City - Regular Meeting

Recording in progress.

Yeah, your audio doesn't seem to be working today on the YouTube stream or the public has to sign in before they can get access to any of the audio via Zoom. Thank you. Jessica Denor. Hi, thank you very much. Can you hear me? Yes.

Okay. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on this important decision regarding the Coral Street pump station electrical relocation. I'm here to respectfully urge to reconsider the esplenade park alternative, not as it is viewed in the past, but as it stands today with updated design options, clearer cost realities, and stronger need for fiscal responsibility. First, the financial difference is significant and cannot be overlooked. The Esplanade Park option is estimated at approximately 5.7 million compared to over 10 million for the golf course location. even lesser cost to do the entire new project, pump station project, Esplanade Park. I see lost you, Miss Dennar. I think we lost her connection.

Yeah, she's she's been unstable because she's gone on and off. So, I think that's all the public comment that we have tonight. And I've received a number of letters from Miss Denor as well. Uh we have up here and we've reviewed them all. So um we'll go ahead and close public comment at this time. Uh bring it back to the council. We're we're not at this time we are not um making any decisions. This was a study session for us to receive the input um from directly from Monterey One Water which I believe is the first time we've done that since 2012 and uh ask and have the public give us their feedback which we received. We also uh received a number of letters that are much more fleshed out versions of what we heard at the at the day. So actually those will probably be uh a little more substantial. Um, and many of the folks that spoke uh also sent us a number of letters. So, we've taken all that into consideration. At this time, I'll just recognize um as we move forward with the project, we will we will have this information at our disposal and we will be able to um at the appropriate times provide input or ask questions of Monteray One Water. So, at this time, do do I have anyone here that would like to make a comment? Go ahead.

Thank you. I'm not making a decision. I'm not favoring it, but I want to repeat what I've heard. And so what I've heard from folks is that this has been a very linear process. Things went with Esplanade that was ceased and then went to Coral Street. We do need a city site. So there are a limited number of sites that are possible. Um, but I also heard from people that they're unsure as to whether the esplanade site was given the same sort of responsive alterations in uh to address some of the concerns lighting um the the bulk of the project. And so I'm I'm hearing from people that that it was not necessarily it was more of an apples and oranges kind of process or it seems to be um not sure where people had been suggested that that would be put in esplanade at the bottom where the recreation is taking place or up higher. Don't know. Um I also think we have a legal question about the limitations on open space as to what can be uh legally placed in something that's designated. And of course, I I will say that cost is always a consideration. It's it's even if we're not paying the bill, it's still taxpayer dollars or rateayer dollars. And so, we really need to to make sure that that's factored in. Um and and I will say that that outreach and how we notify people is a continuing challenge. Um, so for those who felt they weren't notified, um, we we always need to do better and really appreciate you're telling us that that's a frustration for you. Um, I'm going to underscore again how hard it is to make sure all the people that are impacted really do hear about it. Um, and and that seems to have been a frustration in this project as well. So, those are some

of the things I'm hearing from folks. Um and as well as the uh 10 feet below, you don't know what's 10 feet down. So um even though it's it's a flat thing that maintains the um the golf path, you could hit bedrock at 8 feet and then the best intentions might not be able to be fulfilled. Um anyway, I I really appreciate uh Mon's responsiveness and hearing people's concerns. Um and and I really appreciate that we'll get some further answers, but there are a lot of questions and and I want you to know we heard you. Thank you. Um Council McDonald.

Thank you, Mayor. Yeah. And one thing I would like to say because I know this is just a session kind of giving Monterey one water an opportunity to hear from the public, us to ask our questions. So I had some things similar lines. Um I think that no matter where this is located, the subterranean is always going to be the desired. We have the the view sheds. We have the um the wildlife corridors and all of these are important to the residents who live here as well as the visitors who come here. Um and obviously cost is an important thing. So I think what's really not transparent right now other than having received so many letters in the past when there was more visibility and so there was more opportunity for people to respond and so few knew people knew about this one. What I think is important is to understand better actually what um council member Garfield said is my question was what was done with esplanade was it just dropped because of opposition or was it looked at equally would locations higher up not affect the use and have less impact on neighbors and have less cost so I feel also that there's like an apple andorous comparison here where we can't tell what's the best alternative and I know we do have to work with the city sites I understand why the corporation yard and the water treatment plant aren't good options. But this is for now electrical only. But another thing that I would like to know is how far out we anticipate the pump station needing to come out and come up and then is it better to have chosen esplanod so they can be colllocated. So I I just feel like there's a lot of information we still don't have here um because we have to represent the needs of our public and we are some of that public as well. So, I think that these are other questions still outstanding that will be really important before um and the biggest one I think also is the whole open space thing. If if our um regulations really don't allow for this type of usage in open space, that's something that has to

definitely be considered before anything can move forward. Thank you.

Again, I'd encourage you to work with moderate one water staff offline to understand all that. I know they'll help you. Um Mayor Pro I'm not going to repeat everything everybody else said, but uh this is uh to receive the presentation. We're not making a decision. Uh and I'm sure Mr. um uh gentleman Yes. I'm so sorry. Uh heard all the comments and appreciate the letters that have come through and uh I also appreciate all the comments that came through. I think that's very important that we hear from the public. We haven't been uh I've been here several years. Uh I hope to be on longer but I don't think so. Uh so but it's great to see so many people speak and that's important and I'm sure uh Mr. Thompson has heard the comments and all and this is just to receive the information at this time.

Thank you very much. I'm going to go ahead and close the presentation tonight. Close the meeting tonight. We got to count our actual meeting at 6 p.m. So, we need a little time. Um, but I do appreciate all the residents coming out and sending their piece and understand that we have read all the letters and there were some very very bright people that sent us great letters. So, we've seen it all and I want to thank um Monwater, Jennifer, and Matt for coming out. Um, appreciate you very much. Um, and I kind of want to echo just one thing I heard the visual. Yeah, I think it's always best to not cover our views. I mean, that's just that's one thought that I have. But, um, that being said, I appreciate it. We'll keep working together to find the right place for this, uh, facility. Thank you so much, everyone. The meeting is adjourned.

Recording stopped.

recording in progress. We How are we doing? Ready. Okay. Good evening everyone. Uh it's 6:01 p.m. on April 15th, 2026. This is the regular meeting of the Pacific Grove City Council. We're here in Council Chambers 300 Forest Avenue in Pacific Grove, California. Um did I said the date? ways. I said this three times tonight, so I'm kind of like

April 15th, 6:00 p. p.m. 6:01 in fact, calling the meeting order. Um, we have four council members present in the DIS. Council member McDonald, Mayor Prom Ailio, myself, council member Garfield. We have one council member appearing remotely. Council member Chaps Paduri from 3550 originally in line drive in San Bernardino, California 9247 as stated on the agenda. He will he is not present yet as he is still um attending another event. So he will join us and his vote will not be counted until such time as he is present and um roll called in. Uh and with that I will ask my mayor prom to lead us in the pledge of allegiance indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you very much. At this time I'll enter a motion to open the agenda under item one. A motion by Mila, second by McDonald. All in favor of this agenda as stated, say I. I. Any opposed? Hearing none. Passes 40. We're on to presentations. I have one presentation today. This is my proclamation for Arbor Day. Let's see. I don't really I can stay here at the D. I don't need the microphone. Is anyone going to receive anything tonight for Arbor Day? We have someone. Oh, you're going to Okay. All right. Well, I'm just going to read it from here. Um this is um in 1872 the Nebraska Board of AR agriculture established a special day to be set aside for the planting of trees. This holiday is called Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than a million trees in Nebraska. And Arbor Day is now observed throughout the nation and the world. And trees can be a solution to combating climate change by reducing the erosion of our precious top soil by wind and water, cutting heating and cooling costs, moderating the temperature, cleaning the air, producing life-giving oxygen, and providing habitat for wildlife. And whereas trees are a renewable resource, giving us paper, wood for our homes, fuel for our fires, and countless other wood products. And trees in our city increase property values, enhance the economic vitality of business areas, and beautify our community. And whereas trees, wherever they are planted, are a source of joy. I, Nick Smith, mayor of Pacific Grove, do hereby proclaim April 24th, 2026 is Arbor Day in the city of Pacific Grove. And I urge all citizens to celebrate Arbor Day with us and to support efforts to protect trees and woodlands. Thank you very much. And um Mr. Go.

Yeah. Go ahead. Thank you, Mayor Smith and members of the city council. We appreciate you guys acknowledging Arbor Day. It's very important for the Pacific Grove and our wildlife and our monarch butterflies that we plant trees in the town and keep our canopy coverage. And I'm going to steal some of Joyce's thunder here. This Sunday we will be doing a Arbor Day celebration at Espanon Park where we will be planting some trees. Not a bunch of trees because we don't want to overcrowd that park, but that's a good open area where we do plan on planting some trees um for the future generations to love. And I believe that's 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. So, thank you.

Thank you very much. And proclamation. I'll just give I'll keep it here with me and give it to Sandra at the end. All right. Thank you guys. I really appreciate that. keep keeping it alive for Arbor Day. Last year was a fun one. So, look forward to that event. Um and now we'll move on to council and staff announcements. Do we have any council announcements? Seeing none, we'll go ahead and um um I'll recognize the city attorney. Do we have a report out today on um Thank you, mayor. With respect to the one item on close session labor negotiations, uh an update was provided to council and council provided direction uh to um the attorney, but no reportable action was taken. Okay. Amy, staff announcements. Mr. Morgensson.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Just one I just wanted to let the council know that we spent today about six or seven hours um training in our emergency operations center trying to get ready for the next big disaster that could come our way. Hopefully nine times soon. But that was organized by Jennifer Fugat and our police department and then um facilitated um also by Monterey Fire. So we had a good day kind of as a team working through some of those stations and different things we need to. So um just wanted to let you know about that. Thank you very much. Um go ahead and move on to general public comment. This is general comment. It must deal with matters subject to the jurisdiction of the city and the council that are not on tonight's regular agenda. At this time, is there anyone uh online wishing to make general public comment?

Uh yes, mayor. We have Jane Haynes.

Uh good evening. I realize council can't discuss the cannabis license tonight because it's not on the agenda, but I do want to comment that the city's interpretation of the cannabis license is that because the act doesn't expressly prohibit it, the law allows one applicant to have eight chances to get the license and the other two applicants to have only one chance each. I don't think that an administrative law judge is going to agree with that. And if a disagreement I if the judge does not, it's going to further delay the time when the the cannabis dispensary can get started and it could involve um protracted litigation. So, I hope the city accepts my suggestion that um is in the packet tonight and gives all applicants the same chance to get the license. Thank you. Have a good evening.

Thanks, J. Mr. Italiano Thomas,

excuse me. I I was just noticing two empty seats again tonight and wanted to point out like in about eight months there has been a full deis or d however you say that and I just find it odd and I know people get sick or but like two tonight in addition to Paul leaving and I just wanted to remind you that y'all did cancel one another meeting of the year for vacation. and whatnot. So, it's hard to believe that people are this chronically sick and anyway, I I think it's odd. Thank you,

England. Yes, thank you. Um, I just wanted to uh show support for Jane Hayne's idea with the cannabis uh lottery to go to the um rather than All eight go to the two. So yes, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Kyle Lindstöm.

I just wanted to support the cannabis lottery issue. The the city staff should have never considered that the owner issue was a PG ordinance and PG specific issue because the state has regulations on what it means to vet owners of cannabis stores. And I am kind of stunned that the city manager and the city staff's opinion is that the ordinances really supersede any of the California state law that has been put in place to vet these different owners. So, I really hope you do consider Jamie's opinion because it's going to save us a lot of money and future legal costs.

Thank you. Thank you. No further hands. We have representative from PG&. Did you want to introduce yourself? This is the time. Name is Megan Raine. Just introducing myself as the new government relations representative for Pacific Gas and Electric. I'll be following up with everybody individually if I have not already to set meetings. I want to make sure you have my contact information. And just know I'm the new girl in town if you guys need me. I'm happy to answer questions, but I am new enough that you're probably better off getting one-on- ones with me than me answering uh tonight. Yeah, we won't do Q&A tonight, but if you could send us all an email with all your information, that'd be great. Absolutely. We'll do.

Thank you. Welcome. Thank you very much. All right, we're moving on to the consent agenda. We're closing general public comment tonight. Moving on to the consent agenda dealing with the routine and controversial matters may include action on resolutions, ordinance or other public hearings for which testimony is not anticipated at this time. Does anyone um on the council wish to pull a consent item? Anyone in the public wish to pull a consent item? Uh nobody online. Mayor, we'll go ahead and uh bring it back to the council for action on consent. Move to approve the consent agenda. Second. Yeah. Make sure you use your mic, but I heard you.

Second. Okay. We got a motion by Amelia, second by uh McDonald, and Mr. Council Dur has raised his hand, so um he must be in the session. Senator, let's go to Council Member Paduri. Thank you. I just promoted him as a He's just trying to get in and get recognized, but Okay, I'm going to We're going to take the vote. All in favor say I. I. Any opposed?

He wasn't in in time. I'm going to count it that way. So, now he's in. So, we've just completed the consent agenda. We're on to the regular agenda. Council member Paduri is now with us to take votes going forward. Uh we're at item 11. Um and I'll recognize uh our CDD director, John Biggs. Council member Feder, can you hear us? Yes, I can hear you. Uh and I am joining remotely and there's nobody uh over 18 etc.

Great. Excellent. that I have already uh given your location and it's stated on the agenda. So, Mr. Biggs, go ahead. There we go. Uh good good evening again, John Biggs with your community development department. Uh we have again for you this evening um some things regarding the housing element for you to consider. This is another chapter in the housing element uh saga that goes on as you recall. I can't get this system work. Sandre, do you have a quick second? Thought so. Thank you. Um, start over again. John Biggs with your community development department. We have another chapter in the housing element for you to consider this evening. Uh, as you recall, back in December of 2025, you adopted the update to the housing element along with a number of amendments to our general plan coupled with some changes to our zoning code. Uh we sent those approved documents off to the state department of housing and community development for their review and we were anticipating certification, but rather than certification, we got a letter from HCD uh that said that they still needed to um make some have us make some amendments to the the zoning code regulations. Uh the zoning code changes are occurring in three lo locations and

they are requirements that there be minimum densities for three zone districts. Our our three zone district, our C1 zone district and our C2 zone districts. Each of which would have a minimum density of 20 dwelling units per acre. Uh what I have up on the screen right now is the change to the R3 zoning regulations and you can see in red that is the new language that is being added and um under consideration by you this evening. Then we move on to the C1C2 zone districts and that's in chapter 2331 of our municipal code. And again you see in red that under the columns for the C1 district and C2 districts we are establishing that minimum density of 20 units per dwelling acre. So that takes care of the changes that HCD wanted us to make. There was one cleanup that we wanted to make. Um there was a um kind of an artifact from an earlier ordinance amendment that got included in the ordinances that you adopted in December and it was a change to the R3 Mzoning regulations. We want to make sure that we um keep a record of including that uh language that was deleted. So what you have on the screen are in red. the words that are used are simply adding to the R3M regulations and are part of your consideration of the ordinance this evening. Um up on the screen right now uh is a map of Pacific Grove indicates the locations of the R3's district that's sort of that Benetta color. Uh the C1 zone districts are circled in green and then in the golden rod is the C2 zoning district. So you can see that they're spread across the city of Pacific Grove and we just provide that in your packet just to give you a sense of where these zone districts were occurring. From an environmental standpoint, uh you adopted a certified environmental impact report in December of 2025 and to stay consistent with um California

Environmental Quality Act, we had to do an addendum and so we're asking to just consider that addendum as part of your consideration of these ordinance changes. it keeps the appropriate um environmental analysis in line with what SQA requires. Uh so we've completed that and that's part of your packet. And then we had a special meeting of the planning commission in March of uh 2026 in an effort to keep this moving forward and they recommended um you know full recommendation of the planning commission along with the recommendation with staff that you introduce the ordinance this se this evening and acknowledge that you have considered the addendum to the environmental impact report. Um, and that would with that we would be able to submit these documents to HCD as quickly as possible in an effort to try and get our our housing element that that golden ticket that says that we're certified uh back to the city. So, that concludes staff's presentation. I'm available for any questions that you might have.

Thank you. Go ahead and take it out to the public for comment on the item. Anyone online wishing to comment? I do not have any hands raised online. Mayor Okay, go ahead and bring it back to the council. So, I'll make my first comment. Um, we are trying to clean up for the housing element here and uh looks like we've identified the issues and are working to fix them. So, I'm very supportive of getting this rolling and getting it through and then uh moving forward. We got to get this thing done, right? Okay. And and any other comments? Council member Garfield.

Thank you. I'd just like to repeat the question I already asked you earlier. So in these areas where have greater density, you still allowed to build a single family home. That is that is correct. Yes. We were strategic in saying that the minimum density is applied to multifamily dwelling units. So that preserve the ability to have single family dwellings in these in these districts. Thank you. You're welcome. Council member Proia and I'd like to make a motion to um Thank you for the presentation, Mr. Big. Um the consider the uh addendum for the certified environment level. Mrs. K make motion recommendations 1, two, three.

Okay. Okay. I'll make a motion to go number one, two, and three. So uh second. Any further discussion? All right. hearing. None. We'll take a roll call because we have an online participant. Thank you. And I think that was council member Garfield that second that. I did. Oh, you did. Thank you. Yes. I missed that all together. Um, Mayor Promillio, hi. Mayor Smith, I. Council member Garfield. Hi, McDonald. I Pedi. Motion carries. 501. Council member Ralph absent.

Thank you very much, Mr. Vigs. Moving right along here. We get through this item. It's a little lengthy. Where's our next page? That's the question. 160. Okay, we're going to 160 in the packet now, which is item 11B. This is the ordinance approving concession lease agreement with Fortunate Fork LLC. And I will recognize Mr. SA. Hello, Council Mayor Nick Cena. Um, here to present the first reading of the ordinance to approve a concession lease with agreement with Fortune Fork LLC. Prior lease with Point Pinños Grill was with Lacrimma Hospitality that concluded on November 22nd, 2025. City staff went through an RFP and selection process. Uh, to give you a brief outline of that process, we released the RFP on December 15th. We had a mandatory pre-proposal site visit on January 5th in which we had seven groups that attended and boarded the facility. January 12th, we had a deadline for submission uh in which we had four groups that submitted question deadline for questions to be submitted. We had four groups that submitted questions for that proposal deadline was on January 29th and on that day we received two proposals. Panel of staff reviewed each proposal, interviewed each proposer. The uh Fortunate Fork LLC was recommended as the highest rated proposal for their unique qualifications and vision for the premises. The new restaurant name will be the Grove at Point Pinños. The terms of the new lease uh outlined are u it's a 5-year lease with two five-year tenant options. The rent will be 7% of monthly gross sales with a monthly rent cap of 13,500. That cap will grow 3% per year.

These terms are very comparable to the prior lease. Uh the timeline of operation they are targeting uh middle of June, beginning of July uh to be open. If the first reading of the ordinance is tonight, April 15th, the second would then be on May 6th. Staff is recommending holding the first reading of an ordinance to approve a concession lease agreement with Fortunate Fork LLC and approve publication of a summary approved by the city attorney. Thank you very much, Mr. Senior. Uh, go ahead and brought to the public. Uh, yes, sir. Come on up. We have one one person in chambers that would like to speak on item 11B.

Good evening, Mayor, council members. My name is Paul Dyson. My wife and I recently moved here from Burbank in Southern California. And the first thing that happened was that the golf course restaurant closed which we'd been used to visiting when we came up here on vacation. So that was disappointing. Um Burbank actually has it similarly a municipal golf course with a restaurant and went through a lot of travels a few years ago because it was losing a lot of money. Those seem to have been resolved and we're very glad to see that um you found a new operator here. So, in general, we're very much supportive of this uh of this new lease and a new tenant. I would point out a couple of things that concern me when I read the lease. One is that looking at appendix D, there's a a lot of equipment um that goes with the lease, but the um the the security deposit is only $11,000. Um, I may have missed something here, but that seems like a very light amount for to cover the uh those uh um effects and um machinery and so on that goes with the restaurant. So that to me seems like uh an indirect subsidy to the new operator. But perhaps I'm missing something. Similarly with and I again I'm new here so I don't know what your city policy is but the amounts of liability insurance and I think at 1 million and 2 million um seem to me in current circumstances to be on the low side uh again dreaming dragons here but uh the um uh most times of any kind of litigation or settlement or whatever you pretty quickly get through a million dollars in terms of any kind of insurance claim. So, I would suggest that those numbers ought to be at least reviewed and um if they are deliberately set low again to help the new operator get in, that's fair enough. But again,

it should be recognized then as as a subsidy to the new operator. Thank you. Um any further public comments? Uh no comments online.

Okay. Thank you very much. Bring it back to the close public comment on this item. Back to the council for action. I just will state that this document's been reviewed uh by staff and the council in close session. Um and so, you know, we we have looked at a lot of these issues. I'm fully supportive of the current uh this uh proprietor who's been received a lot of awards out for the current restaurant that they run and also supportive of the contract as it is currently written. So, uh with that, I'll open it up to the floor for any further comment. Or anyone want to make a motion to approve it? I would make a motion to approve the uh approve the first reading of the ordinance.

Second. Okay. Yes, this is the ordinance. Got it. Okay. We got a motion by Alio, second by McDonald. Uh any further discussion or comment? Seeing none, we'll take a roll call vote. Chairman Millio, Council Member McDonald, I. Council members Feduri, hi. Hi, Mayor Smith. I motion carries 501. Uh, council member Ra absent.

Thank you very much everyone for putting that together. That was not a a light amount of work by admin staff that we really appreciate you doing. Finance staff um taking care of that. That was that was a lot of work. We went through a lot on that process and I think we had an excellent result. So, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Now, was another long one. Let me get up here. Got to find my spot here. Okay, we're 12A. Um, amen policy O-25 code of conduct. And I'll recognize Mr. Mayor Prom here. Go Amelia.

Thank you. Um I want to give you a little historical uh perspective here. Um uh in the past um the past council meeting there was a past council uh former former council woman um Amy Thomasson had put together a robust uh code of conduct and uh because of u makeup of the council it was reduced to only a couple of steps to the code of conduct and um I've invited back one one other time and it was again um a little a different uh council and it was denied. Now I'm going to back what I call um code of conduct light and uh it's been checked by our attorneys. Um and before I get started with the code of conduct uh we we did get anata sheet on it's a lot better. Thank you uh Sandra for putting that up. Uh basically the city to do Pacific Grove uh uh before I get started on this um in regards to a code of conduct uh there was a place uh one of uh cities that was recommended where they checked uh it was the city of Selenus and they uh had censored u past six months a council person there but I'll go ahead and start this uh slides um and I'm not going to read it all to you but this is a code of conduct to go the next slide. Um anyway, it's a foundation of the city council ethics and essential for public trust and confidence in the city council. Uh and before we move on to the next one, this council uh has worked very well together. I feel very confident, but we really don't know what's going to happen during the next

election. Hopefully, we'll see some great people on board, but you never know. So I think it's good that we uh make an adjustment here. What's going on with the next uh slide? Um and we do hold the standard to uh lead by example. I think uh the public expects that. Um and uh I think this is something in the future which should be done all the time. Um go ahead uh Senator. Um, as I said, it was a sort of the council meetings, which we do now, but, uh, you never know what's going to happen in the future. We hope it'll be great. Um, go ahead with the next slide. Um, and of course, uh, I've really emphasized this. I think we do now. We work for the common good, not personal interest, but you never know what's going to happen in the future. And we want to make sure, uh, people are on board on this. Um, go ahead with the next slide. is yeah um basically uh I I I I failed to put in there but um share information ask questions of the staff with a copy to the city manager I think that's very important or the deputy uh city manager that I meant to put that in there but go ahead with the next slide and of course we're supposed to praise and uh public which we normally do and uh if we have to criticize in private with the next slide. And of course, we we do now we work for a win-win situation, but you never know what's going to happen in the future. I think it's important that we strive to consensus and common ground. And I'll go ahead and present the code of conduct first before I get questions on the slide. Would you would your preference uh mayor? Um what is what do

you mean the document itself? Yeah read the document. Yeah. Well the document that the code of conduct I was going to add on it. Yeah. No we we we have it in the arata. That's the document you that's that's the so we don't need to put that we your slideshow is um fine. Okay. Yeah. And if we have any specifics we can talk about specifics. Yeah. Is that okay? Yeah that's that's fine with me. who do have the ARATA sheet and um and anyone in the public looking at the AATA because we did make some changes u and they're fairly you know there were some substantial different changes not necessarily changing the the tenor of it but just there were some additions

correct and I can go over them if anybody wishes to on the council right yeah we can do that a discussion yeah okay all right so I'll go ahead and um close the the presentation take it out to the public I see one hand line. Uh, Mr. Lindstöm.

Thank you, Carl Lindstöm. I'm just curious, is this uh code is the code of conduct issues in regards to the current council member that's being investigated by the California parolitical um is that your comment, Mr. Lindstöm? Yeah. No, I just I was really interested in finding out if this had to do with I hope that at some point the public can learn more about the the California political

Colleen Ingram.

Yes. Um thank you for taking my call. I urge you to adopt a code of conduct with real transparency and real enforcement. Uh what we have here is nothing more than what Cal Cities has recommended in the past. Um it's it's just like you said, it's code of conduct light. When Pacific Grove has experienced in recent years exactly what an uninforcable code allows, a SEBI council member contacted a community member's employer in retaliation for a public comment. Another triggered harassment settlements paid with taxpayer funds, amounts never disclosed to the public because they're protected. A commissioner doxed former appointees with no qu consequence whatsoever other than like a public trial that ended up pointing the fingers at the uh the victims of the doxing. So these are failures this community has absorbed in frustration. A code that ends in a symbolic censure vote by colleagues of a wrongdoer is nothing more than performative theater and that's been seen in Selenus 2. So I'm asking the council to adopt three specific pro provisions. First a tiered confidentiality where complaints investigated are private uh findings are published publicly so complaintants are protected but the outcomes are on record. Second, graduated penalties and removal of privileges, creating a permanent searchable record that voters can consult at election time. Third, mandatory public reporting of settlements, the nature of the claim, the cost to the city, and whether the official remains in service. I also want to address the misuse of a levy versus the city of Santa Monica. That case was

protecting a constituent petitioning their government. It does not authorize repeated targeted harassment of individual city staff. Using it to justify a pattern of public badgering and relentless inquiry forces harassment settles is a misreading of the law. And this code should be addressed in our code of conduct explicitly. We always hear that your vote is your voice, but if you only have information that's halftruths, you can't vote accordingly. Thank you.

Thank you, Angela Lawrence and Dimemer.

Thank you, Mayor and Council. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. And I'm serious about this because we've just heard a rant about a witch hunt. And we've just heard a rant. Yes, we all need more information, but this code of conduct is not going to change anything on that. We didn't even have one before. we got something and it's fine, but it was more to protect the public because council at the time was pretty disparaging of the public. And even now we rush through meetings so that it's hard to even keep up with what's going on because everybody seems to be in such a hurry to get out of there. Well, yes, we need more information on certain items, and yes, certain things are protected, but my god, are we Trump? Are we trying to do punitive measures? My goodness, this is not our little city. This is not our hometown. I mean, good grief. If it's not broke, don't fix it. I mean, they want to remove at all times be in compliance with all state and locally mandated ethics and reporting requirements. Excuse me. Just leave it alone. It's fine. Thank you very much.

Uh, no further hands are raised. Uh, Mr. Mayor,

thank you very much. I'll go ahead and close public comment on this item 12A and bring it back to council. I'll lead off uh the uh there's a lot of input on both sides of this. Even though we didn't hear that much in here tonight, we got it in our email. Um and I believe I really want to support and celebrate the mayor prom for bringing this forward despite knowing that it's going to it could be a controversial item to say the least in the past. Um but it appears that some of that's toned down and the perspectives have been reasonable. Um but I will say my course of action for this is let's adopt the the the um current one before us. Let's adopt that now. Let's uh because it's been worked on and it's been well done and it gives us a step in the right direction. Um I'm hearing you know there we want more teeth and some of these things that I'm hearing though are are not legal. So we're not going to institute policies that are illegal. So in order to provide or disseminate information that might not be legal. So um we I think this is a step in the right direction. So I think tonight the action would be to accept it and I think keep the conversation going. I mean you know we have members of public that are giving very specific and concrete examples. um those could be researched and determined if that's something that could actually be done and then amendments can be raised by council members that are interested in in bringing forward such amendments. So, um petition your local government, keep sending those emails. If you want a stronger code after we've voted on this one and we passed this one tonight, then you know, tell us what we can do and uh we will, you know, if you you know, if you want to do some research, go ahead. um we have our lawyers and we can research things and if a council member wants to bring forward further changes to the code they can do so. So that's my suggestion for tonight. I don't want to word smith this document on the dis

tonight. I don't that never goes well and I've been up here for almost 10 years and I can tell you that I've never had one word smithing that I was I enjoyed. So uh and with that I will open up the floor. Council member Garfield.

Thank you your honor. Um, I do think that there are some things we can call attention to tonight that I think would strengthen this. Again, I I would concur. Um, a code of conduct that works is a really powerful uh support for effective council uh work. Um, I do think that this tries to be both the boards and commissions, the BCC's and the council, but I don't think they're combined where they should be combined and separated where they should be separated. So, I'm going to suggest that we look at a BCC code of conduct separately um so that those things can be called out very specifically that apply to BCC's and then not muddy them with what uh the council should be. So I would like that to be a next step as well. Um I think to the extent well whatever we end up with um when I was at the League of California Cities I heard from a city that had used their code of conduct very effectively and they recommended that one of the things they did that made it effective was that every time there was a change in composition of the council members when there was a new election or when somebody else came in, they as a group reviewed and affirmed their their um allegiance to or their intent to follow the code of conduct, making it a living document. Um I think that we need to be doing that going forward every time we have install new council members. Um but I also think that we can also work on some of the eye of the beholder issues that are in here. And the ones that I just picked up of when you say offend, that's very clearly eye of the beholder. Um the word inappropriate also is so subject to discussion as is what's a violation.

What do you mean by giving an order versus in making an inquiry? Um those are the language in here that I think it would benefit from just some research to get those some some synonyms that are clearer and and less um arguable. Um I I think that we've looked at consequences and steps for calling somebody like if you if you look at it it's like the first step shouldn't be a censure. The first step should be a discussion with the mayor. I'm giving this as an example and then the second one is a city manager and then the city attorney and you you you have steps so you're documenting a uh continuous pattern um rather than going from zero to 100 all at once. So um and to the specific point is we've heard from people who want us want to know what's the result of an investigation, what's the result of a reporting. We want to make sure that we are preventing harassment. We're preventing um dissatisfaction and and bullying, but on the other hand, we don't want to weaponize the code of conduct so it can be used against people that you just simply don't agree with. So, we've got a a balance to hit. And I'm I think this is a good start. Um, I would not vote to accept it right now, but I would would like to direct staff to continue to work on this in some of these areas.

Okay. Um, Council McDonald,

thank you. Yeah. And I I was trying to remember when we brought this forward before um and just kind of looking at what the changes are now. The the thing that I'm still concerned about that we had discussed during the past um council, I think that might have been 2024 is is the idea of censure because what was talked about and and based also on public comment I think at that time is as council members we are all elected by the public and so one of the I don't know what number it is now. was 2B um or yeah 2B I think it was that we should all work together as a team. But if council members are censuring each other that actually creates division amongst council and so there are concerns on my side about how do we as council members who are elected by the public censure each other when really they that is more the role of the public because the public has the opportunity for recall or for um not voting for people in the future. That said, I don't think we would ever allow severe problems because we do already have an existing code of conduct. Um, so I think we have to kind of like council member Garfield's saying, I feel like we have to walk a line between making sure we're ensuring respect, which I think we already do and the current code of contact does do that, but not getting ourselves into a position where we actually create an acrimonious council potentially in the future by having a censure possibility because there are no guidelines for what that means, how we do it. that I find really concerning because I don't think there's any clear definition of what that is, how it would be done, when it would be appropriate. So, um I couldn't accept it in this um with that included. Um also, I want to make sure because there were also comments about does this impact free speech of counsel? And I bring this up because sometimes if we have constituents that are talking to us about concerns about staff, it is not clear to me. And granted, normally that

would be addressed, you know, kind of behind the scenes with with city manager first, but if there were public concerns, I I don't know if the way this would is written would preclude council from being able to represent their community. And I just want to make sure that we never get ourselves in a position where we prevent council from representing public interest. Um, council online.

Thank you, mayor. Uh, and and a good discussion. Thank you, everyone. Uh, appreciate uh the mayor proming this uh back forward uh version one or version light as it is. Uh, I'm I'm supportive of policy as it is. Uh I would say as uh policy makers as as leaders we need to look at not only the current environment but also the future environment. We also we need to look at not only just the public but also the staff that is that is running the city. And I think this kind of is is paves the way for us to create something that is uh that can be useful. Um really everything looks like common sense until you actually face a situation and you find that there is a policy that is not dictating what that situation kind of leads to. And I think we're we're effectively setting the guard rails to ensure that some some um type of behavior is curtailed and and some kind of role model kind of behavior is what is uh kind of promulgated through the entire council. So I'm completely supportive of this and the the comments that that were made with respect to some additions or or refinements to the to the code of conduct. I think we can always work on on refining this as we move along. But I think we need to have a certain kind of uh I would say framework in place before we work on those um th those uh detailed kind of elements like for example centsuring right like uh that that I I get it but there's also language in here which says that repeated kind of um the language says repeated repeatedly failing to follow proper conduct could could be reprimanded. It doesn't say would be it says could be reprimanded. So there is language in here which says like effectively how can we work as a team and if we do not work as a team and uh it it it really gets to the line

where formal action needs to be taken then this code of conduct will help us get there. So so I'm supportive and and thank you again for bringing this forward. Thank you. So at this time I make a motion to approve the recommended action. Um, and we can kind of bifurcate this and if if someone else wants to make a motion and put it on the floor relating to some other aspect of it, that's fine and then we can take a vote on that. But at this time, I'm just going to move the recommendation and uh get that out of the way. No, I'll second it.

Thank you. So, motion and a second on the recommended action by uh Mayor Smith and Mayor Promlio. And now we can take discussion on that motion. McDonald, please. Um, if it wants to be adopted, I would do a friendly amendment to not do the censure part at this point because I don't feel that that is adequately fleshed out for it to be effective as it's written currently. Um, and I think we would need further discussion about whether that's appropriate for councils to do. So, I would make a friendly moment if friendly amendment, excuse me, um, to adopt without um, section five. And I I don't accept that amendment.

Garfield. I have a secondary motion. I have a different motion. A substitute motion. Substitute motion. Okay. Go. Go ahead. Okay. My substitute motion would be to accept this as is as a temporary measure with instructions to staff city attorney to work on clarifying ambiguous language or that is sub subjective language and uh find solutions for a stepwise function that handles the issue of censure. I think it might be too complicated. No, no, no, no, no. Yeah. City attorney, what do you think about that?

We could do that, but really it's a policy decision. So, I don't know that the city attorney would be the one to do that. It could help with language and drafting, but sort of the policy considerations is is really something that you have discretion as to. I mean, we have to be able to understand with a motion in order to vote on the substitute motion. So, that's what I'm that's answering the the substitute question. Sorry. My clarification on the substitute motion would be that it needs additional work. But you've said you said like a long statement that was a motion. So we'd have to get like do we have that

to staff to clarify ambiguous language. Now he's saying that he's not the right staff. So that undermines my intent of the motion. Um uh we have to start over. We're gonna have to start discussion instead. Okay. Um, the discussion on your motion is is the I understand the impetus to to accept something so we have something in place. Got it.

But I don't want to have the improvements be subject to something that we haven't put in put in place. I'd like to have an not just an intent but a plan for getting this to be improved. Um and so since this is just discussion, does anybody have an idea about how we could frame that so that um it's not just maybe it'll come back, but we have an intent to firm this up?

Well, I from my perspective just I'm just um if the council member is interested in working on that, that's like a project for potentially a council member to work up the changes. I don't really at this point in time looking at what we have here. I don't I think that it's this is fine for me, but I know other people want to make changes and think it's not there are issues with it. So maybe perhaps one or two council members would want to work on this in in some kind of substantive way and bring it back, but I think that's the only way it comes back right now.

May I do a little cross talk? Joe, would you be interested in working with me? I I'll spend a lot of time on this uh in regards to the sensor. I know Mr. Lor did look through the whole thing. U you know it says city council compliance with general norms and expectations. Then there's a censor upon the majority vote of the full city council and a city council member found to violate then it's city council members who intentionally follow this seems uh this this is sort of a last resort. I've spent a lot of time on this and I've and you're correct. Uh it was brought to here by former council member uh Amy Thomison and it was uh she had a lot more than this but then it was reduced and it was it was so weak. So I brought it back. And I think it's again we don't have to worry about us now I believe but in the future. I've said it before like the mayor mentioned but you know we're okay right now but you never know what's going to happen in November or December. So uh I'm I'm good with it. Uh there was a motion and I seconded it. I think we should go for the roll call vote. Okay. Call the question. Thank you.

Mayor Smith. Hi, Mayor Promillia. Hi, Council Member Garfield. I council member Mcdano. No. Council member Paduri. Hi. Motion carries. 4 one uh one with council member Ralph absent. All right. Thank you very much. Thank that was good discussion. Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Um we have to do that sometimes. We're in um 13A process for submitting applications to fill a vacant council seat and this one is going to be our city attorney, Mr. Lurca.

Thank you, mayor. Um as you know, council member walking stick resigned effective last meeting. Uh so now pursuant to the city charter, it's incumbent on the council to fill uh that seat by appointment. Um in talking with staff, we've got some some proposed timeline here. It's not set in stone. Um but uh I I guess the one wrinkle here is that the uh city's gone to district-based elections, but pursuant to the city's code, this appointment um can't be restricted to that district, but rather uh will be open uh to to all residents, all voters in the city. Okay. Is that is that that concludes my report?

Okay. We're going to take it out to the public on our uh vacancy process. We're on talking about our vacancy uh item 13A and we'll recognize uh general or commenters at this time. Thank you, mayor. I'll give it just a minute, but I do not see any hands raised uh so far. Okay. All right.

N we'll take we'll take it back to the council for action. Um, on this one, I the the the language of the charter is clear. Um, that a a vacancy shall be filled by appointment. And um, we've done this before. That's why we have Council Member Garfield here sitting next to me. So, here she is. It does work. The process works. Um, so we're going to do it again. We're going to do it better this time. We're going to um, better person.

That's not what I meant. That was very self-deprecating of you to say. Um, no. So, I I think we have to we have to uh do this. So, um law is clear, but I do want to slow down just a touch from what the schedule is on here. Um I think we need to have all six of us present to discuss the process. And I'd like to hear from uh council member Ralph. So, I'm going to suggest that we come back on May 6th to discuss process and we get that process nailed down with the city attorney and then at that time we will set a timeline for applications and the eventual appointment. So, I think we're looking at June for the appointment uh somewhere in that timeline. Um but we need to get our ducks in a row before and set the process and agendaize the meeting for that. We I really appreciate staff running out and getting this done so quickly, but I think we need to talk about how we're going to do it, get it all nailed down in stone, and everyone will be ready. Um, and that would be my direction for tonight, but I'll recognize others now.

Yeah, I Mr. Lurca. Um, it isn't that suddenly May 20th we have to make a choice. I mean, we have to get look at the applicants. It could be a further situation. Um, you know, we have an election coming up in in June, governatorial race and etc. So, um, okay. I was just curious. That's correct. It almost sounds like a little bit charter provides that it it it's a mandatory action but doesn't provide any timeline. Thank you, Mr. Georgia. Um, council member McDonald, you have anything?

Um, I don't think so. So, what we'll do is we'll talk about because last time we kind of didn't talk about the process beforehand. So, I know we had gotten at least one letter about maybe making the application process public like it is for regular council members. So, that'll give us an opportunity to discuss all that. Yes, we'll set that up and you probably that probably will change. Okay. Uh council.

Yes. Uh I'm I'm supportive of the the May 6th kind of agendizing but I just at least wanted to share a comment which is uh the in my opinion like uh we're looking at May June time frame effectively to get this nailed uh and that effect whoever is coming in like really a short window of time like June to say roughly November December to kind of learn what council matters are u kind of like go through everything. It's it's a it's an exercise in itself and I would say it's an exercise for staff to actually conduct the proceedings with respect to the process. It is a process for the council to review all these applications too. So my my suggestion I'm I'm actually okay I'm completely okay with leaving the um position open until the November election because we're also running into districts and and I think that's a that's another kind of like aspect that we need to look into here is really the the district elections and how how things are going to fair there. But uh having somebody come in for like 3 to four months or or whatever the short time frame here uh and at least in my view seems to be like counterproductive here. But thank you. Uh but I on that note I I just wanted to mention that if we're looking at like a May time frame uh I I I don't know how the agenda item is the agenda item here calls out like a alternative action but I think one of the actions should be should the council actually consider appointing somebody or not. Thank you.

Thank you. Um no I don't think so. I I mean I think that uh we you know we need to we kind of have I think we've heard different perspectives. Um I just believe that and I agree while I do agree with council Puri's like analysis and the overall that it would be great to not have to do all this. I feel that the language of the charter is such that we have to. So, um, and that's where that's where I'm at. And I believe that the city attorney has looked at the charter and I don't know if I if he would like to comment on that at all at this time.

Uh, thank you, mayor. Uh, as the vice mayor, as discussed with the vice mayor, it is a it is a mandatory duty, but there's not a timeline associated with it in the in the charter.

Got it. Katherine Hall you one follow-up clarification is didn't it say that if we don't select somebody within 30 days was it that the mayor then appoints but if we're delaying the discussion of the process to 30 days out then are we basically saying that we are choosing to do that instead of having the mayor appoint after 30 days that is what the charter uh states uh within 30 days after the the vacancy then it'll be filled by the mayor

right and so what we're proposing is to delay it so that the third by the time we have the meeting for the council to vote on it would now be well beyond that 30 days so I just don't know how we should address that to clarify that rather than following the charter saying that the mayor will select after the 30 days that we will actually have a council selection process which will probably closer to 45 days out. Well, the way that it we did it the last time was that I uh told everyone and committed to making a group decision, which I'm doing again. Okay. So, as long as that I just want to make sure because of what it says in the charter that but I will break the tie if there is a tie. Okay.

Because there's an even number of people, right? So, okay. Is that clear enough? All right. Um, so do we need a motion on this, Alex? Question. Hold on. Let me get this answer. I think it would be beneficial. It's direction to staff and direction to city manager. So, yeah, that'd be a motion would just make a clear record. Understood. Council member Garfield.

So, just wanted to clarify the process, what is entailed in the process. So, from my understanding is that you'll find out people will find out those who are interested will find out when they should apply. There's already a copy of the application in here. So that's checked. That box is checked. The second thing they'll find out is how they will what the interviewing process will be like. And we will also be able to agree ahead of time on what the voting process will be rather than discuss it at the time. Yeah, that's going to be the next meeting, the process meeting. That's part of the process. Well, I'm not going to commit to every single little thing right now, but we should be discussing the process.

If we discuss it, I'm happy with that. Yeah. I didn't want it to be something that we put off until you're right in the middle of the We're going to try not to do that this time. Yes. Okay. Anything f Oh, let's make a motion. I'll go ahead and do it. I'll move that we direct the city manager to I actually just move that we meet on May 6th, 2026 uh to set the process for appointment of council member to the vacant seat. That's all I want right now. Second.

Anything else? Mr. Mogson, go ahead. You You have been very quiet tonight. I have. I was I was soaking that in and just making thinking in my head, do we have enough here? Um, so would you like us to come with uh some proposed draft language for policies that you could use for a starting point or do you just want the council to just discuss it at the D? It would be great to have some recommended um courses of action. Okay. Yeah, we'll do that. Thank you. So, I think we're clear now. There anything else? Okay. All right. Um, do we get a second? I've got it. Okay. Okay. Good. All right. Motion me second. Garfield. Any further discussion anywhere? Anybody? All right.

Roll call vote, please. Thank you. Mayor Smith, I. Council member Garfield. Hi. Uh, council members Paduri. Hi. And McDonald. Mayor Promilio. I motion carries. 501. All right. Thanks everyone. That's pretty complicated item. We made quick work of it. That's good. And now um and it's important. So we're doing the work here. Now we have our uh featured item tonight. 14A. We have our amazing CEO from Montage Health here with us and who patiently waited for one hour and one minute to give his presentation. So please come forward. for Dr. McDerman.

Good evening, uh, Mayor Smith and members of the council. Thank you for the opportunity to spend a few minutes with you today. Last month, it marked my one-year anniversary with Montage Health and in this community. And I've spent much of that last year listening uh listening to caregivers, listening to patients, and listening to the community. And so today, I'd like to just formally uh introduce myself, share a short update on your local health care system, and reinforce that Montage Health is committed to being a community partner uh not just a healthc care provider. So to give you a brief background on me, uh next slide, I'm sorry. Um and what brought me to Montage Health. I'm a physician by background, an interventional radiologist. I practiced for about 20 years. And uh before I came here, I led a nonprofit community-based health system in Fredericksburg, Virginia that consisted of two hospitals called Mary Washington Healthcare. Like Montage Health, it was independent, locally governed, and deeply rooted in a region for more than a century. Uh that matters to me because being a community-based nonprofit, it means that decisions are made locally. It means that our resources are reinvested here in our community and it means we're accountable first and foremost not uh to shareholders or distant corporate interests but instead to the people that we serve. Uh next slide. That model is something that I deeply believe in and it's one of the reasons that I chose to come here to Monterey to the Monterey Peninsula and to Montage Health. So today I wanted to focus on three issues that matter to all of us. Uh the first is access to care. Uh also ensuring that this remains a thriving place for people to live and work and also working together for the benefit of our community. Next slide. Uh first access to care. It's one of the most important issues that faces our

community and it's a priority for us at Montage Health. Today we operate at more than 20 locations in Monterey in the Monterey Peninsula. That includes community hospital of course, but just as importantly, it also includes primary, specialty, and urgent care offices, which are helping people stay well, so hopefully they don't need hospital care in the first place. Our Montage Medical Group now includes more than 120 physicians and advanced practice providers, and they're in offices in Marina, Carmel, and Monterey. Last year alone, they provided more than 230,000 ambulatory patient visits. Our Mogo urgent care clinics in Marina, Carmel, and Monterey saw nearly 50,000 patient visits in 2025. Those give residents timely care for minor injuries and illnesses, often at significantly lower cost than they would have with an emergency department visit. And most recently when two orthopedic practices in our community, Monterey Spine and Joint in Ryan Ranch and the Peninsula Sport Physical Therapy Center in Carmel, when they were at risk of closing, we stepped in by creating Montage Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. We helped ensure that more than 120,000 patient visits each year could continue uh without disruption. And importantly, the staff at all of those locations were offered the opportunity to stay in their current roles, supporting continuity for patients and stability of our local healthcare workforce. We know that access to care remains a real challenge here and across the country, and there's more work to do ahead, but we're committed to doing that work for the people who live and work in this community. Next slide. I also wanted to briefly highlight a new advancement in care we are bringing to Monterey County for the first time and that's our new throbectomy program for stroke care.

When someone is having a severe stroke, minutes matter and historically patients with the most severe strokes that have what we call a large vessel occlusion have needed to be transferred out of the area to receive the care that they required wasting precious time. Through a partnership with the University of California, San Francisco, Montage Health is now able to provide this life-saving treatment locally at Community Hospital, so patients can get the right care at the right time, close to home. We are the first and the only hospital in Monterey County to offer this level of care. It's not something that you typically see in a smaller community, and we're proud to be able to bring this here to our local community. This picture here is the uh biplane hybrid operating room where these procedures are performed. And again, a lot of these state-of-the-art procedures that we do at community hospital, they're enabled by the philanthropic generosity of our community. Uh next slide. The second issue that I wanted to talk about is uh workforce and economic vitality. As one of the largest employers on the Monterey Minsula, we understand the realities of recruiting and retaining professionals in our high cost of living region. It's why we're focused on building talent from within our own community. Through our grow your own programs, we provide high school and college students pathways into healthc care careers. And in 2025 alone, we provided more than $1 million in scholarship to local students. We're also uh partnering with MPC and CSUMB to strengthen the local nursing pipeline, including our recent $15 million investment to establish the Montage Health Helen Bazooki School of Nursing at CSUMB and expand the number of Bachelor of Science Nursing prepared nurses entering our workforce. In addition, we've also launched a clinical

careers program that allows select Montage Health employees to return to school full-time while continuing to receive their full pay and benefits to train for critical hardto-fill clinical roles needed right here in our health care system. So, these efforts are not only about meeting our healthcare needs. They're about creating stable career opportunities, strengthening our local workforce, and supporting the long-term health and resilience of our community. Next slide. And of course, I know we all care about affordable housing. To address housing pressures, we've implemented a home loan assistance program for our staff, helping make home ownership more attainable and supporting long-term workforce stability. Uh pictured here is one of our team members with her family celebrating their home purchase in Monterey County with the help of this program. And although Meg's daughter doesn't look too happy at the moment this picture was snapped, I can assure you she's thrilled with her her new home. And next slide. Uh I'll close with this. Montage Health is here for the long term. We are locally governed. We are nonprofit and we are deeply invested in the well-being of our community. If there are opportunities for us to collaborate, whether it's around access to care, workforce development, senior services, uh, emergency preparedness, or emerging needs that you see, I want you to know that my door is open. We view our role as a partner in the overall health of Pacific Grove. And I look forward to building strong working relationships with each one of you. And so, next slide. Uh, thank you again for your time. Happy to answer uh any questions that you might have for me.

Doc so much. Uh questions may protect with the microphone. That's all right. Um doctor, um I'm a montage patient, so if I have any complaints, I can call you directly anytime. I'm only kidding. I want you to know that uh I'm sure there's a lot of people in the audience that uh and out there are montage patients but um been in Pacific Grove for over I don't know going on 13 years now and uh it's it's always been excellent. I just want you to know from a montage patient. So um and I I didn't catch your uh doctor what what was your specialty? I didn't catch that.

Yeah, I was an interventional radiologist. Oh, okay. Yeah. Thank you. So, procedure based. Okay. Council member Garfield, so we've always known that Trump is wellendowed and we've got a great donor uh base. And I just want to say I'm really pleased with the way you're implementing and um using that money to make the health and well-being of both the community and building a future. Uh so, I think you're doing a great job. Thank you. A great presentation. Thank you so much. Thank you. I appreciate Council Member.

Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. And thank you, Dr. McDerm, uh, for taking the time to be here uh, presenting what Montage Health has to offer to the area and offering your partnership to uh, Pacific Grove is certainly embarking on on a lot of initiatives including like climate action plan and so on and we're looking forward to partnering closely with you to bring these to the table. Uh I I just had a question since you're out here. My family uses uh Montage Health very frequently. In fact, we we uh go to the uh Moo urgent care. U that's that's like a primary item. Um with with three children, it's always something going on. Uh and I was just wondering like what is the strategy that you have to expand those kind of urgent care specialty clinics or etc. Is there some one that could come to Pacific Grove for instance? Uh any thoughts on that? Yeah, I would say, you know, our Mojo, our Mogo urgent care centers, they've been very wellreceived by the community. Like I said, over 50,000 uh visits last year to those urgent care centers. So, I think uh the communities have uh recognized the need uh for that point of access. Uh we do have plans to continue to expand. The next one that we plan to open is actually in Selenus. Uh but as those uh urgent care centers continue to uh be at capacity, we will continue to expand them to meet the care needs of the community.

Okay. Thank you.

To interface with health care system per se because it doesn't necessarily always relate to city business. Um but I do have two potential questions. One is where do you see that we could be partners with you in a way that would help our community members? And the second is having been a member of or utilized Monterey Spine and Joint before and knowing that that's now part of Montage. I know I've had other people ask me the same question. So, it's a great opportunity to ask have are things pretty much still similar with that system or is it a little bit different now that it's part of Montage? Anything that we should share with the community about what that merger means for everyday care?

Yeah. So on the first question, like I said, I'm, you know, I'm uh, you know, we consider ourselves an anchor institution here, uh, in Monterey County, right? We, uh, we, we're here serving common needs for all the members of the community. And so, like I said, there's going to be lots of ways where, uh, we have intersections of of uh, common uh, challenges that we have to meet. And so if ever there is anything where you're questioning whether Montage Health could help partner to solve or be a member of a of a solution, please don't hesitate to reach out. As far as Montage Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, um there have been some changes in the year now that they've uh been a part of the Montage uh health family. One of the big things that's happening uh behind the scenes is uh changing out some of the electronic health records and other things to get us on a common platform uh on the Epic platform and the other sorts of things that I think provide uh lots of synergies and advantages uh for the patients and the staff as well. And so we'll continue to move forward uh together as uh with the Mont montage orthopedics and sports medicine team to make sure that they're meeting all the orthopedic needs of the community. Uh thank you so much. I you know I can't can't say enough about Montton uh and the hospital itself and how great the care is that we all receive and I personally have recently been there. So and I received excellent care. So I really appreciate uh everything you guys do in the community. We're we're all looking for ways to collaborate. Um and just let us know if I can ever help or we can never help. Um, we'll be there for you. We appreciate you.

Thank you. I'm proud of it as well. In the year I've been here, I feel really lucky to be a member of the team. Awesome. Thanks so much, Dr. Thank you. Appreciate it. And I think that brings us to the end of the agenda. Yes, it does. So, um, I appreciate everybody coming tonight. Thank you for participating. Meeting adjourned.