Sept. 24, 2024 Regular Meeting of Mountain View City Council

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Transcript

[00:00:13] Mayor Pat Showalter: I gotta put my microphone on. Good evening. I'd like to welcome you to the regular meeting of the Mountain View City Council of September 24th, 2024. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. of the United States of America, and to the Republic, or which it stands, one nation, under ad, indivisible, with liberty and justice, for all. Thank you. May we have a roll call, please?

[00:00:47] City Clerk Heather Glaser: Council member Abbe Koga? Council member Hicks?

[00:00:51] Councilmember Alison Hicks: Here.

[00:00:51] City Clerk Heather Glaser: Council member, come in.

[00:00:53] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Here.

[00:00:53] City Clerk Heather Glaser: Council member Ramirez.

[00:00:55] Councilmember Lucas Ramirez: Here.

[00:00:55] City Clerk Heather Glaser: Council member, Ramos.

[00:00:56] Councilmember Emily Ramos: Here.

[00:00:57] City Clerk Heather Glaser: Vice Mayor Matachek.

[00:00:58] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: Here,

[00:00:58] City Clerk Heather Glaser: Mayor Show, Walter.

[00:00:59] Mayor Pat Showalter: Here. Thank you. We have a quorum with all members present. Oh, that's great. All right. So I have an announcement this evening. We're recruiting members to join our boards, commissions, and committees. We're accepting applications until 5 p.m. on October 4th for the environmental planning commission. That's a week from Friday, I think. We are also accepting applications until 5 p.m. on November 8th for the bicycle pedestrian advisory committee, the Board of Library Trustees, the Downtown Committee, the Human Relations Commission, Parks and Rec Commission, Performing Arts Committee, Public Safety Advisory Board, Senior Advisory Committee, and the Visual Arts Committee. Please contact the city clerk's office for additional information. I hope we'll get a great pool of candidates. These are very important positions in our community. Okay. So that brings us to item three, presentations. Please note that these are presentations only. The city council will not take action. Public comment will occur after the presentation items. If you would like to speak on these items in person. Please submit a blue speaker card to the city clerk now. First we're going to go with Compassion Week. That's 3.1. We have a compassion week proclamation. And we're happy to be joined this evening by Jan McDaniel, co founder and chair of Compassion Week, to accept this proclamation. Jan, would you join me at the Lectern? All right. Okay. Is this on? Yes, it does seem to be. Well, the proclamation reads? Whereas, the city of Mountain View is a communion that embraces, promotes, and values compassion, and whereas the city of Mountain View recognizes the value of acts of compassion that are performed by community based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and individuals every day, to foster a kinder and more connected community. And whereas, the vision of compassion weak is to build a strong, compassionate, and empathetic community by creating service and learning opportunities for individuals their understanding of local and global needs, and, whereas, the purpose of Compassion Week is to build community, bridge divides, and promote understanding and healing through acts of compassion, and, whereas all members of the Mountain View community, regardless of age, background, education, gender, religious beliefs, lifestyle, ability, or skills, are invited to contribute their talents and energy to participate in compassion week projects, and activities to help make Mountain View a more caring and kind community. Now, therefore, I, Patricia Showalter, mayor of the city of Mountain View, along with my colleagues on the city council, to declare the week of September 21st, through September 29th, as Compassion Week, 2024. I encourage all residents to unite in service for our community, through participation in compassion week activities. I acknowledge and appreciate the sponsors of Compassion Week, namely, Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation, Fremont Bank, Mountain View Branch, County of Santa Clara, Office of Supervisor Joseph Samidian, and Los Altos, United Methodist Church, for their efforts to bring the community members together in service of others, and offer thanks to the other sponsors of Compassion Week, and every community based organization, nonprofit agency, faith community, and individual whose efforts strengthen our city, and improve the lives of our neighborsors. So thank you very much. And I also want to mention that the tagline, really, the last two years for this council's efforts have been creating a community for all. So I think that Compassion Week has very strongly in line with us that. So here is your, um, your proclamation. And does anybody want to take a picture of us? Anybody? Usually. Usually we can get a picture. Okay, I would love it. Thank you. Okay, all right. And feel free. And feel free to address the group.

[00:05:43] Jan McDaniel: Thank you. This is compassion weeks 12th here. We'll have a little over 4,000 volunteers in the community this year. We're supporting 80 organizations who do this hard work every single day. Day in and day out. So what we try to do is put a spotlight on the people who are in need of our services, as well as the organizations. I'll give you an example of what I personally did today. I helped prepare a meal for the life move shelter here in Mountain View. I hosted a party at Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center, where we had a pianist. We had tables for all of the people who are there, and we wrote letters to their caregivers on their behalf. They dictated them, and we wrote them for them. And one of the letters, I'll just share with you. I was working with a younger woman, she was in her mid 50s, who had had a stroke, and she goes to the Rose Cliner Center three days a week. And I sat down next to her, and she couldn't write. And so, I said, all, you know, you dictate. And she goes, she said, on the card, she said, you're my handsome man. I will always love you. You're a stud. And I was like, Okay. Wasn't what I was expecting, but that was fine. As we were leaving. It was 2:30. They were all getting picked up by their caregivers. And she was being wheeled out in her wheelchair, and a really kind of good looking guy came to get her. And she handed him the card, and he read it, and he got teary eyed. He was her handsome husband, who is her care provider. So every single day, we have stories like that, and I just really appreciate the city acknowledging, and supporting us, and we look forward to having an even stronger relationship together. Thank you very much for this proclamation.

[00:08:15] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you, Lord. Okay, and we also have another proclamation united against Hate Week. We're happy to be joined this evening by Lee Wynn, the director of development at stop, AAPIHate, to accept this proclamation. Lee, would you join me at the lectern? Okay, well, your proclamation, I'll give it to you, so you can read along, because I have a copy of it here. Whereas the city of Mountain View stands for diversity, inclusivity, and respect for all, irrespective of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any characteristic, and whereas we reject hate, discrimination and violence, aiming for a prejudice free community. And whereas we collectively promote acceptance, respect, tolerance, and unity, enabling residents to live, work, and thrive without fear. And whereas, united, we strengthen and celebrate our city's rich tapestry of cultures and perspectives. And whereas the city of Mountain View is fully committed to racial equity and justice, as it strives to be a welcome and inclusive community, for all where every resident can live, work, and flourish without fear of hatred. Whereas we support the California vs. Hate Coalition's mission to combat hate, prejudice, and intolerance, such as xenophobia, anti Semitism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, anti Muslim hatred, and other bigoted views, by embolden, hate groups, and individuals, and intolerance from our communities, and encourage communities to report hate incidents to the California vs. Hate Hotline. And whereas the city of Mountain View seeks to join other communities in the Bay Area, and across the country, and observing United Against Hate Week, and send a resounding message that we are united, and our resolve to combat hate, and promote acceptance. And whereas, we call upon all residents, businesses, schools, and organizations, to unite against hate, joint events, and champion inclusivity, tolerance, and unity, and whereas we urge no community members. to report any hate incidents of the California versus hate hotline. No, to report, not to report all hate incidents. Excuse me. That's a... That's a big faux pas, um, uh, 8 line at 8338, no hate, or online at CA versus hate.org, in order to combat hate effectively, and promote a safer environment and community for all. Now, therefore, I, Pat Showalter, mayor of the city of Mountain View, along with my colleagues on city council, to hereby proclaim the week of September 21st through 27, and each and every day beyond, as united against Hate Week. Lee, would you like to say a few words?

[00:11:36] Lee Wynn: I would.

[00:11:37] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you so much for coming. Yeah.

[00:11:40] Lee Wynn: Okay, we got it. Sure, yes. Thank you so much for this incredible honor. You know, on behalf of the Stop API hate team. I would just like to express my gratitude to Mayor Showalter, the council members, and the city of Mountain View. Stop API Hate is honored to receive this proclamation during United versus Hate Week. Our values truly align with the city of Mountain View. We're both committed to race equity, and justice, and we believe that everyone has the right to feel safe in their own communities. Since 2020, we have tracked over 12,000 hate acts against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Unfortunately, hate has not gone away. In our latest national survey, nearly half of API surveyed experienced the Hey Act in 2023. based on their race and ethnicity. So, as the mayor said, we urge everyone to report hate to the California vs. Hate Hotline, and also consider reporting to the Stop API Hate Reporting Center, together, we need to amplify our community stories and create a safe and just world. Again, we are truly honored for this proclamation. you. Thank you.

[00:12:58] Mayor Pat Showalter: So, would any members of the council like to say a few words? Uh, council member Kameh?

[00:13:04] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Great. Thank you, mayor. First, I want to congratulate our compassion weak representative. Compassion Week started 12 years ago, as you mentioned, and I was a policy aide working for a county supervisor, Joe Samidian, and now to be a member of the Mountain View City Council. It just kind of feels full circle to see you and see the work that you're doing and how it's grown. And, um, it's such a variety of different nonprofits that you work with in our community too, and it's such a testament to the resources that we have here. So thank you for highlighting the compassion in our community. And then secondly, I want to thank Lee for coming down, I believe you're based in San Francisco, to be here for United against Hate Week. I think that, you know, now more than ever. It's really impertinent for us to stand up and reject hate of any kind. and building a safer community. And not only is stop AP, I hate located in the Bay Area, they represent a national coalition. And that's how I came to be aware of their work in 2020 during the pandemic. And it's unfortunate that the organization needs to continue to exist. But how fortunate we are to have them, to make sure that we're promoting, not only reporting, but bystander trainings and other educational resources. So I know, they're traveling all over the country doing their good work and happy that they were able to join us in Mountain View today. Thank you, Mayor.

[00:14:37] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you. Anybody else? Well, I'm going to take a turn, and I'm just going to say another shout out for reporting. One of the things that you learn in science is the things that get monitored get dealt with. And, um, I think it's really important in, you know, in all walks of life as well. So, um, having statistics on, you know, how many people are impacted by this, makes people take it much, much more seriously. And so that's a very good thing. So thank you for doing it. Okay, any public comment? No? Okay. All right, well, that ends our presentations. And, um, so now we will move on to item four, which is the consent calendar. These items will be approved by one motion, unless any member of the council wishes to pull an item for individual consideration. If an item is pulled from the consent calendar, it will be considered separately, following approval of the balance of the consent calendar. If you would like to speak on these items, or the next item, oral communications on agenda items, in person, please submit a blue speaker card to the assistant city clerk now. I'd also like to mention that it's our custom to pull on the council to just pull consent count on your items to discuss and highlight, not necessarily, to take out of the vote. So with that, Council member Hicks.

[00:16:10] Councilmember Alison Hicks: Yes. In fact, that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm not going to pull an item to try to vote it down. I want to draw attention to item 4.3, which is the California complete streets pilot project, because I know a lot of members of our community are very interested in seeing it go forward. So would you like me to speak to it now?

[00:16:32] Mayor Pat Showalter: I would.

[00:16:33] Councilmember Alison Hicks: Okay. So, I just wanted, for people who are not familiar with that project, I just wanted to say, it was inspired, in part, by the tragic death of William Ware, who was a frequent, a resident and frequent VTA bus rider, and was tragically killed while waiting for a bus, on California Street, some almost approximately 12 years ago. I believe there are other things that inspired this project as well. For example, the desire to have a bike route across the city. And so it's a pilot project designed to increase safety, walkability, and bike ability, and I'm so happy that after the, you know, 12 years since that tragic incident, much public input, it's going forward. And it's, I think it will be a wonderful pilot project, and I'm hoping that we learn a lot with, things have evolved in terms of complete and green streets since planning started on this project. And so I'm hoping we'll learn things from the pilot, including things neighbors have asked for, more greenery than we were able to include in the pilot, plants in the ground, less paving, or maybe some of the newer alternative paving types, and also how to coordinate with dark skies initiatives, giving enough light for safety, but not overlighting. So I'm looking forward to the pilot and hoping to see more in the future. Thank you.

[00:18:10] Mayor Pat Showalter: Okay, it looks like we have two people on Zoom, who would like to speak. The first one is Bruce England. Bruce? Is this the item you'd like to speak on?

[00:18:29] Bruce Engle: There, I just now saw the unmute button. Thanks. Um, yes, Bruce Engle and Wisbon Station Drive, this is what I want to speak on is the California Street um, item, and, God, bring up my notes. This project's been anticipated for a very long time, and I'm quite pleased to see it, see forward progress on it. I would have liked to have seen the project referred to as one for green complete streets, not just complete streets, but it's important now to keep the project moving along without further delay or unnecessary cost. I have 8 comments, quick ones. So I'm just going to plow through. Regarding the 3 high visibility mid-block crosslocks. I'd like to hear confirmation that the existing refuge islands will not be compromised. Two. I would like to see discussion or consideration for anticipated city dark sky protection ordinances as Council member Hicks just raised. Thought needs to go into balancing between safety and dark sky related requirements. Keeping in mind that just more light does not necessarily mean more safe. Three. For the vertical elements, the profile's too low. They could pose a hazardous cyclists if they accidentally rent into them. Four. Are the planter boxes going to be temporary with a goal of later installing actual landscaping to realize a true green streets profile? How will these plants be maintained meanwhile? Five. Can you elaborate on what's needed for new concrete is part of the project? Ideally, areas that could remain unpaved would be. This would allow for later landscaping editions. Six. Please ensure that traffic control signage does not block bikeways or sidewalks in cases where this can't be avoided. Please ensure these signs are not left in place any longer than needed or during non-work periods. Seven. I don't see active transportation staff included and who developed or signed off on the council report for this agenda item or in the May 2024 report. Why is this? I believe they should be included in reports that touch on active transportation for Mountain View. And aid and last, I hope that livable wage considerations are being made as part of the project. I don't recall this is now a standard requirement for contracted public projects. That would be useful to hear about if either way. Thank you.

[00:20:37] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you. Okay, the next speaker is Devin Connolly. Is that also related to this item, Devin?

[00:20:44] Devin Connolly: Yes, it is. Thank you, may I?

[00:20:46] Mayor Pat Showalter: Welcome.

[00:20:47] Devin Connolly: My name is Devin Connolly, and I'm speaking tonight as a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, and the California Complete Streets Project is coming through my neighborhood. I wanted to thank counsel from the bottom of my heart for moving forward on this work. Um, it's been over a decade. that advocates in our community, including Great Streets Mountain View, have been asking for the opportunity to knit our community back together. Our neighborhood is basically cut in half by California. And, um, this is an incredible opportunity to increase bicycle and pedestrian safety, as well as to tie it back together neighborhood. And, um, I'm just incredibly excited to see this work move forward and thankful for everything that counsel's doing to see that this actually comes to fruition. Thank you.

[00:21:49] Mayor Pat Showalter: Okay, do we have any more speakers? All right. Now, since this is an agendaized item, I presume that, um, staff could respond to some of these questions, is that, that's true, right?

[00:22:01] Unknown Speaker: Yeah. Yes, that's fine, Mayor.

[00:22:05] Mayor Pat Showalter: you. Welcome. This is our acting public works director, Edna Rango. Thank you so much for being here.

[00:22:14] Edna Rango: Thank you, Mayor. Are there any specific questions that counsel would like me to address?

[00:22:22] Mayor Pat Showalter: Um, I am interested in, um, the, the one about, um, the planter boxes, are they temporary? My understanding is that they were temporary.

[00:22:36] Edna Rango: That's correct. Sorry, let me start over. Edorango, again, acting public works director. The planter boxes are temporary, um, in an effort to implement this pilot project and minimize the amount of work that it would be needed to put in, um, landscaping in the ground on a permanent basis with irrigation system. We identified planter boxes to be in, um, adjacent to the travel way and um, between the travel way and the bike way. And we're doing this up and down the corridor at various locations, in conjunction with other vertical treatment elements to test and pilot these elements to see how they work. And they will be maintained. We're coordinating the maintenance element now with community services and public works on how to best maintain this going forward. But once they're installed, they will be maintained with the plantings, watering, et cetera. Thank you.

[00:23:36] Mayor Pat Showalter: That's good. And then, um, the, uh, I'm sure the traffic control will be, um, not on sidewalks, if it, and obstructing bikeways, if it can possibly not be. I mean, that's our standard rule. It doesn't always work, but that's our goal, right?

[00:23:52] Edna Rango: So the way we conduct traffic control is, it's one of the elements of what works really values and implements in all of our projects. So we ensure we have traffic control plans that the contractors required to abide by. To ensure that pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles can travel through the construction zone safely.

[00:24:13] Mayor Pat Showalter: And I presume that there will be a project sign in the neighborhood that will tell you who you can call if something is wrong, like that, like, signs. Will there be a development sign?

[00:24:25] Edna Rango: Um, I'm not, um, positive if we have a development sign or large sign in, um, planned for the project, um, but we have been outreaching to the community members about the projects on our website. Any member of the community can contact the public works department. We're happy to have a conversation. And they could certainly do an Ask Mountain View.

[00:24:44] Mayor Pat Showalter: Absolutely. Yes. to bring to people's attention that maybe a contractor wasn't quite working by the rules.

[00:24:51] Edna Rango: That's correct. And our phone still works, so if the residents want to call us. We know. We're happy.

[00:24:56] Mayor Pat Showalter: People tend to forget about that, don't they?

[00:24:58] Edna Rango: That's those these marvels.

[00:25:00] Mayor Pat Showalter: Okay, and then the other one, um, uh, I wanted to ask you about, um, is, uh, the livable wage, um, uh, is, is this a project that gets livable wage?

[00:25:10] Edna Rango: So all public works projects are subject to prevailing wage. That right. Per the public contracts code. So this, as every other public works project, will be subject to the contractor paving, paying prevailing wage to the laborers.

[00:25:24] Mayor Pat Showalter: Okay, great. And don't go away because Council member Hicks has some questions, too.

[00:25:29] Councilmember Alison Hicks: Yeah, I think members of the public brought up two additional questions. One is why the active transportation staff is not listed on some of the reports, do they also review it, or is it because this one's about, you know, bidding, contracts, and bidding. Maybe you could explain that a little, because the resident apparently wanted to make sure that the active transportation staff were very involved with the project.

[00:25:53] Edna Rango: Sure, I'm happy to do that. Thank you for the question. The way that we conduct our projects, the transportation planning staff really coordinate the transportation planning efforts. So these are long range efforts and studies, and they put their name on the reports when, such as the active transportation plan, the transportation demand management ordinance, the recent Vision Zero local road safety plan got approved. And although one of the authors or the authors' names are on the report, we collaborate between sections and within the department pretty regularly. So, likewise, on the implementation side, we have the engineers that are implementing these projects. And early on in the development of the project, we're incorporating both sides, even during active transportation projects, as well as engineering projects that we're implementing. So the staff is talking to each other regularly, ensuring that we're in a line. But the authors report really is dependent on who's taking the lead.

[00:26:58] Councilmember Alison Hicks: Okay. And the last question I heard from a resident was, as the council has spoken about possibly taking on a Dark Skies initiative, will there be some monitoring of the lighting? There's lighting mentioned in the project, whether it's, you know, just enough for safety, too much, what residents who live nearby, how it's impacting them, et cetera. Will that be at all a part of monitoring the pilot? As far as the street lights.

[00:27:30] Edna Rango: We're going to be incorporating just where the locations where we identify that there was inadequate lighting for such as the intersections and pedestrian crossings. And we apply the lighting that is to the level that's needed, meeting the requirements for, kind of, lighting levels for pedestrian crossings. We're not applying more lighting. But we are providing the minimum lighting levels at that point. And we will ensure, during the implementation of the project, that the lights do provide that minimum lighting levels and aren't overlighting the area.

[00:28:01] Councilmember Alison Hicks: Okay, thank you. Those are the questions I heard.

[00:28:05] Mayor Pat Showalter: Excellent. Thank you so much. Okay, um, Council member Ramirez. Oh, did you want to ask Ed a question?

[00:28:11] Councilmember Lucas Ramirez: No, okay. Thank you, Mayor. I am happy to move to approve the staff recommendations, including item 4.1. Adopt a resolution of the city council of the city of Mountain View, amending the list of designated positions, required to file statements of economic interest to be read entitled only for the reading waived.

[00:28:33] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you. We have a move emotion, and we have a second, so it's time for us to vote. The motion passes unanimously. Thank you, everybody. All right, now that brings us to item five. This one is called oral communication. And this portion of the meeting is reserved for anyone who wishes to address the council on a matter that is not on the listed agenda. Speakers are allowed to speak on any topic, within the city council's subject matter jurisdiction, for up to three minutes during this section. State law prohibits the council from acting on non agenda items. If you would like to speak on this item, or the next item in person, please submit of Lou's speaker card to the Assistant City clerk now. Would any member of the public joining us virtually, or in person, like to comment on this item?

[00:29:34] City Clerk Heather Glaser: Okay, I think I see two virtuals, and do we have any in person? No, all right.

[00:29:39] Mayor Pat Showalter: All right. Well, then everybody can get, since there's just two, you can each have three minutes, and the first speaker is Mr. Bruce England. Bruce.

[00:29:49] Bruce England: Thank you, Mayor. This will actually be very short. So, um, no worries there. Bruce England, Wisman Station Drive. I just want to comment quickly on your last meeting's gatekeeper projects process. I have to say I was a little puzzled by it. I know it was late. Um, and probably people were tired and all of that. But I don't know, it just felt a little bit to me, like, there were no real checks in place. The projects just sailed through the process, and I hope that at least in the future, that gatekeeper projects will be adequately scrutinized that not all of them should get through. There should be some, um, you know, reasonable checks on what's reasonable to pass or not. And I'm not sure that both of those projects should have gone through. That's my personal opinion, but it's more the overall process. I was left a little bit puzzled by what counts as a reasonable project and what doesn't. Thank you.

[00:30:47] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you. And then next we have Aisha. Are you here?

[00:30:53] Aisha: Yes.

[00:30:53] Mayor Pat Showalter: Hello.

[00:30:54] Aisha: Hey, so I'm part of the Guardian Project. I'm running it. This is the volunteer group that's saving the burling owls. And I just wanted to report back after attending the parks and recreation meeting that I think it was last week. So my understanding was that it was going to be a Q and A, but there were no A's given. So everyone, we had the same kind of format, and then some of the same people who had attended here to talk about their concerns about the owls attended there, bring up the same concerns, and everyone's concerns were completely minimized by the commissioners. They didn't answer anyone's questions, and instead, they kept saying, oh, we think the city is doing a great job. Like, everyone was completely ignored. This crazy, it's absolutely crazy. It felt like being part of a stage play and I was in the audience. And the commissioners and Brady, who's part of the parks and rec, were just doing a show. So I thought that only happened in the movies. Now I'm seeing habits in real life. My volunteers today, they're out at the Browing Island Habitat and they're freaking out. Oh, there's predator scat, right from them, that they're photographing, as they're watching the grass overgrow, the burling all habitat, and what's probably the worst part about this is the supervising Rangers have been ordered not to participate. So they're just standing around watching the volunteers struggle, and they're losing morale. My volunteers are losing morale. Like, these are people that are using their free time to come out, connect with other community members over this endangered species, and it just feels like this city isn't on our team, but is telling us they are, which is just a huge betrayal. And so here's what I'm wondering. I'm wondering, who can we even go to? Like, who is responsible for how resources get delegated because The commissioners, we're talking about golf. Brady was talking about golf and how these kids, that wanted to go see the butterfly habitats, were trying to cross the golf course to go see the butterflies, and he was worried they'd get hit by golf balls. My question is, I've been asking for Saturdays for these volunteers so that they can bring their children, and people have been asking me if they could schedule Saturdays, and I keep getting pushed back from the city or the parks and rec department that they can't do Saturdays. So it's like we're getting. These kids are just so desperate to help these animals and be a part of saving them and they're getting hit by golf balls, like the insanity of this is just so outrageous. So, like, what, what can us as the people do, if we care about the owls, and we just feel like there's an entire organization that's part of the government that is pretending to help us. Like, what can we do? Apart from joining the parks and rec commission? But then you're, that's not entirely, we just want some more help saving the owls. That's it. Anyway, that's that's all I have to say for now. But I wanted to keep a conversation going because people are still really upset and it's just getting worse.

[00:33:57] Mayor Pat Showalter: Okay, thank you for sharing your comments with us. And now we move to Peter Katz. Peter, are you available? Ah, you're right here. Welcome.

[00:34:13] Peter Katz: Thank you, but I'm here to speak on 6.1, and I don't think we're there yet on the agenda.

[00:34:17] Mayor Pat Showalter: Oh. No, we are not there yet. So that brings us to the end of five. And we will move to our public hearing section. 6.1 public hearing on downtown business improvement areas. Council member Abi Koga. Do you have an announcement to make?

[00:34:42] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Yes, I am recusing myself from participating in any discussion or determination about the downtown business improvement areas, one and two, due to the proximity of personal residents to both improvement areas. Thank you.

[00:34:57] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you. Council member Hicks, do you have an announcement to make?

[00:35:01] Councilmember Alison Hicks: Yes, I'm also recusing myself from participation about the downtown business improvement areas one and two because of the proximity of my personal residence to both areas.

[00:35:16] Mayor Pat Showalter: All right, thank you very much. So now we are joined in the dais by economic vitality manager, John Lang, who will present the item. If you would like to speak on this item in person, please submit a blue speaker card to the assistant city clerk now. Go ahead, Mr. Ling.

[00:35:39] John Lang: Good evening, Mayor, and city council. Tonight, we are holding the first public hearing in the long staining annual renewal process for the downtown business improvement areas. The 2nd meeting or hearing will take place on October 22nd, 2024 to approve the renewal. There are 2 business improvement areas. VIA number one, which includes all the businesses along Castro Street, bounded by View Street, in Franklin Street, as well as Evelyn Avenue, and El Camino Real, and BIA number 2 includes all businesses on Castro Street in the 100, 20300 blocks. The BIA assessments generated from both areas are used for specific programming and services to support downtown businesses. In the annual report prepared by the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce, the 2025 Projective Revenues from both of the areas is approximately 46,000. Tonight, city council may discuss the BIAs and receive any comments or input from members of the public. There are 3 recommendations for council consideration tonight. One is approve the annual report for 2024 and two, there's 2 resolutions declaring the intention to levy an assessment in BIA number one and BIA number 2 for 2025. This concludes my comments. Myself, Christian Murdoch, the community, development director, and Peter Katz, the CEO from the Mountain View Chamber of Karma, are available for questions.

[00:37:29] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you very much. Okay, so do we have any council questions for Mr. Lang or the other representatives? I don't see any. Um, so that brings us to public comment. Um, looks like we have one speaker, um, Peter Katz. Welcome, Peter.

[00:37:58] Peter Katz: Thank you, mayor, and members of the city council. Peter Katz, president and CEO of the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce. For the past, to me, for the past 3 plus years, the chamber has been honored to directly support the downtown businesses and to manage operations for the DBA. We are pleased that during that time, we have provided marketing events and projects that have raised the visibility and attractiveness of individual storefronts, as well as downtown as a whole. We are grateful for the city's participation in these events, especially the economic development team. So just to add to what's already in the staff report, some highlights include that we redefine downtown events, including the taste of Mountain View, text showcase, as well as the Art and Wine Festival, and holiday themed events to encourage traffic and sales for our local businesses. What's not in the report is that 85% of those surveyed have seen 10 to 40% increases in sales from these changes. We created promotional videos that have, excuse me, created productional videos for visiting and shopping downtown, with several downtown businesses specifically highlighted, and we continue to show those on a regular basis on our website and on the visitor center website. We also show them via social media. We expanded the distribution of the community guide in the business directory, which has a special special section just on downtown, from 40 locations to over 75. And we continue to be the voice of downtown and provide direct support on city initiatives, and strategic plans, such as the downtown precise plan, the economic vitality strategy, and revising the permitting process. But we seek to do more. Such as education, educating businesses on social media, and other tools, help provide guidance and support regarding things such as the ADA compliance, and incorporate more public art. As stated in the annual report, VIA funds only cover a portion of what we have delivered, and the funding remains the same levels that were established when the BIAs were first put in place over 30 years ago. While costs and needs have increased dramatically during this time. For these reasons, we are exploring different approaches to enable us to better ensure a vibrant downtown, which is in the best distance of our residents, visitors, and of course, our local businesses. We respectfully ask counsel to continue to allow the chamber to carry on our stewardship of BIA funds, and for the city's continued help and guidance as we pursue new ways to expand and fund our activities. Thank you.

[00:40:39] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you. Does anybody have any questions for Mr. Kath? Okay. Um, oh, Councilmamor Committee.

[00:40:47] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Great. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Katz. So talking about, you teased us with a little bit of some new innovative ways. I know that the chamber has been in hard at work in conjunction with the city on different areas of the city, not just focusing on downtown. Do you have any update on those efforts? I know that that was something that you had been working on and just curious.

[00:41:10] Peter Katz: So are we talking about areas outside of downtown and activities there? Well, one example is how we've been trying to activate San Antonio City anymore. And we've had now two events there just this year. One was a mini golf tournament. The other was a small artisan fair, which were relatively successful. I say relatively because we didn't have quite as many people, the artists and fair as we would have liked. We had oversubscribed to the mini golf. And we have already entered into conversations with some of the other owners to see if they want to do some more things such as, I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but we're talking about doing a dog walk, dog parade down there. So, there are other ideas that are being explored, too.

[00:41:52] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: And so those would be event based and not looking at different BIAs in different parts of the city or...

[00:41:59] Peter Katz: Correct. At this point, we are not looking at other BIAs.

[00:42:01] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Okay. Just different, maybe, activities or events. Different ways to activate.

[00:42:05] Peter Katz: Yeah. And there's other advertising things we're doing. There are other marketing things we're doing as well.

[00:42:10] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Okay, thank you.

[00:42:11] Peter Katz: You're welcome.

[00:42:15] Mayor Pat Showalter: Okay. Do we have any other... We don't have any speakers online for this? So I'll bring it back to council. Um, I believe we need to have a motion, to adopt two resolutions. So we have a mover, Council member, Vice Mayor Manachek, and a seconder, Council member Kameh, thank you. Vice Mayor Mattachek, would you like to read the

[00:42:44] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: I would. I'll move the staff recommendation, including adopting a resolution of the city of Mountain View, approving the annual report of the downtown Mountain View Business Improvement Area number one, and declaring its intention to levy assessments for 2025, to be read in title only, for the reading waived, and set a public hearing date. of October 22nd, 2024. And adopt a resolution of the city council of the city of Mountain View, approving the annual report of the downtown Mountain View Business Improvement Area, number two, and declaring its intention to levy assessments for 2025, to be read entitled only for the reading waived, and set a public hearing date of October 22nd, 2024.

[00:43:33] Mayor Pat Showalter: Great. Thank you for that. So now we can vote. Okay, that passes five to zero. We have two recusals. So now we can move on. to the new business section, and can somebody, um, welcome back council members, Kame and Hicks? All right. So we have a whole city council again. That's great. Welcome back. All right, now, Vice Mayor Lisa Matachek will present the item.

[00:44:20] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: Thank you. So each year, the city council reviews the performance and compensation of the 3 council appointees, and the council appointees are the city attorney, city clerk, and city manager. As vice mayor, I oversaw this process. And the council was assisted by a professional facilitator, Nelson Fialo, from Renee Public Management Group. The city council has completed its review of each appoint E. from the past year and is working on written feedback for each appointee. All of the council appointees have provided important and valuable services to the city of Mountain View over the last year, and council is pleased with their performance. The purpose of this item tonight is to consider adjustments to each appointee's compensation. The Brown Act requires the city council to orally report a summary of council action on the salaries, salary schedule, or fringe benefits of council appointees during an open meeting, of which the final action is to be taken. To satisfy this requirement, I am providing this report of the recommended adjustment for the city attorney, city clerk and city manager. For the city attorney, a one-time lump sum city contribution to a 457 deferred compensation plan, and the amount of $6975.04, which is equivalent to 2% of base pay for the city clerk, a one-time lump sum city contribution to a 457 deferred compensation plan in the amount of $4,373.05, which is also equivalent to 2% of base pay, and for the city manager, a one time lump sum city contribution to a 401 A plan, in the amount of $8,451.21, which is equivalent to 2% of base pay. Thank you.

[00:46:32] Mayor Pat Showalter: Does anybody have any questions? Or comments? Okay. Is there any public comment on this item? Saying nine? Bring it back. We have a motion and a second. All right. Oh, yeah, sorry. Council member Hicks needs to read the resolution.

[00:47:05] Councilmember Alison Hicks: So I moved to adopt a resolution of the city council of the city of Mountain View approving annual compensation increases for the city attorney, city clerk, and city manager, to be read entitle only, further reading waived.

[00:47:19] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you. All right, now, with that, we can vote. Great. It passes 7 to 0. And I would like to thank... I think probably most council members would like to thank you, Lisa, for the great job you did in getting this organized. I know, from having done it before, that it's quite a bit of work, and you were very systematic, and you worked really well with our consultant, and made sure that we had a really robust discussion, and I found it very productive. So I really appreciate your work.

[00:48:02] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: Thank you, and I want to add, it's great having a facilitator, and Nelson did a great job of helping us, and this is definitely a team effort, so thank all of you for participating in this. I really appreciate it.

[00:48:16] Mayor Pat Showalter: And, of course, we, um, we are very appreciative of our, uh, of our appointees, and, and we hope that they are, you know, they're pleased with the, with the outcome. Okay, so with that, we move to the next item, count item eight, council, staff, and committee reports. Does anybody have any committee reports? I will make a couple. I attended a BCDC meeting on Thursday that talked about the regional guidelines for sea level rise projects that are being drafted and are under, um, our out for public comet, and, um, they will, uh, I think, you might remember that, that we have a new bill, um, that was, um, put forward by John Layard, that requires all shoreline communities to prepare a sea level rise protection plans. And by the end of this year, BCDC and the Coastal Commission need to prepare guidelines for the communities that are in their areas about what will need to be in the plans. And then the plans don't really have to be completed until 2034. But the guidelines are out now, and so people are responding to those. I also attended a cities association meeting where they gave a brief update on that as well. And then, on Thursday night, I attended a school board meeting, a Mountain View Whisman school board meeting with our assistant city manager, Arn Andrews, and we responded to, um, their presentation related to, um, the, uh, shoreline community. We presented some factual information and answered some questions. And, um, I think that it was, it was very important that we were there to, um, to provide that information. And then, on, was it Saturday or Sunday, I get confused. So many things going on. We all attended a wonderful Caltrain event, but I think I'm going to let council member Abi Koga, tell us about that. She was all about that. So next is Vice Mayor Manachek.

[00:50:55] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: Thank you. So I do have a few things. On September 19th. I attended the Bosca board meeting. That's the Bay Area, Water Supply and Conservation Agency. And uh, we learned that the update to the tier 2 allocation plan, um, as well as an update to the minimum purchase requirements is a little bit delayed. Um, and hopefully it will still come to fruition because, um, changing the minimum purchase requirement will significantly benefit the city of Mountain View. Um, and I'm hoping the 26 jurisdictions that purchase water from the SFPUC um, can come to an agreement on this very shortly. So we can get going on it. Um, I do want to give a shout out to Elizabeth Flegel from the city. She's the water management representative to Bosca, and she has been working on this for quite some time. And she's doing a fantastic job. We are so fortunate to have her working on this. I can't say enough good things about her. So shout out to Elizabeth on this one. The Bosca board also selected the next CEO for the organization, the current one, Nicole Sancula, is retiring at the end of this year. And there were a lot of applicants. A lot very qualified applicants. Um, but one stood out and, um, The gentleman is Tom Smegel, who has been a Bosca board member before. So he is familiar with the organization. He's also, though, held executive positions at Cal Water. So he definitely knows water. Um, Everyone spoke very highly of him, including a member of the board who used to report to him for many years, and he had wonderful things to say about him. So while it's, um, sad to see Nicole go. I do believe they've found a great person to take over. Also, I attended the National League of Cities, artificial intelligence committee meeting. It was a virtual meeting on September 20th, and that was the final meeting of the committee. And, um, the end product will be a toolkit on AI for use by cities. And that will be released at the upcoming NLC conference in Tampa in November. So, we haven't seen the final product, but it certainly looks promising. And the 3rd item I have is, um, I would like to see if there was council support for um, an item relating to a couple of our advisory bodies. Um, Given the state, um, of a couple of our advisory bodies. Um, I was thinking maybe it's, um, prudent to ask staff to take a look at them and see, um, whether or not they should continue or if they should be changed in any way, um, or if they should be, frankly, sunsetted. Um, and specifically, I'm thinking about the senior advisory committee, um, as well as the public safety advisory board. The senior advisory committee has struggled for many years. I think, as long as I've been on council, it's been struggling. And they've not been able to achieve a quorum yet this year. Um, and the public safety advisory board. Um, We just have 4 of 7 members right now. And, um, after recruitment being open for many months, I believe we have one applicant. Um, But we also, um, have other advisory bodies that seem to be doing well. Um, and I shouldn't say we, so there are other advisory bodies that exist. Um, ones uh, uh, for the Latino community, and the other, the faith leaders, that meet regularly with the police department. And those are well attended and productive, and, you know, good advisory boards for the police department. Um, so, I'm not suggesting, obviously, taking any action tonight, other than to ask staff to take a look at this, and, um, look at the pros and cons of the advisory bodies, those two, um, and what they would recommend in terms of how we might see them going forward. Um, and I would also recommend that as we do that, um, we maybe pause recruitment for those 2 um, in the meantime. So is that something we can do a show of hands on to say, yes, um, let's ask staff to take a look at these and come back to us.

[00:56:01] Mayor Pat Showalter: Then I think there's comments first. Council member Abbe Koga?

[00:56:10] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: I was just waiting for my... Who has comments on this? I just want to ask a little more on, a little more on the process here, I'm visioning. I'm fine with it, but I want to know, you see it coming back as an agenda item where staff says what. And I would just want to make sure that the current people on the committee, that, and that they talk to them about, about that before. I'm not against, we have a lot of advisory bodies, and ones that are not, you know, have not been able to get the number of people they need. I'm fine with sunsetting them, but I want to hear a little feedback from the people. I don't want it to be a short circuited processor. I can't vote for it.

[00:56:54] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: So, I don't want to speak for staff. But I would assume that we would check in with the current members, um, as well as staff doing just an independent assessment, um, to provide us information in order to make an informed decision. Um, I know I watch a lot of advisory board meetings, probably too many. Um, I don't know if everybody does that to see what's happening with these, and obviously I haven't watched the senior advisory committee in a very long time. But, you know, it would be good if we were all on the same page in terms of what's happening with them. Um, and I don't see any reason why we couldn't also check with them.

[00:57:33] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Yeah, that's as long as we do that, get some feedback from the people who are still on it, then I can vote for it. Yeah.

[00:57:40] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: I did watch one public safety advisory board meeting, and one of the members said, we've pretty much accomplished everything we set out to do. And I was shocked. to hear that. But I was kind of feeling the same way. Um, so, yes, uh, let's hear what they have to say as well.

[00:58:00] Mayor Pat Showalter: you. Council member Ramos.

[00:58:04] Councilmember Emily Ramos: I was just seeking a little bit more clarity. So you're looking at some kind of evaluation of these 2 boards. Is it just these 2 boards? Are we expanding it to all the boards or just senior NPCAB?

[00:58:15] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: Well, um, this particular one is just about the senior advisory committee and the PCAB, um, but the next item I wanted to talk about is broader.

[00:58:24] Councilmember Emily Ramos: Okay. And so, and this is just, um, just looking to see what's going on and we do it, then we'll make a decision. Yeah, it would have to come back as an agenda item if we're going to take action on it. But I'd like us to be more informed about what's happening with them.

[00:58:40] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you. Logistic, I mean, from a logical point of view, would it be better for you to explain the next one as well before we vote on this one?

[00:58:51] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: Uh, I can explain it, but I don't think, um, we would take a vote on it tonight, um, But it is, I kind of feel like... Is it connected? Yes, and no, it's still about advisory. Let's go ahead with that one. So I would like to suggest that the next council, because I think it would be potentially a work item on the council work plan, is to take it a look at all of our advisory bodies to figure out, are they, do they have good charters, in terms of what they're supposed to do, and are they doing it? And we do we need to make any changes? Kind of a refresh of all of them, to make sure they're doing what we want them to do, and they're adding significant value. Um, because I think I've heard from some that they feel like, um, they would like more input and have more say in things. And, um, so let's find out what's going on with all of those and see if we need to make tweaks. But I personally think that's not something staff could do quickly. Um, and so, I think that would be, for my colleagues who are continuing on the council, something you should consider putting on the work plan. for the next 2 years.

[01:00:04] Mayor Pat Showalter: Um, uh, city manager McCarthy.

[01:00:07] City Manager Kimbra McCarthy: Thank you, mayor, council member Mattachek. So I just want to make sure that I'm clear. And also, you will need to take a straw pull on this. So what you all would be approving or seeking is staff would bring back an item probably on consent regarding specifically the PCAB and the senior advisory committee. And it would be the pros and cons with a recommendation on those 2 bodies and then more long term for the next council would be a more holistic review of the charters and the, I guess, the charge for the rest of the advisory bodies to make a recommendation on the balance of the rest of them.

[01:00:56] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: So I don't feel comfortable, including the 2nd part in a motion tonight or a straw poll tonight, because I won't be on the council. And, um, whoever's on the council, I feel like should have the opportunity to weigh in if they want that on the work plan. Great. So just those 2 for now. And when I say pros and cons, it's also level setting in terms of information on them, so we understand sort of the lay of the land. Um, and any challenges or, um, things that are happening that we might not know about. So we all understand the current state of those 2 advisory bodies.

[01:01:35] Mayor Pat Showalter: Um, Council member Abbe Coca.

[01:01:38] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Thank you, actually, now I do have some comments. I appreciate Vice Mayor's suggestion, I think, that it is warranted that we take a look at these committees, but I actually would prefer that it be done comprehensively because I think it, to just single out a couple of them at this point, it's a little disjointed. I think it would be better to look at all of them and then decide, you know, what is what are the committees, the advisory committees or commissions that the city needs at this time. Um, and I would look, I would suggest it with that, uh, a review of what other cities do because I know other, like Cupertino has a public safety committee and they've had one for a very long time. And so it'd be interesting to see what they do that necessitates them to continue to have one versus what ours was. I think ours was very focused when it started, but certainly there might be opportunity to expand its scope. So that would be my preferences to just do a comprehensive review. I won't be here this year either. So I'll leave it up to the next council, but, um, I don't feel, I don't think it's, um, to me, I think we should just do it all together. Thanks. Um, I...

[01:03:11] Mayor Pat Showalter: Yeah, I, um, I feel like the, I would be interested in, um, probably stopping the senior committee or reevaluating it right away, because we have had a problem with that for a long time. But the PCAB, It's my understanding that that really hasn't been such a long term issue. There have been a couple, somebody moved away, and there was somebody who was a college student who realized they couldn't do both. So there were circumstances that no one seemed to me necessarily related to whether or not this body should exist. It was just more the people who were involved at the time. And then the other thing about the PCAB is, we've only had a PCAB for, is it two years or four years? City Manager McCarthy?

[01:04:04] City Manager Kimbra McCarthy: We formed it in 2020, and it first started meeting in 2021.

[01:04:09] Mayor Pat Showalter: Okay, so it's fairly new. So the idea of having a kind of evaluation of, how's it going? And are you doing, you know, are you doing the right things? And as it constituted, should it be combined with other groups, that's a very reasonable thing to do in the early, you know, in the early few years of an organization. But I'm not sure that it's something we want to take on in the next few months, or is it appropriate for the next year? That's I'm kind of looking at staff for some guidance on that.

[01:04:44] City Manager Kimbra McCarthy: Thank you, mayor. So I will recall when counsel first discussed this in 2020, there was a bit of a long conversation and dialogue about whether this would be a short term committee and or whether it would be a standing committee. And at that time when council discussed it and decided what to do, there was direction to come back after one year with a report on how things were going. So staff brought that back. Um, and since then we have had challenges filling the committee and filling, um, the agenda. So the meetings are not, they don't meet monthly. So I think it would warrant, I think, staff taking a look at the, probably the charge of the committee and whether council still wants to continue it in the same way. And perhaps there's a different way. of doing it, um, that will still satisfy or fulfill some of the charge that the council gave in 2020, but maybe maybe it could look a little different than what it looks like now. And then as far as the senior advisory committee, we've just had long-standing troubles filling the vacancies on that committee. So there are different nuances to each committee. And so I understand what Vice Mayor Matachek is asking for just in terms of timeliness because we are dealing with challenges right now with both of those committees and not the concern of not having quorums is also an issue. Whereas we don't have those challenges with the other advisory boards and commissions. So, um, certainly it's up to counsel to determine how you want to move forward. But I think those 2 committees have more timely considerations than the other committees do.

[01:06:50] Mayor Pat Showalter: Okay, council member Hicks, and then council member, come on. I'm actually going to let council member come may go 1st as you don't want to go first.

[01:06:59] Councilmember Alison Hicks: Okay. I was just gonna ask that, as different council members have expressed different opinions on what should happen next, that before you take a straw poll count. Um, uh, vice mayor, that you restate, which, which ideas you're including in the straw poll, and which you aren't, 'cause I'm becoming unclear on what's in it? And I would not want all the... I'm not sure if this is what Councilman Brabbi Coco was suggesting. Maybe she was suggesting putting all of them off until next year, but I wouldn't want to evaluate all of them now. It would be either two committees now, or all of them later. That's what I could support. Although all of them later, I agree, vice mayor, that the next council should decide. So, I just want to know before you take the straw, Paul, since you've been listening to everything we all say, tell us what you've landed on.

[01:07:52] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: Yeah, um, so I don't think it has changed my perspective, and that is that we would take a look at the senior advisory committee and the public safety advisory board. Now, and then leave it up to the next council to take a look at all of them if they want to do so. And for the reasons, the city manager mentioned, you know, I have watched them struggle, and, um, especially when it comes to, like, the work plan for the Peace Ab. Um, I personally feel like it's straying from the original intention of it, um, because they're struggling to come up with agenda items. Um, and because we also do have these other, um, groups that the police department meets with that do meet regularly and, um, do have good attendance. So, um, I guess it's still the just the two. Thanks.

[01:08:51] Mayor Pat Showalter: Also, member coming.

[01:08:53] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Great, thanks, Mayor. So just some quick questions for staff. Is that okay? So both the senior advisory and peace, I do not have Goram currently, correct?

[01:09:06] City Clerk Heather Glaser: The P SOB does, they currently have 4 members out of 7.

[01:09:08] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Okay, a single number is unavailable. They cannot meet. When is the last time the senior advisory body met?

[01:09:16] City Clerk Heather Glaser: I'd have to go back and look, but I believe it's been over a year. And it does still represent work for stuff because they still have to create the cancellation notices and post everything in accordance with the meeting schedule.

[01:09:26] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Thank you. And then, um, so, P-Sab has corn, but I was understanding that there were some times when they weren't able to meet, because even with the four, not all 4 could attend, was that correct? Or was there issues of attendance?

[01:09:46] City Clerk Heather Glaser: Well, if one of the members is unavailable to attend due to, you know, illness or business travel or things like that if they were able to participate, then they didn't have a quorum.

[01:09:55] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Right. Thank you. So I think, um, given those issues and that it's just gonna be looking at it, there's no final action being proposed or taken tonight. I think it's worthy of just looking at it, particularly if one of them, one of our committees hasn't met in over a year, but still producing staff work. And then, um, Pisa that we only even have one applicant, but that there are multiple vacancies. And just looking at it. and seeing what else we can do. I know that the staff has gotten creative and the outreach, but still haven't been able to fill the vacancy. So I think given that it's an exploring and looking at, we can support it and then get more information. Thank you.

[01:10:46] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: I, however, would really like to continue the recruitment for PSAB. Um, I wouldn't want to suspend that right now. I'd like to continue that recruitment, because, um, we're going forward with it, and some people might be interested that we don't know about.

[01:11:09] City Manager Kimbra McCarthy: So that's fine, if we want to continue the recruitment for PCAB, if we're going to take a look at this, yeah. And I guess we could also continue with the your advisory committee, but don't know if we'll get very many applicants. So I think, mayor, if I may. Can I ask our assistant city manager, Audrey Seymour Ramberg, to come up? She serves as the liaison to the PCAB, and I think she wants to share some further information with council.

[01:11:42] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you, Audrey Ramberg, assistant city manager, and along with police chief, Mike Canfield.

[01:11:47] Assistant City Manager Audrey Seymour Ramberg: I am the staff liaison for the public safety advisory board. And, um, just a little bit of context, um, we've had 2 of the, um, 3 vacancies for 4 months, and the last one for a month, and, um, as the clerk, um, or, um, uh, noted there's one applicant, um, for uh, that um, board. And what we have been seeing with regard to the work plan of the public safety advisory board, is that there were some really significant early items that were tasked to the board, and were really kind of pivotal towards the creation of the board, when the council took that action, in particular, the school resource officer review, of really gathering input from the school community, and the around that program and how it was operating, and that resulted in a very thorough analysis and set of recommendations that came to you, and that you took action on in terms of giving direction for stronger statements of the purpose and the parameters and the outcomes of the school resource officer program, and that was embodied in both memorandums of understanding. with the 2 school districts and also a procedure manual to really kind of document the best practices for that program going forward. Similarly, there was the work of the Human Relations Commission and doing the community listening sessions on policing that were presented to the, um, the peace lab, um, some early items around the military equipment report, where they were kind of a first reviewer of that. And we have had comments both from members of the commission and the public, who have kind of acknowledged and recognized that a lot of those early milestone projects have been completed. And what remains for the work plan are several items that are annual reviews, looking at the budget, looking at the annual report of the department, looking at complaint data. And then there are the more special project oriented work plan items, which have had some challenges and some struggles in coming to fruition. There is interest on the members of the PCAB to champion these items and to create subcommittees around them that then, just with everybody's very busy lives, we find that we're carrying forward items from one work plan to the next work plan. Um, and, um, it is taking perhaps more staff time than might have been originally envisioned when the, the idea of a committee driven, or a, um, you know, the subcommittee of the committee driven, um, work product. And so, um, uh, we just have, um, I think, an opportunity to look at what the scope is, um, for the commission, or the advisory board, compared to what it was originally charged with doing. And while, you know, expansion is certainly a possibility. It also could be a possibility to recognize that some of the important things have been accomplished. And some of the things that have, we've heard from the public, when they talk about expansion, it's quite a bit of expansion, like, it should also include the fire department. It should also include traffic, you know, transportation, engineering, and other kinds of, of areas of safety, which I think would really be a broadening of scope that was beyond what the initial intent, um, communicated by council when the peace app was created. So I think that there are plenty of things for us to look at and assess and bring back at whatever time frame. if the council is interested in having that analysis.

[01:16:11] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you. So, is it time to do a straw vote on this one?

[01:16:18] Vice Mayor Lisa Matichak: Yeah, I think we've gotten there.

[01:16:20] Mayor Pat Showalter: Okay. So, okay, so, I'll, I'll, go ahead. All in favor of taking a look at these two committees and what they do, and, um, but at the same time, continuing with the recruitment. Okay. So that passes six to one.

[01:16:44] Mayor Pat Showalter: Okay, I do have one more request for item eight. We have, I've heard from cervical members of the community, and, oh, Council member Abi Kogo, do you want to go first?

[01:16:58] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Well, I'll finish.

[01:16:59] Mayor Pat Showalter: Oh, yeah. I would just like to understand what's happening with the burrowing owls. It would be nice to get a report to counsel about that. When staff has time. And now, Margaret Apicoca.

[01:17:18] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Thank you Mayor. Thank you, Mary. I just wanted to report that in a couple a few, uh, events. meetings I've been to. There was talk about with the California street project, um, complete streets, and I actually was able to, um, provide some welcoming report, remarks at a MTC complete Green Street's workshop. So that came up as well. So combining sustainability, initiatives with complete streets. And I saw our staff there in full force. So I was very excited to see them there. I know many of us attended the Mountain View Fire Departments badge pinning. It's always great to see folks promoting and new folks welcoming new folks in. And I know it's been a few years, so they had a catch up to do, but it was a great ceremony. Um, and then, uh, Actually, I thought the mayor would mention the Quest of Park Tennis Festival, but there was Arthur Ashday, and it was actually my 1st time to attend in my 16 years, but the mayor gave us great, um, remarks about, uh, her experience with Arthur Ash, and she could probably share, share, share it, but it was very uh, inspiring, and um, I think uh, enlightening for the folks who were there. So thank you for sharing, sharing your story. As mentioned by the mayor, I think most of us were at the opening day of fully electrified Caltrain service, and thank you to our staff for helping to put together the naming ceremony for the congresswoman, I guess it's the Anna Eshu train, as my daughters call it, the Eshu Choo Choo. But she was really delighted to have that, and it was great for us to be able to present a plaque on behalf of Mountain View, thanking her for her 32 years of service. And tomorrow, actually, at my empty C meeting. We have an item. It's our Rangstorff grade separation project. There's a request for $36000000 of there's 2024 state funding opportunities coming up. And so, um, MTC is recommending our project for $36 million. So I will let you know what happens to that. Thank you.

[01:19:58] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you. And yes, just to share my story, many of you know, I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, which is the capital of the Confederacy. And, um, really, my earliest political activity was associated with integrating the public schools. We went to white schools, and there were black schools. And when I was in high school, it was possible for black kids to sign up to go to our school. And the first few years, just a few kids were brave enough to do that, but as time went on, we had a wonderful group of Black students who joined us. But Arthur Ash was a continual inspiration in the civil rights movement in Richmond, in the '60s and '70s. He was you know, a local hero. I mean, they literally put a statue of him on Monument Avenue, the only statue that was not a Confederate general. And when author Ash would come to school, to Richmond, back from his time on the tennis circuit. He would always hold classes for Richmond kids. And it didn't matter whether you were a black kid or a white kid. You know, you could go have a tennis lesson with Arthur Ash. And, um... It was wonderful. Okay, so, I think, do we close session? Do we have a closed session report?

[01:21:28] City Attorney Jennifer Logue: There is no close session report for this evening. Thank you, Mayor.

[01:21:31] Mayor Pat Showalter: Thank you. And with that, I think it brings us to adjournment, and it is 757. Thank you so much for everyone for coming.

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