City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you. Thank you.

Good evening and welcome to the City Council's meeting of July 1st, 2026. This is our Saratoga's regular session. I'd like to call the meeting to order and advise everyone that the meeting is being recorded and the recording will be made available on the city's website. I'd like to ask you all to please stand if you can. Join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Britt, I was wondering if you could please continue with the roll call and the other legally required information that we must dispel.

Members of the public may participate in this meeting in person at the location listed on the agenda or via remote attendance using the information listed on the agenda. Public attendees participating remotely are automatically muted and are not viewable on camera. I will now call the roll. Councilmember Aftab?

Present.

Fitzsimmons? Present. Zau?

Present.

Vice Mayor Walia? Present. Mayor Page?

Present.

We have a quorum, and the agenda was posted on June 26th.

Thank you. I do have a report from our closed session. The closed session was held on June 23rd, 2026, and there was no reportable action from that meeting. And earlier this evening, we also held a closed session, and I am very pleased to report that at that meeting, the City Council directed its labor negotiators that no further negotiations are required in connection with the proposed contract for our new city manager, Drum roll, please. Leslie Arroyo. And that contract is on the agenda for consideration later this evening. Earlier this evening, we held a joint session with Saratoga's Chamber of Commerce and building owners. I see Jim Cargill, the president of our chamber currently. Would you please share a brief summary of our meeting and talk a little bit about what's coming up with the chamber?

Thank you very much. We had a wonderful joint session, lively conversation. Jim Cargill, president of the Chamber of Commerce. We had quite a few board members there present, a couple that have turned out, both Vicki Selig and Tiger Tierling, who have done nine wonderful years of service. So I want to shout out to them for all that they do and have done for the community. I told them they're not off the hook yet. They're still going to be required to hang around. The mission of the chamber is really something that we're after strengthening the business community by advancing the success of our business members and community members, really promoting the vibrance of Saratoga, enhancing the economic culture of Saratoga, social vitality of the community. And we do this with sound leadership. We do this with collaboration, and we do it with advocacy. So it was a great conversation centered around all of that. And the chamber, we highlighted quite a few events that the chamber does throughout the year, starting with the wine strolls. We have one in the spring. We have one in the fall in November. And those are really wonderful experiences to bring the community together. At Mother's Day, nice springtime atmosphere. And the one in the fall has Candy Cane Village, the tree lighting. So it's really a nice way to bring the community together. AGAIN, KIND OF ADVANCING THAT AGENDA OF, YOU KNOW, VITALITY AND BRINGING FAMILIES TOGETHER AS, YOU KNOW, AS WE DO IN THIS COMMUNITY. THE OTHER MAJOR EVENT, AND I HAVE THIS KIND OF WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL POSTER FOR THE CAR SHOW COMING UP ON SUNDAY, JULY 26, FROM 10 TO 4. IT'S A WONDERFUL EVENT. TIGER TEAR LINK AND THE TEAR LINK FAMILY REALLY HAVE SPEARHEADED THIS EFFORT. It's the 15th annual, I believe, on here. I think we only skipped COVID, but we're not going to count that and remember that, so we'll just forget that. But it's a wonderful day. It brings about 8,000 people to Saratoga. Just a wonderful day, but it's also a week-long event. So it starts with a kickoff party, and then there's a Thursday Rev'n'Up rally. I think that's at Jake's Pizza. The classic cruise on Saturday, we meet at the Chevron station there, and you know, hot rod around the streets. Well, we don't really do that. It's usually very slow and people get kind of lost. And then the car show is that Sunday, the next day. But it's really a fun event, time that we really kind of, you know, kick back and enjoy the city. It's pretty quiet during the show. It's noisy at the beginning and noisy at the end with all the hot rods. But, you know, at least we don't have some of the, you know, the noisy traffic that typically on a daily basis kind of can rev up and run down Saratoga Avenue. So, you know, those are events that the Chamber puts on, and we really work. The other event, which is happening tomorrow night, and I think this is going to get another shout-out, is Saratoga Nights. That's another event that's really designed to invigorate the village, create repetitive events, visits to the village, get people to discover that. We have a great band. It's tomorrow night from 5 o'clock to 8 o'clock. So it's a first Thursday of every month from April through October is the way it's designed. We're in year two, building on that kind of franchise and really kind of working towards getting our member vendors and other vendors to come in and kind of showcase what they do. We have a band. We have a beer and wine tent. We get food trucks. The tables and chairs are provided by the city. So it's a nice place to come and dine. People can grab takeout, food truck, and really enjoy kind of an evening with family, friends, and just hang out. So it's our little hangout at least once a month and designed to kind of create that extra time. traffic, and also maybe repetitive visitation to Saratoga and have people discover something that they may not have noticed. And that's happening tomorrow night from 5 to 8 o'clock, so July 2nd. Our next one is August 6th, and then the first Thursday, and I don't remember the date in September, and then the last one in October. So usually have some local live bands. We're working on kind of some next programs, so it's a fun event. But The Chamber really participates in the business community. We do grand openings, ribbon cuttings. We have monthly socials, Wednesday socials that anyone is invited to, certainly business members, so it's a great way to network and talk to people. We really promote through the social media and local media networks within Saratoga, KSAR, and other local programs. So that's really what we're about in a nutshell in the conversation. Generally focused on how do we increase that. We kind of have a chicken and egg problem in Saratoga with getting businesses to invest and foot traffic and kind of how are we navigating that. And it's a It's a slow process, and it's a one-by-one. We have some nice businesses coming in, some rebuilding happening. I see more foot traffic. We encourage it. It's word of mouth and creating those kind of repetitive events that bring people downtown. So that's really what the Chamber is involved in. I mean, while we are member-driven, we really welcome all and encourage people to kind of join that membership. AND PARTNER AND COLLABORATE WITH THE CITY TO BE THE VISITOR CENTER, TO HAVE THE PANFLIETS TO TELL ABOUT HAKONI GARDENS, TO TELL ABOUT CORY PARK, THE DIFFERENT PARKS AND HIKES THAT PEOPLE CAN DO, LOCAL BUSINESSES WHERE THEY CAN GO AND VISIT. WE HAVE A SUGGESTION TO GET THE VISITOR CENTER OPEN ON A SATURDAY, WHICH I WOULD LOVE TO DO AS A FUTURE VISION, AND WORK TOWARDS THAT WHEN PEOPLE ARE REALLY HERE. YOU KNOW, ALL THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON, WONDERFUL CONVERSATION AND REALLY APPRECIATE THE COLLABORATION WITH THE CITY, THE SUPPORT OF THE CITY THROUGH THE GRANTS IS INTEGRAL. WE COULD NOT DO IT WITHOUT THAT. We are a volunteer-based organization, and we don't survive without having volunteers. And so anybody listening, and I hope you all are, we need volunteers. It's a great way to invest in your community. It's a low lift, but it's very rewarding to work an event for a couple hours. We have a great event coming Saturday, July 4th, in Kevin Moran Park. It's just really fun to see this small town in this 9 million person community you know, area that we call the Bay Area, and we still have a small town feel with that vibe. So anyways, that's what the Chamber's about. Appreciate the collaborative conversation and, you know, the support that the city gives to the Chamber. Thank you.

Thank you, Jim. Any questions or anything? Okay. Thanks very much. Appreciate it.

Come to the car show.

All right, next we have oral communications on non-agendized items. This is an opportunity for in-person attendees to discuss any matter that is not on tonight's agenda. The City Council is generally prohibited from discussing or taking action on non-agendized items, but we often instruct staff accordingly. Britt?

If you would like to address the City Council on an item that is not on the agenda and you are attending the meeting in person, now is the time to approach the podium. Mayor, I see no speakers.

And I do see a remote speaker with their hand up. We do non-agendized items comments for remote speakers at the end of our meeting. So thank you. Okay. So we'll close the oral communications on non-agendized items portion and move to announcements. I'd like to share just a few announcements and then make sure that my council member and fellow council members have an opportunity to share any of theirs. So as Jim talked about, please join the Chamber of Commerce and your Saratoga community for Saratoga Nights. It's tomorrow night, July 2nd, and the first Thursday of each month through October from 5 to about 8 o'clock in the heart of our historic Saratoga Village. Enjoy an evening filled with live music, wine and beer tents, a lively community vibe that showcases the charm of our town. And while you're there, take a stroll, visit a local restaurant or a local business that's open. But this will give anybody that wants to come an opportunity to enjoy the lively, inviting downtown experience in Saratoga. So we hope to see you there. 4th of July, Jim talked about this one a little bit too. Saturday, July 4th, Saratoga has what I think is probably the most Americana 4th of July festival you will ever go to. It's at Cameron Park. The event starts around 9.30. You may want to come a little early for close parking and bring a chair or blanket to sit on our beautiful park's lawn. we have the McCarty's bill band, which is about a hundred members. Strong people come from all around the country to play in this band for one day a year. Um, lots of patriotic marches. It's a really good time. Uh, there'll be community singalongs. We do, uh, You'll see people dressed up as historic figures from our history. And it's just a really, really great event. You will truly enjoy it. And you can learn more at www.saratogajuly4.com. So we welcome you to come. It's not one to be missed, let me tell you. Then we've got our movie nights. So grab your blankets, your lawn chairs, and the whole family because the next summer movie night is right around the corner. Join the city on Friday, July the 10th in El Quito Park for a free showing of Zootopia 2. We've got popcorn, and you'll have a great evening under the stars. Community resource tables open at about 7.30, and the movie starts at sunset, which is around 8.30 p.m. So come early, connect with your neighbors, meet some new friends, and enjoy a Saratoga summer tradition. Are there any council members who have any items that they'd like to... No events. Okay, thanks. All right, our first item tonight is a ceremonial item. It's a proclamation recognizing America's 250th anniversary. I think I'll get this right. It's the semi-sesquintennial, if I remember that correctly. It took me a while to practice it. So I was wondering if Susan Ross and the other members of the, you're the regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution Los Gatos chapter. Please join the council on stage. And please bring everyone up. All right, so as mayor of Saratoga, I am proud to commemorate America's 250th anniversary and recognize the Los Gatos chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. This milestone marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence and provides an opportunity to reflect both on our nation's history and the values that continue to shape our communities. Through educational, historic preservation, and patriotic initiatives that Daughters of the American Revolution helped to promote awareness and appreciation of American history and heritage while encouraging civic engagement and community involvement. We appreciate the Los Gatos chapter's efforts to engage, despite your name, with Saratoga and engage our community in honoring this significant national milestone and inspiring future generations to reflect on our shared history and envision the future.

So I've got to... A word here for you.

So you can take that. And then I know, Susan, you may want to make a couple of remarks. So love you to do that. And then we will move on. I can hold it for you. Let's take a photo. OK, we'll do the photo now. And then we'll. All right. And there you go.

So you covered quite a bit, Chuck.

Oh, my goodness.

I think I'm going to eliminate part of my speech.

So he covered the majority of the basics of DAR, except we were founded in 1890.

We're about almost 200 strong right now. We did pass our one millionth member a couple years ago, so that's very cool. We do own a city block in DC right next to the Red Cross building and down the street from the White House. So we do own some significant property over there. A little bit about Los Gatos. We started, sorry, Saratoga. I do live in Saratoga, though. It's okay. It's all good. Let's see. And she lives in Saratoga, too. Long-time residents, okay? Anyway, so we started in 1929, so we're almost 100 years old. Currently, we have about 155 ladies covering a wide area, but a lot of us are here. And we are growing, surprisingly enough. We're a service base. We're a 5013C, of course. And last year, we put in about 10,000 service hours.

10,000.

And we're sure that a lot of it was never reported. But that's what we did report. We also participate in, I'm going to read this, San Jose Veterans Parade, Los Gatos Children's Parade, 4th of July, Los Gatos. I come and pass out flags every year at the Saratoga one. So I will be there. Not sure what I'm going to wear this year, but I have to think about it. And we do Memorial Day here for the cemetery. We provide the wreath. We also do JROC ROTC awards in the community. We have a Good Citizen essay as well as the American History essay and we provide veterans stuff at Fisher and to name a few things. Anyway, thank you so much for honoring us today.

You're welcome. So how about we get everybody close and we take another couple of pictures. And then you can share them with all the gals. All right. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next up is our consent calendar. And before we start, there's something that I neglected to mention at the beginning of the meeting. We will be closing the meeting in recognition and... KIND OF CONDOLENCES FOR THE THREE GENTLEMEN THAT DIED IN A CAR CRASH UP HIGHWAY 9, WHICH IS IF YOU TAKE BIG BASIN WAY AND YOU KEEP GOING TOWARD SANTA CRUZ, THAT'S BIG BASIN WAY. IT'S ALSO KNOWN AS CALIFORNIA STATE HIGHWAY 9. AND AT THE END OF THE MEETING, WE WILL HAVE SOME REMARKS ABOUT THAT FROM COUNCILMEMBER AFTAB. SO JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT. AND I APOLOGIZE FOR MISSING IT BEFORE. OK, CONSENT CALENDAR. THIS CONSENT CALENDAR CONSISTS OF ITEMS THAT ARE TYPICALLY ROUTINE AND MOSTLY NONCONTROVERSIAL. BUT WE ASK IF ANY MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL WOULD LIKE TO PULL ANY ITEMS. AND IF THERE IS ANYBODY FROM THE PUBLIC, EITHER REMOTE OR IN PERSON, WHO WOULD LIKE TO HAVE AN ITEM PULLED, NOW WOULD BE THE TIME TO COME UP AND ASK FOR IT. ANY COUNCIL MEMBER LIKE TO PULL AN ITEM? I would like to pull items 1.5 and 1.6. Do we have any members of the public who would like to speak? Anybody who's accessing us remotely? I don't see anyone, so we will move on. So do we have a motion on the items other than 1.5 and 1.6?

Tina. Happy to move. Approval of the other items. I was trying to be brief. Okay. I'd like to move that we approve items 1.1 through 1.9, with the exception of items 1.5 and 1.6. Thank you. Do we have a second?

Yan? Thank you.

I'll second that.

Okay. So we have a motion and a second. All in favor of approving the items that Tina mentioned, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Motion carries unanimously. So I pulled items 1.5 and 1.6 because I see Martine in the audience, and I wanted to make sure that because he's got a long drive home and he stayed here for the meeting, I wanted to make sure that he came up and at least got to be introduced. And so I'm going to ask you one question, Martine, if you wouldn't mind coming up to the podium. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor Page and Council.

Thank you. Thanks so much. And I just want you to know I really appreciate it. I know you've got a long trek home, as a lot of our public works folks do, and I want to know that I appreciate it. I think we all do. Thank you. I just had a question because you are our parks guys. I believe I understand what these contracts are for. Maybe you could just explain it because you're the guy that owns them.

Okay.

So, the 1.5 is for the emergency tree services with Mario Tobeta Tree Care and Oscars Tree Service. Those services are used during storms, strictly for storms and emergencies. 1.6 is the landscape maintenance contract with Dinsmore. It is our most feasible contractor to do the landscape. We did in 2024 open up for bid, and the price tag was about $900,000. So we decided to extend Dinsmore, and they have improved their services, and I think a lot of people are noticing it, especially in the lighting landscape assessment districts.

That's it. That's great. Thank you, Martine. And I've got one other personal note. We've got this awesome 4th of July event coming up. One, ask, please don't water the lawn on Friday night. And the second one, anything that we should be concerned about in the park today? Anything that we should be aware of?

We had a mainline break, 6-inch mainline break. So the grass isn't as vibrant as other years, but it's green.

THAT'S AWESOME. THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE'LL BE CAREFUL. THANK YOU.

HAVE A GOOD EVENING.

I TAKE IT THERE WERE NO OTHER QUESTIONS. SORRY. I'D LIKE TO MOVE APPROVAL OF ITEMS 1.5 AND 1.6. SECOND. We have a motion and a second. All in favor of approving items 1.5 and 1.6, please say aye. Aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? The motion carries unanimously. Thank you. All right. Next up is general business item number one, 14065 Saratoga Avenue Mills Act Agreement Non-Renewal.

GOOD EVENING AND HAPPY ALMOST FOURTH OF JULY. IN 2013, AND BY THE WAY, I'M CINDY McCORMICK. I'M THE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR THE CITY OF SARATOGA. ACTUALLY, NOW MY NEW TITLE IS PLANNING MANAGER.

SAME JOB.

In 2013, the city executed a Mills Act agreement for the property at 14065 Saratoga Avenue. By resolution in 2024 and by the adopted policy in 2025, the council requires all Mills Act agreement property owners to execute new 10-year maintenance agreements after nine years. after multiple attempts to obtain the updated 10-year plan from the property owner at one four zero six five Saratoga Avenue and City Council discussions where an extension was provided to the property owner and finally the City Council directed staff to bring back a notice of non renewal for this property and that's why we're here this evening and Did make one final attempt again to contact the property owner last week. I haven't heard back from her and And one of our historic commissioners also tried to reach family members. So we've made multiple attempts. And the property owner does still have the ability to protest the non-renewal until November 12th. If the non-renewal is executed, the taxes will progressively increase over the next 10 years until the abatement is fully exhausted. This concludes my report. Happy to answer questions.

Thank you. Any questions? Thank you. I guess we'll now open up the public comment period. Is there any member of the public present in our chambers or accessing us remotely who would like to make a comment on this item? Seeing none, we'll close the public comment period and bring it back to counsel.

I just want to say thank you to Cindy and staff. I know there's been a lot of work and outreach here as part of the Mills Act in general the last couple of years. I feel like the council staff have done a lot to reach out to try and engage with the folks that entered into the Mills Act with this property. And so I do think we should move forward to adopt the resolution not to be renewed. I also brought this up at the Saratoga Historical Foundation BOARD MEETING YESTERDAY, JUST THAT THEY WERE AWARE, AND THEY, I THINK, WERE LARGELY UNDERSTOOD, AND SOME OF THE MEMBERS ON THAT BOARD HAVE ACTUALLY TRIED REACHING OUT AS WELL AND BEEN INVOLVED. SO WITH THAT IN MIND, I DO WANT TO, YEAH, I'M HAPPY TO MAKE A MOTION TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION DIRECTING THAT 14065 SARATOGA AVENUE, THE MILLS ACT AGREEMENT NOT BE RENEWED. SECOND?

I second, and with a comment, really thanks, Cindy, for trying to reach out. I don't even know how many times. I saw some of those emails I was copied on, and I know you have tried to call, you have sent letters yourself, and all of this has been duplicated, quadrupled through other sources as well. So I just want to acknowledge that. So if there is any member of the public who feels that we didn't do enough, we did enough, and we did more than enough through staff. So thank you so much.

Any other discussion? I'd just like to thank staff also and all the other people, apparently, that reached out. We value our history and our heritage, and it's appropriate that we try as hard as we can, and I appreciate that. With that, all in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Any abstentions? That the motion carries unanimously. And we will move on to item 2.2. Item 2.2 is our city manager contract. Richard, I think this one's on your plate for the time being.

This is on my plate, Mayor Page, members of the council. Following council's selection of Leslie Arroyo as our new city manager, you provided instructions to your labor negotiators to develop the contract. And the contract that's presented is consistent with your direction. So I'm happy to answer any questions that you have.

Any questions? I feel like we've talked about this enough times. OK. Then we'll open the public comment period. If there's any member of the public present or viewing us remotely, now would be the time to raise either your physical hand or your virtual hand if you're attending remotely. Seeing no one, we'll close the public comment period and move to motions and discussion. Anybody? Yeah.

I'm ready to make a motion. I move to approve an employment agreement for the city manager.

And I'll second that one. Thank you. Any discussion?

I just want to say thank you to Leslie, we're excited to have you as city manager. Also, just to give context for our residents and our employees, you know, we did conduct a pretty thorough, you know, process, recruitment process, as in line with best practices for recruiting for city manager. We hired an executive RECRUITER, OPENED UP THE POSITION FOR APPLICATIONS. WE APPRECIATE EACH AND EVERY APPLICATION. THERE WERE SOME REALLY, REALLY INCREDIBLE CANDIDATES, BUT WE FELT LIKE OUR ACTING CITY, OUR ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, WHO BECAME ACTING CITY MANAGER, WHO WILL NOW BECOME CITY MANAGER, WAS THE BEST CANDIDATE, AND SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT.

ANYBODY ELSE? I'D LIKE TO ECHO COUNCILMEMBER RAFTAB. I THINK THAT Leslie is an awesome choice. Her experience here at the city and her previous experience is going to be a great help. One thing that our recruiter did say, that this was the strongest pool of city manager candidates she's seen in quite a while. So that's a good thing about, I think, the city of Saratoga. It says really good things about us and even better things about Leslie. We're looking forward to it. With that... Do we have them? Oh, we did that already. And we did that. So now it's time for the vote, right? Sorry, I lose track. You know, the U.S. won and all. So all in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much.

Congratulations. Congratulations.

And is Leslie the first female city manager in Saratoga? She is. That is absolutely true.

Another first for Saratoga. We don't do a lot of firsts, but we do some. We do important ones. Okay. Next up is council assignments. We'll start with Bilal.

Sure. So I have two updates. The first one is ABAC, the Association of Bay Area Governments. We had our General Assembly a little less than two weeks ago. There's nothing really controversial besides just the budget, which we do every year. There's always an open question of whether or not the ABAG IS SORT OF UNFOLDED INTO THE MTC AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY OWN A BUILDING AT 375 BEAL STREET IN SAN FRANCISCO, SO THERE IS SOME DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL MOVEMENT ON SELLING THEIR PROPERTY JUST IN THAT. THERE WAS SOME INTEREST EXPRESSED IN THAT LAST YEAR, TOO, BUT WE'LL SEE WHAT HAPPENS. THE OTHER MAIN PORTION OF THE ASSEMBLY ITSELF WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY QUICK. A LOT OF THE ASSEMBLY THEN MOVED TO uh a presentation about the next arena cycle um i shared some context during my last uh my last update i don't think there was anything much more of substance that was shared uh what i there were you know some of the things for example like we'll get the number a year earlier there are some questions in terms of homelessness now being considered there were a number of follow-up questions from city council members and county officials like ourselves from around the region saying what exactly does that mean how can we should we be planning about this and to be frank i don't think the we have the answers to that the answers were basically we're gonna when we get close for that cycle we'll get more information we'll have consultants that do that and help you with that then the next set of questions was well which consultants are they gonna be the same as last time because they were some people thought they were really good some people thought they were really bad so kind of a mixed bag there but overall just a very lengthy conversation around the last arena cycle some appreciation of some of the improvements but also Not a lot of happiness, let's put it that way. Also, not a lot of clarity at this point, except that we do expect the numbers to be higher than they were last time. The other update I have is from the Saratoga Historical Foundation. We had our board meeting yesterday. The Historical Foundation sent a letter to the city following that meeting saying that they will no longer be managing the Blossom Festival going forward. They are open to working with the city to find a community partner, whether it's a community group or a set of really motivated residents to take that forward, just because managing that on the foundation's board on its own is becoming somewhat challenging. So they would love to see this continue. I think a lot of people would. And so we just want to put the word out there that if someone is interested in helping to organize and manage and put on what is an event that has gone on for over 100 years in Saratoga, please feel free to reach out to myself or to someone at the museum.

Thank you. Bilal, did the MTC or ABAC ever consider taking that building they own and turning it into housing, like maybe for the homeless?

A few people brought that up, yeah. But not taken seriously, but yeah. Unbelievable. Yeah.

Thank you. Yan?

Nothing to report at this time.

Okay. Cookie?

Thanks. I have two updates on SASE. SASE is doing well. The cosmetic updating makeover of the senior center is moving forward. Hakone is doing well. Event bookings are higher than last year, and the pond renovation is expected to begin in November 2027. Cool.

Tina?

One meeting to talk about. The Cities Association of Santa Clara County, the executive committee meeting met, and there's nothing to report.

Thank you. And I've got just the mayors and managers of the West Valley met. And our topic was the discussion of the homeless assessment that was done that Campbell took the lead on. And we all agreed to continue the discussion. And Campbell is, again, taking the lead. There was some concern raised by Saratoga about how the numbers were derived because it was kind of we took a small sample and extrapolated. And I don't I still don't think that's the right way to do it. You really got to count them. And that's unfortunate. But we're going to work together as a group to come up with a solution for the West Valley, or solutions in all probability. We did talk about the safe park, rotating safe park that we have, a safe car park for homeless that live in their vehicles that we rotate amongst all of our faith communities in Saratoga. And that's been done for years. IT'S A REALLY BIG HELP, AND ANYBODY WHO'S EVER VOLUNTEERED AT IT, I KNOW THAT YOU, IT'S VERY REWARDING, AND IT'S TREMENDOUS HOW MANY PEOPLE REALLY, THE GOOD THINGS THAT THEY END UP SAYING ABOUT THE WAY IT IS HERE IN SARATOGA. SO WE'RE DOING A LOT OF THE RIGHT THINGS, BUT THERE'S ALWAYS MORE THAT CAN BE DONE. OKAY. ANY CITY COUNCIL ITEMS? NO. HOW ABOUT ANY COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS? Do we have a city manager's report? Your first one. You have something.

I do. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and express my gratitude for your trust. I'm incredibly thrilled and honored to be serving as your next city manager. We have a wonderful, hardworking staff. I'm very excited to work with them. We have a lot going on next year, and I'm just thrilled to be not only working with you all, but also working with our staff, and I look forward to the challenge. Thank you.

You're welcome. Richard, do we have a city attorney's report today?

Just that the city attorney's office and me personally are looking forward to working with Leslie in her new official capacity. It's been great while she was acting, and looking forward to the time ahead.

Awesome. Thank you. Okay, so next up is oral communications on non-agendized items for our remote attendees. So if there's anyone remote who would like to speak on non-agendized items, now would be the time. Britt.

Okay, first speaker is Dory.

Great. Good evening. As you know, my name is Dori Albert, and I'm going to speak tonight about the Bella City Vineyard development on Chester. Not on behalf of the Chester residents, but more as... Gardner Park resident, and also I'm a Neighborhood Watch lead. And I'm also, as you know, a traffic commissioner, but I'm speaking on my own behalf. As you know, the Bella City Vineyard is more than just another development site for over a century. It has been part of Saratoga's agricultural heritage and one of the last remaining vineyards that reflect our city's rich history. The Bella City family owned and cared for this land for more than 100 years before selling it in 2023. Once this historic landscape is replaced with housing, it is gone forever. As I appreciate the number of housing has gone down from 200 to 64, I just want to give council an idea of 64 housing with 80 units, that's going to look traffic-wise. And I understand it's under the California builder's remedy. But while state housing laws may limit the city's discretion, they do not eliminate the responsibility to fully evaluate and disclose significant environmental impacts before a project of this magnitude moves forward. So I'm particularly concerned about the car congestion and safety impacts of the proposed 64 home development together with the ADUs. This project could introduce well over 250, that's on the lowest end, additional vehicles into a neighborhood, an area that already experiences congestion, especially during school commute hours. Allendale Avenue serves residents, pedestrian cyclists, families traveling to nearby schools, and the West Valley College. And given our, we were talking today about our rural environment and also the lack of infrastructure we have and the lack of funding we have, this is going to be a very big environmental impact to our whole area. So under the California Environmental Quality Act, if a project may have significant environmental impacts, an environmental impact report should be prepared. and the Bella City family had publicly stated that this proposal presented to them when they sold the property envisioned approximately 20 ranch style homes and the plans later changed. I believe that 20 is a more manageable number given the numbers I have provided. It will be such a big community impact. So I respectfully ask that the council review the environmental impact BEFORE MOVING FORWARD AND HAVING OPEN SESSIONS WITH MORE THAN THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU. SEEING NO ONE ELSE, WE ONLY ALLOW SPEAKERS TO PRESENT ONCE. SEEING NO ONE ELSE, WE'LL CLOSE THE NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS ORAL COMMUNICATIONS. We'll now close the meeting in remembrance and respect for the three gentlemen that died. Bilal?

Sure. Thank you, Mayor Page. I know we as a council have talked a lot about traffic safety a lot over the last couple of years. Even last year, we had a council item just focused on down the village and Highway 9 and what we could do about that. We had some really unfortunate news in the last two weeks where we had three young men who passed away in a car accident for a vehicle that went off the side of Highway 9. These things, when they happen, they directly affect people that we know in our community. The three young men who died were actually relatives of a close friend of mine. And so I'm actually just going to, just for the sake of their family, in honor of them, going to sort of recite their names. And their families have actually shared some really quick things to say about them. The first person I'm going to mention who was in the vehicle was Ajay Singh Saini. He was 27 years old. Ajayesh's passion was always helping others in need. His mission was simple, help those that needed it the most, no matter the circumstances. During COVID, he used to go work at food shelters and free health clinics. His family is going to honor Ajayesh by continuing to do what he loved, make everyone smile, and to keep serving those who need it most. Next, I'm going to talk about Manjot Singh Dhaliwal, who is 21 years old. Manjot will always be remembered for his warm smile, his quiet nature, and the way his caring actions spoke louder than words. He had a gentle heart, treated everyone with kindness and respect, and loved his family deeply, especially his parents, who were his greatest pride. He will always be loved and forever missed and never forgotten, always forever in our hearts. And last but not least is Ranveer Singh Randhawa, 17 years old. And so just tragic all around. Ranveer was a loving son, a cherished grandson, a caring brother, and a loyal friend. He filled everyone's lives with love, laughter, and kindness. He recently graduated from Piedmont Hills High School and was eagerly looking forward to beginning college. His plan was to become a civil engineer. He had a remarkable gift for bringing people together. His infectious smile, quick wit, and playful sense of humor could brighten any room. His memory will continue to inspire all of us to live with kindness, laughter, and generosity, the qualities that defined him every day. Ronabir's legacy is not measured by the years he lived, but by the countless lives he touched in those 17 beautiful years. Thank you.

Thank you, Bilal. We'll have a little moment of silence before I adjourn the meeting. And now I adjourn the meeting.