March 7, 2023 Special Meeting of Mountain View City Council

Video

Transcript

[00:00:00] Mayor Alison Hicks: Oh, thank you. Yeah, I'm... Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the city council's special meeting to interview public safety advisory board applicants and the Rental Housing Committee applicants. For those joining us in person, please note that due to our hybrid environment, audio and video presentations can no longer be shared from the lectern. Requests to show an audio or video presentation during a council meeting should be directed to city.clerk at mountain view.gov by 4:30 p.m. on the meeting date. Additionally, due to our highbrid environment, we will no longer have speakers line up to speak on an item. Anyone wishing to address the council in person, must complete a blue speaker card. Please indicate the name you'd like to be called by when it's your turn to speak. And the item number on which you wish to speak. Instructions for addressing the council virtually may be found on the posted agenda. Now, item two, roll claw. City clerk?

[00:01:17] City Clerk: All council members are present, except for your council member, Abby Koga.

[00:01:24] Mayor Alison Hicks: Uh, item three, Pledge of Elise Jones, please join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice. So now we're on item 4.one, which is the public safety advisory board and Rental Housing Committee Applicant Interviews. The purpose of the meeting this evening is for council to interview applicants for three openings on the public safety advisory board, and five openings on the rental housing committee, and to make a recommendation for adoption at the March 28, 2023 city council meeting. Would any member of the public joining us virtually, or in person, like to provide comment on this item? If so, please click the raised hand button in Zoom or submit a blue speaker card to the city clerk. We will take in person speakers first. And each speaker will have three minutes. So, I think first, we have... You can do it afterwards and come and speak now.

[00:03:11] Public Speaker: Hear me, okay?

[00:03:12] Mayor Alison Hicks: Yes.

[00:03:12] Public Speaker: Okay. All right, good evening, city council and city staff. It's so nice to see you all in person. This is, I think, my 1st time in four years maybe. Being present at the council meeting. It's very nice to see you all. I am here tonight to advocate for the appointment of Fleet Zhang and Robert Cox to the Rental Housing Committee, and my strong support for these two people are for the following reasons. They are both longtime residents of Mountain View. I define longtime resident as 10 years or more. Robert has been living in Mountain View for 20 years, and Lee's been in Mountain View for 22 years. They are both, so they're both longtime residents. They both have been renters for quite a few years in Mountain View, and they both are currently either owners of property or their landlords, so they would be definitely qualified for this position. They have both served on many community commissions and volunteering positions. Robert, as you know, he's was on the EPC. He was still is on the Old Mountain View, neighborhood association. He was on the Mountain View Historic Association. He's been volunteering and participating with the city affairs for a long time, and the community really appreciates his all of the things that he does. Ali, I believe, was part of or led maybe a Chinese committee outreach program that the city had. She's also currently on the Hopes, Corner, and United Efforts Organizations. They both have solid economics background, which will help to bring understanding and balance to the renter's needs and landlord's rights to maintain to maintain really a balance between these two needs. And then they're both known to be respectful and collaborative with all folks from the community, from the city staff, and the council members. And I'm hoping, and I know they will, strive, to be fair, in implementing the CSFRA. And so I'm here to strongly support their appointment. Thank you very much.

[00:05:42] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. So, I believe we have another in person speaker.

[00:05:55] Mayor Alison Hicks: And if you could please state your name, because I don't have it.

[00:06:01] Leona Chu: My name is Leona Chu. Can you hear me? Okay, can you hear me?

[00:06:06] Mayor Alison Hicks: No, it seems like the mic is not on. Can she get tech support?

[00:06:19] Leona Chu: Can you hear me now?

[00:06:20] Mayor Alison Hicks: We can hear you now. We are in business.

[00:06:23] Leona Chu: Okay. My name is Leona Chu, and I've been a resident of Mont View for over 35 years, and I'm here today to make supporting statements for both Robert Cox and Li Jiang. I've known both of them, and when I read why. They want to become members of the rental housing committee, I felt good. They both are sincerely concerned about the well being of renters in Mountain View. that the CSFRA regulations are implemented, that rents occur within 2 to 5%, and they are both aware, too, of the landlord's needs. To get a fair return, to make profit, to get an income. So, I support both of them, because I believe both of them are sincerely concerned about renters well-being for fair rents. Um, Relevant experience. What can I say about Lee? She's a hard worker. She's worked hard as a senior tax manager at Tesla. She's comfortable with statistics. Robert has a PhD in systems engineering. He's comfortable making data driven decisions. Both of them are compassionate, caring people. They both want the best for tenants in Mountain View. Both of them are against displacement. That has been a cruel happening occurring in Mountain View sometimes, when new apartments are built, old ones are torn down. renters are forced to move out. find new housing. Besides that, Lee has since joined Hope's Corner as a volunteer. She speaks highly of that experience, and yeah, she's learned about the struggles that low income residents face in meeting or getting fair rents. And Robert, he's been around for many years, he's been part of the old Mountain View historical association. He cares about low income residents and their ability to get fair rents. So I can't say enough about both of them in terms of their carrying for what renter's well-being would be. And I also think both of them are concerned that the landlord makes a decent profit, gets income. And both of them are aware that under the CSFRA regs, old apartments, those built before 1995. really do face major and expensive retrofitting problems. Earthquake upgrade.

[00:09:37] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you so much, Leona. The time is done.

[00:09:40] Leona Chu: Yes, it is.

[00:09:49] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you, Leona. Are there any more in person speakers?

[00:09:56] City Clerk: One more.

[00:09:56] Mayor Alison Hicks: Oh, Cherry Emling.

[00:10:20] Cherry Emling: Okay. Now? Yeah. Yes, I sent you long email as you know. So I won't go on and on and on, but both Robert Cox and Lee Thang are fabulous, people and fabulous candidates. And from two different sides. They both rented for quite a while. They're both homeowners. And I think we need balance in this town, and I think that's what they do. They will protect the renters, and they'll protect the homeowners. And I think that's what a city is all about. So that we all work together. We can't be 100% on one side, 100% on the other, as you know nothing gets done. So they are both very, very bright. They're very involved in this town. They will show up at the meetings and they will show up in more than one way. They are both very bright, they will have good ideas. They'll follow through. That's their history. So what I say is they are the 2 top candidates that you have, and I hope you see that. Thank you.

[00:11:27] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. Last call for in person public speakers. Okay, seeing none will switch to our virtual speakers.

[00:11:41] Mayor Alison Hicks: First, we have Dr. Meghan Fraley.

[00:11:47] Dr. Meghan Fraley: Hi, City Council. Let's see. Okay, there we go. The timer is going. Yeah, so thank you for making this an open process. I'm here to just speak in terms of what my hope, what I would hope to see tonight in terms of, um, the spirit of these appointments, um, specifically in terms of the rental housing committee. Um, I, my hope is that um, our amazing city council can really remember what the purpose of the RHC is, which is the implementation of the community stabilization and Fair Rent Act. As we all know, well, it is a voter approved measure. It's to regulate, rent increases and provide eviction protections. This, the RHC is responsible for enforcing the law's provisions, resolving disputes between landlords and tenants and making recommendations to the city council regarding policy changes to improve tenant protections. The point of the RHC is to ensure it's implemented in a fair and just manner. So in that spirit, like with any interview process and when considering people for a role. I hope that, um, as we've, you know, discussed before that, um, what will really be focused on is the qualifications of the candidates, this is a highly technical job, it's a highly legal, legally oriented job. So candidates that have been, you know, whether they've been following and part of attending rental housing committee meetings, um, as citizens for years. Those are candidates that can hit the ground running. Or candidates that have legal expertise and background. I believe strongly that we need someone with legal, um, legal experience and expertise on the rental housing committee. Um, we, the RHC has faced many lawsuits, and I would like to see us continue to protect Cispra, which is highly important. Um, And yeah, finally, um, I hope to see inclusion and representation. I think we all know that we don't need 2 landlords, um, or real estate in my ideal world, since we are, it's not about being, um, activist. This is, this is a law that's meant to protect, um, tenets. Um, from evictions and rent increases, and that is what the spirit of it is, and I believe we need at least one apartment renter. Um, on RHC. So please, when you look at Apple, make sure that we have at least one tenant in the California, you know, in an apartment. Um, and finally, I really hope that we can um, 40% of Mountain View, I believe, are white. Um, so I hope we can also look at diversity and inclusion, um, in terms of 40% our renters, 40% our weight. I really hope that we can see a um, a RHC that really reflects the diversity of our city. Thank you so much.

[00:14:38] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. Next, we have Maureen Blondo.

[00:14:51] Maureen Blondo: Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight. Can you hear me?

[00:14:56] Mayor Alison Hicks: We can.

[00:14:57] Maureen Blondo: Very good, thank you. I am speaking tonight to, um, propose that you consider Robert Cox as a participant in the rental housing committee. My name is Maureen Blando. I've lived in Mountain View for 22 years, and I have both rented and owned a home in Mountain View. For the past 12 years, when I've been more active in the old Mountain View downtown Mountain View group, OMVNA. Literally, the hardest working person in that group is Robert Cox. Robert is the vice chair of the OM VNA steering community, and he is our number one source for information about development, or parking, or city council, or local and state issues. He's a vital source of information for us. And he attends meetings of all kinds, shares that information with us so that we can be involved and educate ourselves. Robert has also been on the environmental planning commission for 8 years, including stints as chair and vice chair. Clearly, Robert cares about the future of Mountain View, and like me, he has been a homeowner and a renter, renting is very challenging in Mountain View. And I think that Robert's broad view of the issues in Mountain View would be a big asset in finding our path forward to rental. Robert gets the facts, he gets the nuance, he communicates clearly. He does not push his ideas on other people. He's balanced and he's easy to work with. As someone has already mentioned, this is a technical and very serious responsibility. I think we're very fortunate that Robert would like to be on the rental housing committee. I don't think that anyone will apply themselves more. And I encourage you to include him. Thank you.

[00:16:49] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. Leslie Friedman? Am I here now?

[00:17:03] Mayor Alison Hicks: You are, yes.

[00:17:04] Leslie Friedman: Thank you. Thank you for this opportunity to voice my support for Robert Cox, and also for Li Jiang. I'm trying to, um, say all of this very briefly. I have tremendous respect for the hard work that Li Jiang has shown her devotion to Mountain View and her running for city council position. She continued to work for people in Mountain View after she came in fourth in that election. She has been working with volunteers in Hope's Corner. She understands the desperation that is often felt by people whose income is not as hearty as it should be, or could be, and needs help, to be able to get through economically. She has devoted herself to these other people. And she herself, having arrived here as an immigrant, was a renter for a very long time. Robert Cox should have his name as a middle initials, public service. He is devoted to Mountain View. He loves Mountain View, and has spent so much of his time supporting people in Mountain View of all different points of view. And this is so important. Li Jiang has work at Tesla, where she is in between the policy people and the legal people. And she must continue to keep peace between these strong, divided people. And Robert has a gift for finding a middle way from different points of view on divisive subjects. I know that because there have been times I did not agree with him, and he was able to help me see how to make the compromise in these different kinds of issues. I strongly urge you to support both of these candidates for this commission. Thank you very much.

[00:19:27] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. Next, we have Louise Katz.

[00:19:36] Louise Katz: Thank you very much, mayor and council. I'm also here to support Robert, Cox, and Li Zhang, and, as has been stated, they both have a unique approach as to where their life has taken them up to this point. Um, and Robert's service record is obviously exemplary and has great depth. Lee put herself out to run for city council, and 6 over 6000 people, your constituents wanted her as part of our governance. And this is the opportunity for her to make a contribution that I believe a lot of people would approve of based on their support. Community outreach, obviously, is essential for this kind of a job, and they have both, I think, clearly, um, fulfilled that requirement. Also, having been renters and owners. They also have, I think, a clearer understanding. And Lee has also is also a landlord. They both have economic backgrounds and very strong knowledge, and ability to work within the law, understand regulations, and Robert's work within omniba, shows that he has contributed and has very vested in what is a very mixed neighborhood, which is old mountain view. It has old homes, it has apartments, it has historic resources, it has new buildings. And so I think the opportunity for the city council to have these 2 candidates in front of them is quite unique, and we hope that you will definitely support them in your decision making. Thank you.

[00:21:21] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. Next, we have Tim Mackenzie.

[00:21:29] Tim Mackenzie: Greetings, all. Tim Mackenzie, he him pronouns, Monteloma neighborhood. Before jumping into RHC, which seems to be the hot thing, I'll also say, yeah, Peace Hab. Woo, looking forward to seeing who gets appointed. And, uh, as a member of the community who has been to every meeting of PCAB, I will, I'll just say, I think that both Eva and Jeanette have been fantastic, thoughtful, engaged, and excellent committee members, um, with regards to RHC. I just want to highlight a couple of things, they've, I think, already come out a little bit, but just kind of echo them, re-emphasize them. There is a maximum number of landlords that can be appointed to the RHC. There is, the minimum is zero. We don't we're not required to put landlords into these positions. Um, and sort of on that on that theme. I'd like to see something more representative of the city of Mountain View where 60% of Mountain Viewers are renters. There's a minority on council, and I'll be honest, I don't know the makeup of renter versus homeowner or landlord on RHC, but generally, even though renters are a majority of the city, seems like we're underrepresented in these positions. So I hope that those are 2 things that you'll consider as you make the decision, that you're not required to appoint landlords, and that renters are underrepresented given the current representation that we have and our size in the city. Good luck with the decision making, and hope it all goes well. Thank you.

[00:23:17] Mayor Alison Hicks: Next, we have Dan.

[00:23:25] Public Speaker: Can you hear me?

[00:23:26] Mayor Alison Hicks: We can hear you, yes.

[00:23:28] Public Speaker: Yeah, I'm here to, uh, vote, express my support for Lijan on the, uh, Arc, uh, for a couple of reasons. I think another speaker mentioned that, if Americans, is really a significant, significant population in Mountain View, I would like to see Li Jang, who's willing to put herself out there, to serve the city, by her running for the city council, coming in the 4th, with 6000 votes. Now, if she's willing to serve on the RHC, I think it's a great opportunity to have her voice and her experience, as well as representing, uh, their significant portion of the city of Mountain View. Uh, the, uh, the 2nd point is as a vote renter and a homeowner of Mountain View. I think it's very clear we need someone who has the experience and the expertise, and the passion to serve the city, on the art sea, to provide a balanced housing for renters, as well as for the thriving community of mountain view. Uh, be just to respond to a couple of speakers before. I think having a voice of representing, perhaps, a more diverse viewpoint on rental market, it actually helps the renters. Because we want to make sure that RT serves the community of mountain view, not just the large apartment builders, who are, you know, mostly for perfect driven purposes. Having someone like Li Jiang, who's a resident of the community, and is willing to put herself out there to serve the community. I think it's really, really important for a thriving mountain view. So I really urge, uh, the city council to seriously consider Lee John's candidacy, and to actually, uh, uh, have her serve on the arts seat to serve the community of Mountain View. Thank you.

[00:25:12] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. Next, we have Kavita, yeah.

[00:25:23] Kavita Ayer: Thank you, Mayor. Good afternoon, counsel. Kavita Ayer, resident of Quest Park neighborhood, also a member of PCAB. I'd like to express my support for my fellow current serving board members, Eva and Jeanette. Um, I think they've done an amazing job. I completely forgot they were only on for 2 years. I'd really like to see what they can do with the next 2 years. I hope you will consider them strongly. for reappointment. Thank you.

[00:25:54] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. So, this is last call for any virtual speakers. I see no more speakers. So, um, we'll bring it back now. So we're gonna be working with the selection process outlined in council policy. It's council policy, number K2. We're going to conduct interviews in a panel format. Each applicant will receive the same amount of time to answer each question. And the question selected by the council will be asked in a randomized round robin order, um, for each body separately. The council may ask a limited number of clarifying questions in the event, an applicant's answer was unclear or not understood. But the clarifying questions should not be used to allow an applicant an additional opportunity to expand on their original response. In, I'm going to be reading the questions that counsel asked of the Public Safety Advisory Board in 2021, and we, at that time, allowed a total of five minutes for response, but we're also going to allow council members to suggest changes to the questions or propose a different time allocation per question. And before we do that, we do have a table with applicants, um, sitting here, but there are, uh, dabble and sauder, and Betsy Collard are not currently seated, so, if you can find your, your name tags, and sit in that place. Oh, okay. So you're going to be, you're not going to be on the spotlight tonight. Sorry, this hybrid arrangement is new. So, the 2 questions we asked last time was, uh, one, what unique perspectives or abilities, would you bring to the public safety advisory board, and have you participated in MVPDX, or attended a meeting of the Council Race Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee, or a Human Relations Commission, listening session? So long question, but that was our first question. Our second question was, What is the role of the public safety advisory board, and how can you make an impact on the relationship between the Mountain View Police Department and community members? So, those were our questions last time. And the question now to counsel is, would you like to go with those same questions, or would you like to change them in any way? Vice mayor?

[00:29:03] Vice Mayor Pat Showalter: Yes, I think it would be appropriate to change them a little bit. You know, in 19, in 2021, we were starting this board out. It had never been around me before, and so I think that, you know, that meant that the question should be a little different than now. We're continuing the board. So this is my suggestion. My suggestion is that we, we don't worry about number one, but we, um, we have, instead, we use number number two as number one. So what is the role of the public safety advisory board? And how can you make an impact on the relationship between the Mountain View Police Department and the community members? That seems like it's still quite relevant. And then the other one, then the second one would be, what do you think is working well, and what, if anything, needs to be changed? And then, perhaps, we would allow each of the people, each of the applicants a little while for a closing statement?

[00:30:05] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay. Are there any other suggestions? Okay. Seeing no other suggestions, will, um, will... Well, actually, the second thing we need to talk about is what the timing will be. Do you have a suggested timing, uh, council member, Matter check?

[00:30:30] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: Um, well, I think we could do, um, two minutes for each question and then a minute for the closing, um, or two and a half for each of the questions and 30 seconds for the closing. But I agree with the changes that Council Vice Mayor Show Walters suggested. I think those are good ones. Thanks.

[00:30:51] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay, so I'm making notes on 2.5 minutes, and one minute for a closing statement, and going along with the vice mayor's suggestions, you want to...

[00:31:06] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: Yeah.

[00:31:07] Mayor Alison Hicks: So the last question I'm going to ask is how you want the questions to be asked? In the past, we've had the mayor just ask all the questions, and I can also read... The questions are fairly short. I can repeat them to each person in case you forget. Um, so, and we have a very random, um, way to ask, so you won't know ahead of time who will be first. that, I guess, the city attorney has drawn up for me. So be prepared.

[00:31:41] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: Um, I'm mayor. If I could, just briefly.

[00:31:45] Mayor Alison Hicks: Yes.

[00:31:45] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: You wanted two and a half minutes for the first two, and a minute for the closing, or two, two, and one?

[00:31:52] Mayor Alison Hicks: What I heard was two and a half for each two and a half for question one, two and a half for question two, and one minute for the closing statement. Is that what you meant?

[00:32:01] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: Yes.

[00:32:02] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay. That's what I heard. So, just to confirm all those in favor. Okay. So it looks like that, well, that's what we'll be doing. So... So... Okay. So, the randomized order we have, I will reread the, um, the questions, but, uh, we have, for question number one, we have, uh, kawan Sandu going first. Congratulations. And the question, the question is, what is the role of the public safety advisory board? And how can you make an impact on the relationship between the Mountain View police department and community members?

[00:33:04] Kawan Sandu: I can, I can. Can you hear? Good. Is it good? There, that's good. All right. Well, first and foremost, happy international ladies day tomorrow to everyone. That's tomorrow, but my time zone, I'm already in tomorrow since I just got off a plane. Um, the PCAP, it's been quite exciting, uh, dealing with them, especially Jeanette and Ava, and the rest of them, it's basically, there's a misconception in the beginning whereby even we thought public safety is any kind of safety, but then as the time went on, we all know that it's for the police department. And working with the police department, it's important, especially the way things have been going the last 4 years or so. I was with Margaret, before a council member, Margaret, on the HRC, and thereafter, I was a chair three times, we really worked hard with them with the police department, making sure that racial profiling was brought to the forefront, having corps on the streets, saying hello to kids instead of making kids turn around and run away, all those were very, very important things. And my relationship has been whereby I will extend myself to the police department, likewise, to the community. If any issues came up, A lot of folks did not want to go to the police department of the city council thinking they would be repercussions. So I can create, like, myself as a buffer where they could approach me and work, and I'll work with the police department, see what issues can be remedied for them. Um, Sorry, my a little tired, so my thought frame is a little slow today. Um, I know that I can continue doing this, working on the subcommittees of the PC app has been good. Right now, we're working, Cleave, myself, and Eva working on the clear act, which is a lot to read, a lot to digest, but it's very interesting what a lot of us don't know about the clear act and how it can impact the police department, how it can in turn impact the community of mountain view. So that's what I have to say right now. Thank you.

[00:35:19] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. So, the next person is Betsy Colored, and again, the question is, what's the role of the P SAB, and how can you make an impact on the relationship between the Mountain View Police Department and community members?

[00:35:37] Betsy Collard: Thank you. Is this on? Yeah. Okay. All right. It doesn't sound like it's on to me. So, um, well, the role is is to is twofold, um, to help represent interests and concerns of the community, to the public service, public safety, um, parts of the city, but also to help um, the public safety people, uh, communicate and reach out to the very diverse community that we have. And I think what I can bring to it is long time in Mountain View, in many different neighborhoods, with many different kinds of people, at different stages of their lives, and whether they were renting or homeowning. But, um, I think it's, I've always, both in what I've done professionally, but also on committees and boards, is, is to be a voice, a good person to both as a liaison between different constituents. And so that's what I would continue to try and do. I believe very strongly in building community and building a strong community. And I think Mountain View is that. And I am very proud of the diversity that we have in our track record there. And so the strong community and an inclusive one is what I would try to bring to enhance what is already very good. Thank you very much.

[00:37:20] Mayor Alison Hicks: Next is Eva Tang. And Eva, again, the question is, what's the role of the Pisa, and how can you make an impact on the relationship between the Mountain View Police Department and community members?

[00:37:34] Eva Tang: Okay, just checking to see this is on. All right, so the question was about the role of Pisa, how we can make an impact on relationship between MVPD and community members. Well, um, Council, I have to call you out a little bit when Pisa was 1st made. I think there was this sentiment that it would be more than just MVPD, but I think, uh, there, uh, I think there was a clarification that was needed, and then I think the role got heightened to just MVPD. Um, I just remember somebody saying, like, it wouldn't just be MVPD, like, you know, public safety is a lot of things. Um, but, uh, I digress. We serve as a liaison between the community and Mountain View Police Department, as Betsy said. Um, I think, uh, we can serve as a third party between, um, you know, council, PD, um, and then just being, like, uh, members of the community, we can advise on policies, uh, involving public safety. Um, as one of the people that served, um, or as one of the people that originally called for the creation of PCAB. I think that the existence of PSAB is, in order to increase transparency, when it was created, staff advised that we should not have a community watchdog or complaint board, that's not the role of PSAB. I think I should highlight what PCAB is not. But we can advise on policy to increase transparency, reduce complaints, increase the trust that the community has in the police department. I think I've learned a lot about the practices that MVPD has in place already to make them more of a gold standard for policing. And I think advising on codifying certain practices that we have as a culture already has been an important role that we've served in the last couple years. And that is my response. Thank you.

[00:39:51] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. So next, we have Devlin Sauder, and I can... Repeat it again. What's the role of PCAB, and how can you make an impact on the relationship from MVPD and community members?

[00:40:09] Devlin Sauder: Hi there. Thank you for the opportunity for me to come here. I'm very excited about this. So as my other fellow friends here, It's a liaison between community members and the police department, and the city staff members that can bring awareness from other community members that may not be able to have a voice or know how to provide a voice for certain issues that they may feel are important within Mountain View. I am going to be transparent. I'm a pretty new member of the community versus a lot of people that are here. I have only been here for 2 years, but within my 2 years. I have twice organized a meet Mountain View Police Department within Bob Park. I am on the steering committee of Quest Park Neighborhood Association. So I do feel, even though I've been here for a short amount of time. I am able to communicate with my community. Um, I have no problem doing that, asking questions. What would we like to bring to specifically police department, but also other people that I may be able to have better connections with or better ways to communicate to versus just the small efforts that I do at this time? Um, and bring that up and make that an awareness. I'm a mother. And so I do, um, have my kid in different, you know, activities and I like to communicate with the other parents and, um, I feel like it's very easy for me to bring up these topics, um, or just ask, you know, what made they have concerns about. And then use my voice as a way to express that to those that would want to hear it or that I would hope want to hear it. So thank you.

[00:42:21] Unknown Speaker: Thank you. So, and last, we have Jeanette Wang. Jeanette, maybe you have memorized the question right. By now, but the question is, what's the role of PCEB, and how can you make an impact on the relationship between MVPD and community members?

[00:42:38] Jeanette Wang: I think this... okay. Thank you for the question. I think... I think I could just tell you what the peace app is, but I think I want to take this opportunity to tell you what I think I want the peace app to be. So, I think, for me, that's in two parts. The first part is I really value, um, using the public safety advisory board as a, um, as creating method to build trust between the police department and the community. Of course, that is, for me, the continuous effort of the public safety advisory board. And in part, that includes, that includes accountability. That includes open conversations. serving on the subcommittee on school resource officers. I think we've been able to begin exploring that, and really have those meaningful and difficult conversations. And then for the 2nd part, I think the public safety advisory board has a really cool opportunity to address new, and emerging. We're also continuous issues of public safety in Mountain view. So that includes some things that we're working on right now, like with Eva, I currently serve on the subcommittee for Mental Health Crisis Response. And that's implementing something new, that has to do with the police department, but is also kind of an alternative method. I think moving forward. I would really like the public safety advisory board to do more in terms of creating opportunities to build trust, addressing that 1st point. And then 2nd kind of looking to see how we can do more things like what we're doing with the mental health crisis, response subcommittee, coming up with either different facilities or different groups that address public safety in various ways. And part one of these things that I want to work on is on substance use in our community. So there are a lot of issues, I think, that the public safety advisor board. It's within the realm of the PCAB to address. Of course, I don't want to go too broad, but I think that within that, we are equipped to deal with these issues. And personally, just how I could kind of serve in this role. I currently serve as vice chair. I think I'm pretty familiar with how the PCAP works and have worked very closely with Audrey and previously with Melvin. And now I think, as a student at Stanford, I can kind of bring in those resources and really understand kind of the expertise needed to address some of the issues that I think are important. So thank you so much.

[00:45:13] Unknown Speaker: Thank you. The next question, question number two, is, uh, and the first person this time is gonna be Devlyn Sauder. Devlyn. So the question this time is, um, what do you think is working well, and what, if anything, would you change about the public safety advisory board?

[00:45:38] Devlin Sowder: Okay, well, thank you so much. Um, I have not been presently at a meeting, but I have watched the meeting, so I am aware of, um, the certain topics that have been spoken in regarding the peace app meetings. Um, I think that as a collective group, um, I really appreciate everyone is able to speak up and voice their concerns, um, and even say that, you know, they don't agree with certain things. Um, I think that what's working is being able to have that comfortability of a group of people being able to voice, uh, concerns, um, and agreements and non-agreements, um, I think, honestly, I had no idea I was going to be here in a panel interview. That was like this. I'm really excited to even just have this opportunity. And, um, It's really, really interesting that Jeanette and Ava are working on such broader aspects within public safety, um, that can be brought into this board. So even if I don't end up on this board, I'm very, very excited to see what too young people are going to do for the community of Mountain View. I'm very very excited to see that. So I will say what I would like to see is more inclusion of just outside of safety, like bicycles on the streets, and pedestrians walking, and, um, you know, how people may feel about RVs parking in their neighborhood. I do feel like there is an inclusion that we need to bring on a safety board with mental health crisis. San Mateo just had their first, you know, mental health crisis worker. And I'm eager to see that along the peninsula, including mountain view. So these are really important topics that I'm really eager to see included within this board. So, thank you.

[00:47:59] Unknown Speaker: Thank you. So the next person is Betsy Collard, and again, the question is, what do you think is working? And what, if anything, would you change?

[00:48:09] Betsy Collard: Well, I think I should start by saying, um, I really have not been to a board meeting. I tried to come. The reason I got an email saying that there were openings on the board, and this is something I've always been interested in. So, but I tried to come to a meeting, but it was canceled. So I can't really speak to that. I can speak to what I think is really working with the relationship between the city and the community. One of the things that I've really been so pleased and about is the way the, I guess, is the public communications person, is communicating with the city about things that are going on as they're going on in a very inclusive way, not sort of talking down, but talking with and bringing us all along. I think that's such a valuable, um, part of what a police department can do, public safety can do to really strengthen community. So I'm very pleased with that. I'd like to see even more of that. One of the things that I was, again, pleased with, but also surprised about when I went and studied the website, and how much is really there about for the public. I don't think the public really knows that. And I think we could do a lot more to reach out to a very diverse community to help them understand what the role is and what the role is and feel more comfortable with the police staff. That's what I have to say. Thank you.

[00:49:56] Unknown Speaker: So, next is Kawan Sandu. Same question. Do you want it repeated?

[00:50:02] Kawan Sandu: No, it's all right. Thank you. Um, just piggyback on every, what, both have, I've said, the PC app is working. One reason is because albeit, albeit we have different, um, you know, aspirations, different attitudes, different biases, yet we have become, over the last, um, two years, overcome a lot of those personal issues, you know, personal ideas, and work together. I think one of the toughest ones was the SROs. And three of us on that group, and it was not easy, and Kavita, I think, it was one of the toughest things we had to deal with, but something really important. And lo behold, after we decided on it, three weeks later, Yuvaldi happened. And we were very thankful that we have the capacity to, you know, protect our kids. We need to protect our kids. If I had my way, I would say, you know, it would be closed campuses, um, and protect our kids so nobody can just barge in and work with the police department. And if the budget is there, have a private resource to take care of that, and have the police department working somewhere else. Those are the things we are working on. What can we do? Lots more. There's always lots more we can do, but how do we do it? We need to keep on reaching out to the community. And with this with the HRC. At the HRC, it was simple. People wanted jobs from me. They said, can you get us a job with the city? No, dude, it's not resources. Human resources, human relations. And we went out there and let people know what it is all about. And, Margaret, remember we met once every two months. And my first meeting was, first meeting was a joint meeting, and they were gonna disband us. I said thank you for the welcome party. So, that was it, but as we worked on, we overcame a lot of issues, but we reached out the community, let them know what we were doing, what we were not doing, and I remember the two really, really big meetings we had was at the community center. And once people know what the PCF is, and, like, what we said, we are not a repository for complaints, people should come out and be able to talk to us at meetings, beat in the plaza room, beat at the community center, and bring the issues up. Because we only know about some issues. There are so many things under the layers, which we don't know, they need to bring it to us regarding safety, so we can share it with you all, and with the police department. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:52:33] Unknown Speaker: So next, Eva Tang. Again, it's what do you think is working, and what, if anything, could be changed?

[00:52:45] Eva Tang: Testing?

[00:52:46] Unknown Speaker: We can hear. Okay

[00:52:47] Eva Tang: Oh, wonderful. Thank you. Um, uh, things that I think have been working well since the P subs, um, conception, uh, I think we've done, um, we've done a good job at increasing transparency in the department. We've gotten to take a closer look at some policies, um, um, a lot of the different programs. I mean, uh, investigating the, um, SRO issue, uh, open up a lot, uh, into the window of MVPD and how different programs to work. We've been able to review complaint data. Unfortunately, given the sensitive nature of some of those complaints, we haven't really been able to see more than just, like, these complaints exist, and this is the type of complaint. Um, I think that, um, once again, I said we have another I on our different MVPD programs. And I think that has been advantageous, because then we can then ask questions about these programs, and we've been asking certain questions about, like, well, do you have data on this? Do you have data on that? And, you know, sometimes the question, or sometimes the answer has been like, well, you know what? We actually haven't been keeping track of that. So, in that way, then we can start collecting the right data. It's been an avenue for the public to bring up issues and take a closer look at those issues. And so they won't be brought up at council and keep you up until 4 a.m. Sorry about that. We heard about 72 hour enforcement, because the community was concerned, about 72 hour parking enforcement, ooh, running out of time. This is a list, think of this as a wish list, and not a critique list. I'd like to do more with the mental health crisis intervention subcommittee, do more with substance abuse, as Jeanette said. Staffing is hard, which makes it so that staff needs to reduce the scope of our work, and I'd like there to be more member driven work. I really hope that we can have public facing hybrid for our meetings, the public would really like that. Being able to respond more rapidly to public concerns and being more broad about public safety, but I know that is hard given our staffing concerns. So thanks.

[00:55:22] Unknown Speaker: Thank you, just in time. And last, Jeanette Wang, I don't know why you drew last twice, I guess that shows it's truly random. So, again, the question is, what do you think is working well, and what if anything should be changed?

[00:55:39] Jeanette Wang: Um, yes, thank you. So I just want to start off and say that. I think one thing that's been working really well is our connection with the city staff. I think Audrey and before Melvin and Al Parneet have been doing a really great job. I know we meet at, like, crazy times, um, that aren't usual work hours, so I really, uh, I really appreciate their hard work, and I think they've been really able to, um, kind of consolidate a lot of important information for us. I think another thing that's been working really well is that I think the members of the board and also the members of the police department have been coming from a place of empathy and coming from a place of wanting to make the community better. Um, I know that a lot of the issues that we deal with can be phrased very accusatorially. And I think I really appreciate how the members of the board and also the members of the police department have been very respectful and kind of keeping improving Mountain View as the goal in mind. Moving forward, I think some things that I personally want to see is more on the implementation side. I think we've been able to do a lot in terms of thinking of solutions and also kind of really creating community profiles and gathering perspectives. I think that's very important. But also, I think the public safety advisory board is in a pretty unique position where, you know, everyone on the board is a community member, and we all are in from different parts of the community. So we're able to kind of see how the recommendations that we make are able to play out in our community. For example, recently, we've heard some things about school research officers that aren't necessarily in line with our policy recommendations from a couple of years ago. So I think really making sure that what we imagine, um, and based off of our, our community, um, based off community perspectives and community opinions, really making sure that that's actually what happens and not just, um, putting a lot of time into building a profile, um, but not kind of seeing that happen in real life. So that's something that I think we can work on. Thank you.

[00:58:01] Unknown Speaker: Thank you. So now we're to closing statements, and you'll have a minute for your closing statement, and the 1st person is Kawansandu.

[00:58:18] Kawan Sandu: All right, no worries. What can I bring it to here? I think I bring my personality. We all do. I want to make sure that the piece app keeps on going, the way we are going and even get better, in resolving a lot of issues we have. Are they shortcuts? No. Are they, um, problems we're going to face? Personally, amongst the peace app and reaching out, uh, you know, making a, getting upset that our recommendations are never heeden, even stonewalled by the PD, uh, brushed aside by the staff or the council. Yes, we will be upset. But we've got to keep on working. We've got to find ways of being objective, and making sure that what we represent is the safety of the community of Mountain View, whether you're a resident or you're passing true, that's what we need to do. And I guess my time is up.

[00:59:16] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you.

[00:59:19] Unknown Speaker: Thank you, yeah. That's a lot shorter.

[00:59:20] Unknown Speaker: First person, please.

[00:59:22] Unknown Speaker: Yes, so the second person, this time, is Jeanette Wang.

[00:59:29] Jeanette Wang: This is so exciting. Okay, do I? All right. So I think I, for me, being on the public safety advisor board has been such a rewarding and such a learning experience. Um, I think I was like 17 when I started on the board. I guess I'm 18 now, so it's not that different. Um, but I have been able to, I'm still 18, but I've been able to learn so much. And I think there's a lot of potential for the peace app to do a lot of meaningful work moving forward. In part, I think, myself serving on the peace app has been, uh, what I hope to be, um, kind of a pathway for other young people to kind of be involved in local government. Um, I tell people I'm on this board. They're like, why are you on this board? You're, like, 17 or 18. And that's something that they can do. And I think they're lived experiences are super important. So being on the peace app, I think I have a lot of things that I want to do, um, and I know that we have a really great team to do it, um, and I hope they'll be able to continue serving. Thank you.

[01:00:32] Unknown Speaker: Thank you. And the next person to sum up is Devlin Sowder.

[01:00:38] Devlin Sowder: Okay, thank you. Again, thank you for allowing me this opportunity to be here. I, like I mentioned, I've only been in Mountain View for 2 years, but it literally took me one day when I moved here, one day to know that Mountain View is a really, really special city. Um, I got a Valentine's from the CPNA board, and that was like really special, and it took me that much time to realize that this is a really special city, and I want to be a part of it, which is why I joined the CPNA. I've been very active within that And I would like to find my place outside of that to also, um, see where I fit in. And I think that public safety board is a place that I could be. Um, I'm in school. I did a research paper on community policing last quarter, and it was really great insight, and I feel like I could apply that to this board. Thank you.

[01:01:40] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. So, next is Ziva Ten.

[01:01:50] Ziva Ten: Am I on? Oh, great. Okay. All right, counsel, thank you for the chance to reapply for appointment. once again, highlighting the fact that I was one of the community members that a few years ago kept you up until 4 a.m. for the call of this board. And I'm very sorry about that, but serving on this board has been a wonderful learning experience. I've been doing a lot of work within three different subcommittees over the two-year tenure, which, wow, time has flown by. Um, and I look forward to continuing this work. Um, I don't think that my work in these subcommittees is done, uh, it's far from done. And I'd like to continue to work for you in creating policies to increase our trust in MVPD, and in order to get the data to help us make decisions to make, create more trust. Thank you.

[01:03:00] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. And so last, we have Betsy Collar.

[01:03:02] Betsy Collar: Thank you. Yeah, I, um, I think, but I would bring to it. Well, 1st of all, I obviously will bring a perspective of an older resident in Mountain View, sort of the bookends here. But I have, when I came to the city, I 1st rented, I've lived in three different neighborhoods over my time here, 1st in the Mauna Loma neighborhood, and with single family homes, mostly young families at that time, and knowing the needs and the concerns there. And there were a lot of concerns, police ones then, even though that was a number of years ago. And then to the west of Shoreline, the old Mountain View west of Shoreline, where I was very involved both at Castro School and getting things that better represented the community. And also, although this is a different issue, Redline, which was hurting a lot of people who lived in that area. And then now, I live in the North Wisman area, and in a townhouse, which also makes, has different issues and different populations. Yeah, it just went totally off. Is it done?

[01:04:44] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay. Okay. I guess you're minutes... Okay, so thank you so much to the 5 of you. I know it can be difficult being on a panel, and I think you all did very well. So next, we're going to switch out to the Randall Housing Committee applicants. And do we have name tags?

[01:05:10] Unknown Speaker: Yes. Yes.

[01:05:14] Mayor Alison Hicks: Uh, uh, Matachek?

[01:05:16] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: Sorry, I thought we were going to vote on the PCAB and then move to the rental housing committee. But I had a question about the process for voting. Are we going to use where we have a form to check who we want, so we all vote at the same time?

[01:05:30] Mayor Alison Hicks: Well, your 1st question first. So, I've been handed a script that has us do the interviews first, and then the voting for both. unless you're, if you can go along with that.

[01:05:42] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: That's fine. But in terms of voting, are we going to do the... We all voted the same? It also has us talk about the voting process after the... After? Okay. Sorry, I didn't read the flow.

[01:05:54] Mayor Alison Hicks: That's totally fine. Did you read it?

[01:06:09] Unknown Speaker: Uh, sure.

[01:07:44] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay, thank you. Now that everyone's, or almost everyone is seated, do we know, do we have Maria Diaz?

[01:07:49] Unknown Speaker: Um, Zoom.

[01:07:52] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay, thank you.

[01:07:53] Unknown Speaker: Yeah, and we're not 100% sure on that, so...

[01:07:58] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay, we'll find out as it goes along, and then we also have, uh, Lee Zhang on Zoom. Is that true?

[01:08:06] Unknown Speaker: Yes.

[01:08:07] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay. So we have everybody seated who's gonna be here in real life. And the first thing we're gonna do is go over the questions, the potential questions. So in 2021, council gathered two questions. Uh, so what we did, two questions which I'll read, and we allowed, uh, five total minutes for response. The two questions were, number one, Tell us about yourself and what unique perspectives or abilities you would bring to the rental housing committee. And number two was, tell us about the role of the rental housing committee, and the role of its legal counsel in the rental housing committee decision making process. So, would any council member like to suggest changes to the questions, or propose a time allocation per question, Vice Mayor?

[01:09:05] Vice Mayor Pat Showalter: Yes, kind of following along, what we said for the, um... what I said for the P sebwens, I, uh, I would recommend that we, um, don't use the, uh, the first one, but instead, uh, make the second one, number one. Tell us about the role of the rental housing committee, and the role of its legal counsel in the rental housing committee decision making process. And then add an additional one that's, What do you think will be the most important issue in the next year? And then have a short closing statement. I think that's really helpful when you're applying for something to be able to make a little closing statement. And I think the previous two and a half, two and a half and one minute worked pretty well. So...

[01:09:55] Mayor Alison Hicks: That would be okay with me. Okay, just to sum up, your, you're saying question number two will be number one, and you're suggesting a new question number two, which is what do you think will be the important issues?

[01:10:12] Vice Mayor Pat Showalter: The most important issue, yeah.

[01:10:14] Mayor Alison Hicks: The most important issue? Or issues?

[01:10:17] Vice Mayor Pat Showalter: Well, either way.

[01:10:17] Mayor Alison Hicks: Issues? I like issues. Most important issues for the rental housing, Bendy, over the next year. I have that. Correct?

[01:10:25] Vice Mayor Pat Showalter: Yes.

[01:10:26] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay. The next comment is council member commit?

[01:10:30] Unknown Speaker: Great. Thank you. So, I guess I just wanted to share a different perspective. I like question one. And I think with 5 vacancies. I do want to hear applicants share what they find to be their unique perspectives or ability that they would bring. Um, I do like the revision for the second question about, um, what do you feel are the important issue or issues coming forward? Um, and I'm fine with the closing. I feel, honestly, that the closing could even be 30 seconds to keep it within the 5 minutes. So, 2.5 , 2.5 , or, 22, and, and, uh, um, 2.5 , 2.5 , yeah, I don't, I don't think, uh, we need that much. But I like question one. Thanks.

[01:11:21] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay, I'm gonna make a comment as well, seeing no other comments. I think that question 2 that says, tell us about the role of the RHC and the role of its legal counsel. I think that was a particular issue that came up at a particular time and that it's not as relevant now as it was then. So, I'm thinking, so what I would suggest is, um, combining one and two, but shortening two, to be, tell us about yourself and what unique perspective as an abilities you would bring to the RHC, and tell us about the role of the RHC. Or they could, that could be a shorter question. Uh, council member, Mattachek.

[01:12:08] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: So I think sometimes it's hard when we combine questions, because then there's not enough time to really respond fully. Um, I always find it interesting to ask applicants what they think the role of the body is that they're applying for. We get a wide variety of answers. And so, I do like asking that. I kind of feel like the application told me what they think is what they bring to the table. And I assume many of you have had conversations with the applicants. I know a lot of them reached out. Um, and so I feel like I kind of know that. So I kind of like what the vice mayor proposed. Thanks.

[01:12:54] Mayor Alison Hicks: Council member Ramos?

[01:12:56] Councilmember Emily Ramos: So, clarification of the question. So we have, we have the, We have, well, the 1st suggestion was to remove the 1st question, make the 2nd question, the 1st question, and then have the 2nd question, be, what's the most important issue, you think? But then there is some support for having the original 1st question. Why can't we have all three? I know it'll take longer, but the thing is, is there's 5 full seats are practically remaking this entire board. Um, so we could make the answer shorter, say, if, um, especially when it comes to the the 1st question, we can make that a one minute question and then have the

[01:13:40] Mayor Alison Hicks: Yeah, uh, yeah. It's almost like an opening instead that we're asking for. Yeah, so I would support, so I'm hearing different suggestions and some chatter behind the microphone without full hand raising. Um, and, uh, so what I'm hearing is, um, the first question being, Tell us about yourself, I won't read the whole thing, and maybe having it be shorter, you can, uh, so having it be shorter. Having the second one, tell us about the role of the rental housing committee, and I said to take off the second half. And that could, okay, I'm just putting two minutes next to that and seeing if it, because we're saying, do more questions and see if it adds up. And, um, then the next question was, what do you think will be the important issues over next year? If we, okay, if we have a minute and a half for that. And then we have a 32nd closing, that is five minutes. So... Council member Ramirez.

[01:15:02] Councilmember Lucas Ramirez: Thank you, Mayor. I may have missed some critical information, so my apologies. It sounded like there's a proposal to eliminate the portion of the question that reads the what is the role of the legal counsel to the rental housing committee, and I actually think that's a very important question. I would rather not get rid of that. Um, and uh, depending on the answers, I could explain why I think that's important in the discussion. So my recommendation would be to retain that portion of the question. Um, and I, uh, I'm not opposed to asking, what do you think the most important issues will be, or something along those lines, but I do think, um, the most important issue will be related to, uh, the question of how to make ratio utility billing, uh, systems, or services, I think, rubs, um, uh, compatible with, uh, the CSF CSFRA regulations. And I would like to ask a question about how each applicant would approach rubs, and not necessarily to give us a solution to that problem, but rather how they think about it, and how you might, based on the stakeholder input, craft a set of regulations that might be satisfactory to all of the parties involved in that discussion.

[01:16:26] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay, so we have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine applicants, and you just added two more questions. So how would you like to work that out?

[01:16:37] Councilmember Lucas Ramirez: I think... keeping question two as is. And then just having each applicant be judicious with their time? Unless, again, I missed something critical about, you know, just having the initial part of that question. And I'm happy to be outvoted on this, but I would rather ask a question narrowly scoped to rubs than a question about what are the, you know, generally, what do you think the most important issues will be over the next couple of years?

[01:17:10] Mayor Alison Hicks: Council member Ramos.

[01:17:12] Councilmember Emily Ramos: So, in theory, there are a couple things coming forth to the RHC's work plan. Rubs is probably the most... I'm not going to bias your answer to that. But you have, now the, now the potential committee members have a sense of what you care about in terms of the most important item, we might not have to say that it's rubs. They could deviate from that, but they now have a sense of what our committee cares about what they know. And using that knowledge, they could use, they could tailor the answer to what we call the 3rd question. to that answer. I don't know if that made sense.

[01:17:59] Mayor Alison Hicks: Council member Kmei.

[01:18:01] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Great, thanks. So, um, I'm comfortable with the 3 questions you mentioned, Mayor, and then I would just say let's just remove the closing. Um, and I and I do, while I understand where council member Ramirez is coming from, I also want to, I'm sure all of us have different things within the RHC that are of importance to us specifically. And part of what I'm hoping is to understand people's thought process in terms of what they see as the most important, and if they align with what maybe council thinks is the most important. So I feel like I understand the value of wanting to scope a question so narrowly, but I worry that we're not gonna be... We're looking, again, at five positions, and I think we need to be thinking holistically of the entire body. So I'm comfortable, just to reiterate with those three questions you propose, Mayor, and eliminating the closing. So it stays within those three questions with the time allocation to stay in the 5 minutes. Thanks.

[01:19:04] Mayor Alison Hicks: Council member, I buy coca.

[01:19:08] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Thank you, Mayor. Um, so I, I, uh, agree on the, on the whole, I was just gonna add for the 3rd question. Um, not just what the most important issues are, but how would you go about thinking it through and addressing them? And then that might get to your question.

[01:19:30] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay. So I would, I think we're coming to a consensus.

[01:19:35] Mayor Alison Hicks: I think that, um, the applicants know what some people on council think are the most important issues facing, um, facing the, uh, RHC, although not all of us might agree, but at least something that should probably be addressed. So, what I have here is, let me see if it adds up, um... Tell us... Okay, so the one last thing that I want answers from counsel before I sum up what we've said is whether to leave on the role of legal counsel. I have heard some people say that that's outdated and aimed at the situation we were in a couple years ago, but I'm also hearing some people saying it would be good to leave it in. So, can we hear some comments on leaving that out or in? Okay, so I'm having leave it down. So I will sum them up one last time, and then we'll take a straw pole, or you can tell me if I've gotten something wrong. Question number one is, uh, tell us about yourself and what unique perspectives or abilities you would bring to the rental housing committee, uh, for one minute. Question number two is tell us about the role of the Rendal Housing Committee and the role of its legal counsel in the Rental Housing Committee decision making process. And question number three is what do you think will be the important issues? And Margaret, what was the ending you wanted to that question?

[01:21:11] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: And how would you go about thinking it or them through in addressing them?

[01:21:16] Mayor Alison Hicks: And how would you go about thinking them through and addressing them? Okay. And that's two minutes. Any final comments before we, and I assume I'm asking all the questions? Um, any final comments before we take a final tweaks, seeing non straw pole? Okay, those are the questions. So, welcome, everyone. Welcome to the dark panel, except for those of you on the, yeah, those of you on the side to my left, Mr. Cox. It was, for question number one, it's gonna be one minute, number two, it's gonna be two minutes, and number three, it's gonna be two minutes. So, welcome, and we'll be starting now. I have my randomized list, and the first person answering will be ED Keating. Um, Edie. Tell us about yourself, and what unique perspectives or abilities. You would bring to the rental housing committee in one minute.

[01:22:37] Edie Keating: Thank you. I am a big supporter of the CSFRA. For many years, I was a renter, though not in Mountain View, and now I'm a Mountain View condo owner. And I have been to almost all of the rental housing committee meetings since 2017 when it got started. And I cannot tell you that I remember the exact content of all those meetings. However, I do have a general sense of all the things that have been discussed at the rental housing committee meetings, and I know where to go on the city website to look up the regulation that's been put in. So I think that my history will help me a lot. I also bring my desire for the city of Mountain View. It has a majority of renters, and I really wish all of them housing security. And the CSFRA is not sufficient to give all those renters housing security, but it's a big part of it. And I bring my willingness to help implement it. Thank you.

[01:23:38] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. To the second. Mr. Cox, you are applicant number two for this question. Tell us about yourself and what unique perspectives or abilities you would bring to the rental housing committee.

[01:23:56] Robert Cox: Aimed at me. There you go. Okay. Are there, like, numbers gonna go up there, or...?

[01:24:03] Unknown Speaker: I believe they will go up once you start answering.

[01:24:05] Robert Cox: Oh, okay. Okay. So, all right, I'm Robert Cox. What I bring is, you know, a long history community service and time in this city. I've been a, uh, resident here 28 years, but I've been solidly involved in the community for 12 years as, um, as the vice chair of Omni, as uh, I've also been uh, vice president of the historical association, and I was 2 terms on the EPC, vice chair, and chair twice. And so I think that, you know, among other candidates, I think I have the most experience, ability to run a meeting. Um, I think that, um, I've been a renter, most of my adult life, uh, my 1st 6 years in Mountain View, where 15% increases back to back, and I know what it's like to stare at the ceiling and say, am I going to have enough money to say here? Um, And, um, I'm collaborative. I work with other people and I try to show respect for everyone. and their opinions. Thank you.

[01:25:08] Mayor Alison Hicks: Next, we have Maria Diaz. Maria has not joined us on Zoom. Okay. Then next, we have Lee Zan. The? Can you tell us about yourself and what unique perspective or ability you will bring to the rental housing committee?

[01:25:28] Lee Zan: Yes. Hi, I'm sorry, I couldn't make it in person. I'm recovering from COVID. Um, I would like you to know um, I care deeply about the city, which I fall in love with. After I moved here, um, from usage India, from graduate from graduate school. Um, I've been a renter for more than 10 years since I moved to the U.S. and I know how that feel like, um, you just don't have much money left after you pay the rent. So I understand the struggle. So I would like you to know, I have the ability and the wing needs, to be fair, to be on the RHC, to help, to implement an administrator, the CSFRA. Um, in addition, my day job is kind of, uh, like RHC. So I work with a policymaker as well as work with the regulation. So, I can assure you, on the technical side, I will try to work. Oh, sorry.

[01:26:31] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you, Lee. Mm hmm. Next, uh, Kevin Ma, uh, tell us about your cell and what unique perspectives or abilities you would bring to the rental housing committee.

[01:26:44] Kevin Ma: Evening, Council. My name is Kevin Ma. Despite my application, Sam, in a year, only been in the Mountain View for a year. I've had experience working advocacy in the city. Being the co-chair of the Housing Committee for the League of Women voters, as well as a member of Mountain View Housing Justice, supporting the work of the RSC and ensuring that people who are renting in the city are given their just rights to actually stay in the city, given our high rents and general economic environment. I have been paying attention to what's going on in the RC, including recent talk about rent concessions, or the enforcement of the CSFAs registration requirements. So I would like to bring in some continuity, given that, as you mentioned, there's 5 openings for this position. And I bring in the perspective of a person who has recently moved to Mountain View, as we, you know, we depend on our future economy and culture of keeping people in the city. Thank you very much.

[01:27:46] Mayor Alison Hicks: Next, we have David Cutler. David, tell us about yourself and what unique perspectives or abilities you would bring to the Randall Housing Committee.

[01:27:54] David Cutler: I feel like I should be singing a love song right now with this mic, but I'm not going to. I'll spare you guys. I've lived in Mountain View since 2006. Um, I have uh, I'm married. I have 3 kids, uh, that, uh, we go to Emi and and Graham. And so we're heavily involved in the community here. I also have experience working with the Hispanic community in helping people find housing and advocating for them. I have a lot of experience working in real estate and understanding the issues that the CSFRA poses on both landlords and, you know, as a renter, personally, what that means and how important the implementation of all of this is. I believe that our We have a responsibility to look after our most challenged residents, and I'm here for that.

[01:28:58] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you, David. Next, we have Alexander Brown. Tell us about yourself and what unique perspectives or abilities you would bring to the rental housing committee.

[01:29:12] Alexander Brown: Hey, friends. Okay, so Alex Brown, I'm a resident of Santiago Villa, North Bay Shore. I am a mobile homeowner. I've been working in the city for years trying to help my neighbors and the residents to stay in their homes, to feel safe. I think that the CSFRA is a fantastic tool to try to do that, to try to keep people housed. And I think the RG as like the body implemented with work, doing that, has a huge impact to try to keep people safe. I work with a lot of orgs throughout the city. organized forums and done things to try to make sure that the people, his voices are heard because I think that this is one large community, and I think that that's the perspective I bring is I want to be a part of something greater. A great hole to keep people safe. Keep them housed, allow them to live their lives. So I want to be a part of it. I want to help. Thank you.

[01:30:13] Mayor Alison Hicks: So next we have Kieran Madison. Kieran, tell us about yourself and what unique perspectives or abilities you would bring to the rental housing committee.

[01:30:22] Kieran Madison: Thank you, city council and staff. I am Kieran Madison. I am a recent transplant from San Francisco by way of New York. I've been here since January. And much like my character, I am willing to jump in with both feet. I have experienced housing insecurities. I currently live as a renter. in Old Mountain View in a unit that is partially covered by the CSFRA. And I have a particular fondness for protecting it as it stands. That being said, I love the law as someone who graduated within 3 years with 2 degrees from law school. Um, I have demonstrated that I am able to devote myself to um, what needs to be done. I love interpretation and part of that involves being able to interpret it to best serve our community. Thank you.

[01:31:22] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. And so last, we have Mark Balch, Mark, um, tell us about yourself and what unique perspectives or abilities you'd bring to the rental housing committee.

[01:31:36] Mark Balch: Thank you so much for having me. I'm Mark Balch. I'm a long term resident in the city of Mountain View. Been here since 2004. Uh, and I moved to the area, uh, 7 years before that. I grew up in an expensive area in New York City, the son of two school teachers, and now here I am another expensive area. So I know what it's like to have to raise a family in a place where there is scarce housing. What I bring uniquely to the table, among other things, is I am a property owner, and you see that in my application. When I say that I have 360 degree expertise, not only am I a property owner, I directly work with my residence, and I do my own maintenance. So I'm the person who they call when there's a plumbing leak or a water heater that is broken. I install the water heater myself. My property in Sacramento that I can't do that for, because I live here in Mountain View. I hire a property management company. So I've had experience dealing with concessions for renters during COVID and other accommodations, the full relationship with my residents. Thank you.

[01:32:45] Mayor Alison Hicks: Moving on to question number two. Um, well, we were going to start with Maria Diaz. We will start with Alexander Brown. Alex, um, tell us about the role of the Randall Housing Committee, and the role of its legal council in the Rental Housing Committee, decision making process. You will have two minutes.

[01:33:08] Alexander Brown: Oh, so easy, so simple. I love it. Uh, CSFRA is a law. It is text, it is fixed, but text does not interpret itself. does not implement itself. There needs to be, like, a human who actually is there that someone can come to to get protections, to get help. There also needs to be someone who is able to try to work within the ambiguities that come up with something like the CSFRA. The RC, is that body, it's there to try to help to serve as the brain, that does things to help keep people in their homes. So, It's it, uh, I mean, that's it. They are there, there to make a difference. They're there to say, okay, if you have a hearing, and you adjudicate. Is there someone who, a human that you can talk to that you can appeal to? And that's great. I've been to those hearings. The council, for the RC, is there to interpret the law and to say, okay, here is the other case law, here's the history. Here's what is a reasonable thing for you to do. Because I'm not a lawyer. And they are. And that's important because you want us to make sure that the city is safe. You want to make sure that they're not going to get sued and have things overturned. That's very important. So, Yeah, Legal Council. Thank you.

[01:34:49] Mayor Alison Hicks: Next, David Cutler. Tell us about the role of the Randall, Housing Committee, and the role of its legal counsel in the Rental Housing Committee, decision making process.

[01:34:59] David Cutler: Thank you. My view of the rental housing committee is, you know, the committee that is able to implement the law as it's been written, right? And council together, form consensus and collaborate together, to manage this difficult issue. There's a myriad of issues that can come up in, you know, to the body and I believe that, you know, working together and forming consensus is important. And, you know, again, implementing this stuff and understanding, what are the, what are the needs of the different sides, right? What are the needs of the tenets? What are the issues that they're facing? What's unique to them? And also, what are the needs of the landlords? What are the issues that they're facing and how does how does the implementation of these laws come across, right? And I view the rental housing commission as, or committee as, you know, stewards of doing that. And relying heavily on legal advice, obviously, there's a myriad of state laws and case studies and whatnot to rely on. And I think that's an important aspect of it. Thank you.

[01:36:28] Mayor Alison Hicks: So next, Edie Keating, and again, the question is, tell us about the role of the RHC and the role of its legal counsel in its decision making process.

[01:36:38] Edie Keating: Thank you. So, my version of the role of the RHC is simple is that we are following the law. So that is really the primary thing, just to make sure with all the decisions moving along, that, well, there is some flexibility in the law in some places, and some decisions of the RHC has shown that. The primary thing is to follow the law. Then there does need to come up times when there needs to be interpretation. And one of the roles of legal counsel is to know legal precedents from other communities that have rent stabilization, and to share those with us, and to know the differences between the different rent stabilization laws, so that we can know when another city is setting a good precedent for us, that we can look at, or when their law is different, and not relevant. So that's a great amount of knowledge and expertise that is really valuable to the rental housing committee. For example, we were just talking and being guided by legal counsel, or the RHC was being guided about the definition of rent, and it's different in ours versus in other jurisdictions, and this mattered to rubs, because the utilities, are they included in rent or not, was the legal question that we had to review. The CSFRA needs to be fair to renters, fair to landlords, when it can, one of the things that should optimize as efficient processes, and it needs to be responsive when new issues come up. For example, the concessions issue was not apparently important until we started coming out of the COVID recession. So there are just opportunities that you can't always predict, where the rental housing staff is hearing about new issues, and the RHC needs to respond with new regulations, and having the council available to advise, with extra knowledge is important. Thank you.

[01:38:47] Unknown Speaker: So next, we have Mark Balch. And the question is, tell us about the role of the RHC and the role of its legal counsel.

[01:39:00] Mark Balch: The RHC, the CSFRA was born out of a situation where we have scarcity of a critical infrastructure. What is more critical than having a roof over your head somewhere where you can live safely and securely? And that scarcity has created tremendous pressures across the community, and this is a regional problem. This is not just a problem for the city of Mountain View, but we've taken the lead to try to resolve some of this in the best way that we can. The RHC has, I think, 2 critical goals to balance. It is the near term administration of the regulations to make sure that everyone is treated fairly and equitably, and to protect and make sure that there is a long term sustainable supply of affordable housing in the city of Mountain View. We've seen an erosion of some of that housing in recent years, which is highly unfortunate, because the cost of new construction is high, it's very difficult to bring more capacity. So balancing those things, and being fair, is really important. And that is an important role for the council. As had been just said, there are many terms that have unique legal meaning that differ from the meaning that we use in everyday conversation. There are lots of precedents, lots of standards that differ between communities that differ between different jurisdictions, and it is, we need, every organization needs to have an experienced attorney who's able to help lay people, who are not legal experts, like myself, or like others, to be able to navigate these language differences, terminology, to be able to speak accurately, so that our work has integrity and survives any challenges or any debates that may occur subsequently. Thank you.

[01:41:07] Unknown Speaker: So next, we have Robert Cox. Robert, tell us about the role of the RHC and the role of its legal counsel.

[01:41:19] Robert Cox: Okay. Um, let's see, the RHC. Um, it's there to do a number of things. First of all, I mean, it's establishing fair and equitable rents for people here in the city. Um, you know, according to the AGA process and the petition process. And then in order to enforce our rent control ordinances, We need rules and regulations. And so to administer them and to enforce them. And another thing it does is it appoints hearing officers and then the hearing officers, then hear cases for the petitions, for upward and downward adjustments of rents. And, you know, if people are not satisfied after it's done, the RHC will actually hear appeals. And a 4th thing is is that, you know, they set standards and penalties for compliance. Another thing that they do is they have these monthly, and I think they're going to quarterly reports about the state of the rental, housing situation here in Mountain View and its interface with mediation services. And also with, you know, CSAs helping people with rent relief. Um, They report back to the council on, you know, the status of important items that they're working on. And they have to set a budget for, you know, the establishment of the whole process. You know, I mean, collecting each year, like this year was $95 per unit to help fund this whole process that is our law. So, I mean, I think those are the fundamental things that are done. Um, Let's see. And what's the role of the legal council? I mean, yeah, I mean, as Edie said, right? I mean, you know, this the CSFRA is its law. It's part of our charter. And, you know, the mobile home rent stabilization ordinance was established by the council to have similar protection for people who are living in our mobile homes. So, I mean, you know, they're there to help interpret the law and give the guidelines for what we can do in terms of rules of regulations.

[01:43:26] Unknown Speaker: Thank you, Robert. So next, Kieran Madison, Kieran, tell us about the role of the RHC and the role of its legal counsel.

[01:43:35] Kieran Madison: Absolutely. So one of the things that I stated on my application was that the RHC serves in somewhat of an advisory capacity to city council. I still stand by that, because I think of advisory, not simply telling people what to do, but also maintaining open lines of communication. And to expound on that. The RHC is also responsible for maintaining open communication with community members. As someone who has communicated with tenants and representatives, or property owners leading up to this, I understand exactly what it is that people are concerned about. One of the main themes that it has been mentioned here tonight, and has been mentioned in conversations, has been balanced. The RHC has a responsibility to maintain balance in exercising and forcing powers under the act and other ordinances for the city. It also has the responsibility to really evolve with the law. The law is not meant to be static, even though we rely on staff attorneys to give us suggestions. That's all they are, suggestions. We should be able to educate ourselves as adjudicators in these petitions, and as enforcers in order to keep up to date on what's going on and be able to push back when necessary. I also feel that the RHC is responsible for responding to concerns and addressing why decisions are made. And that is something that I have seen a couple of times in the hearings, but we really need to make sure that we are actually listening to our community and that we are not simply communicating amongst ourselves, but communicating with them as well. Thank you.

[01:45:40] Unknown Speaker: Thank you. Next, Lee Zang, Lee, tell us about the role of the RHC and the role of its legal counsel.

[01:45:50] Lee Zang: Yes, hi. Can you guys hear me?

[01:45:52] Unknown Speaker: Yes, we can.

[01:45:54] Lee Zang: Okay. Um, the role of RHC is established by the voucher approved community stabilization and fire rents act. And you know, it consists of 5 members and one alternate member. It is tasked with implementing and administrating the CSFRA and the mobile home rent stabilization ordinance. The RHC may hold hearings and make decisions on various matters related to rental housing, such as rent increases, adjustments, evictions, and landlore, tendency disputes. RAC has, um, hearing officers, can hear the cases. And there's appeal to the rental housing committee as well. Um, RSG works closely with the CD staff. Um, with and as well the hearing officers, to settle the cases, uh, to resolve the issues. And Overall, um, the, all these work. Um, it's supported by the rental housing funds, the rental housing, uh, competing, he managed the spend of the fund as well. Um, Regarding to the legal council. Um, I believe the legal council are, their job is to advising on policies. And their role is to insure that RHC operates within its legal authority, and that its decisions are based on sound legal principles. By doing so, the legal council helps to ensure that RHC's decisions are fair, just, and in the best interest of both landlord and timits. And done. Thank you.

[01:47:49] Unknown Speaker: Thank you, Lee. And last, Kevin Ma, please tell us about the role of the RHC and the role of its legal counsel.

[01:47:58] Kevin Ma: The role of the RC is enshrined in the titles of the acts that give it power, community stability, fair rant, and mobile home rant stabilization. Those laws are laws. They are relatively static, for the charter requires going back to the voters, for the rent stabilization ordinance, so we require going back on the work plan. So that means that there are nuances and issues and situations that do need to be addressed, that the language itself may be open to interpretation. The purpose of the RC is to provide clarity in such cases. The RC is a quasi-judicial body. We maintain and oversee the process. We do not necessarily see the individual cases one by one, but as to ensure that, you know, things are going fine. Things are going through an administrative regulatory framework, where in other cities that require going to court and lawyers and lawsuits, which is expensive on all sides. I would like to the archie provides ability for tenants to actually use their rights without going to find legal aid, which is incredibly hard to find. The purpose of legal counsel is to ensure that the RC, much like Jennifer would, if she was here, to make sure that we're doing things legally, right? We're trying to make sure that we are responsible stewards, that we are not getting ourselves into hot legal water. And translate, you know, what we say as regular citizens into legal ease that actually would get into court documents and such and such. The RC is also there to make sure that the community is aware of what we're doing. That means that we are directing our staff to tell tenants of their rights, via, in this case, notices of noncompliance as part of the recent regulations on compliance. And it is just to make sure that we are following the will of the voters and making sure that we are ensuring that most amount of people can stay where they are. Thank you.

[01:49:56] Unknown Speaker: Thank you. So, the last question now is, what do you think will be the important issue, and, Margaret, maybe you can help me with the ending. And how would you think about them? How would you go about thinking them through and addressing them?

[01:50:16] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Okay, go out. Thinking them through, and addressing them. Sorry, I didn't take full notes. So, first, Robert Cox, uh, what do you think will be the important issues over the next year, and how would you go about thinking through them and addressing them?

[01:50:43] Robert Cox: Okay, so, um, important issues, uh, rubs is an important issue. Another important issue, I've heard, is dealing with master leases and getting them nailed down. And I think a 3rd important issue is as the city tries to move toward, you know, becoming more green, green appliances. You know, because, you know, if we start, as the city starts requiring, you know, more and more, you know, green behaviors like getting rid of gas and using more electric, you know, how can we phase this into multifamily units in a way that, um, is, uh, lives up to our principles, but, uh, you know, it doesn't break the back of the people who have to pay it. So, um, So now talk about, you know, working one of these through. So I'll pick rubs, okay, because I had a chance, you know, to sit through and watch through the meeting and, you know, see what it was all about. So, um, the issue at stake is that, you know, if you look in the CSFRA, you'll see that rent is defined as, you know, all payments that are made, you know, uh, to the landlord, um, you know, and that, and if the utility payments are made in a landlord, that's included in there. And so, I mean, you know, now the issue at stake, however, is that there's different ways that people pay for their utilities. And so, you know, rubs is one way to do that. And sometimes people get a separate bill. And it's metering is done, not individually, but for a whole building. And so, I mean, you know, it turns out that, that, you know, they don't have an individual meter, okay? But anyway, what would I do? I got to finish up. First of all, get the facts, then get the stakeholder input, and then apply the principles. And the key one of that is that it needs to be paid for, but not on the backs of the people who are least able to pay. Thank you very much.

[01:52:46] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: So next, Edie Keating. And you will be answering what do you think will be the important issues for the RHC coming up, and how would you go about thinking them through and addressing them?

[01:53:00] Edie Keating: So, I'll speak to the rubs issue first, because that's an active issue, and certainly we'll progress through in review, and need some attention, because we really are not following the CSFRA with our current process of allowing utility billing that's distributed, but it's on behalf of the landlord, because it's really having rent increases, every rent changes every month, and only one annual change in rent is allowed. At the recent stakeholder meeting, We learned a little about how San Jose switched away from allowing rubs, but yet was responsive to the landlord need to not suddenly take on an extra expense. So my understanding of San Jose as was shared by the rental housing staff is that there is an opportunity to petition. And to petition to have an additional rent increase included in the normal rent. So it would be an upward adjustment of rent, and it would be permanent, would be to present your utility, the land, Lord, to present their utility bills, and, you know, I'm not sure all the details, but I think that would be a simple way to go. And then the tenant would have a new rent increased by an average amount. And that would be ongoingly, part of their rent. I think that would be a simple way to go. So to answer, how would I implement, or how would I discern things? Simple is a good desirable part of any solution. I think another place where we're going to hear issues or have issues already is the registry, the rent registry, because there's been surprisingly low compliance. Once we have more compliance, and the question is how to get that, then we'll have really interesting data that may bring up other questions that deserve research. Thank you.

[01:55:06] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Thank you. So next, Kevin Ma. Kevin, what do you think will be the important issues coming up, and how would you go about thinking them through and addressing them?

[01:55:18] Kevin Ma: So, like everyone else will probably say, Rob's is going to be a thing, because on the work plan, Rob's is basically the only major thing codified in the work plan, other than just monitoring the operations, as Robert has mentioned, electrification is a question that has come up before council, about retrofits, and the cost of retrofits, of which there are mechanisms for amortization, for other things that are code required, of which the RRC could take an initial look at, but, again, that depends on council, to make the actual changes, to make requirement. There's always the question about any changes in the law. The work plan does have a question about charter revisions that might or may not happen depending on April. Other state law, the changes that might come up, maybe parking on bundling causes, like rubs like discussion in about a year from now. Um, There is a question about back to whether all the tenants know all the rights. Edie mentioned about compliance. This is the 1st year where we are, the RC is sending out notices of noncompliance about lack of registry, lack of paying for fees, of which they will be sending out basically now, of which we'll figure out if tenants will actually know their rights, will actually think of working on an upwards, downwards petition of adjustment, is up, or holding off on the rent increase if it's not being paid. Those are the main things. The way of addressing them is, as mentioned from others, You have to figure out what the issue is for, like, rubs. You have to figure out, what does conservice actually do on the day-to-day? Talk to stake orders to figure out what is a way that is minimal before size. We're not here to make impossible deadlines, but we are to make sure things are happening at a fast pace, which may involve exploring with other jurisdictions with run control, like Berkeley, about how they're doing it, because, as the saying goes, you know, Justice delayed is Justice Knight, but, again, the purpose of the RC is to make sure that there is balance that no one is getting screwed in the process. Thank you very much.

[01:57:20] Mayor Alison Hicks: Next, Kieran Madison, please tell us what you think will be the important upcoming issues and how you would go about thinking about them and addressing.

[01:57:30] Kieran Madison: Yes, uh, as others have mentioned, uh, rubs is definitely an important issue in the coming year. Another issue that I have given some thought to, is capital improvements, and how that will look in terms of pass through to tenants. I will tackle rubs 1st with rubs. There is an idea that there is a conflict between the application of how it is currently and the effect that it has on both landlords and tenants with the CSFRA. As it currently stands, Rubs does not work. On the landlord side, it constantly brings them in violation of the rent adjustment. And on the tenant side. It actually gives an uncertainty to the amount of money that they would be paying from month to month. My thoughts to it is a two-pronged approach. The 1st approach is to revisit the definitions that we currently have in the CSFRA. And the reason why I mentioned that is because if we are to talk about dismantling rubs altogether, we need to understand what is the best way to do it so that it doesn't negatively impact each side. And landlords have a responsibility to administer utilities, but tenants also use the utilities as well. I'm not saying that tenants have to pay for everything. I'm not saying that landlords have to pay for everything, but there needs to be a way where it is balanced. The 2nd area is to when I think of it again, is to really revisit the topics and ultimately, um, change how we approach it. Thank you.

[01:59:33] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. So next, Lee Seng, what do you think will be the important issues coming up, and how would you go about thinking them through and addressing them?

[01:59:45] Lee Seng: Okay. Um, since everyone is talking about robs and, uh, er, keep a little bit my, uh, thoughts on this, uh, I think this this, this matter has to be dealt very carefully. Um, because the fluctuations of the utility is high from, it's a season. And uh, to make it, uh, and make it into the rental control. I, I do think we need to do a lot of outreach, uh, should get by in from both landlord and attendance on this. Um, I have additional thought on this, um, in, I know there are, uh, energy incentive, uh, uh, saving energy in the, uh, in the cold weathers, um, from PG&E and all, some other, uh, providers. Um, I, I don't know if, uh, we can actually, uh, encourage the property owners to take advantage of some of these incentives, um, and then pass down the benefits to the renters. Um, this, my thoughts on this. Um, I don't think I, I have a good solution at this point because it's very complicated. I do think we need to do more outrage before we conclude on the solution. The other issue, I think, is coming up. It's electrification. Um, as, as, uh, some of you already mentioned, uh, uh, the capital expenditures are, uh, spending on this is not, not very clear, uh, how this is, uh, going to work out for, uh, both the landlord and the tenants. I would encourage that, uh, the RHC, uh, again, are more codification on this, uh, to create a, uh, living situation for both, uh, Landlord and tenants. And I know some property owners are very proactive, try to uh, do a sustainability upgrade. Thank you.

[02:01:50] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. Next, Alex Brown. Uh, please, tell us. Oh, I lost my question. Um, so, please tell us what you think the upcoming issues will be and how you will think about them and solve them.

[02:02:08] Alex Brown: Oh, yeah, all that. Well, first, I don't like prognostication. I don't know the future. But, uh, you know, to Cal's member Ramirez, uh, rubs. Uh So, yeah, Rubs is what is currently ongoing. There are stakeholder meetings, uh, staff has several suggestions about how it could be handled and has asked the community, uh, what they think, how they think that RSU could go about regulating in a way that does not eliminate, it doesn't, has all the costs, but also doesn't eliminate flexibility for the landlords who want to take advantage of it. And I think that the options that they presented, you know, a bulk payment and then prohibition, or a cap with a floating amount that you can pass on as long as the cap stays within the law, both sound reasonable. And I think that it is up to the community and the RDC to kind of come into a good solution. I think progress is being made. I'm looking forward to seeing how it happens and maybe being a part of that. I do think that when it comes to, yeah, electrification, seismic retrofits, I'm not above base flattery, and the city has done a lot of great work, but the reach codes, and trying to make sure that we can move forward to the city and reduce our dependence on carbon and also just the amount of, you know, noxious gases that might be getting into homes. And as part of that, you know, we need the people who own the properties, who are responsible for upkeep and maintenance and upgrading it. We need a partner with them. The city can't just say, you know, replace all the water heaters with electric ones. It's going to be a partnership. And I think that the RHC and city council can and should work together, to have a process that makes the property owners comfortable with doing the upgrades, knowing that they are not going to just incur a massive cost, but also that they benefit the tenants, because people would be able to have better homes that aren't contributing pollution. I think that that's my thought, is it's a matter of focusing on the goals, working with staff in the council. It's gonna be fun. Thank you.

[02:04:14] Mayor Alison Hicks: So, Mark Balch, what do you think will be the important upcoming issues, and how would you go about thinking them through and addressing them?

[02:04:24] Mark Balch: Yeah, thank you. There are two issues on my mind. One is utility building. The other is seismic upgrades. Both are serious and have near term as well as long term implications for the community. On the utility billing side, there is a the seeds of this problem are decades in the making, when resources were considered infinite, and they were considered free, and there were no meters installed. And so we have a situation now where there are highly variable utility rates, and my understanding of the law is that we absolutely do not want, and it is illegal for property owners to profit from the resale of utilities. One of the challenges in trying to find a fixed value for a variable utility is that you start to get into that hazard. So, I don't have a perfect answer. I think we have to work through this together, but we have to think about how can we separate out the fixed concept from a monthly fee to some sort of variable component, because we don't want property owners profiting from the resale of utilities? But we also know that long term, if we create a large variable cost that isn't compensated, that creates other pressures down the line. When it comes to size and restrafits, I think everyone here is well aware of the audits that have been done across Mountain View and the greater region. We have a tremendous number of soft story construction buildings, very, very poor risk there, if an earthquake were to occur. This is the kind of thing where you don't know how serious it is until it's too late. And as has been said before, there are long term cash flow and depreciation issues here, this is where counsel and also, we need people with finance expertise, who can help to partner, to figure out how do we address the near term cash flow issues for property owners, and also enable them to make those investments, so we have safe, long term housing for our residents. Thank you.

[02:06:27] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. Yes, so now we're done with the, oh, do we have... Oh, I am so sorry. I crossed you off already. Ahead of time while waiting. David, please, close us out with, um... Yes, close you. What are the important issues, and how would you go about thinking them through and addressing them?

[02:06:50] David: Um, let's see. So I think we've covered a lot, you know, both of the issues, I think, rubs and capital expenses, and I'll touch on them both. I think how, importantly, how do we think about them? I think, importantly, is understanding what they are and are not, and trying to define what they are with both kind of both sides of the issue, both the tenant side and the landlord side. and making sure that we have the proper community outreach with all of those to educate everybody on what it is the issue that we're dealing with. In regards to the, to rubs, that was, you know, something that you previously would see traditionally on the institutional sized apartments with, uh, Reets and things like that. that were passing through on these rubs, expenses that weren't individually metered as, you know, as a ratio to the tenets. So I think it's important to understand that. I think what is needed is education with the tenets on understanding and predictability on their costs, right? And maybe establishing some boundaries on that so that there's not uncertainty, um, because these are real life, uh, this has a real life effect on these tenets, right? Any increase that we have. And on the capital expenditure side as well, a lot of the properties that fall under the CSFRA were built in the 60s, they're old, their building systems are old, and that requires a lot of investment. And so we have to balance out how do we, you know, properly address cash flow needs, um, but also not sticking everything. Nothing should be totally weighted to one side, right? So thank you.

[02:08:50] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you. So now we've finished the interviews for both bodies. Um, and, um, all applicants are, you may stay and listen, or you can go home and listen on Zoom, I suppose. Um, So now we bring the matter back to council for discussion and recommendation first for three seats, uh, open on, which all have terms ending in, uh, April 12th of 2027, open on the public safety advisory board. And then we'll do the five seats on the rental housing committee. So, the selection process that's outlined in council policy, when voting, each council member shall vote for as many candidates as there are open seats, candidates with the highest number of votes, shall be granted the longest terms. If there's a tie vote, we'll revote on the tide applicants, and the applicant with the highest number of votes wins. This process can be changed upon a majority vote of the council. So we will start with the public safety advisory board. Uh, Council member Mattachek, did you have a comment or you had one in the past?

[02:10:24] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: Well, I had one about what process we were gonna use, but since we got this, I'm assuming we're going to use this process.

[02:10:31] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay, so you're clear on the process now. Okay, you don't. Just wanting to make sure. Okay, uh, so, we are going to, we will be voting for uh, three applicants on the PCAB. We are also open to discussing the applicants, if council members would like to do that. Council member Matachek.

[02:11:01] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: Sorry, I do have a question. So one of the applicants had a question about the information on their attendance record, and I think we were gonna see if we could check on that. And I was wondering if that had been possible. If not, I understand, because people who had that information might not still be at City Hall.

[02:11:32] Unknown Speaker: checking my email here. So the records provided by staff for, um, the attendance in question. are that um, 3 regular meetings and one special meeting were missed.

[02:11:53] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Any other comments? Council member Ramos?

[02:12:03] Councilmember Emily Ramos: Are we not saying the nice things about the candidates? Is that not a thing?

[02:12:06] Mayor Alison Hicks: You can say nice things about candidates. Sure.

[02:12:10] Councilmember Emily Ramos: I'm really happy with the pool we had of Canada's for Pisa. I'm particularly really proud of Eva and Jeanette. I was on MVPDX with Jeanette, and it was like her 1st year on the P sub, and it was, there were difficult conversations and difficult, um, difficult issues they had to take on. And for someone as young as her, She had wisdom beyond her years, I think it's, um, I think that was something that, It was really something to be proud of, even though, like, I didn't have anything to do with, like, how well she had grew up, but I'm still kind of proud. Um, and Eva, I, um, I'm completely inspired by her and this passion she has for, for this, uh, board and, and, pizza. Yeah, bored. Um, And I know she mentioned before, she was, she was one of the rob arousers that kept a very long city council meeting. But her work on PSAB has been professional and focused, and she really took that passion to make something good out of it. So I'm actually really happy. Um, to see, um, how they, how they managed to go through. Um, I think, um, I guess I could say nice things about all of them. I'm actually really, um, I'm really impressed by the long-term service that Betsy Collard has done to her community. Uh, her application was a litany of all the, um, communities and the boars that she has served uh, here in Mountain View. I think that is, I've never worked with her directly. Um, but it is impressive. Um, uh, dabbling. I'm, um, I was very impressed. As we look at Betsy and her long litany of service, you also look at someone like Dublin, who, the minute she arrived in Mount Mey, She knew how special that community is, and immediately stepped into a position to try to serve her community. And I think in order to make Mountain View, and what has made Mountain View is as great as this. You have people who have served for years, decades, long term, and then also people who are new, that dig right in. And I think that's what makes Mountain View really special. And it's great to see an applicant pool for Pisa. We could go into the RG later. For PSAB, how that, um, how that all work together. Cal, I appreciate his energy. He's kind of a person that has a lot of enthusiasm for public service. I think that's a wonderful thing. Um, but yeah, those are the nice things I think about all the candidates.

[02:15:12] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you, council member Ramos. Do other people want to make comments? Council member Ramirez.

[02:15:23] Councilmember Lucas Ramirez: Thank you, Mayor. I'm generally in agreement with council member Ramos. I think we have a strong applicant pool. It has been my habit to support those who are applying for an additional term, if they've done a good job, and I think all three of the incumbents have done a good job. I have to say, I am very pleased with the racial and ethnic diversity of the peace app. I think that was actually critical and ensuring it's success because a lot of the impetus for the creation of the body really related to racial and racial tensions specifically. And I think that was necessary, that to have a very diverse board, to get the buy in that we needed from the community in the work, the good work that the board has been doing over the past couple of years. And I appreciated several of the applicants noting the importance of the work that staff has done in the work that the board has been doing as well. I'll share. So I'll be supporting the 3 incumbents who are reapplying with some gentle instruction. I don't, I don't know the circumstances under which Cal missed some meetings, but I'm sure there were good reasons why, but we do want to see, you know, a strong attendance record whenever possible. So, uh, maybe some gentle instruction that, um, you know, we we make sure that, uh, Cal is able to participate consistently. And to the greatest extent possible, participate in meetings when he's able to. Thank you.

[02:17:04] Mayor Alison Hicks: Council member Kameh.

[02:17:06] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Great, thanks. I just wanted to thank the 5 applicants for Peace Ab. I think that when council decided to create Pisa, we all weren't sure how the board would kind of shake out. Um, and I am very proud of the body of work that they've created the work plan. Um, all our ports and commissions are all volunteer and that they are committing their time and their efforts um, on something really important to our community. I thought that all of them brought up a variety of ideas, which I would like to see. Um, and for me, I'm looking for people who are, um, you know, bringing, um, continuing to bring fresh perspectives, to committing themselves to, um, the work at hand. And I just want to thank those applicants who did reach out to touch base, because 5 minutes or 6 minutes with our extra time, in a round-robin format doesn't necessarily give us all that much time to connect. I think that when it comes to PCAB, one of the things that I would like to see and just want to surface it, um, in, in this forum, is just more regular updates from them on what they're working on. I mean, the work plan, which we as a council approve, is great. But wherever there could be intersections of our work, or, um, they brought up several different topics that council has been discussing, um, I would like to see more of that kind of two-way communication between, um, PCAB and Council. Thank you.

[02:18:51] Mayor Alison Hicks: Other council members? Not everyone has to comment. I guess I'll just sum up that I come from a background more of activism than working with elected officials, so my leaning is always to want to get everybody on the committee, unless there's a very weak applicant, and I think, in this case, all of the applicants had something really rich that they could offer, and I wish, I hope they all remain engaged, whether they are, whether they end up getting on the, uh, PCAB or not, um, because I thought that, that this time, they were all strong candidates. with particular things that they could bring. I do want to keep having, I do like the tradition of giving people a second term, unless they, um, really do something that doesn't work out. And I think it's important to keep, you know, a founding member of the PCAB on. So I would like to keep Eva Tang on. I was very, um, impressed with Jeanette's comments. I won't go through everyone, but, you know, I found them all impressive in one way or another. And now we can vote. Okay, we are going to take a five minute break while votes are meticulously counted.

[02:21:14] Mayor Alison Hicks: So, we're back in session, and, um, for, we are now discussing and recommending to... Yes? Oh, yes. First, we want the results of the vote. Thank you very much.

[02:21:31] Unknown Speaker: Council member Abbe Koca voted for Kelwant Sandu, Eva Tang, and Jeanette Wing. Mayor Hicks voted for Devlin Sauter, Eva Tang, and Jeanette Wing. Council member Kame voted for Devlin Sauter, Eva Tang, and Jeanette Wing. Council member Mattachek voted for Betsy Collard, Eva Tang, and Jeanette Wing. Vice Mayor Schoalter voted for Betsy Collard, Eva Tang, and Jeanette Wing. Council member Ramirez voted for Kelwant Sandu, Eva Tang, and Jeanette Wang, and Council member Ramos voted for Dablin Sauter, Eva Tang, and Jeanette Wang, which brings your top 3 being Dablin Sauter, Eva Tang, and Jeanette Wang. Thank you.

[02:22:23] Mayor Alison Hicks: Moving on. We will, so we're now coming back for a recommendation from the council for 5 seats. This would be two members plus one alternate, with terms ending April 17th of 2027, and two members for unexpired terms, ending April 17th of 2025. And, okay. And also an alternate, yeah? Now, you think that's wrong? Anyway, what I have in the script, and we will discuss, is five seats, two members plus one alternate terms ending April 17, 2027, and two members for unexpired terms ending April 17, 2025. Open on the rental housing committee. That sounds right. No? Per the selection process, when voting, each council member shall vote for as many candidates as there are open seats. Candidates with the highest number of votes shall be granted the longest terms. If there's a tie vote, we'll revote on the tied applicants, and the applicant with the highest number of votes wins. This process can be changed upon a majority vote of the council. So, there is also, for the RHC process, staff proposes the council first vote to narrow the number of applicants, the council may choose, from, uh, first, with those that fall into the category of owns or manages any rental property, or real estate agent or developer. And after the first round of voting, the council would then vote for five members out of seven. with the following seats recommended. First and second place would receive the two longest terms, third and fourth place would receive the two unexpired terms, and fifth place would receive the alternate term. Now, the council may discuss this process, and then vote for the recommendations. Do council members have comments? As long as the council is open to that process. We can send out sheets for the, you know, choosing from the 4 to narrow it down. I don't know if the, council wanted to consider other options. I believe council member Matachek wants to comment on the voting process.

[02:25:12] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: Yeah, I guess, um, I don't feel compelled to narrow it down. I think, um, we know that, um, you're limited to four. I'm sorry. There's four applicants. We're limited to two. Um, and it's not like you have to have to. We can't have more than two. Um, so I think I can factor that into my voting without narrowing it down. So I would prefer we just vote on the five. Thanks.

[02:25:47] Mayor Alison Hicks: Council member Abbe Koga.

[02:25:52] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: I agree with that, although I was trying to think about the alternate position, because we're limited to the 2 property owner or landlord's side, should we be voting for the 41st, and then based on what that makeup is, vote for the alternate? Because if you have 2 uh, landlords, and let's say someone leaves halfway through the term, but that's a renter, and the alternate is a landlord, that person couldn't take the actual spot. So we would have to factor that in to our boat.

[02:26:40] Mayor Alison Hicks: Council member Ramos.

[02:26:42] Councilmember Emily Ramos: I actually, I'm more inclined to similar to what Council member Mattachek said, I think we can factor in. Even with the alternate, you're picking your 5 best people. And if the 5 best people, if there's 3 landlords in the 5 best people, we could get the next person down kind of thing. Like, the top 2 landlords will make it through if there are top 2 landlords. And then, but I just really want to ensure that even when you get to the alternate person, it's at least the 5th most top vote getter person, unless it is not unable to be that person, if that makes sense.

[02:27:25] Mayor Alison Hicks: Council member Ramirez.

[02:27:27] Councilmember Lucas Ramirez: Uh, I don't want to confuse or complicate further. I'm okay with the process that council member Mattachek as recommended. It is my understanding that we can't have more than two of the applicants with the asterisk next to their name inclusive of the alternate position, right? So, uh, we couldn't have to, uh, full voting members who have the asterisk and also have an alternate with an asterisk, right? So if it falls into that, if we do end up with that scenario, we will, I think at that time, decide which of the 3 we want to keep and maybe revote. But I don't, I feel like keeping it pretty simple, in the inaugural vote is ideal, I don't, I mean, it's entirely possible that we could end up in that scenario, but I'm, uh, I don't think we need to worry about it until and unless we find ourselves in a situation where we have to pick from three, uh, 3 or more of those with the, uh, the asterisk.

[02:28:33] Mayor Alison Hicks: So I'll sum up what I'm hearing, is that, um, we can, although we, the city attorney has presented us with this process, Uh, council members are generally, generally prefer a simpler process where we vote for five people, if, um, the, if three of the people with asterisks show up, then the person with the asterisks with the lowest number of votes drops out, and the next person in line, um, gets that position. And if there's a tie, we go into a second vote. All those in favor. Okay. So now we can go into a simple voting process. Council members are also, we can also, as before, make comments. if you want to. Are there any council members who want to make comments on the interview? Council member Ramirez.

[02:30:10] Councilmember Lucas Ramirez: Thank you, Mayor. I know folks, I think, may be anxious to vote, but I didn't want to share some quick thoughts. This is, um, those of us who serve on the, uh, council appointments review committee, uh, will recall our most recent meeting, in which I disclose that I am grateful that this will be the last year I serve on the car, because it is the hardest body to serve on. In my opinion. I think the most challenging part of our role is picking between people. Um, it's a lot easier to have a discussion about a policy and, you know, find compromise and disagree. But when we're talking about people, it's a much more challenging discussion to have. None of us like to make people feel upset, right? But the nature of our job is such that I think we're anxious to, you know, to appease and try and find solutions that work for everybody, and, in fact, part of that discussion included. a potential recommendation to allow for the creation of alternate positions, because we struggle with retention on some of these bodies, in order to allow us to vote for more people, even when we don't have, when we have more good applicants than we have seats available. And I find myself in a similar situation here. I think there are a lot of strong applicants, and I think I'm expecting that we may not all vote for the same five people, and that's okay. You know, I think it's important for us to share how we've come to the conclusions that we've come to, and, you know, to some extent, allow ourselves to be persuaded to consider changing our initial thought. But I did want to share, uh, how I came to the conclusion I've come to for at least round one, um, a big influence for me was the level of community input that we received. For an extended period of time, we got almost no input. And I had shared with somebody I met with. that at that time, I thought, nobody really cared about who served on the rental housing committee. You know, the small number of people who come to every meeting, um, you know, certainly have an interest, but, uh, we we didn't get any community input at all until maybe a day and a half ago or 2 days ago. And I think all of our email inboxes were suddenly filled with a number of remarks from members of the public who I was surprised to hear from, folks who I didn't think had any interest at all in the work at the rental housing committee did. And there was a similarity in the types of input that we received. The folks who members of our community advocated for, have been active, not only in the rental housing committee, but in other parts of the city. And I read them all, and I think there's a lot that each of the individuals who we received comments about have to offer. And I think that, unfortunately, that number exceeds the number of seats that are available. Now, I will share, um, I'm going to vote for, uh, Robert Cox, because he brings a kind of institutional memory that I think is valuable, even though he has not served on the rental housing committee. He does have extensive experience as a former member of the planning commission. And I can't recall Robert, we served together for some period of time, right? Oh, there you go. Um, and, uh, I think, uh, what I what I saw was someone who who brings, uh, a tremendous, um, uh, history and knowledge of the community and also uh, a very thoughtful uh, approach to uh, many issues of great complexity. And I also appreciate Robert and I had a chance to speak before this vote. And we had, I thought, a very good discussion, and one of the things I encourage you to do, Robert, as we talked about is stay true to your roots. And he told me you would. So I'm proud to support you. I think you will do a good job. I think you will help provide some stability on a body, that will be quite new, policy making. I'm also proud to support ED Keating, who, as she shared with us, has attended pretty much every meeting of the rental housing committee, and brings a different type of institutional knowledge as a consequence. I think, I had shared when I ran for the city council that I felt I had a lot to bring because I had been attending meetings regularly. Um, and, you know, I've since learned that that's not in and of itself sufficient. There's a lot of work that is invisible to the public that we do. But it certainly helps to have an appreciation for an understanding of the issues that the city council does prior to running and getting elected to it. And I think, um, you know, Edie may not know how all of the closed sessions transpired, but she will know a lot about the work that the rental housing committee is doing. And I think she will be very thoughtful in her approach, and I think she will be open to stakeholder input, which is important to me. I will also be supporting Kevin Ma, who I've had the opportunity to work with in several different community groups. Kevin, I'm not sure there is a community group that you are not a part of in Mountain View. Um... So, I, I think, uh, I think you'll have a lot to offer, uh, in so far, as, as several applicants had pointed out, there is a value in the rental housing committee, uh, making the public aware of the work that the RHC is doing, and also helping, uh, stakeholder groups understand their rights and responsibilities. And I've also been impressed with Kevin's ability to do research. Periodically, you know, I'll have some, I'll be in a conversation where Kevin is participating, and we'll be discussing some, you know, obscure, uh, piece of state legislation, and write in the chat, you know, there it is, the assembly bill, or the state bill, uh, state senate bill, that, um, you know, in a lengthy history of how it came to be, and how it evolved, and, uh, a tremendous amount of, uh, of information right at, uh, Kevin's fingertips, I think also will be valuable in the context of this work. The applicant that I'm most surprised by is here in Madison, who I had not seriously considered, but I had an opportunity to meet with her Monday morning, she reached out quite late. And I had a fairly lengthy conversation about many of the technical issues that were brought up by almost all of the applicants. And I was impressed. She reminded me of Nicole Haynes, Lipsey, who, I think, was unknown to the members of the council, who appointed her, and who, I think, was relatively new to the community, but who ended up, I think, having a very positive influence in the work that the RHC did. And Nicole's background was not legal. I think it was in finance. Kieran's background is in law, and I think there is a value in that. I will apply some gentle instruction. I do think, you know, it's, we disagree with and push back against the legal counsel at our peril, so I would encourage, I think understanding the work is important in understanding how staff came to their conclusion is important. But I think we disregard. If we disregard it cavalierly. I think we end up creating problems for our city. So, that would be, there was a response that I am a little concerned by, but I think that with time, you know, the experience of governing, you know, working with the other members of the RHC, you know, she will come to be able to appropriately apply a level of scrutiny and skepticism that is appropriate, and not simply be somebody who is always questioning, you know, and putting the body at legal So I'll be supplying to vote for her. And I do think it is important to have one person with the asterisk next to their name. I had a long conversation with Li Jung, and I was impressed by the conversation that we had. I think she's been deeply involved in a number of community organizations that have done important work in our community, and what I've heard as a consequence, of her engagement, is encouraging, that many members of the public who, I think, may have been skeptical. You know, during the campaign, have come to appreciate the perspective that she brings, and I think she's learned a lot by getting deeply engaged in our community. And I think it also is important to have the experience of managing or owning a rental property. I had the unpleasant experience of being a landlord for about a year and a half after my grandfather passed, and I was managing a rental property that he owned in unincorporated Solano County, and it's hard. It is hard. I was very pleased to get rid of it when we were able to. And I have a respect for the complexity and challenge of owning a rental property as a small mom and pop. And just as I thought Matthew Grunwald brought something valuable to the table during his service on the RC, so, too, do I think Lee Zeng has that ability and capacity? So those are my initial votes. I reserve the right to have my mind changed by my colleagues on the council, but I just wanted to share how I came to these conclusions. Thank you.

[02:40:44] Mayor Alison Hicks: Council member Commé.

[02:40:48] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Thank you. So, um, I just want to, once again, thank all of our applicants. I really appreciate the wide kind of breath. of experiences and perspectives that they all bring. Um, kind of wrote down all the different backgrounds, and I'm just really thrilled. Not only is it kind of demographic in terms of where they live in the city. It's age, it's time in the city. And I'm just really thrilled to have so many qualified applicants. And so I think as a mayor, Mayor Hickson council, remember, Ramirez were mentioning whatever happens tonight, I hope that people will stay engaged, both those who applied for PCAB, and then those who have applied for RHC. Um, I think I'll take a step back, and I'm not, like, Council Ramirez, so I'm going to go through each individual. But I will say something that I was looking for. So with the opportunity to appoint five new individuals, I'm really looking for people who are collaborative, people who are open minded, and are willing to work with others, and may have differences in perspective, but able to prioritize our most vulnerable residents first. And so, in the conversations, I was able to have offline with applicants, that's something I did share. It's really important to me. Um, and then, you know, one of the concerns, while not necessarily the same as Council member Ramirez, is the issue of capital improvements. We haven't seen any petitions to my knowledge, to the RHC for capital improvements, and with such a large percentage of our CSFRA units that do not, or in need of seismic retrofit, I just get very concerned, as we're seeing climate change and global warming and all the different elements. And so to me, that's one of the things that is an issue that I think the RHC will be tackling. And some of the answers were nuanced, but for me, that's kind of one of the more high level. And I feel like diversity in terms of where people live in the city is important to me. We have people who, you know, are mobile home park owners, who are renters, condos, property owners, homeowners. And so that variety, to me, are rental housing committee needs to represent all of Mountain View, and that's not one voice or one perspective. So the individuals I chose were ones that I feel will, well, one, are committed to the CSFRA, and the MHRSO. the mobile home rent stabilization ordinance, our long acronyms never fail us in Mountain View. Um, and, um, really seeing, seeing them through, but also trying to, um, beat team players. I think, in the past, our RHC has been, um, uh, challenging. And so I hope that, you know, in the future, and those that I have chosen, I've talked about, how I really hope it can be, someone, one of the applicants mentioned to me that they hope it's boring. And I said, I hope so too. Um, because it really should be about the work about peepee people houses, um, versus anything else. So, thank you, Mayor.

[02:44:21] Mayor Alison Hicks: Council member Ramos.

[02:44:23] Councilmember Emily Ramos: Um, so, out of all the committees that we could do appointments for, This is this is one I pay a very strong attention to. One of these seats, the two-year seats, is the seat that I vacated to join. You all, who I'm very grateful for. Um, I think about how, um, one of the, the top thing that I have, I was able to have, uh, conversations with, with many of the applicants, uh, ahead of time, because really the, the, 5 minute questions per person really isn't sufficient even, the application is not sufficient. And there's growth between the time they apply and like now as they delve more into the laws and what it entails, because once you put your name and then it's a very strange on-ramp. Even if you don't get the appointment, you have that really interesting on wrap. But the biggest thing that I thought through, Um, There, uh, going through the numbers of the RHC, it's been around for around 5, almost 6 years now, uh, found it in 2017, um, once the, the, the measure V passed, um, there have been 9 members so far on the RHC. Um, Actually, a good portion of them were renters of 5.5, I would say. I would count. Vanessa Honey counted as a renter, but she was also a property manager. Um, But one of the things that was kind of interesting is, um, there has been a renter that was covered under a CSFRA during the entire time. But that CSA CSFRA covered renter was me. And now we don't have any. We don't have someone. There was no one in the applicant pool that was fully covered by the CSFRA. We have someone who was partially covered. Ms. Madison, and I think that that is something to be of note. But one of the things that I think about is, well, I was on the committee, the, it wasn't the policies itself, it wasn't the, the, the quasi-judicial aspect. It was, As a part of the rental housing committee, people didn't really know what it was, and so they came to you because they needed help. They were in probably one of the worst days of their lives. They were scared that they were going to lose their home. And, um, that is, that is what it meant to be in the RHC to me. Um, and so as I talked with each of the applicants. I told them that that is something you need to be available to our community. We need to be open to our community. And not just to renters, to landlords, too, the larger landlords, like Prometheus and all that, they have staff, and they have teams, but the smaller landlords who own, like, 20 properties, a quadplex or whatever. Um, they usually, it's just them, and they don't even know if they're doing what's right or what's allowed, and they want someone there, that, that when they say, help me, you're willing to, to help them. And so, um, I think about also people who care about the committee, that this, I'm very happy that that many people in Mountain View want to be involved. I think that's really kind of what makes Mountain View the best it is, the best city. Um, But I do care that, that, there are applicants that care about this committee specifically. So, I'm very sure about my top four. I'm struggling on my fifth, and I can go through my top four. And then, and then I could tell you who is in the running for my fifth, and then we can go from there because I really would like to know more from my colleagues. So, um, in my top four, well, in the top three is really easy for me. You have Kevin Ma, who is literally a walking encyclopedia. Um, I think about, when someone comes up to him and says, help me, he's the one that could give them reliable information from all kinds of sources, and so that people know where to go. Next, I have Alex Brown, or Alexander Brown, as is an applicant name. One thing I think about is one of the most difficult things we had to deal with was mobile homes. and mobile home rent control. And it was both RHC and council that ended up leading to the solution. We needed to go to. But I think about, whenever I think about Alex Brown, and, um, he he's an odd person. Um, I think he agrees with that. Um, but an interesting, I think about this quote of, You have to laugh. Otherwise, you'd cry. Um, and sometimes I think about, um, Mr. Brown in that way, where it was really a difficult time for any mobile home residents, and he keeps his enthusiasm high. He keeps the spirit high, so that others can keep their spirit high. And I have deep respect for that level of service to the community. And he also is very frequently, uh, ever since the mobile home bites has been an active participant, uh, in the RHC meetings, in the stakeholder groups, in the workshops. He knows this committee. And then, in the final of the third, I actually, no offense, gentlemen, but I'm going to save the best for last. Edie Keating. We would not have the CSFRA if it wasn't for Edie Keating. Most people don't know that because she is the kind of person that is behind the scenes. She was a person to help gather signatures, even though she didn't live in Mountain View at that time, she believed in Mountain View renters, and their ability to fight, to stay in our community. I think that is a wonderful thing. She has been to almost every single RHC meeting since the start. and active participate, our active participant, and ensuring that people knew about the law, um, going forward, um, and all the changes that could happen with the law. She is one of my absolute number one pick for this RHC. And I encourage, I cannot emphasize strongly enough how we should support her. Now, number four, is the 4th pick, um, is actually Robert Cox. I admire his long term service to our community. He has, um... I have actually had the, uh, honor of, um, serving with him on the Mountain View Historical Association. I actually recruited him to be our vice president, and he gladly accepted. I hope he doesn't blame me for that, for how much work it is. He is a steady hand. We have a brand new committee. Um, relatively pretty much a brand new committee. And I think his expertise in his experience in our community, and in the service that he has done before, is gonna serve this committee well. So now we lead to my fifth vote, and I have, um, I'm gonna say three possible candidates for this fifth vote, and I'm struggling between each of them. Um, so, uh, I, I, I had the opportunity to talk to uh, Karen Madison, I think she, she's a very impressive woman. I think about, um, I also think about the diversity of our committee. She is the only one that's partially covered by the CSFRA. Um, she is, uh, I believe she's she's biracial. She is, uh, her father was black and her mother's Chinese. Um, and I think that she, she brings an interesting perspective to, to this, also in her law background. I think it, I do have the concern of her more recently coming here, but the thing about Mountain View is, like, no matter how long you have lived here, you're welcome to do, you're welcome to serve. And I think that's a really good thing. The other person I was looking at, in terms of that fifth vote, was David Cutler. Um, interestingly enough, I um, I had the opportunity to speak with him very briefly, uh, before the votes. He's currently a renter. Um, not covered at all under the CSFR. He ranks a single family home. Um, he is an astris. Um, but he, he had, um, he has demonstrated a lot of experience in helping renters, uh, understand their rights, understand what, uh, the laws are, and and for landlords to also understand he, his astros is because he is a realtor, real realtor. Real estate person. Um, and I actually, uh, I also, I believe some of us also got some last minute emails from people who, who praised his work when helping out tenants. And then finally, that third possibility that I'm trying to grapple with is a surprising one for me, quite honestly, is Li Jiang. Um, I had the opportunity to speak with her on Sunday night, Saturday night. I spoke with her sometime this weekend. It's a very short timeline when we actually met everyone. Um, uh, I was not, um, I was not supportive of her in, in, in past endeavors. Um, and I, I didn't actually, um, I, I, I struggled with, with supporting, um, her, for much. But after I had that conversation with her. I actually grew a little bit softer and a little bit fonder. Her experience reminds me, as an immigrant reminds me, a little bit of my mother at times. Um, we had a great conversation about socialism versus capitalism. But a particular item about it was how she viewed capitalism as Americanism. And it was very similar, how, uh, my mother, um, viewed, uh, my mother's very pretty. But when she came to America, her view of what Americans view is, what's pretty is, is blonde hair, blue eyes, and that was just something that she just accepted, and it was very similar in how Lee talked about capitalism, capitalism, that's just what American is. And, um, the, the, her ability to, to expand out and, and figure out what the needs of the community. We're not purely a capitalist society. Um, I think is a level of growth that I respect. She has some significant support in the community. Um, I worry that um, one of the things that I found really important is that people care about this committee. Um, and I do have some issues on that level. I think she'll get support for many different committees, and it doesn't really matter what committee it is. Um, but I want someone who truly cares about this committee, but I do, do believe that she, she is in there in that running, that 5th vote, and I'm still up. I'm hoping I could hear more from my other colleagues, to break that three way tie for me. Thank you.

[02:56:46] Mayor Alison Hicks: Well, you'll be able to hear from council member. Not sure, I'll break the three way tie for you,

[02:56:51] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: but, um, I, um, just have a few comments. I do appreciate how many people applied for this. That was good to see so much interest. Although there's lots of openings. But I am disappointed that we don't have someone who is in a fully covered CSFRA unit. And I think that's really important. And so, actually, if my colleagues were up for it, perhaps we don't have to appoint all five tonight, and we let it be known that we're looking for someone who is in a fully covered unit and open up the application process again. I'm open to that. I did appreciate the conversations I had with everyone, that reached out. It did give us the opportunity, gave me the opportunity to learn more about you, hear more about your thoughts, have good conversations about things that didn't have to do with the rental housing committee at all. But I think that was important, because it gave me an opportunity to get to know you more as a person. I would encourage anybody who is applying for an advisory body, or the RHC, to reach out to the folks doing the appointments. Maybe not everybody that's on the cart. But the ones, at least, the full council weighs in on. It's really important. I just want to highlight a couple of people that stood out for me. One is Robert Cox. I've known Robert for a very long time, and, as had been mentioned, I appreciate his intelligence, how inquisitive he is, um, as he says, you know, he really wants to understand the issue and get data, um, and hear from stakeholders. Robert is really good at relationships with lots of different people, different backgrounds, different perspectives throughout the community. Um, I think his middle name should be public service. Um So thank you, Robert, for everything you do for the community. And then the other person that, um, kind of surprised me, um, was David Cutler. I, you know, I know he's one of the ones with the asterisk that falls into the category, but what struck me about him is he is a renter, and he speaks Spanish, which is always helpful. And he also has a track record of working with tenants, trying to help them with situations they find themselves in. He mentioned a few specifically to me, and I thought, you know, he's kind of doing what you just mentioned, which is, um, being there for people who need help and helping them solve the issues. He seems like a very calm person, which I also appreciated. Sometimes, you know, the relationship between a tenant and a landlord can be challenging. So I appreciate someone who is calm, who seems to have a good head on their shoulders, and can work through issues, and help people. Um, so of the four that have the asterisk, he's the one that, um, I felt like I just really wanted to speak to because I was impressed with him. And I'm not gonna go through the other folks 'cause I'm still sorting this out, and I accidentally wrote on the back of my ballot, my notes of what I wanted to say. Sorry about that. Thanks.

[03:00:45] Mayor Alison Hicks: Vice mayor, show Walter.

[03:00:48] Vice Mayor Pat Showalter: Well, I, um, I just want to follow up that, uh, in the, the sincere thanks to all of the people who have applied. This is just filling out the application, and going through the interview is a great deal of work. I am the last year or two, I'm retired now. I have a little more time, then my other council members have attempted to reach out to everybody who applies to any of the bodies that we, you know, that we appoint, because I do think the five minute session is just way too small. It's too small for me, and it's, besides, it's just fun to get to know people better. I have to say, it was a little rush this time, because we had interviews last week, and we had interviews this week, and, you know, they all kind of mushed together, but there was one gentleman, I didn't have contact information with Mr. Bolt show. I was not able to talk to you, but perhaps we'll be able to do that next week. Um, but anyway, I'm kind of in the same situation that, um, that, um, Emily is in. My top four are Edie, Alex, Kevin, and Robert. And then, um, David, Kieran and Lee Zhang. And I think when it comes down to it, I'm going to go with David. And the reason is because a great many of our, um, a great many of our renters in Mountain View or Spanish speakers. And so, um, for them to come to the rental housing committee and talk to an individual, it's really important that they be able to speak Spanish, that there's somebody there who can speak their language. And also, I think, a renter is important. Um, I, uh, I really just was, it just impressed the socks off of me, though, that, you know, that Kieran just moved into town, and she's stepping up. So that's very impressive to me. If she gets, if she gets appointed, I know she'll do a great job. But at the same time, This is really not an advisory board to the council. This is an independent board. This is the only independent board we have. And that job is to oversee the CSFRA. They put together their budget, they have their own staff, it's not really an advisory board, and the fact that she, you know, she didn't seem to understand that. I think is, you know, unfortunate. Lee Zang is also very impressive. I had a wonderful talk with her, and she has, I think she's learned so much about our community in the last six or eight months. I'm really impressed by that. But at the heart of it, David's been working on, um, tenant landlord issues for several years in the Hispanic community, um, particularly in Sunnyvale, he's gonna have to move his help. You have to move your help a little bit, um, north, David. But that said, I think that, that assistant of people on the ground is really important to me.

[03:04:21] Mayor Alison Hicks: Council member out by Koga.

[03:04:24] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Thank you, Mayor. I'm not gonna go through everybody. I just want to echo the thanks to all of our applicants. We had so many openings. I wasn't sure if we're gonna have enough applicants, so it was really great to see a big pool and a very diverse pool. And, um, for me, that was really the criteria, um, we did have a diversity of backgrounds. And so, um, I try to look at the the committee as a whole. and try to have representation from as many parts of the city, backgrounds, renter, property owner, and so that's how I round it out. I don't think I can help some of you who are trying to decide because I actually had Lee David and Kieran on my list. Um, and, uh, uh, so yeah, sorry, they won't be able to help their. But, again, I was looking for that diversity and balance representation, and that is how I voted. Thanks.

[03:05:39] Mayor Alison Hicks: Oh, so I'll sum up. Council member, Command, did you speak or no, you did. Okay. I didn't take notes. Sorry.

[03:05:46] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Um, so, I'll just sum up by saying, first, this is very important to me, that, um, believe it or not, of all the things that I've run on and worked on, um, this is the one that people approach me the most, and thank me for the work I've done on it. I don't know if other people in council have the same experience. I was in Los Altos this weekend. And, you know, in the evening, and a gentleman came up to me, an older gentleman and said, Yeah, I know who you are, and I've always wanted to see you, and thank you. So, um, you know, when he says it really, the work of the CSFRA, the rental housing committee, really changed his life. And he's not the only person who said that. So, I take these selections very seriously. I would like, as usual, to vote for more than five. But I'm going to say that, you know, I'm looking, because we have a complete turnover, or not complete, and I do want to say, in terms of speaking Spanish, Guadalupe roses. does speak Spanish. So, we do whatever happens tonight, we will have a Spanish speaker who can interface with our Spanish speaking community. So that will not be one of my criteria, but, um, my first criteria is people who have attended the RHC regularly, because I want people who can step in and start up right away. So I believe that would be Edie Keating, Kevin Ma and Alex Brown, I think, have attended more than anyone else from talking to people I have not attended myself. So, um, but that's what they tell me and what people have told me. So, um, you know, I feel obligated to vote for all three of them to keep the committee, um, rental housing committee functioning well. In addition to that, I feel like I want at least someone who is, in at least a partially covered, I would rather a fully covered cease free unit. So, um, that would be Kieran Madison, and there are other reasons I would vote for her as well. I think it's very... She was articulate, not right on every question, but articulate. She knows the law, and I think it's going to be one of the few times that we have an African American individual who's that well versed, who would apply for this committee. So I could be wrong. Maybe next time we will have somebody as well. So, those, I'm not gonna go through everyone, and to be honest, I haven't fully decided. So, but those are my comments.

[03:08:53] Mayor Alison Hicks: Yes, we'll vote, and then we'll take a short break, and we'll hear the tally at the end.

[03:15:56] Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay, we're back from the break, and we're going to hear the report back from, uh, City Clerk Glaser.

[03:16:05] City Clerk Glaser: Council member Abbe Koga voted for Robert Cox, David Cutler, Edie Keating, Karen Madison, and Lei Zhong. Mayor Hicks voted for Alex Brown, Robert Cox, Edie Keating, Kevin Mott, and Karen Madison. Council member Kame voted for Alex Brown, Robert Cox, David Cutler, Edie Keating, and Karen Madison. Council member Matachek voted for Mark Balk. Robert Cox, David Cutler, and Edie Keating. Vice Mayor Show Walter voted for Alex Brown, Robert Cox, David Cutler, Edie Keating, and Kevin Moss. Council member Ramirez voted for Robert Cox, Edie Keating, Kevin Mott, Karen Madison, and Li Jong, and council member Ramos voted for Alex Brown, Robert Cox, Edie Keating, Kevin Mott, and Karen Madison. So your top two? are Robert Cox and Edie Keating. They would receive the 2 longest terms, that you will probably need to revote the next four. Um, because you have a 5 with Kieran Madison, and then 34s with Kevin Ma, David Cutler, and Alex Brown.

[03:17:47] Unknown Speaker: Okay, repeat that one more time with the...

[03:17:50] City Clerk Glaser: So the revote would be Kieran Madison, Kevin Ma, David Cutler, and Alex Brown.

[03:18:02] Unknown Speaker: Because they all got the same number of votes?

[03:18:04] City Clerk Glaser: Well, we got one with 5 votes, and then you have 3 with four, so it's not going to even out for you to give 2 unexpired terms evenly. And one. So we vote for 3 among those four. Unless the council wishes to do something different.

[03:18:23] Unknown Speaker: That sounds good to me.

[03:18:25] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you, we got more. Council member, command.

[03:18:32] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Great, thank you. I mean, I think given that, if Kieran has five, then I think we should only revote on this three-way tie.

[03:18:42] City Clerk Glaser: Okay, 2 of the three. So then you would be the top would get the unexpired term, and the next would get the alternate.

[03:18:52] Unknown Speaker: Okay. Yes. So you're giving us ballots again.

[03:19:19] City Clerk Glaser: So just to be clear to council members, we are voting among Kevin Ma, David Cutler, and Alex Brown, and you get to vote for two.

[03:22:51] Mayor Alison Hicks: Are we ready for a report back?

[03:22:53] City Clerk Glaser: Yes, ma'am. Okay, uh, Council member Abbe Kogo voted for David Cutler and Kevin Ma, Council member Kame voted for Alex Brown and David Cutler. Mayor Hicks voted for Alex Brown and Kevin Ma. Counselor Matachek voted for David Cutler. Council member, Vice Mayor Schoalter voted for Alex Brown and Kevin Ma. Council member Ramirez, voted for David Cutler and Kevin Ma, and Council member Ramos voted for Alex Brown and Kevin Ma. So we have one of the other unexpired term would go to Kevin Mott, and then you would need to revote. Um, between Alex Brown and David Cutler. Okay.

[03:25:55] City Clerk Glaser: Council member, Amiko voted for David Cutler. Mayor Hicks voted for Alex Brown, council member Kame voted for Alex Brown. going out of order here. Lucas Ramirez voted for David Cutler. Joe Walter voted for Alex Brown. Lisa Matachek voted for David Cutler, and Emily Ann Ramos voted for Alex Brown, which means Alex Brown would receive the alternate term.

[03:26:28] Mayor Alison Hicks: So again, I wanted to thank all the applicants. This was not an easy process. And, um, City Clerk Glaser, can you read off who got which positions, just so that we can be clear, or is that gonna be difficult at this point?

[03:26:49] City Clerk Glaser: Yeah that's fine. So Robert Cox and Edie Keating would be awarded the longest term. And then Karen Madison and Kevin Ma would be awarded the unexpired terms, and Alex Brown would be awarded the alternate term.

[03:27:10] Mayor Alison Hicks: Thank you very much for the clarity. So, at this point, we're at item number five, which is adjournment. Thank you so much for joining us, the next city council meeting will be held on March 14th, 2023. And this meeting is adjourned at 836.

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