[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[6:25] She's on the Zoom.
[6:30] So, reconvening for the special meeting. Do I have a motion to adjourn that meeting?
[6:35] Some moved. Sorry. And can we get a roll call, please? Council Member Maloney. Yes, Vice Mayor Pearson.
[6:44] I'm here present, be exempt, and I'm on a medical exemption. And are you voting yes to adjourn the meeting?
[6:53] from close session. Council Member Mendoza.
[6:57] Yes. Council Member Orlemans. Yes. Mayor Mayer.
[7:01] Yes, there's nothing to report and we are adjourned from this special meeting.
[7:06] Moving into our regular city council meeting, we have a quorum if so we can begin and can I have a roll call please.
[7:13] Council Member Maloney. President. Vice Mayor Pearson.
[7:16] President, I'm here in a room and I'm here on a medical attention.
[7:22] Councilmember Mendoza.
[7:26] Councilmember Orlemens.
[7:28] Here. Mayor Mayer.
[7:30] Here, please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.
[7:35] I pledge allegiance to the Black, the United States of America, and to the Republic for which
[7:42] it stands. One Nation, under God, individual,
[7:46] Well, we'll leave it easy, just as far.
[7:54] Moving into public comments.
[7:56] The time for tonight's meeting is three minutes each
[7:58] in order to ensure that all speakers feel welcome
[8:00] to share their views.
[8:02] Members of the audience are kindly requested
[8:03] to refrain from applauding or speaking to the council
[8:06] from the audience without being called upon first.
[8:08] And this is public comments for items not on the agenda.
[8:12] Thank you.
[8:14] At this time, the public is permitted
[8:16] to address the city council on items
[8:17] that are not on the agenda,
[8:18] items that are listed under informational reports
[8:20] or on the consent calendar, requests for future agenda items, new requests, comments for the
[8:25] meetings detailed agenda items or business items should be made. When those items are
[8:29] called, please limit your remarks to three minutes. Your microphone will be muted when the
[8:33] timer expires. The first speaker I have is Terry.
[8:46] Good evening, Mayor, members of the City Council
[8:48] and community partners. My name is Terry Hunter and I'm the proud representative of Celebration
[8:53] Center, a nonprofit faith-based school serving toddlers through fifth grade.
[8:59] We are located off the bypass on Jeffery Way.
[9:02] We started a preschool almost 26 years ago.
[9:06] 12 years ago, we began offering after-school care to meet the needs of the community.
[9:11] We are currently picking up five local elementary public school kids as schools every day.
[9:17] Three years ago, at the request of our families, we began offering elementary grades as well.
[9:23] We employ about 40 staff.
[9:26] Celebration Center is dedicated to serving and educating students with excellence.
[9:31] In fact, we are an accredited early education school focused on play-based education.
[9:38] We believe in partnering with parents and the education of their children.
[9:42] We believe strong schools and strong businesses go hand in hand in building the thriving city.
[9:48] over the past 26 years we've served approximately 7,000 students.
[9:53] In fact, some of our previous students are now parents bringing their children.
[9:58] We are here tonight because it's been a while since we've attended a city council meeting
[10:02] and we want us to reintroduce ourselves.
[10:04] Thank you for your leadership and your commitment to the city's future.
[10:08] We are hopeful the city council will continue to make it easier for private schools to grow.
[10:13] So we would love to invite all the city council to our, we have a great event this week.
[10:18] It's a Grandparent stay celebration.
[10:20] This Thursday from 1015 to 1115.
[10:23] We will have hay rides, pumpkin pie, and fall activities.
[10:27] We look forward to seeing you.
[10:29] Thank you.
[10:32] Next speaker is Danny.
[10:39] Good evening.
[10:40] I'm going to be free styling tonight because most of my comments are going to be on H.
[10:49] I mentioned
[10:49] is one other time about the real world and the world of social media.
[11:00] Over the past two weeks,
[11:03] there has been commentary on certain actions taken here at the last council meeting.
[11:13] From what I read,
[11:18] honestly, it would be borderline harassment to me. And I know a thing or two about
[11:24] harassment. I know where the line is. Some people don't. I have had conversations
[11:35] and made assertions online. Now at least for me the difference is I'm willing
[11:43] to come here and do it in person. I'll do it to your face. But these keyboard
[11:49] cowards.
[11:53] That's all they are. Cowards. Doesn't mean you shouldn't take them
[11:57] seriously.
[12:00] There we've seen way too many stories of Bravado and then all of a
[12:05] sudden we have an open shooter. It can happen here. That being said, for those who
[12:16] want to spit their bile on decisions that are made here or people who are
[12:25] hired anything along those lines with all due respect, man up and come down here.
[12:39] Otherwise,
[12:43] don't intimidate or harass when people are just trying to do their job.
[12:54] If you are using
[12:56] veiled language or dog whistles, just be straight up and honest about it.
[13:04] For example,
[13:09] a man who isn't
[13:10] demonstrated anything, but
[13:13] positiveness
[13:15] and has yet to
[13:18] start day one here
[13:23] has,
[13:27] I'll just say it the way it is,
[13:29] a lot of people don't like certain
[13:31] men because they are black
[13:34] and they're from Oakland.
[13:37] At least be a man
[13:38] and say it here.
[13:40] Thank you.
[13:44] At this time, members participating remotely
[13:47] are able to speak
[13:48] due to the Vice-Fair's participation online.
[13:51] So if you'd like to make a public comment, be a Zoom,
[13:53] please raise your hand now.
[14:03] Albert, go ahead.
[14:15] And I reiterate comments are limited to items
[14:18] that are not on the agenda.
[14:20] Items listed on informational reports, consent calendar
[14:23] or future agenda item requests.
[14:27] Then I kind of go ahead.
[14:34] Good evening, everyone.
[14:35] Can you hear me?
[14:37] Yes, we can.
[14:39] I'm here to speak on the vote today
[14:41] on, uh, city. I'm going to show you the hell, Duffy.
[14:45] Blit in the city council. Excuse me, that item, that item will be heard at a later
[14:49] time. Right now, we're on items that are not listed on the agenda. Okay, copy that. Thank
[14:55] you.
[14:58] The next speaker is Albert.
[15:07] And he's lowered his hand. I have no additional speaker cards on zoom, but I do have one.
[15:18] Joey?
[15:25] It's a consent calendar item, I believe?
[15:35] Yes, please.
[15:40] Hi, I'm Joey Ogo, and I'm with the exceptional. And I just want to say that we appreciate working with the city very much. And we want to invite all of you to come and check out our dances coming up.
[15:59] This Saturday, it's at the senior center, yeah, and we just want to let you know how much
[16:06] we appreciate working with you.
[16:08] That was it.
[16:10] Thank you.
[16:11] Thank you.
[16:13] I have no additional speakers at this time.
[16:18] Thank you, moving into informationals.
[16:21] This portion of the agenda is to provide an opportunity for council members to report on
[16:25] attendance at events, subcommittee meetings, and entities upon which this council member
[16:29] has been appointed as a liaison, and for staff to provide brief updates and or information
[16:34] to the City Council, we will start to my left with Council Member Orleman's.
[16:39] Thank you.
[16:40] Good evening.
[16:41] Welcome, everyone.
[16:43] Since the last Council meeting on October 14th, I attended the Tri-Delts Transit Board of
[16:49] Directors meeting, Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting for Scholar's Academy, just over
[16:56] on Sunset, amazing of little after school program, little nothing, it's a huge after school
[17:02] program with indoor basketball, study sessions for the kids, study rooms, places for them
[17:10] to go after school. It was a great, great event and it looks like an awesome place. Attended
[17:19] of the farmers market and makers of Boulevard, the press conference at the senior center,
[17:27] the swearing in of two new police officers at the Brentwood Police Department.
[17:33] I met with Sarah from planning with a couple of residents that had questions about an
[17:40] upcoming event and they asked me to tag along to see if I could help them figure out what
[17:46] was going on or the answers. And then the closed session this evening. And that's it.
[17:56] I did leave the state for about a week. So I had a grand daughter's birthday party down
[18:02] in Texas. So that was it.
[18:07] Council member Lenny. Good evening, everyone. Since our last meeting,
[18:12] I visited some of our businesses at the San Creek Crossing and the streets of Brentwood.
[18:16] I also attended the 10th Anniversary Celebration event for Bynangrain.
[18:21] Again, congratulations to Alice and Anthony Roost and your entire amazing team and what you do in our community.
[18:27] During our last council meeting, we also had a proclamation for Italian Heritage Month.
[18:31] I invited LaConda Capri to accept the proclamation, but they had a schedule in conflict.
[18:36] So instead, we scheduled a meeting last Friday where Mayor Meyer and I presented them with a proclamation.
[18:41] Thank you for everything that you do as well in our downtown and our community.
[18:45] And I was able to make it to Harvest Fest at the Streets of Brentwood.
[18:49] Thank you, Senator Kyle, for what you bring to our community as well.
[18:51] The event was adorable, it brought so many members of our community out to see everything
[18:57] that they had there.
[18:59] Also, Brentwood PD is hosting their Drive Through a Trick or Treat event tomorrow.
[19:04] So we would love to see everybody there, please drive through.
[19:08] I also spoke with several residents from the Alder Creek Highland neighborhood.
[19:12] Unfortunately, the vagrant activities continue.
[19:16] I've been receiving several of their videos
[19:18] and some of the social nuisances that are happening.
[19:21] So the social nuisance ordinance update
[19:24] will be coming back to us next council meeting.
[19:26] So if you're all listening, please come stop by
[19:29] and tell us your frustrations and everything that's going on.
[19:33] For all of our commuters, roadway improvements on Vasco
[19:37] are gonna be taken place from October 27th to November 14th.
[19:40] please follow the Contracosta County Public Works pages
[19:43] to stay up to date.
[19:45] And as far as the last update I've heard regarding
[19:48] the Empire and Amber, lighted stop sign,
[19:52] it's actually being shipped October 31st.
[19:54] Thank you, Alan, for providing me with that information.
[19:57] As soon as it gets here, we'll give an update
[19:59] on when it will be installed.
[20:01] There are still people running that stop sign.
[20:04] And happy and safe following to everyone.
[20:06] Thank you.
[20:08] Council member Medusa.
[20:09] Hello, since the last time we met, I went to the town hall that we had at the senior
[20:14] center, attended also the streets of Brentwood Harvest Festival, attended an immigration
[20:20] forum last night with Assemblywoman Avila Ferrius, and that is it.
[20:27] Please, Mayor Pearson.
[20:32] Sorry about that.
[20:34] Well I was unable to attend the last city council meeting, although I did watch it.
[20:40] Um, since our last my last city council meeting, I attended the League of Conference, California
[20:47] City's conference and went to several meetings and events, um, the Green Empowerment is
[20:53] on meeting attended the power board meeting.
[20:55] I watched the press conference, um, attended the closed session, and I watched a single member
[21:01] of Ela Ferris's amazing immigration town hall, um, and I have been out, um, for medical, I'll
[21:09] be out for a while, and even though he has been a pain in my side, I want to say happy
[21:13] birthday to Danny Dormey.
[21:20] Thank you for that. Are you done?
[21:24] Okay. Since our last meeting, I attended the Transplant East County specific transportation
[21:30] meeting. I joined the Brentwood Lions to Distribute Mental Health Materials to the Leo's Club at
[21:36] Heritage High School. I listened to a presentation of Congressman Mark de Sonier regarding HR1 and
[21:41] Prop 50, attended the press conference and community meeting at the senior center, a
[21:47] tri-delta transit board meeting, an event with East County mayors to meet with
[21:52] optometrists in the four East County cities to plan a free vision click clinic for
[21:58] our residents with the Lions Foundation Foundation, attended the League of California
[22:03] cities, Latino Caucus, Ison, California, legal legislative and community response
[22:11] I attended a U.S. Conference of Mayors Water Council meeting in Livermore.
[22:16] There were mayors from across the country and Water Board members, a lot of discussion
[22:22] around PFAS.
[22:24] So I learned a lot there.
[22:25] I did mention our resident expert on that.
[22:30] I joined Council Member Maloney and members of DBC and the Chamber to present a proclamation
[22:35] to LaConda and recognition of Italian-American heritage month and the streets of Brentwood
[22:43] Harvest Fest and Darren, do you have any updates for us?
[22:48] I do, thank you, Mayor.
[22:49] First, I wanted to recognize I attended Scholar's Academy's new opening.
[22:54] The reason I mentioned this one is staff worked for Scholar's Academy was located on Balfour.
[23:00] Economic development staff worked with them for three years to find a new location.
[23:04] They have a new location out off a sunset, and they've expanded a lot of the services
[23:10] that they're providing to the community, so congratulate them for their opening.
[23:14] I had jury duty for a couple days, unfortunately they did not pick me.
[23:19] That is one thing that I want to do, but unfortunately in a criminal case being as a city manager,
[23:24] I was asked to, I was graciously thanked for my service.
[23:30] Next is, I'd like to thank Public Works staff.
[23:33] We had two illegal donation, clothing donation bins that were placed on city property,
[23:38] and within hours of calling, Public Works had removed those, so thank you, KC, to your
[23:43] staff.
[23:45] When I attended a meeting with animal services, the city council has talked about animal services
[23:48] in the past, and changes they'd like to see as relates to rules, regulations, and ordinances
[23:53] that they follow.
[23:54] So, I brought that to their attention and also learned a little bit about their proposed
[23:59] budget for the coming year.
[24:02] Next, I want to go to my thank you.
[24:04] So, I had an opportunity to participate in our all dispatchers meeting.
[24:10] The city started a dispatch center not too many years ago and it provides amazing services
[24:15] to our community.
[24:17] They're a small but very strong group.
[24:19] We have ten positions that are open, not all are filled.
[24:23] They work 12 hours shifts, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
[24:28] So when someone is out sick, when someone's having a child, when someone wants to do their family,
[24:33] when they pick up overtime, they're working 16 hours shifts, right?
[24:38] They're helping out their co-workers for another 4 hours or they're picking up a shift back to back to back.
[24:44] And I want to thank them.
[24:46] I think anyone who's ever called and talked with our dispatch knows all that they have to do.
[24:51] they treat us with kindness and compassion as there are, they're also kind of guardian angels
[24:57] of our police officers that are out there on the street. So I want to thank all of our dispatchers
[25:01] for all that they do for us. And then finally, there will be a few changes. The next city council
[25:07] meeting up here. So I want to first thank Teresa, who's been our acting human resources director,
[25:13] and it's just an absolute amazing job. So Teresa, thank you for leading the team with human resources.
[25:19] services. And then I'd like to thank Sikari. She has served as our interim city manager
[25:26] for the past, I'll call it the Feb and Month. What did I say? Sorry. Interim Assistant City
[25:33] Manager, thank you Sikari. But Theresa and Sikari have just done an amazing job and appreciate
[25:39] all that they've done in those roles and sort of wanted to express my appreciation to both
[25:44] then publicly so thank you. And I think any comments from council will come
[25:49] later on that. Okay moving into consent calendar the proclamation for item E3 will be presented
[25:57] after the vote. Can I pull F10? Please. Very definitely yes.
[26:06] Do you have questions you would like
[26:07] to ask about that? Yes. Do you want me to ask now? Yes. So for item F10 I was just kind of curious
[26:16] where the increase in $10,000 previously, we have given $25,000 multiple times to this grant.
[26:24] I was just curious about the increase and if we were presented with something new that we're increasing the amount.
[26:32] Thank you for the question. We're going to have a recreation manager, Tien, respond.
[26:37] Tien, can you clarify if it's a grant or how that funding is provided?
[26:42] Sure, so thank you for the question, Council Member Muloney.
[26:46] So just to clarify, yeah, this item is for fee waiver, it's a fee waiver application.
[26:51] As mentioned in the staff report, any non-profit organization is eligible to apply for fee waiver.
[26:57] For this particular case, we've been working with the exceptional for a number of years.
[27:01] Because the application exceeds $5,000, it's brought forth to Council for their review and approval.
[27:07] So it isn't a grant, it is a fee waiver application.
[27:10] and specifically for this case, it's the way rental fees.
[27:13] For your specific question, Council Member Maloney, the increase is for a couple things.
[27:19] First and foremost, we've been working with big social for a couple of years.
[27:25] Roughly $25,000 has been what we've granted them in the past.
[27:28] They've used the majority of that in past years.
[27:30] So this past year, when we worked with them and talked them further,
[27:34] they wanted to actually expand the programs in our office that they had for
[27:37] individual's with disabilities. So that was something that was really attractive to us as we look to expand our adaptive program offerings.
[27:43] I'm a couple other kind of factors that played into that as well as as I mentioned in past years, there were really close to that $25,000.
[27:50] So we didn't want to impact or, or again, to a situation where they weren't able to offer all their programs because they were coming up on that few ever amount.
[27:59] And the last thing that I wanted to note as well as that $25,000 has been pretty consistent with the exceptional since fiscal year 2122.
[28:06] As you all know, we have had increases in CPI that were applied to our rental fees as well.
[28:12] So over the years, as our rental fees have incrementally gone up, we actually haven't
[28:16] changed them out.
[28:17] We were giving them for that fee waiver.
[28:19] So a couple different factors there.
[28:20] Hopefully, that answer your question, Councilmember Meloney.
[28:23] It does.
[28:23] Thank you very much for the thorough answer.
[28:26] Are there other questions?
[28:28] Not for me.
[28:29] I had one.
[28:29] Sorry.
[28:30] You already asked this via email, but I figured I might as well ask this question again.
[28:35] And can you comment on whether this is a competitive situation with any other non-profits
[28:40] doing similar work?
[28:45] No, not exactly, Mayor Meyer, because this isn't kind of a competitive grant.
[28:52] It's literally a few-wave application, any non-profit or any organization that was providing
[28:57] community benefits eligible for that fee-wave application.
[29:00] So it's not a competitive thing in the case of the exceptional if you do offer them that.
[29:06] It doesn't mean there's any less funds or resources available for other organizations, so it's not a it's not a competitive type situation
[29:14] Thank you. That was just for clarification. Do I have a motion to approve consent at this point?
[29:19] I'll make the motion to approve to items in the consent calendar second
[29:23] And it will call vote please. Councilmember Maloney. Yes, Vice Mayor Pearson. Yes
[29:30] Councilmember Mendoza. Yes, Councilmember Orleman's. Yes, Mayor Meyer. Yes, the item moves forward
[29:36] So I'm going to ask if anyone would like to join me at the podium to present Proclamation
[29:42] F3, which is a Veterans Day recognition.
[30:18] So I can see we've got several veterans here with us today. We also have several proclamations available, so hopefully we have enough for everyone who's going to come forward. And now is your time.
[30:41] Why aren't you? Why? Are we ready? Okay, any others, any on staff? Okay, moving forward.
[31:01] Proclamation. Whereas veterans stay as a time to honor and recognize
[31:05] the men and women who have served in the United States Armed Forces, demonstrating extraordinary
[31:09] courage, sacrifice, and dedication in defense of our freedom.
[31:13] And whereas the theme service to our nation reminds us that veterans embody the highest
[31:17] ideals of citizenship, having answered the call to protect and preserve our country's values
[31:22] at home and abroad.
[31:23] And whereas veterans from every generation and background have strengthened our democracy,
[31:28] safeguarded our liberties, and contributed to the safety and security of our communities.
[31:32] And whereas the City of Brentwood acknowledges with gratitude, the families of veterans who support and sacrifice our integral to the strength and resilience of those who serve.
[31:41] And whereas it is fitting that we pause on Veterans Day to express our deepest appreciation, honor their service, and commit ourselves to ensuring that their legacy of bravery and devotion continues to inspire future generations.
[31:53] Now, therefore, I had to catch it up somewhere.
[31:58] Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the City Council of the City of Brentwood does
[32:02] hereby recognize November 11th, 2025 as Veterans Day, and encourages all residents to join in
[32:09] recognizing and honoring the courageous men and women who have given their service to our
[32:13] nation.
[32:14] Dated this 28th day of October 2025,
[32:33] and which of you would like to speak?
[32:36] I said which.
[32:37] I didn't say which one.
[32:38] So
[32:47] I'd like to say good evening and thank you all for coming out tonight, not because
[32:52] I know that you're here to show appreciation under this proclamation, but because when
[32:59] we sign up to serve the country, it is to ensure that the Declaration of Independence and
[33:06] the subsequent documents that govern this country stand firm against tyranny and the forces
[33:13] of evil around the world. So tonight my thanks to you is for making our sacrifice worthwhile.
[33:20] By coming here, exercising your civic duty, your civic right, and being heard through regress
[33:28] and in holding your local politicians accountable. But more so for just showing that you have the civic
[33:38] to come out and be a part of the process.
[33:42] There are 80-something thousand in this East County area.
[33:46] What do we got in Brentwood, 65-ish.
[33:50] And we've got 40 here tonight.
[33:52] So you are what we do this for.
[33:55] And thank you to those who are online who can't make it in
[33:58] and who are here in absentia.
[34:02] So thank you very much.
[34:06] Anyone else?
[34:12] You don't
[34:17] have to, what if you would like to speak?
[34:26] On behalf of City Council, we would like to just really express our appreciation and
[34:31] our gratitude for what you have all done to serve for our country and it means a lot
[34:36] that you come to our meetings and you speak your truth when you come and you let us have
[34:40] it if you need to let us have it because it's absolutely your right and you all fought for
[34:44] it.
[34:44] So thank you, thank you for coming over and over again for showing up and for just the
[34:50] wonderful presence that you have in Brentwood and your events and your honors and your all
[34:56] of everything that you do. We appreciate you. Thank you for that. And we have actually
[35:00] a certificate for each of you.
[35:46] Make sure you guys give me a shot.
[35:53] I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
[37:22] Moving into public hearings and item G1, Ken Murphy, Chief Building Official will present
[37:28] an ordinance amending title 15 Building and Construction.
[37:33] Good evening, Mayor and City Council.
[37:35] Council, that's actually going to be me, sorry, substitute for Ken, but here I am, good evening.
[37:42] This is our routine adoption of the California Building Standards Code that we undertake every three years in order to be up to date with the state's latest building regulations and contra costifiers regulations.
[37:57] The process tonight amends Title 15, chapters 1504 and 1506, and
[38:05] adds local amendments that were allowed to make as long as we adopt our building code prior to January 1st,
[38:11] which is a timely adoption of that code of council should adopt it tonight.
[38:16] That said, it's fairly straightforward, but Ken and I are here to answer any questions that you may have.
[38:21] Thank you.
[38:23] Do we have any clarifying questions for staff?
[38:26] Okay. Somebody spoke.
[38:30] Did you have a question right behind your head.
[38:34] I did have two questions. I wanted to know what the implication of this will be the implications of AB 306 will be to this amendment.
[38:43] AB 306 as you all know was by Schultz and Speaker Revis on building regulations and so I just wanted to find out the implications. The other question is will these amendments be filed with the California Building Standards Commission?
[39:09] So, yeah, AB 306, which got signed in as AB 130 or a part of AB 130, it doesn't affect
[39:20] this because it's about things that happened after October of this year.
[39:25] So, the, and what it mostly affects is residential construction.
[39:30] So all of the codes that we're adopting now, there's no changes to it.
[39:33] This code cycle adoption happened just like every other code cycle adoption.
[39:38] And the amendments that we have made locally have been filed with the Bill of Standards Commission.
[39:42] So they will be able to continue forward because anything that wasn't on file before October 31st,
[39:48] I believe, of this year couldn't go forward with respect to residential construction.
[39:53] But because hours are on file, they can continue like normal.
[39:57] So, AB 130 doesn't affect us in this instance, or AB 360.
[40:04] And I was just figuring out what you can't up there too.
[40:07] Thanks.
[40:08] Appreciate it.
[40:08] Thank you.
[40:11] Thank you.
[40:12] Can any other questions?
[40:14] Okay.
[40:15] Moving into the public caring.
[40:19] Do we have any speakers?
[40:21] At this time, the public is permitted to address a city council on this agenda item.
[40:24] If you're participating via Zoom, please raise your hand to speak.
[40:27] if you're in person, please file a speaker card. Your microphone will be muted if you speak on
[40:30] items that do not pertain to this agenda item or after the timer has expired. I do not have
[40:35] any speaker cards in person or hands raised at this time. Thank you. We need a motion to close
[40:42] the public hearing.
[40:45] I think everybody said that. Which one of you wants to second? Do we?
[40:53] and use the second.
[40:55] I will second.
[40:56] Thank you.
[40:57] Okay. Can we have a roll call though, please?
[40:59] Council Member Maloney.
[41:00] Yes.
[41:01] Vice Mayor Pearson.
[41:02] Yes.
[41:03] Council Member Mendoza.
[41:04] Yes.
[41:05] Council Member Orleman.
[41:06] Yes.
[41:09] And if we could have Vice Mayor Clarify,
[41:12] if there's any other members with me, thank you.
[41:14] Thank you, Mayor Meyer.
[41:15] Yes.
[41:16] Any council discussion?
[41:18] Thank you, Amanda.
[41:20] Okay. Do we have a motion?
[41:21] I'll make the motion.
[41:23] As set forth in the staff report, I move to wave the first reading and
[41:26] introduced an ordinance adopting reference portions of the 2025 edition of the California Code of Regulations.
[41:32] Title 24 with local amendments.
[41:37] Second.
[41:38] And Amanda, would you like to read the ordinance?
[41:40] I would love to.
[41:41] An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Brentwood adopting by reference portions of the 2025 edition of the California Code of Regulations Title 24, California Building Standards Code with local amendments.
[41:51] amendments amending chapter 15.04 and amending and adding to chapter 15.06 of the
[41:58] Brentwood Municipal Code and making required findings of local,
[42:01] thematic, geological and topographical conditions and for a role-called vote,
[42:09] Council Member Maloney. Yes, Vice Mayor Pearson. Yes, no one is present in a
[42:14] member. Council Member Mendoza. Yes, Council Member Orlandon. Yes. Mayor Meyer. Yes,
[42:20] in the guidance passes. Thank you. Moving on to G2, Michelle Inglis,
[42:25] Management Analyst 2 will present the fiscal year 2025-2026 cost allocation plan
[42:31] and schedule of city fees.
[43:21] Good evening Honourable Mayor and City Council members.
[43:25] Tonight we are presenting the fiscal year 2025-26 cost allocation plan and schedule of city fees
[43:31] referred to as the cap. Please note the fiscal year 2024-25 cap was not presented to the
[43:38] City Council, as employee salary and benefit data were unavailable, pending the conclusion
[43:44] of the ongoing labor negotiation.
[43:53] The document is structured into two primary sections, hourly rates by classification and
[43:58] fees.
[43:59] The hourly rates are developed using the city's adopted pay schedule and operating budget.
[44:06] From there we calculate both a departmental overhead and citywide overhead, factor based
[44:12] on budgeted costs.
[44:13] These overhead rates are then applied to each job classification listed in the cost allocation plan.
[44:21] This process results in what is referred to as a fully loaded hourly rate,
[44:25] which is a comprehensive figure that reflects the total cost of service delivery for each classification,
[44:31] inclusive of salary, benefits, and overhead.
[44:40] Now turning to the fees section of the document.
[44:42] This portion outlines all fees that have been previously approved by the City Council,
[44:46] along with those collected by the city, but governed by external agencies.
[44:54] To ensure fees remain aligned with inflation, most are adjusted annually on July 1.
[45:00] Using one of three indices, the Consumer Price Index, CPI, engineering news record, E&R, or the Employment Cost Index, ECI. For fiscal year 2025-26, CPI increased by 1.56%, E&R decreased by 0.6%, and ECI rose by 4.3%.
[45:27] Because ENR declined, fees tied to that index remained unchanged for this fiscal year.
[45:34] There are also fees that are regulated by other agencies or legal requirements.
[45:39] These fees may be adjusted by different percentages or take effect at various points throughout
[45:44] the year.
[45:45] The method of adjustment for each of these fees is outlined in the fee schedule included
[45:50] in the document.
[45:50] Additionally, certain fees such as those for water, waste water, and solid waste are governed
[45:57] by separate studies approved by the City Council.
[46:01] And finally, although the fiscal year 2024-25 cost allocation plan was not presented to
[46:07] the City Council due to ongoing labor negotiations, the fees were still updated using the applicable
[46:13] indices or approved methodologies.
[46:16] For that year, CPI increased by 3.96%, E&R remained flat with no change, and ECI was not yet in use, so it had no impact on the fiscal year 2024-25 fee adjustments.
[46:31] In
[46:37] April 2025, the Contracosta County Office of the Sheriff transferred the responsibility
[46:43] for issuing carried concealed weapon CCW permits to local police departments.
[46:50] This change was based on the applicant's city of residents.
[46:54] As a result, the Brentwood Police Department is now responsible for processing CCW applications
[47:00] for Brentwood residents.
[47:03] To support the administrative costs associated with reviewing and issuing these permits, the
[47:09] city is enacting CCW permit fees.
[47:12] These proposed fees are outlined on the slide and are designed to reflect the reasonable
[47:17] costs of providing this service.
[47:25] In addition, the police department performed a review of their fees and are recommending
[47:29] a reduction to two specific fees.
[47:32] This adjustment is being proposed to ensure that the fees remain reasonable and accurately
[47:37] reflect the actual cost of providing the associated services.
[47:47] The adoption of the fiscal year 2025-26 cost allocation plan and schedule of city fees
[47:53] is being recommended to ensure the city continues to recover the reasonable costs associated
[47:59] with the services we provide.
[48:02] All of the fees included in this publication except for the four newly proposed fees by the
[48:07] police department have been previously approved by the City Council. The new fees have been thoughtfully
[48:13] developed to support fair cost recovery and to remain in compliance with state law. In addition,
[48:19] as mentioned earlier, this year's publication includes adjustment to two existing fees to better
[48:25] reflect the actual cost of service delivery.
[48:33] In closing, I would like to express appreciation
[48:35] to the City Council for their guidance and to staff from all city departments for their
[48:41] contributions to the development and publication of this document. Each department is responsible
[48:46] for its respective fees and staff from every department are available to address any questions
[48:52] you may have regarding their specific fee structure. Thank you.
[48:57] Thank you, Michelle. Do we have any clarifying questions for Michelle?
[49:03] Okay, moving into public hearing.
[49:11] At this time, the public is permitted to address the city council on this agenda item.
[49:15] If you're participating via Zoom, please raise your hand to speak.
[49:18] If you're in person, please file a speaker card with the city clerk.
[49:21] I have no speaker cards in person or hands raised in Zoom.
[49:27] Thank you, Amanda. We need a motion to close the public hearing.
[49:30] No moved.
[49:32] I'll second.
[49:34] And roll call vote.
[49:36] Council Member Maloney.
[49:37] Yes.
[49:38] Vice Mayor Pearson.
[49:39] Yes.
[49:41] Council Member Mendoza.
[49:42] Yes.
[49:43] Council Member Orlemans.
[49:44] Yes.
[49:44] Mayor Mayer.
[49:45] Yes.
[49:46] And any council discussion on the item?
[49:50] I just want to say thank you because I don't think people realize that without that our city
[49:55] doesn't stay in the black and we continue to offer services because of all the hard work.
[49:58] you all do. Staff does. It takes a lot of work to gather all these numbers. So thank you
[50:03] and your team. And I have a thank you I forgot about. I'm going to slip it in if it's okay with
[50:06] the mirror. Harith, I'd love that playground. We've been asking for theme playgrounds again,
[50:13] again, and I loved it. And I just forgot to say that when we did consent. So thank you so much to
[50:18] you and your team for that design.
[50:21] Any other comments? Okay. Do we have a move?
[50:25] So I just want to make one other one.
[50:27] Yes.
[50:27] I want to thank Michelle.
[50:28] This is her first time presenting to City Council,
[50:30] although been an employee since early 2000s.
[50:33] But it's a great example of someone who started
[50:35] with the city has moved in multiple departments
[50:37] and is now a management analyst in the finance department.
[50:40] We have amazing staff as you described.
[50:42] Councillor Mendoza, but Michelle, great job.
[50:44] Thank you.
[50:46] Thank you so much.
[50:47] We weren't too scary, were we?
[50:50] Thank you very much again.
[50:52] Do we have a motion?
[50:55] I move to adopt a resolution adopting the 2526 Cost Allocation Plan and Schedule City fees.
[51:01] That's second and we'll call vote.
[51:04] Council Member Maloney? Yes.
[51:06] Vice Mayor Pearson?
[51:08] Yes.
[51:08] Council Member Mendoza? Yes.
[51:11] Council Member Orlovans? Yes.
[51:12] Mayor Mayer.
[51:13] Yes. And the item is forward. Thank you, everyone.
[51:17] Item G3.
[51:19] Herrith and Leme Director of Prex and Recreation will present the next item regarding the formation
[51:23] of a landscape and lighting assessment district, number 25-1.
[51:29] Good evening Honorable Mayor and City Council members.
[51:32] In accordance with the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972, and Proposition 218,
[51:38] this item represents the final step in forming landscape and lighting assessment district,
[51:43] number 25-1, the Meadows.
[51:45] Upon formation, the city will be authorized to leave the annual assessments on 140 single family residential properties
[51:53] within the metals development located along Marsh Creek Road west of Highway 4.
[51:58] These assessments will fund the ongoing operation and maintenance of city street lights,
[52:03] parks, trails, landscaped areas such as the project's frontage along Marsh Creek Road.
[52:09] On September 23rd, 2025, City Council adopted resolution 25-100 initiating the formation
[52:18] of the district and preliminary approving the Engineers Report.
[52:22] The proposed maximum assessment rate is $849.62 per single family parcel, therefore estimated maximum annual revenue that can be generated is $118,947.
[52:37] These figures are in fiscal year $25, $26. The maximum assessment rate will be increased each subsequent year by the annual change in the consumer price index.
[52:51] The formation of the new district requires property owner approval, and notice and ballot was mailed to the effective property owner as required by proposition 218.
[53:03] The ballot can be opened and tabulated by the city clerk after the close of the public import portion of the public hearing this evening.
[53:09] If the property owner's ballot is favorable, city staff recommends council adopt the resolution which will give your approval of the final engineers report and confirm the formation of the landscape.
[53:21] and lighting assessment district number 25-1, the Meadows, myself as well as Ed Mendoza.
[53:28] Ed Espinosa of Frank Francisco and Associates are here available for any questions.
[53:33] Thank you.
[53:34] Thank you, Ruth.
[53:35] Do we have any clarifying questions for Seth?
[53:41] Okay, moving into the public hearing.
[53:44] At this time, the public is permitted to address a council and this agenda item.
[53:48] If you're participating in the Zoom, please raise your hand.
[53:50] If you're in person, please file a speaker card.
[53:52] Your microphone will be muted if you speak on items that do not pertain to this agenda item.
[53:56] I have no speaker card request in person and I have no hands raised in Zoom.
[54:03] Thank you.
[54:04] The election in this matter is here by call.
[54:06] Are there any additional ballots to be submitted?
[54:14] I show none.
[54:15] Okay.
[54:16] And if no speakers, we need a motion to close the public hearing.
[54:20] I move to close public hearing.
[54:22] I'll second.
[54:23] And we'll call vote please.
[54:24] Council Member Maloney.
[54:25] Yes.
[54:26] Vice Mayor Pearson.
[54:29] Yes. And I'm in a room alone. Sorry about that. Thank you, Council Member Mendoza. Council
[54:36] Member Orlanz. Yes. Mayor Mayer. Yes. And moving into Council discussion.
[54:43] Mayor Mayer, I have some discussion. I just have a question. Okay.
[54:46] Director Leigh Moose, that's your first presentation before let's see, Council.
[54:52] No, my first presentation was at Dolphin Park, I believe.
[54:56] Oh, okay, great. Well, anyway, thank you. It was excellent. Thank you for showing that there is excellence that comes from the city of up and by council member Windows and myself and other people who could be potential candidates and thank you that excellence comes in all colors, shapes and sizes. Thank you.
[55:12] Thank you.
[55:13] And thank you, vice mayor for your comment.
[55:16] We will need, let's see, we need to confirm there is no majority protest to the formation
[55:22] based on the tabulation of return ballots, we did by assessment amount.
[55:30] I believe there's first a vote or a motion and a second in a vote to declare that that's
[55:38] what we're looking for.
[55:39] Okay.
[55:40] So as detailed in the staff report, I move to adopt resolution ordering the formation of
[55:44] the landscape and lighting assessment district number 25-1
[55:47] and taking all implementing actions.
[55:50] Also, we're going to rewind one motion prior to that one.
[55:53] The one prior, the one says I moved to confirm
[55:56] there is no majority protest to the formation
[55:58] based on the tabulation of the return ballots
[56:01] weighted by assessment amount.
[56:03] All second.
[56:04] And we'll call vote please.
[56:05] Council member Maloney.
[56:07] Yes.
[56:07] Vice Mayor Pearson.
[56:09] Yes, and I'm going to move on.
[56:11] Council member Mendoza.
[56:12] Yes.
[56:12] Council member Orlemans.
[56:13] Yes. Mayor Mayer. Yes, thank you. And I would ask that the City Clerk tabulate the ballots and read the results.
[56:35] The ballot reflects 100% in favor.
[56:41] Thank you. Any clarification? We have no discussion. Do we have a motion at this point?
[56:48] As detailed in the staff report, I move to adopt a resolution ordering the formation of landscape and lighting assessment district number.
[56:55] 25-1 and taking all implementing actions.
[56:59] And we'll call it, please.
[57:01] Thank you.
[57:02] Council Member Maloney.
[57:03] Yes.
[57:03] Vice Mayor Pearson.
[57:05] Yes.
[57:05] I'm in a room.
[57:06] Council Member Mendoza.
[57:07] Yes.
[57:08] Council Member Orleman.
[57:09] Yes.
[57:10] Mayor Meyer.
[57:11] Yes.
[57:12] Thank you.
[57:12] The item passes.
[57:13] And before we move into business item H, I've had a request for a very short break.
[57:17] We will take five minutes.
[1:05:59] Thank you. We are returning to our council meeting with item H1. Casey Wichert, Public Works Director will present the next item regarding the Fleet Electrification Project.
[1:06:11] Thank you, please share my screen.
[1:06:18] Meeting mayor and council, staff is bringing this item forward to give you an update on the Fleet Electrification Project and present a construction contract amendment for your consideration.
[1:06:27] This project is the result of a 2020 state order that requires public agencies to convert
[1:06:34] vehicle fleets to zero emission vehicles.
[1:06:37] Staff has been planning for this project for several years and first included it in
[1:06:41] the CIP book in fiscal year 2425.
[1:06:45] In February of this year, Council approved a design build contract with Schneider Electric
[1:06:49] to begin the first phase of work on this project.
[1:06:54] In total, this project will install 18 charging stations and solar panels at the maintenance service
[1:06:59] center on Elkinsway. Staff anticipates ultimately replacing 37 vehicles in the current fleet
[1:07:05] with EVs. Those replacements will happen over time when the existing vehicles cycle out of the
[1:07:11] fleet at the end of their evaluated life cycles. We will not be prematurely replacing any vehicles
[1:07:17] just to convert them to EVs. Staff recently solicited bids for the first several EVs and we'll be
[1:07:23] bringing a contract for those purchases back to council for approval later this year.
[1:07:28] And we expect to take delivery of the first electric vehicles in 2026.
[1:07:34] The funding for this project has been complicated.
[1:07:37] The project was originally identified in 2425 CIP book as a $1.3 million project.
[1:07:43] After identifying the project, staff was able to work with Schneider Electric to identify
[1:07:47] grant funding for the project.
[1:07:50] In order to secure as much grant funding as possible, the scope of the project was increased
[1:07:55] to $4.5 million.
[1:07:58] This summer we were notified the project was approved for 3.2 million in funding from the Bay Area air quality management district.
[1:08:05] In an effort to make the project completely grant funded, staff reduced the project scope and budget from 4.5 million to 3.1 million to stay just under the 3.2 million grant.
[1:08:16] grant. After doing so, staff was notified by Bay Area air quality management district
[1:08:22] that the grant funding award was not for a fixed $3.2 million, but actually a percentage
[1:08:27] of the project. In this case, 65%. The Bay Area Air Board also deemed a small portion
[1:08:33] of the project costs ineligible for the grant funding and notified us that the grant funding
[1:08:38] was being decreased from $3.2 million to $1.9 million.
[1:08:43] This left us with a funding gap of $1.2 million.
[1:08:46] Staff looked at several additional grant opportunities and as identified, some grants
[1:08:51] that will cover most if not all of the $1.2 million shortfall.
[1:08:56] This project is eligible for an inflation reduction tax credit of $460,000 and an EV charging
[1:09:03] infrastructure credit of $100,000.
[1:09:05] These two grants cover about half of the remaining shortfall, leaving roughly $640,000 to
[1:09:11] be covered by city funds. Of the city funds to be used for this project, 200,000 would
[1:09:17] come from the general fund and 440,000 from the various enterprise funds.
[1:09:24] These tables
[1:09:25] are included in the staff report and summarized the previously approved funding amounts and
[1:09:29] the final project funding needs that have changed since Council authorized the work to begin
[1:09:33] in February. Now that we have a design and a firm price for the project, we are able to
[1:09:39] project the fiscal impacts. And as you can see here, of the entire $3.1 million project,
[1:09:44] only 640,000 city funds will be needed with over 2.5 million coming from grants.
[1:09:51] In addition,
[1:09:52] staff is still pursuing other grant funding. We've applied for two additional grants that would
[1:09:56] cover the remaining funding needs for this project. Should these grants be awarded, no city funds
[1:10:01] would need to be expended to complete the project. Staff does not anticipate receiving notification for
[1:10:06] for these grants until early 2026.
[1:10:09] And in order to lock in the 560,000
[1:10:12] in inflation reduction at credits,
[1:10:14] construction on the project needs to begin in December.
[1:10:18] For this reason, staff is presenting this contract amendment
[1:10:20] and funding authorization for your consideration
[1:10:23] with the assumption that 640,000 city funds will be necessary.
[1:10:27] If the additional grants are awarded,
[1:10:29] the city funds will not be needed
[1:10:30] and will be returned to their respective budgets.
[1:10:35] While this is a regulatory mandated project,
[1:10:37] It is a sound financial project for the city, analysis of the projected cost savings from converting the eligible portions of the city's fleet to electric vehicles shows a 30-year savings of over $5 million.
[1:10:48] That savings is derived primarily from fuel savings and long-term maintenance savings on the vehicles themselves.
[1:10:56] As always, there are alternatives to staff's recommendations.
[1:10:59] If Council chooses to not award this contract amendment tonight, the project can be halted with no additional funds being expended.
[1:11:06] In that case, staff would need to explore alternative ways to comply with the regulatory mandate to transition away from gas-powered fleet vehicles.
[1:11:14] Choosing to look at alternative methods of compliant will likely result in the loss of the roughly 2.5 million in grant funding.
[1:11:21] And for that reason, staff's recommendation is to adopt the resolution as detailed in the staff report.
[1:11:26] This concludes my presentation and we have city staff on a representative from Schneider
[1:11:31] Electric available to answer any questions.
[1:11:34] Thank you.
[1:11:35] Do we have clarifying questions for staff?
[1:11:39] I have just one question.
[1:11:41] Thank you very much for the presentation.
[1:11:42] When did the city get the notification that the grant funding is not going to be what we
[1:11:49] anticipated?
[1:11:52] We got that notification later this summer after we had lowered the project scope to be underneath
[1:11:58] the grant amount that we were previously told.
[1:12:02] Thank you.
[1:12:05] So it seems like there was some miscommunication in the grant.
[1:12:09] How did we miss what the grant was going to offer or did the scope of the grant change?
[1:12:14] It's buried on page 15 or 16 of the grant agreement from the Bay Area Air Board.
[1:12:19] The communication that we got from the airport and I went back and verified this this morning
[1:12:22] is very plainly says, we are awarding your project $3.2 million.
[1:12:29] It did not say percentage, it did not say portion, it did not say this will change.
[1:12:33] None of that existed, so whether that's a communication error on their part or
[1:12:37] we just didn't read all the fine print well enough, I'm happy to take that blame, but
[1:12:43] in truth, if we would have left that project higher at $4.5 million to get the $3.2 million grant money,
[1:12:49] We would have had to spend more city funds to make up that difference anyway.
[1:12:54] So in reality, we're spending less city funds this way.
[1:12:57] I guess we can leave it for discussion.
[1:13:00] How many total cars are going to be converted to all electric?
[1:13:05] Of the 219 vehicles currently in our fleet, we anticipate 37 being converted to electric vehicles
[1:13:10] ultimately.
[1:13:11] So we're spending how much total on this project?
[1:13:14] City funds, if we don't.
[1:13:21] $3.1 million for 37 vehicles. When does this technology go obsolete? Because you have to replace
[1:13:28] this every when do you expect having to replace the solar panels? The solar panels aren't
[1:13:35] necessary for the vehicles and we're not spending $3.1 million on vehicles. This money funds the
[1:13:41] infrastructure and the PG&E power to put the charges in place to be able to operate these vehicles.
[1:13:46] If we buy electric vehicles with no way to charge them, they're useless.
[1:13:49] So, this funding doesn't buy any vehicles.
[1:13:50] Okay, maybe I'm not asking questions.
[1:13:52] So, this does not cover the panels.
[1:13:54] This is just the equipment to someday have panels.
[1:13:57] No, it covers the panels and the infrastructure to charge the vehicles.
[1:14:01] So, my question about the panels is at some point they start producing less and less energy.
[1:14:05] What time frame do you think you're going to have to replace these again?
[1:14:09] Maybe Schneider can tell us better, but I think it's a 20 or 30-year period.
[1:14:14] Can you see what percentage of the power would come from the panels versus through PG&E?
[1:14:19] Very small.
[1:14:20] The panels themselves help to offset some of the cost of the power, but the way it works
[1:14:24] is you charge the vehicles at night, and the solar panels generate power during the day
[1:14:28] that feeds back into our grid to offset some of the usage.
[1:14:33] Yeah, hi.
[1:14:35] Do you want me to be here?
[1:14:36] Thank you.
[1:14:36] Okay, everyone, hear me out.
[1:14:37] Okay.
[1:14:38] So to address your question first, solar panels degraded about a half percent per year.
[1:14:43] They're warrantied for 25 years, but the useful life of the system is 30 years.
[1:14:48] And we're buying, we're not leaving?
[1:14:50] Correct. You'll own it, funded primarily through those grant funds.
[1:14:54] I believe there was one other question that I didn't hear as I was walking up, but.
[1:15:00] I'm also asking about the infrastructure, the length of service of that. I think we should maybe leave that to all to discussion, because I think there's going to be a lot of discussion on this. Let's do that in public comment. Then we'll go from there. I do have one more question. Go ahead and did I have a question you're done asking you that question.
[1:15:17] I'm sorry, one more question about the upcoming grant funding in January 2026 once that grant cycle opens up.
[1:15:23] Would any of it be able to reimburse any of the fees that or the money that we're going to spend or is it going to go into maintenance of this project?
[1:15:31] No, you're correct. That money will take the place of any city funds that we would expense.
[1:15:34] So if we were to get both of the grants that we've applied for, there would be zero city dollars spent on this project.
[1:15:39] Perfect. Thank you.
[1:15:41] Actually, I think if I was doing my math correct, the two grants would cover more than
[1:15:45] what we were going to take, so what happened with the access?
[1:15:49] That's a good question.
[1:15:50] I think one of the grants would probably lower their award so that we wouldn't get, we're
[1:15:54] not going to pocket access money for it, they would just cover the cost of the project and
[1:15:57] shut off the grant at that point.
[1:15:58] So there's nothing else it could be used for?
[1:16:01] Nothing that we've identified in a current project.
[1:16:03] Okay.
[1:16:04] I have one more, but Vice Mayor, do you want to go?
[1:16:07] No, go ahead, I'll go up to you.
[1:16:09] Thank you.
[1:16:10] My other question is, why are we including the 5% continued to see what 10% are typical?
[1:16:17] So good question.
[1:16:18] 10% is typically what we use when we anticipate there might be changes on the contract.
[1:16:22] This particular contract is a design build contract with a fixed firm price.
[1:16:27] So the quote that we got from Schneider Electric is a not to exceed amount.
[1:16:30] So any overtures on this project will be to them.
[1:16:33] The reason we add the 5% is if there's something that comes up during the construction of
[1:16:37] this project where we find that there's added value
[1:16:40] for the city to modify the project some way,
[1:16:43] to better fit something else.
[1:16:45] We have some funds available to do that.
[1:16:47] We don't anticipate needing any additional money at all.
[1:16:50] Okay, thank you, Vice Mayor.
[1:16:52] Yeah, I'll have a couple of questions.
[1:16:54] One is, can we even count on the better
[1:16:55] on the PlayStation Reduction Act tax credits
[1:16:58] that was in the staff report?
[1:17:00] If I think about 560,000 right now,
[1:17:04] and then also knowing that we might not be able
[1:17:07] to count on them, so I'll speculate that should the contract include the requirement for Schneider
[1:17:12] Electric to meet off federal inflation reduction acts compliance with proof of documentation.
[1:17:20] We've had a lot, a lot of contract misses.
[1:17:25] So I'll take the first part of that.
[1:17:28] The inflation reduction act tax credits, it's not something you apply for.
[1:17:32] It's just qualified for by the project, so you just submit the paperwork at the end of the
[1:17:36] project and to my knowledge.
[1:17:37] I would say we have five for it.
[1:17:39] I say, can we count on receiving the funds for it?
[1:17:41] To my knowledge, everyone that has put in
[1:17:45] for those tax credits up to this point has been granted.
[1:17:47] What we've heard in the news and what I've talked to
[1:17:50] from other consultants is the large gas related project
[1:17:53] and wind related projects are having trouble meeting
[1:17:55] those tax credits.
[1:17:56] Those are the ones that the federal government's
[1:17:58] trying to pull back on.
[1:17:59] So I don't have any reason to expect this not
[1:18:01] to be available this tax credit.
[1:18:03] Regarding the second part of that is if you would like us
[1:18:05] to renegotiate this contract with Schneider to require that of them, we can certainly go back
[1:18:10] and look at that. We are going to risk losing those credits if we don't begin construction
[1:18:16] on December, so we'll be of a fairly time-sensitive nature.
[1:18:22] Would Schneider Electric like to address that?
[1:18:26] Yeah, so that's a great question. It's absolutely something we could consider, but the way the law
[1:18:31] is currently written is that the project has to essentially begin construction and equipment needs to
[1:18:37] be ordered about 5%, which is called a safe harbor rule before the end of the calendar
[1:18:43] year.
[1:18:44] And, again, as Public Works Director Weikert mentioned, that's why this is being brought
[1:18:48] forth now to ensure that the federal piece of the funding, those obligations are met,
[1:18:54] so that the $560,000 is not missed out upon.
[1:18:58] I do understand absolutely your concern around using city funds towards this project.
[1:19:03] Again, but we've tried to do our best to sharpen our pencil right size the project to maximize the amount of grant funding coming your way.
[1:19:13] And again, we're optimistic that future funds could also replace any city dollars that were spent, as well as we've seen proof and have a very detailed policy team who tracks all those federal incentives
[1:19:25] and have confirmed that the changes in the one big, beautiful tax bill, which is kind
[1:19:32] of making these changes on the federal incentive side, we've confirmed that the requirements
[1:19:37] of starting the project by end of this year would then make the city eligible for that $560,000.
[1:19:45] Vice Mayor, did that answer the question more?
[1:19:50] I danced around it, but I'll go ahead and save everything for discussion.
[1:19:53] Thank you.
[1:19:53] Okay. One final question, Casey. Can you briefly go over the scope of the difference between
[1:19:58] the project initially versus what you've reduced it to?
[1:20:03] Sure. So when we went to start applying for the grants, we said let's make the project
[1:20:08] as big as it would ultimately need to be to service all of the future vehicles that we
[1:20:14] would convert to electric vehicles. That way the project is larger and it will be eligible
[1:20:18] for a eligible for a larger grant.
[1:20:21] That's how we got to the $4.5 million.
[1:20:23] Once we were awarded the $3.2 million grant,
[1:20:26] which we thought was a firm number, not a percentage,
[1:20:29] that's when we said, let's scale the project down
[1:20:31] and not install 37 chargers and 200 solar panels,
[1:20:35] but let's solve enough solar panels
[1:20:36] and enough chargers to do roughly 10 years
[1:20:39] worth of vehicle conversions.
[1:20:40] So the 18 charges that we would put in now,
[1:20:42] we anticipate we'll get us through about 10 years
[1:20:44] of vehicle conversions.
[1:20:46] Okay. Anything else before, thank you, before we move into public comment?
[1:20:50] If I may, just to say, I'd like to also just take responsibility on the miss between the dollar, exact dollar amount and the percentage as your project manager and partner,
[1:20:58] that should have been something that I caught and was a little bit more communicative on.
[1:21:02] So just want to say Schneider accepts that responsibility as well, sorry for the inconvenience there and miss setting of expectations.
[1:21:10] Thank you for that.
[1:21:11] Yeah.
[1:21:11] Moving into public comments.
[1:21:14] At this time, the public is permitted to address the City Council on this agenda item.
[1:21:17] If you're participating, please raise your hand.
[1:21:19] If you're in person, please file a speaker card.
[1:21:21] Your microphone will be muted if you speak on items that do not pertain to this agenda item.
[1:21:25] I do have one comment in person, Danny.
[1:21:33] Okay, well,
[1:21:37] for the record, Madam Vice Mayor, if I didn't like you, I wouldn't be a pain.
[1:21:44] Now, I wasn't expecting to speak upon this.
[1:21:48] So it's going to sound disjointed.
[1:21:53] I'm trying to understand the disconnect spending three million in change is it worth
[1:22:02] it for 32, 37 cars because our president has made it clear that he's not an electric
[1:22:09] guy.
[1:22:11] Considering he's willing to let children starve by holding back snap and unless we get this
[1:22:18] money the day after tomorrow, should we trust any assistance from the federal government?
[1:22:28] Because when we start, that's how we wound up losing the $500,000 a few weeks ago.
[1:22:34] We wound up stuck.
[1:22:36] Oh, well, you know, good or what it should have.
[1:22:41] Now is it possible we can lose the tax credits?
[1:22:46] Yeah, I mean, it makes sense if it's by the end of the year, but with the stroke of a pin we can lose those
[1:22:56] credits.
[1:22:59] I would suggest looking at the long game.
[1:23:04] Even if that means we're gonna have to pay a few more dollars in a year, year and a half,
[1:23:11] because right now, honestly, and I'm not trying to be political about it,
[1:23:17] But I'm trying to be realistic about it.
[1:23:19] We are putting a lot of hope in what we expect the government to give us.
[1:23:29] And I think that hope is misplaced.
[1:23:37] And no additional cards in person.
[1:23:39] I do have one hand raised in Zoom.
[1:23:41] A reminder, this is to speak on the item that we're currently on.
[1:23:47] Senator, go ahead.
[1:23:52] I'm sorry, am I able to speak on item H2 yet?
[1:23:57] Not yet.
[1:23:58] Okay, my apologies.
[1:24:00] Thank you.
[1:24:01] I have no additional hands raised.
[1:24:03] Thank you, Amanda.
[1:24:05] Moving into discussion.
[1:24:07] I would like to start.
[1:24:09] I would.
[1:24:12] Okay.
[1:24:13] Okay.
[1:24:13] Go ahead.
[1:24:13] I have a couple of issues with this one is that I think we have had other issues with other
[1:24:22] projects to start construction, change orders, additional unexpected costs and issues with the
[1:24:28] wages. I would really like to see that we have a contract with the requirement for
[1:24:34] Schneider to meet all the iron compliance criteria with documentation. And I think
[1:24:39] I know that if construction does begin by December 31st, 2025 that we can risk losing the eligibility
[1:24:46] but I'd like to be more safe and sorry. And I feel like we always get these dates where it's
[1:24:52] So we are two months before and I don't see why we couldn't have that addition. We have legal staff. We have a company here who should have legal staff to get this done and get this construction started. So I do take issue with that.
[1:25:06] That's my discussion.
[1:25:10] Thank you.
[1:25:11] Go ahead.
[1:25:12] Council Member, I think that some of the same concerns as Vice Mayor Pearson,
[1:25:16] I just, we've had a lot of issues lately with a lot of items, and I don't, we need better checks
[1:25:24] and balances for this department because we can't keep doing this to our residents,
[1:25:31] because it's, again, I see enterprise funds and it's just like, it's more taxing on them.
[1:25:38] I think that we should probably not go into contracts going forward if you don't can't
[1:25:43] guarantee your grants, which is sounds like we're getting contract, we're getting ahead
[1:25:46] of it.
[1:25:48] I'm just like, I'm just flabbergasted at this, and my question, and my other question is,
[1:25:53] so the additional grants, the IRA tax credit and the IRA EV charging, there could be a chance
[1:25:59] we don't get it, so what portion of that would be enterprise and what portion of that would
[1:26:03] be general fund if we don't get it?
[1:26:10] It would be the same split, roughly one-third, general fund, two-thirds enterprise funds.
[1:26:15] I will point out, clarify, the $1.9 million grant is from the Bay Area Air Quality Management
[1:26:20] District. It's not a federal grant. It is state money, and that money has been awarded.
[1:26:24] That's the largest chunk of that. That's two-thirds of this project costs. So, if we choose to slow
[1:26:29] down and revisit the contracts, we'll start it. That's one thing. But the $1.9 million
[1:26:34] that money is already awarded, that is ours. It's been granted.
[1:26:38] Can you re-scope the project smaller or does it have to be this big?
[1:26:44] We can certainly do whatever the council would like us to do.
[1:26:47] We could re-scope it and go smaller.
[1:26:49] That would, I would imagine we would have to re-apply for the grant.
[1:26:54] Maybe I can help with that piece, I don't, it would certainly change things and we would certainly
[1:27:00] not meet the IRA grant requirements at that point.
[1:27:03] So we'd lose that on half a million in funding, potential funding there, but we certainly
[1:27:07] could and whatever we were you scoped a project to to make it smaller the grant from the Bay Area
[1:27:12] Board that we currently have we might not get back and if we did get it back it would certainly be
[1:27:16] lower yeah yeah I wish someone had modeled that out too um and I know it's what the council says
[1:27:22] but we count on you guys to be subject matter experts and right now it just doesn't feel like that
[1:27:28] yeah it feels like we're all flying blind like this was on a contract this didn't happen no one
[1:27:33] read this on a contract and it's just it's a disservice to our residents and it's egg on our
[1:27:40] faces council people. Well I absolutely hear you concerned and I guess let me just clarify
[1:27:44] a couple things so we've done a lot of these projects recently all throughout your neighboring area
[1:27:49] Modesto City Schools a client of mine we've done about $60 million of infrastructure projects for him
[1:27:54] they've just received $5.9 million dollar check from the same exact program so I think we have
[1:28:00] validation that those federal funds are applicable.
[1:28:04] It's under the investment tax credit direct pay option.
[1:28:07] So we feel really good about those dollars coming in.
[1:28:10] I think more broadly, unfortunately, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District,
[1:28:13] they have taken an approach of only awarding a percentage as, again,
[1:28:18] which was a miss on my part, where other air quality districts have funded 100% of the project cost.
[1:28:24] And so we did try actively to work with them to better see if there's a way to meet the middle,
[1:28:28] especially after we refined our project scope and showed a smaller overall project number,
[1:28:34] unfortunately they just weren't budging there. And I guess zooming out more broadly,
[1:28:39] you know, we're faced with mandates, which in a lot of ways I don't think are fair for local
[1:28:43] agencies like you to be pushed down, but that's what the state is doing. And so we have a path forward
[1:28:50] here where we can find a way around these mandates, we can leverage as much grant funding as possible,
[1:28:56] and then have a net savings of over $5 million that actually can go back into your different accounts.
[1:29:03] And that's really my goal at the end of the day to try to help with.
[1:29:08] It's just, I mean, I don't know what to say anymore.
[1:29:10] I'm just disappointed overall and we've got to get better.
[1:29:13] And if this came in late summer, I wish we would have seen an ASAP.
[1:29:17] I've asked for agenda item list all like constantly from our staff.
[1:29:21] I have not gotten them.
[1:29:22] The reason we need to see an agenda item list because if we would have seen this,
[1:29:25] We might have said, hey, can we move this up?
[1:29:27] This looks really important.
[1:29:29] Sure.
[1:29:29] You know, and I know sometimes it's hard to move things up,
[1:29:33] but something like this, which probably should have seen
[1:29:36] it a little bit sooner.
[1:29:38] Yeah, and that's good feedback on our end is we need
[1:29:41] to be checking in on timelines more broadly
[1:29:44] and maybe speeding things up to give enough time
[1:29:48] to digest something like this, which has a very short
[1:29:50] end of the year deadline.
[1:29:51] So I appreciate that feedback.
[1:29:54] And you're always, I appreciate this. I'm sorry, Madam Mayor. I hear the speaker from Schneider.
[1:30:00] We're taking responsibility. I don't, and I'm, I'm never here. If you've looked over my trajectory, I don't really publicly try to shame or and I'm not doing that anyway for city staff. But sir, you don't work for the city of print, but there's has to be some level of responsibility that we got an agreement on a grant. And we didn't even know it was five percentage. And so while I appreciate you accepting responsibility, I don't feel like the fault falls all on you because we are responsible as well.
[1:30:28] So, I just want to acknowledge that.
[1:30:32] Thank you, Ms. Mayor, Council Member Orleman,
[1:30:34] so you had a statement.
[1:30:36] Yeah, I'm just trying to clarify,
[1:30:39] when we very first started looking at the project,
[1:30:43] maybe last year, and we were just talking about putting
[1:30:46] an infrastructure, and then you guys came back to us
[1:30:49] and said, hey, we found these grants,
[1:30:52] we can get it paid for by something other than the general fund.
[1:30:58] And we started moving forward the same project right that we asked you to move forward on.
[1:31:03] That's correct same project. Okay and it's just the miscommunication of
[1:31:08] maybe how much the grants were going to cover that's the issue and but we
[1:31:15] all of our staff does believe that we're going to be able to cover the cost of the installation of
[1:31:21] this project probably, I mean, nothing's guaranteed.
[1:31:26] I mean, Mr. Dornham was 100% correct.
[1:31:29] The federal government could step out and say,
[1:31:31] we're not doing that anymore.
[1:31:33] And then we may end up changing the scope of the project, yes?
[1:31:36] You're correct.
[1:31:37] The federal portion of this grant is $560,000.
[1:31:41] So even if that gets taken away, the $1.9 million grant
[1:31:44] that we currently have is through the state
[1:31:46] and that money is guaranteed and it's already been awarded to us.
[1:31:49] We don't have the check in hand yet.
[1:31:50] but we do have a grant funding agreement in place that's signed.
[1:31:54] The other two grants that we are chasing are one is through PG&E and one is through what's
[1:31:58] called the Incentibized Grant and those are more in total than the federal funds.
[1:32:04] So even if the federal funds were to be taken away, these additional grants that we are
[1:32:08] reasonably confident that we'll get will make up for that loss of federal funds even if
[1:32:12] it does go away.
[1:32:13] If we happen to get both, the city will be able to do this project with absolutely zero
[1:32:17] dollars spent.
[1:32:24] We have to replace 50% of our currently eligible gas combustion vehicles with EVs.
[1:32:32] 50% of the vehicle, we buy every year, have to be EV going forward.
[1:32:36] And then we have to have 50% of our fleet done by 2030, something like that.
[1:32:40] It's been pushed out a couple of years with a delay from the area airborne recently.
[1:32:45] But I think it's 50% by 2030, I have to verify that.
[1:32:49] Thanks. Go ahead. So a quick question. So we have a budget subcommittee. Why didn't this come
[1:32:55] back to the budget subcommittee as soon as you found out about it? We discussed everything else
[1:32:59] to that point. We've been working through the contract for the last couple of months. We hadn't
[1:33:05] tried to get this on the last council meeting agenda. That council agenda was full and for other
[1:33:11] projects that we were presenting. We elected to push this because it wasn't ready through legal. We didn't
[1:33:16] the contract completed done yet. We have been trying to get this wrapped up for many months.
[1:33:22] These things, there are a lot of moving parts behind the scene. Schneider has to get plans
[1:33:27] and specs ready for us to approve. They have those plans done now. We're working through the contract
[1:33:32] after that, so it just takes time to get these. We brought this to one meeting later than we wanted to,
[1:33:37] but this was about as fast as we could get it back to you.
[1:33:42] So I have to share the frustration,
[1:33:44] though. I mean, I think the problem that we're seeing is that we end up seeing a budget increase
[1:33:50] unexpectedly with a very short turnaround and decision that has to be made immediately.
[1:33:53] And so I think that's the part of it for me that's a challenge having nothing to do with you,
[1:33:58] sir, and thank you for being here and for answering questions. You're welcome.
[1:34:01] I just want to just add to the conversation here and say that I think that's what I'm finding
[1:34:06] frustrating. It sounds like what other people are finding frustrating as well because it's not the
[1:34:09] first time. And we would like to see things buttoned up a bit tighter. I believe a year
[1:34:15] ago, if I recall correctly, we were motivated to move forward with this. We felt good about
[1:34:20] it, especially considering the long-term savings and hopefully understanding that things aren't
[1:34:26] going to change to a huge degree when it comes to regulations around electrification. It's
[1:34:31] the process itself that has become frustrating. So I would ask that you take that back, think
[1:34:38] about a process that maybe could be a little bit buttoned up a bit tighter. But thank you
[1:34:42] for the report. Does anyone have any other comments, darlings, do you want to?
[1:34:46] Yeah, if I may. So just a couple options. So first, let me step back. The city is required
[1:34:53] for we're going to have to put in infrastructure as relates to EV charging for our fleet. That's
[1:35:00] a state requirement. That date continues to change so we cannot tell you and say, you know, you
[1:35:06] It has to be done by a certain date because the state continues to push that data.
[1:35:12] What we have here is we had a project that we knew that we needed to do.
[1:35:16] And we weren't sure exactly when we were going to bring it forward through public works
[1:35:22] and being connected with Schneider Electric, we identified that there was a grant.
[1:35:28] And so as our Director of Public Works has clearly kind of stated, we have a little under
[1:35:33] two million dollars to help us with this project that we are going to have to do sometime in
[1:35:39] the future no matter what. Unfortunately, it only covers 65 percent of the cost. There
[1:35:46] is a chance that, for example, let's say, if six of the months down the road, the council
[1:35:53] says, hey, let's not move forward with this grant, we might be required to make these installations
[1:35:57] all with their own funding. Basically with kind of the same funding description as our
[1:36:04] director stated with two-thirds coming out of enterprise and one-third coming out of the
[1:36:08] general fund. So tonight, the only part that's kind of hurried is that we have found some
[1:36:15] additional funding to help cover some of the costs as relates to federal. So understand
[1:36:19] the frustration with that. We definitely don't need to move forward with the contract tonight.
[1:36:26] It just might put into jeopardy that funding that we know has of the portion of the project
[1:36:32] as Snyder's Electric has described we have to initiate construction and purchase 5% of
[1:36:38] our supplies.
[1:36:40] I'm not saying that by November the next council meeting that we couldn't complete a contract
[1:36:46] amendment, not a contract amendment, an updated, I'm hoping that Snyder Electric's here and
[1:36:53] And that they want to get this project done also, that we could bring this back at the
[1:36:58] next council meeting in November, and still hopefully possibly meet the requirements of
[1:37:04] the federal standard.
[1:37:05] The funding mix will not change, but we could add the language as described by Councilmember
[1:37:11] Pearson in the contract.
[1:37:15] And our public work structure is correct.
[1:37:18] We were trying to get this, but we were actually working on the contract.
[1:37:21] that's the reason why it took a little bit longer. So my, maybe my suggestion would be if we've
[1:37:28] just pushed this off, I'll call it table it, allow us to work which night are electric
[1:37:33] and bring this back at our next council meeting. Do you still believe that we could,
[1:37:37] if could we negotiate a contract, bring back on the 12th and steal meets other requirements
[1:37:42] of the federal grant? So to clarify, it sounds like there is a little bit of wanting more
[1:37:50] more concrete and more risk on our part to bear responsibility around the $560,000 of
[1:37:56] the investment tax credit that is sort of up in the air. Is that one of the main items
[1:38:01] to potentially renegotiate? I think that's right. I ask the vice mayor to clarify since
[1:38:05] that was her point. Yes, thank you. I think for me it's a shifting
[1:38:10] the risk from us from the city's perspective. Yeah. Sushi Niders and accountability and the
[1:38:17] the risk transfers to the contractor.
[1:38:20] So I don't see why we would not take that on.
[1:38:23] I mean, I'm okay with moving forward.
[1:38:24] If we can do the risk transfer,
[1:38:27] even moving forward tonight,
[1:38:28] so long as that is to be added to the contract.
[1:38:32] I'm just, I mean, look like we change city attorneys
[1:38:36] and I know our city attorney doesn't like,
[1:38:40] I don't have my glasses on, but the hair look long
[1:38:43] in the shot to deer.
[1:38:44] But I'm not asking for legal advice on the diet, but what I am looking at is we should
[1:38:52] be able to get this done by the next meeting so that we can move forward.
[1:38:56] I don't know why this would take an absorbent amount of time.
[1:38:59] Yeah, well, I have to be absolutely upfront with you all.
[1:39:02] Schneider Electric is not in a position to bear responsibility for decisions made by the
[1:39:06] federal government.
[1:39:07] So if the question really boils down to in a scenario where you all do not get that $560,000,
[1:39:13] could that cost be directly absorbed, I can't sit here in front of you and say
[1:39:18] that's something that the company could accept. Funding and procurement obviously
[1:39:22] falls to the public agency. What I can say is that if there is that scenario and you
[1:39:29] don't get funding, would we look to find a way to partner together? Discope within
[1:39:34] the project confines and try to make it work or look at other projects we might be
[1:39:40] be able to do. That's absolutely something I can guarantee, but I have to be up front
[1:39:45] with you that we could not bear that risk in contractually, unfortunately.
[1:39:50] But contractually, we require you to, one, that construction will begin. So I'm not
[1:39:55] asking you, we would ask you to guarantee the federal funding. What it will ask you is
[1:40:00] to guarantee that one construction will begin before December 31st, and that you have documentation
[1:40:04] of prevailing wage and apprentice. Oh, we have. So, that's all the requirement would be. So
[1:40:10] I think that that's what needs to be done.
[1:40:11] That's already in the contract.
[1:40:12] So I apologize if there was a misunderstanding.
[1:40:14] This is a full prevailing wage job.
[1:40:16] We intend to hire out of the local trades unions.
[1:40:19] We have a project schedule put in place to meet that.
[1:40:22] We've actually ordered the material already.
[1:40:24] And all we have to do is ship the panels to your public works
[1:40:27] before the end of the year.
[1:40:29] So every one of those requirements that you just laid out
[1:40:32] is in the contract and we can guarantee.
[1:40:34] I just wanted to be totally upfront
[1:40:35] that we could not bear full risk of you not getting the federal investment tax
[1:40:41] grades as it's just outside of something that we could obviously control.
[1:40:45] Vice President, do you have any other questions on that?
[1:40:49] Okay, with that, have we changed our recommendation to move this to the next meeting?
[1:40:56] I think based on the information that I heard, I feel that our City Attorney's Office has a
[1:41:02] contract that meets the requirements, and I would recommend that the City Council move
[1:41:06] this forward. If you wanted to move it to the future meeting, just tell us what you'd
[1:41:09] like spring back, bring back on the most, the November 12th City Council meeting. We've
[1:41:15] come back with an additional report, but only if we knew what you wanted to, what information
[1:41:20] you needed to be able to make a decision. So, the Council's spending money, and we understand
[1:41:24] that, and the Council needs to be able to feel comfortable with any expenditures of taxpayer
[1:41:28] funds.
[1:41:29] I didn't see any contract of guarantee to the project, but I did not think this contract
[1:41:35] is compliant with that.
[1:41:38] So if you don't mind to clarify a potential approval tonight and then written notice
[1:41:44] to proceed can contractually means that the project does start before the end of the calendar
[1:41:49] year.
[1:41:50] And then that 5% safe harbor, we have all plans in place, we have the panels in a warehouse
[1:41:56] Right now, my logistic team is ready to ship upon that notice to proceed.
[1:42:01] Shipping takes about 10 days in as long as form and we've already been working with public works about where those panels would arrive, document, as well as additional preliminary site work that we could document to, you know, to again show that work has started for this calendar year making that funding eligible.
[1:42:21] Those requirements might as well as how I should say that.
[1:42:24] Thank you. I think the federal language says the construction has to be a knock that we have
[1:42:29] to have the firmance of the contract. Not for projects under one megawatt, which this falls under.
[1:42:34] So we just have to meet the 5% safe harbor rule. That's a great point. That's for more utility
[1:42:38] scale larger projects. This classifies as the smaller under one megawatt rules.
[1:42:44] So again, I appreciate all of that commentary and that's not in writing. So I would like for it to
[1:42:48] actually say in writing that if the construction does not begin by December 31st, so I like
[1:42:55] the shift there and I do not see that in disagreement. So I am okay with this move forward to the
[1:43:00] whole entire council if that language can be added. Can we make the motion dependent on that,
[1:43:06] that they prove would only be based on that being in the contract? I think based on what I've heard,
[1:43:12] we could amend the final contract to include that say, Barbara Languages met before the end of the year.
[1:43:19] If it's to be made a motion for tonight, I think I could pass that along to my team if that's the direction you all are looking for.
[1:43:27] It sounds like the approval to move forward with you based on that happening.
[1:43:30] I think I could, yeah, absolutely, it could make that happen if that's the request.
[1:43:36] So, we're going to make a motion.
[1:43:40] I don't have a full-righted agenda, so somebody wants to add in all of my little commentary.
[1:43:45] I'll make the motion.
[1:43:46] I move to adopt a resolution approved, oh wait, hold on, I'm sorry, wrong motion.
[1:43:51] As described in the staff report, I moved to adopt a resolution authorizing the city manager
[1:43:57] or does it need to execute a construction amendment to the turnkey design and energy services
[1:44:02] agreement with the addition of vice mayor Pearson. Do you want to add your commentary?
[1:44:09] With the addition that there will be a guarantee that a construction, if construction does not begin by
[1:44:17] Addison for 31st, excuse me, five, with wage documentation and should be added to the contract.
[1:44:24] I agree with that.
[1:44:29] Second.
[1:44:30] Oh, in favor with the roll call vote, please.
[1:44:33] Council Member Maloney, before we move on, any final questions from Schneider Electric or staff?
[1:44:39] No, we just want to thank appreciate the Council's discussion and moving this forward and appreciate
[1:44:44] Schneider Electric working with us, and we will make sure and work with the City Attorney's
[1:44:48] office and move forward as described in the motion if approved tonight.
[1:44:52] Thank you. Council Member Maloney. Yes, Vice Mayor Pearson. Yes, and I-
[1:45:00] The only addition in my room is a fluffy multi-poo dock. Otherwise, I'm a councilmember Mendoza. Yes. Councilmember Orleman. Yes. Mayor Mayer. Yes, and the item moves forward. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much for. Thank you, sir.
[1:45:21] Moving into item H2. Katie Zinsky, city attorney will present the next item regarding an employment agreement with G. Harold Duffy.
[1:45:45] Good evening, mayor and city council.
[1:45:47] Tonight we are presenting for the City Council's consideration and employment agreement for a new city manager.
[1:45:54] After the departure of the former city manager some six months ago, the council named Darren Gale as the interim city manager and began a nationwide search through the recruitment firm Peckham and McKenny.
[1:46:06] Peckham developed brochure that shared the council's vision of the ideal candidate and expectations for training and experience.
[1:46:13] In addition to the attributes listed in the staff report, some of the other things that
[1:46:18] the council listed as important were being visible in the community, having a track record
[1:46:24] of identifying, hiring, promoting, and developing great staff, demonstrating an ability to define
[1:46:31] complex issues in plain language, and being collaborative and willing to offer frank and honest
[1:46:37] advice reflecting the community's interests and best practices for innovative municipal government.
[1:46:44] Dozens of applications poured in, which the recruiter evaluated.
[1:46:49] Peckham then sent follow-up questionnaires to 12 candidates and after reviewing those responses,
[1:46:56] sent a list of nine candidates forward for the City Council's consideration for panel interviews.
[1:47:01] The council chose six of these individuals to sit for those panel interviews.
[1:47:06] news. After an initial round, three candidates moved on to a second interview with the City Council.
[1:47:14] Finally, after a thorough background investigation was conducted, the City Council chose Glenn
[1:47:19] Harold Duffy as their finalist. Mr. Duffy's experience includes over 30 years of public service.
[1:47:27] He has worked with cities such as Oakland, Grant Terrace, Compton, and Auroville, and has
[1:47:33] likewise served in County Administration in Yolo County.
[1:47:37] If approved tonight, the new City Manager's contract will include a number of features,
[1:47:42] which include a base salary of $304,515 per year, annual performance evaluations as well
[1:47:52] as an initial six-month evaluation, paid time off and sick leave to be accrued in the same
[1:47:59] numbers as accrued by department heads, 16 hours of vacation leave each month, eligibility
[1:48:07] to participate in the city's deferred compensation plan, and provisions that govern determination
[1:48:13] with or without cause. There are, of course, other provisions in the contract as well, and
[1:48:19] that contract is attached for the councils and the public's review to this agenda item.
[1:48:25] Mr. Duffy's employment would begin on November 3rd if this item is approved this evening.
[1:48:31] That's my report, and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
[1:48:36] Thank you, Katie.
[1:48:37] Any questions for staff?
[1:48:41] Okay.
[1:48:42] Moving in to public comments.
[1:48:45] At this time, the public is permitted to address the City Council on this agenda item.
[1:48:49] If you're participating, be a Zoom.
[1:48:50] Please raise your hand to speak.
[1:48:52] If you're in person, please follow Speaker Card with the City Clerk.
[1:48:54] Your microphone will be muted.
[1:48:55] If you speak on items that do not pertain to this agenda item or after the timer has expired we did with these six written public comments in advance of this evening and those are displayed on the screen.
[1:49:08] I don't have or I have one speaker card in person Danny.
[1:49:22] Let me set the record straight.
[1:49:25] I can actually support additional scrutiny when it comes to hyena city manager.
[1:49:31] That's what's out there in the Netherlands called Facebook in next door.
[1:49:38] What I am against is the sudden urge now to voice your opinion on who gets the gig.
[1:49:47] I want to thank Darren for his time.
[1:49:50] I've often mentioned that the council should take the interim office title.
[1:49:56] I don't know why the decision went in another direction,
[1:49:58] but I can say that Darren helped clear the stench from the last guy. I do not
[1:50:06] know the German. When I meant him, I commented on how he will be scrutinized. I
[1:50:13] only had slight knowledge of his tenure in Oakland. When asked, he answered
[1:50:18] directly and I believe honestly. Of course, the keyboard cowards try the muddy
[1:50:27] the waters. I meant what I said earlier, tear away the veneer of the dog whistle, and the
[1:50:37] crew is clear. I for one will give the gentleman a chance. I also advise him, as I advise
[1:50:47] others, stay off social media.
[1:50:52] It's not for the faint of heart. Although I suspect this
[1:50:58] This isn't his first rodeo.
[1:51:01] Thank you.
[1:51:04] Mike.
[1:51:11] Thank you.
[1:51:12] My name is Mike.
[1:51:13] I'm a Brentwood resident.
[1:51:15] I do, like Danny said, want to thank Darren for serving the city and doing a commendable
[1:51:18] job as in-term city manager and assistant city manager before Tim as well.
[1:51:25] I want to say this, I'm excited that we are hiring new city manager.
[1:51:32] I'm not sure I want to yet endorse who I think should be City Manager, but it is important
[1:51:39] to me and Brentwood residents that we have a City Manager or hire someone that can galvanize
[1:51:45] this community.
[1:51:47] I do not want a City Manager that pits council members against residents and vice versa
[1:51:53] and works behind the scenes to muddy up the waters.
[1:51:56] I want a city manager that does not infringe upon my first amendment rights to come up to this podium and speak to my council.
[1:52:04] I don't want a city manager that targets individuals or family members or staff members from getting up here to speak.
[1:52:11] I want a city manager that is inclusionary and makes parent would a welcoming place for everybody.
[1:52:17] That means to me that I want a city manager, I think that is an afraid to wear a pride pin on his or her lapel during the month of June.
[1:52:28] I want to see the manager that works for the people and puts the people before special
[1:52:32] interests and developers.
[1:52:35] I'm worried about, I guess, some people come in here that are going to speak online about
[1:52:40] keeping Brentwood Brentwood.
[1:52:41] I hear that all the time.
[1:52:42] I come to a lot of council meetings and I actually don't like that phrase very much.
[1:52:47] But in this instance, I want to see the manager that keeps Brentwood Brentwood literally.
[1:52:53] That means I don't want to cozy up to special interests.
[1:52:56] I don't want landowners and special interests and favors paid out to ANX County land into
[1:53:03] the city.
[1:53:04] I don't ever want to see another special election like Measure L. I want to keep Brentwood
[1:53:09] Brentwood.
[1:53:09] I want to preserve our urban limit line.
[1:53:13] It should not be that difficult to fix the sound wall.
[1:53:17] It shouldn't be that difficult to elect our planning commissioners out in open public.
[1:53:22] I don't want a city manager that is efforting to hide things.
[1:53:26] I don't want a city manager that sneaks enough on city council or on consent calendar
[1:53:31] rather, that is completely infuriating.
[1:53:35] And thankfully we have a city council here of five people that put in their homework now
[1:53:40] and stuff like that doesn't happen as much, but that has happened in the past.
[1:53:45] So that being said, as I'm hearing myself speak, I think I would like to see the City Council move our city forward.
[1:53:56] I think what Mr. Duffy brings most importantly is we got to move this city forward from an economic perspective.
[1:54:02] We need to be a jewel and we need to start stepping our game up because we're starting to get lapped by surrounding cities and counties when it comes to economic development.
[1:54:12] I
[1:54:16] have no additional speaker cards in person, first hand raised.
[1:54:22] Sena, go ahead.
[1:54:28] Yes.
[1:54:29] Hello.
[1:54:29] Good evening.
[1:54:30] Mayor Mayer, members of the City Council.
[1:54:33] My name is Sena Kaskat.
[1:54:34] I'm the host of Gotham Oakland.
[1:54:36] I'm an investigative media platform because of a local government in Oakland, California.
[1:54:41] Also a long time community organizer from Oakland, California.
[1:54:45] also helped lead the successful recall of our former mayor, Shantyle, who now faces serious
[1:54:51] corruption charges in life in prison. During her tenure, she worked very closely with
[1:54:56] Harold Duffy, while he served with the City of Minnesota, and we saw firsthand a dysfunction,
[1:55:03] dishonesty and erosion of public trust that followed. Mr. Duffy has a troubling record that
[1:55:10] It deserves worse scrutiny before your city moves forward.
[1:55:13] I urge you to look closely at its application
[1:55:16] and whether he had disclosed that he was fired
[1:55:19] from the city of content and why.
[1:55:21] This was a matter of public record.
[1:55:23] Failed to disclose it on a job application
[1:55:25] but raised serious questions about honesty and transparency.
[1:55:29] But the record held if you did lie
[1:55:30] on the city of open job application about the interminated,
[1:55:34] he said that he left his own regard, that was not true.
[1:55:37] In Oakland, Duffy's tenure left behind
[1:55:39] and demoralized style, retaliatory reassignment,
[1:55:43] and serious concern is the whistleblower,
[1:55:45] including the deputy director of Public World,
[1:55:48] who was removed after the Red Flag
[1:55:49] about his conduct.
[1:55:51] I personally reviewed this documentation
[1:55:53] from the whistleblower,
[1:55:54] and it's clear that Mr. Justice Management's style
[1:55:56] created a cultural fear, bad bars,
[1:56:00] or whatever they call it, or not accountability.
[1:56:03] So I'm asking one simple question tonight to start it.
[1:56:05] But Harold definitely disclosed that he was terminated from the city of Compton, if so,
[1:56:10] that he's disclosed why.
[1:56:12] If not, why was that not caught by your search fund before he was brought here?
[1:56:18] Open learned the hard way what happens when experience, outweighs integrity, urging Dr. McLean
[1:56:23] to get the state in work work.
[1:56:24] Thank you.
[1:56:31] Next speaker is Carolina.
[1:56:34] Carolina, go ahead.
[1:56:37] Thank you.
[1:56:38] So to the previous color, I would just like to let him know our previous city manager was also fired from his job.
[1:56:46] We hired him anyways.
[1:56:48] I went to the meeting on Monday and I spoke at length with Mr. Duffy and I paid attention to everything he had to say.
[1:56:57] And what stood up to me was that he was able to persuade and get investment dollars at all of these previous positions.
[1:57:04] This is something that we desperately need.
[1:57:06] So, you know, we just have this long conversation about EV vehicles.
[1:57:11] Maybe there's more money out there and he knows how to get it.
[1:57:14] We need investment dollars to help keep city finances healthy as we continue to grow and can create more opportunities around the city.
[1:57:23] It shouldn't all fall on the residents where paying way too much in city taxes as it is.
[1:57:30] He also understands the importance of widely marketing the awesome benefits of Brentwood
[1:57:37] to attract employers.
[1:57:39] He talked a lot about marketing, which is my wheelhouse.
[1:57:43] And I was very happy to hear that because we are no longer corn festival, we're no longer
[1:57:49] mayor Bob and his loud suits, we are no longer any of that.
[1:57:53] We're a bona fide city with 65,000 residents who are very well educated and who have great
[1:58:00] jobs and we would like to attract employers to Brentwood so we can get rid of the, we have the
[1:58:07] longest commute in the country, badge of dishonor. I would love that to go away. I would love to see
[1:58:14] some companies come in here and people be able to work and eat and shop where they live and then watch
[1:58:22] our opportunities for shopping improved because right now, the offerings are very scarce because
[1:58:30] there's nobody here during the day. I understand that there may have been some miscommunication
[1:58:38] with his last job, but he spoke a great length on Monday last week about the moral code and about
[1:58:46] the organization that he belongs to as a city manager and how a city manager should perform their
[1:58:52] duties. Also, I was very excited to see that he has a
[1:58:56] Masters in Public Administration from UC San Bernardino and has
[1:59:00] extensive experience. Coming from a city as huge as Oakland,
[1:59:06] excuse me, will mean that he can very much harness that
[1:59:11] experience with a city that big and help us move forward
[1:59:16] economically, which is what we need desperately. Thank you.
[1:59:23] Next speaker is Tyree.
[1:59:26] Tyree go ahead.
[1:59:32] Great. Thank you. Good evening, Madam Mayor, members of the City Council.
[1:59:37] My name is Tyree Jackson. I'm a current resident and employee of the City of Oakland.
[1:59:42] And I'm a former direct report of Mr. Gerald Duffy.
[1:59:46] I'm joining you in this meeting.
[1:59:48] This evening you speak in strong support of the confirmation of Mr. Duffy for the position of City Manager.
[1:59:55] in my role as a compliance officer in the office of the director.
[2:00:00] Public Works, I've seen first hand how Mr. Duffy's professionalism and expertise and experience and really a wide range of municipal management and service roles and responsibilities will be a great benefit out of the way to the city of Brentwood. As both a resident and an employee of Oakland, I admire and appreciate the what I feel is very pragmatic and proactive approach. Mr. Duffy took in his efforts to address
[2:00:29] the many challenges we faced as both an organization and as a city over the past four or five years.
[2:00:38] It's specifically or particularly I'm thinking about his work with financial institutions, the feds, vendors, and both employee and community stakeholders to ensure both continuity of service and most importantly payroll.
[2:00:57] during what ended up being a major cybersecurity incident in the city of Oakland.
[2:01:04] I'm not going to belabor too much on the accolades in Mr. Duffy, but I really believe that he has the ability and the vision and the commitment necessary to provide impactful executive leadership for the city of Brentwood.
[2:01:20] And for these reasons, I would urge you to confirm Mr. Duffy as your new city manager.
[2:01:27] Thank you. And I wish the city and the community of Brentwood and of course Mr. Duffy the very best and hopefully congratulations.
[2:01:41] The next speaker is Ian. Ian go ahead.
[2:01:45] Can you hear me?
[2:01:47] Yes, we can hear you.
[2:01:49] Good evening, Council. First of all, I want to say thank you to Darren for all this
[2:01:54] type of facility. We hope to not lose you. We hope you continue kicking butt back to your
[2:02:00] original roles. You know, remember the first time I met you and I was just a maize. The first
[2:02:04] time I met you, I think it was a bruised open park or wherever parking on here at the ground
[2:02:09] opening or the ground real opening. And again, ever since a new friend was passed in a good
[2:02:14] hand the field and I haven't done that much research. I'm a student. I work seven days a week.
[2:02:23] I'll probably be coming back into city limits after being at work in central county.
[2:02:28] But while I want to speak,
[2:02:33] I'll say, you know, a no-see-est manner to our city
[2:02:40] of Brentwood is such a
[2:02:41] wonderful city. And I do not want any department being run-of-backer unless it's any member
[2:02:46] I'm not sure it's a safe space, because there was a certain department which we all kind
[2:02:54] of know was first to rack under the order that kind of thought that it was and you know
[2:03:00] that the director that's left and the new director seems to be doing a good job both
[2:03:03] I don't work for that department anymore, but I'm impressed by it and I hope that the new
[2:03:10] city manager can keep up all the departments to the standards.
[2:03:13] Secondly, as everyone has already said, economic development, I have to commute to concourse for work because I think there's not that many jobs out here in Brentwood.
[2:03:23] At least no one that was hiring in the pay is better out in concourse there is in Brentwood, unfortunately.
[2:03:30] To, you know, speak these allegations of Brentwood being the worst commute ever, which I do commute, seven days a week, all the way to the Hayward.
[2:03:38] I really want to see some great quality employers, maybe a job near hospital, come out here to the city of Brentwood.
[2:03:45] And I'm really hoping the next city manager can make rights in that, as we already made one great price in Tolstow.
[2:03:52] And last week, this city manager is just going to be one out there of the community.
[2:03:57] I want to be able to go out to the parade, to the festival, like I was working for an nonprofit work with.
[2:04:03] And we're coming to Brentwood for one of the parade, because I endorse Brentwood and
[2:04:08] I convince the CEO to let us spend money to come up to Brentwood even though it's a little
[2:04:12] bit out of our area, but we do partially service for Brentwood.
[2:04:16] I want to be able to see the city manager be like, hey, here's the nonprofit hope to work
[2:04:21] first for the city of Brentwood, just so much without dark inclusionary and with the community.
[2:04:26] And very last point is I want a city manager who makes sure I know where my tax money is going.
[2:04:31] I am proud to spend my tax money if rent was. When I'm in the city of Hayward at school,
[2:04:37] it kind of pays me because rent wasn't, it's not, but it's Hayward is an economic trouble.
[2:04:44] There are budgets, it's not good. There are whole fiscal scenes of mess and I'm still researching
[2:04:48] Hayward because that's why I might move after I need rent. Because the
[2:04:54] speaker's timer has
[2:04:56] expired. I did receive two additional speaker cards in person. Ron,
[2:05:03] was it Rod?
[2:05:10] Jeffrey Parker perfect
[2:05:22] to wonderful mayor and vice mayor of this city and to all the council members and
[2:05:30] staff I've met most of you over a week ago at the senior center and had a great time meeting everyone. My
[2:05:39] name is Reverend Dr. Jeffrey Parker I'm a senior pastor in Oakland and happy to be the pastor of
[2:05:45] Mr. Duffy and I just want to share, it's dangerous when you give a pastor a mic and I see the clock up there.
[2:05:54] So I just want to just share, I'd be here all night talking about how great he is, I don't want to do that.
[2:06:01] I wasn't going to say anything until I heard some other comments, but I just want to focus on three things about Mr. Duffy.
[2:06:10] These are what I call the three C's. Character, competency and chemistry.
[2:06:18] Mr. Duffy has the character. Without character, we can't do anything. Without integrity and character, it just everything falls apart.
[2:06:29] Knowing him, he has the character, he has integrity. But also, as many of you have witnessed or read over his
[2:06:39] Vida, his resume, he has the competency to add greatness to the city of Brentwood.
[2:06:48] And I'm not just in that, but the research and we trust their judgment.
[2:06:54] He has the competency so a person could have character and competency, but it doesn't mean
[2:07:00] anything without this third C that I call chemistry.
[2:07:09] If you can't get along with people, if you can't talk to people, if you can't collaborate, then things will not be successful.
[2:07:18] I'm proud to say and I'm in support of Mr. Duffy that he has all of these in an excellent manner of character competency and chemistry.
[2:07:27] He knows how to talk to people, he knows how to collaborate, he knows how to get along.
[2:07:33] So I just wanted to stand in support and I trust the judgment of this wonderful council.
[2:07:42] First time being here at this meeting and I'm glad to be in the city of Brentwood.
[2:07:46] Thank you very much.
[2:07:50] The last speaker, George.
[2:07:54] Thank you and good evening, ladies and gentlemen, friends and neighbors.
[2:07:59] My name is Jorge Lerma, I'm a lifelong educator and former school board member of Oakland Unified School District.
[2:08:08] I am aware and have seen, there's a relationship between the school district and the city.
[2:08:14] I'm aware of the abilities, the skills, and the experience that Mr. Duffy brings.
[2:08:20] And even though I'm a resident of Oakland, I'm an Abbott fan of my neighboring community,
[2:08:28] such as Brentwood, who have a visionary mission and support social programs to develop and grow this city in the way that you want it, and he is the right person to nurture that desire.
[2:08:47] Thank you very much.
[2:08:52] You can speak now and fill out a card after if you'd like.
[2:09:03] I just wanted to say that although we get a lot of comments about
[2:09:09] commuting and things like that, there's a lot of us that just bite the bullet
[2:09:13] to raise our family you're safe.
[2:09:17] And we want to keep the agriculture and farming life here
[2:09:21] and I would love to see that get supported.
[2:09:24] it. And I haven't heard that being supported and we have infrastructure and there's lots of
[2:09:33] neighboring counties and cities that are doing agro-terrism and like farm to fork and all
[2:09:41] those things. And I'd love to see more of that with the new city manager and focusing on
[2:09:47] our roots, which I really love. And I think they're wonderful. That's all.
[2:09:59] I have no additional speaker card. But I might have one more hand.
[2:10:05] I do. That's all right. One more hand. Jan. Jan.
[2:10:12] Go ahead.
[2:10:25] Last call for Jan.
[2:10:31] Hello. Yes, if you'd like to speak, you may go ahead.
[2:10:34] Okay, hi, I'm Jamf Hensett, and I recently sent you some comments regarding Mr. Duffy and the process of hiring a city manager, and I just learned about it, and I just wanted to say that I was a little bit taken back by some of the information that was on the Internet, and I forwarded that to you so you could look at it, because I believe
[2:11:02] that where there's smoke, there's fire, and not to say you shouldn't hire the man or that there is anything wrong with his background, but just as a red flag, I think it's something worth evaluating and doing a deep diet one.
[2:11:19] As far as his contract is concerned, I think at this point in time, if you're confident that he has the character and he has the background to fulfill the position, I think moving forward on a contract is appropriate at the same time, I'm thinking that if there is any residual doubt.
[2:11:49] given for some of the remarks that we've heard about his background that maybe we should
[2:11:56] put in a temporary contract instead of one that is an ongoing contract. And that's
[2:12:03] my two cents.
[2:12:10] Did receive one more public comment in person, Brian?
[2:12:23] Hi, my name is Brian Calderon. I'm a long time resident of Brentwood. Basically, I do appreciate
[2:12:32] the process that the council has gone through in terms of looking for a city manager. I mean,
[2:12:37] panel interviews, multiple rounds of interviews. I'm certain that they were very thorough in terms
[2:12:43] of background checks that were conducted with all the candidates. So I have no issue with the process
[2:12:48] is there in terms of the next city manager, I would suggest and I would ask for full transparency.
[2:12:55] I have heard about what happened to the last city manager and wasn't great, but I would
[2:13:01] say that I do look forward to just giving the next person that becomes a city manager a chance
[2:13:08] and just being completely transparent of what they're doing because I hear the phrase keeping
[2:13:13] being Brentwood, Brentwood. To me, that means keeping Brentwood basically a community that's
[2:13:20] safe to raise a family. And that's what Brentwood is to me. And growing up in Brentwood as a kid,
[2:13:25] it was a farm town to me. And it was a farm town trying to be a city, but now it's actually a city.
[2:13:31] So for me, I would like to see a combination of being a city as well as acknowledging our farm
[2:13:38] town routes and going forward and creating that cohesion of the future when it comes to the
[2:13:44] city of Bratwood. Thank you.
[2:13:52] I have no additional speaker cards or hands raised in Zoom.
[2:13:57] Thank you. Typically the mayor goes last. I'm going to take a moment to make a very brief statement
[2:14:03] and then say more later. I would like to say that I think those of you watching virtually or
[2:14:10] sitting in the council chambers can hopefully tell that we are not a council that rubber stamps.
[2:14:16] We are not a council that says yes blindly to anything. We challenge, we question, we research,
[2:14:23] we do our homework, we spend hours and hours and hours before every meeting, and then hours outside
[2:14:31] of that for meetings with residents and committees, et cetera, et cetera. This job while we are elected
[2:14:39] And while we serve residents is a huge challenge, I'm not going to lie, there are times when I wonder why I've done it, especially right now because, frankly, some of the things I've seen have been incredibly embarrassing.
[2:14:50] And I'll get into more of that later.
[2:14:52] But what I wanted to say was, you've heard some of the process that went into our selection process, our interview.
[2:15:03] I hope you can tell that not one of us up here is stupid. And I'm just putting it out there. We are not stupid. We are not blind. People are sending us things that we've already seen.
[2:15:30] incredibly frustrated and I'm going to say more later but I know the vice mayor would
[2:15:34] like to speak next and I will come back to this in a moment. But I hope that all of
[2:15:39] you can listen with open ears and watch with open eyes to what you're seeing here is a
[2:15:44] very, very transparent and justifiable due process. Thank you.
[2:15:51] Thank you so much, Mayor Meyer. You are a badass for that just now. Thank you so much.
[2:15:58] Um, and I want to say good afternoon to pastor Parker, the church of all face Oakland. I'm so sorry that I couldn't be in the room. He served, but I've written a statement because my experience week.
[2:16:10] I think no one will ever know how much time was spent in this process and no one has ever complained about the process will you hire in the city attorney or any other in any other capacities until now. So here's my statement over the past several weeks.
[2:16:24] I've listened carefully to the comments made by some members of our community regarding
[2:16:29] the hiring of Mr. Herald-Duffy as our next city manager.
[2:16:32] First, I want to affirm that every resident has the right to question and evaluate the
[2:16:36] qualifications of anyone seeking a position as important as a city manager.
[2:16:40] That's what civic engagement looks like, asking questions, expecting transparency, and holding
[2:16:45] leaders accountable.
[2:16:47] But with that right also comes responsibilities, the responsibility to fact-checked, to base
[2:16:53] opinions on accurate information, not just what you read on a blog, and to consider the whole
[2:16:58] picture, not assumptions, serial types, or rest in fear. As I've listened, I've heard comments
[2:17:04] that while framed us concerns about Mr. Duffy's age, his retirement benefits, where he's worked,
[2:17:11] it's revealed something deeper or something that reveals vibes. I can say that this because I know
[2:17:17] it when I hear it. As a black woman from Oakland, I've spent my life navigating spaces where
[2:17:23] excellence is questioned simply because it doesn't fit a certain mold. I know what it feels like
[2:17:29] to have questions and qualifications scrutinized more harshly and contributions minimized way too
[2:17:36] quickly. As I also recognize a pattern in our city, this is not the first time members of our
[2:17:43] community has spoken against highly qualified black professionals and leadership. Similar comments were made when H.R.
[2:17:50] director Sakari Bashir is elevated to service and trauma system city manager. And when parks and reg director Harifa
[2:17:56] then was hired. Despite the fact that both of them bring more than 45 years of combined government experience, excellence and
[2:18:04] unwavering records of service and competence. When excellence continues to be met with skepticism, only when it comes in
[2:18:11] black skin. It is not a coincidence. It is a bias. So when I hear coded statements that
[2:18:17] amount to I don't want him because it's black, I feel a responsibility to call that mess out.
[2:18:22] I'm going to name it. The kind of thinking, this kind of thinking does not serve our community.
[2:18:28] It doesn't serve us in Brentwood. It actually divides us. And if we're going to act like this,
[2:18:32] we shouldn't say we're better in Brentwood. Mr. Duffy's record speaks for herself. He has decades
[2:18:37] a public service, fiscal leadership and proven success guiding cities through growth, recovery,
[2:18:43] and change. To suggest that that council did not do is do diligence is not only inaccurate,
[2:18:48] but as a woman who votes three professional degrees of bachelor's in psychology,
[2:18:52] a master's in organizational development. And yes, I'm a doctor, a jurist,
[2:18:56] doctorial involved. It is an insult to the professionalism and integrity of the entire body of each
[2:19:02] and every person sitting up there on that city council. I also want to express my gratitude to
[2:19:07] those who helped guide us through this transition.
[2:19:09] I want to thank the Association Management Company
[2:19:12] they helped, but I want to thank our city attorney, Katie.
[2:19:19] I want to thank HR, our interim HR director.
[2:19:23] I want to thank all those who have their hand, Tim Davis,
[2:19:26] our attorney.
[2:19:27] I also want to express my gratitude who have also guided us
[2:19:30] to Darren and Darren Gail.
[2:19:32] It's a private year.
[2:19:33] Thank you for stepping in at a time when the city
[2:19:35] need is that fast leadership. Thank you for reconnecting the council with staff during
[2:19:40] a really difficult time and helping us navigate a difficult moment with grace and straight
[2:19:45] up professionalism. To Teresa, I want to thank you for stepping up as our interim director
[2:19:51] of human resources. Thank you for your diligence, your hard work and commitment to keeping this
[2:19:55] organization of stable and strong every phase of this process. Brentwood deserves leadership
[2:20:02] with the reflects both competence and compassion.
[2:20:04] I believe that Mr. Duffy brings both.
[2:20:08] His hiring is not just about feeling the position,
[2:20:11] it is affirming who we are as a city.
[2:20:13] Forward-looking, fair-minded, and unfair,
[2:20:16] and unafraid, I'm sorry, to lead with integrity.
[2:20:19] And I wanna say that as your vice mayor,
[2:20:22] I believe that when we stand for what is right,
[2:20:24] even if it's uncomfortable for someone else,
[2:20:26] we move our community closer to justice, equity,
[2:20:29] unity, and true progress.
[2:20:30] Thank you Madam Mayor for allowing me to speak.
[2:20:34] Thank you very much for your comments.
[2:20:35] Who would like to go next?
[2:20:38] All right.
[2:20:42] First of all, I want to start off by thanking all the staff that filled in for the positions
[2:20:47] moved out of their normal positions into more challenging spots, spots that were unique.
[2:20:55] You guys did an amazing job.
[2:20:57] Like the vice mayor had said, bringing that relationship back between staff and council,
[2:21:06] you did a phenomenal job of doing that.
[2:21:09] And I think it will carry on and make the City of Brentwood a far better place for years
[2:21:15] to come.
[2:21:16] So Cara, you stepped into a position that isn't a normal position for an HR director and
[2:21:23] you jumped in with both feet. You were willing to take on every project I asked and reporting back
[2:21:30] and you did an amazing job and I truly appreciate everything you did. And Teresa, you did an amazing
[2:21:37] job. You're very soft spoken but you did a very very good job stepping into that role and getting
[2:21:45] the information out, guiding me through a very challenging testing process of making sure I got all my
[2:21:50] classes I was supposed to get done, so thank you very much.
[2:21:54] But truly what we're here to talk about is Mr. Duffy and I appreciate the citizen
[2:22:02] to Brentwood that reached out to us.
[2:22:04] Now some of the questions were a little offensive.
[2:22:08] Some of the questions were I felt challenging to us as individuals and maybe not trusting
[2:22:16] that we had the best interest of the City of Brentwood.
[2:22:21] But if you didn't bring the concerns to us,
[2:22:23] you wouldn't know, we had already hired,
[2:22:26] we had already had a company, Peckham and McKenney,
[2:22:29] that is gonna do all of those backgrounds for us,
[2:22:32] that's gonna have researched all of that information.
[2:22:36] And Mr. Duff, he brought it up in his interviews.
[2:22:39] So he brought in the interviews, but he brought it up to us
[2:22:42] and let us know that this existed
[2:22:45] so that we had the opportunity to look into it.
[2:22:48] I've spent many, many years in the law enforcement world, interviewing police officers, interviewing
[2:22:56] people, moving into city government, and I was amazed at the interview that you gave
[2:23:04] to City Council when you first walked in the door.
[2:23:07] Your leadership experience is going to stand out and help the city of Brentwood grow and develop and become a much better place, so I truly appreciate the fact that you were very upfront and that you made this process a lot easier for all of us. So thank you and thank you guys for everything you did.
[2:23:32] I echo all the sentiments. I'm going to start with Teresa. Teresa, thank you for filling
[2:23:36] in. I appreciate you. You are so kind. And thank you for being here at every meeting and
[2:23:41] guiding us through our HR issues. Well, Sikari, you got to do a role that really stretched
[2:23:48] your skills set. But I think it's, I think it, and it's something, I don't know if I can say this,
[2:23:54] but simply we talked to Harold about, we want to make sure other people get opportunities
[2:23:58] to stretch themselves and see what else they might want to do, because that's what a good leader does.
[2:24:04] And that's the questions that we ask that I ask and were important to me.
[2:24:08] So I appreciate you stepping up and thank you for all you've done. I've heard nothing but great things, so thank you.
[2:24:14] Darren, I just appreciate you.
[2:24:17] If you knew me in my real life, you would know that I curse a lot.
[2:24:22] And Darren lets me curse with him on the phone and let out all my frustrations and then I move on.
[2:24:27] so thank you for supporting us. I think a few people have mentioned it. I don't think it's
[2:24:35] a secret that our relationships with staff could be strained and what you did during this time
[2:24:41] to try to bridge those relationships is really appreciated. Thank you for accepting me for me
[2:24:46] because that could be hard sometimes but thank you for everything that you've done.
[2:24:51] Oh, why do I feel like guys, you're leaving. You're not leaving.
[2:24:56] Harold, I appreciate you sticking with us through this process.
[2:25:00] This process was a little bit longer than usual, and it was because we wanted to do our due diligence.
[2:25:05] When we get the calls, like Tony was saying, I'm like, why did you think it took so long?
[2:25:10] Like, we can't talk about it, but it took so long because we all felt great.
[2:25:15] I'm not, we all, I'm not going to speak for you guys. I felt great about the decision,
[2:25:17] and we went through our due diligence to make sure that our residents would be okay
[2:25:23] with the decision.
[2:25:25] I appreciate you, you know, Patricia brought up earlier Vice Mayor, you know, it's
[2:25:31] weird to me the connotation that people bring up when someone says they're from Oakland.
[2:25:36] I don't understand it, and it's embarrassing that I hear that in Brentwood because there
[2:25:42] is a lot of us out here from San Leandro, Oakland, Hayward, and we didn't invite ourselves
[2:25:47] someone approved the homes that brought us out here, right?
[2:25:50] So if you didn't want us out here, you should probably
[2:25:52] send a loud, your city council to build some houses,
[2:25:54] which is what people are doing now.
[2:25:56] So, you know, I appreciate you and I welcome you,
[2:26:00] and I want people to really give you a fair shot.
[2:26:03] You know, I think once they get to know you,
[2:26:06] they'll really appreciate you.
[2:26:07] So thank you for that.
[2:26:09] The young lady who spoke about Ag.
[2:26:11] Ag is not forgotten.
[2:26:13] He knows it's not forgotten.
[2:26:15] it's important to us. I think that we know we need to grow, but we need to also always embrace
[2:26:22] our heritage as a city. I, as a Latina, embrace all of the field workers and all of the agriculture
[2:26:28] that they do in the city, so that's not going away, so please don't be scared about that.
[2:26:33] But I appreciate everyone who's come and spoke. I don't like all of the comments that we see,
[2:26:40] like, you know, Vice Mayor Pearson said on the blogs, it's pretty disgusting.
[2:26:45] You know, people who run blogs could make choices to hide comments and delete comments.
[2:26:52] I wish that there was a higher calling for these people to actually say, you know what?
[2:26:58] That sounds really racist.
[2:27:00] Let me delete it.
[2:27:02] Because someday we're all going to be gone and we're all going to go to the pearly gates.
[2:27:06] And we'll be judged by the way we treated others.
[2:27:09] And that's all I got to say about it.
[2:27:15] So much to say.
[2:27:17] I am going to start with thinking staff as well.
[2:27:21] I am going to thank Teresa.
[2:27:23] Teresa, thank you so much for all your help.
[2:27:25] During the last few months, stepping into the HR role, especially while we're going through contracts and everything.
[2:27:31] Thank you very much.
[2:27:33] Your calmness brings a lot more than to any situation, so I appreciate that.
[2:27:39] So, Kari, thank you so much for all your help with economic development.
[2:27:42] We've heard nothing but raving reviews and compliments and everything about how you
[2:27:48] navigated with certain people and how you brought some things together.
[2:27:51] So, thank you so much and you're always so open and inclusive and we be on appreciate that
[2:27:56] about you.
[2:27:57] Thank you so much.
[2:27:59] Darren, you're very vivacious.
[2:28:01] You bring life to so many different situations and you brought a huge connection to the
[2:28:07] disconnection that was here when I first came on so I really appreciate that. I'm looking
[2:28:12] forward to what a lot of the future is going to come especially with your guidance. Katie, I really
[2:28:19] want to thank you as well because you were a huge pillar in us going through this whole process
[2:28:25] and we would have not been able to navigate a lot of these situations with you so I have to say
[2:28:30] thank you very much for that and also to the consulting company that really helped us.
[2:28:36] When it came to the city manager hiring process, it's probably the most intricate process
[2:28:43] that I've ever been a part of and I work for city government.
[2:28:47] And the collaboration and the different people that were involved in everything, it really
[2:28:53] took a lot of time.
[2:28:55] It took a lot of energy from every single one of us here to come to this decision that is
[2:29:03] going to be in front of you guys shortly. And when we saw Harold, like Harold, when I saw
[2:29:10] your interview, I was totally impressed. You were a leader, you were a mentor, you knew how
[2:29:16] to coach and develop and have a succession plan already. And the way that you kind of looked at every
[2:29:23] different job that you've had, you've put in role, you've put in people in roles where succession
[2:29:28] planning was a high priority and you didn't want to hold all the cards to yourself and that's
[2:29:33] something that I really really enjoyed about learning to get to know you more that you're not the
[2:29:38] kind of person where you're going to keep everything to yourself you want everybody that is working
[2:29:43] for you to actually be better than you and that is something that really made me admire you to the
[2:29:49] point where I even thought I was like oh my god I want to be mentored by him so you were amazing
[2:29:56] So I really want to thank you for that.
[2:29:59] I do have.
[2:30:00] I have to apologize for our community. I do take, as us being city leaders, some people's comments were very derogatory in whatever nature. I am sorry that you have to go through that and experience that. And to those folks, I hope that you do give him a chance and give you a chance to see what you bring forward. And some of those commentaries, I have to condemn completely their disgusting. I am appalled by them. And I welcome challenges.
[2:30:29] I welcome questioning. I welcome transparency. That is our job. The one thing I will echo that all of us had said here is that we're not, again, rubber stampers. We do not say yes to everything. We question every single thing.
[2:30:46] And the one beautiful thing about this process is that we were able to turn every rock that was put in front of us and a lot of it was brought forth by you.
[2:30:54] So, um, I am fully trusting my decision, um, that is to come forward.
[2:31:00] So I really appreciate that. Thank you.
[2:31:04] Okay, I'm going to take my regular turn now.
[2:31:07] Um, I'd like to start by asking everyone a question.
[2:31:10] How many people in this room, um, were born in Brentwood?
[2:31:17] Okay, one, one person. Um, for those of you who are not born here,
[2:31:23] it means that you moved here, most likely, because you liked the lifestyle,
[2:31:27] style. You're like the quality of life. You're like the community. You like the farming.
[2:31:30] There was something about Brentwood that attracted you. I did the same thing. 16 years ago,
[2:31:36] I moved to Brentwood from Pleasanton. Pleasanton was nice, but frankly, it was it was overgrowing.
[2:31:41] It was getting too many high-rise buildings and too many high-density apartments and it
[2:31:45] was not the Pleasanton I loved. Brentwood is now the longest period of time I've ever in
[2:31:50] my entire life lived in one city. And I'm living here because I choose to live here and
[2:31:56] because I love this city and I'm serving this city because I love this city because I love this community.
[2:32:02] I have no desire to change Brentwood into anything other than Brentwood. That doesn't mean
[2:32:07] that we don't need to make some changes to make our quality of life better. We talked about a little
[2:32:12] bit about the commute. The job's housing balance here is way off and our council has fought really hard
[2:32:20] to keep control on the housing boom that the state is forcing on us. That's a constant fight.
[2:32:25] We're going to have to continue to fight, and if you haven't recognized that, that's
[2:32:29] something that we do a lot behind the scenes, you don't even know about, that we spend
[2:32:32] time on, because we know how important it is to Brentwood to try and keep the community
[2:32:37] quality of life that we all moved here for.
[2:32:40] So the idea that we bring in people from the outside because we want to turn Brentwood into
[2:32:45] another city, nobody on this up here, nobody on staff was born here.
[2:32:51] So we're not, we're clearly not trying to do that.
[2:32:53] And again, we go back to that, Oakland just somehow being a trigger word for people, which I,
[2:32:57] again, find offensive. I will say everyone has the right to speak. I have received, as the mayor,
[2:33:05] a little bit more attention on this because I did the press release, working with staff and thank
[2:33:10] you for that, to introduce Harold. And the reason we did a press conference and the reason we did
[2:33:16] that meet in great last week was because we were trying to get a handle on some of the negativity that
[2:33:21] was out there, we were trying to give people a chance to really get to know Mr. Duffy,
[2:33:24] to understand who he is and what he could bring to the table.
[2:33:28] And actually, I think the press conference in the meet and greet went pretty well.
[2:33:31] We'll do another one.
[2:33:33] And most of the people there felt pretty good about it.
[2:33:36] We did get a lot of questions, we got some comments.
[2:33:40] I would say in general about 50, 60 people, something like that.
[2:33:44] And in the end, there might be some people that still have some doubts.
[2:33:47] But there was nobody that was incredibly rude.
[2:33:50] And I felt good about that.
[2:33:52] I've been trying to stay off of social media.
[2:33:55] Danny, I think, was speaking to me directly when he said to do that.
[2:33:59] Since this whole thing went down, I've been threatened with recall three times.
[2:34:03] One of them is from a gentleman in Brentwood that has called and left increasingly aggressive and angry and frustrated messages saying
[2:34:11] he will do everything this power to recall me.
[2:34:14] That's your right to say that.
[2:34:15] But I'm not going to call you back, sorry, because I don't make enough to sit and listen to being abused like that and harass like that and yelled at and screamed at because you're angry because you have a bias against Oakland.
[2:34:31] I'm just not going to listen to it.
[2:34:33] I have tried as a council member since 2020 being elected to be responsive via emails, and I think I've done a pretty good job of that.
[2:34:40] I have not found a way to respond to the emails that I'm getting.
[2:34:44] Now, some of them are going to all counsel, but I want to remind all of you I'm one person
[2:34:48] and one vote.
[2:34:50] And I might be the assigned media person and so my face is out there a little bit more
[2:34:54] on things like this, but I can't move anything forward on my own.
[2:34:58] It takes the majority of us.
[2:35:00] So that's a reminder too.
[2:35:01] I've not been good about responding to emails on this because I've been really frankly
[2:35:06] does heartened by it by the response that I'm seeing and by the accusations that I'm seeing
[2:35:11] and the aggression and the anger and it's not the city that I love. I'm not seeing it right now.
[2:35:17] So I'm going to get back into this swing of responding to people and I hope that people watch
[2:35:23] this meeting after the fact. I hope that our local media and online media write about this and
[2:35:31] And quote, some of what we've been saying, because we can be better, we should be better.
[2:35:37] We talk about being a city that is warm and welcoming and community driven and resident
[2:35:42] driven and inclusionary, and we're not being that right now.
[2:35:45] So I really hope that we can be better and that we can give Mr. Jaffee a chance.
[2:35:51] I think he will all be pleasantly surprised if you just spend some time talking to him.
[2:35:57] I'm going to also talk a little bit about the farming thing just because it was brought
[2:36:01] up.
[2:36:02] I'm on the Ag Enterprise Committee.
[2:36:03] I love the farm to table and I love the agritourism thing.
[2:36:07] We're doing a lot of really good work in that area.
[2:36:09] So you might want to sign up for the agendas for that committee and you can learn more about
[2:36:15] the Ag Innovation Center that we're going to be bringing forward.
[2:36:18] There's some really great things happening there.
[2:36:21] I'm going to, again, remind everyone you have the right to speak, but I hope that when you speak, when you speak, here is obviously it's different from when you're speaking online because the people that said the horrible, horrible, horrible things online that said the worst things online, they're not here.
[2:36:37] They didn't even, they didn't even call and zoom in. They sent emails that were really nasty or they made comments on Facebook or next door, wherever.
[2:36:45] that were really nasty, and they thought they were done, and they thought they were
[2:36:49] going to intimidate us into making a decision that we didn't want to make.
[2:36:52] So I'm sorry if I'm losing a lot of friends and fans right now.
[2:36:56] I don't really, it's not going to bother me because we need to stand up and do the right thing.
[2:37:01] And I feel like council right now is the way they've all expressed themselves,
[2:37:05] they're doing the right thing, and hopefully people are listening.
[2:37:08] I'm going to end my comments by thinking staff, everyone else started with that.
[2:37:11] And I want to say Teresa, you actually, you've been so patient with me because I have
[2:37:17] been a little stressed lately, and I have not done my training, the council member Orleman's
[2:37:23] referred to, and I know I have to, and you've been so patient and you've sent me the things
[2:37:27] to do it correctly, I have not, but I promise you I will.
[2:37:30] And I honestly, what you bring in addition to the call, everybody talks about you're always
[2:37:35] smiling, you're always very welcoming.
[2:37:36] I mean, I can't imagine a better position for you than being HR, because that's what
[2:37:41] people need when they've got a concern or a complaint.
[2:37:44] They're concerned about a, you know, their manager or something like that.
[2:37:47] You're just perfect.
[2:37:48] I can't see her.
[2:37:50] Can you back up, please?
[2:37:51] Thank you.
[2:37:53] I really enjoy getting to know you, and I didn't know you at all before, and I find myself
[2:37:57] very grateful for some of the shifting that happened that allowed that.
[2:38:01] So thank you so much for being so gracious to all of us, and to really helping.
[2:38:05] and I know you've been a huge help to staff as well, thank you for that.
[2:38:09] I will say, Sakari, one of the first things you started doing immediately was being incredibly
[2:38:14] responsive.
[2:38:16] Like you were proactive in just jumping on these emails and making sure that people had
[2:38:21] answers to their questions, especially knowing there was transition going on and people weren't
[2:38:25] sure what they were going to experience with all the changes happening, it was incredible
[2:38:29] what you've been able to do.
[2:38:31] You've been able to just kind of boost trust with residents and just let them know they matter.
[2:38:36] It's beautiful what you've done.
[2:38:38] And I really appreciate it.
[2:38:40] And Darren, I think the idea that you have staffed before, elected officials directly
[2:38:46] staffed.
[2:38:47] And it's so obvious to me that you've done that.
[2:38:49] It cracks me up sometimes, well, we'll be at events.
[2:38:52] And you'll approach me and say, Mayor, I think I need you to do blah, blah, blah.
[2:38:55] Because you can see that I'm dear in the headlights and I need to go do something else, but I can't
[2:38:59] quite break away. Um, that's the small thing. But what you've done, everybody here has talked about how you've been so great at mending fences and building bridges and it means so much to me that you've done that it's been a huge focus for you and I don't, I don't, I don't, I mean, it appears everyone feels the same about that and I don't want to talk too much about what happened.
[2:39:21] excuse me, what happened before, but it's just, it's a big deal what you've done with
[2:39:26] that. You've done a lot of other things too. I think you've been very responsive. You've
[2:39:31] been on top of things. You've got really great ideas. I will never forget what you did for
[2:39:36] the first state of the city that is like defying everything we've ever done before and it just
[2:39:41] establishes who we are as a council to. You just, you read us very well. You respond to
[2:39:46] us, you're very caring and kind and people love you. And I appreciate being able to work
[2:39:50] with you in this position and I hope you'll stick around. And Teddy, yes, thank you very
[2:39:54] much for your support with this process. This has been something I've never been through
[2:39:58] before, hiring a city manager. And it's been a lot of learning. And so you have been a good
[2:40:04] support through this process and we appreciate you for that too. And I think with that, I'm
[2:40:08] done, I'm talking more tonight than I typically do. So I would like to ask for a motion unless
[2:40:14] there's any further discussion I'll make the motion who's like was going to go on first
[2:40:21] mine I'm going to second it before she makes the motion okay I move to adopt our
[2:40:28] resolution I'm proving an employment agreement with G Harold Duffy to serve as
[2:40:32] the next city manager for the city of Bratwood second rule call though please
[2:40:39] Councilmember Maloney yes vice mayor Pearson very much yes and I am in a room with
[2:40:45] Councillor Fluffy.
[2:40:47] Councillor Mendoza.
[2:40:48] Yes.
[2:40:49] Councillor Oileman.
[2:40:50] Absolutely.
[2:40:51] Mayor Mayer.
[2:40:52] Yes.
[2:40:53] And the item moves forward.
[2:40:54] Congratulations, Mr. Duffy.
[2:40:55] Welcome to the team.
[2:41:03] Did you want to say anything?
[2:41:06] You don't have to.
[2:41:06] We're putting you on the spot.
[2:41:08] But I
[2:41:12] would like to mention, as he's walking up, Mr. Duffy did not have to accept our invitation
[2:41:16] to the press conference.
[2:41:17] He wasn't working here at the time.
[2:41:19] But he graciously came and put himself through that as well.
[2:41:22] Thank you for that, too.
[2:41:23] Thank you.
[2:41:29] I want to say, let us move forward in this process, let us work together to ensure that we highlight the specialness of Brentwood.
[2:41:44] Remember, it is our story to tell.
[2:41:49] And I look at the assets of printwood, first of all, there's name recognition, right?
[2:41:54] I have to go into my dad, no, it's not the one next UCLA, it's actually in Northern California.
[2:42:01] But what I'm so excited about really is, is that this isn't a job, it's a part of my career.
[2:42:10] And that's what we want to make sure that employees have here in printwood.
[2:42:14] We don't want to have a job. We want to have a career where we can grow, as you said earlier.
[2:42:20] And I would just say this to the residents, I'm so proud of how professional your elected officials are in this process.
[2:42:30] I've made it my career to make sure that when I work for an organization, there are no surprises for the elected officials.
[2:42:40] I'm very transparent. As a member of the ICMA where we are responsible to uphold
[2:42:47] ethical tenants, we want to make sure that we, that above everything else, integrity is the most
[2:42:55] important thing. If I lose the trust at the council, I've lost the council. What's very important
[2:43:03] is this. It's hard to understand this, but the real role of a city manager really is
[2:43:10] not that to go through exactly where I went through. Our role is as a manager. It's
[2:43:16] the two things up. Get it ready to go, pull your vision, your plans out, align the resources,
[2:43:23] and get things done. When you see a city manager continuously talking, talking, talking,
[2:43:29] talking, there's something wrong in the organization. Our role is, is to manage the group,
[2:43:36] or surround ourselves with our technical experts, have them do the presentation,
[2:43:42] give the council the best information available and possible so they can make an informed decision.
[2:43:48] That's our role, that's our goal. I'm committed to that. I'm so excited to be able to take
[2:43:55] projects, wrap them up, based upon the vision of the council that represents the
[2:44:02] citizens. That's our goal. The staff doesn't care who the mayor is, who the
[2:44:10] council members are, but they respect the people that are sitting in those seats.
[2:44:14] And our obligation responsibilities make sure that when you enter this arena, that
[2:44:20] you have all the information that you need in order to make an informed decision.
[2:44:24] and we will stand behind that 100%.
[2:44:29] We start off in a process and we,
[2:44:32] of course, of my career have had great projects.
[2:44:36] The best projects at all available,
[2:44:39] and the quick sit changes it.
[2:44:41] And I say to my staff,
[2:44:43] okay, the train is leaving.
[2:44:45] Get on the train.
[2:44:47] Let's make sure we get this thing done.
[2:44:48] So I'm very excited.
[2:44:50] I love what I do, and I've loved doing it for more than 30 years.
[2:44:56] I'm so excited for November 3rd.
[2:44:59] Thank you very much.
[2:45:07] Okay, ending the night on a boring note. Any request for future agenda items? We have to get back on the process. No? Okay. And any anything else before we adjourn? Do we have a motion to adjourn? Motion to adjourn.
[2:45:24] I'll second. All in favor?
[2:45:25] Councilmember Maloney.
[2:45:29] We have to do a roll call.
[2:45:32] Yes. Vice Mayor Pearson. I was hoping
[2:45:37] we get to see the puppy. Yes, I'm joined by this fluffy beast.
[2:45:43] Councilmember Mendoza.
[2:45:44] Yes. Councilmember Orleman.
[2:45:48] Yes. Mayor Meyer. Yes, and we are adjourned. Thank you so much
[2:45:52] for coming tonight.
[2:45:54] Good night, everyone.
[2:45:58] Oh, man.
[2:46:21] Right?
[2:46:22] Are you going to have a supper?
[2:46:26] Did you wait here to see?