City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, Mountain View. Good evening, Mountain View, and welcome to the 2026 State of the City. I'm your emcee for this evening, Anthony Tordillos, and it is wonderful to be back in Mountain View this evening. While I currently live in and work in San Jose, I spent many years living and working right here in Mountain View, and it's good to be back tonight. And yeah. And like your mayor, I am also the first Filipino American elected in my city of San Jose, following in the footsteps of Emily here. And now it is my pleasure to move the program forward. We're going to call this special meeting of the Mountain View City Council to order on this Tuesday, May 19th. So if Mayor Emily Ann Ramos could come forward to open the meeting.

Thank you, Anthony. Good evening. I'm Mayor Ramos and I'm going to call the special meeting to order. Welcome to the 2026 State of the City. And now we have all council members and a quorum present. We will now begin with opening up public comments. Now this is for members of the public who would like to address the only item on tonight's agenda, which is the state of the city. While we are streaming the meeting on Zoom and YouTube, public comments are only available in person right there. Comments will be at one minute maximum. If you want to give additional comments, please attend our regular upcoming city council meeting, which is scheduled for next Tuesday, May 26th at 6 30 PM. So if you would like to give a public comment, please come up to the microphone. It's not mandatory. All right. Seeing no public comments. I am now closing public comment. Anthony, I'm going to turn this back to you to move forward the program.

thank you mayor ramos uh we have a wonderful program in store for you all this evening as you heard we have the mountain view city council here uh and of course it's great to be joined by so many community members and residents as well this evening uh we are live streaming this uh 2026 state of the city on the city's youtube channel at mountain view gov on mountain view city television on cable channel 28 and on the city of uh mountain view website mountainview.gov as well as via zoom so everyone be on your best behavior this evening The theme for tonight's event is building the Mountain View of tomorrow together. You'll be hearing all about that and much more in the remarks from Mayor Ramos. But first, it is time to bring in the City of Mountain View Fire Department Honor Guard to present the colors.

All right. All right. All right. All right.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Left. Right.

Thank you. You may be seated. And thank you also to the Honor Guard for presenting the colors and also to the representatives of the city's Youth Advisory Committee for leading us in the pledge. That was Shreyas Nayak and Maytal Zayats. Thank you. And now I would like to say a few words about this very special city and about my friend who also happens to be your mayor, Emily Ann Ramos. Mountain View will always have a special place in my heart and was actually the first city that I lived in after moving to the Bay Area after college. I actually lived just down the road from here near the San Antonio Shopping Center, and I spent about half a decade commuting in and working at the Googleplex every day. And before relocating to San Jose, this really was my home here in the Bay Area. And to this day, some of my closest friends still live in Mountain View, so I spend a lot of time here. And it really has been a pleasure over the past 12 years getting the opportunity to watch the city grow and evolve and improve. And I am being honest when I say that I really think that one of the city's greatest strengths is your elected leadership here. I have the pleasure of calling multiple members of the Mountain View City Council friends of mine, including the star of tonight's program, Mayor Ramos. I first met Mayor Ramos back in 2023 when we were both early into new roles in civic leadership. Mayor Ramos had recently been appointed to fill a vacancy on the Mountain View City Council, and I had just been appointed to fill a vacancy on the San Jose Planning Commission. And our paths originally crossed because we were both passionate advocates for housing affordability. We were working together to lobby the city of San Jose to improve our housing element, which is our plan to address our needs in terms of housing affordability in the years ahead. And while our advocacy definitely, you know, didn't necessarily win us favor with certain members of city staff or even members of city council at the time, ultimately our merry band of advocates prevailed and we got some really important changes secured in the San Jose's housing element. And working with Emily on that process was really the first time that I had the chance to see Mayor Ramos's tenacity, her integrity and her dedication firsthand. And while we now live in and serve different cities, we know that many of the toughest challenges facing our cities are really regional problems. Things like affordable housing, addressing homelessness, investing in public infrastructure and public transit. And as all of us in elected office in the Bay Area work together to tackle these regional problems, I really could not ask for a better partner here in Mountain View than Mayor Ramos. And so without further ado, it is my pleasure to welcome back to the stage your mayor, Emily Ann Ramos, to provide tonight's remarks.

Thank you again, Anthony. So welcome, everyone. Once again, it is the 2026 State of the City. And in case you have forgotten already, I'm Mayor Emily Ann Ramos. And let me just say it's wonderful to be here tonight with all of you in the best city. so as many of you know let's see if we can get this clicker to work um i am very passionate about volunteering and giving back to the community that has been my focus during my year as mayor for the city now you will current you will hear from several of our residents who share my passion and are currently volunteering with the city of mountain view so let's hear directly from these volunteers in this wonderfully produced video by our city staff so let's launch the video

I've been in the Silicon Valley for over 50 years. The Silicon Valley has been very good to me. So I've come back to Mountain View to volunteer and help people out in the city do things that they need done. And technology room is one of those where people my age don't know a lot about computers, and I try to help them. I've been doing this about three or four years in the technology world, and I do help seniors, mostly seniors, work with their iPhones, computers, tablets, do things in Word and different applications. It's rewarding to see them leave smiling and happy with the knowledge that they've gotten from me helping them and learning from the Senior Center here.

I've always wanted to be part of the city emergency response team, but I just never had time. So I was so excited a couple of years ago when I found that the training lined up with my schedule and I could come be part of this. And I've lived in Mountain View for about 30 years, so I'm super excited to be part of this emergency response team. I get to come to field day twice a year and have the best time at field day. And the great thing about being part of CERT is that you learn some really important life skills. Even if there's never an emergency, even if you don't ever think that you are the kind of person who will show up at an emergency, learning how to take care of yourself and to take care of your family in a disaster situation is really, really meaningful. life is bigger than what happens in your house or what happens in your office, that the community is really what matters. And so being part of this reminds me that I am part of something bigger than myself, and that I have responsibility for more than just myself.

I've done some ESL tutoring before, and then several years ago, before the pandemic, I found out this was going on here, and I was interested in doing it. I do consider this professional work. It's not really professional work, but it requires knowledge and preparation. Unofficially, when we come here, we're representing the United States. but this is also the thing to do. And it helps people get to know each other who don't otherwise know each other. It's something that kind of connects me with my previous career and my education, but that's not a necessity. I think if it's something that you're interested in doing, then one should just pursue that. I think it's an important thing for the city also to just have a free, more accessible option. And it seems the library is an appropriate place to do that because the library is also very much a community center.

Thank you.

I've been engaged in keeping up to date with city events since I moved here in 1998. Serving on a city commissioner committee has given me the chance to become more familiar with the workings of our city and become acquainted with many people. Doing so has enriched my life in so many ways. On a big scale, our democracy is dependent on having engaged and knowledgeable citizens. The same is true for local communities. It's important that a variety of voices contribute to the decision-making in Mountain View. Do it! Being a volunteer is a wonderful way to contribute to our community. You will be better educated about the choices and the challenges that our city faces. You can also help inform your friends and your neighbors about Mountain View.

I am a livestock volunteer through the city of Mountain View. I wash and sell eggs every Friday. And I've been doing that for just over a year. Come out here and just have moments of peace and joy away from their phones. We have no Wi-Fi out here. So it's really, really good for your mental health.

And I encourage other people to try and get involved.

I think it makes you vested in the community. It gives you a sense of gratitude and giving back. You get to meet people that you probably wouldn't meet otherwise. People of all ages who have never experienced, you know, a chicken or a goat or anything like that. It's just wonderful. And here we are, right in the middle of Tech, and you can come to this 170-year-old homestead and get the farm experience. There are about 1,300 kids from Mountain View Elementary Schools that came out this year. It's just a wonderful place to volunteer and give back to the community.

Let's give it up for our volunteers. So when people think about Mountain View, they often think about innovation and technology. But what makes the city so special has never just been what we build. It's the way we show up for one another. And so thank you to our Mountain View volunteers. Now, I would like to recognize a few people in the audience tonight. First, thank you to my city council colleagues who are here this evening. We have Vice Mayor Chris Clark. We have Council Member Allison Hicks, Council Member Ellen Kamei, Council Member John McAllister, Council Member Lucas Ramirez, Council Member Pat Showalter, and also, yes, yes, give my colleagues a great hand of applause. Also in attendance, we have our city manager, Kimber McCarthy, along with assistant city managers, Audrey Seymour and Arne Andrews. Our city executive team is also here. Feel free to raise your hands, letting them know these are who you ask questions for for the staff. And because we can't do it alone, in addition, we have representatives from our county, state, and federal government. They include from County Supervisor Margaret Abacoga's office, Jonathan Ishii, from Congressman Sam Liccardo's office, Nicholas Hargis, from State Senator Josh Becker's office, Isabel Augustine, from Assemblymember Mark Berman's office, Helen Walter. I don't remember where I put the clicker. Oh, thank you, Anthony. We also have elected officials from the Mountain View Wiseman School District and from the Los Altos School District. If you are an elected official in attendance tonight and I haven't recognized you yet, please stand up and wave your hands. Now also, if you serve on a Mountain View City of Mountain View board, commission, or committee, please wave your hand so we can recognize you as well. See, look at all those beautiful volunteers. Thank you all for your public service to the Mountain View community. All right. And we have so many city staff who are here. Now they do the real work in making the Mountain View community thrive, including tonight's event. So let's give them a round of applause too. And finally, thank you to KMVT for live streaming and airing today's special event. So now we're going to go to our next slide, if I can do this correctly. Nailed it. All right. It not only takes people power to build the Mountain View of tomorrow, it also takes money, especially when you have a bold vision for what our city can become for current and future generations. That's why we are exploring a potential revenue measure for the November 2026 election. Now, based on what we've heard from our residents and other stakeholders, we know that you care about improving the quality of our streets and roads, enhancing critical infrastructure, bringing aging public safety facilities like fire stations up to today's standards and to improve emergency response, developing more affordable housing, including for middle income folks and adding new parks and open spaces. The decisions we make now will shape whether future generations inherit a city that continues to invest in safety, opportunity, sustainability, and quality of life. Now we are exploring options to increase revenue for addressing these community needs, and these options include a possible general obligation bond measure. At this time, council will likely consider the available options at the Tuesday, June 23rd meeting. In the meantime, my council colleagues and I look forward to working with all of you in building the mountain view of tomorrow together. So next slide. Oh yes, it is the right slide. Yay. So last month we declared a state of emergency for the Cuesta water main contamination incident, which originally left 67 homes north of Cuesta park, um, originally affected them. So this means we can tap into all available resources to address this very localized emergency. The April 24th incident involving a private contractor hired by the city concerned a contaminated breach with some cement slurry mix coming into contact with a live water main. I do want to emphasize that outside the affected area, the water remained safe for drinking and for other uses in the city of Mountain View. But for families affected, this has meant uncertainty, disruption and stress in daily life. Now, fortunately, as of this evening, on day 26 of the emergency response, I have an important update to share. The boil water restrictions have now been lifted for the remaining 21 homes. We are relieved to now have a resolution for these residents, which depended on the negative test results for bacteria and approval from the State Water Board. To the residents who have been affected by the Cuesta water main incident, we are sorry this happened to you, and we will continue working for you and all of Mountain View's residents to provide safe water services for our community. Next, we are on active transportation. On the transportation front, we are working to make our streets greener and safer and combined with a better user experience. And that is our aim, no matter what your mode of transportation is, whether you're walking, biking, skateboarding, or driving. Our active transportation plan is nearing adoption. Some examples include protected bike lanes, pedestrian safety enhancements along California Street, El Camino Real, and Middlefield Road, as we continue to take feedback to ensure we get it right while making changes to our streets. Now our environment. Our community is also involved in making our environment more sustainable for the Mountain View of tomorrow. We're wrapping up a community-driven process to develop the new Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan. We are also among the first in the Bay Area to develop a biodiversity and urban forest plan. Plus we're partnering with others including the federal government to restore our shoreline. Earlier this year we celebrated the restoration of a 435 acre salt pond into the tidal marsh along with adding over a mile of publicly accessible trails just north of our shoreline at the Mountain View Regional Park. Now to our local economy. The City of Mountain View continues to work with the business community to invigorate our local economy. These efforts include the Mountain View Neighborhood Small Business Center, which was recently launched this year. The nonprofit Enterprise Foundation is delivering free small business advising and support services to Mountain View-based small businesses, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits over the coming years. The city is proud to have hosted the kickoff event with over 45 businesses in attendance. Last year, the economic development team provided direct support to 75 businesses, including through startup support, permit facilitation, and resource and technical support referrals. The business ambassador team continues to provide technical permitting, support to new and expanding businesses. This multi-department team helps businesses navigate the permitting process and identify challenges early on. And we continue to welcome new businesses to Mountain View, a few of which you see right behind me. I really enjoyed the Shake Shack one. Very delicious. But speaking of businesses, we have our downtown. Our city continues to invest in creating a downtown that is safe, welcoming and a vibrant destination. So these investments include the installation of our decorative street treatment one year ago, adding color and a sense of place to our downtown. Also allowing for a really cool K-pop backdrop for if you want to do your K-pop dances in public. So we're also celebrating the grand opening of our downtown pop-up in collaboration with Moment. We are excited to support four creative micro-businesses that opened up a shop under the shared banner, Don't Eat Me. We also added pedestrian wayfinding signage soon to be installed with visual design celebrating Mountain View's character and featuring imagery inspired by our rich history and surroundings. With several private projects and public improvements planned across downtown over the next few years, the city has launched a strategic communications initiative to strengthen outreach and visibility around upcoming construction and community projects. The effort designed to keep the community informed about the project timeline and impacts, address business and visitor concerns, and promote downtown to new and returning visitors. To support these goals, the city has introduced a new brand, Downtown MB in Motion. When you see that logo, it signifies that we're building the mountain view of tomorrow in downtown too. Yay. All right, now our public art. Mountain View's creative future is taking shape. For 2026, we are excited to share a snapshot of our community outreach efforts for the city's first ever public art strategy. This is a comprehensive 10-year roadmap and will guide how we will experience art in our everyday lives. We have new art being installed across the city this year. Now, this includes the bollard art in downtown, murals in Rinksdorf Park, and a sculpture in Evelyn Park. Plus, we're offering artist talks, too. Now here's a very fun topic that I love to talk about all the time. Affordable housing. Mountain View cannot remain a truly diverse and innovative community if the people who teach our children, care for our seniors, serve in our restaurants, and keep the city running can no longer afford to live here. Therefore, when it comes to affordable housing, Mountain View is a leader in the Bay Area. So right now, you'll see movement happening at Lot 12, located across the Mountain View Public Library on Bryant Street in downtown. It's a collaboration between the city, Related and Alta Housing, key partners including county, state, and federal government, along with Wells Fargo Bank and Freddie Mac. this project involves transforming a city-owned parking lot into a five-story rental apartment building with 120 affordable units completion is anticipated for 2028. We're also making strides with the firm housing development in a city-owned site at 87 East Evelyn Avenue. Phase one will deliver 161 affordable rental homes, and this construction is anticipated to begin later this year. And now more fun things. We have quite a year for big sporting events in the Bay Area. Now, events like the Super Bowl, which did happen, and we have FIFA. Oh my gosh, you even wrote it here so I could pronounce it correctly. Thank you. The FIFA World Cup. Now, the goal for our 2026 game activations include boosting local economic activity, enhancing community engagement, and elevating the city's visibility through strategic marketing. This effort will help position Mountain View as a key destination for visitors and sports fans. February's Super Bowl activations were very successful, with a successful tailgate event with games, a band, and giveaways the Saturday before the big game. With the World Cup games less than a month away, we are collaborating again with the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce to engage and promote our local businesses. Be on the lookout for watch parties in our downtown. Plus, as part of our summer soccer, the community will have opportunities to get out and play. Now this includes a temporary foot golf course at Cuesta Park and a downtown mini pitch. That's where staff is working with one of our local youth sports organizations, MVLA Soccer, to offer one or two youth soccer clinics. We're also coordinating with Bay FC, our local women's professional soccer team, but stay tuned for more details on that. Now, one of our key, most important points for our city of Mountain View is that We are a community for all. It is one of our strategic priorities. Our third cohort of the Chinese Language Civic Leadership Academy is underway this spring. Plus, we have so many culturally rich events that you can be part of, from the Multicultural Festival, which was held earlier this month, to the Dia de Muertos celebration in November. Now, civic engagement. So can you tell I'm a little excited about all the ways our city is making a difference in the lives of our community. Now you can be a part of it too, by volunteering, whether it's serving on a city advisory body or coming out for a tree planting on Arbor day. In case you didn't make it earlier to the outdoor patio adjacent to us here in Redwood Hall, you could still do so afterwards. I encourage you to visit the city's resource tables outside to learn about the many volunteer opportunities with the city. So now we are on our final slide. Tonight we talked about projects plans and investments for the future but the true strength amount of you has always been as people. It is the neighbors who show up for one another the volunteers who give their time the small business owners who invest in our community and the families who make the city their home. That is what makes Mountain View special. And that is what makes Mountain View the best city. So thank you for being part of this community and helping us build the Mountain View of tomorrow together. In closing, I am your mayor, Emily Ann Ramos, and I hope you have a wonderful evening.

Thank you, Mayor Ramos, for the address.

I think by all accounts, the state of the city is strong and the future is bright.

And thank you also to the Mountain View City Council for your attendance.