City Council - Regular Meeting

Led by then senior Jose Vald Diva, the group wanted to raise the flag on campus to bring awareness to the bullying of LGBTQ plus students and to increase acceptance on campus. This feeling of acceptance quickly dissipated when schoolboard member David Bell made the school administration remove the flag sometime before the school day last Friday with no schoolboard vote, public notice, or clarification as to his reasoning. These actions were deeply concerning to the LGBTQ plus camp community on campus. This was amplified after David Bell released a statement claiming that this was an issue with the pride flag being the only flag flown. I felt that the statement was very disingenuous. If it were really about the pride flag being the only flag flown, he would have decided to put up other flags on Friday. Instead, he took ours down. At a time of increasing politicization of my community, I call upon you to protect the LGBTQ plus students in Soma. I call upon you to allow our community to exist here by officially supporting us flying the pride flag on the high school's campus. We are members of your community. We are the students in your schools. We are your neighbors and we are the leaders of tomorrow. Please protect our ability to fly the pride flag on SVHs's campus by passing a resolution in our support. Thank you.

Thank you, Meline. Hello, my name is Kimberly Torres and I am a junior at the Sonoma Valley High School. I'd like to start by saying how mad and upset I was when I found out the flag was being taken down. I was in shock, mostly in disbelief. Yes, it is back up as we speak, but the anger and sadness we felt is still here. And of course, we're not expecting everyone to support us. But you taking the flag down and the state of our community how it is right now where people are scared and not feeling supported, it really shows your real colors. Not only that, you compared us to our school soccer team and FFA team who them themselves said that they don't have a flag and they don't need it. They get praised all the time. They don't have to handle people saying slurs about them or being laughed at just because of being who they are. So, please make sure this doesn't happen again.

Thank you, Camille. I'm Logan Ta Taylor. I I'm a sophomore at Sonoma Valley High School. And and on a similar note to the two previous speakers, I do not want my hometown to to regress against progress that the action of putting the flag down has been has been exactly this. It has shown that one of our educational leaders does not care about the local queer community of which I am part of. I feel ashamed that that the place where I grew up could be so regressive. California is supposed to be a progressive state. And yet and yet David Bell, one of the one of the leaders of our education system, decided to spit in the fa a ace of that idea and remove the rainbow flag from our high school. The damage has been done. This will this will be a stain upon our town's history and I cannot forgive him for that. The flag being the air was the least that we could was the least that that could be done to support the community. And yet David Bell thought that that was too much. Only after criticism was it decided to to put it back up which is a good thing but the fact it happened at all all is bad and that is my final message. This entire situation should not have have happened, but since it did, shame upon on all of you who supported the removal of the flag.

Thank you, Logan.

Um, my name is Maisie Cotner. I'm a freshman at Soma Valley High School. Um, I'm from a Catholic school and I'm a part of the LGBTQ community and they are not two things that have always gone hand in hand. The act of taking down a flag isn't large in itself, but no small action ever ends without taking it further. In a place where we are able to make all students feel supported, including students like me who grew up without that kind of support and the opposite, shouldn't we also be willing? I understand that there's under representation of other minorities, but clubs are not part of that. They are something chosen, not something assigned at birth that people can feel guilted or abnormal for every single day. I almost always trust our community and people like you. And if one of your goals is to maintain that trust between people like me, then people like David Bell should not be able to jeopardize that and make us feel unwanted.

Thank you, Lucy. Good evening. My name is Lisa Stormant. I'm president of Wake Up Sonoma. I think we live in a pretty unique and special community. As a queer member here, it has not always been that way. It has not always been that I felt accepted and comfortable when I moved here 47 years ago. But I have seen great growth and evolution amongst the adult community in Soma Valley. But I have to say that as a parent of a transgender son who struggled through major depression trying to figure out who he was, the high school environment was not a gentle and supportive place for him and many others. It was a hard time for our family and as much as I tried to get him support from the high school, it was minimal at best. He witnessed some of his peers also struggle with depression and a few took their own lives or made attempts. This is not okay. In 2019, some of the students at Sonoma Valley High School fought hard to take a stand against this homophobia. And an important part of of that was getting the flag, a symbol of pride raised high as a declaration of support to those students struggling. It had great meaning and many students felt seen there for the first time. So for a school board president entrusted with the mental health of our youth, yes, even the queer youth to unilaterally take down this flag without notice, input or explanation as an experiment to see how the students would react. That's actually what he said publicly. was calloused at at at least irresponsible and just plain wrong. When the GSA reached out to Wake Up Sonoma

for advocacy help, we were very glad to step in to elevate their position. But make no mistake, this drive for justice on this issue is being driven and led by these students who have a very real sense of who they are and what they need. It is our job to listen to them. As a city council, we know that you have no jurisdiction over the school system, but the youth of Sonoma Valley live in this city, and your recognition and support of the flag flying year round would be a very important, powerful impact of support in times when there is way too much injustice in the world. Please t take up their cause with a statement of support. Thank you.

Thank you, Lisa. Good evening um council mayor and staff and neighbors. Um my name is Judy Rado. I live in El Verono and um you know since 2019 a symbol has held a place on campus at Sonoma Valley High School, not as a decoration but as a declaration. The pride flag represents more than fabric on a pole. It stands for a visible affirmation of safety and belonging to our students. Removing the flag does not create neutrality or level or a level playing field. It eliminates a message that vulnerable students have counted on for six years. To equate a pride flag with the banners of extracurricular clubs like Future Farmers of America or other groups is a fundamental misunderstanding of purpose. We support our farmers, our athletes, our scholars um because of what they do, but we f we fly the pride flag because of who our students are. So inclusion isn't a zero zero sum game. Adding a chair to the table for one group doesn't make it take a seat away from another group. However, removing the pride flag specifically targets a community that statistically faces higher rates of bullying, isolation, and mental health struggles. So, when a student walks down the hallway and sees that flag, they aren't seeing a political statement. They're seeing a promise. A promise that says, "In this building, you are seen. In this building, you are safe to learn. And in this building, you don't have to hide." When it was taken down, it was telling those students that their vility, their visibility is now up for debate.

To our students, we see you. We value you. We will continue to advocate for a school environment that celebrates your existence. Education is about more than just textbooks. It's about preparing young people to live in a diverse world. By removing symbols of inclusion, we failed to teach our children how to be the compassionate, empathetic leaders that the future requires. So rep representation should not be used as a veil for exclusion. Sonoma Valley High is a place where every single student regardless of who they are or who they love belongs and I I you're part of the equation of you know hopefully your support is there. That's really what we're all looking for here.

Thank you Judy.

Thank you. My name is Kim Pac and I'm from uh the Timblelet community and I go to church here at the First Congregational Church. Um I do support the um students here with the flying of the pride flag. Uh we fly it all year round at our church and are are proud to do so. Um my main reason for talking here is just to say my support in the general plan for the um affordable housing overlay and um as it applies to our parcel and also for any parcel in the city where it would uh be appropriate for affordable housing. Um, it's a very needed part of the community providing affordable housing for people in our community and I' I'd like to see it it pass in the general plan and I'm we're in full support. Thank you.

Thank you, Kim.

Hello, my name is Judah White. I'm in I'm a sophomore here at Sonoma Valley High. I love Sonoma Valley High School. I came out here as gay. And the reason I did that was because I had a community here at Sonoma Valley High School that I found comfortable enough and inclusive enough for me to do that. I previously had struggled with schools that didn't accept my identity, nor did I fully accept it at that time, which is the reason I'm here today. I the pride flag was an important part of me being able to come out because not only did it encourage me to have the strength I needed, but it also sent a message to every single kid who goes to this school that we are an inclusive school that focuses on not only inclusivity but also support. The pride flag represents more than just gender and sexuality. It represents anyone who feels excluded or hurt by a system that quite frankly does not favor them. To equate that to extracurricular activities is frankly abhorentt and should be deeply criticized. as my fellow GSA people did. We all know that these are trying times. We all get that. But to give up is to lose the battle that we are fighting. To give up that

pride flag is to give up my ability to have been able to come out, my ability to h form a meaningful connection with every single one of my peers because I knew that I was comfortable in my school. Thank you. Thank you, Judah. So, we have one more slot. If anybody else in the in the audience would like to come forward and speak on an item not appearing on the agenda. Ah, I knew the invitation was too good to be true.

Hello, council. My name is Belinda Head. I'm a resident here. Um, I hadn't planned to speak, but I've been moved to speak. Um, my I'm queer. my partner um mentor as a troubled teen at Sonoma Valley High School. And I'm just here to say that as a 62-year-old female who never saw a pride flag when I was growing up and struggled with coming out and being accepted, um I am my heart is filled with what these young people have have said tonight. I mean, it's very very moving. They're very strong. They've come here and proven to us what great young people they're going to be and um what incredible um contributions they're going to make to our community and they need support. They need that flag to be flown so that um the city is showing that it will lift them up and and I just applaud them. I think that's phenomenal that you guys showed up and spoke as articulately as you did today. Thank you.

Thank you, Belinda. Okay. with that through the chair. Oh, sure. We do need to u make sure that there's no virtual public comment as well. We've done Well, I think we should allow uh folks in the virtual world to Okay, sure. With that, well, no one's on the Zoom, so we will then now legally close the public comment. Moving right on, we So, I have a through the chair back. Yes, please.

So, I actually would like to request the chair that we do agendaize this topic as and I realize there's other resolutions that we have that may cover u the support for our LGBTQ plus students here in the valley, but I think be and I realize it's a little bit out of our jurisdiction, but at the same time, these students are attending school within the city limits. And I think it's important for us to show you know have a discussion about it to be so that we can show u what I would anticipate would be the support u for them. So thank you.

I would welcome that discussion at some time in the future and I'll look to our city manager in terms of a timing of such. I'll work with you on that and we'll get back to the council. Very good. Thank you. Okay, now we're moving on to meeting dedications and I do believe that we're going to take advantage of technology and tap into our remote council member.

Thank you. Uh thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, I would like to um dedicate this meeting um to Gary Griffith um a teach former teacher at Prestwood um former uh president of the Valley of the Moon Teachers Association. Um I've known Gary um well all my professional life. I I was a teacher at Sonoma High and um you know congratulations all you students that came tonight. Bravo. So, um I think Gary would also be very proud of of everything that he uh that happened this evening. But anyway, I'd like to dedicate this to Gary uh sending my love to his family. um two of whom also teachers in the school district and uh just mourn his uh untimely passing and I'm filled with great memories of uh his service to this community to Prestwood School and to all the teachers in the Valley of the Moon Teachers Association. Thank you.

Very good. Thank you. And um having two children that were taught by Mr. Griffith myself I too uh feel a sense of loss uh and uh appreciation for all that he contributed uh to Sonoma. So thank you. Yes.

I also have a meeting dedication for this evening and it is a dedication for Hannah Alui. So Hannah uh was an amazing woman that worked for Snowome Ecology Center and she tended the native our our uh native plant nursery. She was a bright light in our community and is responsible for I don't know how many thousands of plants that have gone out throughout Northern California that are native plants as part of restoration projects. But she passed earlier um in January. She was a certified California naturalist and uh I I volunteered when I volunteered at the garden park, I volunteered at the native nursery and she just ran that enterprise so efficiently and so sweetly it and it was just such a pleasure to know her and have the opportunity to get to know her. Thank you.

Very good. Well, given our bandwidth for ded uh dedications is very wide, we will happily include uh your recommendation. Thank you.

Okay, moving on. Now, we have an opportunity for my fellow council members to give uh reports and comments since the last time we gathered, which was all the way last year. So, who would like to break ground? Um on January the 8th I attended the uh 1st of 2026 Sonoma Tourism Improvement District meeting. Um and uh all things are going well. Um probably the highlight is they'll be kicking off the wellness campaign um that they uh that they have done in the past that was fairly successful at attracting visitors to Soma. And um so this will be launched in the in the early spring. And um also the hotel on Verono, just if anybody is interested, um they expect to break ground on that project um on April the 1st. And then following that meeting, I attended the Sonoma Valley Library Advisory Board meeting. And um I will report that they still have vacant seats. If you're interested in serving on the library uh advisory board, um they have three seats that are vacant, including a fourth seat, which is a youth member. You high school kids here, something to think about. Um and uh otherwise, they are pretty successful. If you're ever wondered, in December of 2025, there were 15,046 checkouts of materials and uh there were also 9,147 in library patron visits. So, if you look at the numbers over the past year,

they're all very large along those lines. So, it's a it's a very popular uh library and if you're interested in supporting them on the advisory board, I encourage you to to contact the manager at the library. Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah, I I have just two. Uh first I'll say that um every all of us here that uh except for Sandra was unable to uh all of the other members of the city council attended the Cal city's uh mayors and city count council's academy in Sacramento uh last week Wednesday and Friday um which was actually it's very good very good um attended a meeting with uh our representative uh Cecilia Aguar Curry and also a meeting with uh Senator uh Christopher Kabalden uh which is always good for local folks to meet with folks on the legislature and and let them hear what's happening on the local level. So that was good. Um the other thing uh attended uh on I believe it was like January 7th I think um uh Sonoma Ecology Center meeting. Um a lot of legislative work going on there. But one of the things I did just want to report that there's a lot of work that Snowma Clean Power does as well as the other CCAs across the state. um that they were able the the CPU uh the California Public Utilities Commission actually reduced the amount that PG& and other utilities can charge over their costs and they reduced that by about 2% from 11.3 to well about 1% from 11.3 to 9.93%. So good news for you as customers means your rates should be lower. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, mayor. Yeah. Uh it is was our great pleasure to attend Cow City's and so-cal academic training, right? Yeah. Last week and we learn a lot because we are on the city council is volunteer work. We don't usually we don't have uh the dedicated time study new thing but really in the world uh is moving forwards. we need to recharge by ourselves. This is great opportunity uh except for the regular the meeting and also I attend on the policy committee meeting because this year I was appointed by president of Cal Cities as commissioner of the state revenue and taxation committee and term is in one year. I would like to take this opportunity and uh deeply involve uh those kind of the and the law and preparing and try to and make a full use of full use of this legislative opportunities and during our meeting and we you know discussed about and the new tax for that is online and the you purchasing because a lot of the right now streams you you know we didn't pay any sales tax because based on the old tax law that is not a tangible it's not the physical so but right now we want to set up and the new tax and regarding this we discuss about how to locate from the state level county level and the city level I'm so

glad I want to share And because all our fellow commissioners just like come from the small towns like Sonoma and we highly you know support and high percentage and she for our small towns that is my little bit of the share. Another thing uh another I want to report as this afternoon I was attending Sonoma Valley groundwater sustainability agency meeting and today most important thing is we got in the study section and that is in the Russian river watershed and resilience because and the Russian river watershed was selected of the one of the five and the watershed studying the program by the California Department of Water Resources. So we can get the more and the money and the $2 million for the next two years to study any and the watershed and the health and also related and climate change that is your specialty. So the we working very hard and try to you preserve our water source and because why so important for us for the water uh 85% our city's water comes from the Russian river uh another thing this afternoon's the meeting is uh we we set a goal reduce on the ground water usage by 15% within the next five years. Uh this is very aggressive and but we try to work hard

because and groundwater is so important for our in the future. Uh we talked about the measures for example in the future we were and the mandatory install uh those kind of meters how much groundwater you are using and also maybe uh we should make adjustment for the price and give them some the government incentives and if you save the water a lot of the interesting thing that happening I want to keep and updated for everyone Thank you, mayor.

Very good. I I will jump in because I do not see my our Zoom partner. Oh, there she comes back. Do you have anything to report? Anything to report? No. Okay, thank you. Well, I I'll be relatively brief. Um, one opportunity I had of recent was to um tour the new facility at Hannah Boyce Center. There is a facility now that is called today and together and it is a facility that is directing care to both uh those that are inflicted with dementia and Alzheimer's but equally as important for those that are the caretakers and the intent is that this is a facility where you can go drop your loved one off get a little bit of a respit or a break and and to be reassured that your loved one is being uh well taken care of. And so that's at at uh the Hannah campus. It's independent of Hannah Hannah, but yet something that uh I'm very proud that we now offer in the valley. I did also meet with another homeless uh coalition board. Uh it was kind of an ad hoc board where we're continuing to be challenged with how we can best allocate the monies that have been cut significantly and with the goal of of course keeping the providers that we currently have and not lose the work that we've gained. I also had an opportunity to meet with the head of county parks and I'm happy to say that we have an example of coordinating the city and the county with uh kind of a a a tree planting enhancement at the Hughes Little League field here in Sonoma. And um I'm happy that our county cohorts are very receptive to the idea of planting more trees. And lastly, uh I don't want to repeat what has been said. Overall, the only my

one takeaway from the conference in Sacramento, attended by about I think 200 250 people that as I walked around and I had a name tag on that said I'm from Sonoma. Very proud to represent Sonoma and the fact that Sonoma is a great place to represent. So indirectly, thank you to you all. And I think that wraps up our comments and now we can turn to please our city manager with any announcements or updates.

Great. Thank you, mayor. Um, on Thursday, the state of the valley is taking place over at the Sebastian Theater uh starting at 5 5:30 p.m. and we'll have state uh federal, state, and county, and our city representatives there speaking about the state of the valley. Um, our mayor, past mayor, and current mayor will be speaking at that um as well. Um, goal setting for the city council will occur this Friday uh from noon to 5:00 at the community center. and we'll talk a little bit more about that later in the in the agenda when we go over our council recap from the 2025 goals. Um, another update is that we had another ambulance that we um purchased for the fire department to use was surplused. Uh, we decided to surplus that ambulance and send it off to Ukraine just like we did the last ambulance. So, that ambulance was picked up to this morning. um is on a truck on its way to Maryland, then will be shipped overseas and then sounds like it'll be on the front lines uh for their medics uh in April. Um we also just found out from the Department of Health Services at the county that uh their measure O NOA uh home first who provides uh homeless services within the valley for um rapid housing our rapid housing program and our by names list program was awarded $79,000 in this latest round. So, we're excited about that and that's going to be going to the board in March, I believe, for adoption. So, we're um really excited that that funding is going to come to the valley to support our homeless services. And uh finally, our the low valley road bridge waterline repair that the city council um approved an emergency repair contract on uh is complete. Everything went smoothly and uh everything is back in order. So, that's all I have for you tonight.

Okay. Thank you. And now to our city attorney.

Thank you, Mayor Wender. Um I did attend a Cal city's um it's actually the executive committee of the legal advocacy committee. It's where we discuss um supporting amicus briefs or letters for different cases in California. Um just recap in 2025 Cal cities filed 32 amicus briefs or letters in support of various cities. Um we discussed a number of cases. is the one that I thought was was interesting um out of LA was a case challenging development impact fees where the attorney um created an LLC, reached out to a number of developers that had paid the fees. These were fees to support affordable housing and uh basically had the developers assign any claim that they may have had to this LLC and then proceeded to protest the fees late and then bring a lawsuit trying to claim that those that that they were improper that there was no nexus to affordable housing. Um, so the court in the superior court in LA threw it out basically saying, "Look, the it's the person that pays the fee that has a right to a protest it and b bring the action. You can't assign that claim to an LLC in order to get around class action statutes, etc." So, that one um is being appealed by the by this by this attorney. Um, and Cal's should be supporting um the city of Los Angeles with amicus brief in that case. interesting what people come up with

and for this rather limited legal mind an amicus brief is by simple English definition it's a friend of the court brief so it is essentially a brief that Cal's um provides to the appellet court usually to explain the policy implications of the decision that the court is making. So, as opposed to not necessarily on the straight, you know, what does the black letter law say? It's more like if you rule this way, these are the actual practical implications that it's going to have for cities throughout the state.

Thank you. Um, one item that I did fail to mention earlier is that I did have an opportunity to kind of review the various uh council committee appointments that um have been assigned to all of us and there's been uh a few changes but for the most part um my colleagues have agreed to continue supporting their various boards and committees of the past and uh a copy of the assigned committees and boards is available. I believe there are some in the back and I'm sure if you came down visiting city hall, you could get another copy should you have the interest or we run out. So now moving on, we have several presentations this evening and uh because we have um a Zoom participant, um I'm going to kindly request from my fellow council members that uh that we hold any questions regarding the presentation until the end so that uh we're not too embarrassed over our limited video skill sets. So in any event, uh the first presentation is a proclamation proclaiming the month of January 2026 as National Mentoring Month in the city of Sonoma. And I do have now the privilege of reading a proclamation. And I'll be directing that proclamation to the uh executive director uh Susie Gallow. And I also do also want to recognize uh the inspiration of the mentoring many many years ago, Kathy Whitawiki as well. So you can share this proclamation. So, if I may, uh, I'd like to read it and then if you would like to

come forward and make some comments, you'll be welcome to. So, having said that, whereas every day in Sonoma Valley, men and women of many different backgrounds volunteer their time to support a student on Sonoma Valley Unified School District campuses. The mission of the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance is to build long-term mentoring relationships between youth and caring adults. Mentors help their mentees visualize and work toward achieving their full potential. Matches are made thoughtfully according to common interest and needs and mentors guide their mentees throughout the their school years introducing them to experiences and opportunities that specifically address their developmental growth. and mentors and their mentees participate in a variety of extracurricular activities designed to expose youth to new opportunities including field trips, social events, enrichment classes, and family gatherings. The Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance is at the forefront of the mentoring movement, having received national, state, and county awards recognizing the positive contribution mentors make in the lives of children throughout our community. The Sonoma Mentoring Alliance acknowledges and honors the fundamental value and dignity of all individuals and is committed to creating and maintaining an environment that respects the diverse traditions, heritages, and lived experiences of the youth they serve and their families. The Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance envisions a community in which all youth develop healthy, strong relationships and have access to experiences and opportunities that promote growth and allow them to reach their full potential. And whereas through mentoring, Sonoma is

a perfect example of a collaborative community dedicated to nurturing its youth who will become tomorrow's valley's citizens and leaders. Now therefore, I, Ron Wellander, mayor of the city of Sonoma, hereby proclaim the month of January 2026 as National Mentoring Month of the City of Sonoma and call upon our citizens to recognize and honor the individuals who have chosen to serve as mentors of our youth. I further commend and congratulate Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance on the occasion of its 30th anniversary and for in for its enduring commitment to making the future brighter for our youth. So, thank you Susie and thank you Kathy and please come forward. surprised.

Thank you. You have two minutes.

Two minutes. I'll be quick. Thank you, Mayor Wellender, city council members. Thank you, city manager Goen, and city staff. It's an honor to be here with Kathy to represent the mentoring alliance in our 30th anniversary year. In those three decades, we've had over 2400 youth have a mentor through this program that is changing lives. And I want to take a moment now to thank the 300 plus mentors who are currently serving as volunteers in our program as well as those who have served in the past. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Kathy. So I want to call upon our community members who maybe are listening and watching or who are here present to consider mentoring. We have 60 plus students currently on our waiting list. And when you show up to mentor a child consistently week after week, year after year, you send a really powerful message to that child that they matter, that they're worth your time, and that you like being with them. And that is truly empowering. Kathy might have a word to say in the last 30 seconds.

Um, uh, she said it all. There's really nothing new to say except that this week I took a little trip to Sacramento to visit my first mentee who's now 26, married, thriving, amazing. I was her matron of honor in her wedding and she'll be in my life forever. And so that's what mentoring is about and those are the stories. So people that become a mentor, you may have a new friend and a new family member for life. That's what we hope. Thank you so much. Thank you.

You guys ready to come this way? [Applause] May, can I say yes a couple words? Yeah, please.

Thank you so much. and Susie and Cathy. Yeah, you are really our community heroes. I remember Susie came to Sonoma that is the before the pandemic. Yeah. During the pandemic, we all experiencing the hardship. You help bring the family back and bring our community get together so much and appreciate. Thank you.

Very good. So, our second of three presentations this evening will be the presentation on Sonoma Police Department 2025 statistics by our police chief Brandon Cuing. There we go.

Shade was going to be the next step. Excuse me. Could we have a confirmation that Sandra is still with us, please? Thank you. Good.

Mayor, council members, city manager, staff, community. Thank you all. I look forward to this every year. uh not the public speaking part but uh providing the statistics of the community uh as it as it relates to the police department. And so we'll start out with what is your police department? Your police department is myself. Uh there are two sergeants, two supervisors, uh eight patrol deputies, two traffic enforcement deputies, patrol deputies because they dual purpose, one community resource deputy or officer, excuse me, and uh one community service officer. We have one administrative staff who is actually a city employee who is housed at the front of the police department. Uh Letty, you see her smiling face if you come into our office. And two volunteers in policing. Uh what I would make of note here is of the eight patrol deputies and I know we uh went through the contract with the sheriff's office several months back uh but I would just like to highlight kind of one of the benefits that the city receives as in this particular issue. Um right currently today uh of our eight deputies that are on patrol and our two traffic deputies, three are u temporary backfills based on uh long-term medical injuries or 4850 is what they're called. Uh so if this was a small agency, the city would have to carry those those expenses beyond that first 30 days. So the benefit of having having the ability to pull deputies from the sheriff's office over when we get injuries that will occur in any in any occupation. And as well for the month of December, we had a total of five of our 10 patrol deputies that were out on some type of medical or family leave. It's pretty significant. Uh we are down to two volunteers in policing from the four. Uh we welcome more volunteers in policing. We're hoping to get a few more out of the sheriff's office. There's a new group that's gone through training

and we're hoping to get them out here very soon. They are very important for our parking enforcement. If you're not aware, if you've met Eileen out on the street, you know that she's active and does a fantastic job, but uh she needs help. Okay, let's talk about the statistics of what types of actions that the law enforcement's taken. Um, in this year, I'll focus on uh there were a total of uh 6,437 calls for service. Uh, of those 6,33% were generated by the deputies at 2,12 and then 706 reports were taken. So if you looked across the line there back to 2019, uh you may say that in uh 2019 there were more calls for service and more uh officer involved or officer initiated activities. I would say that is correct. U very much so. 2020 uh COVID happened and all of these statistics sort of changed, but they're staying pretty consistent with the exception of deputy initiated activity. And one thing I know when I reported this last year, we this kind of was brought up uh but I've looked at it a lot more uh intensely since then. And what I would also say is that back in the 2019 in the first half of that year, we had a full-time traffic uh officer. So somebody who was out generating calls for service every single time he made a traffic stop. Uh we don't have that currently today. Yes, we have two part-time traffic safety officers who are uh handling accident reports and that type of stuff. Uh but neither is dedicated solely to traffic enforcement with the exception of when school's not in session and our community resource our community yeah community resource officer is able to assign back to patrol so that traffic can be focused on and as you look across those years and I I do believe um last year the question was

are we seeing a trend that we need to be concerned about with staffing I will say absolutely not. I will say our trend and our staffing is appropriate for the calls for service as we'll discuss later in the uh response times. Uh arrest data. So uh this year uh there were 142 adult arrests and two uh juvenile arrests in the city. There were 24 adults cited and these are not traffic related citations. These are criminal citations, so uh misdemeanor type violations. 24 adults and no juveniles. Um I will throw a caveat in there that there have been some juveniles that have been cited for some situations that have occurred on the school campus, but we do not make a practice of citing students on campus. We site them at their residence with their parents. We release them to their parents. So those citations would not show up for the city based on the location of where they were cited. On the other side, 8:49 uh PC of detained and released, meaning that we arrested somebody, but we did not request request criminal prosecution. Uh 12 adults and no juveniles. On accident data, so this is a slight improvement from last year. Uh total accidents uh investigated by Sonoma Police Department this year were 70 uh versus in 2024 there were 90. Uh as we look at the types of accidents, we have uh 49 of those accidents were no reported injury. Uh which is great. Uh three of them were serious injury and I can't really define that other than they were transported to a hospital and uh were either hospitalized or uh were considered to be significant injury type

um accidents. 12 of which were minor injuries and six are unknown. They weren't significant enough to rank under minor or major traffic enforcement on the traffic enforcement stops. So this is not the citations that you saw earlier. These are the um just general speeding stop sign violations uh infractionbased traffic stops. There were 673 traffic enforcement stops. And I will note that my colors in my legend versus the graphs are not proportioned right correctly or not marked correctly. The uh black on the far left of each of these graphs are 2020 and then so on across the line being um corrected into the blue of 2022. So 673 traffic enforcement stops. Um you can see that's down slightly from last year. Uh that is uh part and parcel of the fact that our traffic enforcement officers uh one was uh seriously injured in a motorcycle accident u right before middle of the year and the other one transferred out. So we do have two new traffic enforcement officers who are um neither of which are on the motorcycle but they are both outdoing traffic. So we are improving in that again towards the end of the year. Citations 70 citations were issued. Uh we have increased again in our verbal and written warnings. Uh we've kind of had a philosophy where we're trying to have a meaningful dialogue on traffic stops where we educate and inform and a lot of that comes into these written warnings. Uh we try to hand something to most people so that they walk away with knowledge that what they did was not within the law. Um DUI arrests are up uh 39 from uh last year at 32. Uh this year I believe will have be the first time in many years where we're going to be suggesting a uh name of one of our enforcement officers for the MAD award,

mothers against drunk driving awards uh based on uh his activity in that regard. Um parking citations, parking citations, we issued 238 parking citations this year, whereas last year we were at 360. Um and the year before 779. you can see a significant drop off. Uh we've also, as I already stated, we have we have one and and another um community service or uh volunteers and policing who do our traffic citations for the most part. And then our community um our csos also do those. We are down one cso intentionally and we are down to VIPs unintentionally. They are not paid. So we're trying to get more volunteers in. Again, if anyone knows anybody, we recommend you get a hold of us. In the animal control side, uh we are up slightly in our animal control invol involvement. So, we've had more calls for animal related complaints. Our cso um as I said, we went from two to one. Uh that was an intentional decision that we made uh cost savings and we have uh seen an increase in the activity and the workload of that one person. I still believe we are functioning well with the single cso. And then as I said earlier on our uh priority one emergency response times for staffing uh we are slightly down while we're just under five minutes on priority one calls. Priority one calls are the ones that you see our lights and sirens going for. Those are the ones where there's a physical fight or some um a traffic accident with injury. anything that we have to turn our lights on for. That's what we consider priority one. And I I've spoken around the community and I I will stand by. It takes about six minutes to get from the police station to just about anywhere with no traffic, just about anywhere in

the city. So, the fact that the number is is less than six minutes from the time of call till the time on response scene tells me that there's a very positive towards police officers not being in the building here, but actually being out in the community more. So, they're actually closer to most of the calls. We're lowering that response time. It has nothing to do with we're driving faster or we're we're violating more um driving laws. It has everything to do with the fact that the the the deputies that are assigned here are out out more in the community. And it's not a significant reduction over last year, but it is. I would also just like to say that while these are statistics and numbers, these don't necessarily reflect the essence of the feeling of safety of the community. Uh you heard uh earlier the traffic safety uh issue related to Highway 12 across from Maxwell Shopping Center. We will give that attention. We get complaints and and requests for more patrol like that on a regular basis. I'll say stop sign violations and speeding is an issue in the city of Soma as it is in most cities around our area. Uh we do strive to have more presence and more visibility in locations like that. Uh but really the the fact of these statistics is more about the numbers behind it. But the community safety feeling is more important to us even than the numbers although these are very significant to us. I have any questions? I'm happy to answer them. Any questions?

Chief, with regards to the accident data, um can you say if there is a priority spot or location in the city that that you see more accidents than others?

So, we do we get monthly reports and we do track all of that. Um I'm going to say it's kind of an even um most of them that we've had a significant portion uh last in the beginning part of the year were down around Broadway and Leveron uh Napa Road that area. Um the latter part of it seems to be more on the west side of town. Spain uh West Spain Street we've had quite a few and on Napa Street near Seventh Street West we've had quite a few.

Okay. Thank you. Any other questions? And what about our Zoom participant? No. Um, couple um just quick questions. I've expressed fairly consistently about my my interesting concern about the the activity of the gang here and I also know that you're working closely with the school board and the various school administrators. Just uh a synopsis, a brief uh bullet point or two as far as your assessment. So, I'm one of the few um uh remaining uh gang enforcement officers in the county with the sheriff's office. So, I've had significant experience in in my career working in the gangs. And the way I would best describe it with my history is that uh there's always been a gang presence in the Sonoma Valley, as there is in every community within Sonoma County. What we are seeing is not necessarily a rise in the number of gang participants. What we're seeing is a um outward activity level that we haven't seen necessarily in the last few years, but it's been increasing yearbyear. Not to a point that I'm would ever say that we have a gang problem, but we do have a gang presence and the schools are working very hard and I think they've done a significant amount of work to improve the uh gang presence and outward indicators of gangs on campuses um every single day. We had a very significant gang related u incident out in the valley last month actually end of November and that has um resulted in a lot of awareness.

Great. Thank you. Any other questions or comments for uh would like to open it up to the public if any if the public has any questions and likewise checking in on Zoom if there is anyone that would like to participate. So again, thank you for your report. Wrapping up the presentations this evening will be by our senior management analyst Sarah Tracy regarding the extreme cold weather response planning review of activation criteria and emergency warming center operations. So, thank you. Thought I'd give you a mouthful for your first meeting there, mayor.

Thank you.

Um mayor, council members, thank you so much for giving me space to talk with you tonight about our um extreme cold weather response planning. I would be terribly remiss if I did not acknowledge that there is a large portion of the country that is under a pretty significant extreme cold, snow, and ice um storm. So, I just want to say our thoughts certainly go out to the folks who are um living through that and um the public servants um especially our public works um folks and first responders who are certainly very busy right now in those areas. Um okay, here we go. So, just a little overview of um kind of the purpose of this. Um, one of my other hats that I wear for the city is I'm currently serving as the assistant director to emergency services. So, in our emergency operation center and emergency operation planning um that is our emergency operation plan and annexes that go along with that and all the plans and playbooks that we have for various types of hazards. So extreme weather including extreme cold is one of those hazards that we look for um or that we prepare for I should say. Um this is particularly looking at the review of the criteria and thresholds that the city has set um for opening um an emergency warming center. Um it's a little bit uh high level history use that sort of thing. Um as well as how the criteria was formed and moving forward what we we are doing with it. So before I get started, I do want to just point out um into the criterion operations, it is helpful um to clarify the difference between disaster response and ongoing support because these two things often get conflated. Um emergency management response to communitywide threats to public health and safety. ongoing um hardship and individual emergencies while um very real and very serious of course um but they're

addressed through different systems designed for sustained support not disaster response. So, um, I use those images there to illustrate the point of the difference between, um, what we would consider an event that would require disaster response, as in a widespread wildfire, where we would need to, um, for those of us in city government who are mandated, disaster workers, would um, fill roles that are in addition to our regular roles at city hall where we would sit in NEOC and support our first responders. Um the next photo there is an individual house that is on fire just as equally important but um the scale um is much smaller. So we have things like our fire department and resources that are meant to respond to those types of regular events. City staff wouldn't necessarily open an EOC um for every house fire that there is. There's different mechanisms for that. So that is similar in almost every other type of response that that you see out there including um what we're going to talk about tonight. So also and to put it in perspective um I know the the warming center in particular and understandably receives a lot of attention but it's important to remember that extreme cold is just one of the several winter hazards that we plan for. Um and emergency management we really look are looking at the full picture not just a single tool. So all the things that we would imagine, slippery roads, ice, um fallen trees during um weather events, uh down power lines, localized flooding, impacts to infrastructure, impacts to agriculture. These are all things that we look at, including vulnerable populations. Um when we're talking about any of those particular hazards, um as you can see, there's just a little bit of a coordinated system. the city um is in weekly calls with the department of emergency management with the county where there is a weather briefing that I very much look forward to um that is talking about potential hazards might be coming up and various potential

responses to that um of course with the forecast review emerging risks all those things. So, we also have the planning and risk um framework. So, our hazard mitigation plan, which actually went through an update this year, I'm sure you all read the 500 some odd pages of it. Um where now extreme cold, extreme heat, and extreme wind are now considered separate hazards of concern for our county. Previously, there was kind of an overarching um kind of extreme weather category. So, we will be um looking at integrating that into our emergency operation planning. um we are considered medium risk for those. So other types of winter season preparations we do um in-house obviously you're probably very familiar with our sandbag filling station that is staged every year of course our street sweeper and public information about proper leaf disposal to make sure that our um sewers are ready to handle rain water and all of those really important tasks to make sure that we can sustain um the regular winter weather that we receive. um you know, fire department switches to like swiftwater rescue equipment instead of like during the fire season where they have um different kinds of rigs for wildland fire preparations. There's there's lots of work that goes into that. Um the county does also host pre-season meetings um with first responders and other people like me from other cities who go and hear kind of the collective countywide preparations that are happening. And then internally we have an emergency operations um center group working group that um also does a a winter kind of preparation meeting where we talk about all these things. Um I should also note particular to this conversation that um our police department does do uh along with county and I I could let him speak to it if you would like. They do creek in encampment suites leading up to our wet season

particularly because there those tend to be along our creek side and with rising waters that can cause an added um concern for folks who may be um living and or spending a lot of time along our creek side. So they make sure to do those sweeps and offer support, make sure they get to higher ground, um that sort of thing. So those happen not just once a year. I understand they do happen throughout the season as well because you'll have a big rain ahead of it. They'll try to make sure to that everybody is attended to. Um and then of course they may drift back as we have dry spells like we do now and then if we have another big rain um they do come through to support those folks. And I'd be a terrible public information officer if I didn't at least try to sneak in one um public information message. Um it's very easy everybody four Ps. Okay. Four Ps. Um that's the things we worry about with cold weather. People obviously we worry about hypothermia. We worry about frostbite risk. Um particularly for the inhouse, the elderly, those who are medically vulnerable. Um we also worry about our pets exposure risk for them. Um and livestock for prolonged freezing conditions, plants. Um we certainly worry about frost damage not only to our um myer lemons which some of us uh baby but also um our agricultural community is very reliant on weather as well. Um and pipes burst pipes can cause a real big problem. They can cause a small emergency for you and your house um or a very large emergency for our city infrastructure. So those are things we um certainly are paying attention to. Um I also just want to note that extreme cold loan um without kind of compounding factors. So typically if we don't have power outages, if we don't have um other you know down trees and our roots are are safe, it's not generally a public health threat. Um though risk does escalate with um however many

consecutive days we have these cold conditions. So the longer prolonged a cold spell is um there may be thresholds change based on the temperature might be raised a little bit on a threshold because if it's three nights in a row of a of a little bit of a warmer temperature will have the same impact as a very cold for one night. So speaking of um risk bas uh risk based thresholds and why um we have criteria. So criteria is very important for any type of activation and um cities we love policies and criteria and guide books because we need frameworks in order to be able to deploy services because those services um come with a cost whether it's um staff time literal money um and if we don't have criteria we also might risk um not helping people when they are in need or we are in a situation where um there is a public health emergency. So, we did um create criteria for a extreme cold weather event. Uh it's based on forecast thresholds and advisories that come out from the National Weather Service. So, they have something they call products, but you'll notice ahead of any big event. You'll notice they'll have like a cold weather like notice, like it's a gentle one, and then they'll have a cold weather warning, and then it'll be a freeze advisory, and then it'll be a frost advisory, and then it'll be a freeze warning. and they have all these kind of levels um of activation dependent on what how extreme that weather is going to be. That's the same with red flag warnings versus kind of an elevated fire risk warning. So there's kind of a that's that's something that we're watching closely. Um so we also base them on cold weather health guidelines, our um public health obviously in the county just like when I talked to you about our heat risk index. We don't have anything quite as similar for cold, but obviously in if you're in a region like ours where we don't see cold weather very often, cold may impact us better more than a community that gets regular

snow. So that's the same concept for that. So for us in the city, um, our emergency center activation criteria is tied to a declaration of an extreme cold weather event. So what that is, I have them if you want copies for the the full list of guidelines. Um but we do have um some criteria that was put together in 2003 that this body did approve. Um so in general the criteria for activation of a warming center, though there are things happening before that if we don't wait for a freeze event to um respond to cold weather. But um three consecutive nights that are below 32 degrees or if there's two consecutive nights below 37° but there's additional hazardous um situation that can be a um windchill, a flood warning. Um it could be that our daytime temperatures aren't going to get up above 42 or something like that that there's a series that were um determined. These are u commensurate with what the county has as criteria and other cities in our region. Um we're pretty in line with what other folks are doing. So the city then coordinates with the county and the operational area and the operational area for us is the county um area. So other jurisdictions and there's kind of a coordinated effort to discuss if there's a cold weather event then we usually have extra calls where we call in and then we give updates about if we're opening who's activating and and what services are available. The city manager ultimately authorizes activation when criteria are met and obviously activation is forecasted and this information is available on our website if you're curious about looking at the specific guidelines. So that leads to the emergency warming center operations specifically. Um a emergency warming center was a relatively new term for our community. So before 2022,

I don't think we had opened a warming summer previously. Um though they're not a new concept certainly. Um it's a shortterm overnight resource. It's intended for life saving. Um it's not the same as a winter shelter, which sometimes we refer to the use colloquially kind of similar, but a winter shelter would be a shelter that's open every night in the winter. This is really just open for true emergency. um we're we're worried about people um dying overnight um because of the cold temperatures. So it's activated only during the qualifying weather events. It's operated by currently operated by a contracted shelter operator that does have experience um working with our unhoused population is that is the primary um group that uses warming centers. It provides warmth, obviously, supervision and basic support. And we have um here at the city, our emergency warming center currently does offer CS and sleeping arrangements. They can have food, allowed to bring pets. Um it's very low barrier. They have a secure foot locker. They can put some items in. Um we have washerd dryer to make sure that if they have anything that they need to bring along with them that that we will make sure that we accommodate them. So I will note also if we were seeing an event like we are seeing um in Texas for example um warming centers would mean something different. So I want to clarify that the emergency warming center we're talking about is not what we do if we were having a large scale event where we did have 100,000 people without power or we had other factors. We would be looking at a much larger shelter operation much more similar to something like we would do for an evacuation. So, just to kind of clarify the difference there. Fortunately, knock on wood, we have not had to do that. So, just a quick review of the activation history. Um, our first

activation on record that I could find was in December of 2022. Um, and you might wonder, did we not have cold weather before 2022? Um, no, that's not true. But there was a grand jury report that came out in 2022 2023 that was specifically talking about the county response, but it was also, as you might remember, around COVID time. Um, homeless services were having a challenge because congregate shelters were um not as easy to stand up and there was some concern, community concern over um our unhoused folks who were left exposed to during some cold events. So, in December 2022, the county did reach out to the city to do a open a um emergency warming center at the Sonoma Veterans Memorial Building. Um we at the first activation we did anticipate more of a public participation. We really we really expected and always of course anybody's always welcome. Um, but there really wasn't kind of vulnerable communities or we thought maybe some underresourced household may may use the facility who don't have adequate heat. Um, but what we found there was that that was mostly folks who identified as unhoused who are using the service and it was really set up as a warming center like some are where you just truly go in, you sit down, you warm up. Um, it's there's no sleeping um or you know that kind of thing. It's not intended to for that even though it's overnight support. It was also completely run by volunteers or city staff who volunteered their time. So it was a little tricky because we weren't exactly in a emergency declared emergency and yet folks were certainly working overnight and then also doing their full-time jobs which was not sustainable. So um in 2023 you'll notice we don't have any activations there but I will say HS um homeless action soma that year they had a winter shelter operation that they were doing in a

building that is no longer um standing. it was um set I think demolished but um that was successful and that it was and anything open I think every night tends to see more um usage. So that was helpful that year. Um, and then in 2024, we realized that without that building and HAS support as a winter shelter that we were going to be in need of an emergency shelter and really the only option in the city could control ourselves was our emergency homeless um, shelter which is just outside. Um, we took management back of that facility and thought we would be able to activate it that season, but it turned out that the um there was more work to that building that needed to be done than we originally anticipated, primarily the HVAC system, which is kind of important for a warming center. So, it was unfortunately not available to us when we had the March activation um as you can see the picture there. But the um contractor, what we did do is get a contractor on board. We put out um an RFP for a shelter operator to make sure that we had a somebody with capacity and also experience running emergency shelters. And we're grateful to find FS Global who is our contractor. Um so they brought out they have those uh the tent that was heated and then they had that big trailer that has kind of resources in it that was used. So that was for uh March of 20 24, but thanks to our great in-house public works team um pulled off some miracles and by December 2024, the emergency homeless shelter was back online. So it did undergo pretty significant repairs um and was well set up for it. So we did um activate it in December and then also in February of that year. So um our longest um activation and it is a little confusing because this is overnight.

It's always a little conf like how do you what dates do you put? So the date is the day that it opened because you know they how many nights just count how many numbers there are there. Um so our longest activation was um just last year in February that was almost a week for the homeless shelter there. So, I will say we also, like I said, have CS and and all of the things that we had mentioned earlier. And I won't go too far into this, but I do just want to note because there have been some community questions about how people are notified. How do we get information out about an opening? Um, of course, anytime you're dealing with an activation that is weather dependent, we can't control when we get the forecasts, obviously. So, sometimes there's pretty quick turnaround. We do look at these things long range. If anything even looks like it might be close, we are in conversation and um we're not the only ones who are interested to learn. So um our folks in the county level and other jurisdictions are also asking. So we of course do really our our primary and first activation of communications is with you all. Um the city departments, county department of emergency management, service providers, especially our homeless service providers. They technically are our first call. um to make sure that they can reach out um to the folks that they are serving to let them know immediately. Um and then our community organizations. I know there's a few people on my email list behind me um who might be tired of my emails by now. Um we also do public information of course um press releases, city website updates, social media. We have flyers. Um we have signage that we placed strategically around particularly in this last activation where we had um pickup locations also people could call specifically and be picked up anywhere in the valley. Um so transportation was included in that as well. Um so the targeted outreach I'm just going to say direct inerson outreach by our trusted

partners people who are working with the folks who are most vulnerable um really is the most effective way that information reaches them. And so that is what our main focus is. It might not be something we all see um out in the world, but that is that's what our primary focus is initially. So the data um individuals served. So in December 2022, it was a little more what we'd call a high barrier. It didn't I I don't like said no, there was no sleeping allowed. There were certainly snacks and everybody was welcome and it was a comfortable space, but it wasn't exactly um you know, bring your pets if you had your things. There wasn't really anywhere to dry anything. Um we did see about six individuals per event. Um that's unique pe unique individuals. In the March 2024, we saw three unique individuals for that activation. December 2024, five unique individuals. And then in February, we saw 10 unique individuals. Um, I don't think that's an accident. I think being open seven days certainly has a lot more time and people see the operation and start to trust in the in that operation. But we still had an average of about six people a night. So, it's pretty consistent regardless of um the lowberry options, the transportation, all of those things um that we thought might be impacting would increase our um number of people served. Didn't seem to have a big impact on that, but we do think it had an impact. Um and also we do see a lot of repeat use. So clearly um the folks who tend to come tend to come almost every night. So um we have some lessons learned with this which we are currently using because as I mentioned we are going through a review of all of our um annexes to our emergency operation plan. those specifically address specific

hazards and have kind of a playbook for us really when we get into the emergency operations center to run. So, um we strongly believe that warming centers meet life safety objectives and as an in emergency management that is our goal. We're not worried about cost per person. We're not worried about any of those um details. We're really that's the intent. The intent is to make sure that we are looking at life safety. Um, we have found that utilization in these circumstances is limited to a specific vulnerable population. So, it's not a general public. Um, and the users are consistently, like I mentioned, identify as unhoused. Um, I've kind of gone over some of this. The utilization only increased modestly with transportation and low barrier. Um, and unfortunately forecast driven still uh will limit advanced notice. So, um I will also say that we have in terms of our turnaround time of staging having the um emergency homeless shelter staged and ready to go, which it is literally they could turn the key, move a few items out and we are ready. Um there is no setup. It helps a lot just it also is less cost because they don't have to bring things from the outside to set up. It is much harder to stand up a space that's not set up um as a as this type of shelter. So I will say not just for us but in general with other jurisdictions there's a lot of conversation about this about is this the best way to serve it? Is there other ways that we could encourage people to use it? Is there another mode that might get more people sheltered? Um there is agreement that emergency warming centers are not as effective as some other types of shelters like seasonal shelters, winter shelters like we talked about. Um though of course those are can very costly. Um but the city did uh put in a grant application um it's widely known for an operation of a winter shelter wasn't granted. There's other needs um

right now in the homeless services as we heard um the mayor talk about there is a challenge with funding um but that is certainly something we've looked at. But we are really grateful I will say in this even just this this last year um that the new partnership with Catholic Charities that is now managing um homeless action Sonoma the tiny house village and also um uh Sonoma family meals who is at the unity kitchen the SOS unity kitchen both have been just amazing partners and their level of service um being able to come in with the resources that they have this year they were um HS had literal resources on hand blankets, hand warmers, shoes. They obviously have a place for people to be and warm up. They've got showers, they've got um laundry and all those things. Um, we also had a literal outreach team that was going out, had some resources on hand, um, trying to make sure that people before we reach level of freezing, that we're meeting them where they are, which is a real common phrase I hear, um, when I'm talking to our folks in the homeless services realm that um, meeting them where they are versus trying to encourage them to come out to where we are sometimes is more effective. So our next steps, we're going to continue as we are using the um extreme cold weather criteria um and guidelines that we have. That's for this season. We um based on kind of past year's usage, we do um maintain a small budget in case we do have to activate for that. Um we are reviewing the emergency warming center guidelines. So that process is underway. Um, and I will just say that um, we have great conversation and collaboration with our county partners and I want to thank Supervisor Homo. Um, we have been in contact specifically even as this cold weather system had come this last week um, to kind of evaluate other short-term shelter needs um, and additional

potential solutions alongside the county's department of homeless services. So, this is an ongoing conversation um people are actively talking about and um I'll just we'll keep doing what we're doing um until we hopefully solve it. I don't know. I might be so crazy. I will also just note that little graphic there is a flyer I'll put out front for everybody should take one. This is um a flyer from an organization called Home First, which is doing a lot of great work and is part of our outreach team in the valley. and this number they can connect people for shelter needs and other basic needs which is um something a really great service and frankly it's new to the area a little bit might not be familiar to some so I strongly encourage everybody to get familiar with that there and then thank you for everybody I know I'm standing in the way of a pretty big important item so thank you all for your patience um but before I do move to the questions um I do want to take a moment to acknowledge message. Um there was a death of an individual at the Safeway parking lot um recently. Of course, our sympathies go out to their friends and family, but we're aware that the community has some questions surrounding the circumstances of um the that led to that individual's passing. So, I've asked if Chief Cutting because he has some information um can give us a briefing of the information he's able to share. Obviously, it's an on it's an investigation. So, if you wouldn't mind uh specific to the individual that was um discovered deceased in a car. Uh he was um in fact uh deceased. He'd been in that vehicle for um what we believe to be at least 8 to 10 hours um past past his death. And um it was a a tragic

scenario, tragic situation. Um we have uh the autopsy's been performed and I can't talk a lot about the uh findings of those things. All I can say is at this time uh elemental issues were not a factor. It appears to be um pending some laboratory results. It believes to be it is believed to be a medical death at this point. So, just wanted to make sure because I do know I read everybody's comments in case everybody's wondering. Um, we do follow carefully. So, um, with that, I'll ask if there's any questions.

So, let me bring it back to the council and, uh, please. Yeah. So, just so I better understand the criteria and how it works. U, so are are we putting out notifications? So if we look and we are getting a weather weather advisory that it's coming. So you know at that point we're we're o we're working to open it up. Are we waiting for that first cold night? You know when when does that actually happen?

When the National Weather Service issues the appropriate product the the level um and their forecast shows it um that's that's when we move. So it's usually a day or two ahead of time. However, I will say in the last activation we did um our city manager actually activated before we reached criteria, it was very unusual. I don't know if you remember, we had the storm that we call overperformed um where First Street West was a river for a minute. Um and it kind of took us all by a little bit by surprise. We weren't expecting it to drop that much rain and then the temperature dropped unexpectedly pretty significantly right after that. And the combination of those things we activated and then later found out we met criteria. Um, but typically we wait for the National Weather Service forecast and we are not usually alone in this. So the county we're talking about it the week leading up to it. If it looks like we're even going to have below average temperatures in the winter, we're talking about it before then and and kind of looking if it meets that criteria. So again, not exactly, but we always hope to at least have 12 to 24 hours. Sometimes we're not that lucky. And then the other question I have is uh with the information sheet you have does home home first also have you know like smaller laminated cards that people can be handing out to folks in need.

That's a good question. I have only been provided the flyers but I do know that they have more resources on the ground that I may not be aware of. So apologies. I will I will because I think that that works. I mean, we've certainly been using them for other emergency response networks and it's easy for people to have stacks of them and to be able to give them to people and then you're hold carrying something that you can put in your wallet or hold with your phone or whatever. Thank you. Good idea. Sure.

Yeah. Similar question. how we can coordinator with uh coordinate with other uh service provider such as HAS and Sonoma family the meal and loos do they have a specific person work with you or

well I will say that we have a really solid team at the city um currently Lisa Jansen has been overseeing as you know you all have a three-year strategic plan um to respond to homelessness in Sonoma Valley and we follow that very closely. I know Ron um spends a lot of time on long calls. We have something called a by names list now in the valley which was kind of just a dream that is now reality where um providers get together regularly and talk about um the folks that we have in our community who identify as unhoused by name. That's why it's called the by names list. Um I understand that that fluctuates because people move in and out of the community and they keep kind of track of that. I think that I heard that there were 123 people. That's unverified um on that list, but it usually have is around 100. That includes not just those who are tr like unsheltered in the um you know sleeping rough, but also folks who may be um couch surfing. They may be have a vehicle or recreation vehicle they're living in or um have kind of in the shelter system. So that's one way that we're doing it. very very active and of course you allocate funding to um both of those partners and we're working really closely with them. That's that's the dayto-day that's that ongoing services portion I was talking about earlier. That's that's the part that we're looking to shore up.

Thank you. I would just like to say thank you for the report. Um extremely uh informative and detailed. So thank you. Thank you.

Yeah. Before I open up to the public for any any questions or comments, I too having sat now on the homeless board for the last three years, I walked into a a mountain of of acronyms and confusion. And it's unfortunately one of those life issues that is incredibly complex. And I'm happy as I'm hearing the report as well as what I've observed is that we are uh making a contribution. We're putting forth effort to do whatever we can to partner uh with various providers as well as uh taking an aggressive role on the part of our city, our staff. And so based on what I just heard over the last 20 minutes, I'm incredibly encouraged, very proud, and want to thank you, Tracy, for all you've done, as well as the staff. Um, so with that compliment, I do want to open up and give the public an opportunity to come forward should they wish to speak on it and or have questions.

Good evening, uh, mayor and council and congratulations, Mr. Mayor, on your first meeting. Robert Demler, First Street West Sonoma. uh and through the council. I want to thank uh Sarah Tracy for an excellent report and very comprehensive and eyeopening. My observation and possible suggestion, not a recommendation, is that I'm concerned with the the um process of announcing the potential of a qualifying weather event. uh there are several there were a number of uh pro of uh pro procedures that can that are being used. However, I think most of them uh would not be available to those who would be participating or would like to participate in uh some shelter for a qualifying weather event. And I wonder if there might be um these lights uh on on the building on First Street West. Do you have a light that you think one is a weather event is coming? A qualifying weather event is coming. have a yellow light and then one in for in force or declared to have a red light so that people who are used to seeing that bu or going to that building would know that they can get in as opposed to depending on signs and internet and whatever else. That's all. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Anyone else? All right. Welcome.

Thank you. Thank you. I'm Annie Fandez. I do live in Soma. Uh I ran the shelter in 2023. Uh we had between 20 and 40 people every day. We served a total of 120 individuals. And we didn't take one penny from the city of Sonoma or from the county of Soma. It was all funded by the community and it was worked by volunteers. I just want that on the record. Um, even I can't understand the cold weather criteria and I've read it like a dozen times and I'm fairly sane. Life on the streets is guaranteed to have at least PTSD, anxiety, and extreme stress. The homeless believe emergency winter shelter is a system set up to appease your conscience so that you can say, "We offered a shelter and nobody came." You're better than that. There's a reality to consider. All that you now own is what you carry with you. Needed medicine, food, water, clothing, bedding, makeshift shelter, phone, wallet, and precious memories of a past life. If you leave those belongings, they will be stolen or swept or trashed. So, no, you're not going to leave your stuff. and you're not allowed to bring all your stuff to a shelter that may or may not be open. By 700 p.m., if you're homeless, you have found a place to nest in under a bridge, possibly with your

belongings. There is a chance that you will have a place to sleep and still have your stuff in the morning. to wander after dark with all that you own is dangerous even in Soma Valley. The other issue, the bigger issue is that such a shelter does not offer anything except a warm place to be. It's a band-aid on a bigger problem. These people need casework, medical attention, mental health care, and most of all, a friendly acknowledgment of their humanity. To do it right, Sonoma, there needs to be a 247 site that is available with services, not paper pushers, but services. A doctor, a therapist, a caseworker, and mentors. We as a community need to decide that these are our people and we need to help them. I have a lot more to say. So, I wrote it all down and I'd like to present it to be entered in public record and thank you.

Thank you. [Applause] Anyone else? And let me check back on Zoom. Do we have anybody on Zoom that would like to speak to it? No. Again, uh thank you very much. And we will now move on. Um just checking back with my council. We do good to continue. Good. Okay. Mayor Wellender. Yes. I believe council member Low may have something she wishes. Oh, please. I don't want to miss her. Please go right ahead.

Thank you. And I'm I apologize. The internet went out where where I am. It happens. And thankfully there was a six-year-old here who was able to fix it. Um true story. You know, I just wanted to say I was very moved by um by Annie's um comments. Um, and I'm sorry I missed the previous discussion because of the internet, but um, I too just want to say I think that the I appreciate everything that the city is doing obviously, but it it is very difficult to figure out and and weather changes very quickly and there has to be some sort of a something to anticipate whether it's the full service that was just described which is obviously ideal But it has to be something that can be anticipated. It can't be, you know, gee, we don't know. It might get this weather, it might not. And, you know, I apologize cuz I'm sure there was previous discussion on this, but um I just want to echo that. um you know there just has to be something better anticipatory so that you know so you don't reach that milestone or you go past it or whatever but you know that that's going to be open for that period of time and welcoming um to the best we can do. So um I I think we can you know learn from this. Obviously we've gotten better. We can continue to to get better. So, thank you.

Thank you. I I might suggest to staff that maybe we can continue to have some discussion with some some players and and I don't know if we'd call it an ad hoc, but I think um I'm strong I'm significantly encouraged with where we're at where we're at, but I also realize that there are other factors that keep coming up and uh so I think the the topic the discussion needs to continue going forward and and I will say that in Um, I I think we've made strides. We've made progress. And I I wish there was an easy answer, but I will tell you there's not. And I wish we could just throw money at it. We we don't have it right now. And I'm speaking from my experience and sitting in on four-hour Zoom meetings every month through the COC. So again, uh we are obligated to make a contribution to uh hopefully lessening the homeless, the house uh those uh without home. Um so we are I'm committed. So we just need to continue to uh to work.

Yes, please.

Mayor, I'll just add uh just that the city staff has pulled together a plan for a winter shelter as was brought up by the speaker. um that was submitted for a grant request and was not it didn't get through. Um so we we'll find our plan is to use that work that we did put put that together everything that was described and try to look for other funding out there that we could potentially put together. But that is a difference between the winter as Sarah mentioned the winter shelter versus an emergency one-time activation in and a dire need. So we have both needs. We know that we we we want both of those. um the ladder, the shelter where it's open full-time with the services described, which is really important. That's where we need to identify the funding, make sure we have it in line, and we're going to continue to look for those resources.

Thank you. Yeah. Okay. I want to please

you homeless and winter shelter and uh service used to be a major part of the city council in the meeting that is go back five years and 10 years but these years and it seems like we don't have a lot of the thing on on the agenda but it doesn't mean and they don't need a service and we already know worked out a different ways for example in pataluma codes and SOS and changed the operation the pattern but and what kind of service they receive that is a big question you know we you I just want to you know ask everyone one and here we still hear the voice thank you and you know I think that is the last one long time we haven't heard about this and uh to be honest when that heaven is closed you know change and to the this warming the center I I was fighting so hard but I you know we have the reason change to the and the warming center uh here and I want to share the my personal story the first time that is maybe 15 or 20 years ago when I step into and haven you know at that time I really don't know you know because at that time executive director Lisa Lee and you know ask me something help for the taxes is you know when I stepping I saw that in

the and the the plate so called a haven because English is not my the native language I was thinking oh that is a ham I said wow that is really a good name than a haven but that is true you know that is although the piece of this shadow is really than heaven or isn't really in the heaven for those people who are in need. Yeah. I just want to remind Thank you.

Thank you. So, we'll uh wrap up that third presentation and now we'll move on to the consent calendar. And we do have uh 7.1 through 7.5 on the consent calendar. These items are considered routine and will be acted upon with a single motion and there'll be no separate discussion unless there is a council member that wishes to pull one or more items. And in so doing, if uh if there is simply a question or a comment that a council member wishes to make on a particular item that may not necessitate pulling it formally. So at this point, does anyone on the council wish to pull an item? Seeing no moving on that. So uh at this point then u I'd like to receive public comments uh regarding the uh consent calendar items 7.1 through 7.5. Would anyone like to come forward and speak? Seeing no movement toward the podium, I will then um check with Zoom. I see nothing on Zoom. And so then I will solicit a motion, please.

Uh I move to approve the consent calendar. I second. Very good. Roll call, please. Council member Dean, I. Council member Ferrar Rivas, I. Vice Mayor Low, I. Council member Bernie, yes. Mayor Willander. Yes. Thank you. The motion carries unanimously.

Thank you. So with that, we're going to continue the march and we have no items falling under the public hearing. So we will then move on to our regular calendar of which the first item is 9.1 and that is the selection of the 2026 city of Sonoma Alcal and um if the clerk would like to make any comments before I begin my spiel just that we went through the process based on the city's all call day policy. Um nominations were solicited through the month of December into half of January. We received many nominations and they were presented to the nominating committee um who is uh the mayor, the city manager and the most recent three days. Um and they met on January 13th and from that I will let you take it from there Mr. Mayor. Thank you.

Very good. Thank you. Well, I um did something that I was kind of nervous about and I wanted to give a little background to the Alcala history, but keeping it very short. So, I actually used AI. So, if it's wrong, I didn't know it. The the concept of ales goes all the way back to the PBLO system and it we're talking about the Spanish colonial period and I believe the first PBLO was in San Jose de Guadalupe in in 1777 and it was the town councils that were headed by the mayors or the alcales. Uh what's interesting is the uh early elected alcales were uh many things. They wore many hats. They were the chief local law practitioner, the judge, justice of the peace, uh, notary public, uh, recorder, escrow agent, etc. However, I do want to make it very clear this evening that such responsibilities will not be bestowed upon the individual that'll be honored this evening. I I believe that in Sonoma the Alcal began back in 1975 and if I've done my math correct that we've been selecting alcalades for 51 years and I love the very brief description and that is the Alcala is the town's most useful citizen. Having said that as the clerk mentioned that we did did receive a number of nominations. It was thoughtfully reviewed and u it is not easy when when such a process is in a small community uh where you know a lot of people and so it's the good news it's a small community the bad news it's a small community but nonetheless for 2026 I have selected Gary Edwards as the alcal for the city

of Sonoma [Applause] And I did express or I did communicate to the recipient that it would be good if he showed up. And if he is here, I'm very happy. So, uh I do believe I see some movement out in the in the back area. Um Oh yeah, let me go back to my cheat sheet. Quite the entrance.

Sure.

So, so first it's our privilege here at the D dis comments that may embarrass the recipient. So, would my fellow council members like to share any comments, including on Zoom to the uh the Ali for 2026? Well, well, well, we finally got him in here. Yeah. So, uh Gary is the quintessential volunteer in this community. Every, you know, I my memory goes back to the 17 fires. Um Gary was Johnny on the spot and uh was feeding the public safety personnel, making sure that things were getting done. And of course, he doesn't do this by himself, but he'll drag people along with him. Generally, a Rotarian or two or three. Uh Mr. Shocki, who is sitting there, um is one of those people, easily drugg along. And uh but but Gary is incredibly generous. If you've gone to any event in this town, you've eaten his products. Um, and uh, very generous with that. Um, but he loves this town and he will do anything for this community and and the people in it. So, I just want to say what an excellent choice and uh, and I look forward to uh, working with Gary as an old call. All right. Thank you. And I have been known and Gary we starting from our sister city then the Punglai sister city and he also in the latter a delegation that is in

the I think in the 12 or 15 years ago. Yeah. And the people in the out city pung people still remember and uh they celebrate uh the his wife's the the birthday and then the because they uh on purposely and figure out somebody the power shortage outage and then people move the cake come out. Yeah. So that is the and I was told this is a good story and then the represent and then the Gary supporting the family and also working very hard for how to and help other people uh understand to do and personally from politically and Gary also help me uh to stand out although I'm the minority But he you know mentor me and then how to run how to solve those kind of issue. I'm the growing with his help. Thank you so much.

Uh I can just say that Gary is everywhere. He is literally everywhere. Every volunteer activity that you go to, he's there. Like you said, you know, you'll go, "Oh, this cheese is this delicious. Where did this come from? Oh, that's Gary Edwards. You know, it's like everywhere I would go once I was on city council. All of the events, Gary was somewhere there when we were doing the Redwood City Food Bank. Gary was there at our all of our events in the city. Gary's there with the Rotary. The work that the Rotary does. Often many of those projects are led by Gary and he's there not just leading them, but doing them. So I think it's an excellent choice and it'll be a very exciting year for our occult day. Thank you. Thank you for agreeing.

Well, thank you. Uh before I let the public come forward and speak or roast, however you feel it's appropriate. I do want to make two comments. Sandra.

Oh, forgive me. Uh can we bring Sandra? Sandra, please share your thoughts. Uh, I think everybody said it really well, especially Patricia seeing Gary everywhere. I think it's um, you know, this is the Alcal may have a historical construct, but in Sonoma, it's always sort of been the um, just a way for us to thank someone who's given to our community in volunteering in so many ways. And in that sort of honorary sense, I think that this is an inspired choice and I look forward to um working with Gary in the next year. Thank you.

Thank you very much. So, I'll keep it quick. Uh two items. One is the one thing that wasn't mentioned that uh is amazing is that for the last 20 years, there's been a community Thanksgiving that's been put on that principally has been the the force behind that has been Gary Edwards. And it's been for both those that had no place to go for Thanksgiving or they just didn't want to cook for Thanksgiving or there there was indeed a need for a meal. Nonetheless, it was uh an event that I certainly have been proud of participating and recognizing that this again is what makes Sonoma special. And my last comment before I open it up to the public is just simply to say it is very it's a good thing that u a disqualifying characteristic u is not the fact that Gary has increased the significant population of the lactose intolerant in the cinema area because of his generous u giving of hundreds of pounds of cheese for various events. So with that, I would welcome anyone that would like to come up and uh come up to the uh the podium and speak to uh our new alone

or not. Robert Demler again. You know, I have to have at least two comment sessions and I'm delighted to have the second one because I think this was an excellent choice and if one would think about it, it's a no-brainer. Oh, thanks.

Oh, well, yeah. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Yeah, because Gary is everywhere and uh we all appreciate that and love Gary and his family and I think this is a wonderful, wonderful choice and anything I can do to help him with the history part, I'm very happy to do so. Congratulations, Barry.

Oh, yes. I just as a historical perspective having been the privilege of living so long I I remember the first Alol days especially the first 10 and I would say that without a doubt Gary Edwards is like them and I there was always no every year that they chose an ocali the mayor would choose the occi there was very little discussion because it was known that person and what they did in in in town was known because like Gary they were everywhere and there this is such a wonderful carrying on of a tradition that it started it didn't seem like doesn't seem like that long ago to me but it has been in my lifetime that I've been privileged to know every single Alcali and he's a great choice. Thank you.

Thank you. So, with that, I would like to uh welcome the uh recipient up to the mic if he wishes to make some comments.

Thank you everyone. Really appreciate it. I'm only going to make uh very short comments because I I've been in your chair so I know how long these meetings go and I appreciate all the work you're all doing. The best part about tonight was my daughter up here speaking tonight. I think it's her first time uh speaking at city council. I'm very proud of her. I'm very proud of her group and the people she's associated with at the high school. She's a true leader and I hope to see her up here one day. I'll make sure that I provide a house for her one day. Um but uh Thanksgiving real quickly. Um it actually started about 60 years ago. I just ended up being um saying yes like I did tonight. I said yes to a call day, which I've said no a number of times, but uh I figured for Ron I I had to do it for you. Um but the I've only been doing Thanksgiving for 26 years. So it's uh and I I'll do it as long as I can. Um as long as I have all the help that I get from our community. So um but I'm sorry I'm not going to get to have police duties. Um but I'll keep an eye out for you. Um I it's it's a great honor to me and thank you very much and I unlike Bill I've known a little more than half of the al days uh in my time here uh from and I think Ig Vala actually started the program I read something about that um uh a while back I think with was it August finale who was

ah okay awesome great well I'm in good company and I really appreciate the honor. Thank you so much. You're most welcome. Thank you very much.

So, if history uh repeats itself, uh it's not unusual for an item to get wrapped up and those came specifically for that item. So, if there are people that wish to exit now, we will not take offense and we will we hope you will help celebrate u this recognition for Gary. I I think Gary's buying at the Swiss. Okay, we can at least let's plow through the next one and then we need to take a break. I I didn't mean to kick him out.

So this is has nothing to do with the great financial work that has been executed by our dear Poppy. But uh anyway, so what we have here is the N uh 9.2 the midyear budget update report for fiscal year 2526 and a resolution of the city council approving midyear budget adjustments. So, with that, please. Thank you. Um,

yeah, I'll just kick it off real fast. Um, we, you know, back in June, the the council established a budget um to move forward through this fiscal year. Um, Prop and her team did an excellent job at laying out what we thought was going to happen over the year um in terms of revenues and expenditures. Um, this is something that we enacted about uh I think last year we started in true form doing a mid-year check-in um and that's something that is in good financial sound practices. So we're about mid year halfway through the year fiscal year and so it's a good time to check in how are we doing with re our revenue how we're doing with our expenditures see what we're on track see if we need to adjust make any changes and so Propy and her team has done done an excellent job with this report um and so please I'm going to turn it over to Propy um to to do this report and then we'll we can close out at the end with any questions.

Um good evening m mayor and the city council. I'm here to give you fiscal year 2526 midyear budget update. Um agenda for today's um update is we will be talking about the budget update first six months of the fiscal year that is through December 31st 2025. Um along with that we will talk about general fund summary enterprise fund summary general fund year and forecast and um midyear budget adjustments that are requested for your approvals. Um here is the graph and the table that shows year-to- date actual compared to the budget for fiscal year 2526 for general fund, cemetery fund and water fund. Total revenue for general fund um is 29.4 million and total year-to- date actual which is December 31st as of December 31st 2025 is 12.8 million. Similarly, the total expenditure budget is 29.9 million and year-to-ate expenditure is um 14.4 millions. For cemetery fund, the total revenue budget is 400,000 with actual of 269,000 and total expense budget is 838,000 with actual expense through December 31st is 269,000. Lastly for water fund um the total revenue budget is 7 7.4 million and actual revenue through December 31st is 4.7 million. On the expense side the total expense budget is 7.4 million and year-to- date actual is almost 4 million. Uh with that um this slide shows the revenue trend that we've seen so far. Um um for general fund we're seeing that toot property tax fees and charges for

services and other revenue seems to be holding strong. However um yeah the sales tax will be coming very close to the budgeted amount but uh we're seeing a decline in um EMS revenues. Um I will go a little bit detail on each um bullet point here. So for toot um the actual year-to-ate actual is $2.8 million with six million that was budgeted. Um the actual is based on the collection through October of 2025 which is 46.4% of the budgeted amount. Um revenue is anticipated to exceed this budget. Um for property tax the year-to- date actual is $3.2 $2 million with um with 5.9 million of budget which is 55.2% of the budgeted amount. It is expected to remain strong and protected to come little bit higher than the budget. Um sales tax which includes the general sales tax measure V, measure T and public safety. The year-to- date actual is 3.1 million uh with total budget of 9.2 uh million dollars. Um the collection is through October of 2025 for general sales tax measure V and measure measure T. However, for public safety sales tax, the collection is through November of 2025. Um and for sales tax, the revenue is anticipated to stay flat. Um EMS, which is the ambulance billing, um the year-to- date actual is 1 million compared to the adopted budget of 3.5 million. um year-to- date actual is at 29% of the budget level. The trend shows the revenue compared to last fiscal year is lower and in is anticipated to come lower than the budgeted amount. Um this

is the revenue through November 2025. Uh fees and charges for service um year-to- date actual is 0.5 million compared to the budgeted amount of 1.2 million. And for other revenues um interest revenue, business license and franchise tax are holding strong. Uh moving on to the general fund expenditure for 2526. On the expenditure side, the total budget for fiscal year 2526 is 29.9 million with actual expenditures as of December 31st, 2025 is 14.4 million, which is 48.3% of the budget. Uh the total budget for the personnel cost is 6 million with actual of 2.7 million which is 45% of the budgeted amount. Uh purse UL is paid every year at start of the fiscal year in July and hence it is at 100% since we've already paid those invoices. Personal professional services is at 34% of the budget level of $2.6 million. Similarly for sheriff contract and Sonoma Valley Fire District contract we are at 32 and 50% respectively. Uh operating cost is budgeted at 4.8 million with actual of 2.5 that is 53% of the budget. Um we are still seeing higher utility cost due to the rising energy rate and seasonal fluctuations. Um for transfers um it is at 73% all the transfers out of general fund for the year has been booked. The remaining transfer is for 1% tot transfer to housing trust fund which is booked every month as we receive the tot revenue. Uh now oops sorry now moving on to the

enterprise fund which includes the water and cemetery. Uh for water fund the revenue budget is um 7.4 million and actual is 4.7 million which is 64% of the budget. Um this performance is primarily driven by water sales and service which is also at 64% of the budget level to date contributing to the favor favorable year-to-ate revenue trend. And on the expense side the budget is $7.4 million and actual is sorry budget is 7.4 $4 million and actual is $4 million which is 54% of the budget. The year-to-ate spending reflects higher utility and operational cost as well as the timing of debt service payment. Um it should also be noted that some expenses like Kalpers's UAL contribution and annual transfer has already been incurred at 100% for the fiscal year which is why the percentage of the expenditure recognized at the mid year is a little bit higher. Uh for the cemetery fund um which includes both the cemetery operations and cemetery endowment for fiscal year 2526 amended amended revenues total to 400,000 of which 268,656 has been received as the midyear representing the 67% of the annual budget. On the expenses side, uh the budget is 800,000 with year-to- date actual of um 269,81 re expended which is 32% of the budget. Um the lower percentage of the expenditures reflects um savings on salaries and benefit and also the timing for planned cost which will um later

incur during the fiscal year. That is the budgeted amount of 235,000 for new capacity which we've not used. Okay. And then um now moving along to the fiscal year 2526 year end forecast for general fund. Um the forecast was calculated based on year-to- date actuals as of December 31st. U prior year actual for the same period and ending balance for prior fiscal years. Um um here are the revenue assumptions we've used for the forecast. Um toot is forecasted to show some growth. Uh property tax continues to show strong growth and stability. Sales tax um will remain flat which shows the consumer spending trend indicate increased cost consciousness and remains flat. um expected to um to be approximately 18,000 below the budgeted pro projection and which is consistent with the projection done by the um sales tax consultant. EMS revenue shows a decline this fiscal year. Um overall forecasted revenue is anticipated to come below the budget by 30%. Um other revenue interest revenue from investment remains strong. It is estimated to be 400,000 for general fund and along with that the franchise tax is also holding strong. On the expenditure side, the personnel cost um it is forecasted at 5.6 million lower than the adopted budget of 6 million. Um this is due to the salary savings for vacant position um and benefit savings for the property services. It is expected to exceed the budget by 50,000 with forecasted actual at 1.3 million. Again, this is due to

the rising we're seeing the utility cost higher than what is uh what we budgeted for. Uh for professional services, it it is forecasted to come near 2.2 2 million with the assumption that the legal cost uh would exceed the budget by 41,000 and we will also have some savings of 18,000 from other professional services contracts. Um other cost reduction measures that city is taking to keep the expenditure low is by budget monitoring and analysis uh monthly reports and budget meetings and cost controls delaying and cancelling projects for the next um next fiscal year. Um supplies budget is also forecasted to come lower than the budgeted. Um staff is seeing cost control across department on supplies budget. Um along with that the last is the we see since there is a lower EMS revenue the EMS billing contract which is 4.5% of the revenue is anticipated to come lower to because the revenue is lower. Uh with that uh here is the bar chart that shows the property tax forecast for 2526. We receive property tax payment twice a year, once in December and once in April. The property tax is expected to exceed the budget of $5.9 million uh by 400,000 which is forecasted to reach 6.3 million sales. On the other hand for the sales tax uh which is general sales tax measure fee measure t and public safety it is received two two months in a rares the forecasted actual is 18,000 less than adopted revenue budget of 9.2 2 million which is consistent with the

numbers forecasted by the sales tax consultant for fiscal year um 2526 for toot toot is forecasted to exceed the budget of 6 million by 700,000 um starting January 2025 tot is administered by HDL companies they are currently undergoing the toot audit for all the hotels in and bed and breakfast. These numbers do not represent the audited um amount. Um for EMS um the EMS billing revenue are trending below the budget in fiscal year 2526 based on year-to-ate collections. Revenue forecast is approximately 2.4 million by year end compared to the adopted budget of 3.5 million. Um staff has contacted the EM EMS billing administrator to better understand the reason why um why there is a decline in revenue and we're still waiting for the information. Um revenue projection will be updated as soon as the additional information is available. Uh moving along, here's the graph for fiscal year 2526 for year end revenue forecast by source. And then on the expenditure side, uh this graph shows the general fund expenditure by category for fiscal year 2526. Um we will have some salary savings due to some vacant position during the fiscal year. Um the operating cost will exceed the budget by 17,000 due to the rate increase in utility cost. Uh the professional services budget is slightly

expected to be slightly higher u than the budget by 23,000. However, um to reduce the expenditures, staff is proactively considering postponing certain projects to next fiscal year. uh for the fiscal year 2526 general fund surplus deficit forecast. Here's the snapshot of general fund surplus for 2526 adopted budget and then the year-end forecast. When the bud budget was adopted um in June of 2025, we anticipated a um 0.2 million surplus. However, based on the um 25 26 year end forecast, staff now expects to close a year with um 0.1 million surplus. Um for the general fund projected uh reserve, here's the visual representation of projected general fund reserve for fiscal year 2526. Um it is in it includes 9.8 8 million in unreserved undesated fund balance 1.5 million in committed committed to emergency reserve 5.5 million restricted for operating reserve which is 17% of the adopted budget 0.2 million in assigned fund balance 0.1 million in non-spendable and 0.2 million in restricted fund balance. So the total fund balance for the year um is forecasted to be increased by 0.1 million to 16.6 million. Um now moving on to the midyear um budget adjustment. Um the purpose of the midyear budget adjustment is um to address technical corrections,

operation needs and previously deferred uh requests that was identified during the budget request. Um these adjustments ensure budget accuracy, supports ongoing services and align appropriation with current fiscal and operational needs. So there are uh four requests that is made uh for the midyear for the budget adjustment. The first being finance which is the interfund um transfer alignment to a long-term building maintenance fund. Um this request corrects the technical budgeting issue identified after the budget adoption. Um during the fiscal year 2526 budget process, the interf transfer out between the general fund uh and the water fund for long-term building maintenance, which is fund 610, was um um accidentally budgeted at the lower amount than approved. This adjustment of $9,834 from general fund and 28,79 from water fund aligns the transfer out budget with the approved transfer in during the budget process um to ensure accurate financial reporting and audit compliance. Um the second one is from parks and wreck for recreation management software. This one time 11,000 request funds the implementation of recreation management software platform that will support program registration facilities and park rental and online AD compliant access for the public. The software will improve operational efficiency and customer service while allowing the city aligning the city with standard practice practices used by the other parks and rec recreation agencies. ongoing cost will be evaluated as part of fiscal year

2627 budget process. Um the third request is also from the parks and wreck for uh recreation programming instructors payment. This $10,000 one-time request supports the pilots pilot expansion of parks and recck programming including summer camps offering beginning in 2026. funding will cover third-party instruction instructor payment and it is expected to be partially offset by the program revenue with the city retaining a portion of the proceed without this adjustments. Um current service grabs in the recreation programming would continue uh for public works. Um this was the delayed um deferred request during the budget is for CIBC CD7 storm drain condition assessment. This 100,000 request provides additional funding to advance the storm drain condition assessment which was reduced during the budget adoption and deferred for midyear consideration. The project currently has 50,000 carried forward from fiscal year 2425 which is insufficient to complete the comprehensive assessment assessment. Approval of this request supports proactive infrastructure planning and reduces the risk of emergency repairs and higher long-term costs. And lastly, um liability claims adjustment. This request allocates 10,000 from general fund and 5,000 from water fund to cover the required liability premiums and related cost incurred during the fiscal year. Um this cost has never been separately budgeted in prior years. Um the city is obligated to pay them as they occur and this adjustment ensures sufficient budget authority, timely payment of obligation and accurate financial reporting. Uh

with that the total general fund impact uh for the major request is $140,83425 and for the water fund it is $33,77861. Um with that I am here to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you very much. I'm sorry that our audience left and missed that, but uh that's the way it goes. Uh any questions, please. So, on your projections for the end of the year surplus, um does that take into account these proposed um No, they don't. No. Um yeah, because it has not been approved yet. So, I have not. But once it's been approved, we will increase the revenue budget and the expenditure budget. So um revenue from the reserve so it will increase so it will be 100,000 surplus. Okay. Yeah. Thank you. Um EMS

Yep. And and I don't I realize that you may not be able to answer some of these things, but I I'm curious as to historically what we have seen um with what is the pattern of the annual EMS.

So we booked the revenue. So what so historically what we've received is compared to this year it's way less than what we've received which is why I reached out to the consultant asking the reason I have not heard back. Uh but as soon as I hear back I will let the city manager know so he can inform you about that. Um and also I think the way when we look at revenue we look at the revenue incurred during the period not the payments received. So there is a disconnect there. So when we reached out to fire chief he was talking about the payments received but that those payments are received against the receivables from prior year. So when we compare the payments it does align with prior years but the revenue itself when we you know the actual revenue that is for the month it is way less than um prior years.

Okay. Yeah. So, so are we receiving revenue this year for last year? Yeah, the payments. Yes, the payments. If you're looking at the payments, which we in accounting, we don't recognize the actual payment. We book the revenue based when it's incurred. So, which is why those revenue so maybe is the service you know less number of services or less number of claims it's less compared to last. But if but you know we don't in accounting we don't look at the payments because those are all the revenues for those payments are already booked in prior years. So we just re reduce the receivable. Okay. Thank you. Sorry I know it's a little bit confusing.

It is. Yeah I know. Sorry. Um and then lastly the sales tax measure T. Um is that performing as expected?

Uh yes it is performing as expected. However, the CDTFA, they now lumped the measure V with measure T, which is why we see measure T with like large number compared to the budget. And measure V is only 18,000. It's just the way they're reporting and how they send us the backup. You know, we just book it based on because there's no way for us to know what's V and what's D. They just send it. The backup just says 1%. So we're just booking it on measure E. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome.

Yeah. So uh thank you. That was very helpful the report and I read through you know the online what we were available to us the information I it was my understanding that for the EMS that there was the same number of services provided that that wasn't down that it was the revenue that was down but I could you clarify that um you know I I do not have that information like I do not know when I look at the report for November it clearly shows that the revenue is down

you know the revenue for the month is down like for July through December compared to last fiscal year it is less but if we're looking at the payment which so so sorry to be a little bit technical but when when the revenue is incurred right like let's say when the revenue is incurred for the month let's say $1,000 we book the revenue even though if we don't have the cash in hand So that's the payment side. So we booked the receivable. If you look at the payment side, yes, it it is relatively similar to what we have received in the past year, but we don't book that. We look at the revenue, which is way less compared to last fiscal year and year before.

Got it. Yeah. And and regarding the numbers, I'm not sure. I'm still waiting on the uh EMS administrator's response. So on as soon as I have it uh we'll let you know. Yeah. I mean because it is important for us to understand if there's been a shift in payes who's paying that considering what's been happening with the federal government and what's funded and what's not fun getting funded and all that for for us to see if this is kind of an ongoing if we're going to be anticipating this ongoing. And so in spite of um so then with with these new additions and adjustments we will probably we would probably come with a budget that is going to be under y

it'll be under so there won't be the 0.1. So it'll yeah the 88,000 or whatever it is minus all of these ones that we have listed here. That's right.

All right. And then the other thing is always I'm looking I always look at the re reserve fund and I see within the reserve fund I know I know we have a good reserve you know there's a nice amount in our reserve fund. I'm always wanting us to relook at that because for the emergency portion of it, it's 1.3 million and I know it's like 17% should be 17% of our uh operating budget. But what concerns me is for example in this last rain event flooding event in the county. I mean not that we're in the same flood plane like Sandrafell is but that was a one-time event that was $3 million anticipated $3 million in what is I mean the cost of recovery from these emergency events is going up. So I just think it would be good for us to look at our reserve amount and really think about are we using the right numbers that we want to calculate because even though it's there I think you get you like people look at and go oh we have all this extra in our reserve fund in my mind I think that our reserve fund needs to be pretty close to what it is because there's so many unanticipated events that could be happening especially due to rather

and and if the council wishes to increase the emergency reserve, we can always do a fiscal reserve uh policy change and increase the reserve amount, bring it back to the council and you know um and then get that approved and we can easily increase the emergency reserve. Yeah. Right now it's 1.5. So, you know, that's Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 1.5. Yeah. what one what event could wipe that piece out even though there's more. Okay, great. Thank you.

I I would just add to that I think as we look at the reserve policy and the emergency reserve to look at what is eligible to be spent in that emergency reserve because I think the the un known that are coming up this year might be non what we typically think of as floods and fires but potentially impacts from the federal government HR1 and other um the state budget issues that we might need to fill the gap. So we we I think strategically looking at that reserve from a variety of ways including disasters.

It could be infrastructure. It could be aging infrastructure that we're seeing more and more of those issues show up all the time in our my own yard that showed up. Jack,

thank you for your detail on the report and uh my understanding that EMS maybe we still need a little time because according your explanation and you know you are not typically stick with the you know cash methods or acrew methods. we need to hopefully uh western the income uh could be little bit higher than you reported here.

Yes. And I do agree. So my forecast is very conservative based on you know it's very cons conservative based on the actual revenue received and it was only through November of 2025. So we've not received the report for December 2025. So yes, as we head into colder months, you know, we might have higher revenue. So we will keep an eye on that and you know, update the report as necessary. Yep. I agree. Yes. Yeah. Because here we all do our homework. We understand because in some city I know

uh the you know when they generate this kind of reports they are using hybrid you know the the the the method both cash and a clue so in this way as to the average people council member and we understand the situation so and this one I'm little bit you know optimistic okay

but overall uh but the uh general uh the pictures you know I I'm not so in optim for for for this because you know overall and the second and a half or first and half of this year and employment unemployment rate could be in the increase and in this way you know our sales tax our consumption and the t tax and probably I won't say no problem because I already this time I already see that you know unemployment already increased but we see and the another thing is that is an old question regarding our cemetery fund because this is independent is enterprise fund and the only on the report I saw that we still have the $2 million and the negative actually you know that is not your fault that is the previous years and the decades and also that's the reason we started and you know fix this the problem and then we have the center and the service I'm wondering uh if you have done any research for this and originally which year and I assuming they transfer the money is from the our general fund or maybe from reserve fund or from the water fund. If you if we can trace up and then we come back and we see maybe we can fix it. Otherwise I you know really I saw I I saw this and $2

million because you did a great work you know it but that is the decades you know.

Yes. So cemetery fund being as an enterprise is not really common. So I did bring this up to the auditor and we can like general fund reserve can support this and take it under we can convert this into the enterprise fund. Um we were in the process of like you know we I think we did not find like the records of if this is allowable when this fund was established if there was any resolution if we can do that. We tried searching for those datas and we were not successful. Um yeah so we went back to I think long time right so the clerk did help me search we were not able to find that but if that's what council wants yes uh we can use general fund like make this cemetery fund under general fund

okay yeah thank you general fund support from the council perspective we want to respect the history and but also we don't want to give any and the credit or discredit to any of the party, right? Thank you. Our long-distance council member, please. Thank you. I don't have any questions and just want to um thank everybody for the the questions you did ask which embodied some of the ones I was thinking of and I appreciate the report. Thank you.

Thank you. Um two questions. Um and it's I know we have a consultant uh collections of of toot. Uh have we been gaining any ground in that? Are they earning their salt or their existence?

So actually toot compared to last year we've been doing really good maybe. I don't know people I I don't know. It's it's the revenue is higher compared to last year. And also for the toot we're currently undergoing audit so that way we know if the hotels are reporting their uh revenue correctly or you know it's it's basically for the opportunity for us to uh it's a training opportunity to show them what needs to be reported and if anything is missed um so it is included in the future uh return to return uh but with the consultant yes we have been seeing a little bit of revenue growth even though you know we've There is no the audit is still going.

Thank you. Yeah. The um the other uh question is regarding the increase the uh the midyear budget adjustment. The line item for liability claim cost adjustment. This may be more appropriate to our attorney. Is this is this just a crapshoot we're going to have to continue to live with forever? It's I'm going to defer to the clerk on this one. We're part of a pool for our risk

and the um city's deductible is $5,000. So we may have a claim that comes in and we end up having to settle it for say a million dollar. The city still has to pay we have to pay that first $5,000. Unfortunately, we don't really have you know an gauge as to what that's going to look like across the year. Um, I can tell you across this year already, we've almost already hit this number. Um, and that was partly due to the AMI water project. Um, we had out of the 4,000 was great though. Out of the 4,000 customers, I think we ended up having about total 15 claims total.

This was for faulty installation for the AMI, the U automated automatic, right? But is is this for poor installation or No, it's where the water if the meter broke or um when it was it wasn't necessarily installation, maybe there was some um the infrastructure was a little older than expected. Sure.

Um so every time we open someone files a claim, the way our process works is when we send that in, we automatically get a amount um like against the city. And so if the claims that came in, like especially on the AMI, if they were under that number, we went ahead and just we paid them. Um and then some of the other two were some liability claims that came in. Um so it is really um it's kind of an unknown.

Okay. Thank you. Um, just for clarity, back to the sums. I didn't scribble quick enough or I wasn't listening very well on the uh adjustments. The requested adjustments for the general fund, it's about $146,000 total. 14040,83425. All right. So, I'm going to go 141. And then for the water fund, 33,7861. So, 734.

Okay. Super. Um, and my last is just a comment. I appreciate everybody's conservative nature in forecasting. I feel much more comfortable looking at something from a conservative standpoint rather than uh overly optimistic. So now with the anything else from the council before I open it up to public comment. Um Mike that the money that made the adjustments you were the will transfer from the reserve fund or from general yeah how so for the for the general fund it will be transferred from general fund reserve. Okay.

But for water fund it will be transferred from water reserves. Okay. Yeah. If you and take any the money from our general reserve fund. Yeah, for sure. When you got the money, pay it back. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. This more of a comment. I guess my I go back to the EMS issue and um it seems to me whoever is doing the bookkeeping on fire side um should have noticed a trend and a decline.

So so it is um actually a third party who's administering our Yeah. So I think for fire they only receive the report. So I'm not sure um you know if they're looking at the payments or the actual revenue. Um, so you know, I I don't know. Sorry. All right. I I know it's not you. Thank you.

So, at this point, uh, I'm going to open it up to the public and see if there's any movement back there. I do not see any movement. How about on Zoom, please? So, I do believe we have to take some action on this. move to receive the midyear budget report. I will second that. Further discussion and you are that is just for clarification. You're moving the resolution. Yes. Move to adopt resolution approving the midyear budget report for fiscal year 2526.

I'll second that. Now further discussion of any seeing none then let's go ahead roll call please. Council member Dean I. Council member Ferivas I. Vice Mayor Low I. Council member Gurnie. Yes. Mayor Willander. Yes. Thank you. The motion carries unanimously. Very good. Thank you very much. Proty again. Thank you. Excellent job.

And mayor before we move on to the next item if if I may. Um, I know propy won't want me to do this, but I do want to acknowledge the fact that this is her last week with us. Um, she has been an incredible resource for our community. Um, just what she's done in the short time she's been here with us, um, has been amazing. You can ask anybody behind me. I It's night and day, uh, for how our budget's been done, the transparency, the the process, the order, the structure, um, the the investment policy she's put in place. uh she's done incredible work for us. Um we're I'm proud to have gotten to work with her. Um and we are very fortunate to have had that time with her. So I want to thank you. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Proy propy, we wish you the very best. Do we have enough money for a good watch? So, um, wow. Okay. Now, the moment that we've all been waiting for, and that is to get a a review, a look back as to the progress we've made on the 2025 goals. And at this point, it is with pleasure that I turn it over to our city manager.

Great. Thank you so much. Um well, this uh item is going to tag team with the item you just heard on the budget. And the goal of bringing these two items together with for you tonight on u this week is that you have information on where we stand with our budget and where we stand with the efforts from staff over this past years on accomplishing your goals as you head into goal setting this Friday. So hopefully with these two documents, these two uh pieces of information will help uh further your discussion on Friday and make so you can launch from there and build off of that work. So this compilation is a summary of uh accomplishments that have been done on the council goals. So as we I think this is this is going on three years here. Uh this is a a process that we've started where setting your goals in early in the year staff works we align budgets align resources work with the planning commission the various boards and commissions uh and work all towards achieving goals that the council sets. In your packet is a comprehensive update of council goals. I want to thank all of the people behind me and their teams and Sarah Tracy for helping pull this all together at the very last second. Thank you, Sarah, for all your work on this. Um, I'm not going to go through each line individually, but I do want to highlight some key um, noteworthy items that I think are are worth worth talking about. I mean, obviously, if you have any questions or want further information on any of these, we can do that. As a reminder, the city council established, uh, five goals, housing, uh, parks, recreation, community services, economic development, financial stability, unification, annexation, and climate mitigation, and adaptation uh, back last year. On the housing front, uh, wanted to highlight a couple things. One of the things when we first started here, uh, was the the concept of streamlining. How do we make things more achievable for our community? How do we move things through the process quicker? Um, I have to acknowledge, uh, Jennifer and her team on identifying ways to

streamline processes. um primarily the in the most recent year they uh modified the design review authority to the planning commission um and creating minor design review processes increasing exemptions. So that uh make it much easier on applicants as they're moving through the process um to to move um things that we want done like restaurants, businesses, housing projects forward through the system. Um, in addition on the affordable housing production side and preservation, I think we we had some pretty creative work this year working with some partners um and utilizing our housing trust fund um working with Burbank uh the BAFA Bay Area um regional housing authority um and uh staff, we were able to secure um about $4 million brought into our community to save and preserve $18 million, I'm sorry, 18 affordable housing units. Um that was an example of some creative working with the teams to move quickly and jump on that. We are going to have more of these projects coming up in the future. So we're going to have to keep our eye on available funding out there and be creative as we move forward. But um that was an example of being able to leverage $250,000 into 18 um units to preserve which was um a great great achievement. Um in addition um I know there's about 171 units and 17 affordable housing units that are currently going through the process right now um through different entitlement um uh planning stages. So hopefully we'll see those soon materialize. And then also our our planning department is working with uh district one supervisor's office on a 2026 Summit Valley housing summit. So that was something that came up specifically last year in the goal setting is to have a housing summit. And just so you know that's in the works. We were trying to get something done this year. didn't didn't pan out, but we're going to coordinate with the uh county supervisor district and uh do something together and jointly to have more of an impact. On the homeless front, you heard a lot about that earlier today from Sarah in terms of the uh emergency warming center. Um one of the things mentioned, she mentioned in 2025, we did

activate the uh shelter for eight nights um for over a week um and that was successful with um our new system. And then she also mentioned the new partnerships with Catholic Charities and some of Family Meals. I think that's been an incredible um um value ad to our um services here in the valley um which built on the great work of those that um created those organizations in the in the beginning on the parks and wreck and community services. Um obviously we have um one of the the uh accomplishments sitting right behind me, our new parks erect director. He's still still there. Okay, he hasn't he hasn't left yet. Um that was a test to see if he was here. Um they uh we're happy to have Dave Johns and on our team brings a wealth of experience jumped right in and has been incredible just getting out in the community identifying gaps figuring out ways to uh enhance our recreation and and programs. You saw some of that tonight in the budget request. Some of those the additional ask for the budget request. There's going to be some um creative new approaches to how we do wreck and services and working with our community partners, finding gaps, filling those, making sure our community has those services that are needed. um as part of bringing him on, he created a new department and restructured the department and is really taken a lead at at identifying what our parks need and what community services are needed in our community. On the um pedestrian accessibility and active transportation side, a lot of work has been done on that. The online traffic hazard reporting form was launched. That was new this year. Um it got an overwhelming response, I believe. I think they got it. A lot of people started submitting requests about traffic issues and thing. But that it's great because now we have a forum and a place that they call GO and the traffic safety committee is is is humming now. They're they're doing a lot of good work. They're they're busy. They're getting a lot of uh identifying a lot of issues and being uh much more active than they have in the past. So I think that's been a great thing that the public works team has done. Uh the West Bane Street Bike Boulevard was completed which was uh great if you haven't been on over there. And then obviously the

mid mid crosswalk crossings in the on the plaza which I have to admit I was pretty nervous when uh Mike brought this to me and we're going to put these white bullards up there and how's the community going to react and on our historic plaza but uh they've been at a resounding success. I haven't heard one complaint um and they've actually been very very helpful. I know I when I cross those I feel much safer. I've heard that from our public as well and the public works crew did an incredible job and we got through a fourth of July and with them and removed any barriers and it worked worked fine. So that was another concern we had that was overcome. Um in addition on the tree urban forestry um tree initiative uh the tree inventory and urban tree canopy study was uh conducted um and that was just presented to our uh joint committee of pros planning commission and climate and that will be coming to you the city council here shortly so you can um see the results of that study as well. um the topographic survey for the plaza which was um in conjunction it was completed last year um which is a base for any future work on the plaza and the historic landscape survey of the plaza park was launched um in 2025 that's in process now those two documents will help guide uh the future uh master plan and planning work or any development on the plaza we're excited about that um you heard a little bit about the cemeteries I I think it was understated but um the amount of change that's happened in the cemeteries has been pretty incredible And I think you know Carolyn um who you all know has done an incredible job and now with Dave here working with Carolyn daytoday um it's even ramped up even further. So I'm really excited to see what this the comm the cemeteries are doing. Um last year we installed a new columbarium both at mountain and veteran cemetery. Um I was just talking to Dave earlier today and uh the sales are continuing to come in on veterans and mountain. So those are starting to sell. We're to the point now where we're probably going to need to start building another one pretty quick um because there is interest in that. um we nearly doubled the cemetery revenue year-over-year um just in in the work that they've done in the advertising,

identifying and creating that capacity and then doubled the available inventory sold year-over-year as well. So, we're we're getting the inventory out there. We're getting the information out there and selling that product. And I think there's there's a lot more to come on that. Um, the other thing on this list I wanted to point out that I think is really important is that Caroline has done an amazing job at contacting all the all the individuals and families on on the interament wait list to provide updates and available options and next steps. And I think that's really important that we're closing that loop for people that went into kind of a black hole in the past that didn't have anywhere to go and and making that personal connection. And so I think it's incredible work she's doing and um it's hard work. Um I don't know if I could do that every day talking to families, but she really has a a gift for that. Um, wanted to highlight that. Um, on the community programs, nonprofit cultural services, I just wanted to highlight two two that I think were the most um, visible this year. Um, one was the benches on the plaza, the benches and tables on the plaza. That was a great um, partnership with um, Summer Raceway. Summer Raceway donated the wood and the public works crews, installed those very quickly, stained them. Uh, they look beautiful. I was nervous about graffiti and well they hold up but they they they still look great. Um the benches and tables are are working really well. So that was um we're looking to expand on that relationship with snow raceway. Um, and then the snow garden club, the work they've done on caring the roses and that partnership, I think has been really great. And we're looking to expand that to other areas of the plaza, other roses in the plaza to see what we can do to leverage their their expertise and knowledge and and support um to to help support our crews on the arts programs and partnerships. A lot going on with the art uh commission. um they obviously did the policy the the great policy that was the year before. So I can't we can't claim that but they're actually starting to use that policy now with the um activating public art fund and the utility art wrap. Um and then we do have our our first public art proposal based on the policy I

believe um from Sonoma Valley Museum of Art. So I don't think I'm allowed to say what it is yet, right? But it's coming or is it public? Oh, they did present. Okay. So, I don't know if I have this correctly, but I think they're going to be projecting some great art and history on buildings city hall and other things potentially.

Yeah, it's part of a larger jump, but they're gonna it's part of a larger project that you may have noticed the there's a gentleman who's been taking um portraits of community members. I know they set up a booth at the um I think they did a farmers market as well as the Fourth of July um where they're taking pictures of literally people in the community and those portraits are going to be part of a large exhibition at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art and as part of that installation they want to do projections onto city hall and some other maybe some other locations um during a certain set time um probably in the summer. So it's to come but um pretty excited about it. I think the commission's pretty excited about it. Dave's excited about it. Um so more to come on that.

Yeah. Yeah. So just a good example of just trying to now that we have that out there, that policy out there, I think people are getting interest and I think of creative ways to get art into our community. Um on the uh economic development, financial stability um you just saw um obviously our finance director um kind of lay out a budget um and bringing forward a balanced budget um and take taking the approach we're taking. One of the things to be able to do that is she the finance department did implement the open gov budget and planning platform which allows us all of us sit sitting at these tables to um enter information in the budget. We can look at other people's budgets and and identify the impacts of changing um different assumptions um and the public gets to gets access to that as well which has been really helpful. Um and then you also heard about the um AMI, you heard about some of the the problems, all the 14 problems that we had. But what I'd like to do is highlight the the the number of the success. Um I was involved in the AMI uh process in Santa Rosa when it first kicked off um years ago and it was problem after problem. It was very difficult. I I was shocked at how smooth it went here um in Soma. I was impressed with our crews and how quickly they reacted to issues and how creatively they solved them. So, um, I think that's a great accomplishment. Now, everyone has these meters that they can get real-time data on their water use for water conservation, making decisions on how they manage things. If there's breaks, leaks, we can help much more quickly and efficiently as for customer service standpoint. Um, so great job from public works on that one. um on the local businesses and uh support and permitting. Uh one of the things that I was excited to see was a streamlined permitting process for business licensing, sidewalk seating, temporary winter tending, signage, um all that streamlining that those processes because when uh businesses want to try to bring visitors into town and react, we want to try to make it as quick and simple as possible. So getting sidewalk, seating, signage, all those things play into that. So we don't want to be the barrier. We want to be the partner. We're working more now in meeting people ahead of time. Um, for example, new

restaurants opening on the square. We're meeting with them proactively, walking through sites, giving them guidance, working with them from the very beginning, so there's no surprises at the end. And I think that's something that our planning department, building department been very proactive about. I think that's going to pay dividends down the road. Um, the uh uh S Valley Chamber of Commerce um has been establishing new industry clusters, which has been helpful for us. um they're around housing, construction, real estate, health, wellness, senior services, tech, entrepreneurship. So, those are forums that are being pulled together that we attend, Jennifer and others can attend and and share information, get feedback, hear concerns, hear issues. Um it's just another way that we're able to get information into our our ears so we can identify uh solutions to those problems. So, that's been really a good thing that I wanted to highlight as well on this um this list. Then moving into the uh unification annific annexation um a lot of it revolves around I wanted to highlight was around emergency preparedness resilience uh developing the emer the multi-jurisdictional hazard mitigation plan that was referred to earlier tonight um the document I think was it 500page document that everyone read overnight that's um a great effort countywide but also within our our our valley um we do operate we do um participate um in operational briefings um emergency shelter meetings, emergency coordinating meetings. So, we're really tied into the the bigger uh community countywide, which I think is something really important. So, when a disaster does strike, we know who to call. We're part of the process. We're not left out here and forgotten about in the valley, but we're actively participants, active participants in those conversations. Um we've um the other one was the ecology uh partnering with the Soma um the county and ecology center and Soma Valley Fire District and other partners on the prescribed burn montine in June. And I think that was a great success and shows how how we could pull that off um

forward in the future. And then the other thing that we're working on with um county supervisor is the evaluation of the enhanced infrastructure financing district. Uh so we are in the process right now of running numbers to determine what those finances could look like so we can bring that back to the council to determine is that something that looks viable or of interest to the city um before going any further. Um but that is something that's underway. currently um working with our consultant on that. On the climate um front, I'll just highlight a few here. One that uh the campaign that was launched uh in 2025 about climate smart, which was a big outreach to make sure that the community knew all the efforts that are underway uh about that the climate commission is working on and the city is working on. Um the city obtained the charging smart charging smart silver designation for electric electric vehicle readiness. Uh we adopted the active transportation plan which is really important get to to set us up for future grants and uh planning purposes and u we're continuing to work with the county transit. Um, it's become a bigger job than I think we originally thought, but we're still pushing through to bring the charging infrastructure to our corpard so we can charge electric buses uh at our yard so they don't have to drive all the way back to Santa Rosa to charge at night so we can keep that electric bus here in the valley. Um, and then uh we did uh just recently hired a part-time sustainability coordinator. We're going to claim that for 2025 because the offer was made in 2025 and uh she started this this uh just this month. But um we put that on the list. So those are a few of the highlights uh that I wanted to share. Um obviously there's a few more in here and again I have to acknowledge this team um everyone here uh left in this in this room. um of the work that they're doing, their teams are doing. Um um it's incredible um incredible work and uh

hopefully this gives you enough information um to build off of as we go into the goal setting so we can identify things that you want to expand on, things that we can kind of move forward on or areas we can adjust. So I'm happy to answer any questions and if I can't, we do have the team here to help provide any more support. Thank you. Thank you very much. So uh questions from the dis Uh, how about our faraway council woman? Any comments from what you just heard? No. No. Is this a reflection of us tired or that she he did such an excellent job that we're just happy campers? I will have comments, but I have no questions at the time.

Oh, okay. Are they good comments? Okay, fine. Uh with that I'd like to open up to the public and see if there's any uh response from I see one shaking head two shaking heads. So we'll bring it back for comments to the dis from the dis please. No, I just I think that we have uh accomplished an enormous amount and I think that that is really uh the staff and the leadership that we have in our city right now is responsible for that on all accounts and certainly it's easy to see the collaboration that's been happening. The collaboration not only within staff and with you know you know our police department and the fire department but also with our nonprofit organizations. a lot of work that has happened this year where we have been, you know, the city has supported but some of our nonprofits have stepped up to really move things forward that help us achieve our goals too. But uh we've really set also I you know I got a lot of compliments last year as if I was responsible for things that happened because I was the mayor and the reality I always tell everybody it was just good timing because the base has been set a lot of work has been done in the city to really be able to move forward on things and I think that we're going to see even more in 2026 and so I think it's a fortunate It's a great time for you to be mayor of Ron and congratulations also on a great great cheer in every of your first meeting. So, but thank you a great great report. Good to see there's still more to come. But we've definitely started I think done some of the hard work in all of these issues which some of that work is work that people don't really see but it sets sets the stage for a lot of you know and a lot of things we did see too but a lot of that

is like kind of stealth and now a lot more will be able to happen.

All right thank you. Uh no questions just great comments and a big thank you to you and everybody sitting here and other staff you know because of you make everything that happened we just came and for twice a month. Yeah. So sometimes uh I really appreciate something unexpected for example this kind of agenda prepared like this way and uh because this Friday we will have the and the goal setting and then you design this reviewing you know fresh on the mind yeah that is although it is a little but it means a lot of thing you know it's not everyone can do that so much appreciate Well, I just want to thank everybody for their exceptional work. I travel the community and get lots of feedback and uh I can tell you that the community recognizes the work that you're doing if they don't come to you and personally tell you. And uh an example, Mr. Jan's um made presentations to apparently the Rotary Club and um the salon, ladies salon, whatever that group is. And uh people were very impressed and so um as a team you have a lot to be proud of and look forward to much much more in the future. Yeah. And to our Menescino rep,

uh, it's Humbult County. Sorry, you're way up there somewhere in the trees. No, I I I know we're going to be discussing this later this this week. So, um, I'll reserve my comments until that time. Thank you.

Okay. I um made an earlier comment about my um wandering the the conference hall with a tag around my neck saying I'm from Sonoma. And I believe as I look across I I I'm looking at the reasons why I'm so proud to to serve u as a council member uh for this incredible community. And I'm reminded also that in fact somebody that I am fond of reminds me frequently that we are our small staff and yet as we review the goals and the priorities and what we've accomplished there has been a lot accomplished and as Patricia says that uh a lot of it's been laying the groundwork and it hasn't been very visible and unfortunately I'm a very visual kind of guy constantly looking around. So, I'm excited about this next year. Very excited about the foundation that's been built and it's something that I am very uh u encouraged and uh excited to be part of. So again, thank you to all of you for all your hard work. So with that, I believe it just asks for compliments and that's it. So I believe that you don't need anything else. So let's uh let's bring it home to 9.4.

Letters of interest received and direction to Mayor Welllander or his designate regarding nominations for appointees to regional commissions and committees on behalf of the mayors and council members association of Sonoma County. And I am very happy to turn this over. Just point of order. It is after 9:00. So technically we do need a vote of the majority of the council in order to take this new item up after 900 p.m. Yes, sir. So, recognizing that we talked too long, uh, do I have any thoughts about continuing? Uh, please share it. And do we need to take make a motion to continue? I want to continue. I would make a motion to continue.

I'll second that motion to continue. We don't need to discuss it. So, let's go for roll call. Council member Dean. I. Council member Ferrar Rivas. I. Vice Mayor Low. I. Council member Gurnie. Yes. Mayor Wellender. Yes. Thank you. The motion carries. Okay. Before I was interrupted by our attorney. Uh so, um I'm happy to turn this over to our clerk for background.

This will be a very brief report. The city of Soma is a member of the Mayors and Council Members Association of Sonoma County. Um the mayors and the council members make up the board of directors um of the of this group. Um and the they make selections and nominations to different regional boards. Um tonight the um council is looking at two items that'll be considered at the next meeting on February 12th and those are the nomination or a appointment to the Charles M. Schultz Sonoma County Aviation Commission which has two seats available and there are four-year terms starting in February. There were three letters received for your um review. The second is the child care planning council and there's one seat um which is going to fill an expiring term and a three-year term starting this month and there were three letters also received for that. So at this time I'll turn it back to the mayor for additional if you have any questions. So, I um have u some thoughts based upon some of the cast of characters that we're talking about, but I would be very open to getting some further thoughts and direction based upon the applications that were submitted. I have working experience with the mark and and the city mayor of the central Rosa. Yeah, he's very solid and uh with a a big vision, you know. I recommended that he

Patricia, are we just talking about the airport one first? We're letting it all out. We don't

Yeah. No, so I I certainly would support Mark uh especially because I think that that commission and where it's located, having someone from Santa Rosa makes a lot of sense. And then um also would support uh Steve Zulman having been on the child care planning council to allow him to to get the nomination so he'd stay on that. And I know uh I sit on the board snowan power board with him and just understand just his his caring in regards to uh a you know a variety of communities. So I feel like he would continue to do a very good job. Any thoughts, John?

Um, I think I heard two names and I'm good with both of those. We actually have um we're filling two seats for the um the board. So, then I would go with uh Tanya from Windsor um for the second seat.

I u very good. My only um con comment for con just continuing discussion is back on the child care planning. I have worked with Steve and I I his thoughtfulness and he's an attorney. I'm sorry. Did I say that? He's an attorney. uh uh it's is good but I also was struck by what I saw was the was the the real world experience of child care by Samantha Rodriguez as being somebody that might come and bring a perspective that I believe which sometimes referred to as boots on the ground. So I just wanted to throw that out there um not for confusion but just for

for thought. Oh and I'm so sorry. Let me go back up to the Oregon border now. Yes, Santa. The Oregon border would be one more county. Oh, fine. You keep forgetting there. There's a county called Delnort. That's just one more up there, right?

Island or something is up there. So, okay. Um so um I concur with uh the recommendations of Mark and and Tanya. Um especially as Windsor is so close to the airport, it's it's important to have that perspective. Um I have a question on the child care planning council. It it says that um his Steven's term is expiring. So is so he is asking to be renewed in this position. Is this am I hearing that correctly? That's my understanding.

Right. Um you know I always have a um just a a feeling that if somebody is doing a good job and they want to continue um and we should allow them to continue. It's it's hard to find people who want to stay on things. um you know because it takes a lot of time and although I I really respect and admire um Samantha for the contributions that she could bring that um I I I feel like you know barring anything that I don't know um I have a hard time telling someone who's been actively serving in something that they should they shouldn't be there anymore. I mean there are people who are actively serving in positions I believe that shouldn't be there anymore but we won't go there. Um but um but I you know I don't know that about about Mr. Zulman. So I would consider and I also know um speaking respectfully of Karen that she is a preschool teacher young you know works with young kids. So she so they all have something to bring forward. All of these people I'm sure would do an admirable job. But again, my my feeling is if somebody's been doing it, they want to continue in it. There's nothing that is speaking out to us to say they shouldn't. Um we should let them continue and thank them for doing it.

And and yes, thank you. And I my comment on Stephen is I can remember um he brought up even though in a different meeting context, he brought up his work with the the child care planning and he spoke with such passion that it really caught my eye and and my attention and I also believe that it probably is somewhat akin to the homeless coalition where it's complicated and it takes time to make progress and you just build up momentum, get your sea legs and you just keep so I agree continuity Makes sense. So I believe I have clarity. Now do I need to we need to formalize this any very good then uh I'm happy to say that uh with one exception of one very is there public

okay forgive me open it back up for public and there is no comment there let me go to zoom any comment on Zoom. No comment on Zoom. Uh there is no need for a second public comment period. So we're going to skip down to that moment we've been waiting for. Meeting adjourn. All right. That is down boy.