City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. I'd like to call this meeting to order. Good evening. We're calling this meeting to order. Thank you. Miss City Attorney, are there any reports from close session? There are no reports tonight, Madame Mayor. Thank you. and Sergeant Rick Morton, will you please lead us in the pledge of allegiance?

I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Sergeant. Roll call, please. Council member Ayala, here. Council member Rhodess, here. Council member Judge, here. Mayor Pro Tim Litster, here. Mayor Kavanagh, here.

Are there any items for agenda review? Madame Mayor, we have one supplemental on agenda item 5A, annual position vacancy report. Thank you. I move that all resolutions and ordinances presented tonight be read in title only and all further reading be waved. Second. Call for the vote.

The motion passes unanimously. Thank you. If any member of the city council may have a conflict of interest or any reason why that member must abstain from consideration of any matter on this agenda, he or she should so declare at this time. Seeing none, we're free to move on. Madame clerk,

madame mayor and members of the city council, the first item on the agenda is item 1D1, presentation of a proclamation declaring May 3 to to May 9th as small business week and assistant to the city manager. Angel Sierra is here to present this item. And accepting the proclamation is Kathy Van Eaton from Sime Valley Chamber of Commerce, president, CEO. Good evening, Mayor Kavanagh and members of the city council and Kathy. Thank you for joining us tonight. Tonight, we're pleased to present a proclamation recognizing May 3rd through May 9th, 2026 as Small Business Week in the city of Seami Valley. For more than 60 years, National Small Business Week has been celebrated across the country to honor the vital role small businesses play in driving economic growth and innovation. Small businesses represent approximately 99% of all businesses nationwide, create two out of three new jobs, and employ nearly half of the American workforce. Here in Semi Valley, small businesses are the backbone of our local economy. The city is home to more than 5,500 registered businesses, many of which are small businesses that provide jobs for our residents, contribute to the city's economic vitality, and help define the character of our community. From neighborhood retailers and restaurants to professional services and entrepreneurs, these businesses play a critical role in making Semi Valley a great place to live, work, and do business. The city of Semi Valley remains committed to supporting a strong and resilient business, small business community through policies, programs, and partnerships that encourage business growth and long-term success. For these reasons, the city council of the city of Semi Valley proclaimed May 3rd to May 9th, 2026 as small business week in recognition and appreciation of the

contributions made by small businesses in this community presented this fourth day of May 2026 and encourages residents, businesses, and community organizations to recognize and support support small businesses throughout the week and beyond. Thank you. And it's only appropriate that our chamber CEO accepts this. So, thank you very much. And it's perfect timing. Right after the street fair. How did that go? It was wonderful when I was there. You want to talk about it?

Yeah, the street fair. It's uh we'll be 50 years old in 2027. So, we've been doing this a long time, but this last weekend it was pretty incredible. We had a lot of businesses out there, a lot of people who who all was there. Thank you for being there. We really appreciate it. It really is a boost for our small business and um we're just so grateful to be able to accept this on behalf of our small businesses in Semi Valley. They are the heartbeat of our our community and they do support a lot of causes and jobs just like the proclam proclamation stated. So we're very honored to accept this and if you were there you you would have heard for the first time the DD and Kathy show on 991 the ranch. So we did a pretty good job. Brad said we did good. [laughter] Thank you. Thanks, Kathy. Again, [applause] madame mayor and members of the city council. Next on the agenda is item 1D2, presentation of a proclamation declaring the month of May 2026 as older Americans month. And acting management assistant Candace Gray is here to present this item. And accepting the proclamation is Janice Del Santo, Council on Aging Chair. Good evening, Mayor Kavanagh and members of the city council. Uh this evening, I would like um well, as we can see, we've invited uh Seami Valley Council on Aging Executive Board Chair Janice Del Santo to accept this uh proclamation uh to accept the proclamation designating May as Older Americans Month. The city of Seami Valley recognizes the valuable contributions of its growing population of older adults who enhance the community through work, volunteerism, and civic engagement. With over 20,000 residents aged 65 and older, the city is committed to supporting to uh supporting seniors, their families, and caregivers

by promoting well-being, financial stability, and the ability to age in place. Efforts include providing home and community- based services, addressing food insecurity, and ensuring access to essential resources. The city of Seami Valley is proud to recognize May 2026 as older Americans Month. This year's national theme, Champion Your Health, emphasizes prevention, wellness, and personal responsibility as key components of healthy aging. It encourages older adults to take an active role in managing their health, advocating for themselves, accessing preventative care, and making informed decisions that support independence. Older adults in our our city continue to lead, inspire, and engage in practices that support healthy, active, and independent aging. Through their contributions in the workplace, in volunteer roles, and within their families, they set an example for future generations and strengthen our community. It is with deep respect and gratitude that we proclaim May 2026 as Older Americans Month in Seami Valley, presented this fourth day of May, 2026. [applause] Thank you. We are so lucky to have such a strong um organization and senior help and assistance here. The Council on Aging, our wonderful senior center, and every other group uh Meals on Wheels. We're just so lucky that they help and take care of all of our community members and all of you help donate to them, too, and support them. So, I think it's great. And thank you for all you do on our Council on Aging. We really appreciate. Would you like to say anything?

I just want to take a moment to thank um our great staff at the senior center. um our council on aging and all of the amazing senior volunteers who make all of the programs at our senior center happen. Um if you haven't been to the senior center here in Seami Valley, we have a really vital community over there and we welcome you to come over and take a tour and see all the activities that we have going on there. All right. Thank you very much. Congratulations. Thank you, [applause]

Madame Mayor and members of the city council. Next on the agenda is item 1D3, presentation of a proclamation declaring May 2026 as water safety month and manage management analyst Kristen Miller is here to present this item. And accepting the proclamation is Rancho Simi Recreation and Park Board Chair Brian Dennard and recreation coordinator for aquatics Aaron Purick.

Good evening Mayor Kavanaaugh and members of the city council. I am pleased to recognize water safety month in the city of Seami Valley. Swimming and aquatic activities benefit people of all ages, but water safety education is vital to prevent drowning and injuries. The California Department of Public Health reports that nearly 4,300 Californians drowned from 2016 to 2023, with many others needing rescue and medical help. Water safety is a shared responsibility that includes supervision, installing barriers, learning to swim, and knowing emergency responses. We would like to take this opportunity to recognize the city of Seami Valley, the Rancho Seami Recreation and Park District, and community partners for their efforts to raise awareness of water safety. Therefore, May 2026 is hereby pro proclaimed water safety month in the city of Seami Valley presented this fourth day of May to encourage all community members to learn and practice water safety to prevent sorry to help prevent drowning and water related injuries.

Thank you. Do you want to hold this Aaron? Uh Chair Dennard, you would like to say a few words? I'll keep it short, but we want to share that the California Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights say if kids do the following things by the time they hit high school. Uh things like play in a safe place. Thank Thank you police officers and park rangers. Explore nature, go fishing, the fishing derby's this Saturday. Go camping and of course learn to swim. They'll be mentally and physically stronger when they're adults. And speaking of swimming, it's uh it really raises the tide for everyone. uh this summer at the pool. It's where all the cool kids are going to hang out. Literally, this is just not working. This is not working. [laughter] I guess more seriously, I want to thank our aquatics manager, Aaron Perrick, for being here with me tonight and everybody that works together as a team to support us. And if you have any tough questions at the end, I'm sure Aaron sure Aaron will be able to answer them for you. Okay. But more seriously, the the thanks that we want to give is semi Adventist Health, the Ventur County Fire Department, and of course our own uh ple our own city, including for the grant that you helped us to get that paid for a lot of the improvements to the pool area. And uh just a little bit about the pool last summer's 2,000 lessons that they did, 2,000 swim lessons, and it's easily preventable as you mentioned, 88% decrease just by doing formal swim lessons. So come out to the pool and have a good time. We're going to be back. Uh we have events coming up. I have activity guides. I'll be in the back, including our splashtackular events coming up, so see me for a troll guide or activity guide.

Thank you so much. Our parks and wreck is one of the best in the nation. I'll say that because I used to sit on the board, too. But um they really are great. If you look at all everything that we offer and the new um headquarters and the new things that are going on there are just awesome, too. So, just want to thank the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District for being such a great partner. We really appreciate that. You can't do it alone. Yeah, exactly. We we're a team all together. So So thank you all very much. And water safety is so important. I have a pool and grandkids. So yes, they've taken their swimming lessons at the pool. So [laughter] So thank you all.

Thank you both. Okay. [applause] [clears throat] Oh yeah, I like that. He said he's going to point out the back is green and gold. Go Highlanders. [laughter]

Madame Mayor and members of the city council, next on the agenda is item 1D4, presentation area proclamation declaring May 7, 2026 as day of prayer and management analyst Kristen Miller is presenting this item as well. And accepting the proclamation is Pastor Clif Clifton Clark, New Beginnings Church. I knew you looked familiar. I've met you before. [laughter]

Good evening, Mayor Me, Mayor Kavanaaugh, and members of the city council. I have the honor of recognizing May 7th, 2026 as a day of prayer in the city of Seami Valley. Established in 1952 by Congress and signed into law by President President Harry S. Truman. Um, in 1988, President Ronald Reagan designated the observance on the first Thursday of May, creating a day dedicated to reflection and unity. On this day, the Seami Valley faith community comes together in prayer for the well-being of our community, which includes city leaders, school board members, lo uh local businesses, schools, and residents, while also encouraging collaboration among churches, and faith-based nonprofit organizations as a resource for the city. May 7th, 2026 um is hereby proclaimed a day of prayer in the city of Seami Valley presented on this fourth day of May, offering all residents an opportunity to give thanks and recognize those who serve the community and observe the day in ways meaningful to its significance.

Thank you so much. Our faith-based community here is so awesome. They do so much for us. So, I just want to thank you, your church, and every other um synagogue, church, temple for all the help that they give to our community overall. And I'm so happy you're able to accept this for the day of prayer. Would you like to say something? Sure.

Are you Are you Well, indeed. Yes. [laughter] Don't give me the mic, but are you aware that it's the 75th year of the National Day of Prayer? And um and it's particularly important because often people think about the National Day of Prayer as a particular spiritual ethereal act but it's really an embodiment act because people from all over the city particularly um pastors and leaders come together not just to pray but a as a sign of physical solidarity. So I'm going to invite you all to come out particularly on the 250th year of the birth of our nation. Come out and support. God bless you. Thank you very much. [applause]

Okay, thank you so much. Madame Mayor and members of the city council, next on the agenda is item 1D5, presentation of a proclamation declaring May 15, 2026 as peace officers Memorial Day and Police Chief Short is presenting this item. And accepting the proclamation is Sergeant Rick Morton.

Good evening, Mayor Kavanaaugh and members of the city council. Today we pause to honor the brave men and women in law enforcement who serve our communities with courage and dedication often at personal risk. The city of Seami Valley has issued a proclam proclamation declaring May 15, 2026 as peace officers memorial day and Sergeant Rick Morton will accept it on behalf of the department. Sergeant Morton began his law enforcement career with the Los Angeles Police Department before joining the Semi Valley Police Department in 1996. He served in patrol, became a K-9 officer in 1998, working with his K9 partner, Rex, and was a detective in a special investigations unit. In 2006, Rick was promoted to senior officer and then to sergeant in 2022. He now supervises the detective bureau's major crimes unit and is the department's public information officer. Rick also served as a range master, honor guard member, SWAT team member, and the team leader and was on the FBI joint terrorist task force. He also contributes as part of the recruiting resource group and was part of the recognition committee. Rick continues to have a lasting impact on the department and the community.

[clears throat]

Excuse me. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy proclaimed May 15th as National Peace Officers Memorial Day, a day set aside to remember those who have been disabled or made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. It is a solemn reminder of the cost of public safety and a time to show support those and a time to show support for those who continue to wear the badge. For our community, we remember Officer Michael Clark who made the ultimate sacrifice on August 4th, 1995. His service and the service of so many others like him will never be forgotten. As we recognize peace officers memorial day in the city of Semi Valley, we invite all residents to reflect on the dedication of these officers and to honor their sacrifices. Flags at city facilities will be flown at half staff in their memory as a visible symbol of our gratitude and respect. Thank you.

Thank you for you. This is coming from a law enforcement family. This means a little bit more. I've been to the national um ar or the national memorial in Washington DC, you know, pencled in the name. So, it's just really important. I'm so glad you're here to see it or to accept this for us and thank you, chief. And he forgot to say he's also a great softball coach. Right. So, any would you like to say anything? I'm just going to say uh I'm honored to accept this on behalf of the men and women in law enforcement. As the chief said, uh we want to honor Michael Clark's memory. So, uh, I I accept this on his behalf so that we can continue his legacy and remember his honor. Very good.

Thank you so much, Sergeant. [applause] Madame Mayor, if I could request the city council join me in having the city manager uh illuminate our civic center sign in blue lights from May 11th until May 15th, police memorial day. I'll second that. We Thank you, Council Member Judge.

No problem. Madame Mayor and members of the city council, next on the agenda is item two, public statements on appointments, special presentations, andformational reports. We have no speakers for this item this evening. Madame Mayor and members of the city council, next on the agenda is item 3A1, selection of one city council member to serve on the interview and nomination panel for returning returning youth council members and community service services coordinator Ryan Fowler is here to present this item.

Good evening, Mayor Kavanaaugh and members of the city council. The youth council is comprised of 21 members and three alternates in grades 7 through 12 who advise the city council on issues of concern to local youth. The next regular term of appointments is scheduled to commence on July 1st, 2026. Up to nine of the current 24 youth council members may be selected for reappoint. 18 current youth council members are eligible for reappoint. Therefore, it is estimated that approximately two and a half hours will be needed to conduct the interviews. Council member Judge most recently served on the interview and nomination panel in May of 2025. Interviews are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 26 at 4 p.m. It is recommended that the city council select one city council member to serve on the interview and nomination panel for prospective returning youth council members to fill up to nine positions on the youth council. The panel will also include the youth council coordinator, that's me, and up to two non-returning youth council members. This concludes the report and staff uh is available to answer any questions at this time.

Thank you, Mr. Fowler. Um Mayor Pro Tim Litzer, thank you. And this is I can tell will be a very difficult job because we're talking half of those eligible would are would be selected possibly. um the date that you've tenatively se selected May 26th um council member Rhodess and I have both are already scheduled to be doing interviews for neighborhood council

and I understand that it's a lot of working moving parts but my suggestion is possibly either council member Ayala I realize council member judge did it last year maybe the mayor would like to do it but I but maybe one of the three would would if there's one that would like to volunteer I'll nominate council member Ayala. I I I did speak with him about his availability and willingness. He did suggest that he would be willing and it's one it's one of the hardest interviewing things that we do. It really is the hardest. Yeah, I don't mind uh doing it. I'm

interacting with the youth council as their liaison. So, I've seen them participate and in the different events and know who they are. So, um I would accept that. I think you'd be the perfect person. So, we have a first and a second. Call for the vote. The motion passes unanimously.

Thank you, Madame Mayor and members of the city council. Next on the agenda is item four, public statements. During this agenda item four, the city council will hear public statements from all persons who have submitted speaker cards. I apologize. I skipped one item here. Madame Mayor and members of the city council, the next item on the agenda is item 3C1, presentation regarding the new electric buses by Deputy Public Works Director of Transit Ben Gonzalez. Good evening, Mayor Kavanagh and council members. This evening, we are pleased to present the city's first electric zero emission transit bus. The purchase represents an important step towards meeting California's innovative clean transit regulation or ICT for short, which requires a gradual transition to a 100% zur mission bus fleet. The bus is a 2026 35 ft new flyer excelsier charge model. The estimated range is up to 270 miles. Uh the capacity is 32 seated passengers and the bus can be charged with curbside or overhead charging systems. Staff is available to answer any questions that you may have and um hopefully not too technical. I know enough to be dangerous but not

Thank you. Are there any questions? Uh Mayor Prom Litster, just a question. Thank you for that concise report and I think I've seen them out on the street. We have how many? One, two. How many are actually operating right now? Zero in operation. We just took delivery this past Friday. And so we just received it, right? So we have the first one which is outside display in front of the flag pole. So I have one of six. That'll be arriving in the next three weeks. Got it. 32 seats versus how many currently on the nonelectric? They about the same about similar maybe two less seats at most, but the same amount of seating capacity.

Very good. And right now charging occurs where? Right now charging will occur at the uh transit maintenance facility over PSC. The overall goal is to once the transit center is built here just outside the library, we'll do overhead charging as well. So they'll be able to charge every hour once they come through the civic center. Thank you. You're welcome. Council member Ayella, with the buses that we're replacing, are we able to get any money for those? like what happens with those current buses? Those buses go to auction uh US auction I think is the name and it could vary depending on the highest bidder anywhere from 200,000 to $400,000 per bus.

Yes. And that money we recoup here. Yes. And then that goes back into replacement to purchase the new vehicles. So it's going to be just a immediate crossover. All those these come in, everything else goes out. Right. Right. Very good. Thank you. You're welcome. Any other questions? Since there are not, we're going to take a 10-minute recess and go out and view the bus. So, we'll be adjourned for 10 minutes. That means everyone else can go view the bus, too. Just just to be very clear.

Thank you. We're back from recess now. We'd like to reopen the meeting. Madame clerk, please proceed.

Thank you, Madame Mayor and members of the city council. Next on the agenda is item four, public statements. During this agenda item four, the city council will hear all public statements from persons who have submitted speaker cards. Agenda item four is the time allotted for public statements on all items other than public hearings, appointments, andformational reports. Speakers will be called on in the order in which their card was submitted to speak for this public statements item four for a period of no more than 3 minutes each. Persons addressing the city council are requested to state their name and community residence for the record. We have uh 16 speaker cards. I will call three at a time. Uh at once you'll know who you follow. Ben Davis, David Moso, and Robert Lickens.

Good evening, Mayor, council members, and city staff. My name is Ben Davis, president of Piccola Tiny Homes here in Semi Valley. I'm also a veteran and I had the honor of serving as a captain in the United States Air Force. That experience taught me a lot about service, responsibility, and the importance of taking thoughtful action when real needs exist. And that is why I'm here again tonight. The people of Semi Valley are ready now. People tiny homes already has a list of over 100 people in Seami Valley who want a tiny home in their backyard as soon as they are allowed. And when we were recently out in the community, dozens more people came up to ask us came up to a us asking the same question. Can we buy one yet? I had multiple people tell me they were ready to buy immediately. And that should tell us something. The need is not coming. It's already here. There are families paying exorbitant amounts of money for assisted living for their parents because they need a solution now. Not 2 years from now after a traditional ADU might finally be finished. They don't have the luxury of waiting. Every month we delay is more time lost that families don't get back. There are also young adults still living in their parents' homes because they can't afford to move out. But they are ready for independence, privacy, and a place of their own. They do not need another speech about the problem. They need a path forward. The groundwork has already been done. Other cities have already shown that movable tiny homes can be clearly defined and regulated responsibly. And a memo has already been drafted. So tonight, I'm asking again plainly and respectfully, bring the memo into public view. Let this council see it. Let the people see it. Let this conversation move forward in the open because Semi Valley families are ready now and they should not have to keep waiting. Thank you for your consideration, [applause] David Moso.

Hi, good evening Semi Valley madame mayor, council members and city staff. My name is David Moso and I have lived in Seami Valley since 1980. I pre previously served on one of our city neighborhood councils and I care deeply about the safety and community. I want to speak about the tragic death of 13-year-old Reese Beck who was struck and killed by a train at Sequoia Avenue and Los Angeles Avenue railroad crossing. Although I did not know Ree or his family, I want to express my sincere sympathy for their loss. His passent has affected many of us and it has compelled me to speak up. The crossing where the trag tragedy occurred has clear and dangerous safety deficiencies on the east side of Seoia. The sidewalk allows bicyclists, ebike riders, and pedestrians to bypass the vehicle gate entirely. There is no pedestrian gate, no swing gate, no fencing, no channelization, and no force stopping point. A young rider traveling south on that sidewalk is not required to stop and is not physically guided to stop before entering the tracks. Visibility is also extremely limited. A bicyclist riding southbound southbound on the east sidewalk can only see the approaching train at the moment it is already crossing the road. There is no meaningful opportunity to see the train in advance or to understand the danger before entering the crossing. This is not a rare or unpredictable situation. It is a it is a known hazard and it is preventable. In the days after this tragedy, I began researching the history of this crossing that led me to the Metro Link safety Metroink Semi Valley double track project, which in which includes safety upgrades to this exact location, including new track panels and

upgraded warning devices at the Sequoia Avenue crossing. I also noticed something important. Several Metroink crossings west of Sequoia Avenue have already received upgraded safety protections. While Sequoia Avenue and some crossings east of it have fallen behind. I located a timeline image shown. Environmental review completed in 2021. Design scheduled to finish in summer of 2025. Construction scheduled to begin in summer 2020 2026. It appears this project is in a kind of pause, a limbo between phases where design is nearing completion, but construction has not moved forward. Sadly, these planned safety upgrades were not in place in time to prevent the tragedy that occurred. Because of this pause, there is an urgent need to protect our crossings right now, not only years from now, when the Metroink project is complete. I respectfully ask the city to explore temporary safety measures at this and other crossings such as temporary pedestri I'm sorry your time is up. It

I have just one page left and it's all uh other protections to reduce risk while we wait for the long-term project to move forward. I respectfully ask the city to seek out and publicly present the current status of the Metroink Semi Valley double track project so our community can clearly understand where the project stands and what steps are being taken to move it forward. In addition, I'm asking the city to take the I do need to cut you off now, Mr. Moso. I'm sorry. It's a very important issue. I understand, but we've gone 30 almost 40 seconds over our time. But it's an important issue. I I completely agree. Thank you.

Respect. Thank you. And and look into the I emailed you folks as well. I appreciate it. Thank you. [applause]

Hi, I'm Robert Lyens. Uh I am here. Normally I go after Matthew Abby and just say ditto, but uh unfortunately he my car got in before him. But in four STRs, uh we operate and own STRs in Thousand Oaks, More Park, and Seami Valley. And I think we've been here before. All the benefits. Sounds like you guys are on the right track where we're going to put some regulations in place. And that would my be my recommendation. Thank you. Thank you, [applause] Matthew Abby, James McGillis, and Dena Shaveck. [clears throat] All right. Good evening, city council. Uh, my name is Matthew Abby. As I've shared in the past, I strongly support responsible short-term rentals because of the real positive impact they have on our community. To remind you, over the years, I've hosted personally more than 20,000 nights with only one single issue during that entire time. Tonight, I'd like to speak to the heart. What does short-term rentals mean to guests? I recently went back through all of our guest reviews. These stories show why guests choose our homes. It's not just a place to sleep. It becomes part of the life of life's most meaningful chapters, celebrations, healings, reunions, farewells, and homecomings. The emotional weight behind some of these bookings is genuinely touching. Families come from us to us during life's most tender moments. A mother uh with recurrent ovarian cancer seeking one last visit with her sister before chemo. A wife returning after heart surgery for critical follow-up. A family displaced by a devastating home flood, parents supporting their child through surgery, and loved ones gathering for funerals or weddings. Many return with deep emotion to Semi Valley, the hometown they grew

up in or once called home, bringing children and grandchildren to celebrate holidays, milestones, and reunions where their roots still run strong. Others stayed so they could be near loved ones receiving trauma care. Many simply needed a quiet, peaceful place to get away and recharge. Families came so their children could stay close while their parents were going through a difficult divorce. One guest in particular stayed while his wife was receiving level one care at Cedar Cyani. I heard back from him later that she sadly lost her battle, but he told me how deeply he cherished the precious time they were able to spend together in our home during her final days. What does this mean to me? To me, this work means everything. It's how I provide for my family. It's how I provide for the homeowners we serve. It's how we support the hardworking people in our community, the cleaners, maintenance teams, handymen, and others who earn a living through this. I care deeply about this the same way I cared for my students for 23 years as a teacher. And some of you guys at the street fair saw DMS. That was mine and Mr. Nevin's project until recently for me. Um, our goal should be to create opportunity, not take it away. Thank you guys.

Thank you. [applause]

Mayor Kavanagh, members of the city council, I'm James McGillis, and unlike some speakers tonight, I'm proud to say I live in Seami Valley. While the city council has equivocated over short-term rentals, my street has changed forever. Next door to me is the Honey House STR, which is owned by an LLC. Down the street at 3377 Corpus Christi, is an abomination of an illegal STR. Although the landscaping and facade are beautiful, what lurks behind that towering wooden gate is a little bit scary. A canvas canopy stretches the full length of the driveway attaching to the garage. To stabilize it, someone has welded steel struts to the cinder block wall next door. Is it a fire trap, a seismic disaster waiting to happen, or both? You do not have to trespass to see the obvious building and safety safety issues on that property. Do an independent survey of the neighbors behind it on Travis Avenue. You will find it's a party house. As you know, the Supreme Court has made after the-act bribery of politicians legal. For instance, a council member could vote in favor of legalizing STRs and then after the vote accept campaign donations from Airbnb, VBO, and dark money facilitators. Since Mr. Rhodess, you addressed me at the last meeting, I will address you. Um, you've been the chief advocate for regulating short-term rentals and legalizing them. Have you ever accepted campaign money from Airbnb, VBO, or other facilitators of STRs? For the record, will you do so in the future? Since you and one other council member required the Seami Valley City Manager to spend $30,000 on an independent survey, do you still think that was wise, or could the money have been better spent at the Sequoia Avenue Railroad crossing? Do you live in a neighborhood controlled by a homeowners association? Will you and your family vote to have STRs in your own neighborhood? To each member of the city council, change change up here. The 500-year-old heritage oak tree on Oak Road is scheduled for development into a parking lot. Thank you, Joanie Mitchell. If that issue comes before the

city council, will you vote in favor of removal of the tree?

Thank you. Good evening, Madame Mayor and council members. Thank you again for the opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Dina Shiovanic and I spoke several times in support of STRs. As I have shared before, my a father of 87year-old owns the STR. The income from the property helps him support helps to support the care and assisted living that is deeply important to our family. Equally important to us has been understanding the concerns around STRs in Seami Valley. When we chose this path, we did not ignore the potential impact on his neighbors or the bordering communities. It matters to us that we remain a positive presence not just in his neighborhood but in Seami Valley as a whole. In attending city council meetings, I was hoping to gain an understanding of what specific issues STRs are causing. So, we addressed um so we could address them or improve where needed. However, over the past several meetings, I've mainly heard from a small number of residents who oppose STRs for personal reasons. I have yet to hear substantiated evidence showing that STRs are creating problems or nuisances in our neighborhoods. In fact, I've heard the opposite. STRs bring respectful gas additional revenue to our city. There are already regulations in place that help prevent or that help preserve neighborhood character, including parking rules, maintaining uh property maintenance and operational standards that are well above long-term regulations. All of which contribute to positive to contribute positively to neighborhood appearance and value. I am sure you are as ready as we are to bring this issue to a close and I appreciate

your continued attention and patience as it is discussed. In closing, I encourage the council to consider maintaining the current approach to STRs. From what I'm hearing, they are not causing the kinds of problems that would justify restrictions. As the saying goes, if it's not broken, don't fix it. Thank you again for your time and for the effort you've dedicated to this issue. Thank you. [applause] The next three cards, Ivana Chrisman, Sana Joshi, and Angela Tozon, and Kathy Wagenbot.

Oh, this is so tall. Good evening, Mayor Kavanagh City Council. I'm here tonight to talk to you about different organizations and ways to give back to our community. This coming weekend, our Rotary Club, I I actually wrote down mine and there was like there's a couple of us. Our Rotary Club has our annual fundraiser, which is a softball tournament. And if you haven't signed up, please still come and join us. It's it's at on Saturday at the Esestern Park and we will have fun. We will have burgers and beverages and cheer teams on. If you missed on that, I'm also fundraising for the Samaritan Center. They have their second chance prom event and there's so many wonderful nominees for that. It's May 14th. So, it's not about titles and being king and queen. It's about supporting our communities and giving back. We're really not competing against each other. We're actually doing stuff together to fundra for this wonderful organization that supports others. So vote for for whoever you want. Donate, share if you can't attend, and I hope I'll see you there. Thank you.

Thank you. [applause] [snorts] Good evening, madame mayor and city council members. My name is Angela Tasson and I am here with my friend Sana Jooshi. We are students of Seni Valley Unified who are interested in improving the health care system and are here to speak about safety regarding assistive mobility. We firmly believe in improving the safety of patients through knowledge and access about different types of crutches. The issue at hand is that most patients essentially have no say in the type of crutch that they're given. Rather, they're routinely provided with a auxiliary or underarm crutch. They aren't informed of any alternative options. Using crutches improperly and to the point where it feels like forever can lead to discomfort, reduced mobility, potential nerve compression, soft tissue irritation, and other big fancy words compiled in a seemingly neverending list. On the other hand, forearm crutches can pose as a solution to these problems by improving comfort, posture, and functional movement for patients. Despite this, access and awareness of forearm crutches are extremely limited in many clinical settings. As we've explained the issue and pointed out the differences between the crutches, research in numerous articles can substantiate our claims. Crutches aren't perfect and will always have imperfections, no matter what type of crutch it is. The National Library of Medicine acknowledges that even form crutches have issues, implying that crutches aren't universally effective. This means that patients should have knowledge of alternate options when being prescribed them. Yet, an article from the Millennial Medical states that hospitals stock bulks of underarm crutches. We are very appreciative of your time and listening to us spread awareness about the hazards regarding assisted mobility. We strive to garner the

support of both the city council and residents of Seami Valley as we try to bring justice to this issue. Hopefully one day we will live in a state that requires explanations of forearm and underarm crutches coupled with the options for them both. Thank you. Thank you both ladies. [applause]

Good evening, city council members. My name is Kathy Wagenbach and I'm a resident of Big Sky, the Big [clears throat] Sky area here in Seami Valley. I'm here tonight to speak about the growing safety concern involving children riding motorized electric bikes in our community. Over the past two years, there's been a noticeable increase in accidents involving ebikes across Southern California. One tragic example was in Huntington Beach where a 14-year-old child riding an ebike struck an 81-year-old man who died later from his injuries. The situation had devastating consequences for both families. Closer to home, my my own family has experienced near misses. My son, who lives in Westminster, was nearly hit by two children riding ebikes at high speed while he was jogging and crossing the street. And they didn't slow down to check to see if there was any traffic. What brought me here tonight was the most recent one right here in see me. When I heard about this terrible accident, I couldn't help but think these children should not be riding around on the streets with these motorized bikes. However, it was more than just another sad story about ebikes. It directly touched my son and his family. My 13-year-old granddaughter was in his youth group at church and my nine-year-old grandson is good friends with his brother. They should not have had this this kind of experience and tragedy at such a young age. This not only affects a family but a school in a church community, friends, teammates, and see me as a whole. Here in Seami, I've personally witnessed young riders speeding down Arena Road and Lost Canyon performing wheelies,

extended stretches, often without helmets. These bikes may be classified as class one and class two, but many are modified to exceed safe speed limits. At that point, they function like small motorcycles. This is just not about reckless behavior. It's about safety and responsibility. Children under 15, actually it goes to 21, are still developing judgment and decision-making skills. When combined with high speeds, motorized bikes, the risk to themselves and others becomes significant. I respectfully urge the city council to consider stronger local regula regulations, including prohibiting children under 15 from riding ebikes on city streets and sidewalks, establishing enforcable penalties for violations, including fines for parents and guardians, increasing education and awareness around ebike safety. My goal is not to take something away from children, but to prevent serious injuries or worse before more tragedies occur. I would also appreciate guidance.

I'm sorry, your time is up. Thank you. We'll we will be addressing some of this tonight as soon as we're done. Thank you.

Thank you. [applause] Alin Een, Anthony Een, and Robert Set. Good evening, city council. The time has come and our city council is bringing short-term rentals, STRs, back to the agenda to be discussed next Monday, May 11th. The council is planning to vote to legalize and regulate STRs. This will merge single family residential zones with business zones, allowing neighborhood motels to legally exist in our city. On March the 9th, a councilman requested a survey be done, which was seconded by another councilman. This survey approved by our city manager with no discussion or actual vote by our elected leaders cost the city $30,000. Apparently, because it was something these two council members wanted, their wants trumped everyone's voices. This expensive, secretive surveys results will only be revealed at the council meeting on May 11th. no doubt without explaining how its random sample of respondents were selected, what questions were asked, or just what input our leaders had in shaping it. The one thing that still might make a big difference when the council votes is actual seami residents showing up. Anyone who doesn't want STR citywide, attend the city council meeting and voice your opinion. Be brave enough to come talk about how you feel. Don't

expect that others are going to do it for you. Supporters and owners of STRs, they will attend to ensure they keep making money at our city's expense. Without your voice, STRs will be legalized and regulated in all Seami Valley neighborhoods. STRs are a convenience. They're not a necessity. Banning STRs will protect your quality of life, your property values, and the safe, friendly neighborhoods permanent seem residents cherish. Please spread the word and help get people to come to the May 11th city council meeting. I will be looking forward to the presentation of staff's draft ordinance to ban STRs on May 11th as implied by the city manager and councilman Ayella. And just a short note, um myself, my husband, and Jim went to the street fair on Saturday just to give out little flyers asking people to come to the meeting. Not saying whether to ban, not saying whether to regulate, just please come. We were asked to leave. We were told we were not allowed to do that. And we were actually asked to leave the street fair. So, thank you.

Thank you. [applause] My name is Anthony Een, resident of Semi Valley. On March 9th, 2026, the city council failed to follow protocol in regards to item 10B. Item 10B and its founding document, resolution number 2019-36, also known as policy A40, indicate the city agenda item was created so council members could bring items to future meeting agendas. This item was used to approve a survey, not for an agenda item to be added to discuss a potential survey. Under policy A40, it states the following. Section five, council member requests for future agenda items. One, any city council member may request that a matter be placed on a future agenda item for discussion. The item was used to approve a survey without discussion. Two, the mayor may ask the city council for concurrence to add the item to a future meeting agenda. Council members should not discuss the substance of the item at this time. at this time refers to discussion prior to concurrence, not after. Three, concurrence is two or more city council members verbally agreeing that the item should be brought back to for a full city council discussion, including the requesttor. This was not done. Four, concurrence that staff time and city resources be devoted to the requested item does not signify approval of the item. It only indicates that the city wishes to have it studied further and move forward with a discussion. Again, there was no discussion. The survey was approved. Did the expenditure for this survey follow city municipal

code? The city manager has discretionary ability to authorize and approve contracts for consulting services. However, the city manager is subject to certain limitations and restrictions under municipal code 2-9.304. 304D city manager authorization. It states, "The contract shall not have, may not result in, or be it be be the result of a significant policy decision necessitating prior council review and approval. There was no discussion, review, or approval by a vote of the full city council for this survey. I believe that a decision regarding residential short-term rentals affecting the entire city is a significant policy decision. The city's lack of transparency of this survey and how it got approved is alarming. Residents need to hold their elected officials and city employees properly accountable.

Thank you. [applause] Uh, dear members of the Sim Valley uh, city council, uh, my name is Robert Sat and I'm a local resident and homeowner in Semi Valley. Like many families in Semi Valley, we have felt the significant impact of rising living cost over the past few years. Recently, I invested in building an ADU attached to my primary residence. Um, this was not only a major financial commitment requiring a second mortgage, but also a long-term commitment in my property and community. Since September of last year, I have been using this ADU as a short-term rental, and I'm proud to say that we have had zero issues with guests or neighbors. Hosting an Airbnb provided my family with a responsible and much needed way to keep up financially. We operate with strict guidelines including uh maximum number of guests, house rules, enforce quiet hours, uh we designated parking for our guest, uh closed on on-site supervision. Being that I live on the property, I respectfully ask that the council consider policies that allow short-term rentals, reasonable regulations such as occupancy limits, quiet hours, uh registration registration requirements can address uh community concerns while still allowing families like mine to benefit from this opportunity. Thank you for your time and consideration and service to the community.

Thank you. [applause]

Frank Tomlinson, Todd Taylor, and Roy Khan. Good evening. My name is Frank Tomlinson, and I appreciate you giving me the time this evening. I've [clears throat] come a couple times and you guys are all aware that I came with the idea of actually allowing the small business that my not small business but the uh the um nonprofit that my partners and I have created Vets and Valor distribute the banners that are up on the light poles around the city when they're retired back to veterans after they separate. I appreciate that consideration. I was in touch with about a dozen local veteranowned businesses today to start creating the resources so that we can get those out to veterans when they come to actually pick up the banners. If you guys will agree and allow us to do this, we really have a vision of making Seami Valley the most pro- veteran city in our county. But as Ben pointed out to me earlier, we probably are already that. So, now we're going to go for Ventura County being the most pro county in the entire state. Okay. I appreciate you guys helping this. Thank you.

Thank you so much. [applause]

Good evening, Mayor Kavanaaugh and council members. My name is Todd Taylor. I've been a Seami Valley resident for over 17 years. small business owner as a private investigator for 27 years, homeowner, and then today uh officially candidate for district 1 city council. I'm here tonight again to talk about STRs. I want to address what this discussion is really centered on, fear of the unknown. The EENS have been very vocal on this issue and I understand their concern. In public statements to the Ventura Star, they described the short-term rental next door that operated for a few months last year. They stated they had no significant issues, no ongoing noise problems, no parking issues, and no disturbances. Their concern was simply not knowing who was staying next door. But the reality is most people don't know many of their neighbors now, even those who live there full-time. Making policy should be about actual safety, not perception. This is a personal comfort issue and government regulation should not be used to solve personal comfort. Because even your own data shows very few complaints and minimal impact overall. Regulation isn't solving an actual problem. If there are bad actors, deal with them directly, enforce the laws we already have. Even creating regulation with unnecessary restrictions burdens responsible homeowners and attempts to regulate something that is already working. Regardless of any regulations or permits, the city council and law enforcement can contact policy department of Airbnb directly any time to discuss and assist with any host hosting issues. This council has their contact information or some of the council I should say has their their contact information to do so as I know they've already reached out to a couple of

council members. I mean Seami Valley has the tools it needs already and does not need to have a permit system to regulate any Airbnb problem hosts. Also note that Airbnb has had a party ban since 2020 with a zero tolerance policy. Thank you for your time. Thank you. [applause]

Good evening. Evening members of the council. Good evening, Mayor DD Kavanagh. I would like to thank you for the opportunity for uh the towing in Seami Valley. I'm here to talk to you about a couple things in the RFP that came up. Uh, one of the things in the RFP was the insurance. The insurance when it first came out, it came out at 5 million and then it came down to a million. And all the insurance on the auto liability is in the industry AAA is the standard of the set and they set it at 500 and CHP sets it at 750. If it's set at a million and that means that I would have to put a million dollar coverage on all my trucks. I can't I can't separate my trucks. So, I'm asking you to take a look at that and take in consideration of doing the CHP standard of 750. Um, I'm also here to talk about the um the dividing line of Sycamore and uh the the towing from Sycamore from east to west instead of a rotation. Um, I've been doing the towing in Semi Valley for seven years and never had an issue with the with the city in in the towing in in anything. And when you go to a rotation, a rotation gets confusing with uh more people on scene or who did what call and who who gets what car and and this stuff. So I wish you would consider to uh leave it alone as the as a dividing line and and uh to keep things simpler. Thank you very much.

Thank you. [applause] The last speaker at Kenhurst.

Good evening. My name is Ken Hurst. I'm a resident of Semi Valley. Another Seami Valley resident has been taken by ICE since we last spoke. Total of 38 people have been taken from in Semi Valley in the last year and change. Continuing our earlier conversation about flock, the fourth amendment states, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause supported by oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized." In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in Carpenter versus US, that is a Fourth Amendment violation for police to access cell phone location data without a warrant. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that participation in modernist life essentially requires us to carry cell phones. And so access to cell phone location data through a third party, phone company in this case, is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. I can leave my cell phone at home. I am required by the state to register my car and to display my license plate. There is no reasonable alternative to routinely getting around semi valley other than using a car. While the Supreme Court has not yet taken a case, it seems that flock presents a significant fourth amendment issue. I do not doubt that flock data can help solve police uh help police solve crimes. So would tracking everyone's cell phone or requiring everyone to wear an ankle monitor or carry an Air Tag with them or having an AI microphone in every kitchen. Things that clearly require a warrant. Benjamin Franklin was reputed to have said that anyone who would trade liberty for just liberty for security deserves neither. Flock has recently started offering AI

services to some police departments. quote, exposing hidden criminal patterns and providing agencies with actionable insights, unquote. This goes well beyond find the jewelry thieves car to generate to generating suspicions of future criminal behavior based on predictive AI models and our data for quote pre-rime unquote policing. Given the new terms and conditions effective as of February with Flock, Semi Valley data can likely be used to train these AI models. Please address the fourth amendment issue possibly by setting up a check and balance system wherein flock data accessing flock data requires a second person approval for each and every search in a way that reinforces accountability and transparency. I note that the blank reasons in the in the publicly facing log continue to exist. Fix the public facing logs to eliminate blank reasons. Include the agency doing ex the access. Eliminate log entries changing from time to time so that citizens can see the data and have increased confidence that the system is not being abused.

Thank you, Mr. Hurst. Your time is up. [applause] Madame Mayor and members of the city council, next on the agenda is item 4A, city council comments regarding public statements.

Thank you. Before we start on that, I want to address a couple of issues. Um the tragedy we recently had has affected our entire community in multiple ways. Um I know the siblings were from three different schools. They're seeing me youth baseball where there's 850 kids. Um there's friends and family. So I just want everyone to know that our hearts and prayers are with the entire community for this tragedy and we are doing whatever we can to try and avoid it in the future. We've reached out to Metro to try and get them to come out and give an explanation as to when they could possibly change that out um and maybe give us some hope that that will be soon. We've also prior to the tragedy happening, our traffic bureau attended a um meeting of the Seami Valley School principles and gave a wonderful presentation on ebikes and the laws and what is acceptable, what's not. and the school district has promised to work with us on that. We had a tri- agency meeting. Um out of that we've also come up with the Rancho Park District is going to allow us to use their Rancho centers at a community center. So the Seami Valley Police Department will host a free ebike safety education event on May 26th, 2026 from 6:00 p. p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Rancho Santa Susanna Community Center. That is the STurnN location. So, we're hoping anyone and everyone that is interested or has cares about it will come out and visit and obtain the information and share it with those that aren't there. So, with that, we'll go back to uh letting all the council members speak. So, thank you. Council member Ayala.

Thank you. Um the first thing is we just wanted I just wanted to make a correction on the buses. We we had asked if the we get money from the buses that we turn back in. It's $2,000 to $4,000, not $200,000 to $400,000. So, I just wanted everyone to know or people might say, "Where does that million dollars go?" We were really hoping.

Yeah. So, they when I went outside, they they said, "You might want to correct what we had said." So, just so everyone's aware. Uh the second thing is for the STRs. That's on next week's agenda. And I just wanted to mention that I do believe that as part of that report that you everyone will understand the method of how the survey was conducted, the questions that were asked, how the the people were um you know the survey was sent out and everything. So, I think that um by attending next week's meeting, you'll have all of the open information that you were asking for so that everyone's comfortable that nothing was being left out. So, I do think that that's going to be part of it and so everyone will be very um aware as to what happened and how it came to be. The third thing is Mr. Davis, we coming back to see you again. Um, city manager, do we know about the tiny homes timeline for that?

In process soon as possible. As soon as possible, Ben soon. And then, um, also, so I'm putting you on the spot again. Sorry [laughter] about Miss is it Tom and Sen Frank? Tom Lint Tom. Um, what about a timeline for that? Uh I have the memo from staff, but it uh there's some information that's missing that I need to include before I distribute it to you guys. So I have to make some modifications to the memo.

So also in process for you too. I just wanted you guys to know that we haven't forgotten about you. It's it's moving forward. And then I wanted to just just two more things for the middle school students. The to me it doesn't matter. I mean, it's impressive how um that you're in school and you're able to do this project and at the same time um you could have been 25 and we would still be interested in the change that you want to make, right? And so I do have some questions for you specifically to to then kind of help guide like what your next step might be. I don't know if you actually need guidance or support because you seem to be doing just fine yourself, but um but if you want to reach out to me and walk me through kind of where you're at or if you're stuck anywhere, I can see if I can help you move to the next step. Okay? So So make sure you um reach out if you if you need it. Again, you're doing fine yourself, but if you need something else, let me know. And then in regards to um uh Mr. Masso, I think you you're the one who sent the email. Yes. Okay. You know, you didn't know Ree and you're able and you still came and spoke on his behalf and um a lot of us didn't know him either, but I don't think we have to know him to be able to to feel the the impact just [clears throat] like just like you you mentioned you didn't know who he was. And um as the mayor said, it's something that affects the entire community. And [snorts] so it's it's also I wanted to let everyone know that we we mentioned the day of prayer and May 7th at 12 noon here in at the courtyard is our day of prayer. So I invite everyone to come out uh to join us at 12:00 p.m. on May 7th and that maybe we should we should include something about Reese in that day of prayer on Thursday. And um if we weren't planning on doing it, we should also adjoin or join adjourn the um in memory of him as well.

I have that on. Okay. And um that's it for me. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim Litster.

Thank you for all your comments. Um appreciate it. And and that's much of what I wanted to say. Um I did want to say Mr. Ben Davis, your at the street fair, your tiny homes that were there to be toured by so many was very impressive and I I'm I'm I'm pleased to hear there's such interest locally and so I look forward to that report when we get it soon because I think there's a way forward. I really do. Um Ivana uh Miss Chrisman, thank you for speaking to some of the great opportunities that are coming in our neighborhood from soft from Rotary Club softball tournament Samaritan Center there. I just want to speak that there's so many clubs doing so many good good things that it's almost overwhelming the amount of of of desire and goodness and so thank you for mentioning those two and and other great things that are happening in our community. Um, I will say that um, Angela and Sasha, well done. Beautifully presented. Um, two young ladies from Hillside Middle School who I had the pleasure of meeting with this past week who are in a mission to make things better for others. And I I love I just want to share I don't want to give their secrets away. They're not doing this for a grade. this has nothing to do this is entirely from a desire and passion from their heart to make to improve things for people and in um more healthy and and giving them more options. And so thank you for coming to speak to us. I know you are going to be many other places. So kudos to both of you and keep keep sharing the message. So thank you for being here. Um um I was again those who spoke about the tragedy um thank you for referencing um your comments and it just is it it is just hard to fathom and I I I'm glad that the city is holding Metroink uh to to their plans and as you pointed out getting them done now not summer. Yes, it may happen this summer but let's do

it do it absolutely now. Um, as to those who spoke about the STRs on both sides, obviously this is a discussion that we will be having next week and there are it's it's a very nuanced discussion. We really want to do what's best for our city. Um, I did want to mention Alen, you you referenced going to the street fair and being and trying to pass out flyers. It was interesting. I had the opportunity of speaking with officer Mallister I think after he had probably spoken with you and and he what he expressed and I just want to be very clear it was not had nothing to do with the content at all. It it is entirely that that street fair that vendors have paid to have positions there and to pass out material and that no one is supposed to be walking passing things out that it it becomes basically a private space that has been contracted by the chamber for that event and that is why you were asked to stop distributing papers but I'm sure that that was very frustrating and so I just wanted to communicate that that he had expressed to me how he knew that that would was was difficult. Um, I realize my time um is is really up. Just a couple other things. Um, I did want to mention to um actually to the the gentleman uh with the towing company um uh there. Thank you. I'm sorry. Um I realize it's a close session item that we that and often we we pass things in close session, but based on the questions that you have raised, I I I'm sorry. It's a I'm sorry, close session. It's a consent calendar item. Thank you. Um, often it just gets passed based on some of your questions you raised. I I I do intend to pull it just so we can get those questions answered publicly and we can have that discussion. Um, and then uh just one other thought. Um, oh, Mr. Taylor, thank you for joining the race of candidates. Um, actually, it's delightful to see

many people here who want to make a difference on our city council. So, thank you for being here. those that are and um Mr. Hurst um made many comments about um various things. Flock camera. I don't see where there you are. Thank you. I've got to focus. Um I just want you to know particular your last comment about fixing the blank um reasons for for that information. I think that is critical. I'm I'm I know that the police intends it to be there. So I I thank you for sounding that again and I will follow up and see where that stands. So again, thank you all for your contributions tonight. Thank you, Council Member Rhodess.

Uh thank you, Madame Mayor. I will not repeat all of the things. We are covered extremely well. There were um on the short-term rental issue. Um it was brought up uh alluding to and hinting a suspicion at um campaign donations. Um, the great thing about our government and um, freedom of information as well as reporting is every donation that comes into me, you get to see. So, pull the 460 forms, pull the 700s and read what you want into it. Uh, if you have conspiracy in your mind, you will probably read something into it that isn't there, but um, you're free to do so. And uh I am unclear as to um uh why one would resist uh an attempt to get at the actual truth and feeling of what the community desires and the um the absolute um necessity I think of having a um poll done of the entire city to figure out um what is truth and what is fiction, what is loudly spoken versus what is softly spoken. And um and next week we all get to find out and see the report and see how the questions were formulated by a professional company, what their decision-making process was in putting that together. And you'll find out that um uh we spent a very little bit of money to get some really good information that will help us make good decisions.

Thank you, Council Member Judge. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I just want to say also thank to everybody coming out and speaking. I want to just mention real quick because this was brought to my attention although I will be coming back from a Skagg event that day. There's going to be a memorial held for Ree at the Semi Valley Youth Baseball Fields over on that's on Township, right? No madiraa. The Madera.

So that's the big baseball fields. So that's going to be going on Friday, May 8th. Wanted to let everybody know about that. Also, um the tragedy was very very I hate to say these kind of words, but close to home for me and I am going to work in my uh positions on the transit authorities I sit on to make sure that Metro pushes that forward. The reason it was scheduled back was because Metro Link had to figure out a way to do a double track system from our S turn all the way to Sequoia Avenue. So, they paused their railroad track maintenance or their up their upgrades at Se at Sycamore. So, I'm going to try and get them to get that going faster. I know the city's also working on that. So, hopefully we can pressure them into at least finishing the intersections and then doing their double track, but I also want to don't want to pile on what else said, but thank you all for coming out tonight and speaking.

Thank you. Before I give any closing comments, may I have Commander Darren Mueller and Sergeant Josh Mallister come up and give us just a quick thought process on what you're going to do in the um the educational meeting that we're going to be having on ebikes. Um Sergeant Mallister is our traffic sergeant. So, thank you.

Any information you want to share with us? Thank you. So the uh what was mentioned March 26 I believe or I'm sorry May 26 is when the meeting is it's just in its infancy stage right now. There hasn't really been a agenda put in place. Uh it's going to be probably more of a presentation on the legality of what the ebikes are class one two and three. What's not allowed on the streets or sidewalks? What isn't allowed to be ridden in our cities? The electric motorcycles the illegal devices. And at that point we'll also open up to questions. Uh our intent and our hope is one to have kids but also to have parents there because I think um sometimes parents buy devices and aren't really certain what it is. So we want to educate the parents as much as we do the kids and hope that the parents will help us with the kids and help us understand that maybe they shouldn't be riding at a certain level and get out there. Um we also have some we did some stats after the tragic incident that happened and we are out there doing enforcement. We've been out doing bicycle enforcement for a couple years now. It's been on our radar. It's something we've been pressing as a traffic bureau to try to make a difference in. Uh four citations. Um 2025 we did four citations for just regular bicycles and we did over 43 citations on ebicycles. Those are also including electric motorcycles or illegal devices. So far this year in 2026, we have nine ebike citations or uh e motorcycle citations because there's not really a section. They kind of fall under the same. We've impounded uh in 2025 we impounded 11 ebikes or electric motorcycles and this year alone we've impounded three so far. Uh unfortunately our fatalities are our injuries injury collisions in bicycles are a big problem for us and something we're trying to address. Uh so in 2025 we had 24 uh bicycle or ebike collisions. And as you can understand, if you're on a bicycle or ebike and you're involved in a collision, you're probably going to end up getting injured. And majority of

those cause injuries to the rider, uh, out of those 24, 14 of them included a juvenile. So, that was involved. And that that's another issue that we're having is the amount of juveniles that are being injured on these devices. So far, 2026, we've had 10 with four of them being juveniles. Um, and majority of these the bicycle rider or ebike rider is found to be at fault. They just don't understand the rules of the road. Don't understand how they need to be riding these devices. And when you put a young individual, young juvenile out on one of these devices, they don't understand the roadway rules and safety. And so, we really want to address that with education. That's part of what the town hall meeting is going to be about. And that's uh we've created a new flyer that we're going to put up on our website. We handed it out at the street fair. We had a booth at the street fair this year. uh based on the incident, we I called the chamber and they let us come up there, our traffic division, and we just talked all day about ebike and bicycle safety. So, we created a flyer. It'll be available. We'll put some out in the lobby. So, if anybody needs one or wants one, they can go to the website, come to the lobby, and get one. It'll give you everything that's legal. One, two, three, classes 123, what's illegal? And also answer any other questions you have. And my contact information will be on there, too.

Thank you, Sergeant Commander. I'll throw my two cents in. also the uh the ebikes. Um and I will say this with my age group because we had a fatality last year. It's education across the board. It isn't just with juveniles with youth. It's it's individuals again of my age group um that just don't know how to handle the bikes. It it becomes a little overpowering. So our intent for that meeting is not only educational but not unlike we had at the street fair. It's a lot of question answering. people have a lot of emotions if you can imagine especially after the least the recent event. So our intent is to educate and to provide them with some guidance if you will.

Thank you. We appreciate that. I know I attended the board of supervisors meeting on Tuesday and the sheriff's department also did a a small presentation on ebikes and what's legal, what's not, and what they're going to be working on. So, I think all of our law enforcement agencies are are taking this to heart even more so than than we were before. So, thank you for all you're doing. We appreciate it. So, my only Oh, thank you. [applause] I just wanted to let everyone know that we are doing what we can. It's a little little too little or it's too little too late unfortunately for this tragedy. Um, but we have been trying to do the enforcement to the best of our ability. And again, I think information and education is really going to be our key right now. So, thank you to our police department for doing all of that. Mr. Moso, thank you for all the research you did. That was fantastic. I'm sorry I had to cut you off. I really am. But, um, it's it's it's hit our entire community. So, and, uh, thank you for doing all of that. Let's see. And thank you, Mr. Thomasson, for the veterans. my nephew's currently serving, so we appreciate that. I know Mike Mike's a veteran also. Um, and then Roy, we'll look at yours is on the consent calendar, so I'm not sure what's going on there. So, we'll wait and see when we get to that item. So, as for that, uh, we can move on to the next item. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Madame Mayor and members of the city council, next on the agenda is public hearings. This is a time for testimony on public hearings on the consideration of matter as presented on this agenda. that the record show that due notice was given as required by law and an affidavit to this effect is on file in the office of the city clerk. All comments submitted by email have already been provided to the city council and will be made part of the record. However, they will not be read by the city clerk this evening. Speakers will be called on in the order in which the car was submitted to speak for this testimony item five for a period of no more than 5 minutes each. Persons addressing the city council are requested to state their name and

community residents for the record. Comments shall be limited to matters relevant to the item on the agenda and may be ruled out of order if comments are unrelated to the item. The reports of city staff relating to these matters shall be made part of the record of this meeting. If you challenge in court any of the city council decisions made here tonight, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at this public hearing. The time within which judicial review must be sought is governed by California Code of Civil Procedure section 1094.6. Item 5A, a public hearing to receive and file the annual position vacancy report. And senior human resources analyst Jamie Cross and deputy human resources director Jennifer Gutierrez are here to present this item. Thank you. Before we begin, are there any exparte communications to report? Seeing none, staff may begin with oral report at this time. Good evening, Mayor Kavanaaugh and members of the city council. Effective January 1, 2025, Assembly Bill 2561 amended the Myers Millius Brown Act or the MMBA to require public agencies to publicly report the status of their job vacancies. Our first public hearing was held in April 2025 and tonight we hold our second. As of December 31st, 2025, there were 62 vacant positions. However, with our recent salary adjustments, we are optimistic that next year's report will show a reduction in that number. With that, I will hand it over to senior HR analyst Jamie Cross for the presentation on our data. Good evening. As previously stated, public agencies have an obligation to hold a public hearing each fiscal year prior to the

adoption of the final budget and present information on the status of vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts as well as provide an opportunity for each bargaining unit to speak during the public hearing. The city has 532 full-time positions amongst the management group, PMA, POA, SEIU, and SVEA. During 2025, 90 vacancies were created and 86 were filled. As of December 31st, 2025, 62 positions were vacant and the vacancy average for the year was 10.4%. The competition amongst local agencies for qualified candidates continues to be challenging. As such, city staff continues to take steps in support of recruitment efforts, including ensuring job descriptions are updated prior to recruitment. Streamlining recruitment and testing timelines whenever possible. Increasing presence at job fairs and social media. highlighting increased salaries and emphasizing benefits and work life balance. Of the 90 vacancies created in 2025, 35 or 39% were by employees who left voluntarily. Others were from promotions or transfers, retirement, or were involuntarily terminated. And the annual staffing turnover for 2025 was 6.77%. Further, for those who left voluntarily, staff identified the following. 24 or 86%, pardon me, 68% left for higher salary. Two relocated, two left for health reasons and two left

due to work schedule issues. Five did not pro uh provide a reason or stated they were dissatisfied. With regard to retention, the city has taken positive steps by approving raises for all employee groups since the last report, increasing contributions towards health benefits in most cases, enhancing communication via all hands meetings, conducting welcome events for new employees, expanding employee recognition efforts, and sponsoring a variety of employee activities. Here's a breakdown of vacancies by group through December 31st, 2025. As noted, there are no groups exceeding or at a 20% vacancy rate. This concludes our presentation and we're available for questions. Thank you. Are there any questions of staff from city council members? Council me Mayor Pro Tim Litster.

Thank you. Um just I wanted to understand a little better. Um I think you said 24 or 68% left for higher salaries. Of those 24 do we know with specificity if they were um if any of the TW well higher salaries can apply also that they may have taken a a position of increased responsibility. Do we know with certainty that it was those 24 it was level it was exact same positions they were filling elsewhere or or do we have that broken out? Do we know that with

we actually have an exit interview survey that gets into the details? um because when we are um processing a termination for somebody, it's very broad and so often we will get those details once they've actually left and Jamie does actually follow up with people on on occasion when it's not clear even from the survey um in an attempt to really get down to the details if there if it's a promotion or if it's just a yes we a lateral transfer

I want to say there's 20 different choices on the exit interview in terms of the reasons. Um, and yes, it can be same job. Um, or it can be u a different job. It can be a promotion. It can be new career. U yeah, I want to say 20 there's 20ome different choices. So, we do we do get down to the nitty-gritty. Thank you, Council Member Rhodess.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh Jamie, uh I seem to remember that there is a trigger at some point um if we a position has been open too long and there are ramifications for the city. Is that still a thing?

I don't know about a trigger per se. Uh when a position is vacated, the we rely on the department to submit their request for recruitment. We fasttrack it as best as we can. Sometimes we need additional information. It requires human resources uh Jennifer's approval as well as uh the city manager. Um, and then generally meeting with the department to see if there's any changes needed to the job description, preparing materials, um, deciding on advertising, opening a recruitment, and then um continuing to advertise if we are are having difficulty in obtaining qualified candidates. But we've tried to fasttrack as much as we can to get to the finish line. Are we actively trying to fill all the open seats or um are are some of those on hold?

I'm sorry. Are some of those positions on on hold where we don't actually need to fill them right now and um maybe for budget reasons we're going to uh hold off?

I would have to uh also check with the departments on that on on what their motivation is. So um the the numbers that I uh thought were completely right on with the um number of employees that we have and if we were a 500 person company that turnover rate is a completely acceptable rate. Um but our open position uh percentage seems to be a lot higher. So um perhaps in the near future we might want to look at um uh open positions and whether that's a reality need for um Zi Valley any longer. We have we've changed as a city. We're not expanding and building as much as we are maintaining infrastructure. So maybe that needs to change. But um thank you for the report and uh I thought it looked really good.

Thank you council member Ayella.

Thank you. I was going [clears throat] down the same line of thought as council member Rhodess and it is that I think we we should definitely fill open positions if they are needed. I don't care if we find the money to do it, right? If it's needed, it's needed. But sometimes we have positions that we created years ago just like in regular business because it met a need at the time. So I don't think that we should just take for granted and say okay now there's a vacancy do we have to fill it maybe there's efficiencies we have now built in from years or something that the position may no longer be needed and so I would say we just need to take a very thoughtful approach to say to look at the positions again if they're needed we should definitely say we need to fill them but we also should look at it and say is this something we still need and if we don't we should find a way to say we be realistic and say we don't need it and so that's what I would encourage us to just do as an organization we do it in the private sector all the time um and then the other I thought I had one more question but I can't remember oh I was going to just make a general comment that for those that do work in the city if you have a way something that you think is a way that we can recruit better and for some reason you haven't felt comfortable bringing it up to your manager. You know, sometimes people don't want to bring up things, come to somebody else. Come to any of us up here, come to someone else. Bring up the idea because if you have a smart idea of how to fill a position and what would recruit and um help attract people, we don't care where it comes from. We just want to know, right? So, just an open

invitation to reach out to the person you feel most comfortable with. We will get it to the right person and make that happen. Thanks, city manager Argite.

I just want to address um the comments from Council Member Rhodess and Council Member Ayala. So, all open positions come across um as staff mentioned the deputy director of HR's desk and my desk. So, nothing gets open for recruitment until I approve it. Um, and much to the department head's chagrin, I'm often questioning, do we still need this position? Um, there have been positions that have been unoccupied for four years. So, my question is, why are we filling it now? Why do we need it today? And is this still needed and necessary? So, um, I'm looking very closely at all of those requests as they come across my desk because, and I do ask all the department heads to evaluate anytime they're asking to fill a position, is this still a necessity in your department? Are we doing things differently? Have processes changed? Um that this is still a needed position because much like you, I think back to, you know, just as an example, you know, we used to have to use a typewriter for everything, right? And now we have, you know, computers and AI and all of that. So, where are we with um the current needs of our departments and the city? Um and the department heads are asked to look at all of those things closely, and I consider all of those things very closely before we're opening positions. Um, one of the other, um, items that I'm looking at is if a department is not being responsive to a recruitment, then I've directed HR that we will close recruitments because if we are not getting if we have candidates that are not getting responded to, then that is not good for our organization. It doesn't give a good reputation in the community. Um, because we want to be responsive and then how much of a priority is filling that position to the department. So, I'm really asking the department heads to be very involved in this process. Are there any other questions? Okay. The service employees international s union SEIU local 721 will be called to provide their presentation on the matter. They will have 10 minutes for their presentation.

So local 721 will you please come forward. Thank you. You may proceed when you're ready.

All right. Thank you, Mayor Kavanagh and members of city council. My name is Carson Okosa, regional director for SEIU Local 721. Uh to council member Ayella's uh open invitation for additional ways for recruitment and retention. Uh we have an idea. It's always uh more more pay and better benefits. So, we appreciate the opportunity to uh address council tonight. Um from our for our bargaining unit, our uh vacancy rate has remained uh mostly stable at about 16% with the largest uh group of vacancies in the public works department. Um, in our last contract about one year ago, we won a hard hard-fought victory uh for a market compensation study that will be implemented uh in only a few months. Uh, and the goal of that market study was uh to address the vacancy rate and to address the ability of the city to recruit and retain uh qualified talent uh to this city. Uh and that was a hard-fought win after uh months of pickets and a strike vote for the first time in decades. As we approach uh the final weeks before the implementation of the study, uh we again ask the city uh staff uh to work through the final issues and to make sure [snorts] that the uh that the study is fairly implemented in accordance with the language uh that was agreed to. Our concern is that every every classification uh compensation is accurately and closely studied uh and that the methodology is followed uh and not discounted. Uh the report that was adopted by council several weeks ago uh we do have uh some issues with we have a meeting later this month to address that with staff. Uh this market compensation study is uh I think a key tool for our city staff to

be able to uh to live in the city where they serve uh and to bring market rate wages to uh the city which has historically been one of the lower paid cities in this county. So, uh, as we look to, uh, have final implementation, we look forward to working with city staff to accurately and, uh, completely implement the language that we agreed to. With that, I want to introduce our chapter president, Doug Roberts, who will have additional comments.

Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for being here tonight. Um, 68% for salary. That seems like a seems like a tell to me. All right. This market study is a huge first step in keeping good employees and making sure we are able to recruit and retain new employees. Having this market study proves that you guys are committed to fixing the wage gap that has been a huge problem for many years. Taking this first step and doing this market study is greatly appreciated. I could speak for everyone. We all appreciate you guys putting in the effort and the time. We know this is not easy. This is a humongous undertaking. Um, that being said, we have some concerns about the results of the study. We are not sure why the council would vote on results, why we are still waiting to set a date for possible arbitration over a few issues. It also seems that the study results that you gave us last year uh last the end of last year or the beginning of this year do not seem to match the results of the vote you guys took. We looked over the numbers. Um we also find it kind of odd that you didn't put it that you were going to vote on this for on the agenda until 5 hours before the meeting. Um we have a lot of people that are looking for things like that for us. Um, I think we need to work together to make Semi Valley not only a great place to live, but also a great place to work. Um, you guys do such a great job fighting for the city I live here. I love you guys. You guys do a great job fighting for the citizens of Seami Valley. I just really hope you guys put that much effort into fighting to pay the employees a fair wage. Thank you for your time.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Are there any qu are there any questions of the bargaining unit from city council members? Not well not well I'm trying to understand your statement Mr. Roberts that it that it was put on the agenda 5 hours beforehand because because I know that all of it was posted has to be posted three days in advance. We were watching. We had people in uh at work. We were watching the agenda and it wasn't there and it wasn't there and then all of a sudden we refreshed. You're saying the agenda item or you're saying that

just that you guys were going to be even voting on the wage uh compensation study. You guys voted on that, right? You agreed to the wage compensation study. Do you want to comment on that?

I think there's some um mischaracterization happening. So the item was placed on the agenda. The agenda was published and it did hit the website um by I believe it was 5:30 p.m. on Friday, the Friday before the city council meeting, which is typically later than um items are posted. Um and that was um a staff error. Um however, it did still meet the 72-hour noticing requirement for a 6:30 p.m. Monday night meeting. So there was no 5h hour prior to the meeting. It was posted on Friday prior to the Monday meeting just as we do all of our other agenda items. Okay. Thank you. Just wanted to understand.

Thank you. We'll we'll talk about it later during the conversations that you're going to be having. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. At this time, I'd like to open the hearing for anyone in the city council chambers wishing to be heard on this matter. Madame May, we have no other um testimony cards. All right. Thank you. Are there any further comments or questions from city council members?

Oh, I skipped over. Does staff have any response to the comments or issues raised? No. Thank you. So, any other further comments or questions from city council members? Seeing none, this hearing is now closed and I will now entertain a motion. Madame Mayor, I move to receive and file the city's annual position vacancies report. Second. Thank you. Call for the vote.

The motion passes unanimously. Thank you. We can now proceed to the next item. Madame Mayor and members of the city council, next on the agenda is item seven, the consent calendar. And there is one resolution for your consideration this evening. Consent item six, resolution number 2026-11, a resolution declaring the city council's intent to levy and collect assessments for fiscal year 2026 27 in semi valley landscape district number one pursuant to streets and highways code 22624 and setting a time and place for public hearing. Council member Judge.

Yes, madam member. Thank you very much. Um, I've been asked by the police department to possibly pull item three for a short presentation by our police department about our drone system. I will also have to recuse myself on item number three because I'm a member of the police foundation and I won't be able to vote on it. And I'd also like since it was brought up during public comments to pull item five for discussion and I will be back for that. So polling item three, pulling item five. Would somebody like to motion to approve the rest? Thank you. Happy to motion acceptant of passage of items one, two, four, and six.

Second. Call for the vote.

Madame Mayor, I think we need your vote. I didn't push lock. Sorry. The motion passes unanimously. Thank you. So we will pull item three. So council member judge. Thank you.

Commander, welcome.

Madame Mayor, uh city council members and fellow staff. My name is Brian Samples. I'm the commander of the investigations bureau for the police department. And I'm here tonight uh representing one of my ancillary assignments uh overseeing our technical services team. A part of the technical services team, we have our unmanned uh aircraft systems, more commonly known as our drone team. Uh right now our drone team consists of 15 pilots. Uh those pilots are all FA certified under 107. And uh we have eight operational drones. We have one large Maverick drone, five Matrices and two AATA drones. The abatas being the smallest used for internal searches of buildings and small areas. Recently, we approached the Seam Valley Police Foundation with a request to purchase an additional drone. They were gracious enough to uh grant us the funds not to exceed $15,000 for the purchase of a an additional Mavic T4 drone. This is the latest in the drone technology which allows us uh not only to uh be more robust in our capacities with drones but allows us to down uh drones that we use on a regular basis for regular maintenance and service. Uh some of these drones require uh parts and repairs uh in addition to having their electronic systems serviced. uh by bringing on this additional drone, we won't lose any capacity in our ability to deploy drones in needed times or tactical situations. Uh with that, part of that $15,000 doesn't just cover the drone. It covers the controller for the drone, batteries, and additional accessories that we use. Uh this new drone actually will enhance some of our operational capacity as we only have one all-weather drone currently. This is a second all-weather drone which will allow us to fly in both windy and inclement weather situations. Uh with that, I would submit to the council if there's any questions about the drones. Uh otherwise, this is coming before you because it's part of the

municipal code for uh being over $10,000 as part of uh chapter 2 section 9. There any questions from council? Mayor Pro Tim Litster, thank you. You mentioned you have 15 pilots right now. Yes, ma'am. Um, and this I assume does not necess necessitate an additional pilot. It just adds equipment. Is that correct? Or does this mean need another handler, I guess? No. Right now, I believe we have a sufficient number of pilots. Typically, we deploy two at a time. Uh, when we're flying a drone, one as a spotter, one as a pilot. Uh, right.

But allowing us to have an additional drone uh very specifically to service some of our current drones that have extended flight hours from the number of of different operations we use them for. uh will really be beneficial to the department and not losing capacity while we have them service one at a time. Very good. Thank you. Any other questions? Do I have a motion for the item? I would be happy to move approval of acceptance of a $15,000 grant from foundation to make this happen. Second.

Thank you. Call for the vote. The motion passes unan unanimously with uh council member judge of recused. Thank you very much.

You're welcome. Thank you. Okay. Item five. Who would like to start with that? I'll go. Uh Roy did mention something about the insurance requirement for the department for our department's towing services and I kind of I kind of think it makes sense that we should mirror the CHP's requirement. Um, like if anybody has any any other decisions on why I don't know or maybe the city manager can explain the rationale for the million-doll requirement

or if it was different than what was in their previous contract, like is it different? So, I'm actually going to call up um deputy city manager Heather Sagisai who worked on this item and she'll be able to discuss thoroughly the insurance requirements. Each agency has different insurance requirements. Um there might have been different insurance requirements on the last contract. However, we have updated our insurance requirements since then. Um and this information was provided to all of the um proposers at the time in which they proposed on the contract. So this was information that was had ahead of time. Thank you.

Good evening, mayor and members of the city council. That is correct. When you look back at the contract back in 2019, it was $1 million for the commercial general liability, which is now $2 million. The reason for that increase is it is based on um our insurance brokers reassessment in coordination with our city attorney's office to look at our insurance requirements. And it was based on our brokerage and city attorney's office that worked with our MIS risk manager who made that recommendation based on coverage. The other thing that city staff also did in relation to this outside of CHP is take a look at other agencies. And we took a look at 10 agencies um to also see what they were doing. And that was also $2 million. And in some agencies, we noticed that the commercial general liability was even as high as $3 million.

All right. Any other questions? Yeah. Didn't we break down that liability into two pieces?

In the RFP, it is broken out by commercial general liability and automobile liability. And so all of those uh requirements were clearly stated and as well as were labeled. So you you discussed the unless I misheard what you said, you discussed the commercial general liability going from 1 million to a million, but the you're are you saying the automobile liability, the the each unit liability uh was a million dollars in previous contracts or is that an adjustment up? our previous contract stated and I I I do have Maria Mandala Dunga with a Dunan with me as well. She's our senior management analyst with our purchasing um and she can speak to those prior contracts as well.

Hi, good evening. Uh yes, the previous contracts in 2019, they were uh the automobile uh li liability insurance was at 1 million and this is consistent from this existing RFP. Uh previously when we issued the RFP, it was at 5 million, but after a evaluation by the risk manager, he determined that the 1 million liability for auto was uh more appropriate. In addition, he added uh gatekeeper, I'm sorry, garage keeper as well as um on hook uh unhook coverage. And initially in the 2019 agreement, the garage keeper fell under the automobile liability which is a million. But now it is at 250,000 I believe 225,000 and the onhook coverage uh increased from 150,000 to 300,000. And how does that compare with um with industry standards?

That is consistent with uh industry standards as uh the deputy city manager mentioned. It is uh something that was recommended by the city's broker as well as uh in coordination with the city attorney's office. And each agency is different depending on the ge geography and the population and the kind of activity that that occurs within that juris jurisdiction. So a highway patrol would have different risk assessment than absolutely city or city street. That's what makes it curious to me is because I know the highway patrol uses impound toe a lot more than a mun a municipal police department.

Understood. Okay. Any other questions, comments? Yeah, one more question on it. The second question you brought up was about the u the dividing line instead of being a rotational dispatch for tow service. I believe a dividing line simpler, makes it easier for the tow operators to know exactly where they are. If they if they monitor police radio or if they get called, they'll know if it's on the west side of Sycamore that one company has to handle it. on the other side of sycamore, the other company has to handle it. That way, nobody has to figure out whose turn it is. I believe that's how it was done in the past. It was. Does the PD have any recommendations one way or the other on that, Chief? They

Heather, can you address that, please? Heather, sorry.

And yeah, I can address that. And chief, if you want to come up, you're welcome to. But as a part of when we started this process, given that when we originally uh this contract dates back to 2011 and then 2019, staff re-evaluated with PD to ask, hey, how's it going? And part of that feedback was looking at realigning the model with be best public safety practices, which are now adopted by CHB and also by the sheriff's office, which is a rotational model. The reason why PD had recommended that we make that change is to ensure operational flexibility while also maintaining that continuity of service. And that way if there was an influx of calls in one area, we could continue to maintain faster response times and clear the straight for ultimal um optimal public safety.

I think that's fine. if history tells us that there has been an issue. So my question is has there been an influx in certain areas where we're we have not been able to provide the service because it's on the other side of the line. I'm just trying to understand if there's a problem. I was going to go to the same place. What's the problem we're trying to solve?

And the other thing is if even if there's a dividing line, right? Is there something that prohibits us from saying, "Oh, that group is too busy on this side, so this one group can just help for this can go and help as opposed to, you know, just doing it on a case-by case basis."

Uh, one clarity in comparison to 2019 versus today is back then you had more people who were a part of that contracted service. We had three contracts that were awarded in 2019. one of those service providers no longer is viable as a part of the this new contract and so now you're down to two service providers and this response to make it more consistent on an all call rotational basis was clearly stated in the RFP um when both parties were entering into um submitting their proposals and it was clearly stated that this is something that was desired and it was based on to allow our dispatchers to be able to dispatch that call simultaneously if we had backto-back calls come in. Um, and if there's any additional feedback that I missed,

I'm going to defer to the traffic sergeant who watches this on a daily basis. No, I I think all that information is accurate. I think if obviously if there's two calls on one side of the town or multiple calls that require toes uh having the ability to call one toe company for one incident and then at the same time reach out to the second tow company for the second simultaneous incident. Obviously, we're going to get the roadways clear and the toes the cars moved a lot quicker than one company doing both incidents if at the same time. And all these tow companies also offered numerous other services to other areas, other uh cities, the freeway to CHP. So, they could be tied up on multiple other things at the same time. So,

if they were tied up, we would call the other company. Correct. If they're not, if they tell us they cannot get there, the way the contract is now, they have to let us know they cannot make it and cannot show up. But that's between whoever's taking the phone call from the tow company and whether they decide to give us that information. Other than that, we're just they're waiting and that's been an issue in the past. Uh not there hasn't been many times that they've told us they're not available. No. Mayor Pro Tim Litster.

Um just to understand the process. I appreciate it. Um the call go um who makes the determination whose turn it is? Is it the 911 caller? Is it dispatch deter decides it it's your and so they just oscillate back and forth. Is that is that the way it works? Correct. And that's consistent with also how sheriff's office and CHP currently dispatches toe calls. Got it. And so that's that's practiced elsewhere then and with success. Correct. Okay. Um Okay. Thank you. Any other questions, concerns? Council member Ayala,

I just would like to the gentleman to owns the I'm sorry, we've never met. So just explain to us what your concern is or why you would want it the other way. Just in very plain language. Just let let us know. Okay, I can do that. Um, so when I when I started towing here, I was t taking everything over to Thousand Oaks and since then I initiated a place in Seami Valley and since I'm on that side, I I've got the building on that side. I passed up a lot of stuff over on that side to be over on this side. um that cuts down my response time to be on one side is is is one thing I it it would be to so say in short term if I had two trucks that are covering I would have have four trucks because if I have two trucks that go all the way across town I would need two trucks on this side to in order to meet the 20 minute response time. Then the other thing is is that on a rotation a lot of things that happen is that is that uh say you know when you're rotating calls I'm not sure which car I'm going to get. So it's up to the officer to decide if uh one company is always getting the junk car without the insurance or or vice versa. and and so it it becomes very confusing and then it's confusing on on which company's coming out and is that company coming out simultaneously because it's closer or something. So it it just it it's really confusing when when I'm responsible for one one side I know that you know I can monitor everything and when a call comes down I know I'm ready because I can see I can see it on Pulse Point. I can see it on the on the website that you got a vehicle crash. I I I know I'm responsible for that call. So, I'm I'm ready and willing to go.

And then in just your experience, right, how many just anecdotally the word how many times have you had to say I can't do it? Uh in the heavy in the heavy line it it's it has come up before only because you might have heavy trucks on on something that takes longer. But I've got 30 trucks. So I've got four heavies. So I don't have that problem anymore. And I'm more than willing to, you know, work over on the other side if I have to. And I've done that in the past. I've covered the other end with with, you know, no questions asked, no problem. I also would like to point out that when you're calling other companies in to help if if that's what you need, that the insurance regulations on the other companies, they're not carrying over 750. Nobody in Vent County is covering over 750 because CHP doesn't require it. So, I want want to point that out. So if somebody does get in trouble and you're you're trying to sub out another towing company and you're bringing in other towing companies, they're going to be underinsured and there's no way for you to regulate it.

Tim, are you Thank you for sharing. And this is actually a question more for maybe C manager, maybe for attorney. Um, obviously a request for proposal went out with certain qualifications and you had and we had a certain number of applicants, two that were selected. We had two proposers. Two proposers. Two were selected.

Got it. Okay. Um, and so and that was based on the way the RFP was written. Obviously, the other um party is not here to discuss this with. Um, I guess my question is legally because they signed the contract as written or provided as written at this point, can we change um what is the process if there was a desire to change? Does it has does it have to go back to the very beginning to RFP to a new RFP? Yeah. And I'll defer that to the city attorney.

Yes, that's correct. So because that's such a material change in the process that is required, you know, whatever towing company that wanted to submit a proposal was able to look at the desire of the city. I will say that, you know, I work with a lot of different agencies and this rotational process is very common in other agencies. I can't speak exactly to every detail of what PD is needing and why they worked with, you know, the deputy city manager and wanting to ask for this specific rotation process. But if council is wanting to look at an alternative, um it would require a whole RFP again and going out and conducting that process.

Council member Rhodess. Um yeah, and this is more of a a theoretical Mr. Ki. Um, if you had had the opportunity to bid this and it stated that it was not going to be rotational, but a dividing line, would that have changed your dollar amount bid on the service? Well, I I I went off the same dollar amount that I was on before with this with CHP rate, so I left it at the same. Okay. So, this is a a service inconvenience and uh potential cost burden for you, but we did have it in the uh in the RFP. Yes. Okay.

Questions, comments. Uh and just as for clarification related to the RFP process, since we're asking process questions, uh when our proposers submit their application for this, they do sign an acknowledgement form and that was submitted on March 5th and in that it states those requirements. Mayor Pjim Litzer,

I understand why we why um this would be difficult to go back and redo. I guess my question is um if there was a gentleman's agreement between the two towing companies that you know we kind of like this territorial thing can they come together back to the city and and ask for a renegotiation or or or direct staff to to I mean is that even possible? I'm just wondering. I don't know if contracts have been signed.

What I would say is that um if this is something that staff or that the council wants staff to look into, we can do that. Um but the proposers do not determine what the terms are for the city when we request proposals. The city determines what those what those requirements are. Um and staff worked uh with the police department, they worked with the insurance broker, they worked with the risk manager to set these requirements um that they determined to be in the best interest of the city and the residents and um the police department. So um certainly we can push this item if staff or if the council would like us to go back. Um

but Stephanie, if I may add, you might also go out for RFP and not have just two proposers a second time. you might end up having other agencies that also submit proposals. And so the the idea that it might work between two towing companies might change just by going out for RFP again. So that's just something to consider.

This may not be popular with Mr. con, but I'm sorry, but um I work on RFPs for work and you put a lot of work into them and determine what it is that you want to be how you want it to be handled, what you're willing to price things at, what your requirements are. Um and then those that come in and apply for it, they're agreeing to those terms. So, unfortunately, I just feel it's a little too late to make the changes in in my personal opinion. um because we don't know that the other towing company who is agreeing to this proposal wants to change things. So I'm looking at it from a legal point of view. So but other comments? Yeah, it sounds I get it too. I think um I mean this is a long contract, right? It's and all it's five years and because what I was going to say is if it was a shorter contract, we could look at it and say, "Hey, did the new plan work?" If it didn't, we can adjust. But

well, and um I did talk to staff about that today. What we will be doing is evaluating um after about like a quarter or so just to make sure that it is working as planned. Um if there are issues with that, we can re-evaluate it. Um because certainly the goal is to ensure that it is fair. There is, you know, no intention of ensuring one side gets more business than the other. Uh we value both of the tow contractors that we've worked with for years. So um but I did ask staff that we ensure that we're doing that and we're doing an audit to ensure that it is working as planned.

Yeah, that sounds fair because otherwise we're waiting for but till 2031 to make a change if it's not working. But I think we have to go with it. Uh because that's what was in the proposal and then like city manager was saying, let's monitor it and make sure it's working for everyone and it's not then we look at changing it. Do I have a motion?

I'll make the motion. Hang on a second. Council member judge. Thank you. Uh or going with both of them, right? You got to read both or you just read one or two. Just move consent item. All right. Move consent item number three. Number five. Five. That's right. Thank you. Second. Second. Thank you. Call for the vote. The motion passes unanimously. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Khan. Madame Mayor and members of the city council, next on the agenda is item 9A to authorize staff to prepare and issue a request for proposal to solicit qualified consultants to assist in the creation of an arts and culture master plan and authorize the city manager to execute an agreement in a form approved by the city attorney with the selected consultant in an amount not to exceed $150,000. and Deputy Community Services Director Anna Medina is here to present this item. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor Kavanaaugh and members of the city council. The city's arts commission has long recognized the important role that arts and culture play in strengthening community identity, supporting economic vitality, and enhancing quality of life. In October 2024, the arts commission requested that staff develop a scope of work for an arts and culture master plan. Although the council discussed this initiative during the fiscal year 2526 budget process, funding was not allocated at that time. Staff has since reviewed current expenditures and revenue projections and identified available funds that can now support this effort. The proposed arts and culture master plan will serve as a strategic framework to guide the city's investment in arts and culture over the next 5 to 10 years. It will establish a shared vision along with clear goals and actionable strategies to foster vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive cultural environment. A key component of the plan will be robust community engagement. The selected consultant will conduct outreach with residents, artists, businesses, and community organizations to ensure broad input. The plan will also include an assessment of existing cultural assets, recommendations for public art and programming, exploration of potential cultural facilities, and identification of funding and partnership opportunities. To move forward, staff recommends issuing a request for proposals to select a qualified consultant. If approved, the RFP will be released before the end of May 2026 with work beginning in fall 2026 and final plan adoption anticipated in fall of 2027.

Staff further recommends authorizing an agreement not to exceed $150,000 for completion of the plan. This concludes the report and staff is available to answer any questions at this time. Anyone have any questions of staff? Council member Rhodess. I got my button pushed first. It's all right.

Um I couldn't be more excited that this is brought back before us. Um um I was disappointed it didn't get into the budget and um uh many people think the arts are ethereal and that they don't add um a direct financial value to a city. um this arts master plan is exactly what a city needs in order to um one take inventory of what we already have. Um and and then two create senses of place if we want the envision SEMI plan to come to fruition. Part of that plan, part of what makes it appealing to people who want to come and invest is the potential for community art and things to give it a sense of place. And if you want uh any any shining example of that very close to us, go to more parks high street and see the installed artworks that are there that make you go, "Wow, this is a cool place to hang out. And guess what? I want to put my businesses there and I want to go shop there and I want to go dine there." And so um to get this plan uh on the books I think is great. If we can spend less than 150 to do it because we have other people we can copy from uh great. But we need we do need input from um our citizens and our artists as well. So um congratulations on on keeping dogging this thing and and getting it back onto um our agenda and and into the uh into the books.

Mayor Prom Litster.

Thank you. Well said, Council Member Rhodess. Um actually I want to speak to the efforts of the cultural arts commission that even at the recent fair um recent uh street fair Saturday we met as a commission. There was such excitement to try to get to understand what the community wants and needs that that others on our committee basically and thank you for helping to make that happen Anna but basically had a a booth and I went by that booth and they had a big chart and people could put stickers on what kind of engagement they wanted. Do they want more visual art? Do they want more cultural experiences? And so I'm looking forward to them reporting. But it was clear that they were that many people were engaged in in in being part of that discussion. And so I hope that the cultural I hope that the commission can also be part of that. And so that kind of leads to my question. This is exciting that this is being discussed and can happen. Who how do we select who that vendor is going to be? What are the what's the criteria? I I assume it's not just a function of cost. Do we know how that um who and how that will be selected?

Right. Well, then I guess what what I'm asking is what's going to be in that RFP. I guess specifically is what the RFP has been developed um and is in review right now. So, um there are several things that uh will be in there to determine who the best consultant will be. So,

okay. I I I I appreciate that. I just and I maybe it's the selfishness want to be part of looking at that, want to peek at that and be part of the selection. Maybe that's really what's going on here. So I I I would vote for the commission to be able to look at those that are fees, but we'll I'll leave that to discussion. Um so um and I guess as I as you read through the list, it is long and varied all the things that they could and could do. Um can you explain time frame process what you envision how long I mean when would when would we as a council maybe get um once someone's been selected how how much time is going to be taken for instance is that also in the RFP am I asking

your questions [laughter] yes there's definite time frames for everything so the RFP will be uh um sent released by the end of May and then We're hoping that the consultant will begin in the fall of 2026. Um they have a lot of work ahead of them uh especially with the community involvement. So we're anticipating adoption of the plan in the fall of 2027. Very good. 27.

Yes. The final plan will be adopted in 2027. And when we originally brought this up and we were modeling after the Moore Park master arts plan, um their process was about a year to get that all together. So that makes sense. And

and I might add as a commission just to add to what you're saying, my my memory is that we had a fiveyear the Cultural Arts Center had a five-year master plan of what it wanted to do. And we realized as a commission that they were doing wonderful things there, but our but the culture and the arts in our whole city is was so deserving of study and and I and attention. And so this is this is the big picture is what this is all about. So thank you Anna. And I just want to add that the RFP is going to be scored by SCA staff. It won't just be driven by cost. So excellent. I'd be happy to make the motion.

Would you please? Thank you. Um, I move to authorize staff to prepare and issue an RFP to solicit qualified consultants to assist in the creation of an arts and culture master plan and authorize the city manager or her designate to execute an agreement in a form approved by the city attorney with the selected consultant in an amount not to exceed $150,000.

Second. Call for the vote, please. The motion passes unanimously. Madame Mayor and members of city council, next on the agenda is item 10A, city council member reports. Council member Ayella, you are up first.

Thank you. Should I wait for her to come back? No. the on Wednesday the 22nd I attended the opening the reopening I should say of PC's Bar and Grill and so it's under a new ownership I always passed it I thought it was just a bar and so I now know that it's actually a family place too they're open for lunch and dinner so you can go there with uh your your whole family it's not just a 21 and over place so go and enjoy on Thursday the 23rd I attended the 88 a paratransit committee meeting. One thing that they were mentioning is that the ondemand service that we started has been really successful and so be on the lookout. They're going to be doing a town hall soon later this month I believe uh to ask for input on how to even expand the program like what areas we need to go into. So, uh, the community, if you want to look out for that and have input on on how to expand, make sure you join us at that town hall. On the same day, I attended the Fourth of July planning commission planning committee meeting. Uh, the website is cmy250.com. It is live. And one of the things that um, as a community that we're looking for is from July 1 through 5 is a $2.50 50 cent and signature specials, which means if you are a business owner and you have something to offer and you can save there's a special something special on your on your menu for $2.50 50 cents for those four days. Then if you go to cmy250.com, you can register your business and what we will have is a basically free advertising put out there that says here's all of the businesses in see that are participating for this Fourth of July event. And you will get a

sign in your window so everyone driving around town knows that you are the one participating and you will get more business for that time. and hopefully even into the future. So, if any business is interested, um, please go to cme2250.com and register your interest there. And then in the evening on the 23rd, I attended the Ventura County Fire Department annual awards uh, ceremony at the Reagan Library along with council member Judge and also our chief was there. I just wanted to quickly point out that even though it was countywide, the volunteer of the year, Victor Andola, was actually a is a Seami Valley resident and so he was recognized even though um you know countywide. Um our the emergency services bureau was our battalion 4 fire engineer Logan Hirschman of the year which was great. The engine company of the year was our medic engine 43. So we had a lot of recognition from Semi Valley. And one thing I really wanted to point out, they gave a lifesaving award medal to a group of people. And this was the again the fire uh department um recognition, but officer Shane Johnson from our police department was also recognized as being part of that team uh to help out in a specific incident. So I also wanted to just recognize him as well. So, it wasn't just the fire that was recognized. It was also the supporting agency, in this case, our own officer. On Friday the 24th, um I just wanted to point out this. I I normally don't talk that I'm part of the uh the cohort for leadership semi valley this time. But a big thing we did, our project was renovating the teen center at the Boys and Girls Club. And so on Friday the 24th, uh that was our day to start doing that renovation. So hopefully some of you will be able to go to the ribbon cutting which we're going to have later this month. On Tuesday the

28th I attended the critical infrastructure workshop hosted by Southern California Edison. Um just a couple of things of course they're using a lot more AI and machine learning to do predictions. Um and they have modeled that this summer last summer I should say we had 15 heatwave days. This summer we will jump to 30. So it will double. Um and so just a reminder, our cooling centers are the library and the senior center. So as we get it ready for a hot summer and then I actually don't have anything more because then on Wednesday morning I left to Italy and I just got back last night. I flew all day yesterday. You wouldn't even know it that I got back at uh 9:30 p.m. Left left about 3:30 a.m. our time. got back at 9:30 p.m. and I woke up at 5:30 this morning and have been working ever since and here I am happy as can be. So, um,

just don't stop. Yeah. [laughter] And so, uh, I was there to officiate my nephew's wedding. He got married in Italy, so I had to go. So, I know I missed a lot while I was out. Um, but I couldn't say no to him, his request. And that is the end of my report. Family is important. So, Council Member Rhodess,

yeah, family always gets in the way doing public good. Um, so on Tuesday, April 21st, I traveled up to um Sacramento um a day early and I met with uh the city's um lobbying company, Gonzalez, and uh discussed some bills that were progressing through um legislature. And then Wednesday through Friday, I attended the Cal's event where it was a combination of um seminars and opportunities to meet with legislature uh legislators, but then to also go and um stand in committee. And what's interesting uh for um the people that work up in Sacramento, they see the lobbyists every day, every day, every day that are representing us, the city, and other groups. when they actually get an elected from a city there, everybody goes, "Wait, who who was that?" And so I got to speak in opposition to a couple of um uh housing bills that would have forced more um by building in our cities. Um uh on Sunday, April 26, Mike, I did not attend the Janna's Tea Party and I apologize greatly for that. it was on my calendar to do it and I missed it and you know when you get the calendar alert that says you're supposed to be there right now like ah okay so I apologize Mike I I hope it was an outstanding event so um on [clears throat] Monday April 27th I met with staff to discuss um short-term rentals on Tuesday April 28th Um I attended the Kaneo Valley Chamber of Commerce legislative uh roundt

um a zoom call and it was um uh uh interesting to see what other people are concentrating on which is an awful lot like what we're constantly on but I was representing um my role on SCAG on that call. Um, on Thursday, April 30th, I attended Nope, sorry, did not do that. Friday, May 1st, I also didn't do that. What was that? There was a breakfast in there, but I don't see it on my calendar. I attended the Kaneo Valley um uh mayor's roundt breakfast where the mayors of Agora Hills, West Lake, and Thousand Oaks all spoke and had and took questions about their respective cities. And it was very interesting to see the problems that big cities have and small cities have. And I very quickly added up the population of Agura Hills and the population of Westlake and those two combined equal the size of District 4 in Seami Valley. So, um uh on Saturday, May 2nd, I attended street fair as uh most of us did and um uh it was great actually shaking hands and and meeting people and discussing uh policy and a special shout out to council or mayor prom Litster who bought me a sandwich because I couldn't leave the booth and I appreciate that very much. Um and then that night and Saturday's not over yet. Um that night I attended the Boys and Girls Club uh auction in Gayla Havana Nights up at the Reagan and once again they killed it. They did a great job and I ended up spending a whole bunch of money on things I probably didn't really need but it's for the kids. And that's the end of my report.

Thank you, Council Member Judge.

Thank you, Madam Mayor. On Tuesday, April 21st, I attended the grand grand opening of a new location of the Premier America Credit Union over on Arena Road. um for people that lived here a long time. It's where the old Alamo Video used to be. So, that place is finally getting some use and that's it was a great looking location and I'm happy they have now three they have now three locations in our city. On Wednesday, April 22nd, I attended the grand opening of PC's Bar and Grill, the reopening. And you're right, it is a place where you can go and eat, not just drink. And it it looks very nice. They've done great work over there. On Thursday, April 23rd, I attended the VCFD 29th annual awards ceremony and that's already been spoken of by council member very well, but I did want to point out something that we have a new representative of the fire district here with us tonight. I don't think he's been introduced.

He's covering for uh Dan Horton. He's not our new representative, but we can definitely introduce him. I was going to say Dan said he still was going to be at a couple meetings. I was going to say, but I'm like that's not Dan. Didn't he get promoted? [laughter] Didn't he get promoted? Yes, he did. Yes. Yes. But he said he'd still be a couple. Would you like to come up and introduce yourself? Yes. Come on. Sure.

Welcome to Semi Valley. Thank you. Yeah. I uh my name is Matt Falllet. I'm a battalion chief currently with County Fire and I grew up in the city of Seami Valley. Oh, perfect. Seami High School. So guys, any of your royal people, but uh yeah, over on the east end. So spent a lot of time out here as a captain and a battalion chief officer. and uh Chief Horton asked me to stand in just for the the evening. He is going through a lot right now with his recent promotion. So um so yeah, excited to be here. Oh, great. Thank you for being here. Absolutely speak to anything that may come up with the fire department. Thank you very much for the gracious uh statements about the award ceremony. We're obviously very proud of everyone that attended and received awards both civilian and sworn. So thank you for that.

It's very great. Uh Captain Jenna Merrill, I've friends with her for since she was a little girl. So, it was nice to see her recognized. Big fan of Captain Merrill. She's uh been instrumental a lot of uh a lot of movement within the department and pushing out new initiatives and everything. So, she's doing amazing work over there. Yeah, the entire department is. So, we're appreciative of everything you guys do. And my son-in-law, Santa Barbara County, said, "Don't tell him I said that. That ventures." [laughter] Sounds good. All right. Thank you. Nice to meet you. Thank you, Chief.

Thank you. Uh, continuing on on Sep or Sunday, April 26th, I I couldn't attend. Also, I couldn't attend the Jonas Tea Party, but my wife did. So, there you I got some got that's somebody to go. On April 27th, I attended the Lou Roth Awards at our Strain Historical Park. And congratulations to all those recipients. Very welld deserved. On May 1st, I attended the meeting for the Ventura County Transportation Committee. And I'm going to tell you guys, we're going to have a pop-up event here in Semi Valley. basically trying to reconfigure the intersection of Sycamore and Cochran to make it more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. And I'm sure staff is hard at work with the staff from BCTC on coordinating that. I think the date is sometime in June, right? Have they said something about that? It's later this month.

Oh, later this month. Okay. So, that should be an interesting event. Other than that, BCTC didn't have too much to cover semi valley wise. We're still fighting to get that Sespie Creek Bridge rebuilt. Moving on to where am I at here? There it is. And on Saturday, May 2nd, I attended the street fair all day. Talked way more than I ever should. Um, it was a great day though. It was a very positive day. The street fair was packed. They were looks like everybody was having a great time. Everybody was selling their stuff, making lots of money. I loved it. And later that evening, I too attended the Boys and Girls Club gala over at the Reagan Library and had a great time. [clears throat] That's the end of my report. Thank you. Thank you, Council Member Mayor Prom Litster.

Thank you. Um, it looks like we've all done some some great things last couple weeks. I'll start with April 21st. I too attended the Premier America ribbon cutting, although I probably shouldn't say so because I got I was out there talking in the in the parking lot thinking it started 15 minutes later than it did. But, um, ribbon was presented. Actually, I did was visiting with some of the different staff with Premier America and I I came away with it with the understanding that they very much want to give back to our community and are are happy to speak with those who are looking to make things happen and particularly in the arts, which I thought was great. Um, Wednesday, April the 22nd, attended the chamber legislative meeting and um appreciated uh our deputy city manager Sumagisai's coverage uh Heather Sumagisai's coverage and comments at that meeting. um well done and also attended PC's bar and grill grand reopening and I concur with um council member Judge. It's really beautiful inside what they've done with that place and um yeah wish them the best. I then um I confess I had to go visit my sister and so left town. Just the fact that she lives in Hawaii just is happened to be part of it but didn't mean I missed some of you were in Italy. I had a few days, but I did fly. For those of you who missed Janna's tea party, I want you to know that I took a red eye Saturday night back so I could be back Sunday morning so I could attend Janna's tea party. I just for the for the record.

Show off. [laughter] [gasps] I was there too, by the way. I forgot to mention actually

and I covered your table for you. [laughter] It is a wonderful a wonderful fundraising effort done by our our Rotary um evening club that and in honor of of raising funds for cancer research and other great meaningful things. And so I commend all those that that donated put so much into that great event. Later that evening I actually met with a gentleman who was um stepping off of neighborhood council too. And what was so delightful about the conversation was he was chatting with me about where can I serve next in our community. And I just I I thought that was lovely that that's where his heart was and it was and he appreciated his time serving on the neighborhood council. On Monday, April the 27th, I also um uh was a 10 of the Roth Awards and was part of that on the Ed Foundation. It is wonderful who they recognized and some outstanding people. Um, Tuesday, April the 28th, uh, Mayor Kavanaaugh and city manager and I had the opportunity um to attend the, uh, county board of supervisors meeting and to discuss the item that was placed on the agenda by Supervisor Janice Parvin, which we very much appreciate, which would allow for a conversation about the possible transfer of the library to uh, from county ownership to city ownership. Um, and they are and I will tell you that that we were well represented. They were very eloquent people that spoke. It was a unanimous decision to go forward with that. So, um, to go forward with the conversation, I should say. I want to be very clear. And so, um, I appreciate that, um, city manager Argite is making that happen. And I'm sure that there'll be some very, very, um, important conversations happening if they haven't already started. So, next week. So, very

good. So, thank you for it was it was an honor to be a part of that. Um, also on um I'm sorry, let me take you to Thursday, April the 30th. um appreciated having um the meeting with our council with city manager Argarite and then also then being part of the tri- agency meeting where there were two representatives from each of the three agencies parks, schools and the city got together and I will say I met with them previously one time. It's been a few years this one I think was a meeting where truly it was a discussion of issues that we all share and want to tackle together. It was not, as I think I referenced, showand tell, but it was actually show and do. Um, and it was it was a good discussion. Um, there were so many things on the agenda, we didn't get to all of them, but I will say that um, some of the items that we touched on were how to jointly maybe even better market our city for all of its beautiful features that it has. We also certainly discussed the ebike issue and and how to tackle it with with immediacy. um even though it the school year is winding down, appreciated the school board's willingness to to do what they can there as well. We discussed a little bit of the Samaritan Center and their desires for transitional housing. Um there was also discussed by the parks about the community community field use and how they see that the uh need is starting to far out strip the availability and so discussions about how to address that. Um after that I had the opportunity to to visit with those darling eighth graders who were here to talk about um about about and I appreciate their initiative to go wherever they possibly can to get the message out and this was one of the places they were willing to come and and present. So I thought that was lovely. Um, on Friday, May the 1st, I also was attended the Simulated

Foundation's teacher of the month where we presented Santa High School's Dylan Shapiro with the May Teacher of the Month. What's what I think is delightful about that award is it comes about through recommendations from staff, colleagues, um, students, teachers, etc. Uh, students, parents. What was lovely is that this is this was for Dylan who's really only taught in the school district for three years, but he's head of the English department and is just doing great things over there. And it was a parent who had to commend him for initially for his great work. And so a young teacher receiving that award. Um and finally, uh s well yes I was not finally May 2nd. Yes, I was at the street fair. I was there actually working in the at foundation booth, but it was fun to walk and see all of the variety of people represented there. And I want to commend our police for their efforts there. Um the in informative booth about ebikes etc. that was there and I even I had some questions answered there and appreciated as I mentioned the cult the cultural arts booth that was there and I know that we do a really big thing on in the fall but it was clearly we were there represented as well and lots of good conversations with many people and then finally yesterday I attended the polyonics choir they are a a new cho new professional choir in our community but what's lovely is about they give on they do choirs to to raise funds for worthy causes. And so their choir, yes, their concert yesterday held at the Semi Valley United Methodist Church was specifically to raise funds for Tiny Treasures and their new expansion that they're going to be expanding for the third for the second time. And of course, they support the efforts of Sarah's House and other meaningful places. And they even invited the Los Angeles Robas, not Los Angeles, the Los Robas children's choir to join them. It was just a it was just a lovely concert and delighted that things of

that caliber are happening here in our city. And so that concludes my report. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim. Um on April 21st, I also attended the grand opening of the Premier America's new location on Aringer. It is a great location. Glad to see something go into that that center. Um it was fun being a banker to see how different they're doing it. It's a very modernized, very clean, very pretty. um was able to speak to their CEO um and uh see what they were doing and what they want to do and how they want to be involved in our community. They made a donation who

was it to I don't remember who I don't Do you remember who the donation was to? Oh, it was to the police foundation. Lee Seaton accepted it. So, right then and there, they made a nice donation to the police foundation. So, that was good. Um that they'll be a good neighbor for that area.

On Wednesday, April 22nd, I also attended the uh public safety forum hosted by Supervisor Janice Parvin. Um great event. uh sup our own city manager performed in that performed participated in that as well as our our police chief. It was a great event uh fair well attended. Um I think it got got a lot of good information there. It was nice. Uh they also we also allowed more parks city manager and their chief to to attend. Just joking, Nick. Sorry. Um on Thursday, April 23rd, I unfortunately I missed the firefighters awards night due to a prior commitment with Rotary. was our annual Paul Harris night. So I had attended that on Saturday, April, I think it was Saturday, April 25th, the spring crawl. Was it the 20 Saturday or Sunday? Do you know what it was? It was Sunday the 26th. It was held at Rancho Santa uh Rancho Santa Community Center instead of going from space to pa space. And the reason I'm complimenting it is because they there were a lot of seami vendors, but then there are also vendors from out of out of the area. But one of the ones I stopped at was our newest bakery cart up at the mall. Is it shots? I think it's Shotsies. They have a pink cart in the center court. Banana pudding. Oh, to die for. And the raspberry fil donuts. They were They were awesome. So, I'm going to have to make sure I make a trip up to the cart. It was very, very good. They're hoping to eventually have a storefront here and see me. They do have one somewhere in the valley. I don't remember where, but they really want to get one going here and see me. And if any the rest of their food was as good as what I had, they they'll make it make it really quick. On Monday, April 27th, I also met with um uh city manager regarding STR survey. And then I also attended that evening the Lou Roth Awards for the Semi Valley Education Foundation. Great event, soldout event. Um, I was

especially glad to be there because one of my high school friends was the award winner for the special education classification. So, it was very nice to see Terry recognized for that. On April 28th, again, we attended the county board of supervisors meeting and we asked the county to consider the transfer of the building to Seami Valley. We don't own the building, but we've been maintaining it for as long since 2012, I think. So, we put a lot of money into it and we don't own it. So, we originally donated that land to the county to build the library. So, now we're just asking them to donate it back. So, we'll see how that goes, but we're we're fingers crossed because if we own the money, then our uh library foundation is able to get more donations for us to be able to improve it and update it. And that's really what we want to do. So, hopefully um our county is going to agree with us on that. On Thursday, April 30th, I also attended the tri- agency meeting. That was a great event. I I think we had a good focus and good movement and we know where we're going from there. On Friday, May 1st, I was invited to attend the Kasa Pacifica dinner um which was held at Rancho de los Palmus right there on Sunset in Warp Park. I had the pleasure of sitting with the owners of Rancho Deos Palmus who might also be new land owners here in Semi Valley if if escrow closed. I don't know if it closed today. I don't know if it's closed today, but that was very exciting to meet them. They are great people. Um they're very uh civic-minded and very much what can we do for your city? Um I was talking to him about Seroptimus little black dress event, you know, and he's like, let me know more once it, you know, things get closer. So, they're very um they're very good people and they they will be a very big asset to Seami Valley. They're currently more park residents and so we're going to kind of pull them a little bit this way, too. And then on Saturday, May 2nd, I also attended the Semi Valley Street Fair. I walked

around, met and talked with people, had a lot of fun. Um, I actually was on the radio for the first time. I've never been on the radio. We're on TV here, but I've never been on the actual radio. So, Kathy Vanett and the CEO of the chamber, and I got on there with Brad, and it was a lot of fun. So, I I don't mind doing that again. That that was enjoyable. And then I think that's it. Oh, as a side, as a grandma, my grandsons had a baseball game and they each hit two pitches off the pitcher. So, sorry, I just had to get that out there. They were very proud of that. [laughter] They're four and a six, so it was a very big deal. Se youth baseball does a great job. So, that's the end of my comments. Um, do we have any items for 10B? Any ideas for future agenda items? No. All right. Thank you. At this time, we would like to adjourn the meeting. And we're going to adjourn in memory of Reese Beck. He is the 13-year-old young gentleman that died tragically in the train accident. And our prayers, thoughts, and best wishes go out to his family, the SEMI Youth Baseball League, all the students that he they went to school with, and the entire community. So, with that, we'll we're adjourned.