City Council - Regular Meeting

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It is now time to begin the special  open session to hear public comment.   before close session. So,  we'll start with roll call. Council member Brown here. Council member Jimenez,   the same thing. Council member Zapeda  here. Council member Wilson here. Vice   Mayor Robinson here. Mayor Martinez here. And  for the record, council member Bana is absent   for roll call. During close session, the  council will discuss the following items. Item C1 is conference with legal council existing  litigation. Dorne versus city of Richmond.   Item C2, conference with labor negotiators.  Agency representatives include Chiron Taylor,   Jack Hughes, and Lisa Charbanet. employee  organizations, SEIU Local 1021 full-time   and part-time units, if local 21 mid level  management and executive management units,   Richmond Police Officers Association,  Richmond Police Management Association,   IIAFF Local 188, and Richmond Fire Management  Association. We have one request to address the   council in person. If there's anyone joining us  online that would like to address the council,   during clo before close session. Please raise  your hand at this time. The speaker is Cordell   Hendler. You all have two minutes to address the  council. So, good evening, uh, Mayor Martinez,   uh, council. For the record, I am Cordell Hendler  and I'm a Richmond resident. So, first, happy St.   Patty's Day to you all. So, when you go in the  back, the unions deserve a raise because it's  

all about the money. So when you go back in there,  think about all the hard work and dedication that   this that the unions have for for the money. So  and I do have a little presence for you all for   the regular meeting. That's it. Thank you. That  was our only in-person speaker. Now we'll move to   the online speakers. We have four speakers. Okay.  And the four speakers are Benio, Nathan Lonzo,   Lim's iPhone, and Alexander Kane. Benio, you  can go ahead and unmute yourself and start. Good evening, mayor and council. My name  is Benio, president of the Richmond Police   Officer Association. speaking tonight because  again the city's continued failure to act on   Detective Hodgeges on our contract is damaging  this department and again sends the wrong message   on public safety to every officer who serves  his community. Detective Hodgeges is still not   back to work courtesy of an action by city manager  Curl that continues to be wrong and the continued   delay is indefensible. At some point it stops  being an issue and becomes of of actual credence   and becomes an issue of leadership. Every day an  experienced detective remains sidelined. The city   makes a deliberate choice or the city manager  makes a deliberate choice to weaken morale,   deny the department needed experience and avoid  responsibility for the consequences. He has cases   that are stacking up on his desk and victims in  this city who are not he is not able to get to   because of your inaction, city manager Carl. Then  there's the contract. Richmond cannot continue to   expect professionalism, commitment, sacrifice  from its officers and refusing to offer the   stability and fairness that comes with a serious  and legitimate contract. City is competing in   a real market for qualified officers. And the  longer it drags us out, the more it harms recruit,  

recruitment, retention, and morale. You can  cannot undercut your own officers and then   pretend to be surprised when staffing suffers  or confidence in leadership decline. These two   issues are connected by the same problem. Delay,  indecision, and a lack of urgency by the city   manager and leadership. Officers are asked to  continue to keep the carrying the burden while   the city keeps postponing action. But let me be  clear. Return Detective Hodgees to work and get   serious about a fair contract. Richmond residents  deserve a city that supports the people protecting   this community, not one that continues to  undermine them through inaction. Thank you.   Thank you. The next speaker is Nathan Lonzo.  You can go ahead and unmute yourself and start. Hello. Good evening, mayor and city council  members. My name is Nathan Lonzo, and I'm   speaking on behalf of the Richmond Police Officers  Association and the officers who serve this city   every day. We're here again to ask this council  to support a fair, competitive, and marketable   contract for the Richmond police officers and to  bring Detective Hajes back to work immediately.   A couple weeks ago, I spoke to y'all in person  regarding some of the tools needed for Richmond   police officers to keep the citizens of Richmond  safe. And I gave you all a little background into   what this city once was as far as crime goes, as  far as where where we were ranked nationally on   the FBI's list, as a seventh most dangerous city  in the nation, as a ninth most dangerous city in  

the nation. And the way we combed that was one of  the tools you gave us was we negotiated a contract   back in 2008 and 2009. And for those of you who  who weren't around back then when Richmond was   literally literally a war zone, that was the start  of when crime and public safety started to crime   started to turn around and public safety started  to improve because we were able to recruit lateral   officers from surrounding agencies because  we had a competitive compensation package. and that allowed us to take experienced officers  instead of having experienced officers take taken   from us. So, you guys need to get to work  and approve a fair contract for us so we   can get back to providing the citizens of  Richmond the public safety they deserve.   Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker is  a user with the name Beam's iPhone. If you   could unmute yourself and state your name  for the record, you can go ahead and start. Hello. Can you hear me? Yes. All right. Hold on.  All right. Good evening, Mayor and City Council.   My name is Kevin Leis. I'm calling tonight on  behalf of the Richmond residents and the officers   that we represent on behalf of the POA. Uh,  Richmond officers deserve a better than continued   failure of the city to act on two basic issues.  Again, like my colleagues have said, detective   Hodgees need to be returned back to work and we  need to reach a fair contract. Unfortunately,   things are lacking around here and the morale  continues to lessen every day that goes on. as   well as officer Hodgeges or Detective Hodgeges,  however you want to look at it. By him being off,  

it continues to represent how we want to  handle things on a bigger scale. Please,   please, please make a decision and let's move  into positive action. Thank you. Thank you. The   next speaker is Alexander Kaine. You can  go ahead and unmute yourself and start. Good evening, Mayor and Council. My name is  Alexander Kaine and I'm calling in tonight to   represent the Richmond Police Officers Association  and the Richmond Police Officers as a whole.   Those officers deserve better than the continued  failure of this city to act on two basic issu is   issues. Returning Detective Hodgees to work and  reaching a fair and equitable contract. First,   Detective Hodgees is still not back at work. That  is unacceptable at this point. It's not just a   delay. It's a conscious failure of leadership.  Every day the city keeps an experienced detective   sideline. It weakens the department. It damages  the morale. And it tells every officer in Richmond   that they can be left hanging indefinitely while  city hall avoids making decisions. That is not how   you lead. And that is not how you support public  safety. Second, the contract situation is just   as bad. The city continues to hold continues to  act though officers should simply accept delay,   uncertainty, and falling behind while still  being expected to do one of the hardest jobs   in local government. Richmond cannot claim public  safety is a priority while dragging out a fair   contract and refusing to address the real need  for competitive compensation and stability. That   is not just unfair to the officers, it's also  reckless to the community. The truth is simple.   When you delay the return of Detective Hodges  and drag out a fair contract, you're hurting  

this department, making Richmond less stable and  less safe. Officers see it, residents feel it,   and city leadership should be held accountable  for it. So send the message tonight. Return   Detective Hodgees to work and get serious about  a fair contract. enough delay, enough excuses,   and doing such a resounding job with recruitment  that I'm meeting with him on Monday because I   believe I have to update the city's five-year  financial forecast because we have so many   officers in background and so many trainees in the  academy. I as soon as those numbers are are able   to be quantified, I will be happy to share those  with the council. And I want to reiterate that   um being the Richmond city manager is extremely  difficult. Um, and I'm not going to be bullied.   Thank you. Um, I appreciate the work that you  do. And we will now adjourn to close session.

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Heat. Heat. said that we're going to let the show  begin. Uh this is a special meeting for   the Richmond Housing Authority. We'll  begin with the pledge of allegiance. I pledge to the flag of the United  States of America and to the republic  

for it stands one nation indivisible  with liberty and justice for all. Roll call. Okay. Commissioner Bana is  absent for roll call. Commissioner Brown   here. Commissioner Jimenez. Commissioner Zapeda. Commissioner Wilson here. Vice Chair Robinson  here. Tenny Commissioner Scott present. Chair   Martinez here. Our next item is statement of  conflict of interest. Are there any hearing?   None. And our next item is agenda review for the  special meeting of the Richmond Housing Authority.   Any changes to the agenda? Okay. Hearing none,  our next item is housing authority open forum.   We have one speaker. Anyone joining us online  that would like to address the council under   open forum for the Richmond Housing Authority,  please raise your hand at this time. The inerson   speaker is Cordell Hendler. Thank you. So,  good evening uh Chair Martinez. Commissioners,   for the record, I am Cordell Hendler and I am  a Richmond resident. So, I was looking at the   consent calendar and I think it looks fantastic.  So, it's up to you, Chair Martinez, to approve the   consent calendar as presented by staff. Okay.  There are no other speakers. Our next item is   the approval of the housing authority consent  calendar and it is up to the council, I mean   to the uh commissioners board to uh to approve  uh the consent calendar. Do I have a motion?  

I move. Yes. I motion that we approve it. I  second it. Okay. Motion by Scott. Motion by   Commissioner Tenant Commissioner Scott and second  by Commissioner Jimenez. Commissioner Brown. Commission. I'm taking a vote. Commissioner  Brown. Yes. Commissioner Bana. Yes. Jenny.   Commissioner Scott. Yes. Commissioner  Jimenez, yes. Commissioner Wilson,   yes. Commissioner Zapeda, seat. Vice  Chair Robinson, yes. And Chair Martinez,   yes. The vote is unan unanimous. All right.  Uh, with that, this uh meeting of the Richmond   Housing Authority is adjourned. And thank you,  Commissioner Scott. It's always a pleasure.   We will now begin the regular meeting of the  Richmond City Council. Roll call, please. Roll over for me. Council member Bana, I'm here. Council member Brown here. Council member  Jimenez, present. Council member Zepa. Council member Wilson here. Vice Mayor  Robinson here and Mayor Martinez here   608. Our next item is statement of  conflict of interest. Are there any hearing? None. Our next item is agenda review.  And I do have one correction to the agenda   that is for item V1. The title is incorrect.  The title should say fiscal year 2025-2026

midyear budget review. And that is all I have for agenda review. Nothing  else. Okay. Our next item report from the city   attorney. A final decisions made during close  session. Good evening, mayor and council. Um,   no final decisions were made during close session.  I will note that we did not have an opportunity to   discuss um Dorne v city of Richmond and we'll be  doing so at the next council meeting. Okay. Our   next item is a report from the city manager. Good  evening mayor and members of the city council and   Richmond community. KCRT, can you please put up  the slide deck? Next slide. Next slide. Uh the   on March 12th last week, Rich the Richmond Rising  team hosted a successful grand opening of the new   Richmond Rising hub at 1600 Nevin Avenue, which  is above the BART intermoal station. Richmond is   very is extremely fortunate that in the region  we not only have BART, Amtrak, but we also have   AC Transit that you can connect to. And now city  staff will be partnering with local nonprofits   as part of the transformative climate communities  grant. and will use the space as a central office   space and and ensure that the community has access  to the space for numerous events that are planned.   The for those that are not familiar, the  transformative climate communities grant   uh was a grant provided by the state of California  and city staff has worked collaboratively with   nonprofits to procure nearly an additional uh 20  million to provide improved improvements to the   built environment that are designed to enhance  health, economic and environmental benefits to   the residents of the Iron Triangle, Santa Fe,  and Coronado neighborhoods. For additional   information regarding uh this this programming,  feel free to scan the QR code. Next slide.

I would also uh like to thank city staff  for their outstanding work on the safeguard   Richmond initiative meeting which meetings  which were held on March 11th and 12th in   particular. Thank you to the city attorney's  office, human resources, fire department,   city and city manager's office Gabino Eerodondo  for all the services and all the service providers   that support our community engagement effort. Uh  in total there are approximately 70 residents who   participated both in person and virtually. Uh we  heard strong interest in know your rights legal   observer and emergency preparedness training along  with a clear call for accessible information,   trusted communication channels and service  delivered directly to the community.   Thank those thanks to all the staff and community  partners for making these conversations possible.   Next slide. I would also like to acknowledge  uh Chief uh Aaron Osario. He's been appointed   as the president of the Contracasta  County Executive Chiefs Association. This is a significant and well-deserved  recognition of his leadership and commitment to   public safety. In this role, Chief Ozario, where  we represent six fire agencies across the county,   helping to shape policies and coordinate  efforts on issues that imp impact fire   protection emergency services countywide.  His responsibilities will include leading   monthly meetings and engaging with elected  officials throughout Contraosta County. We   are especially proud that he is the  first Richmond Fire Chief to serve   in this capacity. His appointment not  only reflects his individual excellence,   but also highlights the strength and  professionalism of the Richmond Fire   Department. We look forward to the leadership and  perspective he will bring to this role and to the   continued positive impact on our community and  broader region. Congratulations, Chief Osario. Please don't take the camera  off of him. KCRT, thank you.  

Next, um, next I would, uh, like to  acknowledge Ruthie Dean. She was, uh,   recognized by Senator Eraen, um, as woman of the  year. Uh, for those of you who don't know Ruthie,   she's an amazing community leader. She is the  executive director of the Eastpace Center for   Performing Art, for performing arts. On  behalf of the city of Richmond, I would   like to extend my sincere gratitude to Ruthie  for being named woman of the year and recognize   all of her long-standing leadership and her deep  commitment to the Richmond community. Throughout   her work with the Eastbay Center for Performing  Arts, she has helped elevate arts, cultural,   and youth development as essential pillars of  a healthy and thriving city. Her efforts have   strengthened community partnership, supported  economic revitalization, and ensured that the   voices of young people remain central to our  collective future. Thank you so much, Ruthie. Um, next slide. For those of you who have  not participated in a spring egg hunt,   I I highly encourage you to do so. But please,  if if you're not under 10, if you're in the all   ages category, please do not arrive and  begin participating before 10:45 a.m. Um,   this is a great event that happens happens at  Nickel Park. I um it's going to take place on   Saturday, March 28th from 10 am to 12 pm. And um  I would like to thank uh the community services   staff and all the public works staff that are  um working together collaboratively to prepare   for this event. Next slide. Also coming  up on Saturday, March 28th from 4:00 to   7:00 p.m. Please join us for a taste of Richmond.  Experience tastings from Richmond's local eeries,   catering, and bakeries, and shop for unique  goods from local artisans. come celebrate   Richmond's vibrant food and creative community.  Um to purchase a ticket, you may do so at taste   of richmondexperience.com or by scanning the QR  code. And we want to thank all of the uh partners  

that are working together collaboratively  with the Economic Development Commission   and the Chamber of Commerce, Main Street,  and lots of other uh nonprofit uh providers,   including the Richmond Certified Farmers Market.  Next slide. Thank you very much. For those of you   who would like to access any of this information,  it's available at ww.richmanca.gov. Thank you. Our next item, excuse me. Um uh  as part of the u your report,   I would like to announce that today is St.  Patrick's Day and that's why many of us are   wearing green and I'm sorry that this meeting  will take too long and I won't be able to buy   all of you a Guinness but uh next week is also  a special day that we need to celebrate and thank you Mr. Mayor. So on behalf of our Oh,  sorry. Miss Curl's birthday is next week,   so we want to celebrate a little earlier  than that. Happy birthday to you. Casey   RT put the camera on me. City  manager girl. Happy birthday,   dear Sha. Happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday, city manager Carl. Good. You got me really good.  Thank you. I was not No. Um, on behalf of our city, I want to extend  warm wishes to all those celebrating Eid alet,   which is coming up in a couple of days. After  a month of reflection, fasting, and generosity,  

Eid is a time of joy, gratitude, and community.  It reminds us of the shared values that unite   us. Compassion, service, and care for those  most in need. So, at the end of Ramadan,   Muslims make a donation equivalent to the  value of the food that they didn't eat while   they were fasting to the needy. At the same time,  we are approaching Norus, a Persian new year. Um,   the spring equinox marks the beginning of the  Iranian new year and solar calendar. It's a   celebration of renewal, hope, and the arrival of  spring. This year, however, many in the Iranian   community are marking nor under the shadow of  hardship and the pain of a war of aggression.   and instability affecting their loved ones.  As a city, we stand in solidarity with all   communities experiencing suffering and conflict.  May this season of renewal bring peace, dignity,   and safety to all to our Muslim community Mubarak  and to all celebrating Nor Mubarak. Thank you.   So, my apologies for cutting into your rhythm  because I know you have a very good rhythm when   you conduct this meeting. I will give it back to  you. Thank you. Our next item is open forum for   public comment. And open forum is an opportunity  to address the council on items that remain on   the consent calendar or items that are not on the  agenda. During open forum, dialogue between the   council and the speaker is prohibited. We do not  have any items that were removed from the consent  

calendar. Tonight, we have 13 speakers in person.  If there's anyone joining us online that would   like to address the council, please raise your  hand at this time to be recognized. When your   names are called, we'll start with the inerson  speakers and then move to the online speakers.   When your name is called, please come forward  and line up behind the speaker podium closest   to the wall. For safety reasons, all the aisles,  including the area behind the speaker's podium and   the staff presentation area, must remain clear.  When you are called to address the council,   state your name and your city of residence is  optional. Please terminate your address to the   council when your time expires. Each speaker  shall be allowed up to two minutes to address   the council. The city of Richmond welcomes  your comments and requests that you present   your remarks in a respectful and appropriate  manner within the established two-minute time   limit. The first 10 speakers, Cordell Hendler,  Don Gaznley, Claudia Citron, Twan Chris Moore,   Edward Escobar, Laura Sharples, David Sharples,  Elsa Stevens, and Mark Wasber. Cordell Hendler.   So, good evening, uh, Mayor Martinez, council.  For the record, I am Cardell Handler and I'm   a Richmond resident. So, what I'm passing out  is, um, if you remember a few months back when   I had presented a report regarding women in  the workplace, I found some data shows that,   um, that women are being overworked because they  have to they have to prepare an agenda report to   present to you all at council meetings. And I feel  that it's it is time that they they need support   because they are overworked. Imagine them in their  shoes. You got to figure out you got to say to   yourself that we need to we need to treat our city  staff with respect, which I I do appreciate that,  

but still we need we need to show them that  we care for them and we don't we don't want   them to go to another city because other cities  pay more money. So if we want to keep them here,   we need to show them some respect. So that's one.  Number two is coming up. I did put in a request   to have the Celisian College Preparatory for a  proclamation uh because I admire them because   they done their community projects all throughout  San Pablo and we don't hear nothing good about   our schools. So I'm hopefully I'm hoping that  we can acknowledge them at a council meeting   next month. And let's see what else I have  since I have a few seconds left. And I'm in   a good mood today because it is St. Patty's Day.  So, so, oh, you going to hear a lot of this. You   going to hear to see this fan at every meeting.  So, with that, I will pass my time. Don Gazny. Good evening. Have you ever noticed on even on a  day-to-day basis how many times we bring out the   litmus test? That is, we use the litmus test to  learn more about some of our friends, neighbors,   and especially community and elected leaders. The  litmus test is often pretty simple and tests the   character of the person being tested. We see this  on a regular basis, and tonight in particular,   the litmus test will be used to test many of the  people in this room. What's scary is that many of   you will fail that litmus test be, but you've been  bamboozled by the people you surround yourself   with to believe that you are doing the bidding  of the populace in the whole. It ain't so. But   you're all reasonably smart people. So certainly  you know whether it's this upcoming election or   any other election. We're going to remember how  you did when you took this test tonight. Some   of these people will stand before us as we saw  at the candidate forum last night where we will   be asked to trust them and not and then they take  the litmus test only for us to learn that they are   not to be trusted that their values do not mesh  with our own that they're willing to sell their  

souls to garner just one more vote come June 2nd.  They'll make they'll make political alliances to   sell out the community. hoping for just one more  vote. What you do with a community leader that   uh that 100% ignores the verifiable presented  facts only to replace them with the fake news   coming out from under the rock that they freely  frequently visit. And they'll try to bamboozle the   public by telling them that they're only trying  to protect them, all the while putting far more   of us in harm's way, putting our safety at risk.  And then there are most of our elected leaders   that exhibit a tough time displaying that they  understand that that with district elections,   it does not mean that they're elected to be  the king or queen of your district. That way,   the way the district elections work outside  of your power-hungry diluted minds is that   you were elected by the people in your  district to represent all of the people of   Richmond. So when it's time for public safety,  whether it's it's modernizing a fire station,   building soccer fields, providing sanitary  facilities, pushing for roundabouts, and a   host of other amenities, our elected leaders  are going to be looking out for all of us,   irrespective of where we live and whether we drink  from the same vat of Kool-Aid. This takes us back   to the limits test. By the way, sometimes we  all need a different mirror, one that tells   us the truth test and not the one that lies  to us on a regular basis. Claudia sit troan Um, I hoped that the city attorney is here.  Council members are generally prohibited from   using cell phones to communicate or text uh  other than public business during meetings.   It violates the open meeting law. So just  to be clear, open meeting laws. It states   that California prohibits the majority  of council members from using a series of   communication of any kind to discuss or vote  on matters outside public view. Prohibited   serial meetings. Texting another council member  during the meeting can create a serial meeting,  

a violation of open government laws. Local  policies. Many city councils such as Stockton   explicitly prohibit cell phone use during on the  days for texting restricting them to looking up   information. Transparency risks the council about  public business e even and personal devices can be   subject to public records request exceptions  is an emergency full stop period. There is a   fiveminute corki pursue speaking law. This  has been violated forever since. Um, again,   I'm requesting the city attorney to uphold the  five minute speaking law the council has voted   on and it's ignored it forever since. There  are certain things you guys vote on and you   ignore. Um, this is government corruption  in open plain view. I yield my time. Twan, I'm here because we desperately need public  safety. I say that because some of you voted   to defund the police and now we have a severe  police officer staffing shortage. That is on   you as leaders because you failed on public  safety. When you run for office, I hope you   remember how you voted because now we don't have  enough officers to respond to 911 emergency calls   because now we have four jack carjackings in four  different zip codes. Yes, that affects not just   one district. It affects entire city. When you  vote, it impacts the entire city, just not your   district only. The residents deserve better. And  by the way, shooting, gunfire, injury from fourth  

quarter this year compared to the year before,  it went up 800%. Raped and assault went up. We   desperately need public safety. And where is your  leadership? Where's your leadership when that girl   that was being trafficked relied on your decision  to not be in gridlock, not to debate, to take   immediate action to save a life. That is why you  were voted and entrusted by the people. You have   betrayed that trust and a life was at stake. Make  my mistake. When we had a press conference, it was   broadcasted live and I called out the people who  are responsible, who voted for all these failed   policy that harm the businesses, the residents,  the families. And I said, "People, these elected   folks are politicians. They care about political  ambition, not about the public. And do not vote   for Kalia Himenez. And do not vote for Eduardo  Martinez. You are accountable to the people. Chris Moore. Hello, Chris Moore. Um, I think we've seen in the  city of Richmond, um, with in the recent months,   uh, a problem and and we've spent a lot of  time in Oakland, but because, um, crime is   up significantly, shootings up 100%, 24 versus  12 over the same period. Auto thefts up 30%, we   have young women being trapped in trunks of cars.  And we saw a couple weeks ago uh the city council   decided to let that continue uh and decided to  to cancel the meeting or let the meeting run out.  

We heard a lot of the same misinformation that was  being thrown around that evening at the city of   Oakland. And the city of Oakland council voted 7  to one to ignore the misinformation that was being   communicated by probably some of the same people  you hear tonight that you have here tonight. They   voted for public safety for the community.  They voted for public safety for the 70 67%   about 300,000 people in poll after poll who want  more technology for their community and they want   more law enforcement for their community. And they  specifically pointed out in the city of Richmond   how it has gone down ever since poor decisions  have been made uh in the use of technology in this   city. Um, so we are of course standing here and we  represent the community here and across all of the   East Bay to do the right thing. Let's stop the  the violence that's going up in this community.   Let's help out these teenagers, these women who  are being sexually traffked in this community.   And the way to do that is by helping the community  overall and not falling for the political the   misinformation uh and the lies actually about uh  technology that's your time is city. Thank you. Our next speaker is Edward Escobar.  He'll be followed by Laura Sharples. Edward Escobar. the founder of the Coalition for  Community Engagement, Citizens Unite Movement.   Members of the council, Richmond is at a breaking  point and the people most harmed by your inaction   are the very communities this city claims to fight  for. When you choose ideology over public safety,  

it is black, Latino, and immigrant neighborhoods  who pay the price. They are the ones burying   loved ones, losing cars, closing small businesses,  and living with fear. While this council debates   theory instead of protecting residents, the data  is not abstract. The pain is not hypothetical. The   consequences are not evenly distributed. Crime  in Richmond hits communities of color first,   hardest, and longest. And every time this council  sidelines public safety, you deepen that inequity.   Residents across the city see decisions  being made that elevate ideology over data,   political symbolism over community safety, and  internal factional politics over the voices   of people who are begging for help. They see  neighborhoods losing basic safety infrastructure.   They see families afraid to walk to their  cars. They see businesses questioning whether   they can stay here. And they see a council  more focused on ideological purity than on   the safety of the people you serve. Some may  believe these choices carry no consequences.   But the public is not powerless. When elected  officials refuse to protect their residents,   especially communities of color who  are disproportionately impacted,   the public has options. They could demand  resignations. They can organize recalls.   and they can vote out anyone who treats public  safety as optional. My message to you folks,   do your job or you will be removed from your  office. Laura Sharples, followed by David Sharpos.

Good evening, mayor and council members. My  name is Laura Godinz Sharples. I am a Richmond   resident and I grew up here. I actually grew up  on McBride Avenue visiting my Madrina. And I'm   here tonight as a resident, a homeowner,  a taxpayer asking for urgent attention to   ongoing safety conditions on our street, which is  between 23rd and 29th on McBride. I would like to   acknowledge and thank the city for recent efforts  to improve certain conditions along the corridor,   including ADA compliant corner improvements,  uh, tree trimming, red curb visibility markings,   posted speed markings, and sanitation measures.  Um, these efforts are appreciated and show   responsiveness to neighborhood concerns. However,  uh many residents in the lower section of McBride   continue to experience serious safety risk that  this improvements have not fully addressed. For   years, our section of the street has experienced  dangerous speeding, repeated collisions,   and daily risk to pedestrians and residents.  I have experienced multiple vehicle damages   and just outside of my house. These incidents are  not isolated. they reflect ongoing public hazard   uh public safety hazard. Um residents have also  observed that nearby corridors including the   roadway connection between 23rd and 22nd  include physical roadway features that   appear to influence driver behavior and reduce  speeds. We are asking that similarly effective   traffic calming strategies be evaluated for the  lower portion of McBride where speeding remains   a persistent threat. Our goal is partnering  with the city and we're willing to work with   you guys and we're willing to do our part.  So, we appreciate your time. Thank you.  

Uh before you call the next person, I I'd like to  ask the audience to not clap while the speaker is   speaking because it distracts me and I lose track  of what they're saying because of the sound that's   being made. So you can clap afterwards and  that would be much more appreciated. Thank   you. Our next speaker is David Sharples. He'll  be followed by Elsa Stevens, then Mark Wasber,   Jesse Tran, Oscar Garcia, and Soil Bana. Please  line up to speak. David Sharples. Good evening,   city council members. David Sharples, Richmond  resident, and I'm here today to speak out about   the speeding cars on McBride Avenue on my  street between 23rd and 29th. Um, there have   been numerous accidents over the years on this  stretch of McBride and I'm really concerned about   the safety of uh my family and the families of  my neighbors. I feel like it is only a matter of   time until someone is killed or seriously hurt.  I'm here because I want to see the city install   speed bumps on McBride. Uh, we know the traffic  engineer has told us that they can't install   speed bumps because the street is classified as  a collector street, but other streets like Garvin   have had speed bumps installed. And I really  think it would help improve traffic safety if   we were able to install speed bumps on McBride.  I think the city should reclassify the street so   that speed bumps can be installed. Um, something  really needs to be done to calm the traffic on   McBride and I really want to urge the city to  have the engineer come out, meet with residents   on McBride and make a plan. And just wanted to  add um folks talking about public safety tonight.  

I just want to say that I for one completely  support our city's sanctuary law and I would   oppose increased surveillance especially of our  immigrant community. Thank you. Okay. Elsa Stevens Elsa Richmond resident secretary to faith in  action East Bay a division of Pico California.   Pico endorses SB95. Our Richmond City  Council takes stands on national issues.   Please support the conjustice act California  SB995. It strengthens oversight of immigration   detention in California. Senator Perez named it  after Masuma Kan, a woman who was detained despite   having no criminal record. SP995 imposes fines  of up to $25,000 per day per health violation   and ensures access to state agencies to inspect  facilities. Thousands of innocent Californians,   many of them US citizens suffer and die today  so that Palunteer can make $900 million on no   bid contracts helping ICE find targets. In  just the past 12 months, GEO Group made 2.6   billion and Core Civic 2.2 billion. They boast  significant growth opportunities. Nationally,   health and social services were cut to enrich  concentration camp profiteers. SB995 monies  

will help fund immigration rights. SB995  fights fascism. Thank you, Mark Wber. Isn't that a shame? You should be ashamed  of yourself not standing up. You should be   ashamed of yourself. That is why I'm also  asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities   that protect the criminals and enact serious  penalties for public officials who block the   removal of criminal aliens. In many cases,  drug lords, murderers all over our country.   They're blocking the removal of these people out  of our country. And you should be ashamed to be so And perhaps most importantly, I'm asking  you to approve the Save America Act to stop illegal aliens and others who  are unpermitted persons from voting   in our sacred American elections. That  cheating is rampant in our elections.  

It's rampant. It's very simple.  All voters must show voter ID. All voters must show proof of  citizenship in order to vote. Time is expired. That was the president of  the United States. Jesse Tran. Jesse Tran. My name is Jesse Tran. I am a homeless resident  of Richmond, California. I live on a bus. Look   at me. Look at me. I'm not dangerous. I'm not  a criminal. I'm not a drug addict. I am not the   reason why Richmond can't afford to build housing  for lowincome people. I have not received any   money from the city of Richmond. And it is not my  fault and not the fault of my neighbors, not the   fault of the homeless people that no protections  are in place for unhoused residents of Richmond.   We have no power. We have no money. And we have no  voice. No one listens to us. And yet we are blamed   for the problem of homelessness. We are harassed  by police constantly. We are given no place to go  

and we are abused by random passers by in cars  regularly simply because we exist. Where are we   supposed to go? Where are we supposed to just die?  Like so many people that I know have died on the   street because it's freezing and cold and raining  and they have no protection, no sanctuary. I have   been supposedly at the very top of Richmond's  housing priority list for the past five years.   I'm educated. I worked. I receive social security  benefits and still I get zero help. Zero. Imagine   the people the people that I know who are  less privileged than I am. You know, we're   told Richmond has received millions and millions  and millions of dollars. Thank you, Oscar. Garcia. Good afternoon or good evening uh  city council. My name is Oscar Garcia,   lifelong resident of the Iron Triangle. I'm here  to speak about uh concerns with the ongoing crime   issues affecting my community. Uh multiple recent  homicides in the Iron Triangle continue to be   unsolved. The Iron Triangle also continues  to have most shootings and homicides. So,   I really, you know, want to emphasize  the Iron Triangle really needs your help.   So far, uh, citywide, uh, there's been, uh, so  far in 2026, there's been 24 shootings versus 12   in the same time period in 2025. That's a 100%  or doubling of shootings so far in 2026. These   shootings also mean more people being struck  by gunfire. I am now hearing there were four  

carjackings all over the city. This is something  that I' not heard in a while happening here in   Richmond. These carjackings remind me of the  recent violence in Mexico when the cartel   uh head was killed. What needs to happen for these  carjackj jackings to be taken seriously? Do people   need to die? I hear a lot of comments about  how low homicides are, but that is a national   pattern. The reality is that most people here  in Richmond do not feel safe walking around,   especially at night. And this is true for most of  your districts. And so public safety is a human   right and we need you to make it a top priority.  Thank you. Okay. Our last inerson speaker is Soil   Labana and then we have nine online speakers. The  last speaker online will be Alexander Kaine. Thank   you. I pass. Okay. We'll move on to the online  speakers. Okay. The first group of speakers are   a user with the name iPhone, Ben Tero, Mark S.  Nathan Lonzo, and Don. User with the name iPhone,   if you could unmute yourself and please state your  name for the record, you can go ahead and start. Go ahead and start. Hi, my name is Nicholas Remick  and I'm representing the Richmond Police Officers   Association. Good evening, Mayor and Council.  Richmond residents deserve better than delay,   excuses, and indecision. Detective Hodes is still  not back at work, and that falls squarely on city   leadership. Keeping an experienced detective  sidelined while this city needs public safety   resources is indefensible. The city manager's  continued failure to resolve this is hurting the   department, damaging morale, and shortchanging  the people of Richmond. On ca on the cameras,  

the issue is simple. Officers need them. Cameras  are not some luxury or side issue. They are   essential tool for evidence, transparency,  accountability, and public safety. If this   council wants officers to do the job right, then  it should stand behind giving them the tools to do   it right. And on the police officers contract, the  same pattern continues. The city and the council   says public safety matters. But when it comes time  to support the officers who actually provide it,   the urgency disappears. A fair contract is how you  recruit officers, retain officers, and maintain a   functioning department. Without that, Richmond  keeps falling behind, and the residents pay the   price. So, enough delay. Return Detective Hodgeges  to work. Support the cameras officers need. Settle   a contract. The residents of Richmond deserve  action. Not uh no more dysfunction. Thank you.   Thank you. The next speaker is Ben Tero. You  can go ahead and unmute yourself and start.   Ben Tero, president of the Richmond Police Officer  Association. You know, city manager, you're not   a victim. You know, you're a public executive and  you're going to be held accountable for your words   and decisions. Criticism is not bullying. Public  scrutiny is not bullying. Accountability is not   bullying. Welcome to the life of being a cop.  That's the job. What is especially disturbing   is to hear your statement that you might have to  adjust the budget because so many cops have been   hired. Well, that doesn't make any sense cuz the  police department is already budgeted for full   staffing. So, how is that how budgets are supposed  to work? The positions are there. The funding   is supposed to be there, too. So, if hiring  officers now suddenly creates a budget problem,   then one of two things is true. Either you don't  understand your own budget or the original budget   was never honest to begin with. You can't have it  both ways. You can't publicly budget for a fully   staffed police department, then complain  when those positions start to get filled.   If the city budget for full staffing, then hiring  officer shouldn't be a dramatic adjustment. And  

if it does, the public deserves to know whether  the original numbers were real or whether the   administration was selling a fiction. And let's  be clear about management starts talking about   changes to staffing, deployment, or other working  conditions like officer involved shootings. Those   are not casual decisions. Those trigger bargaining  obligations under theou. A unilateral change in   working conditions is not leadership. It is a  labor problem. And the fact that these comments   are being made so casually shows that how  serious lack of understanding about labor   re relations and a failure to consult with your  the people who actually understand them. That is   why this matters. It's not about hurt feelings.  It's about competence. This is about honesty and   whether the city of Richmond has leadership that  understands budgeting, labor law, understands   public safety is a core city responsibility.  The city manager is not being bullied. She's   being called to account. and based on her own  statements that accountability is long overdue. The next speaker is Mark S. You can go ahead  and unmute yourself and start. Good evening,   Richmond. Chapter 3, politity and baby  Richmond has not disappointed. Politics   are in full swing and honey, the Pinocchios  are multiplying. Let's start with the big one.   The RPA keeps taking a victory lap over that  $550 million Chevron sentiment over and over   like a greatest hits out of them nobody  asked for. Well, Richmond's own Facebook   page just outed the whole thing. The former city  attorney proposed the tax structure. CBE and Apen,   the environmental groups, they were the  face of it then. And the unions, well,   they did the actual negotiation when Chevron came.  And here's the kipper. Chevron had already told   the unions the maximum was 550 million before the  RPA ever even pulled up a chair. So when Claudia  

and friends claimed they brought that money to  the table and they pushed it to 550 million,   that's a big old Pinocchio Richmond and the people  deserve to know the truth. Now the end of the last   council meeting. Oh my. Council members of the  PA made a perfectly reasonable motion. go home,   take a nap, come back brighteyed and bushy tailed  to finish one item in the interest of helping   victims of crime. But the four RPA council members  said two weeks victims can wait. Why? Cuz council   member Wilson had a fright to catch and apparently  her six colleagues couldn't be trusted one single   morning to discuss an autumn. Justice got bumped  like a standby passenger. Two whole weeks. But   that boarding pass wasn't going to itself. Ponty  Richmond is watching every vote, every excuse,   and every rolling carry on heading out that door.  And they're absolutely positively not laughing.   Stay tuned. Chapter 4 is all already steepened  and I'm sure Richmond will not disappoint. Thank you. The next speaker is Nathan Lonzo.  You can go ahead and unmute yourself and start. Nathan Lonzo, you can go ahead and start. Good  evening, mayor and council members. My name is   Nathan Lonzo, and I'm speaking on behalf of  the Richmond Police Officers Association and   the officers who serve this city every day. I'm  here tonight for one simple reason, and that's   to demand that Detective Hodgees be returned to  duty. City Manager Curl has stated that she's not   going to make any personnel decisions decisions  until she receives something in writing. Well,   just like subject matter experts at the  police department informed her to bring  

back detectives Remick and Detective Stocking,  but she failed to do so and waited months upon   months to bring them back, only to read the report  from the DA's office that stated exactly what she   was told by the subject matter experts at the  police department to include former Chief Bisa   and current chief Tim Simmons. It's going to  be the same result with Detective Hodgeges. As right now, it's just procedural. The  investigation is done. It's it's over.   The only thing where they're waiting on the DOJ is  waiting on is for the attorneys to write the final   report. That's it. And if there was an issue,  police chief Simmons would already be advised of   that and would already be taking action. Instead,  we have a detective who's been off for no reason   against uh past pattern and practice before the  recent shootings. And it's just unexplainable.   You've been told there's been no wrongdoing.  You've been told that with Detectives Remick and   Detective Stocking. You ignored it. You're being  told that with Officer Hodes, you're ignoring   that. Bring Thank you. Your time has expired.  The next speaker is Don and the following group   of speakers after that are Annie Crescent, Soil,  and Alexander Kaine. Don, you can go ahead and   unmute yourself and begin. Hello, I'm Don Nelson  with the Richmond POA. I'm here to initially talk   about Detective Hodes. He's served the city more  than a decade. He's a fivetime consecutive officer  

of the year. He's well loved with community groups  within the department, and more importantly, he's   very wellliked amongst several of the people that  he's arrested in his time. He treats them fair,   with compassion, and with respect. He's put his  life on the line for this city and its citizens on   countless occasions. And he recently had to take  a life which has affected him deeply. And to now   be in this limbo with no procedure that's it it it  makes no sense. It's demoralizing and it shows a   lack of respect for what the officers do for this  city. Not to mention, we've been out of contract   since July of last year with negotiations stalled  and delayed unreasonably. What kind of message   does that send to people that want to apply here?  We want to attract good candidates, good officers   that want to do community work. And we can't  get that if we don't have fair compensation,   if our officers are not treated fairly with  procedural issues. And more importantly,   the issue with the flock cameras, it it's it  hurts your citizens of this city when we're   hampered by not being able to solve crimes. We've  taken a step backwards. We have technology at   our fingertips that helps us solve crimes. We've  solved homicides, attempted homicides, carjacking,   bicycle thefts, all up and down the penal code.  We've solved just about everything with these   cameras. And since we haven't been able to use  them, we've been stymied on several investigations   that we would have solved. It hurts your citizens.  It hurts your officers. It doesn't do any good for   the city. Trust your police executives to have  good oversight of the technology to make sure   it's not abused. That's what they get paid  for. That's what you get paid for. You need   the lead. Thank you. The next speaker is Annie.  You can go ahead and unmute yourself and begin.

Good evening. Uh, my name is Annie Panel and as  always, I am a proud Richmond resident. Tonight,   I'm asking you to prioritize the voices and  the needs of the real residents and community   members in our public process. In recent months,  I've been seeing a troubling pattern of outside   speakers presenting themselves as local community  members without disclosing their financial ties   to the issues at question. Um, just this week I  heard a recording from a Spanish language radio   show in which a non-resident, non-comm community  member who has already spoken tonight confirmed   that he was paid for his time despite speaking  here on behalf of the corporation um under the   guise of a community member caring about safety.  I've been playing paying close attention to who's   showing up for which agenda items and the lack  of transparency around these affiliations is   deeply concerning. Public comments are meant to  be fair with one person having one voice, not a   channel for well-unded interests to manufacture  consensus. Um, I'm also very disappointed that I   was unable to attend in person tonight to show my  face because I'm also concerned that there was at   least one Richmond unidentified Richmond taxpayer  who commented on Zoom in favor of an item a couple   weeks ago that was AI generated. Um, hopefully  I'm doing a bad enough job that you can tell   that I'm not. Um but uh that's a growing tactic in  other public agencies public comment sections and   that's something that we need to prepare for as  a not great new threat. Um and I urge you to take   that risk seriously and to strengthen safeguards  to protect the integrity of public comment and   to listen to the real humans who live and work in  our city. Um and also please don't reinstate the   officers who kill people. It isn't demoralizing  to be on leave. It's demoralizing to kill someone. Thank you. The next speaker is Crescent. Crescent,  you can go ahead and unmute yourself and begin. Hi. Uh, my name is Crescent Diamond. I  am a Richmond resident of District 1. Um,   first I want to say that I heard two speakers  just now. I believe both were from the police  

union talk about flock cameras specifically in  public comment and I was under the impression   that was not allowed tonight at public comment.  So, I don't know why they were not stopped. Um,   and then there were several speakers tonight  who are clearly not from Richmond saying they   are representing our community. And I want to  say that they are not representing us. They are   not representing our community. And we should be  really listening to the people who are actually   working in our community. the people who are  working with the people living on the street,   the the community members who are struggling  with homelessness, the community members who   are struggling with violence, and the people who  uh are um really afraid to leave their homes,   really afraid to go to school to to visit the  restaurants and the businesses of Richmond   because of the threat of our federal government.  um people who have not committed any crimes,   who are not doing anything to actually endanger  our community, but they are afraid to leave their   homes. And you know, I think this is what fascism  is. And now we have these people coming to our   city council meetings trying to uh sway you who  are not even part of this community and saying   that they're representing people of color, saying  that they're representing young women. Like,   come on. If we want to listen to young women,  listen to young women. So, um I just I really urge   you to think about like what does public safety  actually mean? And um I I also heard um one of   the comments earlier sounded also like AI. Uh it  was a southern accent. I don't know if that person   identified themselves, but it seems to be um a  common theme happening at city council meetings.   So maybe that's something we need to think about.  How can we prevent that? Your time has expired.  

Thank you. The next speaker is Sochi. So, you  can go ahead and unmute yourself and begin. Hi, I am a Richmond resident and I just  want to speak to the earlier comments that   are talking about we shouldn't listen to lies  and misinformation and the skewed data. Um,   I hope that the city council considers which  speakers are actually from Richmond and are   not in community with the residents here.  for example, and I'm actually going to say   his name. Edward Escow is on record on that  radio station saying he's paid by flock to go   around various cities trying to convince you  all elected officials to go against your own   constituents who are actually impacted by  your decisions. I can say that as a Latina   Richmond resident who works in the community  supporting our im immigrant communities,   that what makes us safe here in Richmond are  programs and services that provide systems of   care that help our residents feel truly safe.  Just like there are people saying, excuse me,   just like there are people saying that they  don't feel safe in the community to walk the   streets at night or because of speeding cars,  I know several people who don't feel safe when   police are involved nor when being constantly  surveiled. I include myself in that. Like Jesse   said when commenting about our unhoused community  and like the immigrant communities I help support,   there are many people that need services and  resources that protect them without adding them   into databases that track their every movement. We  keep hearing about reik and stalking who murdered   our community member in cold blood. We don't need  that. We need services like rock that serve our   community members without adding more violence to  a situation and who provide care and connection   to resources. We all need safety measures in our  community like traffic calming tools such as speed   bumps and roundabouts instead of more surveillance  that adds our names into systems that can be used   for more racial profiling. Please, please put  your residents first who need care and resources  

instead of resources that are going to surveil and  track us even more. Thank you for your time. Thank   you. And the last speaker is Alexander Kaine.  You can go ahead and unmute yourself and begin. Alexander Kaine, you can go ahead  and begin. Good evening. My name is   Alexander Kaine and I'm speaking on behalf  of the Richmond Police Officers Association. Richmond residents deserve better than delay,  excuses, and indecision. Detective Hodgees,   a five-time officer of the year, a hero  who has worked tirelessly to protect the   Richmond community, is still not at work. That  falls squarely on the leadership of this city.   Even an experienced detective sidelined while  the city needs public safety resources. It's   indefensible. The city manager's continued  failure to resolve this is hurting the   department. It's damaging the morale and  it's shortch changing the people of Richmond. We can't get officers to come here and stay  here. And there's one simple reason. That's   our contract. The same pattern continues with  that. The city council says public safety matters,   but when it comes time to support the  officers who actually provide that, that   urgency disappears. A fair contract is how you  recruit and retain officers. And that's how we   maintain a functioning department. Without that,  Richmond keeps falling behind. And the residents,   they're the ones that pay the price. So,  enough delay. Return Detective Hodgees to work.   support a fair and equitable contract and give the  residents what they deserve, which is action, not  

dysfunction. And like the previous person said,  you want to take up talk about safety, you should   leave it to your safety experts. You have the  chief of police, you have subject matter experts.   They all work for the police department. They all  tell you the same thing. Make the decision that   you know is right. bring Officer Hodgees back  to work. Do it now. Do it while we still have   time to help the citizen. Your time has expired.  Thank you. And that was the last speaker. Mayor,   may I have a point of personal privilege? Yes, you  may. Thank you. Through the mayor, as the chair,   I want to state for the administrative record  that I have consulted with the city attorney's   office and outside council. There are two  current pending investigations. Uh, one,   it includes an administrative investigation. Being  the city manager of Richmond is a difficult job,   and I make decisions as much as possible based  on written reports. As the city council is aware,   we adopted the fisc year 2526 budget with a  10% vacancy rate across all city departments.   The city of Richmond also continues to  negotiate in good faith with bargaining units,   including our POA. I want to make sure that the  city council and the community is aware that I,   as city manager, support all city of Richmond  staff, including all public safety personnel.   Thank you. Thank you. Next item. Our next  item is approval of the consent calendar. I need a motion and a second. I move the item. I will second. We have a motion by council member Jimenez,  second by council member Wilson to approve  

the consent calendar. I council member  Brown. Yes. Council member Bono. Yes.   Council member Jimenez. Yes. Council member  Wilson. Yes. Yes. Council member Zapeda. Yes. Vice Mayor Robinson. Yes. And Mayor Martinez. Yes.   Vote is unanimous. Our next  item is under budget session and that is item V like Victor 1. That is the  fiscal year 2526 midyear budget review. To   receive the fiscal year 2526 midyear budget review  presentation and report for the period of July 1,   2025 through December 31st, 2025 and adopt  a resolution approving proposed fiscal year   2025 through 26 midyear budget adjustments.  There's anyone joining us online that would   like to address the council on this  item? raise your hand at this time. KCRT, can you please put up the slide deck?  Mayor, um through you as the chair, Shasa Curl,   Richmond City Manager, um I know that we have  several items before you this evening um that   require city council discussion. So, um staff  will go through the presentation expeditiously,   but if at any point staff are going too fast  or if you would like uh staff to slow down,   um please do so. overall this evening.  Uh essentially what we're asking the   city council to do is to um allow for some  mid-year cleanup adjustments. Uh that's why   it's the midyear midyear budget. And so this is  for fiscal year 2526. If there are things that   the city council would like to consider that  are beyond what are considered under the $1.4  

million additional appropriation proposed for the  utility user tax. We'd ask that we can gather the   council's input now and consider those at Q3 if  there's appropriate revenue to support them. Um,   but we want to be very thoughtful that you have  very several items to consider this evening. And   so we we are trying to set this up to enable  you to approve these uh adjustments and to   enable staff to continue to support the needs  of the community. And with that, I'll turn it   over to our director of finance, Emily Combmes, to  commence the presentation. Next slide. Next slide. KCRT, can you please? Thank you. Next slide. All  right. Good evening. Um, I'll be walking through   the overview right now. So, we'll be covering  the recommended action, the economic outlook   and fiscal headwinds that are currently facing the  city. Um, we'll cover general fund and non-general   fund performance, proposed midyear adjustments,  and other operational or structural challenges.   and then we'll close with next steps and of  course an opportunity for questions. So tonight   we're asking that the city council receive the  presentation and the written report and adopt the   resolution approving midyear adjustments. Next  slide. So before we look at the city's midyear   financial results, I just want to start with a  broader with the broader economic environment um   because these external conditions directly affect  um how we deliver services to our community. So   global instability continues to create volatility  in our financial markets which drives fluctuations   in our interest rates and inflation. So those  shifts flow directly into our local operations.   So for Richmond's the impacts are are tangible.  We're seeing increased costs in utilities,   in our construction materials, in our equipment,  in our contracted services. Obviously if their  

costs are going up, they're going to pass that  along to us. Um, we still continue to see supply   chain delays that are slowing down our project  timelines um and even just modest interest rate   increases can s significantly raise our long-term  um capital um project costs. So these conditions   obviously affect residents are affecting us all  um particularly through higher housing costs and   um just living costs in general. So when those  households budget tighten um residents turn to   us for for additional services and that puts you  know additional pressure on us as well. So because   of these pressures staff um closely monitor  you know interest rates, inflation and market   trends especially in times like this. Um all these  influence our investment income which we rely very   heavily on um in our oped but just in our general  pool um and our borrowing costs as well and just   the cost of maintaining our our service levels. So  our response to this is we continue to be cautious   um we continue to be data informed and um we'd  like to be just grounded in the the long-term   um fiscal stability. So maintaining healthy  reserves and just prudent planning um gives   us that flexibility to respond and absorb those  costs as we move forward but also fluctuations   in revenues like that's why we set those reserves  aside. Next, so we also review labor market trends   since employment directly influences our sales tax  revenues um and consumer spending and demand for   city services. So what this chart shows is how  Richmond's unemployment rate has changed over   time, giving us a sense of this the current  economic or the local economic conditions. So   comparing Richmond to national trends kind of  helps us to understand um whether local shifts   are part of a broader economic pattern or it's  just unique to our area. And I'm sure you can  

see through that trend probably what happened  between you know the 2015 to 2019 time frame.   That's I believe that was a Chevron modernization  modernization project. Next slide. So the continue   the city continues to operate with a set of  significant long-term financial pressures   that influence our overall fiscal outlook. We  have our aging infrastructure which remains a   a major challenge for us. That's not unique to  Richmond and that's true for many cities. Um we   have more capital needs than we have available  resources. Um currently as reported out in our   capital improvement program we have identified  about 900 million in capital improvement needs.   Um and this amount is almost triple um the amount  that we receive in the general fund annually in   discretionary funds. At the same time that revenue  growth which is generally in the 3 to 4% range   um which is tied in with like property taxes and  sales tax remains relatively modest. Um but what   we're seeing is that um that is not in pace  with our expenditures. In addition to that,   the federal government is no longer  the reliable partner that it has been   um in their support of federally funded programs  such as um the Richmond Housing Authority and we   have other federally funded programs. Um our their  support for these programs has declined over time.   um it doesn't meet the operational needs which  means that the general fund has to um subsidize   those programs and we foresee that that will  probably increase as time goes on. We also face   substantial long-term liabilities in both pension  and OPED and to the extent that we don't have   the right you know um investment returns in those  funds on the CalPER side or in OPED as the health   premiums increase our liabilities might increase  regardless of how much we're contributing. Next  

slide. Personnel costs have steadily increased  from fiscal year 2122. So you're looking at a   four-year snapshot right here. So personal costs  represent about 70% in our general fund. And   considering the fact that our sales tax sales tax  and property taxes grow around 3 to 4% annually,   um we're we're not exactly on a sustainable path.  Um, and a lot of that is outside of our control   like I mentioned with OPAB and Kalpers. Um, but  a lot of this is just increases in our labor   contracts, inflationary increases in benefits, and  our long-term retirement obligations or Kalpers.   Next slide. So, alongside our core services, staff  are advancing several major policy, regulatory,   and community focused initiatives that reflect the  city's long-term priorities. We are moving forward   with advanced life support services. So, we're  continuing work on revenue strategies which we'll   bring forward to you in April which will include  a long-term operational long-term operational   planning and the capital needs associated  with the future fire station improvements. Um,   so this is about ensuring that we can sustain  that high quality emergency medical response   for the community. We are working on regulatory  and policy updates. Um staff are returning with   updates on cannabis regulations, the storm water  and wastewater rate studies, revisions to the   tobacco retailer license ordinance. These updates  will help keep our regulatory framework current,   enforceable, and aligned with our um with  community goals. We continue to work on many   community focused initiatives. We're moving  forward with kids first measures and k work   community engagement on the polluttor's pay fund  which is moving along um resident support policies   such as immigration. We have black resiliency  fund. We also have the community crisis response  

program um which supports community based  behavioral health and social services needs.   We have wildfire preparedness efforts and  park and public art improvements. Next slide. We have some public hearings and compliance  updates. This includes ADA ADU zoning amendments,   some fire code updates, and other statemandated  regulatory actions. We continue work on   operational and public safety. We're continuing  essential procurement, training, and equipment   approvals. We have the next one. along with  ongoing emergency service efforts in support   of unhoused residents. And we're continuing work  on economic development um capital projects such   as um which includes planning and rie development  efforts associated with keys sites poi craneway   waterfront and village. All right, next slide and  mine cart our deputy finance director. Uh good   afternoon and good evening council and mayor and  city manager. Uh this slide actually uh reviews uh   discusses about 8 $8.2 million which was reported  as unspent in one of the previous council meetings   at the end of fiscal year 202425. We would just  like to highlight that 8.2 million standalone   might seem a lot a big number. However, if we look  at today's budget for the city of Richmond for   2526, it's in the ballpark of $700 million budget,  general fund and non-journal fund. So, in that   perspective, $8.2 million unspent is really around  1% of the city's total general fund budget. So,   like that is really not um a a very high margin  or or a lot of funds with respect to the the total   budget of the city. that's really within the the  margin of error if for the lack of better term and  

um city also we would like to remind that the  city's uh maintains about 21% minimum target   reserve level. So 1% positive margin is really  protective layer to keep that 21% uh margin. So uh   this 1% margin is actually very crucial because  it helps us sustain above the minimum reserve   level for the city and it also allows us to absorb  any unanticipated inflationary adjustments in the   expenditures in the operating expenditures  and also helps us mitigate or deal with the   unexpected contingency expenses to maintain the  standard operations as well as take care of those   contingencies. And uh what we're trying to say is  like you know the modest about 1 to 2% uh unspent   funds uh available at the end of a fiscal year  are actually very crucial and actually a desired   outcome. It does not mean that the city was poor  at planning. It's actually where we wanted to land   and it actually really avoids uh uh to develop a  structural deficit in the in the the budget for   the city. So that is actually a good thing. Um  this snapshot is the revenue of uh revenues uh   actual revenue for the this fiscal year and uh we  total budget was like $38.5 million. Of that the   actual revenues are 52.6% of the budget which is  about $162.3 million. So most of the almost all of   the revenue streams are u trending as anticipated  and we we don't see any uh challenge or uh or uh   u negative flag in any of the revenue streams. Uh  the property taxes are 43.5% as expected by this  

time of the year and uh sales taxes 27.7 million  27.7% of the budget and it is also as expected and   uh all the other revenue streams are also  as anticipated with the exception of utility   users tax where we are expecting a little bit  like u um higher than expected revenue higher   than the budget revenue and that will be  discussed in one of the upcoming slides. Uh this slide is a snapshot of year to date  general fund expenditures at the end of midpoint   of the fiscal year uh 2024 uh 2526. Uh total  expenditures are 122.3 million of the budget   which is 50.1% if we include the incumbrances  and without the incumbrances is 40 40 46% of the   budget. So uh if we look at the line items, we do  see that salaries and benefits are around 50% of   the budget which is really the natural uh midpoint  of the budget at the end of December. We want to   remind that this budget the actuals and the budget  does include about 10% vacancy saving and also it   did not include any funding for the uh the cola  for the MOU negotiations that are in progress   right now and these actuals do represent the  implementation of the approved MOUS with the the   few uh unions uh that we have already implemented.  It does not include any impact of the pending   and ongoing negotiations. So we are uh really  monitoring the line items and uh really monitoring   the trend like how the salaries and benefits will  land. Uh currently it's like so basically stay   tuned for those. Other than that we don't see any  um um uh concern at this point. However given the   inflation and the economic uh volatility going  on in the US economy and the global economy were   really monitoring the expenditures and keeping an  eye on it. However, at the end of December, there  

were no concerns. Uh, this slide represents the  proposed general fund adjustments. As I mentioned   earlier, we are anticipating uh $1.4 million  additional or above budgeted amount in utility   users tax. Uh, we're very confident about this  amount. Hence, we are proposing putting forward   revenue adjustment positive adjustment increase of  $1.4 million in general fund revenues in utility   users tax. And we are proposing these line items  as um um um counter expenditure adjustments.   For example, $210,000 for corporation yard fence  and $50,000 for key um policy initiatives and uh   parks play structure uh replacements and bathroom  assessments for $347,000 and uh also uh facilities   maintenance, power washing, and write off way for  $100,000. and uh Richmond art lighting phase three   uh uh project which is um uh work under the  on the three underpasses McDonald Avenue,   San Pablo Avenue. It's a phase three and there is  a funding shortfall and we're proposing $700,000   in that project. So So this is the $1.4 million  in revenue and the $1.4 million in expenditures   proposed adjustment by the staff. Uh here's  a little bit of overview of the Richmond Art   and Lightning phase 3 project. Uh these uh uh  the project will enhance uh public safety and   lightning upgrades uh under the three underpasses  McDonald, Barrett and San Pablo. And uh it will   really uh impact the quality of life for the  in that area. And uh the proposed shortfall,   the anticipated shortfall is $700,000 which is  due to the uh um construction bid came in a bit   higher and then uh there is a some uh emergency  reserve and contingency and all that different  

elements make up this shortfall and uh this is  a non-general fund revenue slide. Total revenues   in all these funding groups fund type groups is  97.4 4 million which is approximately 31.6% of the   total budget. We need to remind that these capital  funds are basically a lot of grants in all these   non- general fund uh in the capital projects  generally there there a lot of grant funed   projects which really depend on the reimbursements  uh uh based on the project movement. So there is a   lag there and uh debt service funds are based  on the uh the the debt service schedules and   the reimbursements for other funds based on that  enterprise funds uh are uh generally are basically   the port fund and the wastewater fund and they  have their own revenue trends. We do not see any   particular red flags in any of these funds at  this point. uh one or two funds there are you   know under observation we will be mentioning  at the end of the the the the PowerPoint and this slide presents the non-jal  fund expenditure side again the total   expenditures are 39.4% of the budget with the  incumbrances and without incumbrances 32.4%.   And again these uh several of these uh  funds have project budgets in there and   those projects have their own timeline and their  own speed depending on so many moving parts and   they are generally not like you know uh 12  equal monthly uh expenditure events. So the   the percentage uh is uh really the the essence  of showing like where the project stands and   um again we do not see any particular red flag in  any of these fund categories as well collectively. So non- general fund budget adjustments are uh  really the the other side primarily the other  

side of the general fund adjustments because we  uh when we appropriate out of the general fund we   appropriate the non-general fund general capital  fund so we're like uh transferring for general   capital for all these projects with the exception  of uh I don't think impact fee uh uh fund where   we are appropriating for the fund balance for  personal protective services for 65 $5,000 and   uh also the wastewater we are appropriating  to cover the projected shortfall in PGN cost   for the the wastewater fund for $315,000. So  these are the non-general fund expenditure   uh revenue and expenditure adjustments. Yes.  So, in terms of challenges, with a sprinkle of   maybe some opportunities, um there are several  areas that we're we're looking at currently   um that definitely are influencing um the city's  fiscal landscape. So, public works along with SEI   Consulting Group is currently looking at um  your marina and um bay landscape and hilltop   maintenance districts. Um, and we expect um to  have a report with findings and recommendations   and we'll bring that forward to you as part of our  quarter 3 financial report. We're also looking at   developer impact fees or your Assembly Bill 1600  program. Uh we are current on all of our updates   um consistent with our Nexus study.  But what we um do not have currently,   which we'll be bringing forward to you um  probably in early 2027 is a developer impact fee   um like a spending prior prioritization policy.  And then we're looking at um right now there's a   storm water rate study underway. Um so data work  and financial s scenarios are currently being done   and a community survey will occur probably in  May and June of 2026. So in the next couple of  

months and then a draft report is expected later  in the year. And then following that there would   be a Proposition 218 process which is planned for  early 2027 um with the potential for new revenue   um beginning in January 2028 if if it is approved.  We also have um several funds with negative fund   balances that we're that we're taking a look  at. Um, one, um, we're looking at RHA, um,   but also the KCRT fund. Um, what we're seeing is  that CA cable franchise fee revenues are just not,   um, keeping pace. Customers are sort of  shifting away from that traditional cable   and it is affecting the KCRT fund. Um, we are  expecting right now about a deficit by year end   of about 416,000. Um, so that fund will require a  general fund subsidy. So we're definitely taking   a look there operationally. Um so just overall um  these challenges um what we look at just sort of   underscore the need for um the for for having  reserves for long-term planning so that we can   make adjustments um and not be so reactionary when  these things um emerge. All right, next slide. So   looking ahead, there are several key milestones  that will guide the remainder of the fiscal year.   So, um, first is tonight. Um, we're recommending  that the city council approve the midyear   adjustments before you tonight. And then, um,  following that, um, on m on March 24th, we'll be   presenting an update on measures ENK, Kids First,  which includes funding allocations and some,   um, an program progress. And then following that  um in early April, we'll be presenting um the ALS   um advanced life support revenue enhancement  options. And then we'll have our quarter 3  

budget report in May 2026. And then shortly  after that, our draft 26 fiscal year 2627 budget   um outlining the next year's fiscal plan and  priorities um with final adop adoption of that   budget um which is scheduled for June of 2026.  Next slide. So that brings us back to the formal   action before the city council this evening. Um  and we're recommending that the council receive   this fiscal year 2526 midyear budget review  report and presentation. um covering our financial   activity for the first half of the fiscal year  and that you adopt the resolution approving our   proposed mid-year adjustments in both the general  fund and in the non-general fund. That's all we   have for you tonight. Thank you and we're happy  to answer any questions. Thank you very much for   the presentation. Uh first in line is Claudia,  Council Member Claudia Jimenez. Thank you. Thank   you so much for the presentation and I'm glad  to hear uh we are making these adjustments.   We seems to have a a better financial  situation and hope we continue to do that.   I just have a quick question. In attachment C6,  which is the resolution, there is a table where   you have all the funds um for the adjustment.  And I see that uh why uh you have the 347,595 uh for park structures and 700,000 for the  Richmond art in the general fund expenditures   and then you have a the same amount in the  non-general fund revenue and non-general fund   expenditure adjustment. Can you just Absolutely.  So the council approved budget at the fund level,  

spending authority at the fund level since we  track the capital expenditures in a non-general   fund. So we do not want to mix the operations  expenditures with the capital expenditures. So   these expenditure proposed expenditures are  capital expenditures. So we need council to   approve not only the general fund expenditure  as transfer out but also being expanded on the   general capital fund the non-journal fund as there  the expending spending authority on that fund also   needs to be increased. Okay. So it's basically  ying and yang. Okay. It's transferred in and out   and you you you had to do that. Okay. Perfect.  Thank you. Any other questions? Yes. Council   member. All right. It's going to be later in the  there's going to be more people asking questions.   All right. Thank you for the presentation. Page  15. Can we go to slides 15? Quick question on   that. Uh there's the cost plant reimbursement and  they're in parenthesis. Is that a a negative cost   plan reimbursement? What is that? What is that  referencing there? Yes, absolutely. So, uh this   is actually um recovery of the city's overhead.  Tell me more. So from um non-general funds so   like for example the city does provide uh ser  HR IT and finance and you know city uh managers   and city clerk and all that those services are  provided to non-gentle fund let's say port of   Richmond which is an enterprise fund right so that  is where you know we are recovering the overhead   cost from those non-general funds for these  uh uh operations, for these overhead services,   the cost of doing business basically. So, Port of  Richmond uh will have to have their own payroll,   their own HR, their own IT. Should we not support  that? That's what that is. Thank you. Uh and then  

next slide 16. Uh you've got here uh parks play  structure replacements and bathroom assessment.   Can you tell me a little more about especially the  uh play structure replacement and the bathrooms   assessment? What is that? Do you want me to  take that one, mine? So, pending city council   approval right now um I've been working with  public works staff and they've been working   on an assessment citywide. So, as uh specific  neighborhoods have been identified as having   broken play structures or things that need to be  fixed, uh uh Darren under uh Director Travaria,   they've been working systematically throughout the  city to um replace equipment. And so, this is um   since since Darren is moving so quickly, this is  an opportunity to to provide additional resources   to continue that work citywide. Thank you. I just  didn't remember this coming up before, but so so   this is something new that we're looking to do.  Well, we've been doing it already. There's been   um individual council members have contacted uh  staff or like community members are like, "Oh, the   play structure is broken." Um and but there are  physical needs assessments taking place throughout   the community and as uh equipment is identified as  needing to be replaced by staff, then it's being   replaced. And then the bathroom assessment we're  gonna is the way that we structured this in this   manner to maintain flexibility. Okay. Because  I know last meeting we talked about bathrooms   being needed in several places. So this is going  to be assessing all the different parks. Yes,   we we noted it as both pending um staff capacity  and like what comes up first. Okay. And then   our vote. Okay. Perfect. Thank you. Uh and then  lastly, slide 20. Um the P Gen shortfall in Pen   costs is that due to P Gen continuously increasing  the rates or what where is that cost coming from?   Yes, there have been a significant increase uh in  rates and then also what I I wanted to lift up and  

what director Combmes talked about a little bit  when we began this budget process, right? We were   in a different economic climate, right? We were  not anticipating having as many conflicts and and   and wars taking place and so we are bracing for  continued inflation. Um and that uh we are also   concerned about how the um projects are going to  come back from that are currently in the pipeline   that are being bid. And so um we will continue  to monitor things and as they come up like this   in this instance like oh there's a shortfall  here we're going to try to quickly identify   that for city council um and make sure that you  all are aware of it. Um, and I I think it is very   important for the city council uh in the community  to understand like the breadth of the budget and   that it's we're over a half a billion dollar  organization and that this is a a significant   undertaking and it's it's really remarkable. I  want to thank the city council for your leadership   in getting us off the state audit list and then  also uh thanking staff and the council for being   supportive of we have over 160 grants valued  at over $250 million. And so with those grants,   there's a great deal of responsibility and  frequently like we're coming to you this evening   requesting $700,000 because there's a shortfall.  Um, but we're going to continue to make the   council aware of when we apply and receive grants  and then if something is in construction and it   comes back to and maybe there's a change order  needed in the field or when it goes out to bid, if   it comes in lower or higher, then we'll continue  to keep the council updated. But right now we   have over 160 grants valued at over $250 million  which is really remarkable for our community. So   I I really thank staff and the council for your  support. Thank you so much. No for the questions.   Thank you council member Buna. Thank you. Um I  I really appreciate it. Great work and I'm very   happy we have additional 1% not being short in  the budget. Um yeah but very good job. I don't  

see contingencies like um for parks, bathrooms,  or um other items. Um are you spending all the way   through or is there a contingency somewhere? I'm  sorry, Council Member Bonnet, are you which which   item are you referring on which page? Oh, well, I  just remember that recently we had a conversation   with the public works director about the budget  that was approved for Hilltop Green emergency   exit and the costs have risen. So, it may require  more. I wonder if there is contingency anywhere   or should I should we ask for it now? Um, I am  not privy to that particular project. Um, we can   handle it two ways. I want to be thoughtful about  uh time and then and that you have six items that   you want to talk about this evening. So, mayor  through as you as the chair, we are happy to send   the council an email on that item because I don't  know off the top of my head and if there is an   additional appropriations needed, we can uh bring  that back to city council um either as Q3 or um   some other time. I don't recall the administrative  record. So, I would ask staff to put that together   and we'll we'll share it with the council as  a whole. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank   you. If there are no other questions. Yes. Go  ahead. Vice Mayor. So just um quickly I wanted to   um ask a question and maybe we can take this and  get it back to us after as well so we don't take   time here but you know I think it's important that  we mention the um facilities and parks assessment   and I think it's a huge and important part of the  kind of process of allocating CIP funds. It' be   great to know when that's going to be done and  um and just confirm that it's going to include   uh an outline of the facility needs. So, kind  of what we need to fix and on what schedule  

um and and things like that. Um we will follow up  uh in writing and we'll also put something in the   city manager weekly report so that it's available  to the community. And if you could also include in   that just the list of the the parks that have  been getting um these improvements, you know,   safety safety improvements like that. I think I  know them because I'm the liazison to the parks   and rec commission. So I know this long list of  parks that everybody's been complaining about and   all the issues that have been happening and it  is so good to have funds that we could allocate   to it. Um so it' be good to just give council  information about where where that line item is   what that line item is servicing. Okay. Thank you.  We'll we will do that and we will also, if I may,   mayor, um we will add to that um the timeline  for the three parks that are coming online this   summer. There's three uh parks that the council  has uh allocated funding to and as well as we'll   bring at 3Q um the additional staffing that  will be required to support bringing those   parks online. Fantastic. Uh now I need a motion  to uh I'll make a motion to approve the item. I   we have public comment. Oh, I'll make the motion  to approve the item after public comment. Yes,   I second that. We have Can you wait? We have one  inerson speaker. We have two speakers online. The   last speaker online will be Kevin's iPad. Cordell  Hendler. Yes. So, good evening, Mayor Martinez,   Council. For the record, I am Cordel Hendler and  I am a Richmond resident and thank you Emily for   that presentation. So, as you as you heard,  just approve the item as presented. That's it. Please call the online speakers.  We have Excuse me, ma'am. No,  

you are not signed up to speak. Please  take your seat because you were late. Please let me speak. I have something to say.  Mayor, we're happy to talk to uh the person   directly with staff. Thank you. I need to speak  with the whole community. It's not just about   the mayor. It's not just about the council.  It's everyone that's here. It's everyone   that's listening. They need to be hearing too.  That's why we're having a community meeting. Thank you. Please call the online speakers. Please let me  speak. Okay. The online speakers are Ben Tero   and Kevin's iPad. Ben, you can go ahead and  unmute yourself and begin. Benio, president   of the Richmond Police Officers Association. It's  interesting to hear these same type of comments   before. I'll draw your attention back to 2023 when  the current city manager started to publicly admit   this practice of kind of austerity by, you know,  not hiring to fill vacancies or slowing down other   hires to help balance the budget. That was  something that the all the unions took note   um especially during the time of the state  audit. But that you know this kind of forced   austerity comment was and discussion was  brought up before in uh November of 2023.   The other thing I'd like to raise, I'm start  listening to this budget is that you know kind   of pick up the the things that are being put  down here to kind of build the framework which   is essentially we're putting out this kind of  like we're broke message or bracing for continued   inflation or we have to worry about things that  are happening around the the world which there's   always crap happening around the world. It's  nothing new. Uh bracing for continued inflation,   expecting capital improvements, projects need  additional funding. These types of things are   all things that are being said that are just  essentially kind of trying to lay the groundwork   of, you know, why there needs to be some type  of budget cut in one way or the other. So,  

I think I hope council is focusing and listening  to that to what actually is being put on on   the ground here because sounds like more of the  same. It also sounds like again we're not trying   to fill position. We're not going to try to fill  positions for staff which again is a problem. It's   you budget these these items, you budget these  positions, and then to all of a sudden make a   left turn be like, "Oh, just kidding." That's  a problem. And again, that shows the budgeting   uh priorities and expertise. Thank you. Thank  you. And the last speaker is Kevin's iPad. If   you'll state your full name for the record, you  can unmute yourself and begin. Thank you. Am I   audible? Yes. Go ahead. Perfect. Thank you. Kevin  Tisdale for the record. uh president SEIU. So um   just want to echo some comments. So the first off  the midyear was maybe from this report is usually   given in January, February. So now we're in late  March. So I'm sure the number of 8.2 is a little   bit higher now. The actual number. Um the other  thing is SEIU's current vacancy rate last year   was about 19% almost double what the city managers  allotted 10% is. So if we take that into account   um that city services are about 80% of what  they should be what they're funded to be. So   you know when we look at these numbers and where  the savings are coming from is coming from the   community what's supposed to be out there what's  supposed to be um provided to the the residents.   So just want to make that known. Thank you.  Thank you. And that was the last speaker. Mayor, um we have uh just to to clarify  at this juncture in the last four years,   we've brought on board um we're getting pretty  close to 100 additional FTEES and we've had about   a 30% increase in what we're spending overall on  staff costs that represent that increase in hiring   across the city. So, just wanted to make sure  that the council is aware. Uh, Director Combmes  

went over that uh, in in detail this evening,  illustrating on slide seven that in fiscal year   21-22, we're at approximately 146 million in  personnel costs and now we're at about in last   fiscal year 2425, we're at about 190 million. That  represents uh, nearly a 30% uh, increase. And so   really appreciate the council has been supportive  of working collaboratively with staff to increase   hiring across the city. uh and we will continue  to do so in an incremental manner. Um and we have   reporting requirements uh per uh the state of  California where we will bring a report like we   did last year uh to the council and the bargaining  units that are interested will have an opportunity   to present to council on the vacancy rate but  it has significantly uh been reduced. Thank you. Okay, we had a motion and a second and public comment is closed. Okay, motion on  a second. Who made the motion? I'm sorry. Pa   second by I did. Council member, thank you.  Council member Brown. Yes. Council member   Bana. Yes. Council member Jimenez. Yes. Council  member Wilson. Yes. Vice Mayor Robinson. Yes.   Council member Zapeda. Yes. And Mayor  Martinez. Yes. The vote is unanimous. Our next item is public hearing.  It's item W1. It is to introduce an   ordinance for first reading reszoning to  add a L landmark overlay district to the   RL1 base zoning district to the John Haley  Studio House located at 771 Ocean Avenue in  

Richmond 94801 for the purpose of listing the  property on the Richmond Historic Register. Good evening, Mayor Martinez, council members,  um, members of the public. I'm Lita Velasco,   director of community development. I'm joined  this evening by Avery Stark, our planning manager,   as well as Michelle Morris, the senior planner  assigned to this project. Um, this evening we'll   be presenting a project to reszone a piece  of private property with a landmark overlay.   um for the purposes of designating  this as a local Richmond historic   uh property. So with that, I will hand it over  to Michelle who will be doing the remainder of   the presentation. Thank you. Just let me  request that anyone that would like to   address the council on this item that's joining  us online, please raise your hand at this time. Good evening, Mayor Martinez and  council members. I'm Michelle Morris,   long range planner for Richmond. I'm providing  an overview of the law landmark designation   and zoning m map amendment for 771 Ocean Avenue,  previously the residence and studio of John Haley.   the property owner, Joe Joy Tahan Riddle and  her representative and architectural historian,   otherwise also known as one of our  HBC commissioners. Caitlyn Hidma   are here and Miss HMA will give  remarks after my presentation. Staff recommends that the city council hold  a public hearing and introduce an ordinance   reszoning to to add an L landmark overlay  district to the RL1 base zoning district  

to the John Haley Studio House at 771 Ocean  Avenue, Richmond 94801 for the purpose of   listing the property on the Richmond Historic  Register. This brief presentation will include   a brief review of the project and site background.  I'll explain the historic preservation commission   and planning commission meetings outcomes for the  proposal. And I'll summarize the support for a new   landmark overlay district and how the findings  for the reszoning are being met. And lastly,   I'll reiterate the staff's recommend  recommendation to the city council.   As you can see here, this is a snapshot of our  zoning map next to a portion of the boundary   survey of the subject property. As detailed  in the agenda report, the project site at 771   Ocean in Point Richmond has an enviable  enviable view of the Richmond shoreline. The studio house was owned and occupied  by John Haley, who was a significant and   influential figure in Richmond, the Bay Area, and  the California art world. John and Monica Haley,   his spouse, were the original owners  of the studio/house built in 1932.   The studio house depicts the typical form and  design of the second bay tradition style of   architecture in both the original portion and of  the residence built in 1930s and an addition that   was built to the home in 1949. The studio house  is being nominated has been nominated for its   architectural merit and association with Haley  who also taught at UC Berkeley. Um he used he   utilized his studio for his art practice. Uh  Haley's art and teaching while at UC Berkeley   along with his peers and colleagues at the art  department generated a style that became known  

as the Berkeley school which was characterized  by a unique treatment of space and use of colors. This project required the review of both the  historic preservation commission and the planning   commission. The zoning code required that the HPC  recommend to the planning commission and the city   council the approval of the proposed reszoning  and designate the property as a landmark overlay   district which would then listed on Richmond's  historic register. Planning commission resolution   2601 is included as attachment five to the  agenda report. And then there are the findings.   The HPC recommended to the city council  that they approve the John Haley Studio   House as a historic resource as required under  Richmond Municipal Code section 15.04.303.060 by meeting any of these criteria listed here.  The applicant's California Department of Parks   and Recreation Primary Record form, otherwise  known as the DPR form, and project statement   give details on how the Haley Studio meets five of  the six findings for a landmark designation. So,   you'll see this here in red. The red ones  are the ones that they've met. The third one   doesn't really apply. Uh the property is notable  because it does not appear to be significant under   criterion 3 because it's a single family home  in a residential area and doesn't represent   a broader trend in the geographical growth,  transportation modes, or community planning. At the planning commission meeting held on  January 15, 2026, the commission recommended   that the city council make findings A through  D, which are required by sections 15.04.814.05

050 for approval of a resoning. Finding a the  resoning is consistent with the general plan   specifically under historic resource preservation  policy HR1.1 preservation of diverse resources.   This policy encourages preservation of a diverse  range of historic and cultural sites. Under   finding B, the proposed reasonzoning will be a  cultural and and historic benefit to the public   by preserving the history and the resonance  of the significant and influential figure   John Haley. Finding C. The reasonzoning is exempt  under SQA section 15308 which consists of actions   by regulatory agencies as authorized by state or  local ordinance to assure the protection of the   environment where the regulatory process involves  procedures for the protection of the environment.   And lastly, finding D. The subject site is located  in an area already served by KUNI facilities,   utilities, and transportation systems and  doesn't pro propose an expansion of its   permitted uses. It will not be detrimental to  the use of adjacent properties. You see here   um the resoning map that we've proposed. The  resoning of 771 Ocean Avenue will be a new   landmark overlay district and a historic  resource as shown here on the proposed   resoning map. The landmark overlay district will  appear as a hatched pattern on the zoning map. And lastly, very recently, the resoning and  landmark overlay district proposals received   emails in support from neighbors  in the Point Richmond neighborhood.   I've provided copies of the emails to you and  placed them in the public comments binder.

Therefore, staff recommends that city council  hold a public hearing and introduce an ordinance   for resoning to add an L landmark overlay  district to the RL1based zoning district to   the John Haley Studio House located at 771 Ocean  Avenue for the purpose of listing the property   on the Richmond Historic Register. And if it  pleases the council, perhaps a second read of   the ordinance could be scheduled for the next city  council meeting, March 24th. Um, the applicants,   representative, Caitlyn Hibma, is here to make her  presentation and I'm available for any questions. Thank you. Um, I would like to  hear public comment first and then   uh we will have questions from Okay, we KCRT, can you do the additional presentation  please? That's right. Um, so so it is open to   public hearing. I don't know what is this  is this she's part of the applicant. Um,   oh, so she's part of the part  of the staff presentation. Okay.   I'm sorry. Thank you. Press the  button, please. Press the button. Button. Other buttons. All right. My name  is Caitlyn Hibma. Um, I am I prepared the   nomination for this property. I'm an architectural  historian. I'm also the vice chair of the Historic   Preservation Commission. Um, and I'm here  representing the property owners, Joy Tahan   and David Rudell. Um, their main intent with  this nomination is to honor the history of the   property and the legacy of John Haley and his wife  Monica who were both very involved in the creative   community in Point Richmond and beyond. Um, and  to put protections in place for the future um, to   preserve this property. um designated properties  are subject to a more rigorous environmental  

review when a project comes up. So this nomination  and this designation would lend that protection   um to this property. Uh next slide please. Um so  the property is we I'll try to keep this brief   so not repeat too much. Um but the property is  at 771 Ocean Avenue. Um and it's we know as the   John's Haley Studio House. was built in 1932 by  John Haley um who is an artist and a professor   of art at UC Berkeley. He's credited with  originating and proliferating the Berkeley school   style of modern art uh which was a pioneering  shift away from traditional Bose arts type   uh painting and sculpture um and also a shift away  from east coast styles of modernism. So it was a   totally west coast thing and it originated  here. Uh can we do the next slide please?   Um he especially explored regionalist subject  matter from the Bay Area to western ghost towns um   and then later shifted towards abstraction. He was  extremely prolific in his art artistic practice,   but he was also a highly respected teacher um who  mel helped make the art department at UC Berkeley   very respected um and he generated uh numerous  stu student disciples who then went out and   proliferated the Berkeley style um elsewhere.  His career spanned over 60 years and he was   well recognized um by his representation in solo  and group shows nationally and internationally,   complimentary critical review and a  number of awards given to him. Next slide,   please. The studio house was built  during the Great Depression and no   architect was employed. Instead, the design  was based on Haley's own experience in Europe  

um and using the designs of studios he saw there.  At the time, the Bayside of the the Bayside of the the Bayside of the Hill was very sparsely  developed. Um, and so these studios studio houses   represent some of the earliest modern design in  the neighborhood. Um, which quickly developed into   an enclave of mid-century modernist architecture  and also harbored a community of artists and   intellectuals. Um people like Ancel Adams, Churio  Oata, Hans Hoffman, and William Dunig all came to   the point and visited with the Haley's and did  work here. Um which makes this site particularly   important. Um, we've also been doing some  colleagues and I have been doing some additional   um, exploration of these topics in Point Richmond  and we've really identified that it's um, it's   a pre-war nucleus of experimentation in modern  architecture that you don't find elsewhere in the   Bay Area. There's plenty of great modernism  elsewhere, but it started here with these   experimental houses that they were building on  the shoreline. Um, I should also mention that next   slide, please. Um, shortly after the house was  built, they or the studio was built, they turned   it into a studio house. And John's uh, wife Monica  also lived there. And she was very instrumental in   um, child artistic education here in Richmond. um  she was an arts administration administrator with   the unified Richmond Unified School District  and she wrote and published on the topic of   children's art and a collection of the art that  she gathered from students um during World War   II is now kept at the Richmond Art Museum. So  she was an artisticminded person in her own   right and they helped generate this community of  artists around them. In 1949 an addition was put   on the rear of the house. Sometimes we consider  additions to degrade integrity, but in this case,  

the addition was designed by Roger Lee, who was  a pioneering Chinese American architect in the   mid-century. Um, and this is a great example of  his early work. Um, and really it's it's of the   same style, but a different a later iteration  um of the same Second Bay tradition style. So,   it's a it's an illust interesting illustration  of um architectural evolution and so therefore   is also important to the property. Um, can we do  next slide, please? Um, John Haley died in 1991   and Monica died in 1997. The house was left  in trust to their close friend, Gregory Gent,   who was also their gallerist. And I believe he  sent you a letter of support um, describing his   impressions of the house and why he thinks it's  historic or it should be designated historic.   Um ultimately the landmark nomination uh finds  that five of the six criteria for listing have   been met which is a very high bar. Um and this  represents a place where an influential artist   lived and produced his significant work  for nearly 60 years. It contributes to   a rich history of intellectual and creative  community in point Richmond. and it embodies   the characteristics of a distinctive regional  architectural dis style designed by a prominent   and pioneering Bay Area architect. So that is  why it is important and should be designated   historic. And I'm happy to answer any questions if  you have them. Okay. Thank you. Uh we will uh have   u it's actually time to open the public hearing.  So um are there any speakers? We do not have any   in-person speakers. Although there's one person  that was not able to sign up on time, so they went   online to try to sign up still late sitting here  in the chambers. So I would say we don't have any   speakers. Okay. Thank you. In that case, public  hearing is closed and it is now time to um uh ask  

questions. Do we have anyone from No questions?  Well, I do. I have several. Um to begin with,   um I noticed that there was a mural  and that the mural was uh covered up.   Can you uh explain to me the significance  of the mural and and and why we lost it? Um the mural was done by Haley during  his um WPA uh period in the in the 30s.   um he was just kind of messing around and put this  mural around the um fireplace. He later decided he   didn't like it and he covered it up with some  paint that has been very difficult to remove.   So it's been partly conserved but um not fully  unfortunately. Okay. And uh next question. What   differentiates the first, second, and third bay  tradition styles? Okay. Well, um I gave a lecture   on this the other night and it took an hour, but  um first bay tradition was like Bernard Maybeck,   Julia Morgan. It was traditional but um using the  brown shingle cladding and getting into some very   historical references. The second bay tradition  went very modern um but it started using it still   used those rustic materials like wood shingle  but started using experimental materials like   marine grade plywood for siding. I had much more  clean lines, but it still represented this theory   of California living um and the indooroutdoor  lifestyle, the more casual lifestyle than back   east. And the third bay is just kind of a a  further uh evolution of that. It's more in   the 60s through the 80s. And it's the epitome is  Sea Ranch. It's very cubic and has shed roofs,   but it still uses those rustic materials. So it's  a progression of modern thinking in architecture  

but it happened only here in the Bay region. Okay.  And uh next question um uh he was associated with   the Berkeley school are what what painters came  from his tutelage and and what contemporaries   painted with him. Um well like I said he invited  um one of his mentors was Hans Hoffman who was um   European uh modernism and he came to the point um  he brought artists like William Dunig, Anel Adams,   um Cheerio Abata who was a Japanese American  woodblock and watercolor artist. Um and there   was one other person I was thinking of. Um he  brought them to the point and they they wandered   around in the point. They did a lot of plan air  work which means painting on site in the area as   you saw in my presentation there were a lot of  paintings of the houses themselves. So um Haley   and his contemporaries um used Point Richmond  as a subject matter as well. Um Worth Ryder was   the other person I was thinking of and he actually  used the studio next door to Haley. Um he was also   a professor at Berkeley and I think Berkeley's  art gallery is currently named after him. So   um he and Haley Worth Ryder and Haley were really  proponents of the Berkeley school and it's kind   of realism but translated with modernism. Okay.  You mentioned uh the the people you mentioned are   are east coast international. Are there any that  that come actually from the Bay Area? Well Trio   Oato was here in California most of his life. He  was interned here. He came back. Um, Anel Adams   was also heavily involved in the Sierras and  wildlife photography throughout California. So,   I can't name any more specific there. There's  a progeny of artists that came out of Haley's   school. I'm not sure we'd recognize any of their  names outright today, but those are the big names  

I can think of. Okay. And, um, let's see. Uh uh  one thing that I didn't see included were floor   plans and and the progression of floor plans as  the uh as the additions were made. I think that   would be very interesting to to include. Yeah, I I  mean I'm not an architect so I don't do drawings.   We did not find any original drawings anywhere.  Um so they would have to be recreated as built   um which is an expense and is not something that's  typically included in uh landmark designations.   Um, for one thing, landmarking does not give local  municipalities jurisdiction over the interior of a   building. So, we don't typically talk about the  interiors or floor plans or things like that,   but for documentation purposes, it would be  interesting. And then, uh, last um, u, I went to,   uh, Freda Ko's house in Mexico City, and  that was quite a interesting tour. I was   wondering uh when when buildings are uh become  historic landmarks uh is there ever a chance for   tours for the public to enjoy the uh the actual  buildings? Yeah, it's it's not mandated. often   um local historical societies say the Point  Richmond History Association might initiate   some sort of house tour um and the owners might be  asked to participate and they might agree or they   might not but it's not a it's not a requirement  of landmarking. Okay, that's the extent of my   questions and thank you very much. It was uh  very fascinating and I'd like to learn more.   So, if there aren't any other questions, uh, uh,  I move the items. I'll second. Okay. So, we have a motion and a second. Motion by council member  Bana. Second by council member Zapeda. Yes.   Council member Brown. Yes. Council member Bana.  Yes. Council member Himenez. Yes. Council member  

Wilson. Yes. Council member Zapeda. Yes. Mayor  Martinez. Yes. And council me vice mayor Robinson   is absent for this vote. The motion passes  with council member Vice Mayor Robinson absent. Our next item is under new business and it's to  receive a presentation and direct city staff to   initiate procurement of a new agreement  through a competitive procurement process   to hire an operator to operate, maintain, and  improve the city's wastewater treatment plant,   wastewater collection system, and storm water  collection system. If there's anyone joining   us online that wishes to address the council  on this item, raise your hand at this time. Good evening, Mayor Martinez, city council  members. For the record, my name is Daniel Chowan,   the poly works director. And with me tonight, I  have our deputy director of polyworks, Mr. Tofi   Halabi. I have a consultant water, Mr. Jacob  Guys and and online we have Bradley Harms our   um environmental manager and Nicole Granquist the  who is our outside council for Baykeeper legal   matters who's been working with the city since  2006. So uh tonight we're going to present to you   um the options to deliver wastewater and storm  water services beyond May 2027. And I'm gonna   pass it to Mr. Jacob. Jacob G. Great. It's  on screen. Great. Thank you, Daniel. Uh,   thank you and good evening, uh, mayor and members  of the city council. Uh, so my name is Jacob Gis  

um, with Waterear. Um, Water was engaged, uh, by  the city to evaluate potential service delivery   models for Richmond's wastewater and storm  water services. Uh tonight we will summarize   the findings of that feasibility study and  walk through the key considerations the city   faces as the current operations and maintenance  contract approaches its expiration in May of 2027. Uh the recommended city staff and  ad hoc committees uh action of   today's presentation. Sorry, Mr.  Mayor, there's too much noise. Uh the recommended action of today's  presentation is to direct city staff   to initiate procurement of a new agreement  through a competitive procurement process   to hire an operator to operate, maintain, and  approve the city's wastewater treatment plant,   wastewater collection system, and  storm water collection system. Today's presentation will cover several key  topics. Uh we will begin with the current   context and background of the city's wastewater  and stormwater systems. We will then discuss   the regulatory framework and the evaluation  criteria used to assess different service   delivery options. Next, we will review  the three service delivery pathways that   were analyzed and compare their timelines,  risks, and cost considerations. And finally,   we will summarize the recommended path  forward and proposed procurement timeline. The city's existing agreement with Violia  expires May 15, 2027, which means planning   must begin now in order to ensure continuity of  operations and regulatory compliance. The city   must comply with regulatory requirements which  will be emphasized later in the presentation.   And tonight's presentation will summarize  the options evaluated and provide information  

to support city council direction on  the preferred pathway moving forward. Richmond's wastewater service structure  is unique because the city is serviced by   three separate wastewater districts. The  Richmond municipal ser uh sewer district   serves central Richmond and operates the city's  wastewater treatment plant. The Steie Sanitary   uh district serves the southern portion of the  city and conveys flow to the East Bay Municipal   Utility District for treatment. And the West  County Wastewater District serves northern   enrichment and operates its own treatment  facilities. Understanding this regional   structure is important because it influences  governance, coordination, and long-term planning. Richmond's wastewater and storm water  infrastructure consists of three interconnected   uh service areas. First is the wastewater  treatment plant which treats municipal sewage   before discharge to the San Francisco Bay.  Second is the wastewater sewage collection   system which conveys waste water from the homes  and businesses to the treatment plant. Third   is a storm water collection system which  captures rainfall runoff and protects the   community from flooding. Together these  systems form a large and complex utility   network that must operate continuously and remain  compliant with state and federal regulations. The city currently contracts with Violia to  operate and maintain the wastewater treatment   plant as well as the wastewater and storm water  collection systems. This contract structure has   been in place for many years and was extended  to expire was extended to expire in May of 2027.   Under the current arrangement, Violia has been  responsible for operating the treatment plant   uh which includes the secondary treatment  disinfection and 20 million gallons per day   capacity uh maintaining and improving improving  sewer collection systems which encompasses 196   miles of sewer pipeline, almost 3,000 sewer  manholes and about 15 sewer pump stations.   maintaining and improving the storm water  collection system which involves over 169 miles  

of storm water pipes, pipelines, almost 1,700  storm drain manholes and about seven storm drain   uh stations. Uh all this is also includes  responding to storm uh system emergencies,   providing annual reports to the San Francisco  waterboard and assisting the city with capital   improvement projects designed to re  rehabilitate aging infrastructure and   improve environmental performance.  Because of the upcoming expiration,   the city must determine what the next service  delivery remodel should be and begin planning. As of that, a feasibility study began in  2005. What Earth and our teaming partner   Arab were contracted. Uh Waterear is a highly  specialized engineering and environmental planning   firm with deep expertise in storm water,  wastewater, and water resources management.   Arab is a global leader in economic analysis and  infrastructure financing, resilience planning,   specializing in public private partnerships  and complex financial structuring. The city formed a wastewater and storm water  ad hoc committee in March of 2023 to provide   oversight to water uh wastewater  and storm water matters. Uh in 2025,   water has conducted a feasibility study uh  evaluating different service delivery options.   The finding of these analysis was presented to the  ad hole committee earlier this year in February   2026 and the presentation will continue  to summarize the findings from the study. One of the most important realities is to  understand that changing the operator does   not change their city's responsibility for  regulatory reality. Under Fina uh federal   and state environmental laws, the city remains  the permit holder and is legally responsible   for regulatory compliance. Even if day-to-day  operations are performed by a contractor, the   city remains accountable to regulatory agencies.  Uh this includes the EPA, state water boards,  

regional water boards, Baykeeper Settlement,  and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to evaluate the different service delivery  pathways. Five key criteria were considered.   These include operational feasibility which  encompasses staffing level needs, budgeting   requirements, current contract expiration date  and acquisition of equipment. Uh governance and   regulatory requirement involves the waterboard  permits, the Bay Area air district permits,   and the Baykeeper settlement agreement.  transition risks and timelines which   involve preparation periods. They'll look at  bond covenants and alignment with the 2027   contract expiration capital and operational  cost contexts which look at each service   delivery model cost predictability and lastly  long-term staffing and risk exposure which look   at other postemployment benefits and public  employee retire system responsibilities and   regulatory accountability. These criteria  allow the city and the te uh study team   to compare the relative risks and complexities  of each option. Uh greater detail can be found   within our supplemental white paper which is  included as attachment one of the agenda report. The analysis evaluated uh shows three  potential service delivery pathways.   The first pathway is the hybrid model  where the city retains ownership and   oversight while contracting operations to  an operator through competitive procurement.   The second pathway would involve the city  directly operating and maintaining the system   when the third pathway would involve transferring  ownership and operations to another public agency.   Each pathway has different implications  for risk, cost, governance, and timeline. Under the hybrid model, the city retains  ownership of the infrastructure as well   as governance and regulatory oversight uh  responsibilities. uh day-to-day operations   and maintenance are performed by a qualified  operator selected through a proc competitive  

procurement process. This model is commonly  used by many municipalities and allows the   city to maintain oversight while leveraging  specialized operational expertise. Uh the   estimated planning level costs are approximately  15 to $25 million and the transition to be can be   completed within 9 to 12 months which fits  current uh timeline of the 2027 deadline. Next is pathway two which involves city ownership  delivery model. Under the city operated model,   the city would take on full responsibility for  staffing, operating and maintaining the wastewater   and storm water systems. While this approach  provides full operational control, it also   requires significant organizational changes. The  city would need to recruit certified operators,   create new labor classifications, and build an  internal operational structure. Planning level   costs estimate this to be 19 $31 million annually  and the transition uh could take 24 months or   more which makes it difficult to implement before  the 2027 contract expiration. And lastly, pathway   three. The third pathway considers transferring  ownership of the system to another public agency.   While regional regional consolidation can offer uh  sometimes offer efficiencies, this option prevents   significant legal, regulatory and financial  challenges. Issues such as the bond covenants,   regulatory approvals and governance changes would  need to be addressed. Because of these constraints   in the time required, the option is not feasible  between before the 2027 timeline and was squeezed   out of further analysis. And for simplicity  sake, the slides uh compares the approximate   timeline required to implement each pathway. Uh if  approved today, the hybrid procurement model would   typically be implemented uh in about 12 months. As  mentioned, the city operated model could roughly   uh would require roughly 24 months or more due  to staffing and organizational uh development   requirements. An asset transfer could take 5  to seven years or longer due to regulatory,  

financial, and government processes. Uh timing  is therefore a key factor in the city's decision. The evaluation criteria were broken apart into a  comparative risk overview. Uh the matrix compares   the relative uh relative complexity and risk of  each pathway across several categories. The scores   represent the planning level assessments based  on operational feasibility, staffing requirements   and governance responsibilities as  well as ch transition challenges.   Uh overall the hybrid model presents the lowest  execution risks under current conditions. Uh cost predictability varies across the  pathway. Uh under competitive procured options   uh operations contract costs are generally  defined through contractual service fees   and performance requirements. While  under a ser uh city operated model,   costs are distributed across internal staffing  uh benefits, training, administrative functions,   which can make long-term cost forecasting  more complex. At a planning level,   the hybrid model provides a  more predictable cost structure. Uh based on current uh based on the findings  in the current city's current conditions,   uh the city staff and ad hoc committee  recommended pathway one, the hybrid model,   which emerges as a more feasible and low-risk  option for ensuring continuity of wastewater and   storm water services. Uh the approach preserves  city ownership and regulatory oversight while   leveraging competitive procurement to provide  operational expertise. Most importantly,   it can be implemented within the time frame  required before the current contract expires. If council chooses to move forward with the  hybrid pathway, the next step would be initiating   the procurement process. This process would  include procurement planning, uh solicitation,   development and release, evaluation of the  proposal, negotiations, the award of the contract,   and then the amount of time to transition to  the new operator. Uh beginning this process soon  

ensures sufficient time for a smooth transition  before the current contract expires in May 2027. Uh the city must determine the future service  delivery model before the contract expiration   date regardless of the model selected. The city  remains regulatory uh regulatory compliance   responsible for uh the hybrid model presents the  lowest execution risk under current conditions and   initiating procurement now preserves flexibility  and allows adequate time for transition planning. And we wanted to uh reiterate the  recommended action outlined in the   beginning of this presentation uh as shown  uh to initiate procurement of a new agreement   through a competitive procurement process  to hire an operator to operate, maintain,   and improve the city's wastewater treatment plant,   storm uh wastewater collection system, and  storm water collection system. Uh thank you   for your time and attention. We'd be happy  to answer any questions from the council. Before we go to questions from the council,  do we have any speakers in the house? Yes,   we have one inerson speaker and  two online speakers. Speaker,   the last speaker will be Sarah C.  The person speaker is Jesse Tran. You'll have two minutes to address the council.  Press the button. Press the button. Okay. First   of all, if you want me to sign up by agenda item,  maybe you should list the agenda items where they   have the signup sheets so that people will know  what agenda items there are they're supposed to   be signing up for instead of a huge book  that I have to go through. Um secondly,   uh the unhoused residents of Richmond deserve  to have a voice when it comes to procurement,  

budget expenditure, and development here  in Richmond. I'm not just speaking for   me. I'm not just talking about my  problems. I'm here representing all   of the unhoused residents in Richmond.  Now, with regard to this group here, it seems to me they've got a large budget, but  one of the biggest problems with housing people   is that there's not enough that people don't  have enough income. And the reason why they   don't have enough income, excuse me, uh uh  Mr. Tran, uh you need to be speaking to the   item which is the wastewater. So, if you can  tie that into the waste water. Okay. So, so Richmond has a bad problem with flooding. We've  got our our pipes are every time it rains,   our pipes break and the streets flood and there's  fecal matter and raw sewage in the streets.   One thing that Richmond could be doing that  would help everything would be training the   homeless people on how to fix the pipes.  They could be earning a living wage. That's   true of all of these things. All of the  things that are broken with Richmond.   Instead of seeing the homeless as a problem,  see them as a resource and invest money into   training them so that they can have jobs and  then insist on these that these agencies hire   rich homeless Richmond residents so that they  can be earning money so that you don't have to   keep spending money on motel rooms and and  abatement and stuff like that because we   deserve the right to at least get a chance for  a living wage. Right now, Richmond Works tells   people like myself that they can't that there's  no money for training us. Your time is expired.   Thank you. That's the last inerson speaker and  now we move to the two online speakers. Okay,  

we have Kevin Tisdale and Sarah C. Kevin, you  can go ahead and unmute yourself and start. Thank you. Just one second. Okay. Um so Kevin  Tisdale, president SEIU um looking at you know   maybe option two or or a version of option two  um and specifically looking at the storm water   and wastewater. So for the storm water loan the  city is currently playing viol 600,000 per year to   operate uh the storm water collection system and  getting little to no services. Um the water and   environment are po important and waterways and the  protection for waterways are extensive. Receiving   cease to assist letters, notice violations from  you know state and federal regulatory bodies are   extremely serious and harmful to the public and  the environment and the city itself. Um we believe   there's enough CIP funding to support staffing  levels needed to address the lack of maintenance   throughout the the various storm water and uh  wastewater collection systems throughout the city.   Um, our union SEIU holds currently classifications  that originated from the uh takeover of the storm   water treatment plant. So, I don't believe it'll  take 24 months to get some of these positions   back into city services. Maybe modifications  need to be made, but there again, we do hold   some of those still within our contract. Um, at  this point, the city also has the tools needed   um as far as factor um attachments on each sweeper  that we we currently operate. Um, so again, maybe   some additional training would be needed, but  those um tools and materials are are there. And   we also have staff members that came over um from  the the treatment plant that are currently working   within our public works division. So, we have the  knowledge, we have the experience, and we can um   do that work um if allowed and uh bring this work  back into city controls and allow the city manager   and public works to determine the staffing levels  needed to again avoid some of these regulatory  

issues. Um so, again, modifying kind of the the  option two is uh what we were uh looking for.   Thank you. Thank you. The next speaker is Sarah  C. You can go ahead and unmute yourself and begin.   Hi, thank you so much. My name is Sarah Caner. I'm  a resident of Richmond. Um, thank you so much for   this presentation. I'm really uh thrilled to hear  that we're going to be moving away from Violia. as   somebody who lives near the water treatment plant  and smells the um the rotten smell in the air   from the treatment plant very regularly and I'm  excited to have that shipped. I think that based   on the presentation, it sounds like there really  is one feasible option, which is pathway one,   although the previous speakers seem to indicate  that maybe there's a little bit more feasibility   to option two than was laid out. So, I'm  intrigued by that notion. But if we do have   to go with option one because it is the only  one that will work, I hope that we are able to   uh whatever whatever uh RFP we put out that  we keep the timeline relatively short um you   know maybe five years or less so that if we have  can use that time to move towards a fully public   model whether that is option two or option three  where we're not relying on private companies.   to run our uh municipal water. And I think that,  you know, hearing that it's going to take maybe   a couple years to plan for those, let's get  started on that work now rather than waiting   until our next contract renewal date. Thank you.  Thank you. And that was the last speaker. Thank   you. Public comment is closed and it is now  time for council members to make comments,  

ask questions. Uh, Council Member Bana, thank  you. I have two quick questions. Number one,   who does uh wastewater management for San Pablo?  The map was disconnected parts of Richmond should   be West County Wastewater. Um, are you sure?  Yes. So, Pablo, I was on their board. Okay. So,   and North Richmond, I mean, because the map  that we saw was KCRT, can you please put up   the map that council member Bon is referring  to? Thank you. And my second question is   um Con the map is on the the screen right now. Oh,  okay. So, San Pablo is covered by them. And how   about Elserto? This map shows the districts within  City of Richmond city limits. So, it's not going   to show you Elserto. That would be Steie Sanitary.  St. Pablo would be West County. But it's not shown   on this map. I understand. But I'm asking who's  doing it. So if you could go with them. Also, um,   we have members of the, um, council that also  have that expertise. If, if you would like,   council member Bono, we can also create a map  that shows the information you're requesting. No,   my question is not about about the map. It's about  neighboring West Water Management districts if we   could somehow join them. But seems like there's  no answer. It's okay. Um my my next question is   um as you know, Director Chavaria, my committee  has a lot of problems with waste uh with storm   drain um management. Could it be separate from the  other two items? And you bring um an item to the   council about different options of managing it by  the city versus a hybrid model. Why does it have  

to go with wastewater collection? And we were also  uh working collaboratively with the ad hoc. So I   we want to make sure that that that we uh some  of the ad hoc committee members may want to chime   in with staff. We want to be respectful of their  engagement. Mayor, yeah, if you don't mind. Uh the   reason we're considering the three is because the  three are the systems that Violia was in charge   of. So they will all be up at the same time. Uh  when people make bids, they can make bids on one,   two, or all three of them. So we will have to wait  and see what sorts of bids we get. And um and the   neighboring uh districts that that you were asking  about, they may make a bid if they're interested,   and if they're not, they won't make a bid. So,  so it's we're basically just opening up the door   for all the interested parties to to see whether  or not they want to become part of the Richmond   system. Could you clarify because that's not my  understanding. I thought all three go together. So, well, let's separate. Number one,  out of the three, right? You're right.   The storm drain collection system is separate  from the sanitary sewer collection system and   the wastewater treatment plant. The sanitary sewer  collection system is linked with the wastewater   treatment plant because all the collections  are going to end up there. Sure. Right. Okay.   So currently the three assets are operated by by  the operator Violia. Yeah. But we don't have to   continue the old model. Correct. So what Kevin  for example stated is true if we only only talk   about stormwater collection system yeah there's  a there's a a lot of positions that already exist  

but uh I joined the city three years ago and  it has taken us three plus years to fill public   works vacancies. So thinking that we're going  to do that in a year is very aggressive. If we   didn't have anything else to do, probably we can  do it. But with 87 plus CIP projects still going   and counting with all the different needs that  the city have, it's going to be very difficult to   in one year put together an perfectly understand.  But my request is if possible separate the two and   uh for the storm drain management if we could  have a shorter term like three-year contract three   three and then decide if you want to bring it  to the city or keep um outsourcing it. Thank you   council member Bono. We appreciate your feedback.  Please thank you council member Jimenez. Yeah   thank you. I just wanted to clarify one question  is is more technical. San Francisco has and the   storm water man storm water system is a combined.  So everything has to go to the sewer system to be   treated because it's combined. Here we don't  have that system. We have a separate system   uh where um this the storm water doesn't  go to the sewer system. Is that correct?   Uh yes that's correct. So then my clarification  about uh uh Bana's question is that if we don't   treat or a storm water water why it needs  why you you confuse me uh um public works   director when you said all these street system  needs to be working together when they are not  

working together. No, no, no. I that maybe I uh  that's not what I say. I said that the sanitary   sewer collection system ends in the wastewater  treatment plant. Okay? So, it's together. The   storm water collection system doesn't end  there. So, yes, it's separate. But we are   talking about a a time limitation right now. We're  not talking about a capability limitation. Yeah,   we can we can get there. And that's why I put the  the analogy well if poly works took us three plus   years this probably is going to take us less but  still it's gonna one year is in my opinion very   aggressive and very risky to try to do it. Okay.  So I I think like I am going to this. So we have a   con like and I thank you for make taking the time  to do all this work because Veolia as a corporate   multi- international multinational corporation  um private corporation is not working for us.   Uh first of all we have an old contract that is  not working but also they had been working in   bad faith. They had been charging us for work that  they didn't do and just no following environmental   regulation that put us in liability. Um so I am  glad that we are going to look for other things.   I think for me is that I as we continue in this  um what it shows is that sometimes for profit   corporation don't work for our people don't give  us the best um the best service. Um so I know that  

the time is in the essence and we need to have a  a solution. So I I I am going for the RFP but I   wondering two things. One is that is is not only  private uh entities can bid on that but if you   see any public um entities can apply for the RFP.  This is one and the other one other is that if we   can have and and that might be after with all  like when you bring the contract like we will   discuss the details of the contract but one of  the things that I am seeing is that maybe it's   a shorter contract that we don't kind of don't  buying ourselves in a long long time contract   that they make us to miss a better opportunity  to have more public uh ownership of this. Um,   and I want also when you come also to really  continue to explore uh the second option because   I think uh we need to look into how we have  more um property of of of the s the systems   that we are talking here uh to provide better  service because with a forprofit corporation uh like that like didn't work and I want to stop  there and then I will finish with my my comments.   Council member Jimenez, thank you for your  feedback and and staff will your points are well   taken. We'll definitely work with um public works  staff and the city attorney's office. So my first   question, the public uh RFP can Yes. Okay. Okay.  Uh so I then I am going to finish with saying that  

this has been a contract that was signed 20 plus  years ago. And at that time Edmund wanted to take   the the this as something that they will manage.  And at that time that city council 20 plus years   ago and uh advocated for going with this private  corporation and that is not working. And now we   are cleaning these bad deals that many many years  ago city council were here advocating to privatize   services. And the result of that has been that the  rates in like the part that bea managed the rates   for or resin are one of the highest in the Bay  Area. So just like let's think about that in terms   of making the decisions because we don't want  20 years from now other councils to be cleaning   or back deals as well. So thank you Vice Mayor  Robinson. Okay. Thank you so much for bringing   this forward. Um I was one of the ad hoc committee  members so it would just really have a lot of   um other information. I think certain things I'm  not sure that I heard them um haven't been brought   forward here um like we we had a meeting with West  County uh wastewater and discuss the possibility   if they had had interest in um taking over the  facilities or or working with us on some way.   and and and my recollection of that conversation  was that it's not something that they would be   interested in doing at this time for a number of  different reasons including some of the kind of   um liabilities that our system would put upon  their plate. Um do you could you add a little bit  

more and make sure that people fully understand  because we did explore that option and invited   them in person to a meeting to try to see if that  was possible. Uh, good evening, Mayor Martinez,   members of the city council. My name is Tofi  Halabi. I'm deputy director of public works.   We invited the general manager of West County  to join us for one of our ad hoc meetings,   uh, Mr. Andrew Claw, and he had informed us there  were many, many reasons why this is not a good   time for West County to take over the system.  We have different rates right now. This the uh,   parcel rates are different for our district  and their district. They're embarking on a very   aggressive five-year capital plan uh that does  doesn't have any room for taking on more assets.   Um they have a sta they're fully staffed at 70  staff members and they would need to double their   staff perhaps to take over our um uh wastewater  district and their governing board would have to   agree to it and we'd have to sort out some of  the bonds issues that we have at the moment.   uh as well as bekeeper settlement issues that we  have that they have worked through their bakeer   uh items and we're still working on ours. So  there's a whole list of items. Yeah, thank   you. And I think that is important just to have to  make sure the public um understands and has that   knowledge as well. And then just to kind of circle  back to the number of staff. Um so we were also   very interested in option number two and um and  wanted to explore that and and figure it out. And   so just could you just repeat the number of staff  you believe we would need in order to transition   um these two responsibilities to an internal  team? How many staff would we have to hire on   board? Make sure we have classifications for you  know place in unions negotiate all those things.  

Yeah. To uh basically represent the same uh in  terms of size as West County Wastewater District.   um as they would say they'd have to double  their current capacity in order to take on   ours. We would the city would have to also  hire similar amount um in order to bring it   in house. And is it accurate to say that's about  70 positions? Correct. Yeah. Um so that that was   also a concern and I believe it was a concern  not that it's impossible to do but rather we   would need a lot more time to do it. um even if  certain classifications already exist. Um there's   a that even even if all the classifications just  already exist, to be able to hire and onboard all   those people within the time period that we have  when we will no longer have somebody to operate   our facilities would leave us in the lurch,  right? We wouldn't have anyone to we wouldn't   have enough of a team in place to to handle the  load, right? So that was another big concern.   Um and then have you mentioned anything about  the parameters of the RFP? I mean because we   definitely talked about duration. Um yeah. Yeah,  we were planning to um be very thoughtful about   that. We want to ensure the maximum responses  and then um we would uh as appropriate continue   to brief the ad hoc. We want to encourage a high  degree of responsiveness and then allow there to   be uh you know confidential negotiations with  the city attorney's office and staff. Um so it   will be based on continued input from the ad hoc  is as how we had contemplated moving forward and   then briefing the council as a whole. Thank you.  Council member Wilson. Thank you. Um just to make   sure that I understand. Um the it sounds like  there's kind of two two pieces of this, maybe   three depending how you break it up. One is the  storm water collection which then goes out into  

the bay and one is the sewer collection which goes  to the treatment plant and then I think goes out   to the bay after it's treated. And am I correct  in thinking or understanding that if we do go with   option one where we partner partner with a private  vendor, it could be two different vendors that do   that or is your are you anticipating that it would  be one vendor who takes on both pieces of that? No, ideally it would be one vendor that would do  the whole thing. And again we're talking about   the time constraint, right? I mean uh with more  time maybe we could do separated but it would be   one one operator and then sort of a followup  to that uh in terms of you know there's been   some discussion tonight in interest in in at some  time in the future having the city be the one you   know pathway to that the city be the one that ma  ma maintains it. Do you have a sense? Like if I   had to guess, I would guess that the storm water  uh the storm water system would be easier for the   city to maintain than the sewer collection and  waste treatment plant. Am I correct about that?   Yeah. As as uh council member Banner also pointed  out, it could be a possibility. I mean that that   we will need to discuss with the committ. I'm  going in the same direction Council Member   Vana was is that that like just sort of thinking  ahead is that maybe that's the first thing in in   the future that the city could take over um that  piece of it. And so I guess I would like the RFP   to reflect I mean again short durations are good  um but also to whatever extent that these can be   sort of two distinct programs in case we want to  try to bring one of them back into the city. Yes,   all those options are on the table. Okay. all  those options are on the table. So that you're   bringing me to my my final question, which is  like I I agree with sort of what the the other   council members have expressed, which is that I I  think option one is a fine. It's certainly a pro  

an improvement of where we are now in the same  contract for 20 years and it's not serving us.   Um but I would like to get us to to to pathway  two or pathway three. And so we're say and if   that's the the will of the council, do we need to  make an amendment tonight saying um pathway one,   but we also want the city the in six months the  staff to come back with a plan, a two-year plan,   a one-year plan, a three-year plan, a whatever,  like a plan for getting us to some portion of   this being city operated in a reasonable time  frame, which I understand isn't one year. Um C,   Council Member uh Wilson, your your points are  well taken. Um I think we can look at it in the   overall I think we understand the feedback from  the council this evening. Um in terms of like the   immediate priority we we really want to push on  on focusing on option one and then um as we come   back and we're negotiating right with the the  different folks that hopefully respond to the   RFP. Um then we can uh continue to provide  council an update and then let you all know   um you know when we might when there might be an  important inflection point in the timeline to do   um what you're suggesting. But at this juncture  uh respectfully given the number of CIP projects   that they're also managing and the the need to  really also focus on the built environment with   operations and maintenance um which is you  know focusing on complete streets and all of   those things um that this is one complete  city team and so I would I would like to   um make sure that we do other things as well  and we do a good job like bringing the soccer   fields online and things of that nature. So, I  would request that if you could please hold off   on that for now and but I commit to continuing,  you know, when we have our one-on-one updates,   I'm happy to continue to update you on our our  progress. Um, but we would request that we don't  

do that at this time. Okay. So, what I'll say is  this. I hear what you're saying, and my my goal   here isn't in any way to sort of overburden the  public works department or or or city manager or   anything. Um my concern is that sometimes um you  know like I don't I don't have a whole staff of   people prompting me to remember in six months to  come back and ask that there be a separate study   done on a a plan for transitioning to city, you  know, city management of these plans. And so I I'm   going to I'm going to put it out there to see if  any of my colleagues want to take up this framing   this. But what I'm thinking is is maybe we can  say something like like we can give an enormously   long timeline on it. Um just to have something in  the record that this is an intention of the city   council to explore this um this transition to to  to having the city manage some piece of the this   project but not in a way that like means like  you got to be back next month with your plan.   Yeah. I think what we're what we're trying to  do, right, for transparency is the the reason   why I think we're we're kind of um we understand  the council's intention, right? We always want   to have maximize the utilization of city staff  and we're committed to that. But concurrently,   we also want to get the most respondents and we  want to get the best price. So, we're trying to   balance those things. And so, if you could just  give us a little time, right, we'll continue to   keep you updated on how things progress and then  I promise we won't forget, right? like we're   going to be coming back with Sleek Levia soon when  you guys ask us to do something we don't forget.   But if we focus too much on on on what you're  describing, we're concerned that's going to impact   the responsiveness of of folks. And so that's what  we're, you know, of the private sector and we want   to try to maximize and get a good deal and and get  a lot of responses. We we don't want to end up in   a situation where Violia is the only one that we  can continue to work with. I hear you. So, I'll   put it out there for my colleagues to see if they  want to pick it up. If if it please the council,   the uh the ad hoc committee could continue to work  with the uh with with with waste water. Thank you.  

Okay. Okay. All right. Then, uh Council Member  Brown, thank you so much for the presentation   and also for answering my questions, but I do  have a follow-up question after hearing some of   the comments. um is I understand we're pressed  for time and it seems like we're always like   pressed for time when contract expiration dates  seem to come about and then we begin to make   like hasty decisions without actually you know  being more thorough than we that we want to be   cuz I'm also like grappling with like option two  or three wanting something more sustainable. So,   I'm wondering um in the interest of time if there  is a possibility that there could be some sort of   renegotiations or amendments to um extending  the contract. I mean, this is a partner that   we've had for over 20 years in addition  to making an an additional extension. So,   um can you kind of speak to like why an  extension wouldn't be a good option right now?   Yeah. Well, number one, the contract we have right  now is more than 20 years old. So, um there are   modern standards now that uh they have changed and  so we're using a very old I mean making an analogy   a very old a beat up car, right? And we want to go  100 miles per hour and it only take us 25. Also,   the current contract unfortunately lacks financial  accountability. So um no significant fiat   risk tied to performance. So there's no much uh  motivation okay to to right then uh unfortunately   also the contract right now has a roles that  are blurred. You have um the current operator   being the operator and the capital manager at the  same time. Those two functions should be separate,   right? And that that's one of the things  that we want to improve in a new contract.  

Well, if we go out for a competitive procurement  that ensures transparency and the best value for   our our residents, Biola can still beat it. I  mean, there's no nothing prevents them for from   doing it. Uh the problem with the renegotiations  is the risk of delays. I mean, I haven't seen any   negotiation since I work here that have taken the  time that was originally planned for. always ex   has extended twice as much or even three times as  much. I still hear every single council meeting   we have one pending and it's still going. So I  don't see why this is going to be a difference.   And remember in this negotiation both parties  have to agree. So if we want to make all these   changes the other party can say yes at the  beginning and then six months later six months   later we we realize that the the negotiations  is stall and now we don't have time to react.   So we want to control the timing. Then uh we want  market val validation. I mean it's our fiduciary   responsibility to test the market through a a  procurement and we have the time to do it. Yes,   it's an aggressive time but we can do it. I  mean we we we have had extensive conversations.   We have reached to different consultants  other other operators in the market and   uh there's a good response for at this point  of interest and then uh we want the rate pay   rateayer protection right uh we want to ensure  residents are receiving the best value for systems   that that function. So extending this contract  is again extending the life of the bit of car in   this case the the agreement that we have when we  can have a brand new agreement a mother one that   takes into account what benefits for the city.  Got it. Thank you so much. So I hear you. So,   the extension or um any type of renegotiations  or amendments would be still to that 20 it would  

still be locked into that 20-year uh contract  that we initially started with. Okay, got it.   Um and then also entering and putting this RFP  out. Um and I've been hear negative things about   our current operator. So, is it not okay for us  to exclude them from the process since they have   not been great partners? Because I'm hearing  all this different all the different things   that's been said about the current operator.  So, why would they be able to uh participate? I think um I mean if we talk about Viola, Violia  is an international company, right? I mean, they   they they're leaders in this industry. They're  not the only one, though. And I think uh yeah,   there's some some things that are going to play  in their favor and some other things that are not   going to play in their favor. But in in the end,  it's going to be the proposal. And the proposal is   going to respond to a a procurement that is trans  transparent and they're going to have to sign   this. We're going to issue a draft of the contract  that we plan to sign. And if they're planning   to do it, they're going to see a very different  contract than what they are used to. Mhm. And uh   in a contract that has um teeth like fines when  the operator doesn't comply and and that's some   one of the things we lack right now. Okay. And  lastly, uh since we are aware of all these things,   um do we have a timeline on what that new contract  would look like? I know it's been mentioned,   but I didn't really get like if there was like a  solidified timeline of like what we would go into.   Yeah. Yes. So, we're we're working collaboratively  with the city attorney's office for that to be   developed. Um and uh and we will be presenting  continuing to present information to the city  

council. Okay. Thank you. Um since uh council  member Sepeda hasn't spoken, I will have him speak   and then you Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for  the presentation. I'm also part of the ad hoc. So,   my questions, I'm not going to re ask what we  already asked on there. I just want to clarify   a little bit for the people that weren't able  to be in the ad hoc. So, from the three options   that were presented, I'd make sure that I brought  forward that the third option looking at it going   into being a its own public agency, I really  pushed to bring that forward to bring that   conversation and that's where Andrew then came  about. Uh, East Bay MUD was interested in it a   couple of years ago when the contract was first  going out or actually more than a couple years   ago. Uh, West County Wastewater, if anyone was  to be a public agency, they would be the probably   the best suited other than East Bay Mud because  we have pipes going back and forth between both   agencies. Uh, the other agencies too small, the  one that services parts of Richmond and Elserto.   Uh, so just want to put that in context out  there. Uh, and then for a a a wastewater system,   I used to serve at the West kind of wastewater  district as one of the directors there. And we   have another director here as well, I believe.  Uh, and all we talked about there day in day out,   every board meeting was sewage. Like I was going  to say a different word, but you know, we just   talk about sewage. uh because it's such a crucial  part of our infrastructure. It's our hidden   infrastructure and you really need to have people  looking at it day in and day out. That is why it   broke a couple of years ago. That is why we had  Violia's executives here, right? I emailed the CEO   and saying, "You're you're not paying attention  to us. What is going on?" and we brought them  

here and that is why we're we're talking about  this now and then we were able to form the ad hoc   committee and there we meet monthly. So now we're  talking about sewage at least once a month and   prior to us from what I understand from the former  mayor Tom but they would get a presentation once   every couple of years. So this really expensive  piece of infrastructure, this really hidden and   very crucial piece of infrastructure, we never  really took a look deeply. That's why it's been   crumbling. That's why we're still putting water  out into the bay. West County wastewater, the   majority of the water gets recycled and reused,  right? So just two different ways of managing a   system. uh when you have a board of directors that  that's all they do. They can move that piece of   infrastructure forward. They could greenify it.  They could do a lot more stuff with it. We just   talk about it every once in a while. So looking at  all the different options, my top was not option   one, but I think that is where we we're left off.  But the good thing about it, and I want to make   sure that the public knows, we've been working  towards a better option. But unfortunately for   myself, three years in and I remember having a  conversation with Mr. Chavaria when he was first   elected as well and he's saying, you know, give me  a minute. Let me let me figure out where all the   everything's hidden and everything right trying  to get staff going. So, we've been working at this   for a while and it takes a long time to start the  conversations. Talk we started talking about the   RFP what, two years ago, I believe. So, we're  here not just because the RFP was created last   week or the conversation has it's been a big long  progress uh but it's progress while it seems slow,  

it has been uh big big jumps. Uh the the last  time we approved as a council, right, we only   have two council members here, council member  Himenez and Mayor Martinez, they were the only   ones that were here before everybody else is gone.  So we don't even have that other than from them,   right? Other historic stuff. But I think that now  that we're focusing on this really crucial piece   of infrastructure, let's continue the conversation  and then hopefully when we come back, we look at   the other options as well because ultimately I  believe we need someone to take a look at that   infrastructure a lot deeper than we're going to  be able to give it fair treatment and for our   community to not have to deal with the stench,  to not have to deal with the lack of service,   to not have to deal with everything else. So,  want to make sure that we put that on there. And   council member Bonn is saying I have five minutes,  so we'll keep everybody else to five minutes,   but I just want to put that out there as part of  the ad hoc committee. Um, that that was kind of   the the conversation that brought us to it.  So, thank you so much for the presentation   and I look forward to seeing the the RFP. Thank  you, Council Member B. Thank you. I make it very   quick. May I suggest, please? So the city manager  explained that we may have better proposals if we   lump everything together. My preference is to  keep a storm water collection system separate.   If you have to lump everything together, is  it possible to have the contract expire like   um for a storm water system sooner? Council member  Bonaba, respectfully, we don't want to negotiate   contract terms in open session. Um that that's not  appropriate. Okay. Thank you so much. All right,   I'm done then. Thank you. And I don't understand  the reason for ad hoc. If you're going to do RFP,   why should the ad hoc continue? I'm confused.  Um, we think Oh, go ahead, Mayor. No. Um,   the kind of questions that you're asking are the  kind of questions that we ask in ad hoc. It's it's  

it's closed. Yeah. But the problem is that A and  B are in other district. a storm water collection   system problem is in my district and I'm not a  part of ad hoc but I trust it will be taken care   of. Thank you. I'm done. Problems are in every  district, right? Yeah. Worse in mine probably.   Well, anyway, uh so now we need a uh u we need  a uh I move to item. Okay, I second. I'd like to   make a friendly amendment to the item. Um I want  to clarify because the amendment the motion was   just to do something but we have three options. So  just want to make sure what was the actual motion   before we second and a and make amendments. Do we  have the recommend KCRT? Can you please display   the recommended action? Option one. It's option  one. Well yeah but that's has to be the motion   otherwise that can be doing option three then it's  option one. Okay. Can I make an alternative motion   then? I think that we had a motion and a second.  Can I make an alternative motion? Sure. Okay. My   motion is to uh direct city staff um to initiate  procurement um of a new agreement through the   competitive comp procurement process to hire an  operator to ma operate maintain and improve the   city's wastewater treatment plant, wastewater  collection system and store water system using   option one as the recommendation and to extend  the ad hoc committee to support the process   and continue deliberations on alternatives. I  second that. All right, take a vote. That's just right. Council member Brown, yes. Council  member Bana, yes. Council member Jimenez,   yes. Council member Wilson, yes. Vice  Mayor Robinson, yes. Council member Zapeda,  

yes. And Mayor Martinez, yes.  The vote is unanimous. Thank you. Okay, final four. Our next item is item X2 and  it's to receive a presentation approve well it's   to approve a transitional contract amendment and  provide direction to staff regarding the Flock   CCTV system Flock drone as a first responder  program and Flock automated license plate   reader system. Now this item was continued  for March 3rd meeting. The public comment   portion of this item is closed. So tonight the  council will deliberate and vote only. Mayor,   if I may ask a quick question. Yes. Um we still  have several city staff here for other subsequent   items after this in particular. Um after this  item, uh we have city staff here regarding uh   item X3. Um would you like those city staff with  to remain in the audience um under the with the   hope that we'll get to that item this evening  or would you like us to let them go home? This   is item X3 update regarding the city's ongoing and  planned efforts related to immigration. Would you   like to say we should let them go home? I think  it's going to take uh quite a while for this   conversation to happen. Yeah. And I hope Okay.  Uh okay. Thank you very much. I'll uh staff here   for item X3. Um, please enjoy the rest of your  evening. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. Okay. Good evening, Council Honorable Mayor. Uh,  Chief Simmons. I'm joined here this evening by   Lieutenant Donald Patchin. He is our DFR expert  in the department. I'm also joined by Captain  

John Lopez, our IT supervisor, Eric Tam, who was  intimately involved in the procurement of Flock   Safety to begin with. Uh, and I'm joined by,  uh, a member of Flock Safety's team. Her name   is Lily Hoe, and she'll be available to answer  questions that the council may have. Also uh in   the audience we have members from public works  and Chief Osaria from RPD sorry from RFD who   um who who can answer questions about how  certain functions of flock that I did that   on purpose. Just just kidding. Um who could  answer questions that the council may have. Um,   I do want to open with a few comments before  we get into questions. And just to remind   uh this community and this council that the  Richmond Police Department does not maintain   a cooperative relationship with US Immigration and  Customs Enforcement. I'm bringing this up because   there is a lot of information that floats around  in social media and different locations between   our last council meeting and this one. And I just  really want to make this statement very clear.   We do not have a relationship with US Immigration  and Customs Enforcement for Immigration   Enforcement purposes. Our department's mission is  centered on public safety, community trust, and   constitutional policing. And we do not engage in  activities intended to identify, detain, or assist   in the deportation of individuals based upon their  immigration status. We do not participate in joint   operations with immigration enforcement agencies,  nor do we take part in immigration enforcement   actions within our community. Furthermore, the  Richmond Police Department does not give ICE   or other immigration authorities access to our  local enforcement data records or information for   immigration enforcement at all. Our policies are  built to ensure that everyone in our community,   regardless of immigration status, feels safe  reporting crimes, cooperating with investigations,   and seeking help from law enforcement without  fear. Keeping this separation is key to building  

trust, improving public safety, and allowing  our officers to serve and protect all residents,   Richmond residents, effectively. This is both  a a professional matter for me and a personal   matter for me. I have uh a son and a nephew who  serves in the United States uh military right   now and I have family and and uh uh that lives  in Halisco, Guadalajara right now and lives in   this community right here that deal with these  immigration issues. So, not only is this a matter   of professional importance to me, this is a  matter of personal importance to me as well.   uh my personal family is impacted by this as well  as the profession and my professional commitment   to this community and to this police department.  So those are my opening comments. Thank you for   bearing with me. I appreciate that. And uh  I'll turn it over, honorable mayor, to you   for the question time period. All right. Uh do we  have any council me? Yes, council member Banana. Thank you for the presentation last time and also  thanks for all the public comments. I heard a lot   from my community. There are many people almost  everyone is in favor of public safety cameras. Not   everyone's uh in favor of flug. So I'm trying  to clarify for myself where the data security   uh stands or what the status of data security  is. I have u some questions. I'm going to put   all questions together then ask them one by one  and ask Lily from vlog camera. You said um yeah   Lily when questions come for you if you could  please. I thought she was on Zoom. She's here. No,   no, no. She's in person. Excellent. I forgot her  last name. I'm sorry. I only remembered. Okay. So,  

I would like to learn how the data collection  and ownership of data work. So if you could   explain in terms of I wish you had a diagram but  explain a box diagram of data gets collected who   owns it. Can the city own the data? Because  when I read over that flog thingy it says if   there is a request and they're legally obligated  they would pass the data. Can we make the city   owner of the data? I'd like to know how the  software data collection storage works. So,   if you could explain the boxes and how  it's handled. And before you start,   can you identify yourself? I don't think everyone  knows uh who you are or what your position is. Thank you. Hello, mayor. Hello, council members.  Thank you for having me here. My name is Her ladder, please. Can you give us one  moment and we'll ask KCRT to come out?   Can you just give us one moment? Just one moment.  I think they got to address the microphone. Yeah. Lily, you may have to use the one  next door. I don't know. I can't Is this better? Test one, two. Test one.  Here. Here you go. Here you go. Oh, okay. Musical chairs. Much better. Good evening. Hello,  mayor. Hello, council members. It's a pleasure to   be here with you tonight. My name is Lily Hoe. I'm  the public affairs manager for the western region   at at Flock Safety. Um, council member Bana, your  question about um storage and ownership of data.  

Uh, thank you for the question. It's very, very  important to know. Um, customers own their data.   So, we will hold it on our servers and we use the  AWS GovCloud servers to store the data, but the   ownership of the data is solely uh owned by the  city of Richmond, California. But the documents   that I was reviewing says if there is a request  for the data, then Flock will hand it over.   If we are donors, how could Flock do that? In that  situation, we would consult with you um and from   whoever the data would be requested from. Uh we  would support you in whatever legal proceedings   or continuations it would be for the next steps  and we wouldn't do anything without your consent.   Uh correction. It says uh Flock reserves  the right to respond immediately to   urgent law enforcement requests for information  as outlined in our evidence policy. I there is   no copy of evidence policy and I wonder if the  city could purchase some cloud and store the   data there instead of having it stored at Flux  Storage. Mayor, if I may through the chair,   council member Bonnet, can you please um let  us know what document you're referring to just   so just for the good of the order for the public  and then also for staff. It was handed to me by   city attorney Shannon Moore. Flock safety flock  grouping amendment. Okay. The on page one or Oh,   it's on the last page. Emergencies and exit agenda  requests last paragraph. Thank you so much. We   would be responding, but that does not mean that  we would be turning over any of your data. Uh, can  

you put it in writing in the contract? Sure. Yes.  Okay. That that's very important. So it doesn't   um need for us to own the storage if you  own it because if if that's what it takes,   I assume the city's willing to purchase some cloud  or a storage space to store the data ourselves. So   Flo has the technology, the cameras, runs the  system, but we would like to be in charge and   hold the data ourselves. So I I would like the  contract to clarify it with all the details and   please run the contract by the council. That's  very important to us. We can do that. We can   work with our legal team to work out the language  however you see fit. Okay. And could you provide   examples of urgent law enforcement requests?  I'm curious. Uh the language is in there,   but to be honest, I don't believe we have ever  received any requests. Okay. Okay. If you could   also provide a copy of the evidence policy  that it's uh referenced in this document,   I would appreciate it. Um and um let  me see if I have any other questions.   Um so does can and is this a question I guess  for our city or maybe you can our IT system   have any oversight over the data how it's handled  it doesn't leak to their I don't know storage or   whatever is there any oversight on the process  or could we have oversight technical oversight hey council member Bana uh Eric Tam  technology supervisor So we um we do   have oversight of the data um and we don't do  not release the data without proper authority.

I'm talking about the processing the data not  just the data that you have access to. So we   how how flock uh may have access to our data  or pass it around. Is there any oversight?   We do not have oversight to it is because  uh it's through uh Amazon web service and   Amazon maintains it uh through Flock's  relationship. We have no relationship with   uh where Flock stores it data. So can we store  our own data? You mean say where you would serve   can we have our buy our own Amazon space on  their cloud? I believe technically you are   paying for the Amazon space on the cloud.  So can we technically be the owner too? I don't think we could be the owner of that  storage space because we would have to enter   into some agreement with Amazon Web Service and  find somewhere to work with flock to transfer that   process over to us. That'd be awesome if we could.  What keeps us from doing it? Then we we can,   you know, have absolute control over the data  and there would be no problem in my view. Yeah,   we could look into it. Um, I I'll look into it,  but I'm not sure if that's a feasible option to   require. Why not? Because we're paying for it,  but it's under their name. We can have our own   attorneys to write the contract. If I may, um,  Council Member Bonnet, um, depending on the   outcome of this discussion this evening, right,  the if depending on what the the preference is   of the city council, right? Uh, again, we don't  want to negotiate a contract in open session,   right? So depending on what the the outcome of the  the council discussion is regarding the item, then   uh myself and uh city attorney Moore would work  with uh chief to bring forward an item that would   meet the direction of the council. I appreciate  that. I don't mean to discuss the contract. I'm  

just discussing the technicalities and Right. So  all of those things like it would be a contract.   Uh it sounds like you're essentially proposing  a contract amendment but so if that was the   direction of the council then we would work in  that manner but we you know it it's subject to   the entire council as a whole but so I just want  to note that that would be the I appreciate the   administrative step not uh we wouldn't do it  here in open session if that it just depends on   what the direction I understand I would I wouldn't  discuss any more details I just want to emphasize   that while We really care about public safety  cameras. We don't want to compromise the safety of   a minority, you know, of the community. Even I'll  tell you, Councilwoman Bana, the the Amazon web   servers also are they serve as other government  protection servers, not just for flock safety. Um,   I don't know for certain other vendors, uh, what  web servers they use, but I suspect they're also   going to use the Amazon web server system. They're  kind of the leading protected data protection   cloud-based service that's out there. Um, not to  say there's not others, but I when I look at other   government databases, not just in policing, but  other government databases, Amazon web servers   are the ones that that typically are used to  house this type of information. Just so you know,   it's not out of the norm. Amazon web servers.  That's kind of the standard. I appreciate that.   Last thing I just want to say with all respect  for you and your company, I heard many negative   things about Flock, but I don't believe in good  company or bad company. I believe in guard railing   and a good contract and safeguards and that's  the most important thing. U that's our duty,   you know, to make sure the contract has all the  safeguards in it and we protect our residents.   That's my point. I will also remind uh the  council and you specifically that in the  

last iteration of the contract, we were able  to negotiate a makehole remedy if there were   issues with data that was the fault of flock. The  council through the city attorney's office has a   makehole to be able to find flock 20 I think  it was $290,000 per incident. Um, so I just   want to remind you that that failsafe is there as  well for that's another um safety feature. Yes,   that's good. Thank you very much. Thank you.  Uh, Council Member Wilson. Thank you. Um,   Chief Simmons, when did the city turn off the flat  Wait, when did you turn off the flat cameras? Yes,   ma'am. Um, Council Wilson, I turned the cameras  off on November 19th. Why did you turn off the   cameras? I turned the cameras off because it came  to my attention that a function was running in the   operating system that allowed for a two-way street  called the national search feature which allowed   outside agencies that were outside of Richmond  that were outside of our policy to be able to   query complete and full license plates. uh it made  our information accessible. And when I found that   that was the case, turned them off immediately  until I could research and investigate and find   out what had happened, what transpired, what are  the implications, and deal with both our vendor,   our staff, legal, the city, my boss, the council,  and get everybody up onto the same page as to what   was going on. And I and I appreciate that you did  that. Um, how long had the national the national   search feature been on? Is it safe to assume it  had been on the whole time that we had Flock?  

Okay. So, I see nods. So, we started Flock in late  2022. Yes. And so, all the way through to 2023   to 20 So, a almost three years. The system went  live I think in 23. Took us several months to get   installed, but I would say fair to say beginning  of 23. two and three years we were running a flock   system where our data without any of us knowing  was accessible to every agency on the flock system   as far as I know. That's correct. Yes. And why  didn't you know that? So the chief Well, yeah,   I was not the chief, but that's not the reason  why. Um why didn't anybody know that? Yeah. So,   so in in in the the uh auditing system of the of  the transparency portal that information was not   coming up as showing what that created and in  our training and the onboarding time and this   was something that I've been dealing with flock  on as part of I'll tell you I was really upset   with flock me too um about the onboarding process  and the training process at the beginning as to   what these features do and how they work. It was  never disclosed in the training phase that that   creates that two-way narrative because we spent  an inordinate amount of time actually making sure   that we had a closed network, right? And you told  them we're a sanctuary city and you like the same   way you started off here, they were aware of  that. So, I'm not trying to embarrass you. I   just like full transparency. I'm here to answer  the questions, right? And and and the re and one   of the reasons you no one should be embarrassed  about this is because it's happening to cities   around the country because flock is designed to  deceive us into thinking our data is safe when  

it's not in my opinion. Sure. Respectful. Well,  listen. You know, I I would I would like to ask   the audience if we could be respectful. Yeah.  As much as we can have the conversation. Oh,   I think we're all in agreement that if we can  have the conversation when Yes. I I appreciate   the discourse. I appreciate the conversation  because I think we need to have it. I think where   we're different is that you have confidence that  flock is has changed and I do not have confidence.   And I want people like one of the things that  was said a few times that I want to reference   is people saying you should trust this chief. You  should trust the chief. And I just want to say to   you that like I do trust you as a police officer  and as a leader of police officers. I hope this   doesn't insult you, but I do not trust you as a  data security expert. And I don't trust myself   as a data security expert. I don't trust Flock as  a company that's going to respect our boundaries   here. And so, so I, you know, anyways, I'm I'm  gonna ask a couple more questions, but you you get   where I'm going on this, which is I'm open-minded  about whether we need and can use cameras here.   I'm not open-minded about Flock. I think fool me  once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.   And we've been fooled once. Understood. Okay.  So, um I'll just say one more like a couple   more things like you and I online have had a have  had a discussion about a statistic that was used   to great effect um two weeks ago, which was the  supposed 33% spike in car thefts upon turning off   the the flock cameras. that was, you know, used  again and again in social media, in the newspapers   to say we better turn these cameras back on  because we've had a 33% spike in car thefts. Um,   do you want to you can explain where that 33% came  from? I would love to. Thank you. I appreciate it.   This would have been part of the conversation two  weeks ago. So, I appreciate you cut off now. Yes.   So, in the police department and in law  enforcement circles, one of the common ways that  

we analyze crime data and and we meet monthly with  our command staff and other parties that are are   involved in what we call crime accountability.  And that involves our crime analysis unit,   um, all of our command staff, all of our  lieutenants, and some of our sergeants,   and our crime prevention unit. And we're looking  at crime statistics from a p from a perspective of   what is happening daytoday and what is happening  monthtomonth. But we're also looking at certain   types of crime in a from the cont context of  what's happening with the trends that we know.   So over the course of of of years of looking  at crime stats, we know that certain types of   crimes primarily are property crimes tend to  have secicular nature and how they spike and   how they move. and we try to plan in advance  for interdiction efforts, for staffing efforts,   for resourcing efforts in order to address those  secular uh crime trends. We used to use a program   called predictive policing which used crime  data that would analyze like time periods over   like time periods in order to predict what might  occur so we can deploy resources into those areas   to interdict those crimes before they occur.  Detour them before people are victimized. It   could be high visibility. It could be deployment  of cameras. It could be the deployment of crime   uh information pamphlets. And we were proactive  in that regard. We've since moved away from that   company. It was called Predpool. I'm not sure  what's come of them, but now we do that same   predictive policing, predictive crime analytics on  our own in-house. So, if you analyze our year to   date, which would encompass almost all of quarter  1 of 2026, it's January and February, we'd be   missing most of this month or half of this month.  We have a 33% increase of stolen vehicles from  

the same time period in 2025. And when we look at  that, we know what we know about stolen vehicles.   It's a property crime that runs in cycles. And  we have times that we can look at and know and   expect we're going to possibly have issues. Not  that we will, but that we will possibly have   issues. Mhm. And when we look at what could the  cause be from this window of time compared to a   like window of time in the same 12-month period or  or 14-month period, I guess. The only thing that   changed was we turned the cameras off and are in  custodies, meaning people we take into custody for   stealing vehicles, dropped almost 60% from when  we had the cameras on to when we had the cameras   off. So that starts to be something we look at.  Okay. What we know about people that steal cars,   they're usually not stealing one car. It's  usually one, two, three, four. In fact,   I think recently in in Councilwoman Bonn's  district, we got a video taken by residents where   they actually was caught on their Ring camera  showing a crew coming in to their neighborhood.   If I I because I want I want to stay focused  a little bit on the statistics. Certainly. So,   um I'm not a mathematician. I'm married to a  mathematician though, right? So, fantastic. So,   one of the things I know and I've checked  with my mathematician in house is that when   you are comparing when you're doing a statistical  analysis, you need to have a sample size that's   large enough to be able to draw conclusions.  And so, did so you gave me some data which I   appreciate. I asked you to put it on a slide. Does  case I have it on a slide. Can you bring up that   slide because let's do a little math together. It  is on slide 40. Uh KCRT please. So, so I I believe   you that you know like you looked at January and  February so two months and you saw an an increase   in stolen vehicles 33% and then everyone took up  you know took up that that as a you know a proof  

that the turning off those cameras increased car  thefts. But I want everyone to look at November   2024 to November 2025. In that time period, the  number of car thefts went up 50% year-toear and   the cameras were still on. So, it wasn't caused  by cameras being turned off. It just seems to me   that sometimes yeartoear things fluctuate. Yeah.  No, absolutely. I would agree with you. We can't   we can't just pick them and then tell a story.  I could pick that and tell the story that, hey,   having the flock camera on in November caused  this 50% spike in car thefts. I guess people   were showing off, you know, for the camera, you  know, like that's absurd. You know, I'm being   absurd there. But what I'm saying is is to do a  statistical analysis, you can't just cherrypick   the month that fits your argument. Agree. Hold on.  Hold on. Yeah. Don't listen. Listen. No talking.   Yes. I appreciate it. So, in that same statistical  slide that I sent the you and the entire council,   the two property crime areas that run in cycles,  if you looked at there was also burglaries. And   so burglaries and stolen vehicles, they were  both up almost the same percentage time for the   like time period. So we had about a 75day sample  size window of comparison. And those are property   crimes that we typically see in these same cycles.  And what happens with burglars is the same thing   that we see happening with vehicle theft is it's  usually one person committing many of those types   of crimes. And that same issue we had was taking  less and less people into custody for breaking   into people's homes, for example. So, so I in  respect to my colleagues, I'll stop, but I the   last thing I'll say is that that I do I wouldn't  be entirely surprised if there are statistics   that show having these cameras do decrease certain  sorts of crimes. But I don't think you've provided   them yet. So I one of the things I'm going to  ask for tonight is that we actually do a more  

careful statistical analysis of this and I'll  keep my mind open till that comes back. Thanks privilege mayor. Um one one thing that  um I have been discussing with staff is   um these the meetings and how we can make  uh sure that all staff feel comfortable at   the meetings. And so we know that this  is a really highly charged discussion,   but we we want to make sure that that council  and the staff and the community feel like this   is a safe space and that everyone feels  respected. Yes. So, so uh everyone heard   that. Let's try to be respectful and don't  interrupt people while they're speaking   uh because I want to hear what they say. Um  any other speakers? Uh, Vice Mayor Robinson. So, thank you for bringing this forward. I know  this is a difficult issue. Um, and just for my   benefit, could you quickly um go over the current  contract amendments changes that you um are asking   us to consider? um as that would act as kind  of safeguards against what what happened. Yes,   ma'am. So, uh thank you, Councilwoman Robinson.  So in this particular contract amendment, it   uh we've been able to negotiate like I mentioned  the makehole remedy which is a very from my   understanding I have not obviously viewed or  researched every flock contract across the   country but my understanding is we would be one of  the only or very few that have anything like that   in our contract um that would provide a safeguard  uh or or a remedy I would say for for the council.   Uh the other dynamic is I'm asking not for this  contract to extend into multiple years, but rather  

have it go until the end of this year to provide  an opportunity for reflection and to see have the   things that Flock has stated they've done to  change their operating system. For instance,   uh the the national search feature is is no  longer even an option for any California agency.   That's there's no longer an option for any  California agency to develop a relationship   with an agency outside the state of California.  There is no uh physical way for an agency outside   of California to develop a relationship with any  flock agency within the state of California. All   of that is codified in this new contract amendment  of following those procedures and protocols. Those   were some of the things I think Councilwoman  uh Wilson mentioned about how I've become   convinced that they're worth a second try. Right.  Those were some of the things I've considered   along with the makele remedy, along with not  really looking to make this a long-term thing,   but giving us an opportunity to see if Flock is  still the vendor the council wants to go with in   the long term by having an endofear deadline to be  able to look back and see if if things have been   the way that that they're supposed to be um and  to maximize our current investment. So, I don't   know if that totally answered your question, but  those were the things that we looked to put into   this contract. Just to just to be clear, too,  the the per instance makehole remedy was 290,000,   I believe. 29. I would have to go back and look  at exactly, but I think it was 290. Yeah. Uh,   and if I may, uh, Chief, do you also want to  mention the RFP that's currently out? And so,   I actually do have an RFP out. I have another  slide. Um, well, I don't know that this would   be appropriate to put the slide up, but just for  uh for the council's knowledge, on February 27th,   I issued a request for proposal for other  companies and other other vendors that would  

be out there. That proposal were is due  back to us to close on the 27th of March.   And then we have probably about a 60-day window  of choosing uh analyzing, evaluating, choosing   um the vendor that we would want to bring back  to council for consideration. That's helpful. So   I I do want to just state that for me one of the  biggest issues that I have with what happened and   maybe I'll speak more directly to you is that I  find it deeply offensive that Flock allowed that   uh natural search national search feature  to be deployed and did not inform us that   that was happening knowing that we're a  sanctuary city knowing that that was a   deal. You have to understand you and you you  know your system. You should have pointed that   out and made it clear. And to me that was very  disingenuous and makes you a company that's not   trustworthy. Um, I want to continue to say that  unfortunately over my three years on council,   it seems that we have a lot of vendors who  don't think it's quite important to adhere   to the contracts they have with the city. They can  pick and choose what they are going to adhere to   and whether or not they're going to value what we  say and kind of dare us to say anything about it   or dare us to find it or dare us to catch them.  And it and it's it's it's it's I don't even have   the words. It's obnoxious. Um and it's, you know,  definitely makes it not a company that I'd want   to do business with. Um I I don't know if you have  anything to say for your company, but this is not  

an oopsie. You know what your system can do. Yes.  Well, thank you, council member, for sharing that.   Um the flock system was developed mainly in as its  main purpose to help law enforcement solve crime   better and as a deterrence. Uh, but it was also  meant to be easy to use. Um, we know that a lot   of the platforms and systems that law enforcement  uses, they're clunky. They don't talk to each   other. They there's all these other issues and  and they're not very usable. One of the reasons   why Flock has been successful is that we've made  the product easy to use. and um in doing so the   options of who you share with was made developed  universally throughout the country the same.   California is an exception um and in terms of its  um ability uh in in its restrictions to not share   outside of California. And we recognized that that  was a shortfall in our product at the time when we   assumed that California would use it and agencies  would comply with their own policies um as they   chose fit. And when we realized that uh a many  agencies were accidentally sharing on National   Lookup without realizing it, we did create  the digital fence that uh Chief Chief Simmons   mentioned. Uh, so as of last year, March of last  year, agencies in California cannot share outside   of California even if they wanted to. Just for  clarifi clarifications, you believe that it was   the agency's fault? No, we're not assigning blame  with anybody at all. We made the system flexible   to use. And you didn't tell folks in California  that that feature was there? We were nobody at  

our company was actively monitoring the systems  or settings of each customer. Did you mention or   did was there was did you make folks aware during  the training process that that was a feature that   they needed to consider? I believe that during  the training process the national feature was   discussed. The national feature was discussed but  not in its totality. and I was actually part of   that training and so was IT manager Tam, but not  the two-way reciprocal portion of that national   feature. So, I continue to feel like there's some  disingenuous things going on here. Um, I have I   don't think it it matters the other things that  are being said. do have other kind of uh concerns   that I wanted to address and this goes to less  this particular company but kind of the world that   we're living in now. Um, and this is the part  where, you know, it's hard. Um, proliferation   of surveillance, you know, ring cameras, phones,  security cameras. Every time you cross the bridge   in any bridge in the Bay Area, it's a license  plate reader. Um when we looked at the map,   I don't know if we have that map that showed the  other jurisdictions that are using flock. Uh we   do. Would you want that map up? Yeah, just uh  KCRT. Um can you please go to slide number 19? Thank you. And so what was the green again?   uh green indicates that uh that those  are jurisdictions that are sharing with  

other agencies by choice in California that are  choosing to share info to California agencies.   And then the blue the the blue is um those are  agencies that are not sharing. They're closed   uh databases that solely are contained within  their agency only. And the list of jurisdictions   down the side, what is that? Those are the  jurisdictions just in Contraosta County that are   currently uh using flock uh technology. So, one  of the things that this picture painted for me is it seems like no matter where you go in the Bay  Area, as long as you don't stay only in Richmond,   who have our cameras turned off, that you're going  to encounter a camera that you're going to your   your your license plate is going to be registered.  Like if you go to Safeway, that's an El Certo. If   you go to, you know, Hercules, if you go to all  of this list of of folks here, Berkeley, I think,   was on the list, San Francisco, there's cameras  capturing people. And it I don't think that it's   realistic to believe that people who live in  Richmond only stay in Richmond. So when I try   to think about what is it that we're talking  about here, um it's hard for me to understand how having a blackout space in Richmond  where people are traveling using all   of these different systems provides true  security from this kind of surveillance.  

It's hard for me to understand unless they only  stay in their house in Richmond, you know, then   they'll then they can be safe. They're not going  to go to Elsto. They're not going to go across a   bridge. They're not going to, you know, use a card  or a thing or they're not going to have a a phone.   Um, you know, and and so that also is something  that I feel like I have to consider, right? Um, we live in a different world. There's a  so many I think Safeway knows more about   me than I know about me. And all that data  from all those systems are all stored in   other places. I don't have control over it.  Even if I say my little thing on my thing   and I'm really good at trying to not click all  the things. Even the apps that I have ask me,   apps that have no nothing to do with maps  will ask me if they want me to be tracked.   I I'll let you finish one one more sentence.  You've overdone your time. Okay. So, I I feel   like one other concern that I want to mention is  the reverse effect. If Richmond is a black hole,   who is that going to look attractive to? Yeah.  And I worry about that and I want to be honest   about that. That if people know there'll be  a slower response in Richmond, we do not have   cameras. If I was somebody who needed to do what  I do and it's not legal, I'd go to Richmond. Yeah. So for me, this question is company that I  don't trust an enormous amount of investment.   I think it was $250,000 in equipment and

some issues around how we understand  surveillance is actually happening in 2026. So,   thank you. Thank you. Um uh council member  Jimenez. Yeah, thank you. I think for me the   the biggest thing is that um we are like in our  city yeah we don't have control over everything   but in our city I think I I hope that we can  do whatever we want to pro whatever we want   to protect or thank you whatever we want we  we we have to do to protect our community   and having a company that first of all is making  us liable. They put in the contract knowing that   we were a sanctuary city that you can share data.  That is actually acting in bad faith because it's   like until oh they may not cash out and we didn't  do that. That is also on us right then you only   not violating just city making us violating  city policy but like state policies as well.   And until people start talking about that, then  this company didn't say anything. You were mad   because they didn't tell you anything. So for me,  it's hard like, and I want to be really honest.   It's not about whether we have flock. It's it's  not about whether we have the cameras or not.  

It's about this company that is lying to us  and putting us in all these situation. Excuse   me. Um I had asked people to be respectful. So  please please be the kind of person you want   other people to be. And I and I really like I  really value that you turn the cameras, right?   I really value that you did that for the  community and I truly believe that like   you did it also because you understand the trauma  that the immigrant community is having right now. Mothers are calling me and are calling people to  say if it's safe to go to the school and pick at   the kids when they had been seeing that oh maybe  eyes is in our community. sometimes is is a false   um report report but that generates that um fear  saying that we had these cameras even if it's   if they leave Richmond saying that we have these  cameras here that according to this report that is   making us liable and we are li like we are going  to be sued because we approve a contract that   makes to violate our own policies and I heard  one of the comments saying you made policies   and you violated them but now they are saying  let's continue with flock so it's like telling   us to continue to violating our or our or policies  when they are criticizing us for violate like for   doing that so if I like you and I and What I was  expecting when you sent us that email saying I  

found this. I was expecting that you were coming  before and I have a conversation with you and   you told me we should had I should have brought  this before and and what I told you was that I   was hoping that you were bringing other options  because other options like you mentioned that   other options are available. So why you decided  to go with Flax knowing all the controversy,   you being really mad about what they had done  about then no explaining to you the feature and   just trying to just like kind of like it's kind  of like don't tell me don't don't ask don't tell   something like that. So I I I I generally want to  know. Yeah. No, that that's a fair question. Uh,   Councilwoman Mendes, thank you. So, part of my  analysis, it was a journey to get there. It was   multiple meetings. I had uh there was a a council  member this last uh week or two asked me about   my interactions with with Flock if I if I had had  any. And the answer is absolutely. I had had many   um Zoom meetings with executives, meetings in  person. I wanted to give them the 20 question   grill of what occurred, what happened. I want to  understand everything. And those meetings took   time. Understanding what occurred and processing  it in in real time took time. Understanding what   changes Flock has made has taken time. Um to  see what safeguards they put in place. And the   best way I can I can liken it to is is with any  technology, you're going to have a riskreward   assessment that is done. Um whether it's in the  police department or any city department or any  

business for that matter, there's always going to  be potential side effects that you have to figure   out how to mitigate or you have to figure  out how to how to deal with if they happen.   But the overall mission, the overall goal,  the the ri the the reward that you're after,   you have to weigh those things. And in that  process, I was weighing what it was going to   take to totally remove Flock as a vendor to  totally procure another vendor. the amount of   time it took to go from procuring flock safety to  actually being able to go live with flock safety   was months and months and months because those  things don't turn over overnight. And so looking   at the community benefit, you know, I've come  prepared with a list of, you know, we we talked   a little bit about statistics, but really what  I'm mostly interested in is the stories of the   real people that we deal with every day u that are  victims of of horrendous crimes. And when we know   that there were tools that were available  at our disposal that we're we were using, please that we were using to be able to find  resolution and bring restitution to victims.   And then when I see the lag and I see the issues  where folks are going months upon months with no   resolution. Um I I I have because I I'm very  careful right now because I was accused of   politicizing the last issue that I brought forward  to in real time when I learned about it. And I do   not want to exploit or politicize any victim ever  in this city. from my mouth, from my intention,   will there ever be the politization of of a victim  in our community? Because that's a very real thing   they go through. But I I I I have the stories of  the cases and if you knew them, if you knew what  

they were dealing with and how we were trying to  find resolution and most of these crimes that have   committed, I have a list of 51 open cases right  now that are violent felonies. um that had we   had our cameras operable, if if if that situation  did not unfold with Flock, had they been operable,   the tool to our disposal, I'm not going to ever  sit here and say that Flock will solve the crime.   I'm going to tell you that Flock is a tool. Flock  safety, ALPR, let me say it that way. ALPR was   a a tool to help us solve crime and and bring  resolution to these victims. And not having that   tool knowing exist is the part that doesn't sit  well with me as a police chief. And that's Paul   part of what my analysis was. So I am also waiting  that because I had the other side of the stories.   We have heard like women's that are seeking  abortions in other states because where they   live is illegal and this flock they they start  um being criminalized because um they they had   found them doing that with the cameras. So I have  the other side where and this is my fear. I am   also waiting my decisions about this with the the  knowledge that some people can be uh be prosecuted   because they had this information and I don't want  that. Yeah. So that is my my thing is like how I   am like they eyes came to my neighborhood like  nearby and took two members of of the community.   Right. So that is also the other story and I  think like we don't have the stat statistics   of that and I would like to have more statistics  about how these cameras are helping because what  

I am hearing from from this conversation about  data is that probably yes probably no we we don't   know your time is up so I will give you a little  bit of time to finish. Yeah, quickly. So for me   is that we are dealing with bad deals here and  this is another bad deal. We cannot be trusting   a company that tricked you and wasn't really at  front and made you to turn off the cameras and   because of that there were some repercussion. So  we we want to have safety but the safety of our   community is no contracting with flock. Thank you.  Thank you. So uh we have five minutes before we   uh adjourn unless we Mr. Mayor I'll make  a motion to um continue the meeting until   the end of this item and we include the next  item as well. It's left over from last time.   Item X4. Well, there's several items from  last time. I think we just Let's just get   through this. I don't know that we're  going to be done in 30 minutes. I don't Okay, so we have council  members have made his motion. Council member Council Member Brown.  Yes. Council member Bana. Yes. Council   member Jimenez. Yes. Council member  Wilson. Yes. Council member Zapeda.   Yes. Vice Mayor Robinson. Yes. And Mayor  Martinez. Yes. The vote is unanimous. Okay. Um, Council Member Brown.

Okay. um try to get through this because  this is really um a conversation that is   overdue and a conversation that um I believe is  very divisive in nature um when we're talking   about protecting our immigrant communities. Um  although we saw that graph and and the increase   um while the cameras were still on that  we want to be mindful that the presence   of cameras doesn't necessarily deter  crime but it does support our staff in   identifying and solving incidents more quickly and  I believe that's the objective of this tool. Um,   I want to respond to one of my colleagues comments  about fear and I just want to say that fear isn't   an isolated feeling that only exists within the  immigrant community. Um, I believe it stems across   communities. Um, my 16-year-old son has never  walked to our local corner store. That's a real   thing for me. I would never let him walk to the  store. Um, even when I drive him to the store,   I get out and go get whatever he needs out of the  store because that's a real thing. People will   drive up in the city of Richmond, jump out with  assault rifles, and spray your entire car. Um, it's really sad that we are debating the safety  and we're sort of pitting communities against one   another because I want to emphasize that public  safety is immigrant safety and protecting one   community while leaving others vulnerable is not  public safety. is negligence. And I believe that  

there were some errors, initial errors in the  flock system. And I do understand the concerns   about us starting in 2023 but not finding out  into 25 about um the potential exposure or the   exposure. I wouldn't say potential, but the  exposure. Fortunately, the information wasn't   shared. That was fortunately. What I did see is  that there was um a situation that was identified   that and also it was repaired by flock. They  cut it off even if you try to accidentally   look up like you can't even do that. So I feel  that technology across the board with wherever   technology across the board is not a complete  guarantee that no incidents or um functionality   concerns will arise. That's technology. But what  I'm most concerned about is when those type of   situations do arise, how do we address it? How do  we address it? Do we throw the entire system away   or do we fix it? Um, and I want to share something  too regarding flock because and I thank you for   joining us and I'm I'm so saddened that all of the  Flock Raw is coming on you, but uh, nonetheless,   um, Flock went through a competitive RFP process.  They went through a competitive process. So,   it's not like we just pull Flock out  of the sky. They went through a very   um, competitive vetting process. And out of all of  the vendors locally within California, nationally,   and even internationally, Flock outperformed them  all. And I'm not a I don't know anybody from Flock  

or paid by Flock. I could care less who the vendor  is. However, the systems in our community need to   return to its normal state. Regardless if it's  not deterring crime, it's helping our officers   and investigators s solve it more quickly. And  not only did Flock outperform, but out of 200   out of on a 300 scale, they had 295 points. That  goes to show that there was something appealing   about Flock that attracted the city of Richmond to  the company. So, I believe that we should take our   chief's recommendations if we could praise him for  shutting off the system whenever he saw fit that   something was wasn't right. um why can't we trust  him and with that same responsibility of returning   the system when he's telling us this is what's  going to help my department run more efficiently.   Um we're not the experts in the room. Um and also  just to reiterate um we're critically understaffed   at the Richmond Police Department. We have I  have families that call me all the time about I   haven't heard anything from this, I haven't heard  anything from that. And all I can say that if we   do away with um not returning Excuse me. Your your  time is up already. Okay. I didn't hear a noise or   anything. I know. I'm I'm protecting us from the  noise by Can I finish the last little part? Yes.   Uhuh. Thank you. So, um where was I? if we don't  re so the our staff is crit our department is   critically understaffed and this is a tool to  assist with keeping things more efficient and  

um my last point uh Mayor Martinez stole it  from me because he cut me off but nonetheless   I am a proponent for returning flock or whoever  I'm returning turning extending the contract of   flock until the council sees fit to find another  vendor, but I don't believe that the discussion   of who the vendor is in this moment should dictate  the safety of our um the public safety. Thank you. U council member, thank you. I make  it brief because I already talked. So,   uh I I just have a couple of points with  regards to what council member Wilson said that   um I believe what uh she said that we shouldn't  trust the chief to be a data security expert but   I believe we should believe the chief that crime  has risen uh without the cameras and in my own   community it's a residential community there are  not many businesses so the usually crimes are more   around commercial area We never had uh so many  crimes that the residents would contact me in   addition to contacting the chief. So I contacted  the chief that there has been a wave of car theft.   There has been a wave of armed house robberies.  It has really shaken the community. It's been   very scary to them and everybody's asking for the  camera. M I just have a brief question for Shannon   uh Moore, our city attorney, because um it  was mentioned that we will be sued. Again,   I don't believe we have inherently good or bad  companies. They're all profit motivated. It's   upon us to have safeguards and guard rails to have  a good contract. Can we do it? Private discussion  

on the days is your question. Can we develop a  contract that has legal protections such that   we that the city has remedies to pursue if any  sort of breaches uh occur? Yes, the answer to   that question is yes. Okay. Thank you. That's  all I wanted to know. Thank you very much, Council Member Sepeda. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.  Thank you, uh, Chief, for being here again,   and thank you for being here. I I will start  with questions because that's where this timing   is for. Uh can you share and I know you shared  a little bit ago you don't want to politicize   uh any of the victims but unfortunately our  failure to do something those victims become   statistics and unless we talk about them people  will not know about them. So last time you shared   about one individual, a minor who was being  trafficked and we couldn't find her. Are you   able to share uh type of incidents or crimes  where the cameras would have assisted in the   investigation? Um sure. Like I I referenced  um earlier, um I do have a list of 51 felony   cases right now where the the cameras would have  been of assistance and the types of offenses was   there armed robberies, brandishing a firearm,  assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery,   armed robbery, attempted homicide, assault  with a firearm shooting, strongarmed robbery,   homicide, and and they're all like that. All 51.  I'm not going to bore the council with going down   that list, but but they're all like that. Um,  some of the ones that really stand out to me,   um, I turned the cameras off on November 19th and  on November 23rd, we had an armed carjacking of a  

senior citizen in our community that ultimately  led to that senior citizen being shot in the   commission of the armed carjacking. Um, we  are still investigating that case today. Um,   that was back in in May and and and I'm sorry, not  May, that was back in uh November. Um, attempted   homicide December 13th involving juveniles. It was  three juveniles. Um, the juvenile victim that was   shot, it was an attempt murder. He's probably  not going to ever recover. Um, this case has   been in the media. Um, it's a case we're still  investigating. He will probably be in some form   of a medical paralysis the rest of his life.  Um, that was u in the uh on South 25th Street.   Um we had a homicide um actually in your district,  Council Member Zapeda at the IHOP. Um that we had   descriptions of vehicles um unfortunately that  case ended with the suspect taking his own life,   but we would have potentially had an opportunity  to get to him first. Um, we have another human   trafficking case that's happening right now.  Um, where we have vehicle descriptions of the   the pimp that is moving this individual. It is  a Richmond case, not an out of town case. Um, we have another attempted homicide that was in  February and on 22nd Street uh that was in broad   daylight. Um, I think uh, Councilwoman Brown  alluded to how there can be a situation where   someone jumps out of the car and sprays your car  with bullets. That's essentially what happened   here. There was at least 25 rounds filed from an  automatic weapon from one vehicle to the next. And  

this was right in front of McDonald's uh, on  23rd Street. Two shoot two shooting vehicles,   both with automatic uh, rifles. Uh we had vehicle  descriptions, but by the time we were able to pull   video to get those descriptions, the cars were  long gone. Um anyways, I I I could go on there.   There there there's more and more that I can  share. You just those are the types of cases I'm   talking about. Not stolen vehicles, although those  are very important. These are the real victims and   cases where we really are trying to bring closure  for injustice for people that are forever changed.   And you just mentioned that you pulled video.  Where did you pull it from since the cameras were   not on? We're getting video from local businesses.  We have to knock on doors and try to pull the   video from neighborhoods. Uh Ring cameras, I  think, was mentioned by somebody on the dis. Um,   sometimes we're getting them from our own CCTV  camera cuz CCTV is still up. But if it doesn't   catch the plate, we have just the description. If  we would had description of the vehicle, we could   run it through the ALPR ALPR side of the house to  see where that car is moving at that moment. Um,   so CCTV helps on one hand, but it can be help only  to a point where the AOPR would help on the other   hand. So, if I'm hearing you right, we've got  cameras somewhere. Someone I know for IHOP, the   cameras were at McDonald, they were at the Ford  dealership, they were at the building next door,   and it took the officers, and I walked around with  you as well, so I was able to see where they were,   but it took the officers much longer than  it should have to get that data and then   potentially save the criminal who shot  the other person. We could have saved two   a life potentially. That's correct. Yeah. So  cameras are still there. So the surveillance,  

it's either our cameras and we have access to  save lives or we spend more time trying to find   who may have a working camera. Correct.  That's what I'm hearing. Thank you. Um you you mentioned query and the word accessible.  Can you provide your definition of what those   two words are? Yeah. So, the data the  data I have evidence that I can prove   that the data became accessible. Um, but  I have no evidence to prove that the data   was ever accessed by anybody and used in  any way, shape, or form. In other words,   this cup is accessible to me and now I have access  to this cup and I'm using this cup in some way,   shape or form. So I know that our data became  accessible but we have no evidence that data   was extracted from our database and then obtained  and used in any way shape or form. And that's part   of my analysis when I when I came when I'm coming  what has brought me back to this table today and   last council meeting was weighing what has the  damage been and I know there's been damage. I   I recognize that. But if I need chemotherapy cuz  I have cancer, I'm going to take the chemotherapy   and I understand the side effects that I'm going  to have to deal with. I'm going to try to deal and   mitigate those side effects to the best of my  ability. Right? That's in my family right now,   which is why it's coming to my mind. It's the  same type of thing. We're doing everything we   believe is the right thing to do to mitigate what  the risks were so that we can continue to provide   the service for what we think the issue is for  our community. Thank you for that. Um, and then a   question because we we're focusing on flock a lot  because you RPD owns the contract. So, because you   own the camera the cam the contract we're all  we're talking about is RPD, but I believe that  

cameras have also helped uh other departments  like public works and our fire department. Can   you share a little bit about that? Uh well if I  may can I just invite public works director and   our fire chief to the podium and they can answer a  direct question for you conversation on the days. I'm going to let the chief go first. At least you're consistent, Daniel. Good evening.  I'm sorry. Uh, council members of Payday,   could you repeat the question? Uh, yes. Uh, can  you share with us any instances where some of   these cameras have been helpful uh to the fire  department? So, um, we don't actually have any   involvement with the u license plate readers.  Uh what we were beginning to uh look at to   pilot a joint project with the police department  which also involved flock was the uh DFR the uh   drone as a first responder. Um there are certain  instance in incidents emergency incidents that the   uh real time footage of the scene helps us make  uh incident command decisions resource orders.   Um we've used them be uh not the flock drones  but we have used drones through a neighboring   uh um through Elsto fire and one through the  police department's other drone program they   had to uh get real-time footage of uh wildfires  in areas where there's no aircraft responding   on that initial response. So we can kind of  see uh where the firefront is headed uh what   houses are threatened. Uh there was a use for  us. We were looking at using them potentially   for hazardous materials incidents uh where we can  get reconnaissance and real-time footage without  

putting our personnel at risk initially.  Um there's also certain types of rescues,   technical rescues such as cliff rescues or water  rescues off the coast that we could uh utilize   the drone for. So that's uh the program we were  just beginning to discuss and doing some demos.   uh it would be launching um automatically through  a GPS uh signal and coordinates to a dispatch   location for an incident. So uh we never got the  program off the ground because the program was   uh shut down because of what the chief  discovered. Um but that was kind of the   potential we're looking at at uh maximizing  the use of the drone program. Thank you. next in line. Next in line. Yeah, for the record  poly works director. So, um we er pilot a a   program back in November. We 2024 we activated in  five of our 26 hotspot illegal dumping hotspots   locations. We installed flow cameras combined  with solar lighting. What happens is the the   flow cameras need power and then we cannot install  them in PG&E poles and then we need to work with   PG&E and that's a long process and then we don't  get the permits from PG&E to install them in   their poles. So we decided to identify locations  where we can install our own poles solar lighting   that could power these cameras. So in the five  locations that we install when we talk about a   illegal dumping hotspot, we're talking about  location that at least twice a week we go and   collect illegal dumping. So at least twice a week,  every single week of the year. So in these five  

locations that has reduced to about three times  per month and we suspect that the people who do   do that have moved to other areas but at those  five locations has reduced considerably. Thank   you. Thank you for that. Um, and I also heard a  story where cameras, excuse me, I believe there   might have been uh flaw cameras that might have  also helped uh with one of the arsonists in one   of the big fires in California. Are you able  to share? Yes. Um, as is with any other crime,   70% of crimes have a vehicle involved and that  is the reason why there's so much diversity in   the types of crimes that Flock is associated with  and helping to resolve. Um there was a arsonist   in Menescino County and with the flock cameras  we were able to identify the vehicles that had   passed a certain um point at that time when the  fires were starting and we were able to apprehend   um the arson suspects at that time. Thank you.  I I asked that because I know council member   Bon is very much into fire stuff so or non-fire  stuff so it's more for her so she knows it's a   tool for her. Uh thank you. Um, now in regards  to uh uh sensitive areas that were mentioned,   are we able to make sure that the cameras are not  in any of these sensitive areas that they're not   focusing anywhere they are? Yeah, we actually have  policy that prohibits that from being the case re   uh reproductive locations, hospitals, uh things of  that nature. Um, you know, cities like San Jose,   you'll read in the news that they've made like  a a drastic change in their flock policy. Their   drastic change complies now with what our policy  has always been, and that's deleting data every  

30 days, not having cameras. Like, we have been  conservative in our policy from day one. Thank you   for that. Um, next I want to ask because there's  the the question of of you went out to an RFP,   right? So you you're you have always been  proactive and that is something that I appreciate   you since you since I've known you and you were  proactive in in turning them off because you had   a concern. You were proactive when you heard that  there might be further concerns. So you did the   RFP already proactively. It still hasn't come back  yet. Um but if we were to even try to move to a   new new company, can you share a little bit about  some of the constraints we will be going against?   So cost time. Yeah, sure. So to give you an idea  of what our current like upstart, I call them what   our sunken costs are to to get off the ground with  flock safety when we onboarded them in 2023. We're   about $244,000 in expenses to to get moving. that  that's $166,000 in installation fees and and about   $76,000 in staff costs to in do the to do  the install along with them. That was in   2022 2023. So, I'm not sure I can't I cannot  answer right now what will those costs be on   another vendor. We're waiting for that to come  back within the context of the RFP to see what   will those sunken costs be to get started again in  another vendor. If we take the the current system   out and we transition to another system, um it  would be 2026 numbers, not 2023 numbers. Um I   would plan on having probably about a 20% increase  is kind of my best guess. Again, it's just a best   guess that we would be looking at a probably  about 350,000 or so to get rolling again. So,  

our total sunken cost between the two systems  would be a little over half a million dollars.   um in terms of time, projected timeline, and  I do have this on a slide. If I could have   um KCRT please put up slide number 38, I would  appreciate that so that the council can see. Um   I I want to make a quick correction. The second  arrow, it is actually supposed to say March 27th,   not March 3rd. So, please make that correction  for yourself. I was a typo on my part and I did   not get the cor the updated PowerPoint in in time.  So February 27th I put the request for proposal   uh out on March 27th we expect that to close  and start receiving those proposals through   the procurement process of the city between March  30th and May 30th. That's the vendor evaluation   and selection time period. It's an extended time  period because this is a a a very comprehensive   implementation of a technology system. It's an  ALPR. It's a CCTV. It's a DFR program. It's not   a a quick analysis. We have to make sure that the  systems are compatible with the locations that we   currently have. Do we have to find different  locations? Do we have to find different power   sources? There's an extensive evaluation  we'll have to make once we see what vendor   uh points out the best or performs the best. So,  we would hope to have that done by May 30th. Uh   July 1st um is fiscal year's closed. There are  no POS and and we're not bringing anything new   to the council. July 6 is when I would propose  to have the next uh potential vendor option or   presentation of of how what process we  went through to the council. September   uh we would uh be in hopefully full contract with  with the new vendor and start working on all the  

city permits. So what you have to also factor  in is each one of the devices require a separate   city permit. So right now we have 188 devices. So  that's the permitting process for 188 different   devices and locations that have to to occur. So  it's an extensive staff uh process there. I would   hope that the my goal would be that by October the  installation of new hardware would would begin.   And I want to say it would begin because with  when we onboarded Flock Safety, um Eric, how long   was the total process from the time we started  installing Flock Safety to the time we had um our   system up and running completely? So we started  with uh we started in March and I think we've   uh had all the cameras installed uh within six  months. So I just want the council to understand   it's not an overnight process. It's it's it's a  very labor intensive process and we would have to   overlap that process with coordinating with flock  to remove the current infrastructure so that we   can install new infrastructure. So those are just  the realities of the situation. So we're looking   for maybe about a year and a half if we were to  put in a new system. I I I I would hope sooner.   I would hope sooner. maybe 12 to 14 months.  Okay, thank you. Thank you for that slide. Um, I want to put a little bit of context as well  in regards to stuff that I've been seeing out   out there in the internet world where certain  groups are calling uh saying that RPD is doing   mass immigration surveillance, which is fake news.  It is wrong and it is bad. And what they're doing  

is they're causing fear in our communities instead  of going out into our communities and telling them   the different tools that could be available to  protect them. There was an article that I read   a couple of months ago where ICE is using our  own cell phones and they have what they call   sales site simulators. So if they really wanted  to find you, they don't need to get into our data.   they can use our cell phone and ping off their  own towers to find us and we're not talking   about that to the community. Your time is up.  So, we want to make sure Thank you. If I can   just finish really quickly. So, we want to make  sure that we let people know the right stuff in   there and we're not doing surveillance. I trust  you and I trust that you're going to help us get   us to the right place to continue keeping  our community safe. So, thank you so much, Council Member Wilson. Um, question for city  attorney. Uh, could someone who is stalking   me do a public record request act to get the  data where in Richmond my car has been spotted   on plot cameras? Is can you repeat the question?  Yes. If someone is stalking me and wants to know   where I go in Richmond, can they do a public  records act request to see where my car goes   uh has been spotted in Richmond? There's a camera.  There's a camera right at the end of my block. So,   can you can Eric I think Eric Tam can help  me respond to that request that question? Council member, I believe I know what you're  referring to. There's a case, I believe,   out of Washington that that uh caused that  concern. And my understanding is that uh   that case decision is specific to the state of  Washington. It does not impact California agencies   and it would be actually against the law. They  could submit the P, but it would be nonresponsive.   We don't provide that data uh via P. It's not  something that we would release. Yeah. Right.  

Right now under AB34 in California, it is illegal  to share AOPR data that is obtained in the state   of Is that the legal opinion? That's Yes, that's  true. AB that he's correct on the law there. Okay.   Um my next question for the city attorney is our  city um sanctuary policy sanctuary city policy   says we cannot do business with any businesses  that broker data to ICE. It doesn't say they have   to broker our data to ICE. I think the fact that  Flock continues to have what's called a side door   relationship with ICE in which um you know their  client they they stopped directly contracting with   this federal government but it's widely know  other clients passed passed the data to the   federal government including ICE and so to me that  constitutes a data broker relationship with ICE. I   understand your your your question. I need to look  at our specific sanctuary city policy. I can spend   a couple minutes looking at it because I think  your your question is broader. It's not just our   data. It's Yeah. Yeah. Even if even if we believe  which I don't that our d our data is siloed,   I think the fact that data in other parts of  the country are going to ICE through flock means   flock brokers data for ICE which is a violation of  our sanctuary policy. Last question. Um, Council   Member Brown said, "Oh, actually, no, you said  too, so you you backed it up that no ev there's   no evidence that the data was accessed. Can you  talk me through like what investigation you did   in order to reach that conclusion?" Uh, audited  our system to see if if we were able to determine   if any agency utilized our data and Flock was not  able to tell us if any data was ever extracted out   of our our database. So, I have no evidence from  from the data side if there was anything used and   I've had no case, no allegation. I've had Sorry,  but no evidence that it happened. Do you have  

evidence that it did not happen? No, it might  have happened. It potentially could have. Yeah.   I'm just simply saying nothing's ever come to the  surface in my world to understand it. I Yeah. No,   I get it. But there's a difference there. We  don't actually have any evidence that it didn't   happen. It might have. Okay. Last thing I'll say  is nearly 50 cities have dropped flock in recent   months. Three years ago, that map with the flock  dots was empty because no one had flock. And three   years from now, it can also be empty of flock if  people like us as decision makers stop enabling   this company by giving it new contracts.  So, it's going to be a no for me tonight. Thank you. Um um I want Excuse me. Um, I I want  to let everyone know that uh Vice Mayor Robinson,   Council Member Jimenez, Council Member Brown uh  and Council Member Zapeda has used all their time.   Uh I refused Jimenez and Brown to speak extra  because their time was used up at this point.   Uh Wilson uh Wilson has 19 seconds. I don't need  it. And Bana has a minute and five seconds. So   um um and I have five minutes. So yes. So the  question is um is the reader read only selected   vehicles or um does reader read does the reader  does the reader randomly select vehicles or read   all of them or you it it reads the license  plate of every vehicle that passes in front  

of it. Okay. but doesn't detect I mean answers  the question I guess just helping a colleague   yeah no if there's a question I'm happy  to answer whatever the question is when   did we decide that we were going to go vendor  so you you provide you already issued RFP yes   uh what triggered that just the very sensitive to  the the nature of this conversation and and the   council and the diversity of opinions and really  What I'm after is protecting the technology in   this community. I am not a flock representative.  I'm not any other company representative,   but I think the technology in our community is  beneficial to this community. So, if the council   had a decision one way tonight, I wanted to be  prepared to come back to council into the future   with more options. And I'm trying to just cover  all my bases. Thank you. And I just wanted to   say I really appreciate your transparency. with  the community and with the council and you're   being proactive um and caring for the safety and  security of the community. Thank you very much. All right. Um I want to be clear that  I'm not opposed to uh ALPR technology,   but if we're going to use it, we have to do it  ethically and responsibly. And we have to do it   with safe safeguards that are strong enough to  to pro to protect our communities uh especially   our immigrant communities. Um I don't trust flock  and I have good reason not to. Uh in Illinois the   secretary of state's office discovered that the  US custom and borders protection gained access   to license plate data through flock system  in in direct violation of their state law.  

And the state secretary of state said this sharing  of license plates data of motorists who drive on   Illinois roads is a clear violation of the state  law. Uh and the audit found that flock did not   have proper safeguards in place for data sharing.  That's a real failure involving federal access to   local data that puts vulnerable communities at  risk. And uh the Amazon cloud is is not a safe   place. I mean everyone keeps their data there,  but it's not safe. I mean we have we have white   hats and black hats in the community and you  know the hats change colors depending on what   side you're on. So um there are people who know  how and do access data off of the Amazon cloud.   Um, so we need to have a company that is based  in California. We need a company that's based in   California because they will be more uh restricted  by California law because they will know that law   and they will adhere to that law and it also keeps  the money in the California economy. We want to   keep uh the the California economy strong. And uh  another thing I have about uh excuse me uh I have   asked for you to be respectful and to not talk  out while the council is deliberating. You've   done a pretty good job up until now. So please um  so um I'm asking you does does Flock do lobbying?   Does Flock lobby? Do we have lobbyists? Yes. Yes,  we have lobbyists. And do you have one here? No,  

we do not. You do not have one here? No, we do  not. We have one in San Francisco. I see. So,   uh, there's no one in this audience that's paid  by your company to influence the council through   community. Correct. Okay. Well, then, um, uh, so  the stories that I heard about, um, uh, Edward   Escobar speaking on a radio station, uh, saying  that Flock paid him, uh, it was that, was that all   AI? I heard that comment in uh one of the public  comment speakers who dialed in as well. Uh I can   tell you that we are not paying anybody to be here  and what we heard in that public comment those   accusations were p plat were were false. Well, I  heard the I heard the broadcast myself. So either   I'm hearing things or someone on on the radio  is pretending to be Edward Escobar and lying. So um you know this makes me trust you even  less. Flock is not paying that man. Okay.   Well then well then we have someone in the  community who's who's uh playing the council. So, um and uh this this thing about um this thing about uh uh politicizing individuals.  Um at the last council meeting, you mentioned   someone who was in dire straits and that you had  two officers out looking for her. Six. You had  

six. And uh and you didn't put an uh APB out for  her. You didn't do an Amber Alert. You didn't uh   give any information to to anyone. And and why is  that? Because there are investigative techniques   that police use to find missing people that if we  do other counter things that folks might think we   should do, it otherwise jeopardizes the case. And  that's actually all I can talk about that. And   it's also not a case out of the city of Richmond.  It's a case that belongs to another jurisdiction.   And so our ability to move on certain things  and do certain things are not Richmond PD's   decisions. They come out of other jurisdictions  decisions and we can't compromise their case. Um   there's a lot that goes on to find somebody  like that and I have to be as general and   generic as possible because there's a lot that  we can say that could happen that can trigger   unintentionally an outcome that is more damning  than what we start with. That's just okay. So,   um um Contraosta County has a contract with uh  with Floss. So, uh we're surrounded we're in the   middle of Contraosta County. So, um uh were they  able to track this this phone uh uh in the rest of   Contraosta County? So, Flock doesn't track phones.  Oh, okay. I'm sorry. Track the license plate. I'm   not sure what Contraosta County was able to do.  Again, this was not our investigation. It was an   outside agency's investigation. We were operating  as an outside assist while we had evidence that   the person was here in our city. Okay. So then, so  then once they left the city, then they were uh in   contra the responsibility of the investigating  agency, right? Okay. Okay. So, so then um uh   once they left then then they were someone else's  responsibility and there's nothing that we could  

have done even with cameras. Oh, correct. Well,  no. No. If we had the cameras on at the time,   there's a lot we could have done after they left.  Oh, no. After they left. Yeah. No, after they left   a mute point after they left. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.  Well, it's it's a very important point because   uh uh Well, actually, there's no way to know since  the other uh uh jurisdictions aren't communicating   with us about about the about the case. I guess  they're communicating with Stannislaw County. No,   they were communicating with us, which is why we  knew they were here. I know, but but after they   left, you didn't know where they were, right? And  and so they stopped communicating with you after   they left. Is that correct? That's correct. Okay.  That's that's the point I was I was making. Okay.   So um uh I am very confused about this lobbying  point. You have a lobbyist. Uh there's someone   here who says that he was paid by you and you  say that you didn't have any uh uh doings with   you. So, um I think that um uh you can't be  trusted and uh I will um ask for a motion. Sanctuary city. Yes. I someone else  was talking to me in my ear. Sorry.   We were just wondering if you have an opinion  on the point I was making about sanctuary city   data brokering. Speaking again. So the um the  original contract that Flock entered into required   uh Flock to comply with our sanctuary city  policy and they did so. Um and they we have   if you look at the attachment um to the agenda  item, they did um comply with our sanctuary  

city ordinance. And I will say that our policy  itself um specifically states, let me pull it um if we want to go into uh specifics that  um no person or entity that provides ICE   with any quote data broker or extreme vetting  services. Um they're prohibited from doing that.   And there is defined terms around what constitutes  a data broker or extreme vetting service. Um which   I can read those definitions but my my belief is  and uh Flock has has um attested to this under   penalty of perjury that they do not um they're  not considered a data broker extreme betting.   Um and I can go and do you want me to read the  definitions? Okay. Um all right. Um so a data   broker is the collection of information including  personal information about consumers from a wide   variety of source sources for the purposes of  reselling such information to their customers   which includes both private sector businesses  and government agencies. So it's the resell I   think I'd focus on that piece. Uh and then the  second form of a data broker is the aggregation   of data that was collected for another purpose  from that for which it is ultimately used. The aggregation of data that was collected  for another purpose from that for which it   is ultimately used. I didn't draft  this policy. It's interesting, huh? Okay, that's data broker. Um, extreme vetting  means data mining, threat modeling. No,   I wasn't interested. It was it was the second it  was the second provision. So, I will tell you that  

um you know that Flock did sign um our  sanctuary city policy when it originally   you you're aware of this when it originally  entered into the contract. So, it compli   um and it attested under penalty of perjury  that it was not a data broker as defined by   our sanctuary city policy. I believe that but  I think That is what they do. All right. Um,   is it time for a motion? I would like to make a  motion that uh we not renew this uh this this uh u this contract, but we uh go with the RFP and try  to find a company in the state of California.   Can I make a replacement motion, please? Well,  we'll have I need a second first. I'll second   that. Okay. I make a motion that move we move  the item as is. I second. Okay. The point of   clarification. Yeah. Can I can I clarify that? Um,  is that okay? Yeah. So, I think um we want to make   sure that we direct the city, if you're going  with your motion, direct the city attorney and   city manager to negotiate an an contract amendment  with Flock that includes an unauthorized sharing   provision. I want to make sure we've negotiated,  you know, the exact language in terms of an   amendment that's legally sound and that is  in the best interest of the city. Thank you.   And that we own our own data. Okay. Yeah, that's  the motion and I still have a second. We already   own our own data, right? Yeah. I I second. And  again, just point of clarification, we have two   options in front of us and you're you're going  option A. Option A. Yes. Okay. What is option  

A? Option A is a motion on the floor. Yeah. Okay.  Okay. Ready. Council member Brown. Yes. Council   member Bana. Voting on my motion. Yes. Council  member Jimenez. No. Council member Wilson. No.   Vice Mayor Robinson. Yes. Council member Zepeda.  Yes. And Mayor Martinez. No. The motion passes. With council members Jimenez, Wilson, and  Mayor Martinez voting no. Um, I would like   to Excuse me. Uh, I need quiet now because uh  I would like to adjourn. Excuse me. She hasn't,   which is why she don't doesn't understand.  I would she hasn't. Excuse me. I would like   to adjourn the meeting in memory of Latitia Tish  Bobo of Richmond. She was an eighth grade school   teacher and musician who was fatally shot on  Saturday, March 7th, 2026 in Oakland. Thank you. She does it. She does it.