City Council - Regular Meeting

Okay, I think we're ready to get started. Thank you for your patience. We're getting started a little bit late as we're getting our ducks in a row so we can get going with our meeting. So let me know if we're ready to move forward if the zoom is ready.

Okay, so let's go ahead and get started. Today is today is the regular meeting for city council holster city council august 17 2026 meeting it starts at 6 30 6 35 this time can we do roll call please council member pache present vice mayor de anda here mayor stevens here thank you and we have dr resendez and council member morales absent Okay, and then I'm going to ask Vice Mayor DeAnda to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Okay. Thank you for that. So let me check in with our city manager. Do we have anything to report on the previous closed session?

Okay, thank you. So we'll move on to public input. So this is the time for anyone in the audience, both virtual and in person, to speak on any item that is not on the agenda but within the subject matter jurisdiction of the council. Speaker cards are available in the lobby and are to be completed and given to the city clerk before speaking. When the city clerk calls your name, please come to the podium, state your name and city for the record. and speak to the council. If you are joining us via Zoom, please click on the bottom of your screen to raise your hand. If you are joining via Zoom usin

Thank you, Ms. McGrady. Are there speakers? Okay. Okay. Thank you to all the speakers. We're going to move on to the consent agenda. So do any members of the council have any brief questions about the consent agenda item?

6.2. Okay. Yeah, I just want to just say thank you to everybody, you know, working with the City on the Financial Oversight Task Force, our very own Councilmember Morales, Omar Rosa, thank you, thank you. Christina Reyes, always wonderful, thank you as well. Julie Roybal, thank you for helping out. Sean Herrera and Michael Brigantino, thank you for helping the city out and having some oversight on our financials. And you've got the same 24 hours in the day we've all got, and you're paid a little bit to be on this task force. But I just wanted to say thank you for everybody involved. Appreciate

Okay, and I think that that was part of that you still need to go through the process of ensuring everybody meets the criteria and all the other stuff. Okay, so that will be then what will be changed on that item. So can you repeat the three names again?

Okay, so we'll make that change. Okay, well, let's go to public comment on consent agenda. Any public comments on consent agenda?

Okay, so let's bring it back. Any other questions or comments on the consent? Okay, so can I call for a motion?

All those in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Okay, so we'll move on from the consent agenda. And we're going to move to get my item 7.1. And this is a public hearing. So I know that we are we do have a little bit of an issue because we have to have four members of council present. So I'm going to turn it over to the city clerk to explain a little bit about those requirements.

Okay. Okay. So apologize for any inconvenience, but we did have some last minute things come up with two council members and they couldn't be here. So I'm going to go ahead and open the public hearing at, let me check the time, uh, 6 48. So do we have speakers for the public hearing?

Okay, so then I'm gonna leave the public hearing open and at the next city council meeting, we will be looking at the approval for the initiation of general plan amendments and pre-zone for three project sites. So we will continue that and have that heard at that time and have the vote at that time.

Okay, so we're going to go ahead then and move on to item 8.1, a resolution rescinding Resolution 23-164 and approving the new traffic calming measures requesting, I'm sorry, let me reread that. A resolution rescinding resolution 23-164 and approving the new traffic calming measures request policy and procedures. Okay, so can we get a staff report?

So I just have one quick question. So when a traffic calming like feature, uh, anything, uh, roundabout speed bump, um, a road reorganization, it can't be changed for a year. Like we need to gather data and see how the traffic calming, uh, actually worked out and then we can review it after a year.

So, with this new policy, it sounds like there's a, there's a process, there's a framework, there's a, there's a steps that we can, you know, after it's been in for a year, we can see how it's functioning and how it's impacting people's lives. Because, you know, the documentation says that, you know, traffic calming, you know, saves police and there's a lot of good things to it. But there's a lot of like, it's kind of like a double edged sword. It's a coin that has two sides. So after, you know, that year, we can initiate like the community can initiate like a review of the features.

OK, yeah, I would love to hear more. about this because it's definitely something that people have reached out to me on the central avenue specifically where we have those the center like the center of the road used to be like a really wide road and there was a lot of parking on each side now it's just gotten tighter with the center section that's not in use so i'll let the these members know that they have a process now thank you

Thank you. And if I can just like, if I can just add a little bit of a reframe because I think ultimately The traffic calming measures that we hope to put in place is really about, as best as we can, make our streets as safe as possible for cars, people on bikes, pedestrians, just in general, looking at safety. That's really what it's ultimately about. it will create it is it could create some inconveniences for the general public which is part of what are some of the complaints that we heard about the speed humps people didn't like them they didn't like the way it felt when they were driving

So Binu, are you able to unmute and just, I just want to, what I would like for you to chime in on, I asked Binu if she would be willing to be on standby in the event that there was any questions around what calming measures we would be considering for within the city limits of Hollister, how that would then play with the broader plan for roads and transportation and safety measures that are happening all over the county and specifically on our highways. But what I'm going to ask you, if you don't mind being new, if you can just talk to us about what you and I spoke about earlier in terms of a

Okay, great. Thank you for that, Binu. Let me check in with my fellow council members to see if they have any specific questions, more broad questions. She's not here to speak specifically on what we should do on our policy, but just in general, given her expertise. Any general questions for Binu?

Okay. Okay. Well, thank you so much for that, Bino. I really, really appreciate your thoughts around this. I mean, I think those are a lot of things for us to consider as we move forward, really good things. Thank you. Thank you, Bino. So let me check in. Do we have any public comment speaker cards on this item?

Right, so we have to have four people present for an item such as that. And so please feel free to contact city staff or any one of us about the postponement. But we do have to have four people here on the dais and we don't. Today we had two last minute unexpected absences from council members. So we aren't able to vote on that. But please feel free to contact us since we're now moved on to another item.

All right. Okay. Thank you, sir. And then to the next speaker.

Okay, thank you, Ms. McGrady. Other speakers? So bring it back to the dais. And so for their discussion, what would we like to have staff do with this item so that we can bring it back for, I guess, maybe consideration? What are your thoughts?

I think at this point, after all the input and the information that we received from the, she's a member of COG, correct? Yeah. So, and then what we got from the city manager, I think it's best that we wait. Okay.

Well, we need to give direction on what we're going to do. So we'll bring it back.

Yeah. And what would you like for them to do when they bring it back? What are your thoughts about what should they bring back?

Do you have any comments, Councilmember Pichet?

um i'm happy uh to move forward with whatever you guys think i'm just happy that there's a formal process for review of the uh the traffic features and calming features that we're utilizing i'm happy that there's just a path forward for potentially modifying some things if that's what the community wants so I don't exactly have direction. I'm just pleased to hear that there is a way forward.

So my thoughts are that if this is possible, looking to city manager, to bring back a draft of an ordinance of a policy that has some basic information that we can chime more into, considering all the things that we just sort of talked about right now, i mean i think that traffic calming i i do like the way uh miss abraham from cog uh talked about looking at it from different perspective not just simply traffic you know when we think of traffic we think of the cars only but just thinking about it in terms of what are we addressing in the traffic calming policy related to pedestrians, related t

updates and then and then also I mean obviously we we need to resend and let me check it I think what might make more sense is to resend next time when we have maybe more members on the dais and then at that same time address and like an updated draft what do you think that's fine let me let me check in with

Yeah, I think you may. Yes, I think that's that's terrific. Yeah, one thing that stood out to me was when you see what you see. OK, what we do in one area or street will impact the other. And how would we approach that? That's kind of what's in my mind right now. So that's essentially the only feedback that I have. But I am in agreement with with our mayor on how we want to approach this.

Okay. So then we will consider then like a little bit of an updated version next time. And then we will have further discussion. And then we'll encourage the public to respond and give us feedback. And is next meeting enough time to do that? Okay. so i expect it then to be on our next agenda which would be um i mean our next city council meeting which would be um on the 8th of september that is actually a tuesday because the day after labor day so it'll be a tuesday then the night september night Oh, it's the 9th. Sorry. Oops. Sorry. September 9th. No, it is 8th. It's 8th? Okay. It is 8th. Oka

So let me give a little bit of background. So Vice Mayor Priscilla DeYanda and myself, we've met with members of the public regarding some of the animal services and got some feedback. So we also got some feedback from individuals like by telephone, by email. And essentially through this process, first of all, can I just mention something really quick? And I just wanna, I see Lisa Sears in the audience and I wanna thank her because we, through some of these discussions, we got a donation from her group to install a PET scanner. And I'm not sure that I'm calling it right, the PET identification

like to wait for um here from the public okay we'll discuss it after okay let's get some public comment lisa sears followed by marcy

Well, we have one. You can pass that along to the city manager.

Thank you, Marcy. Follow up with Ms. Cortez.

Thank you, Ms. James. Appreciate the comment. Next speaker.

Okay, great. Thanks for that information. Appreciate that. Okay, so I'm going to bring it back to the dais for further questions or discussions. So we brought this item as a point of discussion. So we want to, I guess, just get a feel for the thoughts of the rest of the council. And I realize that we don't have all our members here. However, I wanted to get a sense of where everybody's thinking is because I do agree with the general sentiments of the public that we should have an ordinance that's more robust than what we have right now related to spaying and neutering and stray animals. So any

Yeah, I just have a quick comment. You know, I think we've all seen a stray cat out there on the streets. It's kind of a hard-knock life. You know, they don't live as long. They're unhealthy. It's a rough, you know, way to exist. And then, you know, we've all probably had that, you know, favorite cat that we had when we were kids and how much love that animal got. It's a totally different life. And I'm totally in agreement that this is an issue, right? I mean, just having a cursory conversation for three or four minutes with Ms. Sears before the meeting, I mean, female cats can have four litte

okay great thanks for those comments um vice mayor yes i have a question uh city manager so since the uh was the town hall the animal services town hall we had an email list of all attendees do you know if leah had emailed uh those participants about this specific item

Yeah, okay. Because I, now I'm starting to think, I don't know, I'll just have a discussion here. Possibly we should hold another.

Well, we're just having an initial discussion. That is all we're doing today. We absolutely will have future meetings. This is not the only one. I mean, the next one would be to come back with possibly some, like, research. I mean, we have to give direction to staff. Research on this, maybe a draft. other things, and we will look at it again. And then we will have another, at least one other meeting before we make any kind of decisions. I mean, it's definitely going to take multiple meetings. This is not the only thing. All we're doing today is starting an initial discussion.

PB, Lupita D Montoya- So yeah so I just asked them if, when we have this item up again, it will be revisited if we could please notify the attendees from our last town hall animal services meeting.

Okay. Yeah. And I mean, I think that I think that that clearly there is an opportunity here to do some prevention. Prevention is always a better strategy than responding to a problem that is existing. So if any way we can prevent so I think we should and just as a point of clarification for the council member, the Shay, we're talking about dogs as well. We're not just talking about cats. And I think The other thing too about the dogs is that, you know, we've all heard stories about somebody's dog had puppies and then they're trying to find cousins or family members to take in these cute little

I do want to put some, a little bit of urgency behind this because I do, I worry about some of these things that kind of falling off the radar. So if we can just, yeah, let's get that, let's get that discussion going. And I love the idea of visiting Seaside and seeing that in person and having conversation with staff over there and then bringing it back as soon as possible after that. so that we can continue to have this discussion at this level with all members. Hopefully the next time it's on the agenda, we will have all members present at the city council. Okay, so that's what we'll do movi

Yeah, sure, thank you. I had a staff member from the San Benito County Public Health, and he just wants to come over and educate the community and the council regarding sharing current information and emerging tobacco trends. so that we're aware of it. And these tobacco companies appear to be getting more clever with their products, which makes them more appealing to our youth, which is obviously not a good thing. So he just wants to come and just see how, to educate us on how this is directly impacting our youth here in Hollister and our county.

Okay, so I think we're good to bring that back for a presentation from public health. Okay, so now I will move it over to city manager's report.

And kept this meeting open to the public.

Organizations that are involved in this. Okay.

Okay. Great. Okay. Thanks. Thanks for doing that. Thank you.

Thank you for that comprehensive report. I don't have any questions. It was very informative. And let me just check in, Vice Mayor or Council Member Pichet.

I just have one kind of Hail Mary. So you said Speaker Rivas wanted some shovel-ready projects for us to work on with, what, the County of San Benito?

interesting so Caltrans Caltrans Caltrans and that's along 152 that's CISC Dam it's near 152. yes okay okay but it's already funded so it doesn't count yes for Robert I mean it's for and that one's with a B I think they're looking for an M as a million that's a thousand million I guess huh okay thank you that's all I had in William thank you for that report it's very well done

Okay, okay, thank you for that. Yeah, really good information. I mean, I think ultimately, when, when we're looking for for any kind of support from the state or federal government, they're always, they have to be shovel ready. So that's like, that's like something that we're have to always kind of keep our eye out, even though we don't know that the grant money is guaranteed in any way, but it needs to be shovel ready. So but but really good opportunities, I think, moving forward. Yeah.

i like to think that we would be um that will show some good impact in the near future great okay good well thank you for that and thank you to the leadership team for all your hard work we appreciate all your hard work um okay so we're going to go into closed session um do you want to go ahead and read the item uh city manager for closed session we are going to close session um

Okay. So we are going to actually convene in the side room since there's a small group and then we will officially end the meeting after that. Okay. So we're going to be going into closed session now.