City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everybody.

Welcome to our March 23rd council meeting, and specifically a study session between the council and the beautification advisory committee tonight. So glad to have you all here. It is 5.03 PM. I wanted to call the meeting to order. And just remind everyone in the audience that you need a parking pass on your car, and those can be found downstairs. Okay, could we have a roll call, please, city clerk?

Council Member Espinosa?

Here.

Council Member Beer? Here. Council Member Beckmeyer? Present. Vice Mayor Wright?

Present.

Mayor Bowles?

Recording in progress.

And this is a joint study session of the City Council and the Beautification Advisory Committee. For the Beautification Advisory Committee members, Committee Member Velichko is absent. Committee Member Solis is absent. Committee Member Sebaugh. Committee Member Jonas. You.

I'm here.

Committee Member Gossage. Vice Chair Wells is absent. And Chair Bennett.

Great. Again, thank you all for being with us tonight. And thank you for your patience and getting this on our busy council agendas. It's been a crazy couple of months. So I think we'll start with... a presentation, the staff report, so I'm not sure who is starting. We have our Director of Public Works, Melissa Tigbaugh, and then I also have Gail Bennett as the chair of the committee and Taylor Sebaugh presenting as well. So are you starting us off, Melissa?

Yes, I am.

Okay, wonderful. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council. Melissa Tigbaugh, I'm the Public Works Director. and I'm also the staff liaison for the Beautification Advisory Committee. So before I start my presentation, I'd like to introduce Chair Gail Bennett, and she'd like to share a few words about the committee and her role.

Thanks. Good afternoon, everyone. And I am the chair for the Beautification Advisory Committee. Many of you know me or have seen me around town. And today, the people that are present are Julie Gossage, Linda Jonas, Taylor Sebaugh, and myself. And we have some that were unable to attend due to illness and a work schedule. Today's topic for discussion is going to be the Adopt-a-Tree Subcommittee consideration to be added to our BAC charter. The speakers today will be Melissa, who is the Public Works Director, and Taylor Sebaugh, who is a pretty new BAC member, but has been very actively involved with trees here in the city of Pacifica.

And that's it. Welcome. Thank you. We're just going to give it a couple of minutes for the slides. Oh, there they go.

Okay.

Do we have a clicker, or do we just say next slide, Sarah? Oh, there we go. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, again, thank you. This is, I'm Melissa Tickbaugh, Public Works Director, and this evening we're bringing this presentation to you regarding the charter changes requested by the Beautification Advisory Committee. A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND AND YOU HAD SEEN ALL OF THIS DURING PREVIOUS REVIEWS OF CHARTERS. IN 2023-24, THEY INCLUDED THE REVIEW OF THE CITY COMMISSION AND COMMITTEE CHARTERS. THAT WAS A PART OF THE COUNCIL'S PRIORITY WORK PLAN. IN MAY 2025, THE AD HOC CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE WHICH which were made up of council members Beer and Wright at the time, met with the city manager and staff to review and develop questions for the Beautification Advisory Committee to facilitate a review and recommendations for charter updates. Then in August 2025, charter review questions for the Beautification Advisory Committee were finalized. And so the requested charter revisions after meeting with the BAC is to create a permanent subcommittee to develop, implement, and run an adopt-a-tree program. Chair Gail Bennett and committee member Taylor Sebaugh will present the proposed revision. Just for some staff considerations and history on this, There is the timing of the charter amendment, should we go forward. Right now, we do have the West Sharp Park Improvements Project Pilot Adopt-a-Tree Program. And in spring 2025, council directed staff to evaluate the effectiveness of this pilot program prior to considering a permanent program. In fall of 2025, nine trees were adopted by volunteers. We did have internally some evaluation milestones at six months, 12 months, and 18 to 24 months for full establishment. We'd also like to point out the alignment with the urban forestry plan development. So city is planning to develop this urban forestry management plan, and this was included in the council strategic plan. It's currently off track. And because adopted tree program is closely tied to policy questions, we'd like the opportunity to make sure that we have a program that is in alignment with the to come urban forestry management plan. And lastly, staff would like to inform council of the considerations to consider that staff capacity and work plan impacts that we do have a highly constrained workload with 58 strategic plan tasks and adopting the tree charter amendment would require some staff resource to create the program framework similar to what BAC has for public art. And so we would recommend that this be a part of the BAC work plan so that we could also simultaneously have the current pilot to mature and have evaluation and get some movement on the urban forestry management plan. And with that, I am going to pass it to Taylor.

All right. So I am here to talk about the adopted tree proposal to add that to the charter of the beautification committee. So just to start off with a summary of what we discussed as a committee. As we were discussing the charter review, the committee unanimously voted to support an adopted tree subcommittee for the beautification committee. And we believe this squarely fits within the mission of the beautification committee and provides critical support for increasing our urban forest Today we're seeking approval to from the City Council to go ahead and revise our charter to add this subcommittee to the beautification or to the BAC So for a quick agenda just to outline kind of what I'm going to walk through here I wanted to start with kind of what is the problem that this is addressing which namely is watering new city street trees and then detail how Adopt-A-Tree is the solution for that. And I'll walk through a couple different data points for why that is. And then I'll end with what our proposal for the program looks like. So just to highlight the problem in more detail, Pacifica has a great, the city is planting trees on a consistent basis throughout the year and has a lot of goals to increase the urban canopies. A couple of bullets here kind of detail that out, namely the Climate Action and Resilience Plan has a goal of increasing the canopy goal to 25% coverage, which will require new trees to be planted. The Pacifica's Municipal Code requires a two-for-one tree replacement for every protected city tree that is cut down, and the city is responsible for those replacements when it's on city property. In addition, on Arbor Day every year as a tree city, Pacifica plants 20 street trees that are to be cared for by the city. There's also an additional 10 that are cared for by Pacifica schools and planted on site there. But 20 do require maintenance and watering from the city. And then, as we just had in West Sharp Park, there was a complete streets project where we needed to plant new trees and ostensibly there will be future complete street projects where the same will be necessary. And so Pacifica has a need to plant these trees on a recurring basis, but at the same time we're at a position where Pacifica is understaffed and unable to often maintain the watering commitments that establishing new trees comes with. To talk about the solution of Adopt a Tree, I wanted to start by first double-clicking on the benefits of trees, just to kind of back out for a second. And I think just a couple quick data points on that, starting with economic development. There's good data to support that tree-lined streets promote somewhere between 9% and 12% more spending than streets that do not have trees. There's well-known statistics about... the impact that trees have on property values with estimates varying from five to 20% increase in property values and therefore property tax income for the city. And then of course it's the right thing to do. It's sustainable, it reduces energy and so forth. So some examples here from San Francisco where there's estimates that their tree canopy saves on average about $250,000 a year. And they were recently awarded a grant for $12 million to plant more trees to further amplify those impacts. But rather than just throwing out some stats, I wanted to just double click on the economic development piece since the fiscal situation is such a predominant piece of Pacifica's agenda with pictures are worth a thousand words. So here I wanted to just kind of show some examples in comparison to our neighbors down in Half Moon Bay, which enjoy a good degree of more foot traffic, etc. And you can kind of see here what Half Moon Bay might look like if it weren't a tree-lined street. It certainly, to me at least, looks much less enjoyable to walk down. When you compare that to The state of Palmetto, our priority development area in Pacifica, they look very similar, very barren, very concrete. Now, if Palmetto had trees and it was a tree-lined street, I could imagine it would be a much more enjoyable place for residents and travelers to spend time here in Pacifica. To double-click on the proof that it works, we've run a couple pilots here in Pacifica, starting with the first back in 2021 at Parkview Circle. Here, the program is sort of detailed out there, where residents were recruited by a volunteer with watering agreements, and that volunteer then collected the paperwork when it was complete. Those residents were given a choice between two trees as deemed fit by the conditions and so forth. And then trees were provided and the holes were dug by public works. And then these trees were planted on Arbor Day by citizen volunteers. So this project was completed over five years ago. And the results that we see today is that the eight trees that were planted and adopted are still thriving in 2021. This is outdated slide, 2026. So that's a 100% survival rate. At the same time as that project, there were 11 trees planted in Fairmont Park, and these were not under the adopted tree jurisdiction as they were removed from residents' homes and difficult to water. And of those, only three have survived. And so that's a 27% survival rate by comparison. As we look at the recent project here in Sharp Park, which is my neighborhood. So this was back in 2025. The program here was similar. Residents were recruited by a volunteer. That was me in this case with watering agreements. And then I went back by and collected that same paperwork when the volunteers had completed it. In this case, the volunteer, Volunteers who were adopting the trees were given a single species choice. And this was just based on nursery availability. In this case, all nine trees were the New Zealand Christmas tree. The city, in this case, planted the trees and installed the watering bags. So we now have nine trees planted in this project, and nine trees are still thriving and growing beautifully at present. The last data point that I'll highlight here as a good proof point, is that it's been done before. We're not the first people to have conceptualized this program. So our neighbors up in South San Francisco have done this program to very, very high efficacy. So back in 2019, through the Circle 3.0 program, they planted 120 trees, which were all adopted by residents, and the survival rate exceeded more than 90%. and they have continued planting since then, and this year have a goal of planting an additional 600 trees, all to be cared for by residents. So the last thing I wanted to highlight with respect to the solution is how this aligns to Pacifica's vision, namely the strategic goals that the council has laid out. The first I kind of touched on already in terms of enhancing the fiscal stability of Pacifica. It streeds Trees and tree-lined streets drive foot traffic and economic activity. With Adopt-a-Tree, we're reducing the cost of maintaining the urban forest that we all seek to grow. for the goal of improving and stewarding city infrastructure. Trees are a critical part of beautifying a streetscape, and they also provide functional benefits like lowering degrading UV exposure to public infrastructure. It obviously fits within the Pursue Climate mitigation and change adaptation strategies in directly contributing to the urban canopy. and overall being more sustainable. And then lastly, as far as communicating with the public and collaborating with the public, this is a key way to engage citizen stewards as stewards of their community. So lastly, to just highlight how it works, To start I'd say the groundwork has been laid through these pilot programs So we already have program participation agreements liability agreements that have been approved by the legal team watering instructions and demonstration guides as well as communication plans and materials to communicate with the volunteers themselves and So there's sort of three different arms of this program. The first is city-initiated planting. So this is similar to the West Sharp Park example that I just walked through, where the city has a need to plant trees for a project. This would run like I described. So residents would be contacted before planting with instructions for how to participate. This would be administered by the BAC. And this would include the program and liability agreements that I already highlighted in the slide before. Residents would ideally be given a choice of species inclusive of all the city-approved trees that were suitable to the location. And this would, of course, be subject to cost and availability constraints. And this, again, would be administered by the BAC. Lastly, once the trees were aligned and adopted, those trees would be planted by public works, watering bags would be placed, and residents would be given instructions on how to fill and how often and so forth those watering bags. And this, again, would be administered by the BAC. The second arm of this program would be on Arbor Day. Specifically, moving Arbor Day from just looking at parks to doing street tree planting as well. So here... The city of Pacifica would choose a suitable neighborhood for Arbor Day. And then, again, as in the first arm, residents would be contacted with instructions for how to participate, including the program and liability agreements, and that would be administered by the BAC. Residents would then, again, be given the choice of species, inclusive of trees suitable to the location and so forth. again administered by the BAC. And then as it's done on Arbor Day, volunteers would plant and place watering bags on the actual Arbor Day itself. And then the resident who is adopting the tree would water the trees moving forward. And this part would be administered by BAC in conjunction with Public Works, PB&R, and Tree City Pacifica. Lastly would be resident-initiated planting. So in the tree ordinance, there's a section detailing that residents are allowed to submit a permit to plant a tree on city property. And so as part of that process, they would be signing up to adopt that said tree as well. And again, this would include the watering and liability agreements, and that portion would be administered by the BAC. Upon approval of the permit, the city would allow residents to purchase trees at their wholesale rates with administrative support from VAC. And then the trees would be planted in watering bags placed by the permit applicants themselves, or they would arrange how to do so. And then instructions for watering would be provided by the VAC. So in summary, what's next? Again, just kind of coming back to this slide, so We as a committee voted unanimously to add this adopted tree subcommittee to our charter. We are seeking your approval to do so. And what comes next, we would, assuming this is approved, we would partner with Public Works on what are the next locations and when a suitable time might be. We would then, once a place is selected, coordinate that or start recruiting residents to adopt said trees. And then we'd like to establish a system for tracking these tree plantings so we have a good way to measure efficacy as we go forward. And I think with that, it is back to Melissa.

Thank you, Taylor. So this summarizes the staff report that was in the packet, and for your next steps, we'd look for council direction. So these are three options that were presented in the staff report. However, this is a discussion, so Your options are not limited to these, but these are what I would look towards for your direction on either option one, approving the BAC recommendation. So this would amend the charter to include the adopt-a-treat program. We can incorporate this into the fiscal year 26-27 strategic work plan, and we would have to recognize that some reprioritization of existing public works projects may result in delays or we or we sub something out. Option two, we maintain the program as a BAC work plan. And that would remain a committee work plan just for the duration of the pilot program that we have live right now. So that would allow us to collect the data, evaluate the outcomes, align the future program development with completion of the urban forestry management plan, which we are going to start working on this summer. We can look at just the additional consideration would be expanding the BAC charter to include a broader tree advocacy and community engagement role, supporting collaboration with the public and private property owners to advance citywide urban canopy goals as well. And with that, that concludes our presentation.

Thank you all very much. I don't see any lights. Are there some questions from council members?

I do have a question, if that's OK. Hi, everyone. Thank you for being here. I'm curious if you are changing anything else about the charter, so are you gonna, are you thinking about letting go of something to add this, or, I mean, I read through it, I didn't see that, and so I'm just curious about that and about the capacity to, because you have a lot of work already going on, not that I don't, yeah.

Just a question. I'll begin. The thought was adding this as a subcommittee allows members of the BAC to be on that subcommittee and help chair and run it, but it also allows other members of the City of Pacifica, community members to join as well, similar to our arts and mural subcommittee that was formed. So it's seen more as an arm of the BAC and it allows us to dip our toes into helping to advocate towards the tree canopy goals for the City of Pacifica, but also by encouraging residents who may have that interest who don't sit on the BAC to also participate as well. Thank you.

I'm happy to ask a bunch of questions if nobody else has questions.

Go ahead.

We'll do public comment in a bit. I have a couple questions, but I wanted to check with you all. Okay.

I'm thrilled to see you guys sitting over there. I've enjoyed working with quite a few of you. I do have a question about, from the Public Works perspective, when we're planting these trees, I assume you're doing it in locations or mannerisms that aren't gonna have future impacts to the sidewalks or the roads. Like are you installing root barriers, for example?

Well, it depends on which type of project we're putting in. If there is a project where we're, like what we did most recently for Arbor Day, you know, that was behind back of walk, so we were okay with that. And one important thing about that location was that we had irrigation already in that area. Now, when it came to Sharp Park, you know, we have to make sure we look at things such as, you know, any underground laterals, also any potential tree uplift. So We would be, we haven't made any standard right now, but that would be a part of the urban forestry management plan, something that we would add to that in how should we address installing trees in a public right-of-way with these different types of situations or scenarios.

And has there been any consideration to using recycled water to do this since it will soon be available free of charge?

I think that that's always a great plan, and that would be something that we'd also incorporate in the urban forestry management plan.

I happen to myself personally have a 275-gallon tank that fits on the back of my pickup truck that has a hose bib on it. I'd be happy to demonstrate for people how that works if they would ever like to see how functional that can be. And the rest I'll save for after public eye.

Do you have any clarifying questions?

Just a question about the trees that we have, we planted at Fairmont West. Do they have sprinklers or irrigation?

Yes. Oh, nice.

Nice. And then my other question is, if we do adopt a tree, does the people who are adopting need to pay FOR LICENSE OR IT'S GOING TO BE SOMETHING, IT'S GOING TO BE FREE OR SO? I JUST WANTED TO KNOW.

THIS PROGRAM WOULD BE FOR CITY OWNED TREES THAT ARE IN THIS PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY. SO IF WE'RE PLANTING THEM, THEY WOULD REALLY BELONG TO THE CITY. WE'RE LOOKING TO PARTNER WITH PUBLIC TO HAVE THESE WATERING AGREEMENTS AND FOR THEM TO CARE FOR THEM SO THAT THEY DO SURVIVE. So you wouldn't have to have any permitting or anything. They're just signing an agreement.

Okay, thank you.

And just to add, I'm hearing a lot of comments about irrigation. As a licensed landscape architect, trees to be planted do prefer to have some initial watering, but to really allow that tree to develop its proper root growth and stability, it is a great way for putting in native species, native or adapted species that will acclimate to the climate and to release them off irrigation once that first three years or so has come into being. So using the watering bag system is a great way to get trees established without running additional infrastructure to those particular locations. And it also allows if the tree, if you hit a rough patch and it might need some water, The resident could always attach it again and give it a little bit of extra oomph.

About the water bags, how long do they last?

Right now the recommendation is that they be placed for four years with a schedule that kind of tapers off over time as far as refill rate.

Okay. I have a few questions if you're okay. Okay. So I just heard Director Tickvall say, so these are only for city-owned and maintained trees, right? So they're either in parks or on someone's property but in the public right-of-way, not on their own land.

Correct. Maybe one clarification. I would say ideally these are located near the resident just for ease of watering. Right. Yeah, that proves to be more effective in terms of being done.

Okay. And then so the agreements that you've put together are for watering, but what about, like, long-term tree maintenance?

So the proposal is for this would be for watering, not for maintenance itself. The city would still be responsible for maintenance, which, you know, presuming you picked the right species for the location should not be tremendous.

Okay. But presumably there might be pruning requirements or if a disease, you know, comes through or other things. So we're adding to the scope potentially of public works. That's what I'm trying to understand.

Which, again, I think falls under if the If the city has within their strategic plan to increase the urban canopy, they should also be following that with some of the protocols that we're hearing here today, including dimensions of minimum sizing for places to plant trees, requirements to help lead public works as far as when and when not to use things like root barriers, how close you are to lines. Most city codes have all of that information. And then likewise, the maintenance should also be something that the city is going to be maintaining usually certified arborists who are qualified to do proper pruning and such for that, whether they're on staff or you hire additional.

Okay. And then I lived in San Francisco and was part of tree planting with their urban forestry group, too. And so sometimes the trees were in the public right-of-way, but sometimes the trees were on private property. I planted one on my own property, for example, and I'm just trying to tie this into the CARP, you know, goal, which talks about increasing the canopy, but that's not necessarily putting all those trees on city property, right? Those that could, you're not the CARP, so I can ask that of them, but that's an overall goal citywide, right, which includes different properties with potentially different ownership.

Correct. I think Taylor brought up the mitigation requirements. So currently the city is requiring that if a homeowner was to remove a tree, you're requiring them, that's a protected tree, you're requiring them to replace it at a two to one rate. And that tree, protected tree, may fall within their property line. So they would be required if they wanted to take it down to then replace it and mitigate and provide for that. program that we're looking towards because we currently on the BAC we're currently working within public works jurisdiction areas so we're trying to start by looking towards assisting and partnering with public works as we did with our street skate programs so kind of staying in that realm right now and expanding to two parks where You know, local residents, those with water trucks or jugs could come and assist, too. But we're not really looking right now to expand our purview currently into the private realm.

Okay. And I know sometimes Public Works has to do two-for-one planting, too. Like, I know there were some trees in Valleymar. that were taken out for safety reasons.

Yes, that's correct. So it's actually just per the tree ordinance, anything that's protected needs to be replaced two-to-one. That's for public or private.

Through the chair, can I ask a follow-up to that? Is there a requirement that if somebody does the two-for-one replacement on how long it needs to be kept alive, do we go back and check just to make sure that, somebody's actually nurtured the replacement tree till it's able to take care of itself.

Honestly, I'm not sure. I don't know if we do follow up at that level.

Any idea of whether that's in our municipal code, Michelle? Do you know by chance?

I'll have to take a look.

If staff could take a look at that and let me know, I'd appreciate it.

Okay. And then the other question I had was about the urban forestry management plan. So Director You mentioned that that work was hoping to start this summer. I'm not sure if I remember if that was one of the council. I know it's been on our overall priorities, but then we had to really focus on key financial things. I mean, do you really see that starting this work this year? And if so, how long do you expect that to take?

I do see it starting because we were able to hire two more engineers, so And that was one of the reasons why it was delayed is because of the staffing issues that we were having. Now that we have them, we should be able to go ahead and go out with an RFP to receive proposals. It is a process. In other locations that I've worked, it's taken usually about six to nine months for a full-on master plan to get adopted sometimes longer depending on how large the city is and you know all of the components that that We need to identify such as you know, is there going to be and I believe that we already have a tree inventory but I think that it needs to be refined and renewed and then there and also just really looking at the ordinance and to make sure that whatever is in our management plan speaks to the ordinance. So it's really just trying to look at the entire city as a whole. So I do look, I do believe that we're going to be able to get it started with RFPs at least this summer. DR.

Okay. And I think the staff report said part of the work plan there would also be to identify priority locations for planting? DR. Yes. And so back to the committee. So without that in place, how would you decide where would be appropriate to plant and how many trees per year and things like that? It seems like there's a lot of detail that's not quite fleshed out yet.

Yeah, I mean, I think where it would start and I think with the three arms of that program detail is these would be... Can you speak in the mic?

Sorry. Oh, sorry.

Thank you. These would be... for trees that need to be planted. It's not proactive planting. It's like we have Arbor Day. We have 20 trees that we need to plant, so let's go plant those and make sure they're being watered and cared for. We have a project that's coming up that needs trees. Let's go ahead and... From public.

Yeah, from this... From public works.

Yeah, right. So I think it could certainly expand from there once we have a more robust urban forest management plan in place, but I think that's a good starting point.

Okay, that's super helpful. Thank you. Yeah, I'm ready for public comment. So I have four cards. So we'll start with Deirdre Martin, followed by Paul Toda, and then Jeff Moroz.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the Council, and those of you who haven't seen, oh, Beautification Advisory Committee, those of you who haven't seen in a while. My name is Deirdre Martin, and I'm here as a resident tonight. One who's been paying attention, close attention, to the work happening around climate resilience and our urban canopy. In 2025, this Council took a meaningful step. Thank you. You approved the Climate Action Resilience Plan. otherwise known as the CARP, which set a clear measurable goal, grow our tree canopy from 19 to 25%. That's not a suggestion, that's a commitment made to the residents of this city. The Adopt-a-Tree program is one of the most direct, cost-effective tools we have to reach that goal. And it isn't just me saying so. The Beautification Advisory Committee is advising this council to adopt it. The Climate Action Resilience Committee, operating under the goals you approved, will be bringing that same recommendation. And I'm highly confident that when the Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Committee finalizes their strategic plan, they'll probably say the same thing. We also hold a Tree City USA designation that comes with obligations and adopt a tree directly fulfills them. So we've heard talk about a comprehensive urban tree forest plan. I love that. Thank you so much. And I'll be honest, I'm not going to hold my breath on that one just because six to ten months, we could wait, we could study, we could plan to plan, or we could act on something that three advisory bodies are already aligned on. That advances this council's goals you've already adopted. That put trees in the ground now. So my question is simple. Can we find reasons to say yes and urban forest plan, option one, and the framework is there, the support is there, the need is undeniable. Let's plant the trees now. Thank you.

Thank you, Deirdre. Paul, followed by Jeff Rosa, and then Myha...

Thank you. My name is Paul Toda and I am speaking as a member of Tree City Pacifica. We urge you to vote on option one in the staff report and approve the Beautification Advisory Committee's recommendation to amend the charter to include the Adopt-a-Tree program. Since the city plants new trees on a yearly basis, it would not be wise to postpone this action. There is no need to gather additional data from the West Sharp Park Adopt-A-Tree pilot since we already have proof that the Parkview Circle trees have survived for more than five years. South San Francisco also has excellent data on the success of Adopt-A-Tree programs. Also, waiting until there is an urban forest management plan is problematic. Years ago, the city had the opportunity to apply for a grant to create the urban forest management plan when the state was flush with funds. However, the city chose not to do so. Now the state has financial issues and the chance of getting funding to create a plan is slim. Pacifica is also struggling financially. That's why adopt a tree makes so much sense, as citizens will be the ones providing water and labor to establish new trees. It's a win-win solution. Trees create great curb appeal and well-maintained tree-lined streets are often able to boost property values. Trees create visually appealing spaces and attract longer stays when people come to our city to shop. Finally, increased tree cover is linked to lower crime rates, reduced stress, and aggression in urban residents, and a better, more peaceful environment due to noise reduction. Please approve Adopt-a-Tree programs tonight. Thanks so much.

Thank you, Paul. So Jeff, followed by Maya, and then Gail did in Shoemaker.

My name is Jeff Moroso, and I'm speaking as a member of Tree City Pacifica. Why should the city institute an adopt-a-tree program? Simply put, because it has worked before. In 2021, the city provided trees along Parkview Circle to residents as part of our Arbor Day celebration, and those trees have flourished. In that adopt-a-tree project, Participating neighbors got a choice of tree and signed watering agreements vetted by our city attorney. They have taken good care of those trees over the last five years. Sadly, the trees we planted in the park haven't done as well. Why? Because staff time is limited and neighbors with trees near or on their homes are motivated to water them, ensure that they both survive and thrive. The trees planted in West Shore Park in 2025 in front of residents have done just as well, thanks to the watering agreements that they have signed. With adopted tree, the city will see major benefits from minimum investment and save money by using less city water and fewer staff hours. This is a win for the city, a win for residents, AND WIN FOR ANY NEARBY BUSINESSES, AS STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT TREES HELP LOCAL STORES BY ATTRACTING CUSTOMERS. PLEASE VOTE TO ADOPT TO APPROVE THE ADOPTED TREE SUBCOMMITTEE AND PROGRAM. ALSO, THE CITY NEEDS A CERTIFIED ARBORIST ON STAFF. IT WILL SAVE MONEY IN THE LONG RUN. ALSO, THE CITY HAS TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR WATERING TREES UNDER THEIR CARE Nothing sadder than seed trees that we planted died because the city didn't do their part. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Jeff. Maya, followed by Gail, and then Cindy, I think is the last part.

Hi, my name is Maya Wagoda-Mikula. I'm a certified arborist and I'm also speaking on behalf of Tree City Pacifica. Taylor, thank you for the great presentation. I thoroughly enjoyed it. So as other folks have mentioned, the city's required to plant new trees every year. So this is the two-for-one as well as the Arbor Day plantings. All these trees, these young trees require consistent watering to become established and survive. But that's not the only thing that's important. Lack of watering also impacts, not only impacts tree health, it also impacts tree structure. So when a tree's branches die back due to the lack of water, this can result in leaders branching stems that are competing and also crowded branching. This makes a tree more prone to branch and stem failure many years down the line. And in fact, one of the trees that I helped plant at the community center arbor day planting has died back in this manner. Its structure is now poor. And if this tree was at a nursery, for sale, no arborist would buy it. And it's very likely that the nursery would consider it a total loss and they would just toss that tree. And this tree is growing in our community center. So the adopted tree program, it provides a solution to these issues. When neighbors sign the watering agreement, for the tree in front of their house, they promise to water the tree on a regular basis. They provide the water, give it their time. So this not only saves the city money, it ensures the survival and thriving of the trees. So out of sight, out of mind, that's not the case here. People will see these trees in front of their homes every day. As these trees grow and flourish, our city will be richer for it. Property values, aesthetics, all the things that were already mentioned. Please approve the adopted tree program. Thank you.

Thank you, Maya. Gail and then Cindy.

Oh, I don't need that. Just need to bring it down. Hi, my name is Gail Benton Shoemaker. I'm speaking as a citizen, a member of Tree City Pacific and very impressive presentation on Adopt-A-Tree. Please approve the Beautification Advisory Committee's recommendation to amend their charter to include an Adopt-A-Tree program tonight. There is no need to create an urban forest master plan to have a canopy goal and an adopted tree program. A 25% canopy goal is currently in the Climate Action and Resilience Plan. The Cal Poly Urban Forest Ecosystems Institute helped Pacifica determine that Pacifica's The current urban forest canopy is 19%, and a 25% goal would be a very reasonable one for Pacifica. In addition, the Adopt-a-Treat program is one of the actions under the canopy goal in the Climate Action Plan. Approving this program would both honor the unanimous vote by the Beautification Advisory Committee and advance the goals in the Climate Action and Resilience Plan. Adopt-A-Tree is a proven program, and the volunteer policies and watering agreements have already been vetted by the city attorney. As the city plants new trees in the upcoming year, it's important to have the Adopt-A-Tree program in place to make sure those trees thrive. An adopted tree program is an easy way for the city to fulfill its commitments and save money in the process. This kind of partnership is what defines the best communities in our country. It also helps protect our beautiful environment. We appreciate your vote supporting this. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Gal. Cindy Abbott.

Get the box back under where it belongs.

There we go. Okay. Hello, Cindy Abbott. What a great presentation. I am so excited that this proposal is in front of you, and I'm here to say that I hope that you go with option one to add the Adopt-a-Tree program to the Beautification Advisory Committee's charter. Aligning myself with all of the comments already made by the public, including that this is a direct and cost-effective solution to a problem we have in this town, dead and dying trees. And it's also not anything new. It's already been piloted for a few years, it's been well thought out, and hopefully you had a chance to review some of the history that I sent you. Adopt-a-tree programs began in the city of Pacifica in the 1970s, and they continued through the 1980s through a program where the Pacifica Tribune for every subscription that was offered included a tree being planted. So we're not pioneering anything here. And in fact, even back in the 1970s, the articles will share with you the success of these programs. Even at that time they knew that if a community member was involved with taking care of the tree that was by their property, 90% success rate for that tree to survive, just like we've seen with the trees that have been planted here recently and have been supported by a community member. So there's a lot of good reasons and history why we don't need to wait any further for a pilot. And just like anything, programs can be put in place and then adjusted as time goes by. We don't have to wait any longer to get this going for this Arbor Day. In fact, that's one of the key critical things why we need it in place now so that Arbor Day can be planned to include this program as it's being proposed. And it's also, you know, yes, it's a partnership between the community, the beautification advisory committee members, and city staff. But just like the public works, the public art and mural program, that program was put together by the community. And it's managed by the community through the BAC. The entire program was written by the community, approved by the council at the time. But staff time was very minimal for that process to put together the program. And there is a great program that's in front of you right now. So I hope you will go ahead and approve option number one so that it continue to move forward. And then down the road, as things need to be adjusted, just like charters, it can be adjusted to in the future.

Thank you. Thank you, Cindy. Emily, do we have anyone on the line? No. Okay. That I'll close public comment. Yes. Oh, sorry. Yeah, go ahead, Chris, and hand in your card afterwards. Chris Redfield.

Thank you, Mayor and Council and staff. My name is Chris Redfield, speaking as a member of the public. Let me start off by saying I hate trees. I say that and I qualify that because I've worked in public works for many years. I say that rather jokingly. I appreciate the presentation. But the problems that was alluded to are overhead power lines, sewer lines, water mains, water feeders, any number of trees down in the storm time. So we need to plan for that and we need to budget that. That was lightly touched on. And given our staffing, given our critical funding currently, That needs to be planned for. It's not a major issue now as the trees are young and starting to grow, but it will become an issue. And we need to plan that for Public Works budgeting and staffing to be able to control that and keep that, our city beautiful. Trees make, without a doubt, make a city beautiful. Make a tree-lined street, I always picture the scene at the end of, was it Back to the Future, where the, it's gorgeous. And they do have their problems though. Sidewalk heaving, road heaving, just saw on Terranova, they just tore up a section to do that because it had tree roots in there. So we need to plan that, we must have the root barriers, those have been touched on. And we know what sidewalks are gonna cost, it's on the agenda tonight. So it's a major issue and we need to plan for that, we need to budget for that. That's a critical thing and given our financial situation, We need to work ahead on that and get that budget. Thank you.

Thank you, Chris. I have one more card from Sue Degree.

Good evening. Yes, one thing that hasn't been mentioned is fire. And I think climate has changed, whether we like it or not. And those of us who are Pacificans, we notice right away when things get hot. And so trees are a canopy of protection, very important to our health and welfare. And so, yes, everything has problems, and roots can be a problem, absolutely. But if we don't plan now for canopy, we're going to have a serious, serious problem fire-wise, as well as health-wise and cooling around. And for economic development, it is true. When there are trees, yes, you go, you sit, and you enjoy yourself. So thank you. Please go for item one.

Thank you, Sue. Okay, closing public comment, bringing it back to council. Does anybody want to lead us off? Would you like to start, Mary? Would I like to start? Yeah.

With a motion? If you'd like, or deliberate. Oh, I don't think there's much to deliberate. I mean, this is beautiful. Thank you. Thank you so much for, like, all the conversations you've had at BAC for coming here. And we've known how excited you have been for a few years now. And so thank you for that. Yeah, I'm all for option one.

Okay. Council Member Beckmeyer.

Oh, can I turn it off now?

You can turn it off.

I think we need to be prudent. I want to go forward with this, but I do urge prudent, thoughtful consideration of how this Program will fit in with the things that Chris Redfield mentioned One of the things is very striking in a very well done slide very well done slide the Half Moon Bay versus Pacifica Palmetto one of the things that's true is when that project was first designed it involves sidewalk widening to accommodate trees and what you showed is putting trees where it currently is. And I'm not sure that's entirely possible. We need to evaluate. So that's when I say prudent. I want to make sure that the excitement and the urgency that we have around this, and believe me, we get it. We've been sitting here hearing during goal setting for seven years-ish, right, Mary?

Yes.

And we feel it too. I mean, we're out there helping, but I want to make sure that we don't inadvertently trigger some other very costly expense. It's important to me that the work on the urban forestry management plan move forward. I do believe this program can be implemented with the recognition that it may need to be modified once that plan is done.

Council Member Wright.

I'd love to know from staff how I can have my tree and eat under it too. In other words, how much staff time Is it going to take, I heard you reference a number of times that staff was going to dig the holes. Is that something that we can task BAC with just to cut down on the amount of staff time to use that for those 58 projects you talked about? I was also interested in what percentage of those 58 projects you got done with.

Of the 58 projects that we got done with, we only completed seven. several are ongoing and these are a part of this these are all from the work plan that council gave us so it's been a struggle in terms of working on how BAC can assist I think when it comes to digging the holes I think for liability reasons if it's a public project then it will have to be our staff or a contractor but you know I think that that's something that we'd have to look into further. I can't give you an exact amount of time that it will take for staff to complete or, you know, to assist in getting this amended charter done. But, you know, now if this is the direction, then I can, you know, definitely look into estimating that.

So if we only got seven of the 58 done, Which of the other 51 might we not be doing if we prioritize this?

I think that that's something that we'd have to discuss at our goal setting when we talk about the work plan for the next year.

Okay. Well, I still want to have my tree, and I still want to eat under it, too. So whatever we can do to move that agenda forward with as minimal staff impact I would look to you for direction on what's possible within the framework in the allotted amount of staff time we have so I can still maintain my fiduciary responsibility up here. I'm looking for a balance.

Thanks. I have a suggestion around that and I think your answers to my earlier questions were really helpful and I also want to give a shout out to the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Committee for evaluating all of our parks and giving us the sad news that so many trees had died, right, that we had planted as part of Arbor Day in the last few years. And that's really heartbreaking to me. I mean, one, it's, you know, a lot of work, both from Public Works, from the committee, from Tree City Pacifica, from the community and all the kids and families who come out who are excited to plant a tree and to see it die is really heartbreaking. And I appreciate that your pilot project is not just the recent one, right, in Sharp Park, but you had done something similar in the Fairmont area, you know, planting all those trees and that those had been successful too. I can't speak to the earlier 70s and 80s planting, but that was neat history too. I appreciate what you all were saying in terms of limiting the scope of, of this project right now to, you know, the 20 trees that are, you know, regularly scheduled every year as part of Arbor Day and to the trees that Public Works would otherwise be planting as part of the two to one. Because then, I mean, if that work is happening anyway, then this is all in concert working together, right, to ensure that those same trees are actually, you know, have a chance to survive, grow properly, and thrive. So for me, if you're willing to limit to that which you've said, then I have no problem with this charter amendment right now. Growing the program beyond that, which would hopefully be our goal in meeting the canopy goals and so forth, might need to come back. And then we need to really look carefully at the public works impacts. And Public Works, as part of planting these trees, will be looking at sidewalk utilities, you know, other potential impacts, right, to infrastructure. So I think that would already be done also to some of the comments from our community.

So that's where I...

So, Mayor, if I may, am I hearing yes and?

As proposed by our former mayor and council member. Is that what you're saying?

Yes. Call it point one and align with the larger urban forestry plan and other public works.

Align with public works already ongoing work. plan items, planting trees, and then in the future, aligning with the urban management plan. Are we allowed to speak?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. If you have any other comments. So during Taylor's presentation, he had three arms of it, and you've touched on the first two. So it was Arbor Day and assisting and letting those be be through this program as far as the watering because that has proven more successful. And then assisting when the two-to-one comes up in the public works purview. And then that way we can take that load of watering off of public works in a system. The third was when a homeowner wants to do it of themselves. As per your slide, if I'm getting this correct, that was all on their dime. They would pay to hire a contractor to install the tree under the approval of the location, obviously. Water, sewer, we follow all the rules. The rules just need to be solidified in your code, I would say that. But the monetary obligation of installing that tree would fall on a homeowner, and then the watering could fall under our program. As far as future maintenance, that could be a quagmire and a question. So I guess I just wanted to clarify, are you saying you want to remove that third option right now or keep it in play?

Well, I'm a little concerned that the third option might also have impacts for public work staffing. right, that we don't necessarily all know. I don't know what you all think, or Director Tigbao, do you have a reflection on that idea?

I think that, you know, since we already do Arbor Day, I think that, you know, we can work on that, using that as a basis to build this. I do feel very strongly about, you know, making sure that our urban tree, our urban forestry management plan has some, you know, has some, I don't know, a little bit more. Guidelines and so forth. Yeah, right. But, you know, I think it's really up to council.

How much time would it take to put those guidelines together?

Oh. Interim city manager.

Yes. I just wanted to clarify the difference between option one and option two So for the option one if the council decides to approve the BAC recommendations as stated The public works team would have to develop the program amend the Charter and work with legal department to review all considerations that they in place volunteer agreements liability insurance all the all the aspects to draft this program. And option two was to keep the program. It's a great program, and we want to make sure that it's set up for long-term success. So the option two was intended to keep this program on the work plan, allow the public works department to make progress with the urban forestry management plan, and then develop the program and invest the time into development of the program so there is full alignment. So I just want to make sure it's not program versus no program. Everyone is in agreement that the program is strong. It's just the timing, what makes most sense.

But my understanding was option two was just reporting out on the current adopt-a-tree program in Sharp Park, not necessarily continuing to work with Arbor Day this year. to make sure there were agreements, right, for watering to make sure the new trees we planted were going to survive. I think that's where I'm hearing that we'd really like option one, but again, just like limiting the scope for now, like maybe the extra programs on people's properties, let's hold off for right now. We're going to be starting a process with all our committees and commissions. We're normally... you all present once a year about what you've been doing, but we're actually going to spread those out and have a longer conversation about work plans in the spring of every year, and so there'll be another opportunity to talk a little bit more, probably, you know, in the May timeframe. So, I don't know, for me, I'd like you to, I'd vote for option one, but with a limited scope for now, working in partnership with Public Works. I concur. Me too. Okay.

And if I may, Mayor, to that point, interim city manager of the need to update the resolution, the charter, et cetera, et cetera, that desperately needs to be done. As I look at packet page 22, the resolution is from 2019. It talks about an aspiration to add an implementation of murals and public art on public spaces, blah, blah, blah. We all know that's happened. So I think giving that a refresh anyway is gonna be needed and perhaps with a limited program bullet, kind of the way this was done in 19 when it was aspirational, so too could language be inserted that speaks of a pilot adopt-a-tree program that can be fleshed out later as the urban forestry management plan becomes finalized or implemented or created and then implemented. Does that make sense? Yeah. Okay.

Was that a friendly amendment to the Mayor's motion?

No, it was a reinforcement of what the Mayor said. But I will second the Mayor's motion if that was a motion.

I'm not sure they were looking for a motion or just direction.

We just need to make sure that staff understands the direction of the council, so maybe the interim city manager can just repeat what she understands staff's position is.

Yes, let me try to do this. So the council directs staff to proceed with option one and approve BAC recommendation for W3 program at the limited scope, and the public works department will add it to the work plan to do And as part of that work, we will revise the outdated language of the charter and insert the reference to the Adopt-a-Tree program language in the charter and bring it back to the council.

Thank you. Thank you all so much for your input and work. Look forward to seeing what comes out.

Let's let him stay there until we vote.

We're not voting.

Bummer.

Thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, guys. Okay. No, the action is to give direction.

OK, with that, I'm going to adjourn our study session with gratitude to you all and to our public works director and all the public works staff who helps make all this work possible.

And to the community who is a constant cheerleader. Yeah. And who also helps do the planting.

OK, so I'm now going to call to order our regular meeting. It is now 6-12. And we need a roll call again.

Council Member Espinosa?

Here.

Council Member Beer? Here. Council Member Beckmeyer? Present. Vice Mayor Wright?

Present.

Mayor Bowles? Here. Okay, I'm just going to read a general comment about public comments. If you watched our meeting last time, there were some pretty awful ones, and so this is a warning ahead of time for everyone to stay on topic. Public meetings are a limited public forum, meaning that there are rules for commenting at these meetings. Comments on non-agendized items must address matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city, and comments on agendized items must relate to that specific island. If comments do not fall into one of these categories, the city will provide you with an initial warning to stay within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city or on topic. If the warning is not followed, I will direct the city clerk to cut off the microphone and throughout the warning system, I will seek the assistance of the city attorney in identifying comments not related to the agenda item or not within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city. Thank you. If I could please have quiet in the audience I'm going to start with our land acknowledgement. The City of Pacifica acknowledges that we occupy the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramatishaloni peoples, who were the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula. We honor the Ramatishaloni peoples for their enduring commitment to Mother Earth. As the indigenous protectors of this land, and in accordance with their traditions, the Ramatishaloni have never ceded, lost, nor forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place as well as for all peoples who reside in their traditional territory. We affirm their sovereign rights as First Peoples and wish to pay our respects to the ancestors, elders, and relatives of the Ramatish Ohlone peoples. And Vice Mayor Wright, would you lead us in this salute to the flag?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic

Okay, that brings us to our consent calendar. Would any council members like to pull an item or have any questions?

I have a question on item two.

Okay, go ahead.

I have a question. The road paving. The road paving item. I have a question because I'm having a little bit of a hard time reading the map color between pink and red. So I'd like to have a verification of chat on packet page 46.

Council Member Beckmeyer, I believe. Prior to getting into the consent calendar, we have a special presentation.

We do.

Oh, I didn't know that. I mean, I did, but I forgot.

Just reminded me. I'm sorry. I'm jumping ahead trying to get us back on track, and I've moved too fast. We do have a special presentation. I wanted to invite Finance and Administrative Services Director Maricel Gomez to the podium. WITH ANY OTHER FINANCE ADMINISTRATION STAFF WHO MIGHT BE PRESENT. I'LL READ THE PROCLAMATION FIRST AND THEN YOU'RE WELCOME TO MAKE COMMENTS. PROCLAMATION OF THE CITY OF PACIFICA IN RECOGNITION OF GOVERNMENT FINANCE PROFESSIONALS WEEK. Whereas the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers is the state's leading professional organization dedicated to promoting excellence in financial management for California's local governments. And whereas in 2026, CSMFO is recognizing Government Finance Professionals Week for the first time to formally honor the vital contributions of public finance professionals across the state of California. And whereas government finance professionals serve cities, counties, special districts, and joint powers authorities by ensuring transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship of public funds. And whereas these professionals play a critical role in managing complex budgets, complying with state and federal laws, maintaining accurate financial reporting and compliance with government accounting standards, administering utility rate processes and enterprise funds, and supporting long-term financial sustainability. And whereas California's financial landscape, shaped by Proposition 13, 218, the GAN appropriations limit, CalPERS pension tax obligations, and fluctuating economic conditions requires expert analysis and sound financial leadership. And whereas finance professionals work diligently, often behind the scenes, to provide critical information that enables informed policy decisions and ensures the delivery of essential public services. And whereas, recognizing Government Finance Professionals Week during the last week of March helps highlight the dedication, integrity, and professionalism of these essential public servants. Now therefore, I, Christine Bowles, on behalf of the City Council of the City of Pacifica and all its citizens, do hereby proclaim the last week of March as Government Finance Professionals Week 2026, and encourage all residents to recognize and appreciate the hard work and contributions of the finance professionals who serve our community. Thank you.

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Bowles, Vice Mayor Wright, Council, and members of the public. Marisol Gomez, Director of Administrative Services, and it is my pleasure to be here tonight to commemorate this first inaugural Government Finance Professionals Week. Administrative Services is a central support function that allows all city departments to operate effectively. Our department includes finance, information technology, and human resources. We're a small team of 15, as you can see from our org chart there. Tonight I'm here to recognize the six dedicated professionals who make up our finance division. This week we join agencies across California in celebrating Government Finance Professionals Week. Supported by the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers, CSMFO, I want to take this opportunity to recognize and thank our outstanding finance team individually. Everyday government finance professionals work behind the scenes to ensure that public dollars are managed responsibly, transparently, and in full compliance with California's complex regulations. Their work includes budget development, financial reporting, revenue management, debt and grant administration, payroll procurement, treasury functions, and support for strategic decision making. Much of this work happens behind the scenes, but it is absolutely essential to every service our organization provides. Collectively, this small but mighty team represents nearly 60 years of public service in local government, along with additional experience in the nonprofit sector. A majority of staff live in San Mateo County, with two that are Pacifica residents and enjoy raising their young families here. As I call your name, if you can come up to the right of the dais and stay for the, we'll get a picture afterwards. Lucy G. is our Deputy Finance Director. She is in her fourth year with Pacifica, but has 19 years in public service. Her main responsibilities entail running the annual audit, providing quarterly financial and treasury reports, and filing all those other required reports with the state controller's office and clearinghouse. She is CPA certified and hopes to earn her CPFO, Certified Public Finance Officer, through the GFOA Association. Thank you, Lucy. Spencer Singh is our senior accountant. He's in his second year with Pacifica and is also CPA certified and he is responsible for supporting the audit functions as well as accounting for our capital assets and recording correcting journal entries while supporting the cash receipts reconciliation process and his background belongs, sorry, his background in audit brings valuable expertise to the team. Meg Callanan will be celebrating her 15th year here with Pacifica in the fall. She started off in PZ as the executive assistant to the police chief, but she is now our beloved accountant that administers the billing and invoicing, manages cash receipts. She also supports the complex payroll processes to help ensure timely compliance. Many across the organization know Meg for her reliability and her willingness to support whoever needed. She also plays an important role of the recently formed Employee Engagement Committee. Abby DeCano is our accounting technician, too. She is in her fourth year with Pacifica. She started off in payroll processing and has moved towards processing accounts payable, helping departments maintain good vendor relationships and processing purchase orders in order to keep business moving. She also helps support the oversight of the CalCard functionality and is responsible for creating the monthly disbursement reports that come to council. Thank you, Abby. Nelson Chen is our newest member in the finance division, and he is in his first year, obviously, with Pacifica at just six months. He's an accounting technician, and he is responsible for processing payroll and subsidiary payments such as retirement contributions and health benefit payments. Nelson has nonprofit experience that has transferred well to local government processes. He is a Pacifican and appreciates working and living local and to be able to make his kids' events and functions. And our last member of the finance division is Stephanie Coy. She's in her fourth year with Pacifica and almost six years of public service in local government. She is also a Pacifican and takes full advantage of what Pacifica has to offer to raise a well-rounded family that loves sports and the outdoors. As a financial analyst too, Stephanie is one of the main gears in the budget wheel. She is meticulous in creating the beautiful budget book and the first budget in brief this year. She supports departments by providing training and running ad hoc reports and analysis on various accounts and funds. Thank you. This group works exceptionally well as a team. They make time to connect, whether it's grabbing lunch, taking walks, or celebrating each other's family milestones, which helps build strong, genuine relationships. That sense of connection carries into their work, where they consistently support one another, share knowledge, and cross train to both broaden skills and ensure seamless coverage when needed. As you can see, this team, the small team here, carries a wide range of responsibilities that are critical to the city's operations. While their work is often behind the scenes, it is foundational to the services we provide to our county. On behalf of Administrative Services, I would like to thank the Council for recognizing Government Finance Professionals Week and to extend my sincere appreciation to our finance team for their dedication, professionalism, and commitment to public service. Thank you.

We'll come down and take a picture, but... Yeah, we can do that, and I've got your proclamation here, but I don't know if anyone wants to say anything, but I don't know what we'd do without you, right? You're the core of our city, and nothing would function without you, and to see that you're doing all this with leadership and six people, it's amazing for the budget for all of our various tasks and departments in the city. Yeah. Just really appreciate you all.

And Stephanie, you have fans.

I'd like to chime in a little, too. As people know, I'm sure they're familiar with the fact that I ask some of the most questions of anybody up here. I have tried to stump Marisol many, many a time, and she has always found the answer before I finished my questions. So I can't tell you how much I appreciate all you do to hold the city together, all the rabbits that you pull out of hats to make all that we do possible. Couldn't do it without you all. Thank you all very, very much, each and every one of you.

Thank you for your service. We appreciate you guys. Thank you.

And thank you for choosing us. I like to say that to everyone who comes to work here. Even if you live here, thank you for choosing us.

And even if you don't, I know one of you has a very long commute down to almost Santa Cruz. So thank you for your dedication to being here. Yeah. Are there any, I don't have any cars. Would anyone like to make a public comment?

Picture time.

And is there anyone online?

There are three raised hands. Three raised hands. There are two raised hands.

Okay. Leave your hand raised if it's for this item. If you want it for a little bit later, can you put your hand down for now? The first raised hand is for John Greitz.

Okay.

Go ahead, John.

It sounds like he's speaking, but the volume is low. John, if you're speaking, can you pause and start over in just a moment? Emily, did you adjust the volume?

Yeah, I've adjusted the volume.

Okay. John Greitz, can you begin your comment? Hello? We can hear you now.

Yes, Ms. John Greitz. I was walking down Main Avenue with my neighbor the other day. I want to give a shout-out to Meg. She has a $5,000 machine in it. Nice. Thank you.

Thank you, John. We're not hearing you if you're continuing to talk.

Thank you.

I think there's a problem with your connection. We'll give you five more seconds. And otherwise, perhaps you can email us your comment.

Emily, is there a second person? They've lowered their hand, so there are no raised hands. OK.

I'll close public comment now, and we'll come down. OK.

One, two, three.

Thank you.

So, I think you were asking about, like, the streets. You know, they have, in this little area here, they tell you what color you have to look for.

Oh, I know, I did. But it's pink and it's red, and I want it verified.

OK, now I'm going to bring us back to our consent calendar. And now that I'm reading my notes, I also see that there's a correction on item one from the city clerk.

I don't know what that is. That was just handed to me. No, that's okay.

Mayor Bowles, for consent calendar item number one, there is a correction to the staff report to be noted, and I would recommend calling up Deputy Director Yip to advise on the details of that correction.

There he is already. Hello, Deputy Director Yip.

Hi, good evening, Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor, City Council Members. Roland Yip, Deputy Director of Public Works slash City Engineer. This is packet page 40, and it's the award of construction for our sidewalk, excuse me, our, oh sorry, excuse me, it's the fiscal year 2026-27 pavement resurfacing project. is the table for the fiscal impact section, the Street Improvement Fund 213. Instead of it breaking down to $618,718.86, it's supposed to be rounded to $620,000. And this is something to do with the iterations in our minute track, which lost track of this change. Okay.

Great. Thank you. And you might want to stay there because I know there was one question on item 2 and I have a question on item 3. Do you want me to ask the question now?

Okay. Hi, Roland. Thank you for being here. Question on it's a reference packet page 42, but the bigger version is on packet page 46. And thank you, Council Member Espinoza, for reminding me about the legend to the map. The color coded legend for all the colors appears on packet page 42. So the street segment I'm asking about is in the fiscal year 28-29 portion. It's where the pink and red lines are. And I want to verify the street location is it Rio Vista and Monteverde that is red leading up to off of Rosita Road do you see where I'm talking about because it looks like there's a red portion and then pink and then red again on Rosita Road

Correct. So for Rosita, between Adobe and Palo Drive, that's supposed to be red. And then it goes on eastward from there, it's pink. And then from Capistrano to Odd Stats, it becomes red again.

Okay, thank you for that. That's Capistrano. Thank you. I want to suggest to you that the distance on the first red area can't really wait until 2829. for rehabilitation. And I wonder how that is determined, because as it is, you have to drive on the left side of the road to avoid the very uneven pavement surface. Seems like a long time before we can get rehabilitation done.

So the streets are all selected through our pavement management software called Street Saver. Right. It's run through an algorithm. It's considered through a benefit-cost analysis based on the condition of the road. It's rated from 0 to 100, and it's called the Pavement Condition Index. So usually, if you're above 70, you can do a slurry seal. If you're above... 50 to around 70, you can do a resurfacing of some sort. Everything below 50 is considered a street that has failed and would need rehabilitation.

So is rehabilitation then is not a slurry or cape seal, it's something else?

That's correct. So cape seal and a slurry seal falls under the maintenance category. So if it's in the higher category above 70, we can do a slurry seal or a cape seal. And then when it's between 50 or 70, It's a mill. You just remove the upper three inches, and there's some isolated areas which may need an additional three inches of the material removed, and then you replace it with asphalt. If it's below 50, that means that there's a considerable amount of base that has failed, and you have to go beneath possibly the aggregate base section, which is usually around six inches below the asphalt material.

Okay. So when the... Dark blue color comes out and is doing Sharp Park in 27-28. There's not an opportunity to move and do any other places in the city. Is that correct?

So the way that our consultants have and the program has selected the areas was to clump them together so that we can get better costs and mobilization by doing more of the areas in the same neighborhoods. So if you're having them go from all over the city, then that makes the cost go up.

Right. So is there a human... look at any of these streets in the rehabilitation area or are we doing algorithm based and what is the source of the determination? I know it's the program that comes from MTC, right? Is it that program?

Correct. Yeah, it's the Street Saver program and that algorithm will give us all the streets that we can do maintenance on given our budget. There might be some clumping together and our consultants will do that. Our staff typically will not do this just because of how underfunded the program is. We won't do the street selection with our own staff. So the consultants are selecting based on what the program is telling them and they're clumping it. That's why they're all in the same areas. They generally will not look like this when you run the program because the PCIs vary across all the neighborhoods. But they have clumped it together and that's why Rosita is clumped into this neighborhood.

Okay. And last question, and this is, I should have asked this before, right this minute, I apologize, but is there a look at the bike and ped plan as well when we're, is there an, uh, an overlay or a comparison with, um, bicycle? Oh, I forgot what we call it. Bicycle roadways or something like that, that designation, um, when we're doing this project.

So we do implement the Class 3 or Class 3B, and those are what we call sharrows. And those are easier to place in. They're a shared bike lane that you can place in without adjusting lane widths or... trying to get extra width out of the roadway. But other than that, some of the other bike lanes that are class two, class one from the bike pet master plan, you would need really major improvements in the area to widen the street, maybe remove parking. Or for example, the next one that's a higher priority for the city is the ocean and the bike lanes. We currently have a grant to do a feasibility study, but that is going to be a pretty costly bike lane to install because there's not enough width in the street. We have to go into possibly where the fenced area is off of Caltrans right away and see if we can extend it further out in order to get a Class 2 into that street.

I wasn't even thinking of when there's a separate lane. I was thinking of the shared roadway designation, and I forgot what that's called. There's one near Cabrillo School. that's like that, where you paint the giant bike.

That's the shero that he referred to that they are doing.

But it doesn't have a lane. He was referring to a lane with Oceana. I'm talking about just sharing, right?

Yes. If there's opportunity to put sheroes in from our bike pet master plan, we'll add it with the project.

At the time that we do this work?

Correct.

Okay, I got it. Thank you.

And just for the public's point of view, so packet page 42 is a map of the whole city, and so it's the five-year plan for repaving our streets based on the grant funding that we get. And the current project we're reviewing tonight is in the Manor and Fairmont area. And I had one question that I shared with staff ahead of time about that project. We've had some problems with an earlier section of work around Monterey Road where the streets are really steep. And then what happens with the handicap ramps and curb ramps that are added is that it becomes a vehicle for too much water flowing down the street to then go up on the sidewalk and then flood some of the neighboring properties. And so I know... you know, some of these areas that we're planning to pave and redo curbs are also steep. So I'm just wondering if that has been considered in the consultant's plans.

So, yes, we will look into these curb ramps very closely when we install them to make sure this runoff doesn't happen. But yes, the ones off of Monterey and Hickey could use a higher curb. And we have a 30% contingency on this SIDEWALK CURBS AND RAMPS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT TO USE FOR ADDITIONAL CONCRETE IN VARIOUS AREAS IN THE CITY, AND THAT WAS AN AREA WE WERE CONSIDERING. SO IF WE CAN DO IT, WE WILL MAKE THOSE CURBS HIGHER, BUT, YES, THE STEEPER STREETS ON THE CURB RAMPS FOR OUR CURRENT PROJECT, WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT IT DOESN'T HAPPEN FOR THIS PROJECT.

OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I DON'T HAVE ANY CARDS FOR THE CONSENT AGENDA. Anybody online?

Mayor Bowles, one further correction to be noted for the consent agenda on agenda item number one for the notice of completion for the Rockaway Pump Station. The published staff report included the fiscal impact section on packet page 35. The funds table in the fiscal impact section of the staff report should be updated with the total for the engineering services during construction actual cost for Hazen and Sawyer. The amount should be changed from $53,310, which is noted in the published staff report, instead to $51,102. And the associated total use of funds should be revised accordingly to $609,084 sorry, $609,084, and project end balance revised to $104,422. These changes result from a minor total project use of funds of $2,000 less than what was originally projected, and the project came in more under budget than the greater project end balance that was noted in the published staff report. There's no change to the resolution or notice of completion.

Okay. So if we're making a motion, we can just move to as amended. Approve the consent count. Okay. Do I have a motion?

Move as amended.

We still have three public comment. Oh, I'm sorry. I thought we didn't have anybody.

No, we have three raised hands.

Oh, okay. For the consent count. So just, again, clarifying that these public comments are for THESE THREE ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR ONLY. THERE'S A PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD FOLLOWING ABOUT ANY ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA. SO IF YOU CAN LOWER YOUR HAND IF YOU'RE NOT SPEAKING ON THE CONSENT AGENDA.

THERE ARE TWO RAISED HANDS. THE FIRST IS FOR SATHYA SANGHURI.

OKAY. PLEASE GO AHEAD.

HELLO. HELLO. YOU TOTALLY BUTCHERED MY NAME. This is racist. No, seriously, white people are being genocided, and you fucks talk about . I'm sorry.

I need you to stay on the topic of the consent calendar, or I might need to cut you off. Are you speaking on the three items on the consent calendar?

You're paying taxes to pedophiles.

OK. Please cut off the speaker. CITY CLERK AND CITY ATTORNEY ARE CONFIRMING THAT I'M IN.

LET'S JUST CONFIRM THAT THAT SPEAKER IS NOT SPEAKING ON THE ITEM ON THE AGENDA. AND SO YOU'VE GIVEN THEM TWO WARNINGS. THEY FAILED TO COMPLY. SO NOW THEY WILL BE CUT OFF. OKAY.

THANK YOU. NEXT SPEAKER. NEXT RAISED HAND IS FOR BRANDON TORRENT. GO AHEAD, BRANDON.

I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I FUCKING HATE NEGROES SO MUCH. OKAY.

GAVEL.

I don't have my gavel.

I'm sorry, but we're limiting comments right now to the consent calendar. So I'm giving one more chance. If you want to speak to the items on consent, our pump station and our road paving, please do so. If not, please stop speaking at this time. Confirming he's unmuted. Confirming he is unmuted. Okay, I'll give you five more seconds. Okay, I'm closing public comment on the consent calendar. Okay. Were you making a motion?

Oh, no, we have any? No. Were you making a motion?

Yes, I moved as amended.

Okay, please vote.

So the maker of the motion, who is the maker of the motion? Vice Mayor Wright. And the seconder? Beckmeyer. Thank you. And for the items on consent with item number one and number one as amended, the maker of the motion was Vice Mayor Wright, seconder Council Member Beckmeyer, and the vote passes unanimously.

Okay, great. Thank you, everyone. So that moves us to public comments on items not on the posted agenda. And again, as I read earlier, these comments all need to be within the subject matter jurisdiction of the city. So I have three cards.

And Madam Mayor, I would recommend that you also say that for anybody who wants to speak on this item remotely, that they need to raise their hands now. Okay. And only those people who have their hands raised now will be allowed to speak afterwards.

Okay. So anyone who wishes to speak remotely, please raise your hand right now. I will count to five. In my head? Okay, so we will cut off our remote speakers. How many do we have right now?

We have two raised hands. The last is Dylan Roof.

Okay. Thank you, Emily. Okay, we're going to start in the room. I have Patrick Kavanaugh, Elizabeth Riddell, and then Cindy Abbott, and those are all the cards I have.

One more.

And one more. Go ahead, Patrick.

Welcome.

Good evening, Honorable Mayor, Vice Mayor Wright, Council and staff. I'm representing Pacific Beach Coalition as Executive Director of Patrick James Cavanaugh. It's good to meet you. Good to see you again. Right now, we are riding waves of sea change in 2026, as many of you may be familiar with already. So far, we've had a successful Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. cleanup and habitat restoration. We had about 400 native plants go up along the coastal trail between Linda Mar and Rockaway Beaches, with neighbors like Pacifica Gardens donating those on our behalf. On March 14th, we hosted PBS local affiliate NorCal Media at a Sharp Park cleanup, before a screening of Climate California at the Sharp Park Library. Very prescient, very relevant. And now, in partnership with the city, and special thanks to Parks, Beach, and Recreation, and Public Works, of course, we're excited for our planned Earth Day EcoFest. This year's EcoFest will be happening on Saturday, April 18th. We'll have cleanups from 9 to 11 across 15 different sites. Then we'll have our festival, as ever, from 10.30 to 1.30. with our proud sponsors, including Premier Ecology of the Coast. This year, we are happy to honor the steelhead trout, Not many of you may be aware that you do have a surviving steelhead trout run just behind that really famous Taco Bell over at Pacifica State Beach. San Pedro Creek Mouth is where they come in and come out more than two or three times in some cases. It's incredible. It's a testament to power of transformation and adaptation amidst a critical time of challenge in our ecosystem. We'll be doing a tour to San Pedro Creek. You're all invited. Happy to talk to you more about that. Alongside that, we'll have 30 booths and activities including things like marine robotics, eco-wellness, beachside yoga, things like that. Very exciting. We do have an official poster with sponsors that has gone to print. I don't have it available, but I do have a flyer. I'd be happy to share that with all of you as well. Stay tuned for more, including our teacher toolkits and our school assemblies going out with project-based learning modules based on the Steelhead Trout. Thank you very much for having me.

Thank you.

Thank you, Patrick. Elizabeth Burdell, followed by Cindy Abbott, and then Lila Raniera. All right.

Good evening, my name is Elizabeth Berdahl.

Mike.

My name is Elizabeth Berdahl, and I'm a 36-year resident of Pacifica. I'm here tonight representing the Pacifica Resource Center, and this month's theme is our grocery program. Pacifica Resource Center's grocery program is one of our core programs. Over the last year, we provided 160,000 units of groceries to benefit 2,300 Pacifica residents, including families, children, and older adults, to increase their food security. We've provided groceries through our Choice Pantry, which is a monthly food distribution and grocery deliveries. Anyone needing food can come to PRC for emergency groceries or groceries to keep food on hand for their families. Choice Pantry means that the people who sign up for PRC grocery programs can shop in the pantry twice each month and choose what they want. Grocery deliveries are provided at least once a month to people signed up for our grocery programs who are homebound or do not have reliable transportation in place for a pantry visit. Our monthly food distributions are on the fourth Wednesday of each month at the American Legion Hall, and groceries are set up and people sign up for the distribution, shop for the items they need. The next grocery distribution is Wednesday, March 25th. If you aren't already signed up, you can arrive at the American Legion Hall at 4.30, and we will provide groceries and sign you up for future distributions. To sign up for our grocery program or other PRC programs, please call at 650-738-7470 or email us at info at pacresourcecenter.org or our website, which is www.prc.org. www.pacresourcecenter.org. And also as a quick save the date, our Pumapalooza will be on September 12th, 2026, and join us for a wonderful dinner and auction at the Fairlawn Room up at Skyline.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Elizabeth. Cindy, followed by Lila, and then Mark Stackbard is my last card.

Good evening again. Thank you so much for approving the adopt-a-treat program earlier this evening. It was a long time coming. Another conversation that's been a long time coming is enforcement of critical issues about short-term rentals. At one point, I think it was about a year and a half ago in this long five-year journey, that we heard that the city's unofficial protocol for dealing with code enforcement issues was to work as hard as possible to bring things into compliance. But I have to ask, when is the line drawn? How much staff time and resources and community concerns and discomfort has to happen before trying to bring around something that is not in compliance just has to be put to an end. I would say that the time has come for the difficult property here in West Shark Park. There are now four cases that are well documented on top of years of documentation of community concerns, neighborhood discomfort and pain, trash being thrown outside that could have the risk to go into our precious beach. You know, properties just not being valued or the neighborhood not being valued. So I really wanted you to think about this as not just the singular short-term rental issue, but the broader issue of code enforcement and compliance. And really, now must be the time to say that the line needs to be drawn. Think of all the resources, the police calls, city staff time and administration and legal that has already gone into just dealing with one troublesome property. So you may hear other things tonight about that, but I think it's really important to look at the long-term perspective of how much agony has been going on in the West Sharp Park neighborhood for just too long. And how much longer can you continue to see staff resources, something that comes up all the time here on the council of making sure that we're not wasting or putting the staff time out there for things that just really have come to a point where we need to conclude this conversation. Please do that really soon and think about addressing this once and for all. Thank you. Thank you, Cindy.

Lila and then Mark.

Good evening, Mayor, Council Members, everything Cindy said. Additionally, I'm Lila Renera. I'm here to follow up on concerns regarding the short-term rental program and its enforcement. Why was the permit for 1987 Beach Boulevard renewed despite repeated violations, including property theft, vandalism, and trespassing, and despite the owners failing to respond to the city's certified letters requesting a hearing? These same operators also have a history of multiple code violations at 400 Belfast, raising serious concerns about their overall compliance. Ignoring certified notices should carry consequences. When operators fail to engage with enforcement, it undermines the integrity of the entire system. I'm frustrated on behalf of the neighbors who live next to this nuisance property and continue to deal with disruptions affecting their safety and quality of life. And frankly, I'm embarrassed by the city's lack of enforcement and meaningful action. So I'm asking, what is the city's policy when a permit holder fails to respond to certified notices? How are repeated violations like theft, vandalism, and trespassing factored into permit renewal decisions? How are prior violations at other properties considered when evaluating an operator's eligibility? Why did this pattern of noncompliance not result in denial or suspension of the permit? How can residents have confidence in enforcement if participation in the process itself appears to be optional? This raises serious concerns about accountability and consistent enforcement. Thank you.

Thank you, Lila. Mark, followed by Caitlin Quinn.

So I agree with everything that's been said by our merry gang for the past five years as well. I think enforcement falls under the... category of being ignored persistently. So there's four addresses I'm going to discuss tonight that have been discussed over the past couple months. Nothing's changed. Staff's ignored it. Apparently, if you raise an issue at City Council, nobody pays attention. Staff doesn't take notes. I think these all ought to have takedown notices on Airbnb, and I think their permits ought to be pulled because it's been going on for months. In fact, they got a permit with no plaques being up. So, 728 Noriega, no plaque. The space is advertised. is great for business travelers, SF tech conferences, team off-site meetings. Illegal event. Parking. The garage is a game room. No parking in the garage. That's an illegal conversion. 1138 Grand Teton. No plaque, no posted parking limit for the house, and the owner is whale's tail, not a natural person. Permitted. illegally permitted, I might add. 1159 DeSolo, no plaque. Owner is DeSolo Holiday Rentals, not a natural person. Garage is a laundry room, no parking. And then 1149 Banyan, no plaque. Marabella, not a natural person. All four are permitted on your watch. Thank you.

Thank you, Mark. Caitlin, that's my last card.

Hello, Mayor and City Council. Lovely to see you this evening. On August 7th, a man connected with the guests of the STR being operated at 1987 Beach Boulevard by the Marbella Lane Corporation, whose representatives are here, by the way, came onto my property and adjacent neighbor's property and took down signs. On October 19th, a guest at the property trespassed onto my property and vandalized my security cameras. That guest was allowed to stay for another five nights at the property. On February 9th, 1987, Beach Boulevard was rented to a group that threw a large and loud Super Bowl party. The next day, those guests dumped multiple bags of their unsorted trash at the seawall. They also trespassed onto 1989 Beach Boulevard and crammed more unsorted trash into those neighbors' bins. This past weekend, a worker in the employ of the corporation defaced my property with spray paint. That's four criminal cases that have been opened by the police department here related to the SDR operations at 1987 Beach in seven months' time. I'm curious, how many of you here would want to live next door to an SDR that brings that kind of dangerous nuisance regularly to your neighborhood? Can I see a show of hands who would like to live next door to an SDR with four counts, criminal counts, against it in seven months? That's what I thought. Thank you.

Thank you, Caitlin.

There are two raised hands. The first is for Alex Schwartz. Go ahead, Alex.

Yeah, hello, council. Are you guys able to hear me?

We are. Please go ahead.

Yeah, hey council. So what I had wanted to speak on was in regards to the behavior that I've noticed in the community by many individuals. So obviously there's been a lot of misbehavior in regards to the noise, the amount of trash that has been left around in the community. I was actually taking a walk the other day and I noticed that there were heroin needles within the parks. And I'm just getting really frustrated as to why, you know, non-whites and, you know, these niggers and these fucking...

I'm sorry, I'm going to have to stop you. City Attorney, can you please give me some advice?

That language is not associated to within the subject matter of the jurisdiction. So if you can contain your comments to... something that was within the subject matter of the jurisdiction, you can continue. But if you continue with those kinds of statements, the mayor will cut you off and you will no longer be allowed to speak.

So you can continue with your observations as to the needs of the city, but we... Don't accept that kind of language.

So I have a First Amendment right, so you don't have to like the words that come out of my mouth, but the Brown Act of California actually states that just because I said words you don't like doesn't give you the right to mute me or do whatever. Now, if you'd like to limit my First Amendment right, I will absolutely sue the city of Pacifica to ever-loving hell, and you will enrich me from my words, so you can do whatever the hell you'd like. This country has been absolutely tarnished by shitskin, nigger, subhuman...

Sorry, I'm going to cut off this comment at your direction, City Attorney.

The second and last raised hand that was in the queue earlier was Dylan Roof.

Okay, go ahead, Dylan.

Hey, so basically in the name of St. William of Norwich, Simon of Trent, and Dylan Roof, so basically my concerns are basically the link to what's been going on recently with the neighborhood and such is basically is These fucking filthy dirty...

Okay. I'm sorry. I'm not limiting your free speech, but I am limiting your language and your... It's not speaking on an item... You're not speaking on an item within our subject matter jurisdiction, so can you please clarify exactly what your issue is, or I will have to cut you off.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Sorry. It just comes out. I'm sorry. Massive apology. It's not Christian. All right. What I'm doing. I'm sorry. So basically on the policy, basically, essentially, it's related to the thing. Listen, basically, it's these fucking evil fucking niggers. These niggers.

Okay. I'm sorry. City clerk, could you please cut off the microphone? And I believe that's all. And we're closing public comment. Deep breath, everybody. We are better than that here in Pacifica. Okay, bringing us back onto our agenda for tonight. Sorry, let me get back to my page.

Would you care to take a five-minute recess?

I'm okay. We have a lot and we have a lot of people here and I am I'm concerned that we were already running late, but it's up to you all.

You did great, Mayor. Right.

You did great, Mayor Bowles. You did great. Yes. We are. Sorry. I'm just finding my spot.

In case you were interested, I could use a personal privilege.

Okay. Then we will take a quick five-minute break. It is 7.04. We'll be back at 7.09.

Recording stopped.

That came actually from our liaison at the water department. That's where that came from. So that's from our liaison at the water department.

Oh, the article, I know. She mentioned it to me. She said, where'd it go, though? Oh, here it is. There. Thank you. Yeah, she said she liked it.

I spread it out.

So I was asking her if it was there.

She goes, no.

Okay, I'm gaveling for the room this time and not for the Zoom callers. Can you please take your seats and bring us back to order?

All right.

WE'RE MOVING ON TO OUR CONSIDERATION ITEMS. NUMBER FOUR, CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION APPOINTING SEAN SHARPENTIER AS THE CITY MANAGER AND APPROVING THE EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF PACIFICA AND SEAN SHARPENTIER. I BELIEVE I'M PRESENTING THE STAFF REPORT TONIGHT. as part of the ad hoc committee with Vice Mayor Wright who Conducted the contract negotiations with Sean along with the city attorney and our consultant Gary Phillips So I wrote a bunch of notes and But starting, I just want to say how excited we all are to bring this item and to bring Sean here before us tonight. When Council started this process six months ago, we were uncertain if we were going to be able to attract good candidates because we have a lot of challenges here in Pacifica. our financial, our staff shortages, and so many infrastructure needs. But we also knew we had something special to offer here. You know, our beautiful natural setting, our small town feel, which is really an oasis for much of the busy Bay Area. We do have a very dedicated and hardworking staff, and as you can see in the room tonight, a wonderfully engaged community. So we're hopeful. And our consultant, Gary Phillips, did a great job in the recruitment. As writing, I wrote more of the details in the staff report that I won't repeat here, but we had 40 applicants for the position, eight of whom had prior experience as city managers or assistant city managers. And for us, it was really important because of our many challenges to be able to bring someone on who could hit the ground running, who had the experience over a wide range of issues and topics that we face here in Pacifica. And also just because we're in the midst of budget season now, so someone who can help us dig deeply into our financial situation and focus on areas where we can hopefully bring in more money, grants, and other resources and to give a fresh look and perspective on what's working and what might need shifting to move us to a more sustainable place as a community and a city together. So this requires, you know, someone with a depth and broad range of experience who knows how government works and, again, who can hit the ground running. So Sean Sharpentier stood out to us from the very beginning. And Sean is here tonight. You can wave with his beautiful wife, Jessica, and his two daughters, Brianna and Shannon, sitting next to them. Welcome to you all. We're so glad to have you here. So Sean brings a wealth of experience to us in executive leadership and administration, organizational health and stability, finance, economic development, grant securement, infrastructure modernization, city planning and redevelopment, transportation and micro-mobility, climate resiliency, sea level rise planning, adaptation, affordable housing development, as well as experience finding collaborative solutions to address homelessness, water rights, and economic growth. His detailed resume is in the agenda. I'm not going to repeat all that, but it's on page 80. But a quick summary from a master's degree in city planning from UC Berkeley to working on affordable housing policy and development, working in government for the past 20 years, first in economic development, to Assistant and Interim City Manager of East Palo Alto at a critical time where they also faced many challenges similar to what we face here in Pacifica, and then to its current work at the county level as part of CCAG, the City and County Association of Governments for all of San Mateo County. Sean is so well respected, has built strong working relationships on the federal, state, and regional levels, ESSENTIAL SKILLS TO SUPPORT OUR MANY INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES. SOME OF US, VICE MAYOR WRIGHT, COUNCILMEMBER BECKMEYER AND MARY HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE EVEN WORKED WITH SEAN DIRECTLY ON THE COUNTY BIKE PED AND COMMITTEE AND THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND CLIMATE PROTECTION COMMITTEES. I'M NOT SURE IF YOU ALL WANT TO SAY MORE. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, IT'S OUR JOB TO PRESENT THE CONTRACT details and there are specific legal things. But before I do that, I'm hoping to invite Sean up to say a few words. Is that okay, city attorney, in terms of process?

No, I think you should...

Sorry, I should have asked you first.

No, I think if you finish that statement... that the government code 54953C, and then you'll be done with the staff report, and then you can call up public comment, and then you might want to call up Sean first.

Okay. All right. Well, I'll do that. Then we will share the contract details first. So this is on packet page 62, and I'm going to read from the agenda. So in accordance with government code section 54953C3, the city council is to receive an oral summary report of the salary and compensation, including fringe benefits paid to any local agency executive prior to taking final action. Under the terms of this agreement, the city manager would be retitled to receive the following compensation and benefits. So the first one on the list is an annual base salary of $330,000. I wanted to give a little context to that because this was part of our negotiation with Sean and there's in the packet is also a really helpful spreadsheet that interim city manager Yulia Carter put together that shows the comparable salaries for other city managers in CITIES IN THE COUNTY. AND THAT NUMBER IS ACTUALLY and in addition, several of those cities provide other benefits that we do not. Some of those cities are bigger. Some of those cities are smaller. The closest city to us in terms of size is San Bruno at $42,000, so just as a direct comparison, they currently pay almost $347,000, and that is scheduled to go up to almost $361,000 in July, and they also offer $150 up to $140,000 for the cost of a home purchase. So Sean had initially asked for a little more in our negotiations, and partly because there's some deferred compensation of $10,000, which previous city manager Kevin Woodhouse had also. Just really appreciate that Sean was willing to work with us to... to reduce the salary to the 330 here. And as I mentioned in the staff report, this is about a 5.1% increase over previous city manager Kevin Woodhouse's salary, which was 314,000. And that amount was from 2024 and would most likely have been increased actually last fall for cost of living at a minimum if he were to stay. So we really feel like we're getting a good deal. The other item that is new in Sean's contract is addressing the issue of compaction of salaries. So it's important for the city manager to be earning more than the other department heads in the city. So he has asked for a 5% minimum base salary differential above department heads. And again, we negotiated that down from an original ask of 10%. And that's really very fair, right, as the person who is leading the city and who's managing all the departments below them. So going back to the agenda, so besides the salary and the deferred compensation that I mentioned previously, Annual administrative leave of 96 hours, prorated for 2026. Vacation leave bank of 10 days of vacation upon commencement of employment. And Kevin had asked for 20, by the way. And then vacation leave accrual rate of 7.3 hours per pay period, which equates to 24 vacation days annually. The same holidays, sick leave, long-term disability benefits, retirement benefits, insurance benefits including but not limited to life, health, and dental coverage in the same manner provided to department directors as detailed in the Unrepresented Management and Confidential Employees Resolution Number 65-2025 and as may be updated. And then other specific terms including resignation, termination, and severance. all of which are identical to the contract of the previous city manager, Kevin Woodhouse. And then I just wanted to stress and explain the termination and severance. This is all very standard language. I reviewed a number of contracts throughout the county and beyond. The city manager's contract is with the city council, and they serve at the pleasure of council, which by default, because we're all politically appointed, voted in, means that it's an uncertain job as the council membership and focus can shift with elections every two years. So there's language in here that... 90 days before or after an election, any termination needs to be by a unanimous council vote. And again, that's to give time for a new council member to get to know with and work with a city manager. And again, those are the same terms as Kevin Woodhouse had. The 12-month severance seems like a lot, but again, this is what I'm seeing in more and more examples all around us. Again, same as Kevin's terms, the city of San Mateo, even the new South San Francisco city manager who was appointed just a few months ago, his appointment was controversial and was only for a one-year term on a trial basis, also has a 12-month severance. So, again, 12 months has become common for this role because of the political uncertainties in the position. Um, so attachment a has the full contract terms that, um, hopefully everyone's had a chance to look at. Um, the other thing I wanted to stress the overall financial impact to the city, um, which is summarized on packet page 63, um, uh, for this year, the salary savings from, um, the unfilled, um, assistant city manager position as, um, interim city manager Carter has taken and taken over, um, in our period here in between city managers, that salary savings more than offsets the additional costs for this year. And the impact to next year is about $20,000, which will be addressed in our budget development coming up. So that's all I have. Now can we hear a little bit from Sean before we take some questions from council?

I was just curious of when we'll get to, after we hear from Sean or before?

Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I can do it either way.

So I understand. So you're not opening up public comment.

I'm not opening up public comment. Right. I just wanted to give Sean a... A minute to introduce himself to our community, you know, why you're interested in Pacifica and this position. Any thoughts you'd like to share?

Ready?

Yeah.

Well, thank you very much. My name is Sean Charpentier. I'm excited to be here and to be considered and also humbled by this opportunity to be in a leadership role in Pacifica. I have 20 years of public sector experience, 10 years as an executive in San Mateo County, and really my passion is to build and maintain communities that are sustainable, prosperous, and equitable. And Pacifica is really one of the most unique communities in the Bay Area, and just being here reminded me of that. This is the only place you can have a council meeting and listen to the waves. And I think that proximity creates a very strong emphasis on sustainability and communities that work together. And I heard quite a bit of that at the meeting tonight around the tree plan. And I could tie it back to your climate action plan and see the balance of aspirations and pragmatism. And a lot of that is what drew me here. The ability to work with a coastal community that's really working towards being that exemplary community on the coast of equity, sustainability, and prosperity. And in addition, Pacifica has a very strong arts community and engaged residents, a variety of really unique neighborhoods, and an incredible location for a real potential for both existing and expanded tourism opportunities. And all of those things drew me there, and I've had experience working with Pacifica over the last couple years at CCAG and have always been impressed with The input on CCAG board and committees from people from Pacifica, both elected and non-elected. In terms of my other accomplishments, as you mentioned, my resume is in the packet. I think what's probably not communicated in my resume is my commitment to the community, to council, and to coming here and listening and learning and hearing from folks who live here and work here. and play here about how to move the community together, forward together. And that concludes my remarks, and I'm available if there are any questions.

Okay, great. Thank you so much, John. I appreciate it. I think you can sit down now, and we'll get back to you. Yeah, are there counsel?

Yeah, thank you. Yeah.

We haven't taught you that. We try just to keep our meetings running, to not clap, because it's a little more disturbing, and I'm not nagging anybody now, but just educating Sean, and our practice is to wave our hands in agreement, so we're all waving. Yeah, are there any council comments or questions? Obviously, we need to deliberate on the other side of public comment, but why don't we take public comment?

I think that's a good idea. Yes.

All right, and we're gonna swap this up a little bit. I only have three cards now, so take your time to fill out a card in the back. We're gonna start with Zoom tonight, and we don't have any hands raised on Zoom, okay. Then we'll just continue with the comments in the room. So I have Kimberly Finale, followed by Brian Raniero, and then Tiger Jess, big stick.

All right, hello mayor, council members, and new city manager, Sharpentier. Welcome to Pacifica, the most magical natural wonderland that the Bay Area has to offer, where native wildlife, including bobcats, birds, coyotes, mountain lions, red-legged tree frogs, and their predators, and that's just in my backyard, meets the tide pools to the depths of the sea at the edge of the continent. where you know when the whales are about to put on a show, when the California pelicans start diving for anchovies, sardines, and mackerel. You are brave, to be sure. We are a tough crowd here. But we're the most loving and passionate tough crowd you will have the pleasure of working with. We care about our community like family. You're a part of that family now, and I welcome you. I'd like to request that when council ask our new city manager or city attorney a question regarding, for example, the number one line item on our budget, that a response is given only if you have the data to back it up. In absence of data, I find it irresponsible to reply with a response which promotes only an individual's desired outcome. To suggest by replying to a budgetary question that the number one expense in our budget is not worth examining without solid data is unacceptable. free recreational living, and economic development disaster. Please work with the California Coastal Commission and prioritize transparency with council and community. We have a temporary safe parking program. A blueprint offered to the former city manager was not disclosed during attempted updating of the most recent oversized vehicle ordinance. The community is tired of walking through RV residents' outdoor toilets, and visitors to the city will stay away. What we need now is a commitment to stop wasting our limited resources, and we get to work cleaning up this hidden gem so that any economic development has a chance of becoming a reality. Thank you, Sean, and welcome aboard.

Thank you, Kimberly. Brian, followed by Tiger.

Good evening, mayors, mayor, members of the council, and to our prospective city manager, Mr. Charpentier. I'll get that name sooner or later. Welcome to Pacifica on this beautiful day. The selection of the new city manager is an important opportunity and a very much needed fresh start here in Pacifica. And I'm looking forward to the next few years with a great deal of optimism. However, The fresh start that we need here, just to kind of set the stage with some frankness, is that of course, during the process, there was a survey of both Pacificans and our city staff, which revealed that there was a lot of dissatisfaction and dysfunction with city staff. Some folks appeared to be very dedicated. Others, there was unfortunately, feelings of enmity towards the council and towards the community. I'm eager to see that we can put that behind us and rebuild the culture of our city hall, which is definitely necessary. The community can't be at odds with its city staff and vice versa. And so I do think that there's an opportunity to rebuild that culture. Now, that is a challenge in itself, of course, in addition to the budgetary constraints that we have. So for what it's worth, I would say to our prospective city manager, before the ink is dry, one little bit of advice I would say is that in my own experience, I've worked at very large companies and very small ones where the opportunities were great. And sometimes you get word that you're not going to be able to have the team or the size of the team that you enjoyed previously. It's time to roll up your sleeves and become a player coach, as we say, where you get involved and help the culture and get the ball rolling and get results by digging into the work at hand, participating with the staff as well. I think that's a great thing, a great opportunity to be taking on right now. And also in this opportunity to reset with the community and with staff and with City Hall is, as you saw Ms. Vernally say, and is definitely apparent, we are a very engaged community. And that engagement extends into the commissions and committees that many very smart, intelligent, dedicated people volunteer for. So let's please partner with these committees as well and take their input. For instance, the Economic Development Committee, a lot of good ideas could come through there. And I thank Mr. Charpentier for taking on this challenge, being willing to accept it. And I want to welcome you and your family to Pacifica.

Thank you so much, Brian. TigerJazz.

Good evening, honorable mayor and council. I am TigerJazz Troll's big stick of Pacifica. Having had the opportunity to work a little bit with Sean, I thought I'd take the opportunity to give my sense of what he will be bringing to our community. And to Sean, I think it should be abundantly apparent how eager the community is to work with you. And this is a community that strives with its nature to stand in love as is clearly displayed as we look forward toward our leadership and toward our decision making. And so I want to welcome you into this striving within ourselves to unite always with the highest potentials of love in mind. I had the honor of working with Sean as a member of the CCAG body, the City and County Association of Governments. And so I got to watch firsthand how Sean took 21 jurisdictions in our county and found the ability to harmonize those needs. Frankly, Sean is familiar with our community before he knew that he was going to be applying to this job. And that gives me a lot of hope in terms of what's coming next. Actually gives me a lot of excitement in terms of what's coming next. He can come off as a bit soft-spoken. But much as water roads even the toughest substances over time, what is informing that soft-spoken nature is the veracity that water, as we can appreciate right outside our door here, can accomplish. He has the understanding of how this county works and how it works in relation to us. And he has the understanding of how the federal and state government works in relation to the county and in relation to us. Therefore, Sean is in an extraordinarily unique position to understand what resources can come to bear for our betterment and how to most adeptly bring them to our benefit. So as we look to our respective concerns in terms of what we wish to see happen in our community and we inform him accordingly, I wish to offer that we make space that he will be able, if anyone can, to bring the resources we need to have the greatest harmony in our community we can find. Assuming everybody up there presses the yes button, Sean, welcome to Pacifica.

Thank you, Tiger. That's the last card I have. I'm going to close public comment and bring it back to council. And I don't have any lights yet, but I know you're all frightened to talk. Go ahead, Mary. Okay.

Sean, welcome. And to the community, you know, I've never been part of a process to hire a new city manager. And we heard a lot of feedback. What kind of questions are you asking? Maybe you should wait a year for the new council to come up. And it's really interesting to have to do things in closed session, especially when you're so excited about what is in front of you. Because the folks that came out to apply for this position were just awesome. so many people who were so qualified, and shout out to San Mateo County Leadership Corps, because there was two Leadership Corps people who came and applied, and one who's sitting in this room today, and that is where I had the opportunity to get to know Sean on a different level. So I do sit on the CKEG Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and so I had the chance to see Sean working there, how he calmly steered things and how he treated his staff with such respect and how he stood strong when he needed to stay strong. And I've always been very impressed by that. But in San Mateo County Leadership Corps, you got to spend time with people in a whole different way. So we spent all day Fridays together once a month for almost a year. And What I got to see, Sean, with you during that experience was this other part of you. And like Tiger was saying, I agree with everything that Tiger just said. Yes, you are soft-spoken, but what I really got to see was that you're actually funny. And really pleasant to be around. And then I got to meet your lovely family. And things like that really matter. And I know, as I don't know if you can tell, but I am definitely going to support this item on our agenda today. I just feel like we're really lucky. And what a way to get ushered into Pacifica tonight, right? Because there's folks calling in that aren't happy, and then we love each other. We really do, even when we're at odds. And we've heard that from Kimberly too. Even when we're at odds, we love each other and we care about this community so very much. And it shows up all the time. And you're going to have an opportunity to see all that spirited stuff come into this council chambers. And it's a beautiful thing. And it has been for decades. We've had so much advocacy over the years to create the Hillside Preservation District and 51% open space. I mean, that all comes from the heart of our community. And I'm really looking forward to you getting to know the heart of our community and the heart of our community getting to know you. Because I find you to be an incredibly effective, kind person. gentle soul, and I'm really looking forward to working with you. Okay, I think that's enough out of me.

John, you know, you bring a wealth of experience, a ton of knowledge. You garner an awful lot of respect. The people that you have worked with, the people you know, the people who will take your calls, it's really been a pleasure to work with you both on bike pads on the ledge committee where I've seen you firsthand dealing with some of our advocates in Sacramento as an alternate during the regular CCAG meetings. I've had the opportunity to read a bunch of your agenda packets for a little bit over a year now. I've seen the work that goes into it. I look forward to a much brighter future for Pacifica now that we have you in it. And for once now, it's your turn to say what's in it for the coast.

Thank you, Craig. I'll go. I was starting to underline a bunch of things from your resume that, you know, aren't terribly exciting sounding, but so important to our community. Things that you have experience with, stormwater activities, regional stormwater permitting, regional multi-benefit stormwater remediation, flood reduction, groundwater recharge projects, EPA grant to advance regional trash diversion, work on affordable housing in East Palo Alto, a $20 million grant bringing that forward, creative solutions that you have forged because you understand the problem and you ask questions and you listen. And so my response to this statement about you being soft spoken is that you're a hard listener. You listen and you ask questions and I appreciate that a lot. You're also generous of spirit and my first encounter with you and for everybody's information is when I thought I wanted to apply to the Resource Management and Climate Protection Committee but I wasn't really sure because I couldn't really get my arms around fully what it does. And I wasn't sure if I'd be a fit and it's a countywide committee. You have to apply for it. You have to be appointed. And you so generously set a special zoom with our then staffer, Kim Springer, just for me to give me background, to help me understand better and answer any questions I might have to help me decide if I wanted to go ahead and apply. And to me, that, You heard my questions and you responded. And I think that you will do that time and time again to come in Pacifica. So like Councilmember Beer, I think you know where I'm going with my vote. I really am very honored that you chose us. Thank you.

And I have to say that we end up with three finalists. And out of the three finalists, I didn't know any of them. Actually, I didn't know any of the candidates. So my judgment came out of not knowing anyone. So everyone was, my judgment was even to every candidate. And we come up with three finalists. And unfortunately, I picked another person because this other person gave me this, well, this person kind of spoke to me and gave me a picture of what I was expecting as a council member. And also what the community wanted to, I read the survey and I knew the community was into budget very heavily. and into community engagement and transparency, which I agree with that statement. And I don't want to be like the poopy person here, but I have a feeling that I got to meet him separately and I asked him my questions that I had and I didn't feel that he answered the questions to me the way I wanted to here. And it's not that he's not capable to do the work. I have some concerns. And that's why we have democracy. So you can vote. I'm leading with my heart. And I'm not saying that you're not capable to do this, but maybe in another occasion I can judge you or give you my vote. But for tonight, I am going to give you a different result, and it doesn't mean that I'm not open to work with you. I'm gonna be here, I wanted to support my community, I wanna support the city's success, and maybe in another time, We meet in another time and it could be a different outcome. But for tonight, you don't have my vote. And this is not personal. It's how I felt. So welcome. I'm open to work with you. And I want the community to take their time to get to know you. And I wanted to get to know you too. Thank you.

You know, can I just comment? Thank you, Myra, for being Myra, right? And we've gotten to know that little fiery part of you, and I appreciate it. And it also, I want to say to the community, it also shows the quality of the people who came and interviewed because we really did have a hard time. And we were so lucky. with the people who came in front of us. And so I think that that's what I hear when I hear from Myra because there were such great people. And so again, yeah.

My turn. And I think as a council we listen to each other and listen to our concerns. I think I've really tried to listen to Myra's too and dug into my own research a little bit deeper. Because of that, it's really hard, you know, in a series of really two interviews, right, to fully get a sense of someone. A person who's interviewing is always a little nervous unless you're a complete extrovert, right? And so it's hard to completely evaluate how they will be with the community. And I know that's some of your concerns, whether Sean would be accepted in the community. And so as part of hearing that, I wanted to take time with a council member in East Palo Alto that I knew knows Sean really well. And that is Carlos Romero. I don't know how many years he's been on their council. He's been mayor a few times. I know Carlos from Peninsula Clean Energy, where we both served. served for him. And Carlos and I think a lot alike because we really like to get into the technical details and so I wanted to hear, you know, Sean's, his experience with Sean from that point of view too. But he's actually known Sean since 2004. BEFORE SEAN WAS IN GOVERNMENT WHEN HE WAS WORKING ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING POLICY AND PROJECTS IN THE SOUTH BAY, YOU KNOW, THAT IS SOMETHING WE WANT TO WORK ON MORE AS A COUNCIL TOO. SO TO HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE THAT SEAN BRINGS NOT ONLY IN ADVANCING, YOU KNOW, POLICY FOR PROJECTS BUT ACTUALLY BRINGING IN MONEY FOR THEM. But the deeper question I wanted to ask to Myra's point was like, so how is he really in the community, right? East Palo Alto is a very diverse community, you know, culturally, age-wise, and more and more so with gentrification, right, of there's inequalities in terms of, you know, people's ability to support themselves, the jobs they have. so forth there. And to Kimberly's point too, like one of the issue that Carlos brought up that he worked on really closely with Sean was the issue of RV parking in East Palo Alto. So it was a As it is here, it's a very controversial issue, and there are environmental hazards as part of having those vehicles on the roads. In this particular case, they were also parking in an area that flooded regularly, so it was dangerous and even more environmentally hazardous than ours. Their council, including Carlos, directed that work to Sean, and it was up to him to figure it out. And what he said was, you know, the first thing Sean does is he does his research to really try to deeply understand the issue and all the nuances to the issue. He met with such a range of people that are involved in this issue, meeting with unhoused people directly, meeting with community members, again, across the broad diversity of their communities. of the East Palo Alto community, he met with housing advocates as well as people who were complaining loudly about the impacts on their neighborhoods. And what he learned as he delved into the information is that a lot of the people that were unhoused were actually people from their community that were being displaced and that while THE CITY WANTED TO WORK TOWARDS SOLUTIONS, THEY ALSO NEEDED TO WORK TOWARDS SOLUTIONS THAT WERE ALSO COMPASSIONATE AND HELPED PEOPLE WHERE THEY WERE. SO THEY ACTUALLY, I THINK IT'S THE FIRST SAFE PARKING PROGRAM IN THE WHOLE COUNTY THAT SEAN CAME UP WITH AS THE RESULTS OF THIS WORK. IT WAS ON CITY OWNED LAND. GOD, I WISH WE HAD CITY OWNED LAND. BUT IT WAS ALSO NEAR a newer, wealthier subdivision, right? Where, you know, you'd think those are the people who are the loudest complaining about the potential impacts to their community and their property values as we hear all the time here. So, you know, obviously Sean met with those people too because this parcel of land was right next to, you know, where these people lived. What Carlos said was amazing is that When this finally came to council for their consideration of this program, there was not one public comment in opposition. That's just amazing to me. And when I think of our challenges, we have those same challenges here in our community. We have the extra complication of the Coastal Commission and having them to approve any policies we do on the coast. You look at our sea level rise challenges and how divisive those have been in our community. What we really need is someone who's smart, who's respectful, who listens, who educates, who builds trust, and who works with all of us, the council, the community, and staff to come up with the best possible policies that will bring the most benefit to our whole community. And I really believe that person for us is Sean, and we are just so, so lucky have him applying and wanting to serve our community that way. So anyway, and I see Greg raising his hand. Go ahead.

With the mayor's permission, I would appreciate the honor and the privilege to usher Pacifica forward into a new, brighter, warmer time and nominate Sean to move forward as our city manager as proposed.

And are you also moving to authorize the mayor to enter into the agreement?

Yes.

I would like to second that.

Is there any further discussion?

For me, I do, even though I'm voting no, I have expectations, okay? So I expect you to be Well, I really want to see, and knowing exactly where we're going with the budget, with our deficit, I wanted to see a clear plan where we're heading, because I didn't hear anything during the interview. And also, I wanted to see transparency. It's important for our community, and also more community engagement. How are we going to communicate with the community? How are we going to make sure that the community gets involved? And also, I expect you as our city manager to help all of us and to be able to understand the agenda, to be able to do all of the things that we need. So anyhow, I just want to say that, that I welcome you, and maybe next time you get my vote.

All right, please vote.

Sorry, I made a mistake. It said no, but I pressed yes. So could you reset that? Okay.

With the motion made by Vice Mayor Wright, seconded by Councilmember Beckmeyer. The motion passes with a vote of 4 to 1, with Espinosa opposed.

I just want to make one other comment. I actually appreciate that you don't have a plan right now, because you've said yourself what we need is a new vision of Pacifica working together. But we need to know first what we want to be. and how we can get to that point of being sustainable economically and environmentally. And to do that, you need to start by having listening sessions and meeting with staff and reviewing our strategic plan, some of which you've already done, right, in your homework and so forth here. But I'm really excited to be in this role as mayor this year because I'm going to get to host these meet and greet listening sessions throughout the community. really intend to do that. And, you know, we're all involved in different organizations in town and, you know, can help build those relationships with you. So we're all moving forward together in a path that the city together wants to go in. So thank you so very much. With that, we are going to take a recess. Let's celebrate. There's cake in the back and drinks and other wonderful things that our city clerk coffee has put together.

Recording stopped.

okay waiting for the city attorney and miss interim

City Manager Carter. And please continue to have cake, but... Please continue to have cake, but I do need quiet in the room so we can finish our agenda item tonight.

Okay. Recording in progress.

Sorry, I should announce the time. Yeah. So I'm calling us back into session. It's 8.30. We have one more item on our agenda tonight, Item 5, the appointments to the Planning Commission, Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commission, Beautification Advisory Committee, and Open Space and Parkland Advisory Committee. committee. And City Clerk Coffey, do we have a staff report?

Yes, Mayor and Council Members, I'll provide the brief staff report on this item. This item is for appointments to the Planning Commission, the Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commission, the Beautification Advisory Committee, and the Open Space and Parkland Advisory Committee. The City recruited applicants for these committees and commissions due to vacancies and terms that were expiring in March. And we are seeking three positions on the Planning Commission, two of those for full four-year terms to expire March 2030, and one for a partial term to expire March 2027. One position on the Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commission for a partial term to expire May 2028, That was the position in the recruitment notice that was posted throughout this recruitment. However, I was notified today of an additional resignation from the Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commission for a term that will expire in May 2027. So the council may wish to consider appointing from the pool of eligible applicants at this time to fill that vacancy as well.

Okay.

WE ALSO RECRUITED FOR TWO POSITIONS ON THE BEAUTIFICATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR EACH FOR FOUR-YEAR TERMS TO EXPIRE MARCH 2030. AND RECRUITED FOR ONE POSITION ON THE OPEN SPACE AND PARKLAND ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR A PARTIAL TERM TO EXPIRE MAY 2027. THE RECRUITMENT NOTICES WERE PUBLISHED IN THE SAN MATEO COUNTY. SAN MATEO DAILY JOURNAL as well as in the city's weekly Connect with Pacifica e-newsletter and posted at City Hall in the community center. At the close of the extended application period, the city received seven timely applications for Planning Commission, five timely applications for the Open Space and Parkland Advisory Committee, seven timely applications for the Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commission, and three timely applications for the Beautification Advisory Committee. One applicant for the Planning Commission subsequently withdrew their application, resulting in six eligible applicants for the consideration for Planning Commission. The eligible applicants for each of the committees and commissions were listed in the attachments on this agenda item in the agenda packet, and as Council deliberates on making nominations for these committees and commissions I will pull those up onto the display for your review. Council should deliberate as to which candidates they would support to nominate for the appointments to each committee and commission, and when making a motion to appoint, should make a formal motion to appoint named applicants to each committee and commission and specify in the formal motion which individuals would be nominated for the full terms and or for the partial terms of the specified duration. With that, I will take any council questions on this item.

A couple real quick. So you mentioned there's a second position on parks, beaches, and rec. Is that also a partial term? I'm sorry, I missed that information.

resignations that occur during the course of a term, those would result in vacancy and a partial term. So both on parks, beaches, and recreation would be for partial terms. The parks, beaches, and recreation commission terms expire on May expiring terms. So we will be soon recruiting for the terms that The regular terms that will be expiring in May following this appointment.

I'm still confused. So there's one partial PB&R to expire March of 2028.

One PB&R partial term to expire May of 2028 and one partial PB&R term to expire May of 2027. This is March 2028 on our

on our little paper. So we have two. Unpack it, page 88. So it's May.

Sarah, do we have to appoint two?

Wait. Sorry, yeah, correct it. It should be May. That was a typo on the attachment.

Okay, got it. So May 2028 and May 2027.

Okay, thanks for that clarification. Thank you. What was your question?

We needed two for the park, beaches, and recreation. We need two.

Correct. That's what she's just saying. There was one resignation just today. So we can appoint two. Okay. And then just one other question. We had one youth candidate apply for parks, beaches, and recreation. And I think the discussion was that because it's a commission that hears appeals, that that's not an appropriate place for a youth under 18. Okay.

Correct. The Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commission acts as a pellet body for tree appeals and also in that capacity requires the Statement of Economic Interest, the form otherwise known as the Form 700, which we would have concerns for a member under the age of 18 to act in that capacity.

Okay, great. Thank you. Are there any other council questions before public comment? I DON'T HAVE ANY CARDS. WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO SPEAK TO THIS TONIGHT? NOT SEEING ANYBODY AND WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE ON THE PHONE EITHER. OKAY. THEN I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT AND BRING IT BACK TO COUNCIL. MY SUGGESTION IS TO DO SOMETHING THE WAY TIGER DID A FEW TIMES. to take these one at a time and then maybe just to go down the line and each say who our preferred candidates are, and then we'll kind of tabulate and see if we need to have discussion or if we're in agreement. Does that sound okay? All right. So for the Planning Commission, we need two full four-year terms. expiring March 2030, and one partial term expiring March 2027. So, as you're giving me your names, why don't you do the two four-year terms first, and then the partial term last. So, who would like to go first?

Female Speaker 1 Okay, wait. Which one? I'm sorry. Which one are we starting with?

Female Speaker 1 Planning Commission. Female Speaker 1 Okay. Female Speaker 1 Which is on the screen. Female Speaker 1 Oh, sorry.

I wasn't looking at the screen.

Female Speaker 1 That's okay. Back at page 87. Who wants to start us off?

I will go for Kevin Fisher.

Kevin Fisher? Uh-huh. And for a full term? Okay. And then who else for a full term?

Do you want me to pick another one?

Yeah. Because there's three. There's three. So one more full term and then one partial term.

Okay.

If you need another Bennett, we can come back to you.

Someone else ready to go?

I'm ready to go, yeah. So I think Alex Ferguson and James Godwin for the full four-year terms and then Rebecca Sanchez for the partial term.

I concur completely.

Okay. Okay.

I am torn between four people. I wholeheartedly concur with Alex Ferguson. I worked with him for a number of years on planning commission and he is a skilled planning commissioner with deep institutional knowledge, understands the city of Pacifica and all the institutional knowledge one needs in going along with that. I've worked with Jim. I have a lot of respect for Jim, especially in terms of energy issues. I talk to him about battery and electrification stuff all the time. I was really impressed by Kevin Fisher, and I've also worked with Becky Sanchez quite a bit and am extremely impressed with her. And I would advocate for her in the highest that I can, just because I know that she does the work. I've worked with her. She's also the only female candidate. And I would very much like to see her move forward.

But what I need you to do, you gave me four names, and we have three. Who are the two?

I do want to say about Kevin, the good thing about Kevin is he applied for a lot of things. So I have him marked off for a different committee.

Well, in that case, I will side with Mary and go Alex, Jim, and Rebecca.

Okay. Myra?

Rebecca?

For a partial term or a full term?

Partial.

Okay. And who else for the full term?

Alex. So you have Alex and Kevin. Okay. So I'm in agreement with Alex.

So that's four. I was really hoping for Kevin on this planning commission. I mean, his resume and work experience is amazing. I mean, he does projects for Caltrans, right, all over the state. And he's very strong as a biologist and with CEQA issues and environmental issues. And I think that's something that's missing on our planning commission right now. I don't disagree, he would be good in other places, but I think this would be the best place for his strong talents. So, I'd appreciate consideration of that.

And... How about like, maybe we have to kind of choose one, because if you choose all of them, sometimes it's very difficult to appoint.

Uh-huh.

Maybe we go one by one and see.

Okay. What else were you thinking?

I'm torn between the other two. And obviously we had, you know, Tom Clifford didn't come. Remy I like personally. I know there have been some issues on the Planning Commission before, so I'm not comfortable appointing him. I did speak to Samantha Hauser, and she is the one who recommended to Rebecca that she apply. I WAS CONCERNED THAT SHE DIDN'T SEEM TO KNOW THAT MUCH WHEN WE ASKED HER QUESTIONS, BUT I THINK SHE'S A VERY WILLING LEARNER AND, YOU KNOW, WOULD SPEND THE TIME TO READ THE STAFF REPORTS.

YEAH, PLANNING COMMISSION IS A VERY, YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR THING, OTHERWISE IT'S GOING TO BE VERY DIFFICULT TO READ ALL OF THOSE CODES IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY PREVIEWS. Go ahead.

I, too, spoke to Samantha Hauser, and she assured me that she would work with Becky and get her up to speed. And she also expressed her heartfelt endorsement for her. So knowing that and how much respect I have for Chair Hauser, once again, I would fully support her.

It sounds like we all agree on Alex, right? Right.

I do want Kevin Fisher.

Did you guys have any other thoughts on Kevin? I thought it was the best fit. He's also really good at reading complicated technical drawings, which I think we could really use that on the planning commission too. I appreciate your advocacy for that, for Kevin. That's okay now, go ahead.

This is one of the hardest things we have to do.

Yeah.

Because there's so many awesome people in our community. Like, we can be in these interviews for, like, I don't know how long, but... And do we know, are there... It's really so happy. Yeah. Everyone's awesome.

It's not the yeses that are hard.

Yeah.

It's the noes that are hard. Because these people could do a great job for us.

Yeah.

That makes the operation of the committees very difficult. Oh, and Kevin's also worked with the Coastal Commission, which is also another plus that I'm not sure we have that much experience with on our Planning Commission.

Would the Chair entertain a motion for Rebecca and Alex, leaving us with just one?

That's okay, but I'm a little concerned about, yeah, I guess the difference between James and Kevin, right, in terms of leaving another spot, right, if you're appointing Rebecca.

I was thinking full-time for Alex and the partial for Becky. And then that would simplify our decision.

The next decision? I'm not sure if it simplifies it or makes it harder, actually.

Okay, well.

Anyway, I'm just raising the question.

Well, my reasoning for not jumping on planning commission with Kevin is because he seemed surprised that he had applied for it. and I was concerned about that. I agree with you that his skills seem to lend themselves to that, but looking at his resume and hearing him, I felt like his preference seemed to be more for PB&R. Not that that helps me in regard to the fact that we have quite a number of applicants, but that was just my take. I feel like Our planning commission is functioning very, very well. I love it. And I don't want to mess with success. And like I said, I just didn't get the sense that Kevin was fully aware he was applying for three things and didn't present as being terribly hot or specifically focused on the planning commission.

I do remember that. And I also put for any position. He wants to serve the city.

He obviously put all three on his application. I think, yeah, I don't know if we asked him what his preference was or if he answered, but again, I just think he'd be a great addition. And, you know, if I I like Rebecca personally, but I am worried that she doesn't have the experience and didn't know our documents or really what the planning commission did. And if I had to choose between, I mean, I'm okay appointing her to the partial term, but if I had to pick between James and Kevin otherwise, I think I'd encourage her to reapply and take some time to learn a little bit more.

I think she did an interview well, but she's more knowledgeable than she let on.

She's from your district, Myra.

We can take these one at a time, so I hear a clear direction for Alex Ferguson for the one full term. Shall we all vote on that, or cross one off? Or are you ready to vote for it?

I'll second Alex's nomination.

We're just going to do one at a time? Well, that was Greg's suggestion. I mean, I'm not sure how to handle this. I mean, we can just vote. I'm in the minority.

I heard the motion. Not necessarily. Mayor Bowles, did you make a motion to appoint Alex Ferguson to a full four-year term?

I heard a second from Vice Mayor Wright. Okay. So we're voting on one at this point.

With a motion made by Mayor Bowles and seconded by Vice Mayor Wright to appoint Alex Ferguson for a full four-year term to the Planning Commission, that motion passes unanimously.

All right. So which one do we want to do second? So let's talk about the other full term. I think so. I have currently have Three votes for James Godwin and two for Kevin Fisher. Is there any more discussion? Does somebody want to make a motion?

I'd be happy to nominate Becca for the partial.

That's not my question.

I made my nomination.

I'll second. Okay. Please vote.

I don't know. Waiting for one more vote.

I know. That's me. It really depends on the other vote. I resent being put in this position, but okay.

And I heard the motion to appoint Rebecca Remmel-Sanchez for the partial term on planning commission made by Vice Mayor Wright, and the second was by, was it Council Member Beckmeyer? Yes. The motion passes unanimously.

Now the rubber meets the road.

Well, we can move on. We don't have to complete this. We can go to another position and come back to this. Oh, let's do that. I like that idea. Okay.

Let's get the other one, easier ones, done. Okay.

City Attorney, am I allowed, there's a particular applicant in the audience that I have a question for. Am I allowed to ask an additional question or is that unfair in terms of the process?

It really wasn't allowed. The interviews occurred, so you would need to give the opportunity to all the applicants to speak.

Okay, that's why I directed my question to you. Thank you.

Okay, if we can have a slide for heart speeches and recreation. Oh my gosh, every single one of these people are so good. So, and again, I'm going to take Myla off of the consideration with a star because she's under 18. Myla, I'm sorry. Myla, yeah. Thank you. Okay, so who would like to start? Okay. And for everyone who's seeing how difficult it is, it's because we really have wonderful candidates that we're considering.

Can't we just make the commission bigger?

I know. You say that every time, Greg.

I have lots of five stars. So my first gut instinct is to appoint Christine Acuna for the partial term. But now we have another one, right? Mm-hmm.

I support Christine. I do, too. That's three.

So you might want to take a vote on that one partial term. Okay. To have that concluded.

Mary, were you thinking the partial term to 28 or the partial term to 27?

28.

I second. Oh, was that a motion?

Yes, I move to appoint Christine Acuna to the partial term. March, that expires in 2028. And I second.

Just in the way of further discussion, that does not de-minimize any of the other applicants in any way whatsoever.

No, it doesn't. No, look how many people applied, so many.

I'm just trying to be clear that even when I vote,

It's not saying anything about the other advocates because I feel horrible about it. Just for clarification, was your motion to appoint Christine Acuna to the partial term to expire? The correction is to May, is it to 2028? Yes, correct. Okay, and I heard a second from Council Member Beckmeyer. Yes. Okay, please vote. And with the motion to appoint Christine Acuna to the partial term on Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commission to expire May of 2028. Motion made by Councilmember Beer, seconded by Councilmember Beckmeyer, passes unanimously.

Okay. Greg, would you like to start with the second partial term?

I just wanted to clarify one thing with Sarah. Did you say there's going to be another... Like two seats coming up again soon?

I don't recall how many, but there will be the full May expiring terms on parks, beaches, and recreation coming up very soon.

So there's always other opportunities to reapply.

And the city clerk's office can reach out to the applicants this round to see when we open up the recruitments to see if they're still interested.

Oh, that would be great.

Sarah, thank you. And we might get commissioners reapplying, too, at that time, right, for their expiring terms. Just to keep in mind.

Well, I don't know if it's helping, but I have a suggestion about OSPAC.

Oh.

But maybe I'm taking it in the wrong direction, Mayor, so if you want to defer on that, I'm perfectly fine with deferring.

Okay.

I would like to nominate Kevin Fisher.

That's what I had, too. Mary. That's what I had. I agree with that.

I think I had Kyle Boswell myself down as my choice.

I was kind of interested in Bobby.

Wait, Kyle's not for OSPAC. No, no, no, I'm talking about... Wait, we're not voting for OSPAC, we're voting for... That's what I said, OSPAC. Yeah, Kevin, she jumped to OSPAC.

Oh, you jumped to OSPAC.

I'm still on Parks, Beaches, and Recreation. Well, I asked if I could... Bring up OSPAC, and you said yes, and so I said what I said. Oh, I don't think I said yes, but okay.

I said yes.

It's not even that late, but I don't remember. Can we roll back the tape, please? It doesn't matter. Rewind. Okay, fine. We can go to OSPAC. I'm always wrong when you roll back the tape. What did I have for OSPAC? So, yeah, I had Richard Kevin Voigt for my top choice for OSPAC.

I'm sorry, I didn't hear.

I had Richard Kevin Voigt for OSPAC. He goes by Kevin.

Oh, Richard. Yeah, I think Kevin is good for planning. Wait, this is my colleague.

So Greg and Ira, who would you prefer?

So Madam Mayor, did we move off of park species?

We did. I'm sorry. I missed that also, but apparently we did.

Sorry about that.

We're going back to Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Amendment. We still have one more to appoint to that committee.

I didn't know we were on Parks, Beaches, and Recreation.

We're on PB&R. Yeah, we just approved Christina Acuna for PB&R.

But I didn't know we were staying there. I mean, we just appointed two to the other commission that we need three. and we moved on to a different one. Okay, it doesn't matter.

This is where we are.

The issue really is record keeping. Yes, yes, yes. It just gets very, I mean, I'm lost.

Okay, yeah.

So are we.

I'm not.

And I'm sorry, I got lost, but I'm on it now. So we're on OSPAC for now. I think we have two for Kevin Fisher from Mary and Sue, one for Kevin for me, And I'm waiting here for Myra and Greg.

So is there a vote? Not yet.

I think you meant Richard, Christine. Sorry, he goes by Kevin, but yes, Richard. Okay, Richard, Kevin, Voigt.

I'll go for Richard because I would like Kevin to go to planning. He has a lot of potential.

I know. That's why I wanted to finish planning. Great.

I like a lot of these applicants, and it's really, really hard. I guess I would go with Richard, second name Kevin.

Okay. Myra, did you just say you wanted Richard as well? Yes. Thank you. I'm just writing notes so I can keep it straight.

Okay.

And Greg? And Greg just said that also. So there's three. Right.

So does somebody want to make a motion? And then you can move that.

Or is there any other discussion?

Okay, is that for open space? Yes, that's for us.

Okay, I want to make a motion for open space in Parkland Advisory Committee to appoint Richard Kevin Boyd, I don't know how to say his second last name or last name.

Okay. I'll second. Please vote.

And with the motion to appoint Richard Kevin Voight to the partial term on Open Space and Parkland Advisory Committee to expire May 2027, made by Council Member Espinosa, seconded by Mayor Bowles. The motion passes unanimously.

Could we reiterate how much we would really appreciate it if all these people would apply again, regardless of whether we seat them or not? Absolutely.

Terribly, terribly.

Okay. Shall we? Let's move on to the other easy one, I think, easier one, the beautification advisory committee.

You voted no against Sean. Well, this is my right. I understand that.

Okay. No talking on the dais except in your microphone. Go ahead, Myra.

Oh, this is for beautification. You might want the mic. Yeah.

And to the mic, please. Myra?

Beautification. I think Deborah was already there.

Can you please speak in the mic? Deborah was already there, and I think she... I will go for Deborah. I don't know what you guys are going to do.

And the second spot? We can have an applicant under the age of 18 on BAC, right?

Yeah, Miley.

I think it should be Miley then.

Can we have applicant under 18? Yeah, you can. Miley?

I agree with that.

Was that a second?

No, we're just saying who our preferences were. Who were your preferences?

I agree with Deborah.

I do too.

Well, we got one then.

Me too, okay. And I agree with Miley too.

Miley got three.

I do as well.

Okay, do I have a motion?

I move approval, appointment of Deborah Solis and Miley Veliko to the two full four-year terms expiring March 2030.

I'll second.

The motion made to appoint Deborah Solis and Miley Veliko to the four-year terms on Beautification Advisory Committee to expire March of 2030. The motion was made by Councilmember Beckmeyer, seconded by Councilmember Beer. The vote passes unanimously.

Okay, great. All right. Should we go back to Planning Commission or PB&R? Yeah, I'm clear that we have...

I'd love to move Bobby forward for PB&R.

PB&R.

Oh, my goodness.

No, I agree. I agree, too.

Who's what?

Bobby. Bobby. PB&R, Bobby. Who is here in this room, whose last name we still cannot pronounce very well. Bobby, Bobby. Watakuni. Watakuni. Watakuni. Close enough? Watakuni.

How do you know the question I was going to ask?

Oh, that was the question? Oh, man. But you still can't ask. So please pronounce it, Greg.

No, thank you.

That's why I went with that.

Okay, I'll try. Was that your motion?

Yes, to appoint him for Parks and Recreation Commission.

For the 2027, expiring 2027, right? Yes. A Greg second. A Greg second. So we vote. Everybody vote.

Okay. Thank you.

One more vote.

I'll vote again.

And with the motion to appoint Bobby Wachar Sakuni to the Parks, Beaches, and Recreation Commission term to expire May 2027, made by Council Member Espinosa, seconded by Vice Mayor Wright, the vote passes unanimously.

And again, like all the other people that applied, please apply again. Please. We have one more now. Louise. Okay.

They also can show up because they're public meetings, aren't they? Oh, yeah. Yeah. And, in fact, like if they want to do things like the beautification committee work days, they can do those too, or the trail days and open space, they can do those too, right?

They can. Okay. So we are back to our second full four-year term for the Planning Commission. And I have heard people in favor of James Godwin and people in favor of Alex, sorry, we have Alex, of Kevin Fisher.

So do we have two?

We have two, the names that I've heard so far. I have, well, I have something else I want to share that I was hoping not to have to share. And speaking with Chair Hauser, she also expressed concerns about reappointing James Godwin. And I would hope that she might have talked to someone else. HERE, TOO. SHE HAS CONCERNS ABOUT HOW HE WORKS WITH STAFF AND THAT HE'S NOT FULLY PREPARED WHEN HE'S COMING. I KNOW. I DON'T WANT TO SAY THAT'S WHY I DON'T WANT TO SAY THESE THINGS, BUT I THINK I KNOW. SHE WAS CONSIDERING MAKING A PUBLIC COMMENT AND DECIDED THAT THAT WOULD BE AWKWARD. I'm just sharing what I have heard. I have not experienced that myself. I personally feel strongly that Kevin Fisher would be a great addition to the Planning Commission, but I've said that already.

I've worked with Jim, and while he sometimes has a slightly different opinion than some of the rest of us, I've found him to be prepared, and that extra perspective sometimes I see is coming in beneficial, but I was also very impressed with Mr. Fisher as well. In fact, besides, I have one star next to each of their names, and I was surprised by Mr. Fisher at the quality. Wow. So now I'm in a quandary. I was pretty clear before, but I'm in a quandary now. We don't have any spaces left on anything else with the expression?

No, since we jumped ahead and did all those other easier ones first.

You might want to take one at a time, then, if you have a consensus on one. No, there's only one spot left.

We did two already, Michelle.

That's why I was uncomfortable doing the other two already also.

But so be it. That's what we did. So any other thoughts?

Well, he applied for all of the committees, I think. He's a very good, I mean, very knowledgeable person.

I have no good answers.

Do you want to raffle those names?

Whichever one of those two goes forward, I could support.

Like you said before, put them in a box. Let's raffle those names. Yeah, let's raffle the names, and that's it. We're not responsible.