the night I was attacked. So I was pretty scared. It was still fresh um in my mind. Um it never happened. No oversight happened. But I often wonder what would have happened if we would have got oversight back in like 2011 or

12. Um but didn't happen. Um, and I grow like a bubble of hope for things that change, but right below that, I was telling folks, I have a little steel dome that just protects when that bubble of hope gets popped, I'm not going to be suffering from it. So, I am going to keep that hope for the police department. Things that do worry me is that I know that the guy that kicked me in the face and called me these terrible names and choked me unconscious, um, lucky that I survived because folks that have been choked unconscious, I think of Wendell Celesteine, he did not survive being choked. Um, but that guy is still here as far as I know, and that's Rick Hoffman, who became the leader of the police officers association. And through my time of fighting my case, which took five years, I watched him get awarded with the merit of service award, officer of the year award. And one of them came like right as the city paid out like a $250,000 settlement to that. Um, anyways, I'm running out of time on this one, but um, maybe I'll have to come back, but I'm glad to be part of that change and I'm I'm really hoping that it takes and um, I'll be watching. Thank you.

All right. Any other public comment,

Mr. Collins? Yes. Good evening, mayor, city council, and Antioch residents. Uh, I'm my name is Robert Collins, and uh, our family was affected by uh, policing in Antioch. Uh, I'm Angelo Kintos's, uh, dad, and Cassandra is the mom. Um, but I wanted to, um, you know, thank you, uh, for the work that you're doing, Chief, uh, Vigil, the police department, and you, our elected leaders. Um, I see progress here and it's encouraging uh for us and I want to and I know these are difficult issues uh to deal with as any community and so um but I'm hearing some really encouraging things here and I hope that we continue to hear more progress being made uh for policing in Antioch. So, you know, I don't want to uh just stand up here when I have a complaint. I want to also uh thank you uh when I think uh it's moving in the right direction and thank you for your um all your work on this because it's it's not easy. We've been through this for years and we've seen you work and so we know how difficult it is when it's such a um polarizing issue in our society. But so thank you for for having the community's interest at heart and moving forward. That's what we need to keep on doing. Stop looking at the past and keep on moving forward to a better ant. Thank you so much. Thank you. Any other public comment? All right. Um any other any other questions or comments from council?

All right. Seeing none and Chief Ehill, thank you very much for excellent report. All right. Moving on to um our final presentation. We're already to the end of item number three. We're doing great. 10:19. um the 2026 first quarter United States DOJ settlement agreement update presentation. Yes. Thank you so much, mayor and city council. Our consultant is here to give the presentation and updates on where we stand with the US Department of Justice settlement agreement.

All right. Good evening, mayor, council, city staff, city manager. I'm going to provide an update uh consistent and similar to what I did 180 days ago. uh this should provide uh some uh idea of where the the department is with compliance in terms of the memorandum of agreement. So a part of my role here as a consultant is to monitor progress is to evaluate compliance and provide technical assistance to the department. And uh so far what I've found is that the department has been very open and receptive to feedback and uh to assistance which is very refreshing to see. As we we talk about the agreement, it's broken up into several key areas. Uh one of them is to update all the policies and directives within the department. That's been an ongoing task. Uh the uh Antioch Police Oversight Commission has been involved in that from the very beginning. Uh quite frankly, it's been very refreshing to have their community lens and uh their input in that in that discussion. I've also found that the department has been very receptive and open to to talking about different things and looking at different ways of of implementing uh and adjusting the policies. As of uh November, the end of November, those policy reviews were completed. They've all been submitted to the Department of Justice and the Department of Justice has approved those policies. So, the next phase is going to be uh implementation. and it's going to be training for all of the staff and uh making sure that uh those those policies are documented and properly disseminated. So that's uh that's the next phase of this. And just as a side note, last year when this agreement was signed, we really spent time building the foundation for what's going to happen with the agreement. This year we've put our plans together and it'll be implementation and then next year we'll be looking at um making sure that there's compliance uh consistent compliance. Um one of the other aspects of this was uh training. Uh we had to provide uh training that meets the international

association of directors of law enforcement standards and training. That's been a bit of a challenge. So in the interim 8 hours of procedural justice training uh was completed and we're working on this uh this additional certification. What we found is that there's no uh idolist uh certified instructor in the state of California and those that are from the east coast uh we've had some some difficulty in securing commitments. On the the good news side is we have several members of the department that actually uh can attain the certification. So, one of the sergeants internally uh has to take one class and we'll be certified. I think it's it's a good thing because not only will we have the ability to meet this this goal, this this uh task, but we'll also be able to continue to provide that training internally. So, uh in fact, uh Chief Vill Vhill uh I believe is uh also able to qualify for this certification. So, uh they will be the first folks in California that are certified to teach uh principal police training. The next segment to this is hiring backgrounds and promotions. Probably one of the more important aspects of the agreement. When we're hiring folks, whether they're new or laterals, we want to make sure that they uh act and behave ethically, they have a history of good decision-making and common sense. Uh that uh they actually have empathy and compassion and I'm happy to report that uh the department for the most part uh was in complete compliance with what the agreement specified. Um the same applies for promotional process. We want to ensure that folks who are going through the promotional process are not subject to any pending internal affairs complaints, that they don't have a history of discriminatory policing or excessive use of force, and that they have u uh shown a commitment to to constitutional policing. Um all of the aspects of this part of the agreement were completed. The department was required to complete a recruitment and retention plan by the end of November. They've completed that plan. it's been

turned into the US Department of Justice and it has been approved. So, we're we're moving forward pretty well on on this aspect of the agreement. Uh the next portion deals with data collection and analysis and this is an area that we're struggling with a little bit u partly because we need a statistical and policy analyst to assist with data collection and analysis. And that is already in the works. Uh the city's moving forward with hiring, looking forward to to getting someone on board. um we did have to create some data collection protocols for the Department of Justice to ensure we're collecting proper data and we're doing doing it in a responsible way and that we're analyzing it appropriately. So that document was completed, it's been sent to the Department of Justice, it's been approved and uh we're able to move forward. So once we get someone in in place to to harvest this data uh and properly analyze it, we'll be in compliance, in full compliance. Um, just so you're aware, police departments are typically not set up to have software systems that deliver exactly what you want. Uh, there's different vendors and different systems and essentially you have to physically pull data from all of them and then make it make sense. So there's a pretty significant heavy lift with this data piece and uh, the department is moving forward to to meeting that goal. Complaints and misconduct. uh one of the aspects of the agreement is to ensure that the folks that are working at professional standards conducting internal affairs investigations don't have any pending internal investigations themselves and they don't have a history of uh of excessive force of discriminatory policing. So I've gone through the the personnel uh files and evaluated those things and we're we're in compliance. The one area that we do need to work on is developing internal affairs uh complaint procedures. uh there is a protocol in place for how these complaints are evaluated but we need to put them on paper. So that's currently in the works. Uh the other piece to this is we have to have a robust system in place to collect information and track data on these

investigations so we can we can take a look at uh data over the course of a period of time and and assess are we making sure we're not having disparate treatment with officers or is officer A getting discipline for one infraction and officer B gets something completely different for the same infraction. We want to make sure that uh we can evaluate that data. Uh we want to make sure specifically for demographic information. We also want to make sure that uh the process is transparent. It's transparent for the officers that are involved and for the community. Community should know what to expect when an internal affairs investigation takes place. So that's currently in the works. Language access plan. So this is a this is a big one. Um I was happy to to find that uh the department already has a language access plan policy. They already had one in place. It's for linguid language uh limited English proficiency. So, we have folks in our community that uh may not have equal access to services because of a language barrier and the department already has a protocol into place. The department had to put a plan together, submit it to the Department of Justice. It's been approved and we'll have to move forward with implementation. But just a couple of things to to keep in mind. Right now, the department has a process in place for interpretation. So when they encounter someone and there's a language barrier, they can identify that language. They can call a uh a translation service, that translation service will find a translator and then assist assist with a translation. Um what we don't have is translation of vital documents. So other than Spanish, we're in compliance with Spanish, but no other languages. If you look at the the breakdown of of uh demographics and languages spoken in this city, 64% are English. uh about 24% are Spanish uh 9% are Asian languages and the Indo-Uropean languages that would include Farsy, Pushto, Dari, Hind, Hindi and Punjabi are about 4%. So the department will

have to put some resources into creating the written documentation to make sure that folks understand what the complaint procedure is. They're getting community alert and bulletins in in the language that they understand. uh we want to make sure that uh to the degree that the the department can put these resources in place to help uh folks that may not speak English well or read English uh can get those services. Um you know I put on here that it has an impact on all city services. It probably wasn't the most uh appropriate way of phrasing that. But I do think that there's an opportunity here for the city in general uh to to leverage uh the resources together in order to make sure that we're providing information to all segments of the community. Community engagement. This is another critical piece that really underlines the entire foundation for this reform effort. Want to make sure that there's there's community engagement and we're building relationships between the department and the community. Uh one of the aspects as I mentioned during the last um presentation was we had a two-year window to to uh identify a community leazison officer and that was done very early on. probably one of the the first things that was completed with with uh our with the agreement and that was officer Amiri. Both him and Sergeant Fashioner uh done a phenomenal job in increasing the level of engagement. The challenge for the department moving forward it's going to be assigning two folks to the community engagement piece is is good but the entire department needs to be on board with doing that. So as the department builds more resources and hires more folks, uh this will hopefully trickle down to the very uh base level of the officers so that they understand the importance of this. The department had to put together a plan uh to submit to the department of justice. That was done. It's been approved. Uh Apoch also served as a an important uh part of this uh this review and putting together the uh community engagement plan. So this this graph and I have a few few graphs that sort of give you an idea of

uh sort of where we are. Everything in blue is essentially what's been completed. So uh the department is where it needs to be at this point in time. Uh we have additional work to do with community engagement with language access uh with training specific to uh principal policing and with the recruitment and retention plan. The recruitment retention plan was another plan that had to be submitted and the department for the most part is has been in compliance and still is. Um if we were to take a look at uh essentially all the components of the plan, what you'll find that uh as far as hiring the consultant, we're in substantial compliance. You could say that it's completed, but uh even as a a monitor, I still have uh tasks that are assigned to me and if I don't do my job, then we're all out of compliance. Um but those those things are continuing. Uh in terms of the interim training that's been done. We're in substantial compliance with that. Um the uh non-discriminatory policing permanent training through the idolist certification. We're still working on that, but I have hoped that that's going to be completed fairly soon. At least the certification process will be. And then for the hiring background and promotional process, uh we're in good shape with substantial compliance, data collection, partial compliance. In in that regard, we have been collecting data and we have been analyzing it, but it's um it's very challenging uh with the different software systems that we have. Uh so having someone on board that can actually do a better job in keeping track of these different things will be very important. So that's moving forward. Uh complaints and misconduct uh in terms of uh our complaint policy uh went through some pretty significant changes. Um, and some of those changes, uh, I really credit Apoch with, for example, one of the complaints that comes up in the community is I make a complaint and I heard never hear anything back. And so now there's a window of, I believe, 72 hours for someone to contact the complaintant to let them know we received a complaint. We're working on it and we're going to

get back to you. So um, there were some pretty significant changes to that. And, uh, that's been done. It's been approved by the Department of Justice and now we just have to roll it out to everyone. language access plan and the community engagement plan. As I mentioned, um there we're in partial compliance with the language access plan. The plan has been done, but now we have to implement it and so we'll move forward with doing that. The community engagement plan, we're in substantial compliance. Uh that's not only um been done, but it's operational. Uh I think the department is making very good strides in terms of building relationships and engaging with the community in a variety of different ways. Uh again just another pictorial that gives an idea of uh all the things that uh have been completed at this point in time. Everything the department needs to do is being done. We've got some additional work to do in some of these key areas and then we have to maintain where we are and what we're doing uh for at least 12 ex 12 consecutive months. Next steps the idolist certification as I mentioned uh that is moving forward. Um more than likely the department will will partner with a third party consultant and then provide training to the entire department. Uh the community engagement plan uh we have to implement that. That's going to be uh important. The department's doing it. Uh but we need to roll that out in a more structured way and that's got to touch everyone in the department. Language access plan that's being completed. Implementation is is in progress for that. And then uh the analyst function part of what the analyst should be doing is a racial disparity index. And essentially what that means is you look at your police stops, you compare that with the demographic data for the demographic of those folks that are stopped and you get a calculation and that gives you a an indication that there may be bias uh in those stops. It doesn't necessarily mean that there's bias, but it could. And so you've got to do a deeper dive into trying to get more information to figure out why that is. Right now it's a fairly cumbersome

process and with an analyst on board we should be able to put some some uh software or some calc some some format together to get that information a little more easily. Uh for next steps uh we're still monitoring all the internal affairs cases you all the use of force investigations looking for any uh incidents of bias. In 2025, the department received no complaints on bias, no complaints on discriminatory policing, which is a good thing. We're moving forward with the hiring of the analysts. And the department also had to complete a an assessment um that's due every 180 days uh for the Department of Justice. The first assessment was probably challenging because the department has never done one before and you're starting at square one. So, it's a fairly honest evaluation of where the department is and where you need to go and what you need to do to fix things. So that was turned in. It's been approved by the Department of Justice. The next report will be due in April. Ultimately, the whole uh one of the whole one of the main goals of this agreement is to ensure that uh police officers are being fair and respectful and are providing a service in an unbiased way. uh that we're we're not providing police services in in a way that uh is based on protected characteristics either by overpolicing or underpolicing. And in order to do that, you have to have clear policies, clear training, and clear direction. And so the department is building that foundation and moving forward in a in a positive direction. Uh these are all been all these have all been supported by by APD. I also wanted to point out and as the chief already covered so I'm not going to spend much time on this but we do have a functional uh u CPSD and I'm just drawing a blank on what that is compliance and professional standards division. Um basically we have a captain that was uh hired from the outside uh

that has some pretty significant significant experience uh with uh compliance uh and what the department is currently going through. And so that person, that captain is really the lead on implementation for just about everything in this agreement. Um, and so it's nice to actually have a person in place that has responsibility and the authority in the organization to move things forward. There's also a lieutenant, a sergeant, a community leazison officer. We we will soon hopefully have a data and statistical policy analyst and we're also supported by a city attorney. So the collaboration has been very good. Uh, the agreement, this slide is a mistake. It's not two years of sustained substantial compliance. It's 12 months. We have uh two years to meet the minimum requirements of of meeting the terms of the agreement. So, as I mentioned before, this year is going to be implementation of the multiple uh plans and and directives and then moving forward next year, we'll be looking at compliance if we can maintain this for the next 12 months. So far, we're on the path to the success success. uh I've covered that. Fi final thoughts. Um I think one of the the takeaways from this entire process uh has been the importance of Apoch. Uh I I think having that community lens and having them speak for the community has been essential and it's going to be very essential moving forward. Um they're a very important part of the community engagement piece. there are segments of this community that the police department is going to have trouble making connections with and Apoch is uh is the group that's that represent the community and can help bridge those gaps. So, um you know, in terms of continuity, I'm really happy tonight that uh another spot was filled on the commission. Uh you know, we haven't met in a few months now and that continuity is so important. It's really important. and it's it's it's uh very foundational

to this agreement and to make sure that the community has a voice. So with that, I'll take uh questions. Any questions from council?

No. Any public comment? Yes. Devon. I have to apologize for my allergy attacks tonight. I'm just like not sick, I swear. Uh, good evening once again. Um, everyone and I I want to thank Manie for his um presentation and his updates on theou and the compliance that our city has been in. And I I was just thinking as I was sitting there, it's very ironic that tonight as our country watches the State of the Union address, um I think many Americans are reflecting on division on rhetoric that has deepened distrust and fractured relationships and made accountability feel partisan instead of principled. Um but here in Antioch, we have chosen a different path. Um, and while the na national conversations do feel often, you know, combative, I think locally we've been engaging in something that is more meaningful in partnership with the US DOJ alongside Apoch um has in in our police department has has been building um understanding rooted in accountability I think um and it's been centered around community focused uh policing. Um, I just wanted to come up here and say a few things about that. Our work has not been symbolic. It's been actual, you know, collaboration and leading in and change to get some reform done in our city. Um, it's going to take more time, but here we are doing the work. And I wanted to shout out, you know, the the committee, the ad hoc

committee that I sit on with Porsche Taylor, Alisa Elquatchi, and myself and and the rest of, you know, the folks that were on this and our other commissioners that have been pushing this work forward. Um, you know, this is what accountability is supposed to look like. We had a long road as we know Frank came up here earlier and spoke about things that have happened in the past and we can only hope that our work here continues to make sure that that doesn't happen again. And I really am honored to be a part of such a change even though I'm very new to this movement. And so I I I just want us to say thank you to all of you for having um having some stake in in having this commission still be, you know, um alive in our city. We've had some ups and downs, but the up is what we're seeing. And so we want to keep pushing forward. Um and just remember that we're all community members. We all need to um work our best to getting along with each other. And no matter what that looks like, we are here um trying to do the work. So, thank you.

Right. Thank you. Any public comment? Sorry, I didn't see Frank stepping up. Thank you. I'm Robert Collins again, Angelo Kintas's dad. And uh um again, I want to thank you because I think we've moved a long ways. uh when our family came out with Angelo's death um and the whole incident um you know we were lambasted throughout Antioch. It was not a politically popular thing to have. It's not something that even the community could speak about uh really without becoming completely polarized. Um so I don't want to too much of your time uh and everyone else's time but I do want to thank you for the work that clearly is being done to progress uh to progress forward. Um, I see it. It's it and we knew it would take a long time. Um, right, these things don't a ship like this doesn't get turned out overnight and we're still in the middle of those beginning phases, but we're beginning to see those results and I think that's really encouraging. I'm going to share with you just a little tiny story. Um, one of our many protests, we were in front of the Ant Police Department years ago and we were protesting with our shirts about the killing of Angelo and a woman came to me and she spoke almost no Spanish. she spoke another indigenous language and I went with her because she needed a translator and I went to the police department and they said that the one officer that spoke Spanish wasn't on duty and so I had to provide translation services for her. Um and that is very just another example of how with a significant Latino speaking community, Spanish speaking community and other languages um we weren't being responsive to the community that we're there to serve. Um so clearly from the reports that we're seeing we've made some um significant progress and we have a plan to go the rest of the way. Uh so another example I think of uh the progress that is being made here. So

again I don't want to take too much of your time but I do want to really thank you. It's been it's been you it's been some of your predecessors but alto together uh you've kept this effort going and I am thankful because I think you are making a police department that is more reflective and responsive to the community that is Antioch the diverse community um that is Antioch. And thank you, Mayor Bernal, for meeting with us and and uh of course, Council Member Tamisha Torres Walker from the very beginning and and for the rest of you for for for also working together even on issues that can be very divisive. I think we feel we are making progress and and having a more inclusive community. Thank you.

Thank you, Frank. I'll also try to come in under three minutes. We'll see what happens. Um, I also want to thank everybody that's trying to uh make this change and doing the work um to bring it to light and um really just to um see the effort and see things that are actually happening. I remember speaking for so long and I felt like no one ever really listened and no one was ever doing anything and I felt like now people are actually um paying attention and I'm glad the internal affairs is trying to be worked out because I remember if I remember correctly when the text message scandal happened um like 17 of the officers were in leadership roles that were involved in it and many of them as far as I remember were involved in internal affairs. And I feel like you can't really train like racism and hate out of people. So, we got to make sure that they're not actually there. I remember some of the text message messages were like literally said, "I hate black people in the messages." And um so that I feel like can never be trained out. And it it got me thinking earlier um Mayor Prom when you said when you see something, say something for the community. And one thing that I felt like is that's got to go back to to our guys, to our officers, that when they see something, they got to be able to say something and they got to be able to take it to somebody that they could trust internally. And if not, if those internal officers are also um part of the trouble, it's I don't know where they can go. Um so I think I'll just leave it there. I guess I would just close out with um I've been in Brentwood

a lot with the family of Yolanda Ramirez and I feel like they've missed the last 20 years of what's happened out here. if any of you um on the department got friends over there in the department, maybe you could help Brentwood or um I look more at you because you were in the streets with us and came out and I felt like at times um before Lamar when he was mayor would show up at um someone's house and I'm thinking of Yolanda's family right now where none of the council has even spoke to the family. So, if any of you have friends on the council over there, I would encourage you to talk to them and try to show them what a leader would be because I tell them when I speak to them in Brentwood, that I don't feel like they're community leaders because they haven't even went and spoke to the family. And if you're supposed to be representing the community, especially a district representative, you should be there. And in their case, demanding the body cam footage and the asks that they have. Um, so I'll close out with that. that if you can help Brentwood, that'd be greatly appreciated. And again, a thank you to all of you that are actually um putting in the work to change things here in Antioch. Thank you.

Right. All right. No further public comments. All right. Thank you. Um any any questions or comments? Yes. Um Mr. Paul Mani, what do you want? Mani's fine.

It's like Mr. Sir, I don't know. Um, thank you for, you know, coming in. Um, it feel like it's been a short time, but I know for, you know, to get kind of all of this together, it feels to me like a short time to have all of this come back and like all of this change have have been made. But, and I know for the community, there are people like Frank who've been waiting more than 20 years, right? Um, and so you know how they say it takes um 10 years to shift a culture and another 10 years to solidify that culture in some instances. And so I guess I'mma say what some community members may be thinking is that cautiously optimistic sentiment around how do we how do we know that there is a true cultural shift in the police department in our policing practices and that you are not just checking a box. you know, uh, I went into this with a eye of suspicion, um, with this expectation of what the department was like. And I tell you a little story. The first day I walked in, I had an ID card. I didn't know anyone in the building except for the chief and a few of the command folks. And, uh, no one knew who I was. And I was fully expecting that someone's going to prone me out on the ground because I'm in a secure facility. I have no idea who I am. And that didn't happen. I had three or four people walk up to me, can I help you? um do you need any assistance? Do you need help? And I thought to myself, this is not uh something that I'm used to in a police department. Uh and I think a part of this is because so many uh folks have been hired uh that do reflect the values of the community, that do reflect what we're trying to achieve with this

reform. If you have you can provide all the training you want, uh if you don't have the right people uh in place in the right seats, then you're not going to see any change. Do you see that starting to shift? Uh I also see that uh part of the decision-making process from the command staff has been to uh leverage what's in this agreement. This is not an afterthought. It's it's I'll just tell you another story. You look at hiring folks, you know, when you've got uh people in positions of authority that look at a candidate and say, you know what, probably checks all the boxes in terms of competence, but 10 years ago they had a bias complaint. We're not going to hire them. And I think it's a it's a powerful message really for for everyone that they're really looking hard and trying to do the right thing.

Thank you um for your response. I just felt that necessary to to kind of call out like it's not I think it is important to acknowledge that there are some cautiously optimistic folks out there like Frank and even myself who want this to work and see these reports tonight and say it's really working cuz we fought hard like in the rain with sprinklers being turned on us, you you know, to like make this happen. And it would be unfortunate if we checked all of the boxes and the culture shift didn't occur because there could be if you get the leadership at the top has to buy in and I know Chief Vill does. I want to make sure that this is sustainable. So no matter who is in a leadership position that this is the standard of policing in Antioch moving forward.

I I would agree. I think the community should have a healthy level of suspicion uh and really pay attention and be engaged. The one thing that I do hope happens over time is the folks in the community that don't trust the police and have not had a relationship with the police that really give it a chance, give it an opportunity and let it see where where it goes and how it blossoms. Thank you. You're welcome. Any other comments? Yes.

One of the things that I've been really impressed with and I think I've stated it before is um although I know there were lateral there was movement to try to get bonuses and that sort of thing and bring lateral officers in because of the gaps and vacancies that existed in the PD. Um, but I've been really impressed when I've gone to the um, swearing in ceremonies to see the diversity amongst the new um, officer staff and to see the um, when I've met some of the individuals, how excited they are about a new opportunity to be a part of a change that that you know they want to be uh, long term. You know, they're beginning their career. They've selected this particular city, this community to be a part of. And it just seems like uh Chief Eel and his leadership staff has done a really good job in terms of um selecting staff that are more representative of the people that they serve in Antioch and are going about doing uh community policing in the way that it it's being presented tonight. Um I have uh people that I have talked to in the community that I know as friends or neighbors and the um feedback I get from them is that they've seen a significant change in terms of how they're treated, how people respond. And I just think that it's just uh uh it's just a really good example of the shift that's taking place and the culture change that um is being led from the top. But I'm really impressed with the diversity of um I see in the officers. I don't know if you can speak to the diversity of what that looks like, but I just know that when I've gone to a number of uh swearing in ceremonies, when I look across the room and see the officers being female, male, and different uh cultural differences that it it brings an eclectic feel to what we're what we're doing here. I don't know if you can speak to that.

I have the same observation. I've sat in uh many of the trainings with the officers and there is a a broad spectrum of folks in there. Uh the diversity is is very obvious. I think it's very important obviously to make sure we reflect the community. Um but the landscape is slowly changing and uh you know I think we just need to see more of it as mayor prom.

So I want to thank city manager chief of police and really everybody that has their fingerprints on this moving forward because it really has been extraordinary you know progress in a very short period of time. One of the things that I've ad advocated and I still uh would like to see happen is a joint meeting between Apoch and the city council. Um I think a dialogue needs to take place between the various commissioners as well as the city council so they have the opportunity to directly have a discourse, have a dialogue back and forth. I think it's important. And I'd like to see that u scheduled sooner rather than later. Excuse me. Sorry. Um and you know part part of the the concern I have is that as the apoch as a commission we rarely receive anything directly from them. Uh and I I find that a little bothersome uh because communication is key. We depend on them. They depend on us. And I think it would as we move forward be important for the commissioners and we have one, two, three, four. Um we had five here tonight. I think it's important for the communication from the commission to the city council takes place. It's usually a very formal meeting. We usually have presentations, but we don't have dialogue between the commissioners and the city council. And I think moving forward that is something that we should have on a regular basis. We've asked for it for I don't know six months, eight months. Nothing has happened. But I would again ask that those people responsible would bring us together. We

had a wonderful experience with the planning department. It was it was outstanding, you know, so they could hear and ask us questions so we could hear and ask them questions. And so I think that that will build strength because I think a lot of commissioners uh have had questions about us individually and sometimes collectively. And so having that dialogue I think would be beneficial as we move forward. All right, just a couple real quick comments uh about the public engagement. You I see that as being one of the biggest elements of what the police department's doing and I know Mayor Prom mentioned that last night at the at the neighborhood watch I think there was 11 11 officers and staff from the police department there which uh which is great. So it's not just officer Amir and Sergeant Fastner, but you know the whole department. I was out at at um the community park with u um council member Roachcha and there was about the same number. So I I'm encouraged by the fact that the chief is out there, the city manager is out there and then there's across the board different officers and staff out there that are participating. Dispatch was out there as well. So to me that's really it's not just putting the bare minimum out there, but the the departments getting out there and different officers. So that's um that's really good. And then to the point about Apoch, I'm just excited that we have six out of the seven seats filled now. I know it's been a struggle for a minute and so getting that last seat, but also having some continuity in that um in that commission and then working with the council, working with the police department, reporting out things like that and and really um getting to really get into their role um in a more significant way being fully fully uh having a full commission or almost a full commission. So, I think that's going to be important and I'm happy and excited about that. All right, I think we're um

Thank you. done. Thank you, Mr. Sepal for your report. It's excellent. Thank you. Yes, I was going to ask I was going to ask the same. Um, we're almost to the consent calendar, so I

I know, but I am also pulling items off the consent calendar. Okay. But um you know as we the one presentation that I also am looking forward to is the the presentation on the code enforcement and the six months priorities. I have a feeling that that may take a while to to do that. And so you know here it is 11:00 the council has been in session since 5:30. if we might want to either call a special meeting with that as its only subject or to extend it at the next meeting. Um, yes. And I'm looking I'm looking to the city for direction.

That's fine. Um, I know our staff are are all here for code enforcement still. So, um, well, if I'm okay, but you know, I don't want to cut this too short because it's a critical issue to us. I think we can have a special meeting and maybe place the economic development plan and the code enforcement as a special meeting. Um I'm sorry to staff. Um I think that that'll be our first one this year though, won't it? Our first special. Our first and only one, right? So I mean we're already almost in March, so we're doing pretty good. So yeah, that's true. Um yeah, I think if we could do both both of those because it's going to have similar staff at at both of them. Correct. Yes. Okay. So maybe within the next within the next couple weeks we can maybe

I'm sorry. Can we do it on the third Tuesday of the month? Yes. Well, some of us work full time. I will pull you all. How about that? Okay. Um and you have a a several joint meetings coming up as well that are extra on your calendar. Joint meeting of the planning commission. You have a joint meeting of Apoch actually next month. So, you do have several um I guess extra meetings on your calendar coming up in this next quarter. And there's a there's a neighborhood watch at five on the third on the third Tuesday of March on the 17th already on the calendar. So, okay. So, um

I would like to make sure that my the staff can go home though. So, I would just send all of my staff home, please. Well, we still have the consent calendar, so I'm not sure if there's going to be a few items unless you have something on consent. Thanks. So, do you do you want to make a motion then to continue that um that item to a special meeting the um the code enforcement? I don't Do you need a motion? Just Well, there's whatever you want. What? Let's have a motion.

Okay. I would move that item number 10, which is the city council six-month priority item code enforcement division updates be um we're not I'm not there's no date certain special meeting would be a special meeting to be held in the foreseeable future. All right, we have a motion from Mayor Protemperus. I'll second second from council member Rocha. Cast your votes. Motion passes 40. All right. Uh moving on to consent calendar item number four. Does are there any items to be pulled on that?

Oh, we have to vote to extend the meeting. Yeah. I make a motion to vote to extend the meeting till 11:30. I have a motion to extend the meeting. Go beyond that, I will be leaving. We have a motion to extend the meeting to 11:30. I have a sec uh by um council member Torres Walker. I'll second that. Second by council member Rocha. Please cast your votes.

Motion passes 40. All right, moving on to consent calendar item number four. Any items to be pulled on the from the public? There are no items to be pulled by the public. All right. So, Mr. Mayor, I'd like to pull items C, E, G, and H. Uh, G, and H. Okay. Um, any other items to be pulled? If there are none, I'd like to approve the remaining consent calendar. Uh we have a we have a motion from mayor prom to remain uh to approve items all the items except for C, E, G, and H. I'll second that.

Second by council member Rocha. Please cast your votes. Motion passes 40. All right. Item C, approval of council warrants. Uh Mr. Mayor, I because of the late time I've I have marks on the warrants itself and I'll give them to the city uh manager and I'd like to have replies to them. I don't want to take the time, you know, because it's it's just too late.

All right. And I and I and I have a couple that I'll do the same. So, actually, you have an email with mine my my question. So, thank you. All right. Um item number E, award of a contract for professional auditing services to Lance Soul and Lungard uh certified public accountants. Yes. Is there a question or did you want a presentation?

So I have no problem with with hiring a new audit exam. It's the terms of the contract itself. So when we look at this particular contract, we're talking about a three-year contract with a three-year extension. One of the issues that I have had and verbalized it many times is that some of the same, you know, contractors have been with us for years, in some cases decades. And so I feel that it the term should be three years with a two-year option. And that's my own personal bias unless there's an extraordinary reason. Six years with the same auditor, frankly, I think is too long.

Is that is that a motion? I just if there's any response. Yeah. Okay. So, I will move award of the contract for a term of three years with two-year option. Mayor Pro Tim Freighus moves. I'll second. Council member Roacha seconds. Please cast your votes. Motion passes 40. Uh moving on to item G. uh resolution annexing certain parcels into CFD number 2018-02 Creekide Police Protection. Yes. Is there a question?

There is. Uh it's actually on item on both of these items. That's why I had to pull off both of them. There is an exhibit B

and exhibit B trying to find it. Where is it? talks about method. Here it is exhibit B. the rate and method of aortionment and it it says insert rate and method method of aortionment here but we never got here and and so this is an issue as the the council knows that may be coming up for us in the future and I would love to know you know because of what may be pending what what the methodology looks like so I don't have a problem with I just I This exhibit B is just

blank. Understood. U David Story is going to give you a synopsis of that. Good evening, Mayor Council. Um David Tossig and Associates wrote the report and I can forward that to council. Uh it's the same for the uh for the ones that we were have been talking about in the past. Right. I I don't have a problem with approving, but I do want to see this as as information for Yeah, I think it was just an omission of getting the actual report, but I can provide that this. Okay. So, we will we will receive it. I can I can send that through the city manager. Yes.

Okay. So, Mr. Mayor, I will move approval item G and H with the understanding staff will provide the council uh with an explanation on exhibit B. All right. Motion from Mayor Pro Tim Freighus for consent calendar items G and H. Have a second.

Second. Um, Council Member Torres Walker, please cast your votes. Motion passes 40. All right, moving on to um item number five, public hearing, appeal of conditions of approval requiring the Lake View Center uh CI project to annex into CFD 20 2018-01 and CFD 2018-02. Thank you, mayor and council. The applicant has requested that this item be continued to the March 10th meeting. All right. So, uh, is that all we need to do? Is there any motion? Oh, do we have a motion to continue? I'll I'll have I'll make a motion to

motion from comment. Oh, I'm sorry. Have public comment on this. Oh, this is a public hearing. Do I have to open this a public hearing? I have to open it. No, we So, you can The council wants to take continue this item. So the only discussion should be on whether to continue the item. Okay. So uh we have public comment on this. This is item number five. Okay. So uh there's no public comment on this. Do we have a motion to continue? Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. Motion continue. Council member Roch. Second. Second from council member Torres Walker. Please cast your votes. Um item number six,

appeal of conditions of approval. Yes, the applicant has requested that this item be continued to the March 10th meeting. Once again, I'll make a motion to move this to the March 10th meeting to second. A motion from Council Member Roach, second from Council Member Torres Walker. Please cast your votes.

Motion passes 40. All right, moving on. City Council appointments to the General Plan Advisory Committee. Uh this is uh this is uh two members of the city council that are going to serve um on the uh GPAC general plan advisory committee along with two planning commissioners, five members of the general public and two alternate members of the general public. Um this will be something where um I'll be making um a recommendation and then council will either approve that or not. Do we have any public comment on this? Mr. Cole, uh, on this particular item, um, the mayor is the only one who can nominate, correct?

Yes. The mayor would nominate and the council would approve, right? So, effectively, the council has the item here is a little misleading as if there were going to be other nominations from ourselves. It'll be it'll be handled like any of our our other commissions. You'll ultimately vote, but the mayor will have to proposed. I just wanted to clarify. Thank you.

Okay. So, I am going to nominate Mayor Prom Freighest and myself to this um commission or to this uh being the two members. And the reason for that being that we will be on the city council for two and hopefully three more years while this general plan is being conducted to maintain um continuity in the in the process. So that's my nomination. Are you assuming others won't be here that long? Well, I mean others I I'm not assuming anything. I just am I just am trying to make a big assumption. No, that's so All right. So, do we do we have a a motion to

approve that? I'll make a motion to approve the appointment of the mayor Bernol and mayor pro Tim Freus to the general plan committee. I will second that knowing y'all got a lot of time on y'all hands. So we have a motion from council member Roacha, second from council member Torres Walker. Uh yeah, public comment. I'm sorry

I forgot to take public comment. Thank you. So, uh I just wanted to briefly point out at the last council meeting, uh it did come up on this advisory committee, uh wanting to extend that application date possibly for the community members. Uh and we are four three days out from that application deadline. So, just wondering if that is going to happen for the community. Uh, not 100% sure if this is relevant to this item, but just wanted to flag that because that application period does end in 3 days and I thought that the want was to extend it.

Thank you. Um, Mr. Clerk, you had you had mentioned that that that cannot be extended. No, if we do if we do not receive applications, then it will be automatically extended. But if we do receive applications, it then it ends on the 31st on the I believe so on the current date. Yes. Okay. Uh 31st. That's that's currently isn't it at the end of this or excuse me on the 20 on the 27th. I thought it was the 27th February 27th. I thought it was the 27th and we had discussed extending that. We did the last meeting.

And so did was it we needed to take action in order to do that? As of now, all those positions that are available that I mentioned earlier, the deadline is Friday, February 27th. If we do not receive any applications for those positions, they will be extended.

Yeah, but that's not the question. My question is on that one particular commission that we're discussing right now. We had discussed extending it to provide more opportunity to get a better pool of representatives so that we're not relying on whether there's any applicants or not. That was what I thought we were doing. So I'm not waiting to see if no one applies. I'm looking to extend it so that we get a better pull. It's it's my understanding um cuz this happened um when Ellie Householder was the clerk. It's my understanding that the application period can be extended at least once um even if you have applicants.

And the good news is we have five at present. So the question is the more the marrier because then we're getting down to the question of the alternates. If you recall we want to have nine or seven with the two alternates. So if we can increase the candidate pool by Friday, great. I don't know that that's going to happen. We don't know what the next two or three business days are going to do. So extending it another week gives us that much more opportunity to get more in the pool on this point, Mr. Mayor. Yes.

Uh I do agree with council member Roachcha that we do need to extend it. But there's another part of it and when we had the discussion, you know, I suggested that we directly contact some of the groups and organizations that are in our community uh and really do a a push. I mean, this is a critical critical product that we're producing and I don't want to have such a small group to choose from. I'm hopeful that we can Well, thank you very much. So sorry I never turned it off. I appreciate it. Your time is up.

My time is up. But and so I I do think maybe two or four week extension, but the recruitment it has to be almost personal, I think, with some of the groups and organizations that we have. And I think that, you know, we the applicant pool needs to be very robust so that we truly have a a general plan committee that is has parody within the community itself because I think even with five people,

that's not going to do it. It doesn't give us any that doesn't give the mayor any ability to make a distinction between the v various people and that's not a recipe for success. I was just going to sh I concur with what you're saying what I was going to share. I I sit on the uh the chamber on the chamber of commerce board and when I went to the last meeting I brought a copy and explained it in the importance of this particular committee and immediately they were like thank you for sharing and they were going to have one or two people put their um application in. So I do think we do need to do some networking in that way to make sure that we get better representation than just leaving it up to people going to the website or you know

I mean there's senior citizens there's veterans there's groups and organizations you know I mean the earlier comment you know the demographics of our community is is what 35% Latino Hispanic you know then we have uh 20% African-American about 20 25% you know Caucasian Asian and Asian and Pacific Islander. You know, I think it's important that we have some of that representation, you know, on this general plan, but it's also the various areas having people that are engaged in, you know, park and recreation or sports programs or, you know, some other activities. I I think it's important that that we really have a great diversity on this and it will strengthen I think the general plan moving forward. So I don't know I I apologize miss Scott you know how to give you specific recommendation but I really do think it's important. So I would suggest uh that we probably extend it for one month. I but I'm looking at Mr. Store to see if that's a if that's a particular problem. I don't want to do that. It's never a problem to try to engage the public for a period of time. The downside is it's can elongate or contract out the the one to two-year process further out because because of the ability uh to have people show up to the meetings. I met with the city clerk today and reviewed the ones that we've received. They're pretty good. Um people that really are engaged and I think uh you actually saw one here at the podium tonight. one of the candidates that's in the pool. So, um I I think if we go two weeks, I'd feel more comfortable with that so that we kind of keep on track because we are actually going to be having our first engagement visioning meeting. And so, what that would do is if we went a month, it would kick that out even further, assuming that we want the GPAC members there at the visioning meeting,

which I think is a good idea. I think it's a good idea, but it has to be coupled with very aggressive outreach immediately. Well, we had a we had a blast of about 3,000 people a couple days ago. That's in addition to the website, in addition to the normal forums, but you as community leaders are the best resource we have and and we can go ahead and hit the chamber, we can hit Rotary, we can hit the the different ethnic groups. We could do that. Now, you also said you've already picked a a a date for the first meeting. Well, we we're tenative. I mean, we're going to be discussing that with our consultant this week. Okay. But if there's a desire to go out two more weeks,

could we go out to the 13th or the 20th, whatever? Two Fridays. Um, city attorney Cole, I think it will be important to have us informed around like legally how much time we can extend it to. We have we have cuz I know you have a first application phase with a deadline. You could at least do it one more time. Sure. But what is the law around extensions? How far you could extend it out to and how many times before you actually have to select candidates because I know there are parameters. We can extend it one more time.

Um we have some discretion. Is that a month? Is that two weeks? Okay. But we have to we have to appoint I mean we've advertised this. So, if it's two weeks or four weeks, I think pick a pick a number. But but this should be your only this should be your only extension. Should should we make that choice tonight? I I think it's appropriate to give that direction. How long and let's make the motion and let's go home. So, two two weeks two weeks puts us to the 13th. Um, if we want to do two weeks, it puts us on the 13th. Three weeks puts us to the 20th. So, Um, I would recommend the 20th. Okay. Do you want to make a motion?

Yeah, I'll make a motion that we extend the application window to Friday, March 20th. All right. We have a motion from Council Member Roachcha. I'll second it on the question. Sure. So if it's the 20th that means the mayor has to immediately start conducting the following Monday Tuesday you know uh interviews and then council has to approve them. So your in your first date is getting extended by weeks. Yeah because the the second council meeting is on the 24th the following Tuesday. So it would it wouldn't be able to be awarded until or appointed until the 14th of April. 24th. Did you say that?

Well, if we the 20th would be the deadline, right? But the council meets on the 24th. We're not going to get through all those interviews. And if you do it quickly, if we have 20 C applicants that you want to have or I think I think the mayor pro Tim is saying I think the mayor pro Tim is saying if you do interviews on a roll in basis as applicants come in instead of waiting until the deadline you might have some idea of a pool of appointees before we even get to that point. So right now we have five applicants. You can be interviewing them now. Okay.

That's exactly what I was thinking. I was my brain working otherwise it's going to push the the date out immediately and that's that's counterproductive. Okay. So we could have the 24th of March be a date that we could hopefully um make some um recommendations and appointments and I can forward the applications to you email tomorrow morning. Tonight please because we will get right on this. Okay. Tonight it will be He's not going to bed.

I'm just I'm just looking around. Okay. Okay. So, we have a we have a motion to extend the deadline of the application to the 20th from council member Roachcha. Second from Mayor BM Freighus. Please cast your votes. Motion passes 40. All right. Moving on to public comments. Seeing no public comments. Okay. Um staff communications, uh council communications and future agenda items. Yeah, look at all. All right, that's okay. Go ahead.

What I'd like to do is um to uh request that city manager Scott, director store, report back to the council on the status of the home key application. Um we have a significant amount of funding commitments to this project that has not moved forward. I believe we need to have a definitive answer by March 10th in order to proceed forward with the development of our 26 2627 city budget. I believe we're set to start that process March 27th or

so I just think we you know I've asked previously kind of a status update of where we're at. I think that um considering where we're at and moving forward into um this beginning of the next school year's de budget development, we need to know where we're at and what our overall resources are in all areas as we prepare to move forward. All right. Yes. Uh any anybody else? No. None. All right. Do I have a motion to adjurnn? Motion to adjurnn. Second. You said second, right? No, I said do I have a second. All right. Mo from council member Torres Walker. Second council member Roachcha. Please cast your votes.

Motion passes 40. Meeting is adjourned at 11:22 p.m. Thank you all. Good night.