November 17, 2025 Council Appointments Review Committee

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[00:00:00] Unknown Speaker: Okay, everyone patty ready. Okay, great. All right. So is 6 o'clock, so we'll, um, call the meeting to order. Welcome to the council appointment reviews committee meeting of November 17, 2025. We'll move on to item two, which is our roll call. Committee member Ramos?

[00:00:15] Member Emily Ann Ramos: Here.

[00:00:16] Unknown Speaker: Did you member show Walter?

[00:00:18] Member Pat Showalter: Sure, May here.

[00:00:20] Unknown Speaker: All right. We have Cora moving on to item 3 approval of minutes. Uh, item 3.one or a minute. Would any member of the public joining us virtually or in person, like to provide comment on this item? If so, please click the raise handbun in zoom or submit a loose speaker card to the deputy city card. Can't see. I

[00:00:40] Madu: login. No, there's no one.

[00:00:42] Unknown Speaker: Okay, perfect. Yeah. All right. So there's no in person or virtual public comment. So, public comment. Is there emotion? And a 2nd to approved. So moved? Not anti. So the version, by committing to a show alter. And then, 2nd did, that's committing our lamos, so all of the roof, just raise our hands. Unanimous. Great. So we'll move on to item 4 or communications from the public, with any member of the public joining us virtually or in person, like to provide public comment. There's still no one. Okay, so we'll close oral communications, and we'll move on to item five. Our new business. Item 5.one is committee opening. Deputy City Clerk Wanda Wong will make brief remarks, and then we will proceed with review and selection of interview questions.

[00:01:36] Wanda Wong, Deputy City Clerk: Good evening Just want to let you know that all the applicants will be attending in person, with the exception of Renee Fitzsimon, PRC applicant, will be attending via Zoom. And Sarah Dondish has not arrived yet. She told me today that she was going to be here.

[00:01:57] Unknown Speaker: Oh, well, we'll go through the questions and see, yes, they arrive in time and everything. All right. Um, would any member of the public joining us? Enter by comment on our committee opening. All right. So per the selection process outline in council policy number K dash two, interviews will be conducted in a panel format. Applicants will be interviewed in groups by body. Each advocate will receive the same amount of time to answer each question, and the questions selected by the committee will be asked in randomized round robin order. The committee may ask a limited number of clarifying questions in the event that an applicant's answer was unclear or otherwise not understood. Clarifying questions should not be used to allow an applicant an additional opportunity to expand on the original response. The committee will now review and finalize questions to ask each applicant, The time allocated for each question. Questions previously asked of each group of applicants are included in the memo from staff. Where, Where there are fewer applicants than open seats and incumbents are the only applicants. The committee may choose to move these applicants forward without interviews. So we're going to go over our questions and then we'll move on to Parks and Rick, um, so, did we want to go over our questions? Well, my names have a comment.

[00:03:28] Unknown Speaker: We did make some changes a few weeks ago. Do these represent those changes? There are no changes to the parks and rec and senior advisor committee questions. Oh, okay. So, yes. They're still the same. Well, that's the performing arts committee, but that's right. That makes sense. Okay. I wanted to check. Okay. Um,

[00:03:47] Unknown Speaker: well, you still have an opportunity to change them if we want, or you keep them similar, or however folks want to, or committee members want. Yes, they are. Yeah, I think they're, okay. So, shall we, um, shall we to, this way, or this way? What did you... Okay. So how about you'll do question one? I can do two. And then, can we go, watch, we'll do three, and then same order. So let's see, we have one, two, three, four, five, applicants, only 3 sentence in front of us. Okay, this is Sarah. And then, no, that's on May. that's Renee and Sarah hasn't arrived yet. Right. Um, do we want to have inside? I can go look for her and see. Okay. Because then people may have gone upstairs. I don't know.

[00:05:02] Unknown Speaker: One person, yes. I have that email, if that would be helpful. Have it all here. Good.

[00:05:15] Wanda Wong, Deputy City Clerk: This is why she was gonna drag you all here.

[00:05:22] Unknown Speaker: We'll see, and if not, we'll proceed if that's okay, because then... It affects the round robin order for the question. Oh, right. Oh, right. And um, she's actually first. There's the 1st question, like question, personally, let go. So, opportunity and then... Yeah, because sometimes we also tell people at different times. Do we tell everyone's six? They

[00:05:49] Unknown Speaker: weren't no Times giving. Okay,

[00:05:50] Unknown Speaker: great. Oh, perfect. Okay, yeah, because I feel like that's when we get into that. And Renee, you can hear us fine.

[00:06:04] Renee Fitzsimon: Okay, perfect. Yeah. Yes, I can hear you.

[00:06:11] Unknown Speaker: Okay, perfect. I don't know that we're gonna do the timer on the Zoom, are we, or we're just gonna, yeah. So you're not going to see a countdown clock? Will we ask you questions, but you'll hear the alarm go off when the time is up? Okay. Okay, sorry, sorry. That's right. I just wanted you to know, just in case, because sometimes people wait for the clock, you know, so. Yeah, no, I appreciate it. Yeah. Of course.

[00:07:28] Wanda Wong, Deputy City Clerk: Yeah. Started, so, and this is a special mean, because they're normal, we've been, like, the Thanksgiving.

[00:08:44] Unknown Speaker: Is everybody ready for Thanksgiving? Nice. I'm ready. making up the family menu to pass around today. That's fun. Say, okay. Yeah, everybody you want. And what are you gonna bring? You're hosting? Yeah. Do

[00:09:05] Ben: you cook the turkey or someone else is gonna cook?

[00:09:08] Unknown Speaker: Actually, my son is buying the turkey and he's bringing it to our house and he's cooking it on our grill in the backyard. Nice. That's one way to do it. Actually, it's a great way to do it because, um, you know, oven space is always at a premium on Thanksgiving. And so if you cook it in the grill, then that leaves the oven open for everything else. Sorry doing that many, many years ago and it works. Does he smash cock it? Split it down the show. Cooks a lot faster. We just sit in them. Just let it go for hours, right? Yeah. It would take a while. No, it takes about 2.5 3 hours. It's actually faction than it is in the oven. In the oven. Turkey. My family. I

[00:09:55] Unknown Speaker: suppose that you don't eat meat. I'm like, I don't... sides are where it's outside. Turkey is snow. It's not my favorite.

[00:10:07] Wanda Wong, Deputy City Clerk: My family doesn't cook, so we're going to Maggiano's on Thanksgiving. That sounds great. Is that the tradition or is just this year's plan? This year is because my mom's

[00:10:17] Unknown Speaker: also getting her kitchen renovation. Oh, that's right. All right. So Sarah's at the community center. Oh. She's on her way. We're going to do this in reverse order? All right, so be allowed if we play the senior advisor because everyone's here for senior advisory. mind. That seems quite right to Renee, is that okay with you? We're gonna swap and uh, someone we went to the wrong location.

[00:10:45] Renee Fitzsimon: That's unfortunate. I had let Wanda know. I am traveling. I'm out of town and I have a hard stop at seven, so... We'll be done by the only concern. I

[00:10:57] Unknown Speaker: think the whole meeting will be done by then. So that's the goal. Good. All right. Thanks everyone for working with us on this. Really appreciate you for warming up our seats. It's good to see some returning. I know. Right. And then, um, are you just being time? Yes, I am, I'll be. All right. Oh, yes. Great. I need to write anything that I want. Okay, I

[00:11:29] Unknown Speaker: just wanted to make sure. Do you want a piece of paper to write on? No,

[00:11:32] Unknown Speaker: no. Oh, okay, okay. Okay, I'm

[00:11:36] Michelle: glad you're asking. My glasses are over there. I don't have to see, do I?

[00:11:40] Unknown Speaker: We just have 33 questions. Sure, no problem. So I'll just review the 3 questions. So the 1st question is 30 seconds. Why do you want to serve on the senior advisory committee? The 2nd question is one minute. What do you think would be likely areas of particular focus for you on the committee? And then the last question is too minutes. What would you like to see on the senior advisory, or what would you like to see the committee advisory, the advisory committee do? And so, um, our deputy state clerk will take, uh, the timer and as soon as you hear it, just feel free to end your sentence. Um, the order is Michelle. Then is it Madi? Madu. Madu. And then Maricela, is that right? Okay, great. So that's the order. So we'll start with Michelle. And then the 2nd question will start with Madu. And then the 3rd question will start with Maisella, and we'll just kind of like go in that order. And then asking the 1st question. Maybe. Oh,

[00:12:40] Wanda Wong, Deputy City Clerk: say. So once again, this question is 30 seconds. Why do you want to serve on the senior advisory committee? Well,

[00:12:48] Michelle: now that I'm retired, I find I have a lot of time on my hands. So I wanted to give back to the communities as best I could with what my resources are. And I'm doing so by volunteer at the senior center. I'm also on the advisory committee for source wise. I've been doing that for a couple of months. I already finished my 1st design, and I also spent a year on Qantas, on the board of directors. So, I want to get back somewhat, whatever I can do. Right. Thank you.

[00:13:27] Wanda Wong, Deputy City Clerk: It's, uh, Maru. Do you want me to read? Oh, no,

[00:13:32] Madu: no. Okay. Answering the same question, right? Yes, okay. Thank you. Sorry. Again, piggyback on this one, same. I just retired myself last week. Congratulations. It's your timer here. With children, um, after past 23 years, I've been a program director, um, with elementary school, and, um, I, again, want to do, you know, I've never seen the senior center, so the 1st thing, I wanted to go and have a look, and I feel, you know, it's kind of a different, you know, it's a change between children and,

[00:14:10] Wanda Wong, Deputy City Clerk: It's a timer. Okay,

[00:14:15] Wanda Wong, Deputy City Clerk: Maricela, would you like me to repeat the question or if you have it? Um, sure. Okay, so it's 30 seconds. Why do you want to serve on the senior advisory committee? Um,

[00:14:25] Maricela: so I've worked previously at the community for advisor for letting us contact cancer. So it's kind of the passion of mind to kind of be in the community and try to organize people, especially like a message type of way. For me, personally, yeah, I've worked with seniors for the past 10 years. When I'm from actual director to actual, or like a policy, or more like an insurance background, like my skill sets. Um, based with maybe my other council countries and help maybe drive some type of mission forward, especially, um, depending on what your guys is, um, goals are for like this year and maybe like long term. So, kind of, um, on that, a larger scale is, um, what I like to do with some, you know, I was trying to see what, um, areas I could get, um, organized in, I guess, and try to organize others.

[00:15:21] Unknown Speaker: Thank you. Okay, so Madu, we'll start with you. So one minute, 2nd question. What do you think would be likely areas of particular focus for you on the committee? Um. Wow.

[00:15:37] Madu: Mostly, it's the health, you know, how we can support, because I do see all my or um, especially in care. From their lacking, you know, there's not a proper care of them, and um, We can to entertain them. So, it's just, it's a very different field, like I said, but I felt it's very important to take care of the seniors too. I've been trying to have them, you know, with children. Most of the adults or seniors. They lack, you know, children are busy and they don't get to see their grandkids and all. So have those, you know, connections between the families or if they don't have their own families, have, you know, um, You know, do the grouping so they can meet those families and.

[00:16:38] Unknown Speaker: Okay, Maricela, what do you think you would, would be likely areas of particular focus for you on the committee? Um,

[00:16:44] Maricela: so right now, I am a home and committee-based services specialist, as a health, a Santa Clara Coming health plan. So I think that pretty much like long-term services and support. So, I work a lot with in-home support services, and I think about how we like bring that to, um, our seniors within our community and how we become kind of orient them to, like, these type of programs that are available to help them live safely in their homes, like home and community day services, that can potentially just, you know, help them with the overall quality of life. And so, um, something that I see is that since in-home support services, it's, I love IHSS, but I feel like it does have some, um, areas where it can get better and I see somewhere where we be, um, seniors do need some type of peer counseling with trying to help, like, random with that program. So, like, I think about how that's just one area, that's the potential to make some type of impact. Um, but also maybe doing.

[00:17:46] Unknown Speaker: Thank you. Hey, Michelle, what do you think would be like the areas of particular focus for you on the committee? Well,

[00:17:53] Michelle: working at the center, I see in here. Transportation, money, food. We don't have enough food for our citizens, elderly. And, um, I don't have the answers, but I like to work on a solution. Someone else's great ideas, right? Um, I know the county is also doing rideshare programs, not rideshare, but they have a nice ride program going that I'd love to see extended year to Mountain View. And that's what source wise is doing that. So, yeah. Okay. All

[00:18:36] Unknown Speaker: right, well, this one is a little longer. Um, what would you like to see the senior advisory committee do? I think I start with Michelle. Uh, my salad. Sorry. Okay.

[00:18:47] Maricela: Um, 2 minutes. Oh, wow. Um, well, as you mentioned, um, I know source wise, I think, is a great, um, studio that can help, um, that we can partner with, and as mentioned, I think housing, um, group of security and transportation are like the 3 things that are affecting our seniors, and I think that they're the overall growing population, not just within, um, our county, but throughout the state, and I think trying to get ahead of those problems is really important, and therefore, seeing how we can partner with like other county or new base organizations to try to make, like, make some type of coalition, to get on some type of, um, If we like want to like create policy. I mean, I'm always thinking, I think that's like vital to bit, like what I would want to work on. So maybe like trying to, um, get other um, members of our community, um, trying to engage other stapholders really trying to, um, let, um, seniors know that we are like an advocate for them and seeing how like we can really support with, um, them living in our communities and thriving in our communities. So, um, just, I guess it would really depend on, yeah, like what the advisory board would want to work on and seeing how like we can all create, you know, some type of timeline or framework to push that mission forward. So. Oh, it's pretty. Um.

[00:20:17] Madu: Um, well, that's the same. Um, for the emotional stability and resources, so they can go around and of course, the food is also scarce or try. At first, I do not know myself and you have too much of the resources and all, but I would like to, um, join in, um, partnership with people who would give them food. I do volunteer at GSA, um, and but not all the time. Um, I would make sure, you know, those citizens, especially the seniors, as I feel, you know, they're lonely, they don't have enough of resources, so, um, try my best to do whatever I could help them. Um, I do need guidance. I'm pretty new, but I would. I'm being honest and, but I would try my best whatever resources we can pull around and help them with that. Thank you. Okay. Oh, no. Yeah.

[00:21:26] Unknown Speaker: What would you like to see the senior advisory committee do?

[00:21:30] Michelle McGuire: Well,

[00:21:31] Michelle: not knowing much about what you do now. She said, I would love to be just a body to use my wonderful skills that I've learned along the way through my career. But what I would love to see as a resource center that has all the answers where people know where to go. You know, they have to sound their questions. And I get these all the time and I don't have the answers. I mean, I have old binders with old information. You know, they're always looking for something, you know, that, um, other than food and transportation. This is number two. But they look for um, housing, rent stabilization, health, um, all kinds of things. I mean, you know, through your own life, what portions and problems arise. Where do you go? Where do you go for your answers? So I would love to see. I don't know, even know how you would do it, you know. Seniors said, our senate tries to have a newsletter, that website view. And I don't believe all the answers you're there. questions. Anyway, just some, somewhere where someone would go, where do I get this? Where do I do this? How do I do this? As well as setting up transportation food. And, um, um, Relationships, I believe source wise is also doing that. Were they getting the youngsters involved? To spend time with seniors that are maybe inbound now. Homebound, something. Something to let them know that we care. I'm getting there. I'm gonna need it myself. So, maybe, it's selfish, but, grow and be here at one point, so, let's make it easy. With dignity. Great. Thank you.

[00:23:29] Member Pat Showalter: So that concludes all our questions for the senior advisory committee. Uh, we will deliberate after direct commission interviews. So you're welcome to stay or you can go home. We have the city clerk's office and I'll let you know.

[00:23:43] Michelle McGuire: Well, will be notified later. Yes, you'll be notified later. Yes. Of course, thank you. Thank you. Really appreciate it. inviting me back. Thank you. And I see your little name plates every word in my community.

[00:23:57] Unknown Speaker: Oh, oh. I know your name. It's lovely to meet you. I enjoyed the Veterans Day celebration. Yes. really nice. Yes. So, you're fuzz.

[00:24:17] Ida Rose: Oh, my...

[00:24:20] Sumesh: Was it honest?

[00:24:21] Ida Rose: I really enjoyed listening to that.

[00:24:24] Member Pat Showalter: That was great. Well, we know Renee has a hard stop, so let's just get oriented quickly. She's out. Renee, are you back? All right, here we go. So, um, the committee will now interview the applicants for the parks and rec commission seat. So the, um, all our questions are in Round Robin, and so the 1st person will be Sarah, then Renee, then Sumesh, then Ben, the night arose. Trip submission. Okay. So, um, so the 1st question will be Sarah, then Renee, then semester, would just kind of continue that order. Um, and then the questions for the Parks and Rec Commission. The 1st one is 30 seconds. Why do you want to serve on the Parks and Recreation Commission? Question two? One minute. What do you think would be likely areas, a particular focus for you? on the commission? And then the last question is 2 minutes. What do you think should be the priority of the person, Rick? A strategic plan? Great.

[00:25:26] Member Emily Ann Ramos: All right, let's go. So the 1st question, it goes to Sarah and it's 30 seconds. Why do you want to serve on the Parks and Recreation commission? Um,

[00:25:35] Sarah Dondish: as a resident of the city of Mountain View, I've always, actually, even before I lived in Mountain View, I always, um, he used the parks here and growing up, I've spent a lot of time in Mountain View. Um, I am also a huge dog person and I really strongly believe that there needs to be more love, uh, in the parks and rec, in department for the, uh, area's dog parks.

[00:26:05] Member Emily Ann Ramos: And that's is Renee, up to you in Zoom. 30 seconds. Why do you want to serve on the Parks and Recreation Commission?

[00:26:13] Renee Fitzsimon: Um, it's an opportunity for me to deepen and more directly get involved with the city that I live in that I value very much. It's also really a great opportunity for me to bring together my former experience. in uh, land use and environmental planning with my more current, my more current work in um, as a program manager for the open space district and creating kind of enriched experiences for people.

[00:26:45] Member Emily Ann Ramos: Thank you. Next, we have Sumesh. Um and it's 30 seconds. Why do you want to serve on the Parks and Recreation Commission?

[00:26:52] Sumesh: Sure, thanks for the opportunity. I mean, for me, I'll start with the core value. Your strategic plan says that part, like collaboration, future focus, and, you know, stewardship. One thing is aspect of being part of the community. 2nd is like leaving this place better than what I kind of, uh, and I saw that or when I was part of it. So it's all for for me, it's like leaving it as a better place.

[00:27:16] Member Emily Ann Ramos: Wonderful. All right, next we have Ben. 30 seconds. Why do you want to serve on the Parson Recreation Commission?

[00:27:24] Ben: All right. Well, I've been a longtime resident for over 15 years in the city. Um, I've worked here, um, I used all the facilities in the parks. I do a lot of running and cycling, so trail and backwards and forward. I raised 2 children here in the city. I'm an empty nester now. So I have my time, and so I feel like I've been a big user. I think now I want to be a contributor and help, so others can take advantage of the facilities and increase and improve those facilities that we have. Right.

[00:27:56] Member Emily Ann Ramos: And last but not least, Ida rose 30 seconds. Why do you want to serve on the Parson Recreation Commission?

[00:28:03] Ida Rose: Our parks and our recreation spaces shape our community. There where people connect, cross neighborhoods, generations, and our cultures, our parks and our recreation facilities and programs are absolutely amazing. And I want to be part of the planning that is so important now to support their long-term growth inclusion and sustainability. I bring experience from other advisory bodies as well as community leadership and equity and sustainability. To help us ensure that our parks stay inclusive, reflect our community needs as they change and protect our biodiversity.

[00:28:38] Member Pat Showalter: All right, so I have the 2nd question. We starting with you, Renee. So, what do you think would be likely areas of particular focus for you on the committee? One minute.

[00:28:50] Renee Fitzsimon: Uh, given my interests, my background, my passions, I really um, eager to be involved with implementation of the um, biodiversity and urban forms plan. I'm also really keen to see how we can work together to do more collaborative, um, partnerships with other resources in the community to provide programming for, you know, our multigenerational folks and really work together to see how we can leverage both staff and funding resources. And really, I'm, I'm, I want to deepen my understanding of how we can do more to provide parks in the areas of the cities where we don't have them, whether that's understanding, again, funding and sort of financing strategies that we can make that happen, because there are areas that are really in need.

[00:29:50] Member Pat Showalter: Thank you. All right. Same question for you. No, it's funny. If you can hear me. Okay. What do you think would be likely areas, a particular focus for you on the committee?

[00:30:01] Sumesh: For me, I believe one is funding. I briefly scan through the plan, say it's like $750,000 is like what you need. And then I personally feel that it's uh, it'll probably kind of exceed that uh, if you want to do more. So that's like different sources of funding. That's one part And, um, the 2nd piece is collaboration. So my role itself, my current role with that I work with Amazon is more on the business development and strategic alliances. So I feel that connecting more to different sources, like the companies that are here or, for example, the shoreline golf course or different groups that you can connect with and create these revenue streams and collaboration avenues. That's the 2nd one. And 3rd is the design part. I mentioned my application as well. So the more I travel with different places like Stockholm or, um, you know, uh, like Australia or New Zealand, the, the way they have designed these parts and recreation across these cities is like, amazing. What I would love to do is like bring those things in and create this like, it's one of the best cities in the world, if to start with, and then we can move on to the, to the larger part, like, hey, can we extend across different countries? different states of United States and then move on from there. I think... that's, yeah.

[00:31:16] Member Pat Showalter: No, I just, yeah, I was like, okay. Okay, great. All right. All right.

[00:31:23] Ben: Well, I would want to increase volunteerism. I would want to get the companies and the corporations that are in our cities because their employees enjoy our facilities too, even though they may not live here. I was one of those people as well. So I know that. And also, um, I want to bring out of the box ideas to increase and improve our our parks. And so some specific things would be increasing the communication and reaching out to foster community participation. These are our parks. And I would really want that the people who live here and the people who work here, to feel that ownership. So let's get them more personally involved. Um, have local leaders become park owners, have companies sponsor the parks, maybe they're even, you know, it says this park is sponsored by X Y Z. Um, perhaps for the urban forest. We can have trees that we plant on the public lands, also be sponsored, maybe folks can rally to plant them if we provide the saplings to them. So again, creating more and more ownership directly with the public. I interrupt.

[00:32:29] Ida Rose: My areas of focus would mirror my experience to date in the community, including my deep understanding and commitment to equity, community building, and sustainability. My focus would start with equitable access, making sure that every neighborhood has welcoming parks and programs. Right now, our park and rec space distribution is out of balance. And I want to make sure that our existing facilities meet at current needs, like providing modern playgrounds, in demand, sports fields, and other amenities the community keeps asking us for. Second, I'd like to focus on community connection and inclusion. Thinking more about how our parks and our facilities as our places where our community comes together, while improving our mental and physical well-being as a community. I also want to think about how our programming can continue to reflect and celebrate our rich cultural diversity. And lastly, I'd like to focus on sustainability, including meeting and even exceeding our tree canopy goals, enhancing biodiversity, and providing for future climate resiliency needs. Oh, perfect timing.

[00:33:32] Sarah Dondish: Okay, Sarah. Um, so, I would love to use my backgrounds in both marketing and administration to really just get things done. Whatever needs to be done, I'm that person that, if you give me a task, I will make sure that it gets from point A to point B to point C. And I, I like thinking about things more on the small scale. I know everybody else here has been talking about a large scale global community effort, but for me personally, I think that, We need to think about the person as well, rather than the community, and I think that a lot of times when we think about and equity and sainability, we forget about the single people that are involved in that, not just the groups, not just corporations, not just, um, you know, communities. We need to think about how each individual person can be part of that and how we can reach out and actively get others to join in. Okay.

[00:34:41] Unknown Speaker: All right, so this is the long one. It's 2 minutes, you won't. Yeah. What do you think should be the priorities of the park, the recreation strategic plan? And I believe we are starting. Yeah, so much. All right.

[00:35:01] Sumesh: So, um, at the macro level, I feel that there are 2 areas that can be prioritized. This is still there in the plan. I mean, for Dr. Mac levels, one's connectivity. So we say that we are like people are within 20 meters of a park or 20 feet apart or something, but then it's still there. It's the problem is that it's, if you look at it, if I compare it with other areas that I've been to, there are things that I can change and make it interconnected. That's one part. Whether it's trail running, for example, I mean, as Ven was mentioning, If I have to go from, let's say, one part of Mountain View to the other one, there's no straightforward way to kind of get to the other place. So connectivity is one part and having access to as many people as possible. That's the 2nd it should not be a privilege. I mean, it should be something that is naturally coming to the folks that are out of this phone, you know, living in mouth view. Um 2nd is sustainability. I think that's kind of aligns to the uh, principle of stewardship, which is you, you want to create something which is self-sustainable, right? it's not. So that's the other area. I mean, I would say I still don't have the full view of a strategic plan, but then I feel that there is that's the other area that we should focus on so that it's sustainable by the time the 2022 to 2037 is completed. We have that self-sustainable resources. Right, right. So, recutional facilities, and it's accessible, as many people as possible.

[00:36:32] Unknown Speaker: So now we go to, um, 10. Good night. Let me repeat the question. Sure. Okay. Um, What do you think should be the priorities? of the parks and recreation strategic player?

[00:36:47] Ben: And this includes the urban forestry plan? Because I saw there's 2 plans.

[00:36:51] Unknown Speaker: I think they're all nested.

[00:36:53] Ben: Okay, so the scope is broken.

[00:36:55] Unknown Speaker: That what we're hoping.

[00:36:58] Ben: Yeah, because there's a 183 page on the forest and then there's another 100 people taking something on the parts, right? Okay. So, I think, increase the access, um, to to the parks, to the services that we offer, and this should be across all of the spectrum, ages, incomes, uh, locations, right? So that everybody feels that they have these opportunities. And then not just that they have them, but that we are doing good, reach out to the community, to increase the participation, and people know what the opportunity and the facilities are. And I don't know what metrics we have today for measuring that. That would be something that I would want to dive into, and maybe we should add some additional metrics, maybe add new methods of communication and measure that participation and see how that can be increased. Because what are the parts for if no one uses them? Why are we increasing them, right? So I think we need to have our eye on the ball for that. And then increasing the um, The ownership, as I mentioned earlier, right? I think there are a lot of things that, you know, our budgets are limited, our resources are limited, but we have a community of 80,000 strong. We have, when you add all the people that come in and work here is probably over a 100,000 people, right? How can we tap into that, even if they just gave us a small fraction of a percent? This would probably many times multiply the amount of effort and funds and all the other kinds of things that we could accomplish, right? So I'd really want to get that multiplier effect going and how do we measure that? That would be another form of metrics and how do we engage them? And get them involved? Um, And then I think the, the other one is, like I know in my neighborhood, I'm in Rex Manor. Um, we have some, uh, local leadership there and we do some, some events, um, and so I'd like to increase that and make sure that this is happening citywide and that there's, uh, also the sharing of ideas. I know there are some neighborhoods that do things much better than us. And so how can we get that across the pool?

[00:39:16] Unknown Speaker: Next we come to Ida Rose. Um, what do you think should be the priorities of Parks and Rec strategic plan?

[00:39:23] Ida Rose: I have 3 areas. First, equitable access and inclusion. Data shows that overall per capita, parkland in Mountain View is very high, but it isn't equitably distributed. And parks also don't have equal amenities. So I would like to focus on bringing high quality parks, programming and improvements to the neighborhoods that eat it the most, like Sterling or Sylvan Dale or the Thompson planning areas, to make sure that these facilities are serving everyone, including our renters, youth, and older adults across the community. Second, I want to make sure we invest in existing resources. Our parks are beloved and extremely well used. We need improvements like accessibility, shade, restrooms in some parks, sustainable landscaping, connected trails, modern playgrounds and play surfaces, and new programming. Um, and we also need to focus on um, environmental sustainability. That means aligning with our biodiversity goals that we have in a different plan. Our tree canopy expansion and climate resiliency. Our parks and our open space help us mitigate against climate change, serving its carbon syncs and also helping cool the environment around them. They provide shade. They help with stormwater runoff issues, and provide opportunities to protect animals and plants in a changing climate. But with that said, all of these goals are really, really important, but the reality of meeting them, these ambitious goals is that we need funding, and we need more staff resources or we need to balance our staff resources. Um, They're finite. Park in loop fees and developer provided amenities don't really help with all of the issues that we face. City budget is facing some constraints. So there's uncertainty around what future development fees will look like and that will come out for the next study next year, but until then, we don't really know. So we're going to need to look at creative funding, potentially partnerships with private entities, nonprofits, looking at grants and donations and even more traditional funding sources like potentially increasing recreational fees, which is really difficult with stomach, but you need to do that to be able to have a plan. Hey. And so, um, into Sarah. So

[00:41:34] Unknown Speaker: what would you like, um, what do you think should be the priorities of the parks that are strategic? Yeah,

[00:41:40] Sarah: well, I have to say, I agree with everybody, what everybody else has said, um, I think sustainability is so important and we need to think about how we can make our park sustainable, just for us, but for those in the future, um, given our finite. Given our finite, um, resources financially and I think, so sorry. I think that it will, it's kind of a, scale that we need to test and practice and figure out what really is important and what isn't, especially when it comes to not just expanding our parks, but upkeeping the ones that we already have. Um, We do have some of the best parks. We have so many parks, but. They aren't kept up as much as the individuals that I have spoken to, uh, over the years, would really love. Um, and we do have wonderful, great new amenities, like magical bridge playgrounds that are coming in, you know, not just in Mountain View, but in other areas that are funded by other organizations, and that's really wonderful, and we can think about how we can create other partnerships like that to, um, grow and manage our funding for other areas of the parks. Thank

[00:43:10] Unknown Speaker: you. All right, Renee. So, um, what do you think should be the priorities of the parks and recreation strategic plan?

[00:43:18] Renee Fitzsimon: One of the areas that I think we need to have is a priority I've already touched on, as have others, and that's the, um, Distribution and accessibility of parks in the areas of the city that lack them. And again, what funding sources and financing strategies can be put together to meet that challenge. Uh, the other thing about with the strategic plan. I, I really, want it to support and provide for ongoing engagement with an involvement with our residents and visitors so that we can stay aware of community expectations and balance, um, essentially balance a more realistic, the best realistic approach we can in responding to what what people expect for those amenities in their community. Um, Additionally, I really value that the strategic, the draft strategic plan acknowledges the importance of organizational capacity and workforce resilience as key factors in the city's commitment to provide high quality programming services and and um, parks. I think that, Having been a longtime public agency employee, I think employees really need to know that they are valued and respected in decision making, and implementation of the agency's goals, so that they know and are aware of what a challenge it is to struggle, you know, providing salaries and living wages with also supporting this larger community, and, you know, it's a complex place to be, and I think mountain view. does well, it still has challenges, but those are the priority areas that I feel and the draft strategic plan I'd really, really want to make sure we don't lose sight of. Thank you. Okay. And I'm going to sign off and say thank you so much for the opportunity, um, to be considered and to be here tonight with everyone. Thank you all for what you do. Okay, thanks. Bye bye. All right. Um,

[00:45:27] Unknown Speaker: so that concludes our uh, reation commission, um, interviews. So as I mentioned, you're welcome to take a seat or, you know, we'll be in touch, but thank you so much for the shuffle and making sure, yes, I'm sure Sarah creates it as well, so thanks everyone. It was really interesting to hear the other interviews. So it was great. Thank you, sir. I am so sorry everyone. No worries. All right, but our meeting is going to continue, so we're just going to delivery. So thank you so much. Um, thanks for a pause. Yes, thank you for applying it. Yes. Enjoy the rest of your night. Thank you, everyone. Hi, Leo. Thank you. Thank you. So I'll bring the matter back to the committee for discussion and a recommendation to the council. So, it's one seat, her ending December 31st, 2029 on the Parks and Recreation Commission, and it's one seat with the term ending December 31st, 2029 on the senior advisory committee. Is there a discussion? Um, before we go into... Sure. Questions or any of the

[00:46:38] Unknown Speaker: committee members. Yeah. You want to start with senior advisory committee since we, sure. So senior advisory committee,

[00:46:44] Unknown Speaker: that is 5 um, there's 5 people. Um, it's a 5 person body, and uh, last time, um, we put David. So, uh, David Kim, so it's, um, the motion would include David Kim and then someone else. So we'd actually be recommending 2 for this in Africa.

[00:47:06] Unknown Speaker: Well, I, um, you know, we have 3 good people here. It was really nice to, um, uh, uh, some good applicants here. And that's, well,

[00:47:17] Unknown Speaker: I mean, I just want to thank you both in the city clerk office for being so big to just pushing it out to have, um, applicants reapply and just really, really thrilled that we had, you know, more than more than one applicant tonight for the, have this one to drag them here. Yes, yes. Good job. Yeah. And securing a room and everything like that so that, you know, next month in December, we can make a full recommendation to our colleagues. And I, it is really important. And we don't want these, um, committees to have bacon seats. So thanks everyone for that. I just couldn't. no.

[00:47:52] Unknown Speaker: Go ahead. Well, well said. Um, I, I, uh, I, I was particularly impressed by 2 individuals. Michelle McGuire and Marcella Perez, and they're quite different. Um, uh, I think Nadu, um, maybe a year from now, she'll be really good, but I don't think she's quite, uh, She just retired last week. I think she eats a little time to catch her breath. And, um, uh, and she has, So, um, but I felt like Michelle. And then the other thing was, I mean, clearly, Michelle and you are seniors. And they, um, I know that, especially with COVID, I had never really thought of myself as senior or elderly before, but then with COVID, there were all these people telling me I couldn't do this. I couldn't do that because I, you know, and so it kind of hits you. But anyway, I think that particularly, um, it's important to, um, to understand that you're part of the group. And and Michelle does understand that and she's stepping up and she's, you know, she's, she's actively involved, you know, doing things. I know that she lives in sunset. Palm State. Yeah, she, she lives in, in local park and she's, she's actively involved with seniors. So that's, you know, I mean, I think that's of interest. Obviously, Maricella, this is her job, one of the seniors, and she has brings a great deal of professional, um, expertise. So, They're both really, I think they're all 3 good, but particularly those too, those reasons. So,

[00:49:39] Unknown Speaker: um, I would be interested in hearing what. I just wanted, so, they would be joining Brian. And then Donna Castillo, Nirvana. So, and then David. What about Deanna? She resigned. She is, she is, Sandra resigned. chose not to reapply. Chose not to replay. Yeah. So, um, I just wanted us to think about the mix. No, you're right.

[00:50:11] Unknown Speaker: I liked... very similar to Pat. I liked, um, Michelle and and Marisella. stood out to me both. I actually appreciate Michelle applying again. She she tried that that 1st time and and I loved her spirit. Like there's something about her, her, her spirit. Both of them, Nirvana, will have a lot of, will have a lot of fun getting out of that. So it is, um, really kind of nice to have either of them. I know Marisela, um, Cassandra reached out to me to tell me that she wasn't going to reapply, but apparently she had already met Marisela, and so she kind of felt like, oh, I think it's, she almost felt like Maricela would be the good replacement for her. So that was something I was also thinking about. I don't want to lose Maricela. I want her involved in in something. It may not be this if we choose to go with. I really think the decisions between those two. Um, I'm hoping that, uh, we find a way for either of them, even if they, even if one of them is not on the, can we find a way to get them involved, I don't want to lose either of them. There will be both really good additions to this, you know, that so you can. I

[00:51:26] Unknown Speaker: think Michelle is our representative for mountain view, source wise. Oh. So we have a seat, the city, I don't, maybe through the, through the clerk. Maybe you could, um, Is that right? We have a seat. I think it's the city of Sunnyvale, the city of Mountain View, have seats on the Fourthways. Okay, and she is so representative. Oh.

[00:51:55] Unknown Speaker: He has a collision. Oh, well, look at the word, she has weird, she's like... Look

[00:52:04] Unknown Speaker: at them either way. It's been what, a couple months? Yeah. Oh, that's right. since she left... Yes. So, I think is, um, we had the position on senior advisory, and then we also, um, I found out we had a position with source wise. So we reached out to both Michelle and Elder. They would want to serve as a source wise rep. Alice said no. So we shot to McFell, who's... represented it. in that same vein of, okay, you know, trying to make sure that we keep interested people, right? Yes. Yeah, so that's what, um, I work with someone that's office. I wanted to share that with you. No,

[00:52:48] Unknown Speaker: thank you. Well, well, in that case, I'll move them. Okay,

[00:52:53] Unknown Speaker: yeah, that's what I mean, is that? Yeah. But I would hope that does it make me shall not. interested, right? So, I think they're, You know, because it's their 2nd time applying for it as well. How

[00:53:10] Unknown Speaker: long does she get to be our rep for source wise? I

[00:53:15] Unknown Speaker: don't even know this program that well. It's a transportation program for, I don't know anything about. Transportation program for seniors. Like, um, I know. Yeah.

[00:53:35] Unknown Speaker: So they have an advisory. Source West has an advisory council. To advise source was, and it's board of directions, that directors about the needs of older adults and disabled persons. Vulnerable, degrees of community and form. So she sits on the advisory council. So as you can see, They have different representatives, like body. So for our city, we look at her. Oh,

[00:54:05] Unknown Speaker: that, that term run. So she started July one of this year and the term is 1st year. 3 years. Yeah.

[00:54:19] Unknown Speaker: Well, I don't know. We could make the argument that she's on that, and this would be a good connection. the senior advisory committee. Um, We can also. Think about it. And again, we don't have, there is no alternate for this, right? Yeah. Okay. Keep asking the same question, so I got there. Keep

[00:54:52] Unknown Speaker: trying. But we could think about it and maybe we want to talk about Parks and Rec a moment and then we can come back. Okay, sure. I don't know, we can. I mean, I eliminated on this also hard too. Oh, I don't know. So, Parks and Iraq is Ronnie Bryan, and then we would be viewpointing Jonathan Davis, and they would be joining... Yes, Steve Filliers. So, be joining Joe Mitchner, Sandy Summer, and then Steve Pelios is turned out. Okay, so. So

[00:55:34] Unknown Speaker: we got two. 2 women. No. Maybe Summer is charmed out. No, Sandy's, we just, we just reappointed her. She was in a different cycle. We just reappointed Jonathan. Well, anyway, she's there for a while. Yes. Or

[00:55:53] Unknown Speaker: a four-year term. So we have 3 women. That's what I was going to ask. Yeah,

[00:55:58] Unknown Speaker: so it's not as bad as beatpack. Yeah. Um, I guess I was really impressed with the answers by Renee. That, that, those were actually really impressive answers. I did enjoy the answers by Sumesh and Ben. Um, uh, it, it, it, you could tell that it's something, they, they aren't insiders on this. They're the kind of people they're like, you know, it would be great if, like, those are the kinds of answers that they, you could, it was clear they spent time thinking about it, but never was directly engaged. And so it was a very kind of interesting thing. But Renee, I think, had the most impressive answers. Um, well, uh, Ida Rose, always prepared. Like, that is that is always kind of a clear thing. And I do like the enthusiasm of Sarah, but I still think that the best answers were by Renee. Yeah,

[00:56:54] Unknown Speaker: I, her name had really good losers. and I thought I rose had goodness. I thought that's really interesting. Well, they all had, they all had good ears, and it was, they thought that it was really interesting that everybody who's here recognizes that sustainability. It's a really big part of Parks, and that's true. And so, you know, so that was good to hear all of them. And, um, And the other thing I thought was interesting was the, uh, idea of using more volunteers, several of them, several of them brought that up. Um, and, uh, So, and then that kind of the ownership of parks, the idea of ownership of parks. I know that's come up in the neighborhood committee, talked about that. Those were points. I also thought, my roses had some. You know, she has been involved in, um, uh, the consideration of, of how the vague Mountain View works. Oh, just kind of show the relations commission. And there is a big equitability issue, I think, with our parks, and, um, because of the distribution of the, and, so, I, I, I, um, I, what she had said, was, was very important as well. Also, when my ears perked up in Bencharma, said that he was in Neck Rex Manor. I was like, oh, that is a place that has some blacking up, like, you know which areas in our city are the park, the park. Yeah, park deficient. Yeah. When's

[00:58:49] Member Emily Ann Ramos: the, um, when is the next time that we end up? Oh, there's, there's one term, um, exploring, excuse me, at the end of next year, December 31st, 2026. And there's one term, 12, 31,27, and another, um, 12,

[00:59:10] Councilmember Chris Clark: 31,28. Oh, wow, it's just like every year. Yeah

[00:59:19] Member Emily Ann Ramos: I just, I think, I love, I thought, what, 5 totally different applicants, 5 totally different perspectives, all of value, I think, hearing about, experiences with our parks, and I, for me, I was just saying, how do we engage? Like, you know, we're like in a big one, but like to make sure that we are able to. So maybe being able to share that they're, you know, as there's a future opportunity as close as, you know, a year from now. I feel open to. They're open for him. The top 3 that were mentioned, um, Renee Ben. And then, It's just deciding which one. They all represent something so different. That's why I had brought up that composition of both the senior advisory and Parks and Rec Fresh just to think about. It's too bad they're only five, right?

[01:00:40] Councilmember Chris Clark: Okay. still in the HRC? Yeah, I think it sure is. She's gonna end her

[01:00:48] Member Emily Ann Ramos: term ends on December 31st, 2026. It

[01:00:52] Member Pat Showalter: was just one more year. So she's been on it 1st, so. usually don't last. Yeah, you usually don't last that long in

[01:01:00] Member Emily Ann Ramos: nature.

[01:01:04] Councilmember Chris Clark: There's a turnover. Oh yeah, there's like, there's been a lot of people turn over. I mean, do you remember, like, Lucas was one, Evan Ortiz, uh, Ila Malik. Oh, I think it's one. Oh, she. She

[01:01:19] Member Pat Showalter: didn't, she just... Well, um, I feel like we have a tradition of them, custom. Uh, often appointing, uh, little bit of one folded to the council. You know, we like to get in there, um, experience, or, you know, but in the beginning. Um, and so, I, I would really like to, overnight, a rose. I think she'd do a very good job. And she was on the 2nd sustainability task force. I don't honestly know about the 1st one, but, um, but she was really a leader in that, and getting it finished and written up and making sure that, um, the concepts were communicated to council members at the time, which was tough because they finished writing it sort of at the last, um, at the end of June. And then we go on, you know, we went on recess. And so it was really extra. So I really admired, um, her, uh, persistence for that. So I think that, you know, I was going into this, this, this plan, this sustainability plan. It's getting the plan finished is a big deal in itself. Getting it implemented is also going to be a really big deal. I think she would be very helpful for that. So, I, I know. I

[01:02:52] Member Emily Ann Ramos: would like to see her. I'd

[01:02:55] Member Pat Showalter: like to see. Although, they're all good. You're right. I mean, they're all good. Very different. They're very different. Very different. Oh,

[01:03:05] Councilmember Chris Clark: okay.

[01:03:10] Member Emily Ann Ramos: And then maybe. Um, so I'm hearing consensus, um, on Ida Rose. I think maybe what we can do, like a more purpose of your work's office is on letting those that, um, art selected, to know that they can engage with the perhaps, on a strategic plan, just going through all that engagement right now, right? Um, and then, uh, you know, openings are coming in 26, 27 and 28s. And um, we can't wait. Stay

[01:03:43] Member Pat Showalter: engaged, right? I just want

[01:03:44] Member Emily Ann Ramos: to do like a little follow-up. Yeah, I thought, you know, like, especially for the applicants, that's other applicants who stood out, you know, that they, um, I thought they agreed. They do have great ideas. And I think another thing that

[01:03:58] Member Pat Showalter: would be nice to mention is to, um, urge them to get involved with their neighborhood association. You know, the neighborhood association is very dramatically from place to place, some of them. very little and others of them have just really, you know, incredible organizations. And, um, but, uh, they all need people to need to do, and this, and they many, many of them have their events at parks. And so, That's why I bring that up.

[01:04:30] Councilmember Chris Clark: It's like little things from my answer. I was like, Ben, mentioned basically what canopy's doing, and I think he was a lot. what I was thinking. Well, that's what I was thinking was.

[01:04:40] Member Emily Ann Ramos: Our Arbor Day is such a great opportunity. A whole block program. Yeah, cool block. Because I think I want them to feel like there's a place for those ideas and we do have quite a bit going on that they may just not know about, right? It sounds like the recommendation would be, I'd arose, and she would join Jonathan as part of a recommendation. Um, The 1st office, not just, like, follow up opportunities that are available. So that takes us back to the senior advisory community. Um

[01:05:25] Member Emily Ann Ramos: I'm

[01:05:26] Councilmember Chris Clark: happy with either of them Someone was just like, what is the tiebreaker? Well, I guess. The

[01:05:35] Member Emily Ann Ramos: thing that I am thinking about is, Michelle said yes to source wise. She still wants to be on senior advisory. So to me, that's like a little of a tipping point for me. I, you know, some people, they get pointed to something else and that kind of satiates the appetite for wanting to engage, but that she saw the opportunities. Even though she

[01:06:00] Councilmember Chris Clark: already had one. She's like,

[01:06:01] Member Emily Ann Ramos: I want, I want to do more. Yeah, I think there's an enthusiasm that I would feel bad about.

[01:06:08] Member Pat Showalter: And the other thing was, her knowledge of what's happening with seniors and particularly, I was with a senior center. She's there. It's not theoretical. I mean, she's there on a regular basis, and I think that's, that says a lot. Sure.

[01:06:24] Member Emily Ann Ramos: Okay, okay. And then kind of saying thing, um, we'll make sure that we want to do and why you sell them know that there are other opportunities. I don't want to jinx this, but this that community is a different I want to keep engagement with. So, but hopefully that would be a good composition. Yeah, kind of hopefully we'll put it back on and... And so David, um, shall we join David? So, um, is there emotion and a 2nd to group notification? So moved 2nd. For one C, termending 12, 31, 29 on Parkson Rec. I work, go past there, one seat, termendee, kind of a little bit of 29 on the senior advisory committee to Michelle McFuyer, motioned by committee member, show off for a 2nd date, like, team member, uh, Ramos, all in favor, right? That is unanimous. These recommendations will be brought to the council at its December 16th meeting. So I'm going to go on to item 6, our committee staff, comments, options, committee, support, anything? All right, adjournment. This meeting is a church at 7:08 p.m. Good night. Thanks, everyone. Yeah, good.

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