City Council - Regular Meeting

Um, I wouldn't have known. Oh, okay. I just literally didn't know what was happening. I was like, the sound is boring. Oh, it's, uh, don't you think it's too loud? No, it's not. It's not. It's not. It's not. oh hey hey Uh,

Council members and this, can you hear me?

Yes, I can start the meeting. Can you please have the city attorney announced the manner in which I'm attending remotely.

That you want her to announce your remote participation.

Yes, I don't have a script.

Okay, I sent it to your email just in case and there's some handouts for you there too.

Yeah. Good night.

Thank you. Thank you.

Okay.

Adding.

Okay, we're going to get started, everyone. I'm going to start our special meeting of the Hollister City Council, September 9, 2026. The meeting is now called to order. It's 5.02pm. Councilmember Pichet, will you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please?

Absolutely.

Ready, begin.

All right, thank you.

Okay, city clerk, can we do roll call, please?

Council Member Pichet?

Present.

Dr. Resendez?

Present.

Council Member Morales? Present. Vice Mayor De Anda? Here. Mayor Stephens?

Here.

Thank you.

Do we have to? Dr. Resendez, if you could please confirm that you are joining the meeting under the SB 707 Just Cause.

That's correct.

And is there anyone under the age of 18 in the room with you?

No, there's not.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you. We're going to move on to our consent agenda. So we only have one item. Any questions from council? Any comments about this one item? Okay, not seeing any. Go ahead, Dr. Resenda. Sorry.

I don't have the item in front of me. Can I just get a brief description of what it is?

It is warrant registered September 8th, 2026. So it's that document that has the listed warrants.

Thank you. Okay, that's fine. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. And Dr. Resendez, in the event that I forget you're on Zoom, please shout out to me if I'm not... paying attention and you need to say something so please please shut up thank you because i may forget um and then okay so can i get a a motion on the consent agenda please move to a dot second all in favor oh sorry i think we have to do roll call right i'm sorry since we have dr rescind us on uh zoom we're gonna have to do roll call for everyone so i apologize go ahead

Council Member Pichet? Aye. Director Resendez? Aye. Council Member Morales? Yes. Vice Mayor De Anda? Yes. Mayor Stephens?

Yes. Okay, pass it five to zero. Thank you, everyone. So we're going to move into closed session first and then we'll come back for the public portion of our agenda. So I'm going to ask the city attorney to read the closed session items.

Sure. There's three holdover items from last night. The city council will discuss in closed session conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation pursuant to government code section 54956.9, three cases. Conference with labor negotiators pursuant to government code section 54957.6. The agency designated representatives are city manager Ana Cortez, HR Director Noelle Mink and City Attorney Jennifer Thompson. And this is for the Hollister Firefighters Union. And then Conference with Legal Counsel Existing Litigation. The name of the case is SIWAC versus the City of Hollister. And the case number is CU2500167. And then tonight's items. There are four items conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation deciding whether to initiate litigation one case. Conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation significant exposure to litigation one potential case public employee discipline dismissal release and public employee appointment title city attorney.

Okay, thank you for that. Do we have any public comments on the closed session items?

No, we have not received any public comments.

Okay, thank you. So let me just check in. We will go into closed session. Are we going to stay where we're at with Dr. Resendez on Zoom or are we going to go into the side room?

It's up to you. Side room may be better.

Is he set up there as well? Okay. Okay. We're going to go into the conference room.

I emailed you the link for the Zoom to your personal and your city email.

Okay. Got it. I'll check right now. If not, I'll send a text to the city attorney. Thank you.

If I could ask Director Mick and Chief Henley to join us in closed session, please. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

The button.

All right. it.

What?

you Okay.

Oh.

Thank you. Bye.

Okay. Okay. We're just rescinding one. Oh.

we're okay okay thank you to the public for uh your patience as we had a very long closed session um and i'm gonna just check in with city attorney and city manager if we have anything that we need to report out no there was nothing to report Nothing to report. Okay. Nothing to report at this time. So we're going to move on. So just as a point of process, we are going to hear 7.1 and 7.2. And because of some other things we're going, we're asking that 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5 be tabled. So we will be hearing those items at a later date. But for the rest of today's meeting, we will be only looking at 7.1 and 7.2. So I'm gonna begin our business with seven one and the item is to rescind resolution 2025-127, which approved a five year loan from the city, I'm sorry, from the city sewer expansion fund to the general fund. Okay, so can we get a staff report please? Do we need to do a staff report on that one at all? I mean, I think just briefly a quick synopsis of the reason why we are rescinding.

hello um madam mayor council members jessica o'connell director of finance um i am the staff report i'm proposing that we rescind the original interfund loan that was initiated back in fiscal year 2526 it has come to our attention that in order to have an interfund loan amongst an enterprise to the general fund, it must be able to be paid within the same year. And at this point in time, that is not feasible.

Okay, thank you for that. So we got some new legal advice related to the way in which these types of funds are structured, and we just learned that in order to meet this legally, it has to be paid back in a year. We don't have that ability, so we are asking that this be rescinded. Correct. Okay. So anyone on the dais, any questions or comments? Do we have any public comment on this item?

Yes, we have one public comment, John Casey.

I will be brief and quick. Good evening, Mayor and Council. I appreciate the Finance Department bringing this item forward. Tonight's action highlights an important financial principle. Having funds available is not always the same as having funds available for unrestricted use. The fact that this transfer cannot proceed reinforces the importance of addressing financial challenges through structural solutions rather than temporary funding mechanisms. As the city moves forward, I encourage continued focus on transparency, multi-year financial planning, rebuilding financial flexibility, and aligning recurring revenues with recurring expenditures. I believe those principles will best support the city's long-term financial health and maintain public confidence in the stewardship of city funds. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Casey. Any other public comments?

No, we do not have any.

Okay, thanks for bringing it back to the diaries. Any further questions, comments? Questions, comments on this side?

Motion to approve.

Okay, can I get a second, please?

I second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? Okay, so 7.1 is approved. So we are going to be continuing the other items and moving on to 7.6, resolution of the city council of the city of Hollister authorizing the city manager to execute a professional services agreement with Hanson Bridget LLP for city attorney-legal services. Staff report please.

Very quick, Madam Mayor, members of the Council, the Council has decided to retain the services of Hanson Bridget out of San Francisco to provide a number of municipal services. And we are very grateful to Lozano Smith for the work that they have provided to the Council and to the City of Hollister for a number of years.

Okay, thank you for that. Do we have any questions or comments? Questions or comments? Okay. And I too, just want to express my appreciation. Jennifer passed along to others and Lozano Smith for the legal support that we've had. And so we appreciate the work that you've done and we wish you well, and we will be moving on to a new firm.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Jennifer. Do you have any public comments on this item? No, we do not. Okay. So I'm going to bring it back for a motion.

Motion to approve.

I'll second.

Okay, all those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? No. Okay, so 4-4-1 against. Motion passes. And thank you again, Jennifer. Okay, and then with that, we will be adjourning. Okay, thank you all.

Do we need a motion?

To adjourn? No. I don't think we need a motion to adjourn. No, we don't need one.

Yeah, for some people, I'm a children.