City Council - Regular Meeting

Here. Iwanaga. Here. Martinez Beltran.

Elisa, would you please read the closed session into the record?

Would you like me to declare the posting in the record first?

Let's do that first, yes.

Tonight's meeting agenda was duly noticed and posted in accordance with Government Code 54954.2. Very good. Elisa.

Yes, thank you, Mayor. The City Council will meet in closed session momentarily for a conference with real property negotiators pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8. This concerns property with APN 817-06-002. Negotiating parties are Bay Area Sports Financing, Christina Turner, City Manager, and Chris Gaone, Assistant City Manager, Public Services Director. Under negotiation are price and terms of payment.

Very good. Thank you. There's any public comment on the closed session item?

I have no public comment, Mayor.

Very good. There being none, we'll adjourn to closed session. Okay, we're calling the regular meeting to order. If you would, please stand with me as we do the silent invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. Amen. Now for the Pledge. I Pledge Allegiance. 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. Okay, and now for our closed session report. Alisa.

Thank you, Mayor. The council met in closed session just prior to this meeting. No reportable action was taken.

Very good. Thank you. Now we have some proclamations. I'm going to go ahead and read those. All right. We're going to go do a proclamation for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. We have somebody here who will be receiving this. Tonight, we recognize September as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and to acknowledge the important work of Jacob's Heart Children's Cancer Support Services, for 28 years, Jacob's Heart has provided compassionate support to children with cancer and their families, helping meet critical, emotional, practical, and financial needs during some of life's most difficult moments. On behalf of the City Council and the Morgan Hill community, we thank Jacob's Heart for its dedication and service, and we join in raising awareness of the impact of childhood cancer on children and families throughout our community. I'd like to say a few words.

Hello, my name is Jose Castillo, and I am a board member with Jacob's Heart. So on behalf of our organization, the children and the families that we serve. I'd like to thank the city council, all of its members, the city of Morgan Hill for bringing awareness during this month and just letting people know a lot of the services that we provide. There are so many amazing services that they do from financial aid to ride assistance to your appointments, to free delivery of groceries Tuesdays and Thursdays. I can go on and on. It's an amazing organization that I love supporting. And on a personal note, my son was diagnosed when he was seven years old. So I personally was able to see they're so passionate and dedicated to providing the services for my entire family. But the most important part that they did was they brought hope into our home. And today, the city of Morgan Hill, the council members are doing the same with this proclamation. So thank you for that.

We're also recognizing National Preparedness Month this evening. We are pleased to recognize September. Oh, yeah, come on up. You've got some written comments. Stand right here is perfectly fine. This evening, we're pleased to recognize September as National Preparedness Month in the city of Morgan Hill. Morgan Hill is fortunate to have dedicated city staff, CERT volunteers, RACES volunteers, I don't know what, R-A-C-E-S, okay, very good, and community partners who work year-round to strengthen our community's readiness and resilience. We also encourage all residents to prepare their households by building emergency supply kits, creating family communication plans, and taking advantage of the preparedness resources available through the city. On behalf of the city council and the Morgan Hill community, it is my honor to present this proclamation recognizing September 2026 as National Preparedness Month in the city of Morgan Hill.

Thank you, Mayor. Could I say a few words? Thank you again. Thank you to the City Council for recognizing September as National Emergency Preparedness Month. I'm really proud to accept this proclamation on behalf of the city's employees, our community emergency response team members who are here today, and our amateur radio operators. Thank you for being here. And since I have your attention, I would like to... remind you that preparedness starts at home with your family. And I'd like you to take a moment, all of you sitting here tonight joining us in person and virtually, if we were to have a large-scale earthquake right now, I'd like you to consider where you would drop cover and hold on and take those thoughts home with you and encourage your family to get a go bag be prepared and so please visit city of Morgan hills YouTube channel for more Thank you very much.

Okay, we're now moving on with city council reports. This would normally be council member Martinez Beltran, who's not here. So we'll go to other reports. Any other council member have a report you'd like to speak of?

You know, we...

Councilmember Iwanaga? Sorry.

So a week ago, we sat and got a report for the Upper Yagas Creek projects that are going on. We were given an update on the timeline of when these are expected to come to a close and finish. And so we were really happy to hear all the updates on the On the trails, the water project, when hail is expected to open. So I was very happy to hear where they're at. And I'm very proud of all the work that they've been doing. So that was my big thing. Attended a gala for raising funds for homeless veterans. That was in San Jose. Also very proud to participate in that. And then also yesterday participate in a meeting where we started to, well, we've been addressing some of the concerns for what are we going to do to help our homeless community in the South County? So very proud to be part of that.

I'm sure what that was. It looks like your minute was up.

Okay.

Very good. Thank you. Any other council members? Yeah. You had a three minute report. If you'd like to do that. Yep.

Thank you, good evening, I just wanted to share that I have the opportunity to go and tour as part of the valley water trade commissions and the we went on a tour of the yoga spine project, and it was. It was really fantastic. I learned so much in that just talking about the process and how long this has been going on. I think like over 50 years that we've been working on it. And so I just really want to thank everyone before me in a long way who have come to put this together because as many of you know, if you're from Morgan Hill, there was so much flooding that would go on for people. And this has really, made such a change. It will make a change. And they wanted to share that they will be looking to get insurances. That seems to be the top of everybody's list. And getting those reduced and taken off. But they're not there. They're just starting now. And they're thinking it'll probably take at least a year and a half, maybe two years. But that's really exciting going all the way down. That's more over by Silvera. which I haven't been there in years on the other side of it, and learn about all the opportunities that happen there as they have different owners owning it. And there's some wetlands that they've created. There's some really cool stuff. And so I hope that when all that gets open that you get a chance to go out and check it out for yourself. And then finally, I just want to share for national night out and I didn't get a chance to talk about this prior, but. We had on the 4th, we usually do a big celebration here at city council for national night out at the city hall. We weren't able to do that this year. And so I had lots of people that I was talking with and they asked, you know, about it. And I said, let's do something here. So we did something at the cultural center and it was fantastic. I'm really glad that I did it. There were lots of kids who came out. We had all kinds of games for kids to play. The officers stopped by and met with people. We got to do, we did some relay, we tried to engage them in relay races. They weren't as thrilled about it as we were, but it was super fun. And I'm really glad I did it. And I want to thank everybody who had a piece in that. I want to thank the Morning Hill PD for coming out. We also had the sheriffs come by and stop by. That was a really great time. So that is what I have.

Very good.

We're going to be starting, I'm sorry. We're going to be having our, Ribbon cutting suit.

Thanks. Very good. Thank you. Now for our city manager's report, Christina.

Great. Good evening, Mr. Mayor, members of the council, community, and my teammates that are here this evening. I do have a few announcements. The first is to recognize one of our police officers. The Morgan Hill Police Department has nominated Officer Kenneth Hall for the California Narcotic Officers Association 2026 Patrol Officer of the Year Award. The nomination came about after his proactive narcotics enforcement, highlighted by a traffic stop on Monterey that resulted in the seizure of six pounds of methamphetamine, 5.5 ounces of cocaine, 5.5 ounces of heroin, and other evidence associated with narcotics sales and use. The driver was arrested on multiple drug trafficking and vehicle-related charges, and a subsequent investigation determined the driver was transporting narcotics for a drug trafficking organization. Information developed during the investigation was referred to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency. Officer Hall's diligent, sound judgment, and proactive police work demonstrates his strong commitment to public safety, and reflects on the morgan hill police department and the community we serve he's not here this evening but let's just give him a round of applause he will be recognized All right, tomorrow we are going to have our greater downtown specific plan update. It is a public workshop. We're updating our 2009 downtown specific plan and surrounding areas. This will guide the next generation of land use, housing, mobility, infrastructure, and public realm improvements in the heart of Morgan Hill. Come share your vision to help shape the future of downtown at the workshop tomorrow night. It's at 6 o'clock at the Community and Cultural Center in the Hiram Morgan Hill Room. Our team, our city staff team, and project consultants will be present to collect your input and respond to any questions, and we will have Spanish translation for event materials and surveys will be available alongside live Spanish interpretation services. The next item I wanted to announce is our Centennial Recreation Center's 20th anniversary. Join us as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the CRC on Saturday, October 10th. Mark your calendars. We're planning a full day of activities, including a 5K and 10K run, a celebrity free throw contest, and a dance party. The schedule of events can be found on our webpage. Also wanted to just share that last night we had our first session for our inaugural Spanish Leadership Academy through the great work of Edith Ramirez, our Assistant City Manager for Development Services and getting grants, as well as working with John Lang, our Housing and Economic Mobility Director. We've been able to put this program together and I had the honor of presenting sort of a local government introduction and I just had a wonderful time engaging with the community members. It's all in Spanish and the translation services Just we're wonderful. I also wanted to share that on the ballot this year, on November 3rd, Morgan Hill voters will decide whether our city treasurer position should remain elected or become appointed. More information is available on our website. And if you have any questions, you can also reach out to our city clerk, myself, or our finance director, Dap Nguyen. With that, I conclude my remarks.

Very good. Thank you. And now for our city attorney's report. Elisa?

Thank you, Mayor. Nothing for me tonight.

Very good. And now for a public comment for items not on the agenda. Michelle, any public comments?

Yes, Dan Cloutier.

And how many do we have?

Just one as of right now. Is yours for not on the agenda? Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see that. We have two.

Okay, very good.

I share. It's okay. Go ahead, Dan.

I'm thinking of your microphones on sorry.

Actually can some.

Good evening mayor and city council members I want to call your attention a a letter I sent via the. Public comments portal on September 2nd and. It's a request for public agenda item and policy transparency regarding the Hostclaw Road ICE detention facility amicus brief. It's been more than 80 days since the June 24th closed session that decided to take no reportable actions, thus declining to sign the amicus brief against the detention facility. Holding a public discussion on resolution does not compromise your privileged legal strategies from your closed session. It gives the public a chance to hear your broader perspectives, policy priorities, and governing values. A community can't fully trust a legislative body that shelters major policy decisions behind the veil of attorney-client confidentiality when the option for a transparent debate remains fully within your discretion. Therefore, again, respectfully request that the next open city council meeting, you add an agenda item to include this resolution that allows transparent discussion, council questions, explicit public vote on your city's posture for this facility. Thank you for your time, service, and your commitment to a truly transparent local government. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Kathy Chavez-Napoli.

Lower this. Good evening, Mayor, City Council, and community. I wasn't going to say this, but now I do. With your commendations, resolutions, I would like to remind everybody that today is Hispanic Heritage Month, and today is September 16th, honoring Mexico and their Independence Day. But more importantly, what I'd like to do is read a land acknowledgement statement, and I'm going to share with you why it's so important. The native people of the Amah Mutsun have been here for over 13,000 years. The Spanish came in 1769. Next month, it'll be October 1769. They were here 52 years before it became Mexico, and Mexico was here before it became the US. Morgan Hill has only been around 120 years. The Mutsun people have been here for over 13,000 years. Where are we here? Nowhere, because people have intentionally erased us. If you're going to honor different people, it's not a slippery slope. It is recognizing history and facts. The Amah Mutsun people have been here before anyone else. We welcomed all of you. You all came from somewhere else and you were immigrants. So just remember, it doesn't hurt. It's not a slippery slope. It is respectful to honor the people who've been here since the beginning and are still here. So I would like to read the land acknowledgement and make sure that I asked each one of you, if you really do represent every person in this Community over 36% are Latino. We don't have a lot of numbers of Native Americans, but we were here first please respect us honor us and read a land acknowledgement that just says we were here. We acknowledge the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Amah Mutsun band of Ohlone-Costanoan Indians. We formally recognize and respect the Amah Mutsun as the traditional stewards of this land known as Popolochum. The Amah Mutsun continue to carry out our obligation given us by Creator to care for their traditional lands, water, and forests. with the neighboring tribes that are still also here. The Muwekma from San Jose, the Atamien from San Jose, the Awaswas from San Jose, the Esalen from Monterey, and the Rumson from Hollister. I ask you again, if you want respect, give respect. Honor our native people. We've been here over 13,000 years. Thank you. Our next

Our next speaker. Any other?

Yes, Sharon Luna.

Good evening, Mayor and Council Members. My name is Sharon Luna, and I'm here tonight because I want to talk about you putting a future agenda item regarding cumulative water capacity and development, where projects involving the city of Morgan Hill and Santa Clara County. My statement will also be given to Supervisor Arenas and others in the county. We currently have significant projects in Morgan Hill and in Santa Clara, the sphere of influence of Morgan Hill and Santa Clara County. along with other approved, proposed and reasonable foreseeable projects. My concern is how we're evaluating water availability when looking at these projects individually, not as cumulative. Here is a simple example that was pointed out to me. If groundwater has 100 units of availability capacity and developer one needs 30 units, that's okay. Developer number two, they need 30. That's okay. Developer three, that's okay. Developer four, that comes to 120 units of capacity. That is not okay. That is the issue, I believe we need to address requests for water cannot be evaluated ice in isolation. When multiple developments are drawing from the same limited resource, they need to be evaluated in the context of existing demand. through projects, pending applications and reasonable foreseeable future development. It is important because I reside in San Martin and the surrounding unincorporated areas where many residents rely on private wells. I am not saying these projects have not been proven negatively to affected wells. I'm asking that we have the data necessary to understand the potential cumulative groundwater impacts before continuing to add to a resource that is very limited. When the county is responsible for developments in Morgan Hill area, the city and the county, I hope, are sharing information and using the same water supply and demand assumptions. The state needs to be informed that builds, regardless if they are builder's remedies, cannot be achieved. No is a complete sentence. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

I have no other speaker.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to ask with our public comments that we refrain from applauding, booing, cheering, and all of that tonight as we do in every meeting. So we'd ask that you would hold your applause and other commentary. With that, do we have any other comments? No, Mayor. We'll close the public comment. And we'll move on to the adoption of the agenda. I have a motion. Move to approve. I have a motion to approve. I have a second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? There being none, that passes unanimously. And now to the consent calendar. I'll look for a motion to approve unless there is anyone looking to pull an item. So moved. Council Member, oh, sorry, Council Member Lieber.

I'd like to pull number seven, please. I need a staff report.

Okay, we're going to pull number seven. Anyone else?

And we do have public comment for item nine, Mayor.

Okay, very good. Okay, we will pull item seven first, and then let's have the comment on item nine, and then we'll vote to approve the consent calendar minus item seven.

Okay, so public comment right now?

Yes, please.

Christopher Bell?

Thank you evening council and members of the public. So I would like to comment on item number 9. that's the ratifying the city's position on pending legislation regarding assembly bill 1821. So this is essentially reducing the amount of excuse me, extending the amount of time that city has to respond to public comment. um or and it's right now it's 10 calendar days and it's moving into 14 business days which conceptually is reasonable because of holidays and things like that so that's if you actually got an answer within that time period and i believe the city has actually done a good job in being responsive to public records requests i think i might have had one but i know somebody else that did and it's been timely so that's good and i think 14 days is reasonable if it's a calendar if it's a calendar days But this assembly bill was a slippery slope. It was terrible when it was initially drafted. It was going to charge people for public records, and it was a horribly written bill. And I think most people's philosophies, certainly mine, is that the business of the people is the people's business, and we deserve to see everything about public operations and transparency. And I don't know if there's a way to put in that letter that, yes, we agree to the governor, but we want to make sure that You know, and the 14 day extensions, but it doesn't turn into a mirage. And I will give you in contrast to the city, the school district, Morgan Hill School District is about as transparent as mud. So they do not respond to requests timely basis. I've had ones that are not responded to in 10 days. And I've had a request, I have a public records request from March 19. It's still, it's like, it keeps moving out a month after month after month. And it's been what, is that nine months? And it's a totally reasonable, simple request. And they don't want to provide the information. So I think we need to put something in that letter that says, acknowledging the responsibility of government to actually provide the information to the person requesting it, assuming it's reasonable and you're not being some jerk who's asking a thousand things or something. But in good faith, giving a timely response back to the folks in 14 days if you need to or whatever. But so anyway, thank you for your consideration of adding something to that to commit to doing that in good faith. Thank you.

Thank you, Chris. Very good. So with that, we will now consider a motion to approve the consent calendar minus item seven.

Move to approve.

I have a motion.

Motion. Second.

And a second. All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? There being none, that passes unanimously. And now, Christina, Item 7?

Yes. Item 7 is a recommendation to approve a PG&E agreement for undergrounding dry utilities for the Upper Yagas Creek Flood Control Phase 2 project. And this is between Wright and Maine in an amount of $388,390. Okay. The Valley Water is currently under construction with this phase of the project and is scheduled to be complete by January of next year. included in the project of the reconstruction of Hales, the undergrounding of the overhead utilities. We previously entered into contract work with PG&E in 2022, but as the project progressed, PG&E discovered that additional design work, construction work, and easement acquisitions would be necessary. And so PG&E has been working on a redesign for this project for years and has finally presented increased costs to the city And those increased costs are for the amount of this, a recommended amount of $388,000. And so while we're frustrated and with time delays in the cost, it's the necessary work that needs to be done to underground these utilities. And with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Very good. Any questions by Council? Council Member Liebers.

Thank you, City Manager. It does say in our staff report that a new facility Signal light will be installed in the fall of 2026, which were just about there. And I would like to know. If that is realistic, and then I also 2nd part, I want to know, will that include the sidewalks being done at that particular intersection? And will there be a blinking light button? So. People don't just speed through and pedestrians in the same process. So it's kind of a three-part question.

Got it. Okay. And I can answer the first couple of parts and I'll ask Mr. Guioni, our public services director, to come forward. So the road is on schedule to be completed in the fall of 2026. And that's when it'll be open. The signal is anticipated to be early 2027. It's the last item to be finished, but it's really dependent upon PG&E, for which we don't have a schedule. But the signal will not delay the road in reopening. And I'll ask Chris to address the question about what type of light and sidewalk.

The sidewalks will be completed at that intersection. And they're actually completing them right now. If you sneak through there and drive through Wright Avenue, you can see some of the curb and gutter being formed. The exception is we had not funded sidewalk on the east side of Hale between Wright and Main. However, we applied for a grant to do that. And we think we haven't formally heard, but we think we're getting a grant to fund that. So we wanted to do that and not pay for that out of the city's pocket. So that'll happen a little bit later, just that section. But the light itself will be a traffic signal with a push button that tells you to stop and go and has your countdown timer and everything at that light.

Okay. Yeah. Thank you. A lot of students walk through that area. So the sooner the better. So thank you very much. That answers my question. Thank you, Mayor.

Any other questions by Council? If that's the case, we'll open public comment. Any public comments on this item?

No, Mayor.

We'll close the public comment, bring it back for Council discussion. If there's no further discussion, I'll entertain a motion to approve Item 7.

So moved.

Got a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? There being none, that passes unanimously. Very good. We are through the consent calendar and now moving on to other business. We're going to take a five minute break here to allow some movement to occur before we get into item number 11. Five minutes, we'll be back. 637. All right, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to start the meeting. We're going to call the meeting back to order. If I can have your attention. Is this thing even on? All right, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to start the meeting. Is it on? Can you hear me okay?

Hello, hello, hello, hello.

All right, we're going to call the meeting back to order. All right, we're going to call the meeting back to order. We are now moving on to item 11. This is the consideration of a formal censure of council member, Yvonne Martinez Beltran. We are now going to receive a presentation of censure resolution from outside special counsel. Chalene, would you please proceed?

Thank you, Mayor, Council, Chalene Bennett, Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, serving as outside special counsel for the city. Based upon a totality of the facts before you over the course of about a year and a half, your council should adopt the resolution that is before you this evening, censoring Council Member Yvonne Martinez-Viltran for the following reasons. First, Ms. Beltran went to law enforcement and accused Mayor Mark Turner of criminal battery and assault. She told, Ms. Beltran, Martinez-Beltran told a police officer that Mark Turner pushed her in the stomach, causing her to move backwards and in pain. The police officer documented Ms. Martinez-Beltran's Allegations of criminal conduct were unequivocally contradicted by all the evidence, the video of the incident, as well as every single witness to the incident. Second, Ms. Martinez-Beltran brought allegations against Mayor Mark Turner of racism and sexism. An outside neutral investigator having no connectivity whatsoever with the matter determined all of Councilmember Martinez-Beltran's allegations, including but not limited to racism and sexism, had no merit whatsoever.

Hold on one second, stop the clock real quick. We are not going to accept comments from the audience. You're going to remain silent or we'll have you removed, right? Let's just proceed now from here.

Council Member Yvonne Martinez Beltran contradicted in her testimony to the investigator what she told law enforcement. She told the investigator Mayor Mark Turner never touched her or pushed her in the stomach. What the investigation did find was a credible witness who spoke to Ms. Martinez Beltran's racist and age derogatory comment of two of her fellow council members saying they were too old and too white to be on city council. When you then combine council member Yvonne Martinez-Veltran's false allegations against Mayor Mark Turner with her more recent physical intimidation, aggressive and intimidating tactics, intentional bullying, and insulting manner toward the other council members separate from Mayor Mark Turner, The picture of disrespect of this council and disregard of city and city council policies is abundantly clear. Everyone makes mistakes and how we interact and communicate may not land the way we intend. But once we're made aware of the negative impact of our conduct and statements, even if we disagree, It is how we respond that helps move us forward. How did Ms. Martinez-Veltran respond to being made aware of her colleagues' significant concerns of intimidation, physical intimidation and bullying? She ignored them. She made no attempt to dialogue, reach out or indicate she didn't intend to physically intimidate, bully. She remained silent. The city council should set the standard of behavior that the city and its employees and residents look up to. You are the role models, not just in your own conduct, but in calling out and not tolerating or condoning behavior and bullying that is contrary to your policies. And for these reasons, it is recommended that your council adopt the resolution before you this evening.

Very good. Thank you for that. And now we will have a comment for seven minutes from Council Member Martinez Beltran.

First, I want to thank all of you for being here. Thank you so much. This is incredibly, as you can imagine, a horrible moment. Colleagues, I ask you tonight to reject this censure because the allegations failed to meet our policy's explicit standard of proof. A violation requires evidence of a willful and deliberate act to intimidate. The floor interactions in question were brief discussions regarding policy consistency and legislative alignment between elected officials. They lacked any objective metrics of intimidation. There was no yelling, there was no name-calling, and no physical overstep. To understand the conversation with Councilmember Iwanaga, we must look at the legislative context. For months, she repeatedly requested to use my experience to help bring trains to our community. Yet, when VTA requested three times to present their local investment plan, the item was blocked from the agenda. I proposed an item to let the full body of this council vote on whether to host them, rather than leaving it to the sole mayoral discretion. When that proposal failed, I was surprised by her vote, given her prior efficacy. My comments to her on floor were focused entirely on that policy contradiction. I asked, Sarita, I don't understand. You're always asking me to find the trains. What was that all about? You have your own voice. You don't have to vote with the mayor. Councilmember Liebers confirmed. This is standard council dialogue and professional critique, not personal intimidation. While she subjectively perceived it differently in hindsight, third party eyewitness, Mr. Bienavides, observed this exact interaction in real time and stated in a public comment that was submitted to this council that he did not see or hear anything disturbing. Regarding council member Vega, our communications over seven weeks show a completely routine collaborative legislative process. On May 6th, she proactively reached out asking for, oops, sorry, I'm a little cut out. She proactively reached out asking for a line about the VTA item. After the June 3rd vote, While I was seated at my place on the dais, she approached my chair to pursue a conversation. Surprised by her vote, I simply asked what had happened. While Council Member Leaver's notes, gesturing from a seated position, I believe I was seated, this is a natural human interaction. So most importantly, I'm sorry, on June 18th, well after this event took place, Councilmember Vega proactively called me again to chat. She continued voluntary outreach as entirely inconsistent with the claim that she felt bullied. Okay, I'll come back if I have time. This matter, timing and procedural delay. This matter raises serious questions regarding fairness or due process. Sorry, I will just, I'm sick. I don't feel well. I'll back up. With Council Member Vega, she said that I had called her and incessantly wanted to, you know, about the agenda item, but Council Member Vega reached out to me and asked me to call her on the VTA agenda item that I had proposed, which I said that I would. And I then later we transpired in having calls and texts back and forth. We were actually about to connect. We were both very busy, and so that didn't happen. But I certainly, you know, she was engaging with me. I was not persisting with her that she'd respond to me. Okay. Timing and procedural delay. This matter raises serious questions regarding fairness and due process. A public center has not been utilized by this body in over 10 years that I have been aware of. If an occurrence warrants this severe a penalty, it demands immediate attention. Yet this issue from June 3rd was held dormant for over two months. Between June and tonight, this council missed at least six distinct opportunities to schedule and hear this matter, including scheduled meetings that we held on June 17th, June 24th, August 26th, and September 2nd. Instead, the June 12th warning letter was suddenly resurrected and be sent to me on August 14th, exactly seven days after election nominations closed and the official matchups against the incumbent mayor, we realized that there were two incumbent challengers. Suddenly injecting a minor floor discussion that happened in June into the chambers right as ballots drop shifts this mechanism from legitimate administrative review to a political attack. Three, process and participation. And I know that You know, we have had meetings before that it was so very severe and urgent that it was held in July when we have our council recess. Number three, process and participation. Although I fundamentally disagreed with the basis of the June 12th meeting random from outside council, I immediately come right out of respect for this institution. I take my job very, very seriously. ensuring all four interactions remained strictly restricted to official business because the notice did not request a response and I had adjusted my behavior to comply, I focused entirely on my city business and continued. When outside council invited me to an interview prior to the August 19th, Closed session, that invitation came with an explicit caveat. I was informed I would be forced to recuse myself and would be entirely excluded from the council's closed session deliberations. That does not mean a fair process to not be included. This, this restrictive time limit, I can't even fit anything into seven minutes. And this was a waste of resources and our mission of policy. We have a 33.5 million dollar structural deficit and we have hired out remote council to be doing this. And this just does not seem like this is, I mean, I'm already out of time and I haven't even got through this. You know, this was a closed session that they had. There was no transparency to it. I don't know when you're going to stop me. So I don't know what to do. I'm out of time.

We're going to stop you now then. Very good. We're now going to go back to special counsel for a two minute rebuttal.

Thank you, Mayor. Regarding the issues of fairness, due process, and two-month delay, from a legal perspective, there is no due process that is required. However, the city has provided appropriate due process consistent with cities, counties, districts up and down the state of providing an agenda packet to the elected official that will be considered for public censure when the agenda is posted. So that is the standard that has been the standard as far as adequate notice in advance. And seven minutes is very standard for presenting as well as the two months. I'm fully aware that two months within my space is well within the reasonable and fair timeframe of bringing something forward. And that's all I have on rebuttal.

Very good. Thank you. And now we're going to receive public comment. Do we have any public comments on this item?

Yes, we are at apologize. We have 11 speakers, so we'll be at 2 minutes and then I have a few of 1 on zoom right now. So I think we'll stay within the 2 minutes.

Okay. Very good.

I'm going to call the 1st speaker and then I'm going to queue the next speaker. So, if you can line up, that'd be really helpful.

Also, we want to quickly remind you, no applauding, no cheering, no jeering. It is to remain respectful and quiet.

Thank you, Mayor. Our first speaker is Sally Casas. She'll be followed by Chris Rebell.

Council, Mr. Mayor Turner, Please stop your continuous abusive behavior towards council member Yvonne Martinez Beltran. The desire to run an easy peasy behind closed doors and agreeable kind of council is not the job you took an oath and swore to uphold. An honest individual with integrity would follow the oath of the office of mayor. And it is exactly what residents of Morgan Hill voted for. Stop trying to prevent council member Yvonne Martinez Beltran's professional goal, empowering the public of Morgan Hill by researching and expounding true facts, being transparent and practicing inclusion and compassion. Stop your illegal behavior towards women and making decisions that endanger the public of South County residents by your support of ICE and AI data centers. Instead, respect and support all of the Morgan Hill voters, taxpayers, consumers, and those who invest their dollars in the city of Morgan Hill. That is your job as mayor.

Our next speaker is Chris Rebell, who will be followed by Dan Cloutier.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members. I strongly urge you to adopt this censure resolution tonight. This is not about one disagreement. It is not about one bad night, and it's not about differences in political philosophy. It's about a pattern of conduct. The city hired an independent outside attorney to investigate Councilmember Martinez Beltran's allegations against Mayor Turner, and every allegation was found not sustained. The resolution also documents significant inconsistencies between what she told the investigator and what she previously told police, and the concerns did not end there. Councilmember Iwaga felt reported trapped uncomfortable and nervous Council Member Vega said she felt bullied and talked down to. Mayor Pro Tem Libors witness Martinez Beltran in Vegas face waving her finger and describe the confrontation is heated and inappropriate. These are not political opponents making accusations from the sidelines, these are her fellow Council Members. not Mayor Turner, describing their own experiences. And perhaps most troubling, she had been given repeated opportunities to address the conduct. According to the resolution, the June 12th memorandum was sent to her three separate times, along with multiple invitations to meet and discuss it. Yet there's no acknowledgement, no justification, no accountability, no apology. And this conduct has a cost. It consumes council time. And honestly, if you look back at any city council meeting in the last year, if everybody took as much time as she does, these meetings would be 10 hours long. She consumes council time. This stuff distracts from the people's business. It forces the city to spend public resources on investigations and outside attorneys. instead of serving Morgan Hill residents. Public service requires disagreement without intimidation, differences without personal attacks, and leadership that brings the community together rather than pulling it apart. If those standards mean anything, they must be enforced. The resolution before you concludes that this conduct violated policy policies. Hold her accountable and adopt the censure resolution. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Dan Cloutier, who will be followed by Kathy Sullivan. Thank you.

Good evening again, City Council. I'm here on behalf of myself, my family, my friends, many members of our community and our loosely knit association of let's call ourselves democracy defenders here in South County. What leadership attributes do we seek in our representatives? We want proficiency, integrity, critical thinking, asking thoughtful and insightful questions, seeking clarity, listening and engaging with people, assertiveness over passivity, speaking truth to power, and deeply caring about our community. We want people with family roots and connections here in Morgan Hill and South County. Council Member Martinez Beltran has demonstrated all of these throughout her public service. Our congressional representative, Zoe Lofgren, and county supervisor, Sylvia Arenas, recognized this by endorsing her last Sunday as her campaign kicked off. Timing is interesting. Today's process It's fascinating in its unacceptable use of city resources to character assassinate a highly qualified, competent council member by undermining her reelection campaign in a public forum such as this. The sector's origin was 19 months ago, yet was dormant until three months ago. Timing and motives are deeply suspect. The mayor's office is being used as a political weapon Withdraw this censure. Let the voters decide in November. If a vote does indeed occur, the mayor must recuse himself. The councilwoman deserves our support, not a kangaroo court.

Our next speaker is Kathy Sullivan, who will be followed by Brian Sullivan.

Evening. I'm Kathy Sullivan, a resident of Oregon until 26 years. The censure by outside counsel is long overdue, and Councilwoman Martinez Beltran should resign. My experiences, I share a few. As president of a nonprofit, my first encounter with Ms. Martinez Beltran, then newly elected to office, it became evident that she did not respect nor want to collaborate with others. Words that come to mind are that she is a self-serving bully using public office for personal and financial gain. She has a practice of expecting not to pay for admission to community fundraising events and take advantage of these organizations for photo ops. Many have experienced this. And when I've talked to other people, her name comes up. Eyes roll and their heads shake. Yes. They've all many experiences. She's my council representative. And to my knowledge, she has not held a single district event to listen and collaborate with her constituents. If she cannot use or bully you, she has no use for you. It's time to resign.

Our next speaker is Brian Sullivan will be followed by Bruce Cooley.

Good evening. My name is Brian Sullivan, a citizen of Morgan Hill who lives in Councilwoman Martina Beltran's district. Over the past 15 plus years, I've been attending city council meetings, and it is very sad that the action before the council tonight has come to this. I have observed the actions of Ms. Beltran as she has on many, many occasions asked repetitive, unproductive questions of agenda items, which indicated that she had not read the agendas before the meetings. She takes very precious staff time and causes the meetings to extend because of her actions. She brought a frivolous lawsuit against the mayor, which was shown to be untruthful. No past council has had to censure a council member. The facts as presented by the outside attorney speak volumes as to her character. The council must move forward with the censure and her removal of all outside assignments. She is not a good representative of our great city. Thank you.

Bruce is our next speaker who will be followed by Kathy Chavez-Napoli.

Mayor and council members, I urge you to reject this censure. censure resolution. Censors should be reserved for serious misconduct, not political disagreement. Questioning votes and political alliances is common in politics. The way the case against Councilman Beltran was assembled is troubling. The original investigation examined her complaint against the mayor. Beltran was a complainant, not the investigation, not the subject of the investigation. Yet information gathered during it is now being repurposed as evidence against her. This resolution would also authorize the same mayor to remove Yvonne from seven outside assignments. That creates at least the appearance of retaliation. The person she accused would be given authority to impose part of the punishment. How would reducing Morgan Hill's representation on seven outside bodies help our residents? It would diminish Morgan Hill's regional voice and the representation of District V voters. Taken as a whole, the process leading to this resolution creates the troubling appearance that censure is being used to silence dissenting voices on the council and could discourage other council members from expressing dissent in the future. Also, a number of people have mentioned that Yvonne asked a lot of questions. I think that is good that she asked questions. I find my impression that the other council people do not ask questions. So thank you, Yvonne, for asking questions. Also, I'm feeling a little uncomfortable with the process here with hiring an outside attorney. I don't understand the process, so I could be wrong, but I'm hoping there's another way to do it because when you have the counsel that appears to be against Yvonne, the counsel hires the attorney, it just doesn't look good. Thank you. Very good. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Kathy, who will be followed by Armando Benavides.

Well, here we are again a year and a half later. What most of you don't know in the audience is I actually read the opinion of the attorney and I watched the video. The own attorney said that none of the witnesses were credible. So maybe you should refer to that at the beginning. So if none of the witnesses were credible, why are you using that as a basis to censure today? You know, I'm sorry that you're spending so much time here when you should be working on the deficit. My question is you canceled four or five meetings. Do you get paid for those? One idea would be you shouldn't get paid because you didn't do the work. That's one idea that you should have. But I find that, I hope I'm wrong, but it feels like you're being very self-righteous, spiteful, retaliatory, and wanting to pay back about that complaint that was issued against you. I saw you touch her. I cannot say what your intentions were, but I saw that. You should be listening, not hearing, listening to everyone. When you take this action, you cannot take it back. It's a conscious choice. You should have had attention and you should have understanding when people talk to you. But you've already made up your minds. You are going to censure her. I agree that it's important to ask questions because that tells you have an additional understanding of what is before you. Don't forget she's an urban planner. She has a degree in urban planning. None of you have one. And so you should be listening to the questions that she asks. And I would look at each one of you since you are so self-righteous. Make sure that all of you are fulfilling your obligation and reporting what you should report because you're not. Look at your own records. And I can talk to you later about your failure to file your report.

Thank you. Your time is up. Thank you. Your time is up. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Armando, who will be followed by Linda Esquierdo.

Good evening, counsel. So I want to disagree with the attorney right here. I am an attorney. And the standard is not seven minutes. That's not the average. The standard is that the counsel member had a meaningful opportunity to present her case. And seven minutes does not offer a meaningful opportunity to present her case. That is just not the standard. So I'm really disappointed that the attorney had led you to believe that. The other thing is, Yes, a three-month delay may be appropriate. But now when you have an election right around the corner, we're going to have a vote by mail go out in about three weeks. And so there is a big difference right there. In three months, they make a difference in this situation. So I'm disappointed that the attorney really came up with those statements. I was present during the interaction. I was standing right there, right in front of Zoraida. All three of them were there. Vega went over there, and I heard the whole conversation. Everything, and you know that too. And I did not hear anything. I did not observe anything that raised a flag for me. Okay, I was there. If you wanted to challenge my credibility, you could go ahead. But what I'm hearing right now does not fit my perception of what happened. The delay raises concerns. These events occurred on June 3rd. There were opportunities to address this sooner, including calling a special meeting or placing it on an earlier agenda. What we know is that there was quite a few canceled meetings. Now, seven weeks from an election, the timing naturally raises serious questions about the process, serious questions about the process. Council Member Martina Destraz was asked to respond to the allegation, but she clearly declared right now that she was not given an opportunity to participate in the deliberations. How fair is that? It's not fair. That is not a balanced process. And I understand and hope that you understand why she chose not to wait and not to respond with only seven minutes that you gave her to respond. Seven minutes is not a meaningful opportunity to participate. Finally, she had been given seven minutes and that's just not appropriate. So I hope that you reject this. Armando, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Linda Skierda is our next speaker, followed by Susan Safakian. I'm sorry, I can't read the last name. Good evening, council members.

The accusations against Ms. Beltran seem to me to be based on innuendo and anecdotal observations and amount to character assassination. Ms. Beltran owes her loyalty to her constituents, and they have elected her because they feel she best represents them. I believe the perception of threatening behavior on her part is instead the dedication of an elective official who is passionate about the representation of her voters. And as a Morgan Hill resident, I sincerely hope we can overcome the divisiveness and so prevalent in our society today and work together in harmony and mutual respect. Thank you.

Our next speaker, Susan, will be followed by Caitlin.

Good evening. My name is Suzanne Mantegi-Sappakishan. Thank you for trying. I just have a very simple question. The council members who felt intimidated by Yvonne Beltran, could you please tell us exactly the conversations that you had, verbal and verbal? visual, everything. We need to understand when she's accused of intimidating, how did she intimidate you? Thank you.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Caitlin, and then we'll move to Zoom.

Good evening council members. I want to speak today in opposition to the formal censorship of council member Yvonne Martinez Beltran. I've reviewed the resolution of censor and while I can't confirm or deny the ability of instances listed in that resolution personally, to respond to these instances with censure and removal of Ms. Martinez Beltran from her appointments seems overly punitive. an action that would be damaging to our community. Elected officials should be held accountable for conduct that violates conduct policies. However, that accountability should be enforced fairly, consistently, and without bias. Upon my review of the revolution to censor, I have concerns that the instances listed in the resolution are hearsay and largely subjective interpretations from interactions. While individual perceptions are certainly valid, the resolution acknowledges that these accounts are not objective facts. The perception of communication does not reflect intention of the speaker. Ms. Martinez Beltran has brought value topics for consideration of the council, such as the issue of the data centers, a topic that has been critical concern across this nation as we consider how best to manage our limited resources and preserve natural spaces. Ms. Martinez Beltran raises issues myself and others are concerned about, asks hard questions, and reflects concerns of this community. Taking this public measure ahead of an upcoming election does not reflect impartiality, openness to diverse opinions, or a decision that's being made on objective merits. It comes across as an action that is interpersonal or possibly political. And I wonder why this can't be addressed through conflict resolution or over instead of a public censure. Considering this resolution, I ask the council to consider why public censure is an appropriate response to the conduct mentioned. And is the conduct mentioned a violation of policy and not a perception or allegation or a retaliation for a previous legal dispute? And are these standards being applied consistently to all council members? Thank you.

And Mayor, we actually have one more in person. I flipped the card too fast. Yvonne, come on up.

I thought maybe you'd forgotten.

I just moved it. Thank you.

So I just want to say not everybody is a good leader. And I think that this censor tonight is an example of why Morgan Hill, in this time where it's possible that we might be subjected to flooding, is an example of poor leadership. Yvonne has been on the city council before Mayor Turner. She was never censored. As far as I'm aware, she's always acted the way she's acted. Why is it that it's such a problem now? If someone is intimidating and you're a woman and you're in a position of leadership, you should expect it. If someone says something that you don't like, you can respond. You guys, politics is not playtime. And the example our president gives, intimidating, bullying, You really can't say that that's a part of what is in the political discourse now? You really think that this censor is going to change the way that she is going to behave? It isn't. It just makes you look poor. It makes you look petty. A leader takes people who have different ways of doing things, different ways of acting, and they make use of their talents. I don't see that here. Some of you guys come and you don't know what you're talking about. And calling Mark racist, I hear worse things in the back of the room when I'm here. Just to be clear, I don't think Mark Turner is a racist, but he is a racist and religious bigot. And I think that, you know, Mayor Mrakas, You say that you address hey you don't know what a big it is, I have 10 seconds sorry us.

Mayor Mrakas, Give me a break your time is up to say anything and they extra time your time is up in Iraq, you need your time is up, thank you. Mayor Mrakas, Thank you for your time. Mayor Mrakas, Sorry you're now going to is there a zoom comment, yes, near I have a color ending in eight or nine on zoom.

Caller, you can unmute. I see that you're unmuted.

My name is Patrick McGarrity. Yes, can you hear me?

Yes, maybe just speak up a little bit more, Patrick.

Okay. Hi, my name is Patrick McGarrity. I'm here today on behalf of County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas to urge this council and administration to reconsider this ill-conceived action. The resolution language is based on accusations related to tone of voice and perception that cannot help but be viewed as both discriminatory and arbitrarily applied. That basis for censure is so thin that it cannot stand on its own, instead seeking to punish a council member again for private conversations allegedly made during the 2024 political campaign. Official conduct standards were never meant to regulate protected campaign season political speech Yet this resolution confidently tries to police the First Amendment. It is also concerning that this resolution has been timed for maximum impact in an imminent election. Using government power to punish a political opponent is not democratic practice. It is something we associate with authoritarians, not Santa Clara County. I urge the council to step back and recognize the danger in their proposed action. Thank you.

I have no more public comment, Mayor.

Very good. We'll close the public comment, and now we're going to bring it back for council comments. Any council members have comments they would like to make? Council Member Iwanaga.

Sorry, just give me a little bit of a moment. I'm trying to absorb all that I heard. I want to begin by acknowledging and thanking the citizens of Morgan Hill who are here tonight. They're watching. I know people are aware of what's going on. But I want to thank them. They deserve a council focused on the issues that affect our community, even as we address conflict within our own council. I understand that as a city councilwoman, I'm rightfully held to a higher standard. My faith is part of who I am and it anchors and shapes my beliefs that leadership should be rooted in service, humility, and accountability. As council members, we have been entrusted not only to make decisions that help to shape the future of our city, but also to lead by example. Our words, our actions, and choices should reflect integrity, respect, not only towards those who support us, but towards our colleagues as well. When mistreatment, bullying, intimidation, or conduct that falls below basic human resource standards occurs, we have a responsibility to address it. Respectful workplace expectations exist for a reason. Concerns should be taken seriously, addressed through an appropriate and fair process. I believe that this process has been followed. One year ago, this council came through a very difficult period and agreed to the standards set forth in a conflict resolution course. Those standards matter, especially at a time when civility in public discourse feels increasingly rare. Civility is not weakness. It is the discipline to disagree without diminishing one another. Too often, people feel entitled to attack those who do not share their views, whether in person or from behind a keyboard. Over the past year, we have seen the consequences of a culture that allows hostility to escalate and treats intimidation as acceptable. We cannot continue down this path. I believe the first step toward changing the narrative is to speak clearly and consistently against intimidation and bullying. Beyond my role as a city councilwoman, I am also a nurse and a mandated reporter. Remaining silent when harm is taking place is not the standard I hold for myself, nor is it the standard I believe our community deserves. Failing to speak up on one's own behalf can allow harmful behavior to continue and can discourage others from coming forward. We also set a poor example when we apply our own subjective judgments to decide whether another person's concerns is serious enough to report simply because the conduct being reported may seem innocuous to us. If we expect others to advocate for those who are being harmed, then we must be willing to do the same. I believe that every person deserves to be treated with dignity, kindness, and respect. When I chose to serve Morgan Hill, I committed myself to listening, learning, and working hard to help shape a strong future for our city. I strongly believe in respectful and constructive dialogue. I understood that difficult decisions would come my way and that they would not always be welcomed. Public service is not meant to be easy. This indeed has been a very difficult decision to make, but I have absolutely no doubt that it is the right one. My desire is that we can move forward from this moment with grace, honesty, humility, and a shared commitment to treating one another well. And I'll close with these words. I think they're always attributed to Condoleezza Rice, who I had a great deal of respect for. Without civility, we lose our sense of community. I'll close with that.

Very good. Council member Vega.

You know, whenever we walk around the diocese and it's full like this, it's not because something positive, it's always something divisive and it's really heartbreaking to come out. I have prepared a few comments and a few things to say, but I, after listening to our community, I just don't feel like whatever I say, there's a winning side. There isn't. There's lots of people that are heard up here. There's lots of people who are heard up in our community, out in our audience tonight. And today we have students in here that we're watching this behavior. It's too bad that our community only comes together when it's something divisive. And I wish that we can be different and it's just really hard. So I'm declining to read my comment.

Very good. Council Member Levers.

Good evening, everyone. I'll also thank you for coming tonight. This is a really unfortunate situation that we find ourselves in. I have served four years now with Yvonne, and I, too, have had struggles with her beyond what's been mentioned. And I have tried to resolve those, and she absolutely rejected me. my ability to try to resolve it. To me, and I have felt this way for the last four years, that unfortunately, she is not a team player. she does definitely advocate for the things that she really believes in. I will give her credit for that, but we have to work as a team. And I don't see that. I don't feel that I don't have anything to do with some of those things that have been mentioned, but I have had my past. So it is a difficult situation. It's a difficult time. I do want to say in closing, and I hope everyone will take this to heart.

Okay.

Your perspective, my perspective, everyone's perspective is their own reality. Can you separate that from the truth? Thank you.

Council Member Martinez-Beltran, any other comments you'd like to make?

Yes. Are you going to make comments?

I will when you're done.

Okay, great. I'm trying to get an idea of how much time I have.

Before minutes, 5 minutes, I mean, I'm willing to mean, this is serious stuff. I'm going to give you some time. You guys, you guys will manage it up here. Thank you.

Okay, so I'm going to go through because my statement is a little botched, but. This is this is in nowhere. No way there. This is. I'm really surprised to just have heard that from Marilyn. And there's a point where I have reached out and you refuse to reach out over email and other things. But I won't be baited. I don't want to be baited and take me off of task. I stand by my report that I made a year ago. And I feel there's one rule for me and one rule for everyone else. I mean, there was a video and And the words that you just shared about feeling I was in tears here, I was completely violated. I won't go down. I'll return. The reason that we're here is because of a censure because of what happened on June 3rd. That's what I was told. I received a memo on the 12th. It was confidential. It told me that... I had, you know, I was to, that this had happened according to Sarita and according to Miriam and that Marilyn felt that she, you know, couldn't, what was it, that she would have hated to be in that position and that I was to change my conduct or in the future, I would be censured, possibly censured. I take this job very seriously. So there was no request to respond. There was no request to respond to that. I didn't feel I was treated fairly last time. I certainly just thought, okay, well, I have to just, you know, I will keep it strictly to business. Now, you know, in her complaint, Council Member Iwanaga notes her perception in my comments that I questioned her voting alignment. And I stated, I did not, when I talked with her, I told her that I was surprised that she, you know, I didn't understand when she had advocated for trains, why she would not vote to have the VTA here. And she told me that, well, she didn't trust government. And I said, you don't trust government, Sarita, we are the government. You are the government. And then she said, well, I don't know. And I really did not understand because you had asked so many times about, you know, how can I help with the trains and how can I help with the trains? And I said, you know, I, you do have a voice. You don't, you have a voice and you can use that. It doesn't have to, you don't have to vote with the mayor. And there was again, no yelling, no pushing, no anything. Okay. And then she told me that, you know, I'm trying to remember everything that happened, but that was pretty much what happened. So then I saw Miriam and Miriam and I had been, as I said, she asked me to brown act with her, to tell her about the agenda item. We tried to do that. And I said, I thought you were supportive, what happened? She says in her comment that she doesn't like conflict. And so she did not respond, but she in fact did respond to me. And she said, well, we're gonna be having a tax revenue measure. We're gonna ask people for a tax revenue measure. So I didn't think they should go. That was it. So, you know, this is what we're talking about. A censure is so severe. I mean, some of the things that can happen that people have done and they are censured for that. My complaint, I stand by 100%. You're not censured for that. Even after that, you know, I can't find my notes. I'm so shaken and upset right now. But I remember looking at this and thinking, you know, I made, even after that, I made a good phased effort to connect and build with my colleagues. I did that. I went to conferences. I went to events. I went out socially. I did that. I shared my family. I don't like to share anything about my family. It's the only little piece of the world that is mine and private. I asked about your family.

I made genuine efforts to build rapport with you.

And I've poured so much time into this, staying at home, raising my girls, because this is my home. I didn't find Morgan Hill. This place built me. My parents are here. My grandmother died here. I'll probably die here. My girls are being raised here.

You have dragged my family. I'm so sorry to my family.

My husband, my girls, this is not right. It's not right at all what you are doing. And this was not my plan. But one thing I do take pride in is that I am a genuine person. And, you know, I'm not going to sit up here and pretend that this is not a serious and egregious thing for political maneuvering. And that is what this is. This is a political hack job. Right. My campaign is going great. It's going well. And.

Council member, I'm going to ask you to wrap it up.

Sure.

Yep. Sure. Very good. Thank you. I've got some comments to make, and I think it's important. I do know what it's like to have your life turned upside down, have your family's life nearly ruined by false accusations. And when that occurred a year ago, I don't know where Armando is sitting. Armando didn't stand up and speak on my behalf. indicating that I deserve more than seven minutes when I was only given seven minutes to respond to those accusations. I was not allowed to attend. I was not allowed to attend any of those closed sessions either. So Armando Benavidez, I would like to actually you had sent in an email, which I think kind of covered a lot of what some of these comments tonight addressed. And so I'm going to. Address some of the comments in your email, I don't mean this personally to use one user name, it's going to be in general. I hope you understand that. Armando's email raises several procedural questions that deserve thoughtful consideration, but it also presents a deep inconsistency that must be addressed plainfully and respectfully. Number one, fairness and consistency cannot be situational. Armando concluded in his email by stating Morgan Hill deserves a process that is fair, evidence-based, consistent, and above even the appearance of political gamesmanship. And I agree with that statement, but it must be applied in every case, not only when it benefits the individuals he and others support. When I was falsely accused by Councilmember Yvonne Martinez-Beltran of physical and verbal misconduct, Armando did not call for a fair evidence-based consistent process. He did not ask for objective review, witness statements, or corroboration. He did not caution against rushing to judgment. He did not warn against political timing of the appearance of gamesmanship. Instead, he and others immediately accepted the allegations as fact. Some repeated them publicly and advocated for consequences before any investigation had begun. That is the very definition of inconsistent standards. The current appeal for caution contradicts past conduct in his email. Armando argues that subjective feelings should not replace objective evidence. Timing your election requires restraint. The council must avoid even the appearance of political influence and the process must be thorough. Deliberate and fair. These are valid principles, but they were absent when the accusations were directed against me. In that earlier situation, Armando did not ask for a slower, more careful process. He did not ask for additional evidence. He did not ask whether the allegations matched witness accounts, and he did not ask whether the process was fair or proportionate. He simply believed the accusation. Others repeated it and acted on it. That is not fairness. That is not consistency. And that is not the standard that others now insist upon. Selective concern is itself a form of political gamesmanship. Armando warns the council against political gamesmanship, but political gamesmanship is not defined by who is accused. It is defined on how we respond to accusations. When one set of allegations is met with immediate acceptance and public application, And another set is met with demands for delay, extended process, and caution because of election timing. That is not principled consistency. That is selective advocacy shaped by political alignment. Morgan Hill deserves better than selective outrage. We deserve standards that apply equally regardless of who's involved. The Council's responsibility is to uphold policy, not political preference. The Council has an obligation to evaluate evidence, apply policy consistency, protect integrity of our institution, and ensure accountability regardless of political affiliation. Armando's email suggests that the council should refrain from action because the election is near as though others on the council should be more concerned about how council member Martinez-Bell transport behavior will affect her when she herself doesn't take that into consideration. We as a council cannot pretend to know when council member Martinez Beltran is going to bust boundaries, act unprofessionally, intentionally attempt to intimidate her female colleagues, harass others, or retaliate for a vote that didn't go her way. I find it odd that council member Martinez Beltran supporters, many who are here this evening, would say to her victims, many of us on the dais tonight, you just need to quiet down, accept her bad behavior, as opposed to saying to Councilmember Martinez-Beltran, it's time to change your bad behavior, stop violating ethics policies, and start acting more professionally. A fair process must be fair for everyone. Armando, if you and others truly believe in evidence-based evaluation, consistent standards, avoidance of political influence, and careful procedural design, then those standards must apply universally, not selectively. Morgan Hill cannot have one standard for those you and others support and another for those you oppose. Morgan Hill deserves a process that is fair, evidence-based, and consistent for every elected official in every circumstance. We cannot allow political alignment to determine when we demand caution and when we rush to judgment. We cannot allow subjective narratives to replace objective evidence, and we cannot allow selective standards to undermine public trust. We're going to uphold fairness. We must uphold it every time, not only when it's politically convenient. And with that, we're now going to call for the vote. And so we are, this is typically a situation, we are in this situation. Council Member Martinez-Beltran would refuse herself from the vote. And we're going to go ahead and now we're going to do a roll call vote on the item. And that item is.

I would just like to bring out, you just spoke for six and a half minutes.

Yes, I did. You have, we're not, we're calling for the vote and we're going to go for the vote at this point in time. This is to consider adoption of a resolution entitled the resolution of the city council of the city of Morgan Hill, California approving censure of council member Yvonne Martinez Beltran.

Mayor, do we have a motion and a vote?

uh that is both yeah i'm looking for a motion and a second i make a motion of a motion second i have a second i'll well we'll have you call the role mayor turner yes council members vega please have to say i've seen right hand yes liebers yes

Iwanaga? Yes. Martinez-Beltran?

I wish that my council members had integrity, but no.

That passes. Well, five, four to one. And so we are now, we are going to take a break, five minute break here. And those who want to stay to can, those who want to leave, feel free. We're going to be back in five minutes to finish off the agenda.

Thank you.

right we're going to call the meeting back to order and we're going to begin with item number 12. uh christina i'm going to turn that over to you thank you mr mayor uh this evening we have development services director jennifer carmen who's going to walk us through the moratorium

Thank you, Christina. On August 26, City Council voted 5-0 to introduce an urgency ordinance imposing a 45-day moratorium on the processing and approval of land use applications for freestanding data centers and grid-scale battery energy storage systems, otherwise known as BESS. The action taken at that meeting inadvertently did not include a separate action expressly adopting the ordinance. So we're back here tonight with a slightly revised interim ordinance for the city council to consider and adopt the findings regarding the need to protect from environmental effects, such as any energy resource, strain, water usage, usage and noise. Noted in the proposed ordinance remain the same as the previous ordinance. This new interim ordinance is proceeding under a notice of public hearing that was provided in the September 4th edition of the Morgan Hill Times. With a notice of public hearing, the potential extension time of this moratorium increases to 22 months and 15 days. The longer extension would give the city more time if needed to prepare new regulations. We don't believe it will, but that is the part of the government code we're operating under. The single extension also eliminates the cost for advertising and preparing multiple public hearing items. If the council adopts the interim ordinance, it will take effect immediately and staff will notice a public hearing and return on October 21st for consideration of an extension. That's my second point.

Very good. Thank you for that report. I'll now bring it back to Council for any questions. Any questions by Council members?

I have a question. So during the moratorium, Jennifer, are we going to take the time to do, and I apologize if I'm repeating something that's already in your report. Are we going to take the time to do studies of other areas that have the data centers already in place to see what the effects are on their communities, their water resources? Are we going to be doing that during the moratorium?

When we develop zoning ordinances of any sort, we do do that type of research on the use that we're looking at. We're not going to run our own studies, but we will do research into what other communities have dealt with, how they've regulated it. and what we recommend doing here.

Good, so then we'll be given at some point examples of maybe communities that had negative effects versus also a positive effect or?

It'll be part of the research that'll be accompanied whatever proposal we're given.

Okay, thank you.

Anyone else? I'm sorry, Martina's girlfriend.

This is the 45-day ordinance that I asked about last week that we're just approving. We're restarting the 45 days. Restarting 45 days. Okay, thank you.

And this, you had mentioned we have the opportunity to extend it two times. This doesn't impact that at all, does it?

So when we previously did this, it was not publicly noticed. So we would have been able to extend twice, once for 10 months and 15 days, and then for a year.

Got it.

Now that we've noticed it, it's a single extension for 22 months and 15 days, but it doesn't have to last that long.

Got it. Okay. Very good. Thank you. No other questions. We will open for public comments. Any comments on this item?

Yes, Mayor. Three speakers. Eric will be our first speaker, followed by Armando Benavides, and then Sharon Luna.

Thank you, Edna. Excuse me, Mark. Hey, Redbird.

Is that, let me just.

Are we on? There you go. Thank you. And good evening council members. I'm Eric Negan with the Silicon Valley Leadership Group representing our regional innovation economy. First, we'd like to acknowledge the challenges you face in this time of rapid change. And we'd like to thank you for your hard work. As you consider your options during this moratorium, know that SVLG and our members are here as a resource for you. When they're done right, these facilities offer significant tax revenues and infrastructure upgrades without harming local residents' quality of life. Silicon Valley's leading companies are deploying meaningful and at-scale solutions to drastically reduce water use and address other key concerns. We ask for your participation and a thoughtful collaboration between government and your industry partners so Morgan Hill can both support residents and welcome business. Thank you. Very good. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Armando.

You sure took me by surprise. I will review your comments and we'll write you an email and I will be making a comment about them next with my three minutes next time around. First, I want to say that I was really happy because I mean, oh, yes, Monday, the city of Gilroy passed a moratorium, a 45 day moratorium. So this is kind of in line with what you guys are doing. I think it's the right thing to do. The city is moving forward with this moratorium. I think it gives the community an important opportunity to express our perspectives and concerns about data centers and large scale battery storage. It also gives the city an opportunity to update our code now before a development proposal is submitted. And that is so important because, as you know, Gilroy kind of all of a sudden they have a 400,000 square foot data center over there. The city development is not running right now. It is important that we write the rules before a major project is already before us. We have the opportunity to establish, you have the opportunity to establish clear and objective standards first. During the moratorium, I do encourage the council to direct staff to look at more than just where the facilities can be located. We should establish standards for their actual impact in our community. And the presenter certainly talked about electricity use, water use, the type of cooling systems that they're going to be used, how large can the buildings and campuses be, the noise factors, the environmental impact. And, of course, backup generators, full storage, noise and emissions, those are safety concerns for us. And I think that you as our leaders should look at the safety concerns. So I think, how much time do I have? Okay. This, so I think you're moving in the right direction, just like it already is. And hopefully, 45 days is not enough, but it's a starting point and hopefully, We can bring that back before the 45 days expire, find out where they're at in terms of the development of standards or making the recommendations for you. and then maybe, if necessary, extend that outward. So thank you for taking the leadership in this very important process that's important for the safety of our community, protecting our environment, and making sure that we have responsible growth in our community that's to the scale of our community. Thank you.

Thank you, Armando. Armando, I think it's fair to note that you were a champion of this early on. Appreciate the effort you made to bring this to our attention as well. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Sharon Luna.

Good evening, Mayor and Council members. And thank you. First, I want to thank you, Vaughn, for bringing this to the attention of Morgan Hill. It's very important, especially with the previous agenda item. But I am standing here today to say that Morgan Hill and Gilroy have set the stage for improving their ordinances. Long overdue. Gilroy 1981. But there's somebody in the middle. There's a little town called San Martin in the middle that is also concerned in regard to water development and data centers. We have made comments to the county, and we're looking for possibly a joint with Morgan Hill Gilroy, and San Martin. We're not in this alone. We all have to work together to give good, sound advice. Like I said in my previous, you know, if we don't have the water, you can't make water. Well, you can, but you know where it comes from. But the thing is, is that we all have to share this urgency, take a pause like you're doing with the 45 day, and go through what needs to be improved. San Martin does not have a 300, we have a 300 foot where residents are informed. Gilroy now has a thousand foot. I mean, all the things that have been put in between Gilroy and Morgan Hill should be the same with the county because we are in the middle. And who has the most right now, ranch land or agricultural, you know, we can't, we have to preserve what we have, you know, be wise in what we do and together, you know, we can make a big difference. It's not saying that we don't have to have development, don't have to have data centers, you know, lots of things are the unknown, but at least if you're talking together, working together, we can make a difference. Thank you.

Thank you.

I have no other speakers, Mayor.

All right, we'll close the public comment on that item and bring it back for council discussion. If there is any, if not, I'll accept a motion to approve. We have three.

Mr. Mayor, if I could just add, we just need something on the record, just like the word adopt. So the findings regarding the need to protect public health and safety from potential environmental effects such as energy resource strain, water usage and noise are noted in this ordinance. So we just need to make sure that the words public health and safety were on the record tonight. And if we can make sure adopt is in the language that moves forward, then we're good.

Okay, and that will be taken care of by staff with that language?

Very good.

Okay. Outstanding. So we have only three motions here. Motion will be for 12.1. Second will be for 12.2. And then the third will be for 12.3 and four done together. So I look for a motion approving item 12.1. Motion to approve. And a second. All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? There being none, that passes unanimously. Now for item 12.2. Looking for a motion.

Move to approve 12.2.

I have a motion to approve. A second. All in favor?

Aye. Mayor, I need to introduce it by title and do a roll call.

Is that for the second one? Yes. Okay. Please go right ahead.

An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Morgan Hill imposing a 45-day temporary moratorium on the processing and approval of new land use applications for freestanding data centers and grid-scale battery energy storage systems, BESS, within the city limits during the city's review and adoption of regulations for such uses. Mayor Turner?

Yes.

Council members Vega? Yes. Liebers? Yes. Ubinaga? Yes. Martinez-Beltran? Yes.

And then items 3 and 4, just a standard motion, correct? Okay, so I'm looking for a motion for items 12.3 and 4. So moved. 12.3. Looking for a second?

Second.

Got a second. All in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? There being none, that passes unanimously. Uh, we're not gonna move on to future council initiated agenda items. Anybody have an item they'd like to introduce. I have 1, I'd like to introduce a future agenda item addressing bicycle or by organized planned or street takeovers. Anyone else there being none ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here. This meeting is adjourned.