[0:03] Good evening.
[0:04] Thank you all for your patience.
[0:06] Welcome back.
[0:07] We are now calling to order our regular meeting of the Martinez
[0:11] City Council.
[0:15] Can everyone hear me?
[0:16] Do we have an echo?
[0:18] We do have an echo.
[0:19] I'm going to continue talking, but if IT can address that,
[0:22] I would appreciate it.
[0:24] It is August 5, 2026.
[0:27] Again, apologies for some of the technical delays.
[0:29] It is 7:14 PM.
[0:31] Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance.
[0:35] I pledge allegiance--
[0:36] To the flag of the United States of America
[0:39] and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God,
[0:44] indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
[0:49] Clerk, please call the roll?
[0:52] Council Member Jay Howard.
[0:54] Present.
[0:55] Council Member Greg Young.
[0:56] Present.
[0:57] Council Member Debbie McKillop.
[0:59] Present.
[0:59] Vice Mayor Satinder Malhi.
[1:01] Present.
[1:02] Mayor Brianne Zorn.
[1:03] Present.
[1:04] All right, let's move straight into presentations.
[1:06] We have new staff introductions and some internal promotions.
[1:09] So, City Manager.
[1:11] Thank you, Mayor.
[1:12] Yes, we're very excited today.
[1:14] We have multiple staff across multiple departments
[1:17] that are being recognized either as a new staff member
[1:20] or as a recently promoted staff member.
[1:22] So we'll start with community and recreation services,
[1:25] and I'll turn it over to Debbie Hernandez, our recreation
[1:28] manager.
[1:31] Good evening, Council.
[1:36] Tonight, I wanted to introduce you to our new recreation staff,
[1:43] starting with Amber Curley, who is our aquatics coordinator.
[1:48] She started in November, and this is her first summer.
[1:52] So we really baptized her into this season.
[1:58] She's doing a phenomenal job.
[2:00] She comes from Concord in their Aquatics program.
[2:04] And she's a mom to three cats.
[2:08] She really wanted to make sure you all knew that.
[2:10] Very important.
[2:13] Next, we have Briana Stanley.
[2:16] She's also a coordinator also coming from Concord.
[2:19] So we stole them from the city.
[2:23] And as she started in June, she works with Gina
[2:26] at the Senior Center.
[2:29] Her fun fact is that she is a fraternal twin.
[2:33] And then Kalie Cambra.
[2:36] She was our recreation coordinator,
[2:39] overseeing sports, events, and camps.
[2:44] And we promoted her to supervisor in May.
[2:51] And she's doing a great job, being very
[2:55] tested, especially for the summer,
[2:57] but I'm really happy with her progress
[2:59] and what she brings to the table.
[3:02] Her fun fact is that she is a Disney aficionado.
[3:06] So if you have any questions, come to her.
[3:09] Thank you.
[3:13] All right, our Interim Finance director, Andrea Miller,
[3:16] had a personal engagement that she had to attend to tonight.
[3:19] So I'll kick us off with the Finance Department.
[3:22] Courtney Butler is our senior accountant.
[3:24] Our revenue accountant works with Water.
[3:27] And as many other things within our Finance Department,
[3:30] Courtney has been with us almost five years
[3:33] and, effective July 1, was promoted to senior accountant.
[3:36] So kudos to her.
[3:36] Fun fact, she used to live in Hawaii,
[3:40] which is a fun place to visit.
[3:42] So kudos to Courtney.
[3:44] And congratulations on your promotion.
[3:49] Thank you.
[3:50] Good evening, Mayor and City Council members.
[3:53] I have the privilege to introduce new Finance Department
[3:58] staff.
[3:58] I have Noemi Rivera.
[4:01] She's a new account technician I.
[4:04] She comes from Contra Costa County.
[4:07] She comes to us through the CC Works program.
[4:11] She loves listening to music and being outdoors with her family.
[4:15] And she's been with us about a month,
[4:17] and she's doing really great.
[4:20] Zalma Gallardo, she's an account technician I as well.
[4:23] She was hired in June '26, so just a little over two months.
[4:29] She loves playing guitar and has been
[4:31] playing since she was a kid.
[4:33] And she also is doing fantastic.
[4:36] And they are both great assets to us.
[4:39] Thank you.
[4:45] Thanks, Courtney.
[4:46] Now we'll turn it over to Joe Enke,
[4:47] our public works director for the Public Works Department.
[4:52] Good evening.
[4:54] For those of you who don't know, Brandon Manzano
[4:58] has been with the city for over five years.
[5:03] He's our resident superstar down at the yard.
[5:07] He's Mr. Can Do Jumps on Everything.
[5:11] The team down at the yard adores him,
[5:15] as does everybody at City Hall and all his clients.
[5:20] So Brandon got a well-deserved promotion
[5:23] from the street supervisor to assistant public works
[5:29] superintendent, giving Joey Becker some much needed support
[5:35] at the senior level.
[5:40] Fun fact, he's been studying martial arts for over 22 years.
[5:50] Another promotion jumped to the end is Edd Tank.
[5:56] He was one of those that-- it was one of the cleanup
[5:59] positions at the budget.
[6:01] He was a water meter repair technician.
[6:07] In addition to working in the Water Department,
[6:10] his real strength has been managing our parking meters,
[6:14] downloading and collecting all the data,
[6:16] coordinating with IPS there, our parking service provider,
[6:23] and just been just on top of everything
[6:26] related to parking in the downtown.
[6:29] So a much deserved cleanup to the job he has actually
[6:35] been performing.
[6:39] Fun fact, he's an amateur photographer and a World War II
[6:44] historian.
[6:46] And I was jokingly always calling him
[6:48] Mr. Edd, which he nails and says, well,
[6:52] how's it going, Wilbur?
[6:53] [LAUGHS] And then a new hire is John Lompa.
[7:03] He actually lives here in Martinez,
[7:05] grew up in Alhambra Valley.
[7:08] And he started July 20.
[7:13] So you'll see him in the downtown.
[7:16] He works, I think, Monday, Wednesday, Friday,
[7:19] 7:00 to 3:30 and then I believe Tuesday or Thursday,
[7:27] a shorter day until early afternoon.
[7:32] Great guy.
[7:32] He's a certified US mail design analyst.
[7:37] He worked in a print shop.
[7:40] His family had a print shop for a number of years.
[7:44] And then the other fact is that he types
[7:48] at over 80 words a minute.
[7:50] So yeah, we're glad to see John, as is
[7:56] I'm sure the downtown merchants and business community is.
[8:01] Thank you.
[8:02] Thank you.
[8:03] I'm so glad to hear that that position has been filled.
[8:05] We've been talking about that for a while.
[8:07] So that's a really big deal for those of us up here on the dais.
[8:10] So thank you, Joe.
[8:18] Good evening, Mayor, members of the council,
[8:20] members of the public.
[8:21] I'd like to invite up our newest sergeant, Sean Angoco,
[8:26] as well as our new officers who are going to be sworn in.
[8:30] Sean joined the department in 2018 as a police officer.
[8:34] He came to us by way of the community college district,
[8:37] where he worked as a police officer.
[8:39] He established himself as a leader within the department
[8:41] and was promoted to the position of police corporal, which
[8:44] he fill-- or he filled for several years.
[8:46] He also served as the president of the Martinez Police Officers
[8:49] Association.
[8:51] And we were very proud to be able to promote him
[8:53] to the position of police Sergeant.
[8:57] If you know Sean, he has a lot of fun facts,
[8:59] but one fun fact is that he enjoys
[9:01] volunteering at the Contra Costa County Animal Shelter.
[9:05] At this time, I'll call up Captain Alldritt,
[9:08] who will introduce our newest officers.
[9:13] Council, Mayor, it's my very high honor
[9:18] to introduce you to our four newest officers.
[9:21] We'll start with Officer Jose Fernandez here on the end.
[9:24] He was sworn in on July 10 after graduating from the Contra Costa
[9:28] County Training Center.
[9:30] Fun fact front and center is our most recent retiree,
[9:34] who is also his stepfather, retired Detective Sergeant
[9:38] Schnabel.
[9:39] And really, really excited to have Jose on the team.
[9:42] He'll be seeing his mom up here shortly.
[9:46] If you get a chance to meet her, you'll
[9:48] really enjoy that opportunity.
[9:50] On the end, next to Sergeant Angoco, is Mark Johnson.
[9:54] We're really excited to get Mark.
[9:56] And he was sworn in on July 9, 2026.
[10:00] Coincidentally, he went through the Police Academy
[10:02] with Officer Tyler Baddoo and a Contra Costa County native.
[10:07] And we were very excited to get him.
[10:09] And a fun fact is he played collegiate basketball.
[10:13] Next slide, please.
[10:15] Nicolas Silvani.
[10:16] Nicolas, I guess they can look at the picture
[10:18] and figure out who you are.
[10:21] He also graduated the academy and was sworn
[10:23] in on July 10 of this year.
[10:26] Fun fact, he is a crane operator--
[10:28] or was a crane operator and carpenter.
[10:31] He grew up in the Concord-Clayton area
[10:34] and was recruited by Sergeant Rodney Brinser.
[10:37] So we're excited to have him on board.
[10:39] And last but not least, we all know him, Tyler Woolf, formerly
[10:43] of the City of Martinez Corp Yard and Public Works
[10:46] Department.
[10:47] Just graduated the academy and was sworn in on July 10.
[10:50] And I just told you this fun fact, but born and raised here.
[10:54] And we could not be more proud of these young gentlemen.
[10:58] As I told others, we can train you to be a police officer,
[11:01] but we can't train you to be a good person.
[11:03] And these are four really good people, so we're excited.
[11:08] So before we get to the most important part of swearing them
[11:10] in, I did want to recognize a few people.
[11:12] We have some retirees.
[11:14] Retiring in the back, we have our lady posse group.
[11:16] Thank you.
[11:16] They support us through all the different holidays and so forth.
[11:25] I also want to recognize we have numerous of our graveyard team
[11:28] that you probably don't see that often,
[11:30] but they make sure the city is patrolled all night long
[11:33] and consistently.
[11:34] And they're a very hard-working group
[11:36] who isn't always seen in the public light.
[11:38] So thank them.
[11:40] I think Mariette right there is my executive assistant.
[11:44] She helps keep the police department running,
[11:45] but again, a person you don't see that often.
[11:47] You just see the results of everything that she gets done.
[11:50] And I also want to thank all the family that's come to support.
[11:53] None of us can do this job without your support,
[11:56] so thank you for being here.
[11:58] It's a proud moment for all of them.
[12:00] And then I also want to recognize
[12:02] Officer Aguirre, who just got done with the field training
[12:04] program.
[12:05] So congratulations.
[12:12] So at this time, I'll call up the city clerk,
[12:14] who will administer the oath of office.
[12:16] And immediately afterwards, your family that
[12:18] will come up to pin your badges, they
[12:19] can come up right after she administers the oath.
[12:26] Great.
[12:27] Good evening.
[12:28] Gentlemen, if you could please raise your right hand
[12:30] and repeat after me.
[12:32] I-- state your name--
[12:36] do solemnly affirm that I will support and defend
[12:42] the Constitution of the United States
[12:46] and the Constitution of the state of California
[12:50] against all enemies, foreign and domestic,
[12:54] that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same,
[13:00] that I take this obligation freely
[13:03] without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion,
[13:10] and that I will well and faithfully discharge
[13:15] the duties of the office of which I'm about to enter.
[13:21] All right.
[13:22] Congratulations.
[13:30] At this time, if you're going to pin the badge, please come up,
[13:33] and we'll hand you the badge.
[15:08] Did you get the picture?
[15:10] Yeah.
[15:10] OK.
[15:11] I don't want to interrupt these pictures.
[15:35] Can you guys come down on first?
[15:37] And then--
[15:39] So while they're doing all this important stuff,
[15:41] for those that are curious, the newest officers
[15:44] are finishing their in-house training,
[15:45] which is about a month.
[15:47] Once they're done with that, they'll
[15:48] be sent out to their shifts, where they'll work
[15:50] alongside experienced officers.
[15:52] So you see multiple officers and police cars.
[15:54] There are a lot more officers and calls for services
[15:56] because they're actively in the training program.
[15:59] That takes about four to five months.
[16:02] It's an intensive process for them and also,
[16:04] too, for the field training officers who
[16:07] are responsible for taking them from this stage
[16:09] all the way to being a solo police officer that
[16:12] can patrol on their own.
[16:29] OK, 1, 2.
[17:12] At this time, the family of the officers,
[17:14] if you want to come out this way,
[17:16] we'll meet you out in the front and go over
[17:17] to the police department.
[17:18] Thank you.
[17:23] Thank you to everyone coming to support your family members.
[17:34] All right, well, while their families are shuffling out,
[17:37] I'm going to proceed with the presentations.
[17:39] Our next one is a proclamation about National Night Out.
[17:42] We had National Night Out yesterday evening.
[17:44] And we, the whole council, came, and we read the proclamation.
[17:48] Is there anyone here this evening
[17:49] intending on receiving it tonight?
[17:52] No?
[17:52] OK, great.
[17:54] Moving on, our next presentation is Caltrans.
[17:58] Who will be giving that presentation?
[18:02] They're on the virtual.
[18:04] Oh, I see.
[18:27] Have they been promoted?
[18:29] Oh, OK.
[18:30] Oh, there we go.
[18:32] Hi.
[18:34] Sorry.
[18:34] There was a bit of a delay.
[18:36] Thank you, Council Members of Martinez,
[18:40] for having us here and letting us
[18:41] present for our closure that's coming up.
[18:44] My name is Sabrina Martinez.
[18:46] I am the PIO for Solano County.
[18:50] Denise Harding is also here, and she's the Contra Costa PIO.
[18:55] I will share my screen to get the presentation started.
[19:17] All right, so as I mentioned, I-80 Westbound Carquinez Bridge
[19:23] will be rehabilitated.
[19:25] This is going to be a full weekend closure from August 21
[19:29] to the 24th.
[19:34] The closure will be going all the way
[19:36] from 780 all the way down to the base of the bridge at Crockett.
[19:44] The project need.
[19:45] Basically, the asphalt has seen it's--
[19:48] it's shown its age, basically.
[19:51] And we need to rehabilitate it and get rid of all the cracks
[19:55] and make a smoother ride and prevent any further wear
[19:58] and tear.
[20:01] As I mentioned, the purpose of this
[20:03] is to preserve the life of the deck.
[20:06] And it's for safety and enhanced travel.
[20:12] For the scope of the project, we will be doing the top first inch
[20:16] of the asphalt, and it will be replaced with Trinidad Lake
[20:22] Asphalt. And the bridge deck is about 3,500 feet.
[20:27] All four lanes will be done during this weekend.
[20:31] And also, 1,550 tons of asphalt will be put down.
[20:36] I should mention, since this is going all the way up to 780,
[20:40] maintenance will also be taking advantage of the closure,
[20:44] and they will be doing any maintenance work, everything
[20:47] from tree trimming to repairs, graffiti removal, and also
[20:54] garbage removal, throughout that section that is closed.
[21:00] The schedule starts August 21 at 10:00 PM,
[21:05] and this will go through until Monday, August 24 at 3:00 AM.
[21:10] There will be no emergency vehicle access.
[21:15] Police and fire have been notified.
[21:18] And the pedestrian and bike path will be closed.
[21:22] You may have seen some posts up also
[21:25] for a single-lane closure this weekend,
[21:28] starting Friday night all the way to Saturday night.
[21:32] This is, again, just a single lane and the shoulder.
[21:36] They are doing a test strip in preparation for this closure.
[21:40] For this, the bike and pedestrian path will be open.
[21:47] The need for a full closure.
[21:50] Basically, it's recommended for the safety
[21:54] of the workers and public, and also due
[21:58] to the need of this specific asphalt needing to be
[22:02] at a 70 degrees or higher.
[22:05] So at night, they will be grinding that full bridge.
[22:08] And then in the daytime, once temperatures are reached,
[22:11] they will lay down the pavement.
[22:14] As I mentioned, this is all for safety and efficiency
[22:19] and because daytime is best for this asphalt.
[22:25] What we're doing for outreach, there
[22:28] will be regional changeable message signs,
[22:31] along with portable message signs
[22:33] displaying the closure dates and encouraging people
[22:37] to take our detours.
[22:38] And we're doing outreach, which I'll
[22:40] get into in the next couple of slides.
[22:45] So Vallejo will see closures of their ramps.
[22:51] And as I mentioned, no emergency vehicle
[22:54] access or pedestrian bike path.
[22:58] Our local detour is going to be from 780 all the way
[23:03] to 680 and onto State Route 4.
[23:08] And then for regional, we are going to message
[23:11] that people coming down from Sacramento come down from 680
[23:16] and take on 4.
[23:18] We have also done further outreach to Napa
[23:22] with their transportation authority,
[23:25] letting people know that 37 going--
[23:28] if you're going towards San Francisco,
[23:30] to take 37 towards the Golden Gate Bridge
[23:34] to get to San Francisco.
[23:36] And another message we can also use is that it will take longer,
[23:42] but I-5 is another route people can
[23:43] take to get to San Francisco.
[23:49] Like I mentioned, there'll be this deployment
[23:53] of the changeable message signs two weeks prior
[23:55] to the closure, displaying the dates and times of the closure.
[24:01] During the closure, it will display the detours.
[24:08] Outreach, as I mentioned, is city council meetings.
[24:12] We do have a media buy that will go all the way up to Reno.
[24:17] We do know that I-80 is a big thoroughfare for weekend travel,
[24:22] especially during the summer, and we
[24:24] want to make sure to get everyone notified.
[24:28] We have also reached out to our counterparts
[24:31] in District 3 and 2, and they have
[24:33] been sharing our social media posts and traffic advisories.
[24:37] Our website is live also.
[24:40] You can go to our Caltrans web page,
[24:43] and you can get any updates there as well.
[24:49] As I mentioned, the web page, Carquinez Bridge on Caltrans,
[24:54] it is live right now.
[24:55] Our hotline, if you have any questions,
[24:57] you can call that 510-286-0319.
[25:02] During the closure, we will be checking this regularly
[25:06] and answering any questions or concerns that may come up.
[25:12] For Caltrans, if you need to reach anyone,
[25:15] there's Bart Ney, our office chief,
[25:17] DeNise Harding for Contra Costa, and myself for Solano.
[25:22] Legislative Affairs, we have Gene Calderon and Erik Aguilar.
[25:28] And I do want to thank you for your time.
[25:31] Are there any questions or comments?
[25:36] Thank you for the presentation.
[25:37] I think we have one comment from Vice Mayor Malhi.
[25:40] Thank you very much, Sabrina, for the presentation.
[25:43] It was very helpful.
[25:45] Obviously, very much appreciate anything
[25:49] that Caltrans can do to help improve our road infrastructure.
[25:53] Just very quickly, I did want to follow up
[25:55] on a conversation I had with one of your colleagues,
[25:58] who provided a presentation here to us on a separate item--
[26:01] I believe it was in June before we took our summer recess--
[26:06] and that is with respect to the cleanliness, or lack thereof,
[26:12] of our freeway on-ramps and off-ramps and along the center
[26:16] mediums of the freeway.
[26:17] 6, 80, and 4 are the two major highways that traverse our city.
[26:25] And I couldn't help but note that the diversions that you
[26:30] had referenced in your presentation, these folks
[26:34] are going to be driving by some pretty stretches of road
[26:40] where there is, quite frankly, an embarrassing amount of trash
[26:44] on the side of the roads.
[26:46] And I pointed this out to one of your colleagues in June.
[26:49] We had received some correspondence
[26:51] that it would be addressed, but I just drove around
[26:55] over the weekend, and I have to say,
[26:56] I haven't seen very much in the way of improvement.
[27:00] And so I was just wondering if you
[27:01] could speak to that in terms of, what
[27:04] is the game plan to get these portions of the road cleared up?
[27:11] In particular, if you come off the Benicia Bridge
[27:14] and you're coming into town, on the right side
[27:16] there, before Arthur Road, I mean,
[27:19] there's a tremendous amount of garbage there,
[27:23] likewise on our on-ramps and off-ramps here along Highway 4.
[27:26] And even Highway 4--
[27:28] I challenge you all drive between Martinez and Hercules
[27:32] and look in the center--
[27:35] it's a garbage dump.
[27:37] It's embarrassing.
[27:39] And I'm sorry, but we can and need to do better.
[27:43] These are the gateways into our communities.
[27:46] And we always want to put our best foot forward.
[27:49] But we really need those of you at the state level
[27:52] to please help us.
[27:54] If I had the ability to go out there and assemble
[27:57] a team of volunteers to go clean it up,
[27:59] I would, but it's not in our jurisdiction.
[28:02] And so I'm just asking if you could please pass that message
[28:06] along to your higher-ups that we very much would appreciate
[28:13] getting those areas cleaned up.
[28:16] And if we can be helpful in some way-- we have citizens here
[28:21] who have indicated to us they would like to help.
[28:24] But again, that's not within our purview.
[28:27] But just know that we stand willing and ready to help you
[28:31] all out.
[28:32] So that's all I wanted to say.
[28:34] Thank you, Mayor, for indulging me.
[28:37] And I appreciate anything you all can do on that front
[28:40] as well.
[28:41] Thank you.
[28:41] No, I totally hear you.
[28:43] I do have some info, not specifically
[28:47] for garbage removal, but we do have encampment information.
[28:51] We have one on 680 Grayson Creek at Marsh Drive being
[28:55] removed, actually, August 3.
[28:59] And 680 Central Avenue at Pacheco,
[29:03] it should have been started today also with 680 Berry Drive.
[29:09] As far as litter removal, I will pass this on.
[29:13] And I believe Denise is on here, too.
[29:15] And hopefully, we can pass it to Maintenance
[29:17] to see if they can get a schedule down to do cleaning.
[29:24] Since you brought up encampment, I would just--
[29:26] I think we should probably move on because that's not the topic
[29:29] tonight.
[29:30] We have a lot of things on the agenda.
[29:31] Yeah.
[29:31] All right.
[29:32] Thank you.
[29:32] I'll follow up with you all offline.
[29:34] Thank you.
[29:35] Sounds good.
[29:36] Thank you.
[29:37] Thank you, Sabrina, for the presentation.
[29:40] We appreciate the heads-up.
[29:41] And thank you for all the ads that you're putting out.
[29:43] And we'll make sure to communicate this out
[29:45] to our community as well.
[29:47] Thank you for your--
[29:48] Question.
[29:48] Please.
[29:48] Oh, sorry.
[29:49] Could you repeat the hotline number?
[29:52] Oh, sure.
[29:53] Let me grab that for you.
[29:58] It is 510-286-0319.
[30:08] Very good.
[30:08] Thank you.
[30:09] Yep, no problem.
[30:10] Thank you for your time.
[30:11] Thank you.
[30:13] All right, let's move on to the next item, public comment.
[30:17] I received two public comment cards,
[30:20] so we'll start with them as a reminder.
[30:22] Anyone who's available to speak on any item
[30:24] not on tonight's agenda, you'll have three minutes.
[30:26] If you didn't give me a public comment card
[30:28] and you'd like to speak, just raise your hand
[30:29] when these two are done.
[30:31] And then once we've spoken with everyone in the room,
[30:33] we'll move on to the virtual audience.
[30:35] So our first commenter is Richard Anderson.
[30:43] Hmm, looks like the clock started.
[30:47] I made a request to the city building inspector
[30:50] that he tell me what structures that he claimed
[30:53] were on my property that required a permit.
[30:57] He actually refused to return my phone calls.
[31:00] Some time ago, I welcomed the community economic development
[31:03] director and asked for assistance.
[31:05] I was ignored.
[31:08] I asked the chief building official to obey 105.3.1--
[31:11] it's a California law--
[31:13] and he did not respond.
[31:15] I appeared before the council and city manager
[31:17] with a polite request, and I was ignored.
[31:21] I made a second appearance suggesting
[31:23] if there was a fee to get information,
[31:25] I was willing to pay for such.
[31:28] I was ignored.
[31:29] I appeared a third time after reviewing the city fee schedule
[31:32] and could not find a fee to get information.
[31:35] So I offered $1,000 in cash to be placed in the general account
[31:40] to get a letter from the city building inspector identifying
[31:44] these structures in my rear yard that required a permit.
[31:47] I appeared a fourth time asking again, I was ignored.
[31:51] This is my fifth appearance.
[31:53] As a result of my third appearance,
[31:56] the city manager caused the city attorney
[31:58] to notify me that I would be referred to the district
[32:01] attorney for bribery.
[32:05] The city attorney made it clear that my offer
[32:07] to pay to get information was not bribery,
[32:10] but the city manager insisted that would happen.
[32:14] So I got that letter.
[32:16] The $1,000 offer for information is still available,
[32:20] and I can easily increase it if necessary.
[32:24] I sent recently a certified letter to building inspector
[32:27] demanding he identified the structures.
[32:30] He refused to do that.
[32:33] It is secrecy that destroys trust.
[32:36] After five appearances, the city manager appears to want secrecy.
[32:41] It's arrogance that destroys trust.
[32:44] It's censorship that destroys trust.
[32:47] An interesting thought, as I seek no money from anyone--
[32:52] I don't want to file any lawsuit or just
[32:54] get involved in that type of nonsense--
[32:56] we can resolve this issue, but that requires communication.
[33:03] Well, I shall be at the next city council
[33:05] meeting and every city council meeting
[33:07] until I am provided a written document identifying
[33:09] the structures which require a permit.
[33:11] I don't have any alternative.
[33:13] But I really think that we can resolve this issue,
[33:16] but that requires communication.
[33:20] Thank you very much.
[33:24] All right, next up, Tony Jetland.
[33:39] Hello, everyone.
[33:41] Chief White.
[33:43] As some of you know, a couple of weeks
[33:45] ago, I was out doing my night fly.
[33:49] And about 10 o'clock, I was just wrapping up,
[33:52] and Martinez PD came by, very polite, very gentle, and said,
[33:57] hey, everybody has to go home.
[33:59] Everybody has to leave at 10 o'clock at the marina.
[34:02] I'm going, I've never been shooed out of there
[34:06] at 10 o'clock for flying kites.
[34:09] Nothing against the PD.
[34:10] I know they're doing their job.
[34:11] A lot of respect.
[34:12] But when you got people out on the pier fishing 24 hours a day,
[34:15] 7 days a week, 365 days a year--
[34:17] I've been flying down there after dark for forever.
[34:22] And it says I have to get a permit.
[34:24] How much is that going to cost me?
[34:26] Do I need a permit every time I need to go fly a kite at night?
[34:31] I'm looking for help, just looking for little guidance
[34:34] on how I can continue to do something
[34:37] I've been doing for a long time without causing attention
[34:40] to the PD.
[34:42] Any suggestions?
[34:43] Any help?
[34:47] We can connect with you afterwards, but are you sure
[34:50] it's Martinez PD and not East Bay Regional Parks Police, sir?
[34:53] I know it's Martinez PD.
[34:54] OK, we'll check it out because I'm not aware of a permit.
[34:57] Because this guy was incredibly apologetic and very empathetic,
[35:00] so I knew he was a Martinez PD.
[35:02] We'll connect after.
[35:03] When I looked through the passenger side window
[35:05] into the car, I said, as I'm just packing my stuff up,
[35:09] he goes--
[35:09] I was just packing my kites up.
[35:10] He goes, oh, you're the kite man?
[35:12] Yeah.
[35:14] So it's like it had to be Martinez PD.
[35:17] But anyways, please help.
[35:19] That sounds like the police will reach out to you
[35:22] and discuss more.
[35:24] Thank you for your comment.
[35:25] Hopefully, in a nice way, they'll reach out.
[35:27] OK, thank you.
[35:28] Thank you.
[35:29] Is there anyone else in the Council Chambers
[35:31] this evening that would like to speak?
[35:33] All right, seeing none, how about on the virtual audience
[35:36] this evening?
[35:37] For those attending virtually, if you'd
[35:38] like to make a comment for a non-agendized item,
[35:41] please use the Raise Hand feature.
[35:48] I have no hands.
[35:49] OK.
[35:51] Thank you so much.
[35:51] All right, let's move on to the consent calendar.
[35:55] One second.
[35:56] Let me pull up the-- there it is.
[35:58] OK, so the consent calendar this evening
[36:00] is comprised of items 4 through 12.
[36:03] And I understand that Staff would like to pull item 10.
[36:08] So would anyone else on council like
[36:10] to pull any other item besides item 10?
[36:17] No?
[36:18] OK.
[36:19] In that case, I would like to open these items up
[36:23] to public comment.
[36:24] Does anyone have any public comment on the consent calendar,
[36:27] excluding item 10 that we'll talk about a little bit longer?
[36:31] No?
[36:33] All right.
[36:34] All right, back to council for a motion.
[36:37] Please.
[36:38] Yeah, I'd like to make a motion to pass the consent calendar
[36:43] items 1 through 9 and 11 and 12.
[36:47] Second.
[36:48] All in favor, please say aye.
[36:49] Aye.
[36:51] Motion passes, all ayes.
[36:52] Great.
[36:52] Thank you so much.
[36:54] OK, so, Steph, would you like to speak on item 10 for me, please?
[37:04] Do you want me to lead off that with asking my questions,
[37:07] or do you have those?
[37:08] Perhaps I can start on the bid protest component,
[37:10] and then Staff can answer other questions if that works.
[37:13] So Staff did receive a bid protest
[37:16] from the second lowest bidder, MFS Construction,
[37:20] which raised a concern that one of the subcontractors
[37:24] for the K&S Mechanical subcontracted
[37:28] lowest bidder, W.E. Lyons Construction,
[37:31] did not have a contractor's license.
[37:34] The bid protest was received timely on July 29.
[37:39] Staff received a response from the lowest bidder on July 31
[37:43] and assessed both of them.
[37:44] And the city engineer reviewed it,
[37:46] in consultation with myself and the city manager,
[37:48] and determined to recommend to the council
[37:51] to reject the bid protest because the contractor's
[37:54] license of K&S Mechanical was retroactively reinstated such
[37:58] that at all relevant times, K&S Mechanical has
[38:02] a valid contractor's license.
[38:04] The temporary suspension that had been cited in the bid
[38:07] protest applied during a period when their contractor's bond
[38:10] had expired, but as noted in the materials
[38:12] that they themselves sent, once the CSLB, Contractor State
[38:18] License Board, processed the revised bid bond for the revised
[38:23] bond for K&S Mechanical, that reinstatement
[38:27] is retroactive back to the effective date
[38:29] of that bond, which covered the period at issue.
[38:32] Staff independently verified that K&S Mechanical does
[38:37] have a active state contractor's license,
[38:41] and the same for the other subs listed as well.
[38:45] So with that, I'll look to the engineer to confirm,
[38:48] but Staff would recommend that the city council reject the bid
[38:51] protest.
[38:51] And I believe there's some other questions
[38:53] that the city engineer would go through as well that
[38:58] were raised by the council.
[39:08] Do you want me to read the questions,
[39:09] and then you can answer them?
[39:12] OK, so I would like to know who the subs are.
[39:15] Are they union?
[39:16] What is being self-performed by non-union GCs?
[39:20] What is the planned start date for this project?
[39:23] What is the planned completion date?
[39:24] Is this fully funded by the city?
[39:26] Is there a guarantee that the bridge will permanently
[39:29] be open once the scope of work is completed?
[39:33] How long is the warranty on workmanship?
[39:36] Is this entire project under prevailing wage
[39:39] certified payroll?
[39:40] Also, who does the certified payroll?
[39:43] Why was the council not informed ahead of time
[39:45] that we would have a non-union GC running
[39:48] this high-dollar project?
[39:49] Was Gordon Ball, a union contractor
[39:52] that originally did the work, contacted about
[39:55] doing this project?
[39:57] And why was union GCs contacted about bidding--
[40:00] no, excuse me, was there union GCs contacted
[40:05] about bidding on this project?
[40:07] I did send these questions ahead of time
[40:09] to staff to give them plenty of time to respond.
[40:15] Sure.
[40:16] So let me start at the top.
[40:19] Who are the subs?
[40:21] W.E. Lyons has five listed subs, starting with EnPro Elevator.
[40:30] And they are a union contractor.
[40:36] Coastal Mountain Electric was their electrical subcontractor.
[40:39] They are non-union.
[40:42] MDC Low Voltage Systems is working
[40:46] on their security cameras.
[40:48] They are union with the IBEW.
[40:54] Securetech Fence Systems doing the secure fencing
[41:02] on the second deck.
[41:04] They are also a union, and they're the Laborers Union.
[41:10] KNS Mechanical is doing the HVAC and some of the sheet metal,
[41:15] and they are non-union.
[41:21] The GC, or W.E. Lyons, is performing just under $228,000
[41:32] of the work, of the $549,000 union-based contract.
[41:41] Planned start date is September 1,
[41:44] pending execution of the contract
[41:47] and getting everybody on board.
[41:50] Planned completion date is by the end of the year,
[41:54] and that depends on--
[42:01] We don't anticipate problems, but there
[42:04] are some shop drawing submittals for the fencing
[42:07] and some of the other material.
[42:09] And there is approximately an eight-week lead time
[42:12] on some of the fencing material.
[42:16] But we're still planning on the end of the year completion.
[42:23] This project is fully funded by the city.
[42:26] And yes, we're using local measured J dollars.
[42:30] That's part of the countywide sales
[42:33] tax for transportation-related projects.
[42:37] Is there a guarantee that the bridge
[42:39] will be permanently open once this scope of work is completed?
[42:45] Yes, we're coordinating with both the Amtrak and Capitol
[42:50] Corridor on some of their ongoing security improvements
[42:54] and camera work at the station.
[42:57] And also, we've been working--
[43:00] Joey Becker has been working very closely
[43:03] with the state elevator inspectors and Otis Elevator
[43:10] to get and keep the elevator on the north side up to date
[43:15] and in service.
[43:21] Is the entire project under prevailing wage
[43:24] certified payroll?
[43:26] Yes, it is.
[43:27] Almost all city projects, Public Works projects
[43:32] are subject to prevailing wage.
[43:36] And just a side note on that, we do have a consultant on board
[43:43] that specializes in review of certified payrolls certified
[43:48] by the State Department of Industrial Relations for that--
[43:53] --that information and where we can get it.
[43:55] Yeah.
[43:57] Kim Flynn-- I don't know her exact--
[44:00] I think it's Labor Compliance something.
[44:01] But I'll send that information.
[44:04] Thank you.
[44:10] Why were we not informed that we would
[44:12] have a non-union GC running this high-dollar project?
[44:17] Currently, we have no requirement
[44:20] for union contractors.
[44:23] Prevailing wage is the one requirement
[44:27] that we do have for all of these.
[44:31] Was Gordon Ball contacted about this project?
[44:35] They were not contacted directly by my staff,
[44:38] but they would have the same access as anyone
[44:41] else to the bid documents and the plan
[44:44] rooms where it was advertised.
[44:47] And just a side note, additionally, Gordon Ball
[44:50] would have probably had very limited work
[44:53] on the job themselves primarily because they
[44:56] are a heavy general engineering contractor.
[45:02] So it's primarily the elevator and some of the security
[45:06] fencing, and that would be generally a subcontractor
[45:11] scope of work.
[45:15] Were there any union general contractors contracted
[45:18] about this bidding?
[45:21] Again, we advertised both here locally
[45:25] to comply with the local posting,
[45:28] but more broader outreach is we used an online plan room.
[45:36] And they automatically distributed to all the bid rooms
[45:40] and plan rooms throughout--
[45:45] actually, some are actually across the country.
[45:48] There's one in Southern California.
[45:50] But all the ones in the Greater Bay Area and North
[45:54] Bay and even Central Valley receive
[45:58] notices of projects bidding.
[46:00] And then they ping them, and they
[46:02] scan it to see if there's anything that was
[46:07] of interest for them to bid on.
[46:10] So I think that answers the questions you posed.
[46:18] Just a couple more.
[46:19] So the elevator, we've had a lot of problems
[46:23] getting those elevators up and running in the past.
[46:27] Is that the issue?
[46:29] So the issue has been primarily vandalism.
[46:35] Because we gave the vandals access to that roof
[46:38] line, and they were able to go through and terrorize the heat
[46:41] pumps.
[46:43] So there's various things the elevators have been just
[46:47] directly related to, either prying open the elevator doors
[46:52] or accessing the mechanical rooms that serve the elevators.
[46:58] So they've disrupted some of the control
[47:03] components of the elevator.
[47:05] They've gone in and jammed the doors.
[47:09] They've done a variety of things to the elevators on both.
[47:16] The new one that was ready for service a couple of years ago,
[47:22] it's been repaired probably four times since.
[47:25] It's been sitting idle.
[47:27] We have been able to secure the mechanical rooms and so forth.
[47:36] I think we've eliminated the break-ins into those.
[47:40] And then on the existing train station,
[47:45] again, it suffered both vandalism,
[47:48] but when we actually went back in to put it back into service,
[47:54] all the components had become basically obsolete.
[47:59] And so they were not repairable or replaceable.
[48:03] And there's been enough significant code changes
[48:07] in the requirements that we had to restore
[48:14] a lot of the control cabinets.
[48:17] There's actually a new cooler in there
[48:20] to keep some of the components at a proper temperature.
[48:25] And then there's some hardening and some physical improvements
[48:30] to the elevator.
[48:33] One significant improvement that is contained in this
[48:39] is that both elevators will actually
[48:41] have a camera inside the car so that if somebody
[48:47] enters and do things they shouldn't, they're
[48:53] able to be monitored.
[48:55] And who monitors that?
[48:58] So that one would have a feed to the PD dispatch.
[49:03] Some of the other on-site cameras
[49:06] are monitored by the Amtrak.
[49:11] So help me out with this, Chief.
[49:13] If this happens again and they break into the elevator car,
[49:18] are we going to be able to do something about it?
[49:22] Yeah.
[49:22] I mean, the intention of the cameras
[49:25] are to certainly help within that.
[49:27] I think part of the problem there was that the facility was
[49:31] never fully open, so it was ripe for somebody
[49:35] to meander their way in there or hang out there
[49:38] over a longer period of time and cause damage,
[49:40] and nobody else is noticing it.
[49:42] The hope is that once it's open and it's
[49:44] active and being utilized regularly and, of course,
[49:46] monitored, that we wouldn't have those issues.
[49:52] So I think we'll be in a better situation.
[49:54] And certainly, we'd have evidence
[49:55] if we needed to prosecute.
[49:57] But more importantly, beyond prosecution,
[49:59] we want to be aware before the damage happen.
[50:02] And unfortunately, before, because of where it's situated,
[50:05] we may not know for days, weeks later that there
[50:08] was that type of damage.
[50:09] Right, right.
[50:11] And help me with this.
[50:14] Didn't we pass an ordinance about the transportation
[50:17] and that we put some teeth to that?
[50:20] Yes, that's true.
[50:21] So there are additional remedies that we have to clear people out
[50:25] of there if they decide to set up camp or whatnot there
[50:29] on that overcrossing area, as well as, in the ultimate case,
[50:34] to remove people for periods of time
[50:36] if they violate rules within that area.
[50:41] I also think, too, that the hardening
[50:43] that's going on up there will have a positive impact.
[50:46] You talked about the condenser units up there.
[50:49] That area was, frankly, just way too open,
[50:53] so this will be better.
[50:55] So there's a good hope that by the end of the year,
[50:58] not only will you be able to get it open,
[51:00] but we'll be able to keep it open
[51:01] because I know the whole council is excited about that.
[51:05] Yes.
[51:05] And beyond what the city is doing,
[51:07] the Amtrak camera upgrades are very comprehensive.
[51:11] They're putting a ton of cameras out there.
[51:13] Very good.
[51:14] And they have people monitoring them where?
[51:18] Their setup is a little bit different,
[51:20] so I can't speak to exactly how it works.
[51:21] I don't think it's as real time as ours.
[51:24] But they do have the ability to access them.
[51:28] And I believe, too, they're putting a call station,
[51:31] I think, on the crossing, if I remember correctly the plan.
[51:36] They expanded.
[51:37] Originally, their project stopped at the crossing.
[51:39] And based upon the input of council
[51:41] and then Staff working back and forth with Amtrak,
[51:43] we got them to expand their project
[51:45] to encompass the walkway.
[51:49] Yeah.
[51:50] So you're pretty satisfied with the hardening?
[51:53] Yes, and I think having it open where people regularly
[51:57] are utilizing that.
[51:58] When you have closed spaces, you're
[52:00] naturally going to have problems with people
[52:01] finding their way in there and then creating
[52:04] problems versus an active area.
[52:06] It tends to discourage that just on its own.
[52:09] Very good.
[52:10] Thank you.
[52:13] Thank you, Jay, for all the questions.
[52:14] Anyone have any other follow-up questions?
[52:17] I thank Joe for all of his responses.
[52:20] And I just wanted to be clear.
[52:23] Several of the questions were regarding union work,
[52:27] and I wanted to acknowledge that last year, our PLA expired.
[52:32] And we have been requesting periodically
[52:35] from the previous participants of the PLA
[52:38] to come back to the table to discuss
[52:40] so we can get a PLA back on the books for the city of Martinez.
[52:44] But it did expire last year, and so there is no PLA currently,
[52:49] which is what Joe was talking about.
[52:50] However, if there had been a PLA in effect,
[52:53] our PLA applied to projects that are over a million dollars.
[52:55] And I believe this was a $500,000 some odd project.
[52:59] So even if we had the PLA in effect,
[53:01] it would not have triggered.
[53:02] So I just wanted to make sure that that's clear
[53:05] because there were a lot of questions and a lot of answers,
[53:07] but I feel like that's the crux of the matter.
[53:09] So any other questions or comments?
[53:14] And just to further underscore the point,
[53:17] the majority of the subcontractors
[53:20] are, in fact, union on this project.
[53:22] Correct?
[53:24] That's correct.
[53:24] OK, thank you very much.
[53:28] And personally, the city manager can
[53:31] attest this has been my pet project that I
[53:33] have been bothering Staff on every three months
[53:35] since I became mayor.
[53:36] So I'm really happy to see this moving forward.
[53:39] And I think this will be a really great add because it
[53:44] has been added and taken away and added
[53:46] and taken away multiple times in the past eight years.
[53:48] So I will be very happy when it is open and when it stays open.
[53:52] OK, with that, any public comment on this particular item
[53:56] regarding the pedestrian bridge?
[54:00] No?
[54:01] OK, anyone in the virtual audience?
[54:04] Please use the Raise Hand feature.
[54:11] I have no hands.
[54:12] All right, a motion, please.
[54:14] Yeah, I'd like to make a motion to approve resolution
[54:16] of the City Council of the City of Martinez accepting the bid
[54:19] of W.E. Lyons Construction as the lowest responsible
[54:23] and responsive bidder and rejecting the bid protest filed
[54:27] by MFS Construction, authorizing the city manager to execute
[54:31] a contract and any change orders until completion of the proposed
[54:36] intermodal elevator and security improvements,
[54:39] project number C6012, in accordance with the approved
[54:45] plans and specifications, and amount not to exceed $631,822,
[54:51] which does include the contract of $549,410 and a 15%
[54:59] contingency fee of $82,412.
[55:03] Second.
[55:05] All in favor, please say aye.
[55:07] Aye.
[55:08] Motion passes, all ayes.
[55:09] Great.
[55:10] Thank you.
[55:10] All right, let's move on to general business,
[55:13] item 13, adopting a resolution approving five Sesquicentennial
[55:17] Utility Box Art Project designs.
[55:27] All right, so good evening, Mayor Zorn and City Council.
[55:31] My name is Carrie Rivers, and I'm
[55:32] a management analyst in the city's Community and Economic
[55:35] Development Department.
[55:37] Tonight, I'll be presenting the Sesquicentennial Utility Box Art
[55:41] Project design selection for your review
[55:44] and possible approval.
[55:49] So let's begin with some background.
[55:50] The city Public Art Policy was adopted in 2022
[55:55] and established a collaborative process between Staff
[55:59] and the Parks, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission,
[56:03] now known as Parks, Recreation, Marina, and Arts
[56:06] Commission, or PRMAC, for the development
[56:09] of a city-initiated public art project or program.
[56:14] The city's Utility Box Beautification Pilot Project,
[56:17] which launched in 2019 prior to the adoption of the Public Art
[56:21] Policy, transformed seven city-owned utility boxes
[56:24] into vibrant public art installations
[56:27] and helped create the foundation for the sesquicentennial Utility
[56:31] Box Art Project.
[56:35] In early January 2026, the Public Art Review Committee,
[56:38] which consists of city staff from different departments
[56:42] and divisions, met to discuss a possible expansion of the pilot
[56:46] project and identify five utility box locations.
[56:51] On February 17, 2026, Staff presented the Sesquicentennial
[56:55] Utility Box Art Project to the PRMAC,
[56:58] who reviewed and supported the proposed commemorative expansion
[57:01] of the pilot project in celebration of the city's 150th
[57:05] anniversary of incorporation.
[57:09] The Sesquicentennial Utility Box Art Project
[57:11] incorporates the citywide theme, past, present, future, together,
[57:17] includes five city-owned utility boxes, also known
[57:20] as traffic signal cabinets, maintains artist stipends
[57:24] as included in the pilot project,
[57:26] expanded participation to community members 18
[57:30] years of age and younger with guardian authorization,
[57:34] and included a new online community voting process.
[57:40] The call for artists was released on March 2
[57:43] and closed on May 3, 2026.
[57:47] The city received 31 design submissions from 22 applicants.
[57:52] Submissions were first reviewed by the Public Art Review
[57:55] Committee and then by the PRMAC.
[57:59] And all designs were recommended for inclusion
[58:01] in the online community voting process.
[58:05] Voting ran from June 1 to July 20 through PollUnit,
[58:09] with 3,844 votes received from 1,342 devices.
[58:17] The five designs with the most votes
[58:19] were selected for the city council's consideration
[58:22] this evening.
[58:24] Staff considered applicants' location,
[58:25] preferences, vote counts, and surrounding context
[58:29] to finalize the installation location recommendations.
[58:36] And now I'll present the five recommended
[58:38] designs identified through the community voting process.
[58:42] And please note that you can view all 31 design submissions
[58:46] and application summaries in attachment B of the Staff
[58:50] Report.
[58:54] So design number one is titled Roots of Tomorrow
[58:57] and was created by applicant Roman Nunez.
[59:01] Roots of Tomorrow received the highest number of votes, 338.
[59:05] And Staff recommends installation
[59:07] on utility box number 4, which is located at Alhambra
[59:10] Avenue and Walnut Avenue.
[59:16] Design number two is titled Native Amphibians, Reptiles,
[59:19] and Plants of Martinez and was created by applicant Jacqueline
[59:23] Rajerison.
[59:25] The design received the second highest number of votes, 267.
[59:29] And Staff recommends installation
[59:31] on utility box number 2, which is located at Morello
[59:34] Avenue and Muir Road.
[59:40] Design number three is titled Alhambra Hills Forever
[59:43] and was created by applicant Teryn Brown.
[59:46] This design received the third highest number of votes, 257.
[59:51] And Staff recommends installation
[59:52] on utility box number 5, which is located at Alhambra
[59:56] Avenue and Rockridge Drive.
[1:00:01] Design number four is titled Sun Shines in Us
[1:00:04] and was created by applicant Megan Godino.
[1:00:07] Sun Shines in Us received the fourth highest number
[1:00:10] of votes, 238.
[1:00:12] And Staff recommends installation
[1:00:13] on utility box number 1, which is located at Morello
[1:00:17] Avenue and Morello Park Drive.
[1:00:21] And finally, design number five is titled Flying Kites
[1:00:25] and was created by applicant Sophia Leighton.
[1:00:28] Flying Kites received the highest number--
[1:00:30] or the fifth highest number of votes, 227.
[1:00:34] And Staff recommends installation
[1:00:36] on utility box number 3, which is located
[1:00:39] at Center Avenue and Muir Road.
[1:00:43] Upon city council acceptance, Staff
[1:00:46] will work with the selected applicants
[1:00:48] to complete agreements, coordinate installation
[1:00:51] with the vinyl wrap vendor, and distribute artist stipends
[1:00:54] to the selected applicants, with a tentative completion
[1:00:58] for fall 2026.
[1:01:02] The Sesquicentennial Art Project is anticipated to cost $15,000.
[1:01:07] And the budget is intended to cover the costs associated
[1:01:11] with printing and installing the vinyl wraps
[1:01:14] and then the artist stipends of $750 per selected utility box
[1:01:20] design.
[1:01:22] And staff time with managing the program
[1:01:25] is covered by the general fund.
[1:01:29] This project aligns with the city's four-year strategic plan,
[1:01:35] specifically goal E, strategy 3, to plan and execute a citywide
[1:01:41] 150th anniversary celebration that honors Martinez's history,
[1:01:46] fosters community pride, and strengthens civic and cultural
[1:01:49] connections.
[1:01:52] So the recommendation is to adopt a resolution
[1:01:55] approving the five sesquicentennial utility box
[1:01:58] designs and locations and authorizing the city manager
[1:02:02] to execute agreements with the selected applicants in a form
[1:02:05] approved by the city attorney.
[1:02:09] Thank you.
[1:02:09] And now for any comments or questions.
[1:02:12] Great.
[1:02:12] Thank you.
[1:02:13] I was so happy with the caliber of art
[1:02:16] that we received this year.
[1:02:18] I was really, really excited.
[1:02:19] And I want to thank Staff for managing the public voting
[1:02:23] process.
[1:02:24] I thought that was even more fun than the way we did it
[1:02:26] the first time when we were doing it through the Parks
[1:02:28] and Rec Commission.
[1:02:29] So this was a really cool way of doing it.
[1:02:32] I did have one question for you.
[1:02:35] What will be the process moving forward?
[1:02:37] Are each of the artists, once they're selected,
[1:02:39] asked to recreate their drawings in order to put them
[1:02:43] into the vinyl format?
[1:02:45] How does that work?
[1:02:46] Yes, so we will have--
[1:02:49] and I'll note that in the application,
[1:02:50] it allows for preliminary drawings pretty close to what
[1:02:55] the final products would be, but there can be some modifications.
[1:02:59] The process will be for the vinyl wrap vendor
[1:03:02] to provide specific requirements.
[1:03:06] And we'll be working closely with the artist and the vinyl
[1:03:09] wrap vendor to then transfer it into the format
[1:03:12] that they need to then print the designs.
[1:03:14] So the designs are not final, so we
[1:03:16] could provide a little bit of input
[1:03:18] now that we could provide back to the artist for a few items.
[1:03:22] I had two comments, if I may.
[1:03:25] The first one was that I think the second to last item,
[1:03:31] it would be great to see the representation
[1:03:34] of the sesquicentennial logo and John Muir
[1:03:37] drawing be at the same level of detail
[1:03:41] as the rest of the poppies that were on that design.
[1:03:44] I believe that was Megan Godino's design.
[1:03:47] And I think the poppies are super detailed
[1:03:49] and would be great if we could elevate the other drawings that
[1:03:52] are there.
[1:03:53] They look like sketches, and I suspect
[1:03:55] that is going to be changed anyway when you get the final.
[1:03:58] And then my other comment, the ones
[1:04:01] that had the turkey vulture and the cow on it,
[1:04:05] the cow is softer, has ground, looks
[1:04:09] a little bit more realistic.
[1:04:11] The turkey vulture is just a fairly harsh design.
[1:04:15] If we could provide feedback to the artist
[1:04:17] to maybe provide a branch or sky or something
[1:04:20] to soften that to more resemble the cow,
[1:04:22] I think that would be a good tweak for that
[1:04:25] before it goes final.
[1:04:28] So I think those are my two comments.
[1:04:30] Does anybody have any questions about this process for staff?
[1:04:37] I just have a comment.
[1:04:38] I think it's great we're giving them a stipend.
[1:04:41] I think that's wonderful.
[1:04:42] And I like all the artwork.
[1:04:45] I'm really impressed, like the mayor
[1:04:46] was saying, with the quality and the level of artwork.
[1:04:51] I think it's wonderful.
[1:04:53] That's all I got.
[1:04:58] I was just going to ask very quickly,
[1:05:00] so the boxes themselves, what was
[1:05:03] the criteria that was used to select the specific locations?
[1:05:12] It seems like a lot of them are north of Highway 4,
[1:05:15] or am I mistaken?
[1:05:18] So the design-- or the selection of the utility boxes, the intent
[1:05:22] was to try and expand.
[1:05:24] So we have existing painted utility boxes, some of which
[1:05:27] are concentrated along Alhambra and within the Downtown.
[1:05:31] So with the locations that were selected,
[1:05:35] it was trying to find ones in different areas of the city.
[1:05:38] So that's the primary process.
[1:05:41] And then we were focused on the city-owned traffic signal
[1:05:44] cabinets.
[1:05:45] OK.
[1:05:45] And to add a little bit to that, when
[1:05:47] we went through the process of selecting the locations,
[1:05:50] in addition to looking at where the existing utility boxes were,
[1:05:54] that was a matter that was brought before the PRMAC,
[1:05:57] as well as the city council for determination.
[1:06:01] As Carrie indicated, we worked to spread them out.
[1:06:03] We tried to get at least one box in each council district.
[1:06:07] We came close, given where existing traffic signals
[1:06:11] are located.
[1:06:20] Yeah, thank you for the presentation
[1:06:22] and for sharing with us the final recipients of the utility
[1:06:27] box award.
[1:06:28] I just want to also thank all the other artists out there
[1:06:31] that submitted their work.
[1:06:32] There was over 30 submissions, and they're all
[1:06:36] just unique in their own way.
[1:06:38] And there's some others that would be pretty
[1:06:41] strong runner-ups to the five.
[1:06:43] So I hope that in the future, if there's other,
[1:06:46] which there will be, other utility box
[1:06:48] projects, that they submit their artwork again for round three
[1:06:53] because this is round two.
[1:06:55] And I'm also glad to hear that the artists are
[1:06:59] able to work with the city on any tweaks
[1:07:02] or any little, small changes that might be needed in any
[1:07:05] of these renderings so that they can be more adequately placed
[1:07:11] on the utility box or any small changes that
[1:07:15] may be of a request.
[1:07:16] So I appreciate their working with the city to do that.
[1:07:19] And look forward to seeing them out there on the street.
[1:07:22] Thank you.
[1:07:27] So no, I was just curious.
[1:07:30] I know there are traffic signal boxes,
[1:07:33] and they're usually about the size of the podium there.
[1:07:36] Are there other boxes that are going
[1:07:40] to be covered in this artwork?
[1:07:42] I know, for example, underneath the power
[1:07:45] lines where they have a relay, there's boxes the same size.
[1:07:51] Are those on the list as well for next year?
[1:07:55] Do we know?
[1:07:57] So there are some limitations--
[1:08:00] and Joe may be able to speak to this as well--
[1:08:03] on which ones can be painted.
[1:08:05] So the traffic signal box-- or cabinets
[1:08:09] actually belong to the cities.
[1:08:12] A lot of the other ones are PG&E service cabinets,
[1:08:15] and we're not allowed to adorn their cabinets.
[1:08:22] So it limits the locations where we could--
[1:08:29] Yeah, that cuts out a lot of them.
[1:08:31] So that being said, I know they're
[1:08:34] in different varying conditions as far as the paint on there.
[1:08:40] Are you guys planning on doing any prep work
[1:08:42] before those skins go on?
[1:08:44] Because I imagine there's some that are really rusted
[1:08:47] that might need a little help.
[1:08:50] So the vinyl wrap vendor will complete a site assessment
[1:08:55] before the final dimensions are provided.
[1:08:59] But generally, the utility boxes,
[1:09:02] these ones for this round, do not have much rust on them.
[1:09:06] I know in the pilot round, there were some that were pretty
[1:09:09] rusty, but for the most part, these aren't.
[1:09:11] But we'll get feedback from the vinyl wrap vendor
[1:09:15] if that's necessary.
[1:09:16] And how many of those boxes have been identified overall?
[1:09:21] Do we just have a count for this year,
[1:09:23] or do we know how many there are in the city throughout?
[1:09:29] I don't have that number on me right now,
[1:09:31] but we should have a general count
[1:09:34] because when the pilot project was first developed,
[1:09:37] I know that there was an assessment done
[1:09:39] of the city-owned traffic signal cabinets.
[1:09:41] So we should be able to get an updated count
[1:09:45] and if there's any changes to that list.
[1:09:47] I'd be curious to know.
[1:09:50] Thank you.
[1:09:50] And just to piggyback on that, for future art where--
[1:09:56] the ones that didn't get the top votes,
[1:09:59] will they be in the running for new locations for utility boxes,
[1:10:04] or would the process start over again?
[1:10:06] I think that the process would potentially start over.
[1:10:08] I mean, we definitely are going to maintain the artist list so
[1:10:12] that we can contact them if and when future rounds are released.
[1:10:17] And that may be something where we can
[1:10:19] explore if there was a design.
[1:10:22] Yeah, only, I mean, there were some,
[1:10:25] I thought, great designs that didn't make it in the top five.
[1:10:31] So if there was a opportunity for those folks to resubmit,
[1:10:35] the ones that didn't make it, just thought I'd bring that up.
[1:10:39] But great job.
[1:10:41] Thank you.
[1:10:42] And just to piggyback on that, I know
[1:10:44] that we've had some organizations, like Friends
[1:10:46] of Alhambra Creek, that were interested in sponsoring,
[1:10:50] but their offer of sponsoring a box
[1:10:52] came after we'd already started the process.
[1:10:54] We already had what the protocol would be.
[1:10:57] We already had what the theme would be.
[1:10:59] And so I think this is exciting, that this has proven it works
[1:11:02] and that, hopefully, the next time around,
[1:11:04] we can work more closely with that organization.
[1:11:08] And maybe they can help select some of the themes that are more
[1:11:10] Alhambra Creek specific.
[1:11:12] And they can fund a couple of the boxes
[1:11:14] to expand it to even more people.
[1:11:16] So I think that's great.
[1:11:18] Any last comments?
[1:11:19] I was just curious on just some of our private utility
[1:11:23] providers, like Comcast and AT&T.
[1:11:25] Do they have a mechanism by which they allow
[1:11:28] their boxes to be painted?
[1:11:32] I was just curious.
[1:11:33] Anybody know?
[1:11:34] I need to clarify.
[1:11:37] I've spoken with my colleague in Engineering
[1:11:39] about some of the options for AT&T or Comcast.
[1:11:44] So I think that there might be some options there,
[1:11:46] but I need to clarify that.
[1:11:48] I'm just thinking, for some of the runner-ups,
[1:11:51] if there's opportunities elsewhere,
[1:11:53] it might be worth engaging in that conversation with them
[1:11:57] to see if that might at all be a possibility down the road.
[1:12:02] I think one of the challenges that we
[1:12:03] have is going to be funding associated with this project.
[1:12:06] So related to the previous discussion,
[1:12:08] when we potentially have a cultural facilities
[1:12:11] and public art fee, there might be more opportunities
[1:12:13] to fund some of these additional improvements.
[1:12:16] But I would say to that, we can certainly also look to folks
[1:12:23] at Comcast and AT&T to see if they
[1:12:28] might be willing to help underwrite such an effort.
[1:12:32] So I don't think that they support
[1:12:34] a lot of different community initiatives.
[1:12:36] I don't see why this couldn't be thrown into the possible mix.
[1:12:40] So just something to think about.
[1:12:41] And there's lots of community outreach groups,
[1:12:44] like the Kiwanians or the Rotarians,
[1:12:46] that might want to bankroll that.
[1:12:49] Throwing it out there.
[1:12:56] Great.
[1:12:57] All right, public comment.
[1:12:58] Anyone in the room this evening like
[1:13:00] to make any comments on this item?
[1:13:03] All right, how about virtual audience?
[1:13:05] Please use the Raise Hand feature.
[1:13:13] I have no hands.
[1:13:14] All right, back to council for a motion.
[1:13:18] I don't have any other comments.
[1:13:21] Actually, I'm going to make the motion this time because I'm
[1:13:24] excited about this project.
[1:13:29] Let's see.
[1:13:30] It's this one.
[1:13:30] Yeah.
[1:13:31] I'd like to move that we adopt the resolution approving
[1:13:38] the five sesquicentennial-- oh, my goodness, Sesquicentennial
[1:13:43] Utility Box Art Project designs and locations
[1:13:46] and authorizing the city manager to execute agreements
[1:13:48] with the selected applicants in a form approved by the city
[1:13:51] attorney.
[1:13:52] And, Mayor, that includes the minor tweaks as
[1:13:54] mentioned as well.
[1:13:55] Oh, including the minor tweaks as mentioned.
[1:13:57] Thank you.
[1:13:58] I'll second.
[1:13:59] All in favor, please say aye.
[1:14:01] Aye.
[1:14:02] Aye.
[1:14:03] Wonderful.
[1:14:03] Thank you.
[1:14:06] All right, wonderful.
[1:14:07] Thank you for the presentation.
[1:14:08] Are you staying up for the next item as well?
[1:14:10] OK.
[1:14:11] Next item is adopt a resolution approving a second mural design
[1:14:16] modification on the Universal Sports Academy Complex.
[1:14:21] Yes, thank you.
[1:14:22] So good evening, Mayor Zorn and City Council.
[1:14:24] Again, my name is Carrie Rivers, a management analyst
[1:14:27] in the Community and Economic Development Department.
[1:14:30] And I'll be presenting on the proposed Joe DiMaggio Hometown
[1:14:33] Hero Project Mural Modification Number 2.
[1:14:40] The Joe DiMaggio Hometown Hero Project Mural initiative
[1:14:43] began with a public art application in January 2024.
[1:14:47] The proposal was for a mural on the south-facing wall
[1:14:50] of the Universal Sports Academy Complex,
[1:14:53] located at 330 Ferry Street.
[1:14:56] After review by the Public Art Review Committee and Parks,
[1:14:59] Recreation, Marina, and Cultural Commission,
[1:15:02] the PRMCC recommended approval to the city council.
[1:15:07] In July 2024, the city council adopted resolution number
[1:15:11] 117-24, authorizing the city manager to execute a memorandum
[1:15:17] of understanding with the applicant and artist,
[1:15:20] which was fully executed in March 2025.
[1:15:27] In July 2025, the applicant contacted
[1:15:30] Staff to provide an update on their fundraising process
[1:15:34] and requested approval to modify the design
[1:15:38] to extend it onto the east-facing wall
[1:15:40] to acknowledge sponsors.
[1:15:43] The city council then adopted resolution number 25-126,
[1:15:48] authorizing addendum number 1 to the MOU,
[1:15:51] which was executed in January 2026.
[1:15:55] Additionally, the project applied for
[1:15:57] and received a $500 Community Groups Funding Program grant
[1:16:02] award and entered into an Art Commission Agreement
[1:16:05] in December 2025, as required for public art funded
[1:16:09] by the city.
[1:16:11] And the Community Groups Funding Program is a city grant program.
[1:16:15] Shortly after the addendum and Art Commission Agreement
[1:16:19] were executed, the artist began the mural installation, which
[1:16:23] then concluded in May 2026.
[1:16:29] The primary mural design on the south-facing wall
[1:16:31] features Martinez's attractions and prominent figures, including
[1:16:35] Joe DiMaggio and John Muir.
[1:16:38] The original design and final installation are shown here.
[1:16:46] As noted earlier, the first approved design modification
[1:16:49] extended the mural onto the east-facing wall,
[1:16:52] highlighting sponsors.
[1:16:54] And the installed modification is visible on this slide.
[1:17:03] During installation, there was strong community interest
[1:17:06] in participating through a public painting activity.
[1:17:10] To build on this and support the city's
[1:17:12] sesquicentennial celebration, the artist,
[1:17:15] in coordination with the mayor, proposed a second design
[1:17:18] modification.
[1:17:20] This would extend the mural onto the second and third panels
[1:17:25] of the east-facing wall on the lower portion,
[1:17:28] with community members invited to paint portions
[1:17:31] during the Sesquicentennial Festival on August 29.
[1:17:36] The modification is funded with $2,000 from sponsorships
[1:17:39] of the Sesquicentennial Festival.
[1:17:49] And here is the originally proposed second design
[1:17:52] modification, which depicts animals, vegetation, and text,
[1:17:55] SMALL TOWN, BIG HEART.
[1:17:57] It was to be refined to include acknowledgment
[1:18:00] of the city's sesquicentennial.
[1:18:03] The mural extension will incorporate the same color
[1:18:06] palette as the primary mural design
[1:18:08] and is also designed in a way that could later
[1:18:11] be further integrated into the primary mural
[1:18:14] and expanded on the east-facing wall at the city's discretion
[1:18:18] and should additional funding be identified.
[1:18:23] And today, the artist submitted an updated design
[1:18:26] incorporating the city's sesquicentennial acknowledgment.
[1:18:31] So that is this slide here.
[1:18:32] It wasn't in the staff report, but this
[1:18:34] is the new updated design that incorporates
[1:18:37] the acknowledgment of the 150.
[1:18:43] So upon city council acceptance, Staff
[1:18:46] will work with the artist and the Joe DiMaggio Hometown Hero
[1:18:49] Project to complete MOU addendum number 2 and Art Commission
[1:18:54] Agreement addendum number 1, coordinate the painting
[1:18:58] and community activation event at the Sesquicentennial Festival
[1:19:02] and distribute payment to the artist.
[1:19:08] The applicant is funding the primary mural and sponsor panel,
[1:19:12] estimated at $90,000, through donations and the $500 city
[1:19:18] grant.
[1:19:19] The second modification is funded with $2,000 through
[1:19:23] sponsorship of the Sesquicentennial Festival.
[1:19:28] And this project aligns with the city's four-year strategic plan,
[1:19:32] goal E, strategy 3, executing the 150th celebration that
[1:19:38] honors Martinez's history, fosters community pride,
[1:19:41] and strengthens civic and cultural connections.
[1:19:46] So the recommendation is to adopt a resolution approving
[1:19:51] a second mural design modification,
[1:19:53] extending the mural on the east-facing wall
[1:19:56] of the Universal Sports Academy Complex,
[1:19:58] located at 330 Ferry Street, and authorizing the city manager
[1:20:03] to execute a second addendum to the memorandum of understanding
[1:20:07] and first addendum to the Art Commission
[1:20:09] Agreement between the city, artist Tim
[1:20:12] Hon, and nonprofit organization Joe DiMaggio Hometown Hero
[1:20:16] Project in a form approved by the city attorney.
[1:20:24] Thank you.
[1:20:24] And now for any comments or questions.
[1:20:27] Thank you very much.
[1:20:28] And I appreciate that the artist provided an updated drawing.
[1:20:33] I know when I read it the first time,
[1:20:35] the original verbiage on that design
[1:20:39] was a little disconnected from the hometown hero mural.
[1:20:43] So I feel like this is a little better because it more connects
[1:20:46] with the day that we're inviting kids to come and paint
[1:20:50] the wall with him.
[1:20:51] So I appreciate that alternative.
[1:20:53] Does anyone have any comments that they would like
[1:20:55] to provide on this alternative?
[1:20:59] Debbie, do you want to--
[1:21:02] Sure.
[1:21:05] I honestly don't know if I totally
[1:21:08] embrace the design of what was presented,
[1:21:13] to be perfectly honest.
[1:21:15] I feel like the existing mural wraps around,
[1:21:19] and we put a lot of time and energy
[1:21:21] into making sure that it was consistent
[1:21:23] and that all the colors went together.
[1:21:26] And it was a lot of symbolism.
[1:21:28] And I feel like a lot of thought really
[1:21:29] went into the creation of the Joe DiMaggio Hometown Hero
[1:21:33] Mural.
[1:21:34] And like other murals that we've supported and sponsored,
[1:21:38] I feel like this is rushed.
[1:21:40] And I'm not sure I love what it's representing completely.
[1:21:44] Maybe I just don't see the full vision.
[1:21:46] I just see a little piece at the bottom of the building,
[1:21:49] and I don't see it connecting to the original one.
[1:21:52] I just feel it's a little displaced.
[1:21:55] That's just my immediate thought.
[1:21:57] So, I don't know, maybe we can--
[1:21:59] I don't know.
[1:22:00] I'm just one voice, and there's four other voices.
[1:22:05] But it just seems like it could do something a little different
[1:22:09] than what is represented.
[1:22:16] Just to be clear, I mean, I heard in the statement
[1:22:19] that the color scheme is going to match.
[1:22:22] So it's going to be the--
[1:22:25] whatever colors you call it, blue, green, yellow?
[1:22:28] Yeah, so the artist said that they
[1:22:30] would use the same colors that were used for the primary mural.
[1:22:33] So it can be any number of those colors,
[1:22:36] but it'll be just consistent with that.
[1:22:38] So just so I'm super clear and we say this out loud,
[1:22:42] this is for the kids or the people of the sesquicentennial
[1:22:46] to work on?
[1:22:51] Yeah, so it'll be open to volunteers of all ages,
[1:22:54] so it can be kids.
[1:22:55] The artist will be there to help provide guidance.
[1:22:58] They would outline the design elements,
[1:23:00] and then community members can participate
[1:23:02] in painting within the lines.
[1:23:04] I guess what's thrown me off is that what I'm looking at
[1:23:07] is pink and red.
[1:23:10] And so are they talking about the--
[1:23:15] help me understand what I'm looking at here.
[1:23:20] So that design, it's just the outlines.
[1:23:23] It is only what is shown--
[1:23:25] The lower part?
[1:23:26] Yes.
[1:23:27] It's just going to be the lower portion
[1:23:28] of that second and third panel.
[1:23:30] It's currently in a sketched design right now,
[1:23:34] but they would fill in the colors
[1:23:37] consistent with the primary mural.
[1:23:39] And so the upper part is not going to be painted at all?
[1:23:42] It's going to be the original--
[1:23:44] what color are we calling that?
[1:23:47] Yeah, so it would remain the existing color on the exterior--
[1:23:51] Industrial building color, right?
[1:23:57] And then this bottom part is going
[1:23:59] to be outlined and detailed in the green?
[1:24:03] So it's just going to be on the lower part,
[1:24:05] or the whole wall is going to be the matching colors?
[1:24:08] Just the lower portion, but the design right
[1:24:12] now is just the outline there.
[1:24:14] So it's not only going to be the outlines.
[1:24:16] It will be filled in with colors, but just that lower
[1:24:23] portion.
[1:24:23] OK.
[1:24:24] OK, well, I want to hear what the rest of my council members
[1:24:29] and mayor have to say about it.
[1:24:30] But I know from being down there when
[1:24:34] we were doing the original one that there was so much joy.
[1:24:40] And I gotta admit, man, I did my eyeball.
[1:24:42] And Tim and I had a blast laying it out together,
[1:24:46] and it was super fun.
[1:24:48] And so I'm excited for that.
[1:24:52] I think it'll be a big hit for the sesquicentennial,
[1:24:56] but I want to make sure everybody else is on board.
[1:25:04] Yeah, I'm not seeing it.
[1:25:07] It feels a bit disconnected.
[1:25:11] And then based on what was said, if the bottom half is going
[1:25:15] to be this green-yellow and then the top half
[1:25:19] is going to remain the same, it's just not flowing for me.
[1:25:30] And maybe I'm missing it, but, yeah, it
[1:25:34] seems a little disconnected.
[1:25:38] I mean, I can visually see Joe and John and Martinez
[1:25:44] and then going around on this side,
[1:25:46] and then there, it's just like, whoa, this is different.
[1:25:50] And then I'm also assuming the artist
[1:25:53] is going to be doing some touch-up
[1:25:56] on that bottom half where youth and folks are
[1:26:01] going to be painting?
[1:26:05] There's going to be some supervision so it is consistent
[1:26:10] and flowing and folks staying within the lines?
[1:26:16] Yes.
[1:26:20] OK.
[1:26:22] Let me be positive about this because I
[1:26:24] can see that we have some hesitation on the council.
[1:26:28] So as Jay mentioned, during the first round of this mural,
[1:26:32] a lot of younger kids got an opportunity to paint.
[1:26:35] And it was the expectation of the muralist,
[1:26:38] but not of the children, that the final mural
[1:26:41] would paint over all of the stuff that people painted.
[1:26:44] So there was some people that were
[1:26:46] very concerned and upset that their child's painting got
[1:26:50] painted over.
[1:26:51] And the Hometown Hero Project wanted to address it,
[1:26:53] and they wanted to give kids the opportunity
[1:26:55] to paint part of the mural that would stay that way forever
[1:26:59] so the kids could always come back and see their art.
[1:27:01] And we, as part of the Sesquicentennial Festival
[1:27:05] Planning Committee, thought that that would be a really great day
[1:27:08] to give kids the opportunity.
[1:27:09] So to address the height of it, it's only as high
[1:27:13] as children can paint because we don't want kids
[1:27:16] going up on ladders and painting the whole wall.
[1:27:18] That's how Tim and the Illuminaries
[1:27:20] painted the original mural, on multi-story ladders.
[1:27:24] They won't be doing that.
[1:27:25] And he'll be outlining the drawing that
[1:27:28] was supported by members of-- at least the board of the Hometown
[1:27:31] Hero Project.
[1:27:33] And then the kids can come.
[1:27:34] And he'll give them the paint, and they can paint this outline
[1:27:38] like a coloring book celebrating the sesquicentennial.
[1:27:40] And then they will have an opportunity
[1:27:42] to come back and enjoy the art that they have made.
[1:27:46] And there may be touch-ups, Jay, but it was my understanding
[1:27:49] that that was not really the intention.
[1:27:51] The intention isn't to cover over.
[1:27:52] The intention is to let kids paint it.
[1:27:54] So I just want to make sure that that's clear
[1:27:56] that this is supposed to be a very positive,
[1:27:59] kid-friendly painting exercise.
[1:28:03] But I see your concern about it not being similar.
[1:28:09] It does have a slightly different theme
[1:28:11] so that it can address the new people that
[1:28:14] were to be drawing on it.
[1:28:15] So--
[1:28:16] Also, one thing that's important to remember,
[1:28:19] that if you go back to the original primary one,
[1:28:25] I mean, if you're down there, you
[1:28:28] can still see some of the stuff that the kids did.
[1:28:32] I mean, there is a lot of stuff that's--
[1:28:34] let's see.
[1:28:35] What's the word I'm looking for--
[1:28:38] etched that you can still see, just for a point of reference,
[1:28:43] just so you know.
[1:28:45] As you walk by there, you can see some of the grind,
[1:28:48] but it did get mostly covered up.
[1:28:57] I believe the artist is in the virtual audience
[1:29:00] and may have some additional comments or context
[1:29:04] that would be helpful perhaps to our discussion.
[1:29:08] So I'm going to reserve comment until I hear from him, if that's
[1:29:12] OK, at the appropriate time.
[1:29:16] I'm not sure.
[1:29:18] I think he's just on right now.
[1:29:19] I don't know who else is on, but when we
[1:29:22] call for the virtual audience.
[1:29:24] Michael, Carrie, do you know if anyone from the Hometown Hero
[1:29:27] Project is on the call this evening?
[1:29:30] I'm not sure if the Hometown Hero Project is on the call,
[1:29:32] but the artist is on the call.
[1:29:36] Yeah, OK.
[1:29:44] Yeah, I have one more comment.
[1:29:46] I just want to bear in mind where this is located.
[1:29:48] Are you going to go over the train tracks to the marina?
[1:29:51] This is going to be something that
[1:29:53] will be very prominently displayed as well.
[1:29:55] So just thinking about the location
[1:29:57] of where this is being placed in context
[1:29:59] of the content of the mural.
[1:30:02] Can I disagree on the prominence of it?
[1:30:04] It's tucked in behind the train, so no one
[1:30:06] will see it unless they walk into that little park.
[1:30:09] So I have another suggestion, just to throw something out
[1:30:12] to keep it positive because I don't want to be negative.
[1:30:16] Years back, when we had the Beavers in town
[1:30:18] and it was a huge thing, the kids
[1:30:21] participated by making tiles.
[1:30:23] They all did their own unique little tile.
[1:30:26] And I'm not sure how they were preserved exactly,
[1:30:29] but they were placed on our bridges and our overpasses
[1:30:32] where the Beavers resided at one point.
[1:30:36] And that's another option because they
[1:30:39] can each be very creative in their own way
[1:30:41] as maybe another substitute for if this isn't going
[1:30:45] to go the way people think.
[1:30:48] The tiles can be placed somewhere in the future,
[1:30:51] and it would give kids an opportunity, at the 150th,
[1:30:53] to create something unique, something that they enjoy,
[1:30:56] and something that represents Martinez to them.
[1:30:58] It's another alternative.
[1:31:01] Well, it encompasses art, but it would be on a tile
[1:31:04] that we can choose where these tiles would
[1:31:06] be placed in the city.
[1:31:08] It's another art-type activity that
[1:31:12] might be something different, then
[1:31:14] we can find a prominent place to put these.
[1:31:17] Like at St. Catherines with their tiles?
[1:31:20] Yeah, and the Beaver tiles are over the bridge down at 611.
[1:31:28] Yes, well, 611 or the Old Bertolli's Restaurant.
[1:31:32] They're in there as well.
[1:31:34] Yeah, that was my question.
[1:31:38] Were we dead set on this, or were
[1:31:41] there alternatives or options?
[1:31:54] Here's what I'm going to do.
[1:31:55] I'm going to open this up to public comment,
[1:31:58] give everyone an opportunity to speak.
[1:32:00] And like you said, the artist is on.
[1:32:02] So he's in the virtual audience.
[1:32:03] So if he'd like to provide any comment, he can.
[1:32:05] Is there anyone in the room this evening
[1:32:07] that would like to provide comment on this item?
[1:32:12] How about in the virtual audience?
[1:32:14] Is there anyone who'd like to provide comment?
[1:32:16] For those attending virtually, please
[1:32:17] use the Raise Hand feature.
[1:32:21] To start, we do have Tim.
[1:32:23] I'll ask him to unmute.
[1:32:30] Hey, everybody.
[1:32:31] Yeah, so just to comment on that space,
[1:32:36] yeah, the main purpose here is--
[1:32:38] Jay was out there, and he hit it the nail on the head.
[1:32:41] A lot of the parents that brought their kids out,
[1:32:43] they were saying how good of a time they had doing it.
[1:32:47] And this is really about the process of bringing
[1:32:49] the community and the kids in.
[1:32:51] It's not about the finality of, what are we producing?
[1:32:54] It's the joy that's produced while they're doing it.
[1:32:58] The wall that we're doing is-- it's a throwaway wall.
[1:33:00] No one sees that.
[1:33:01] It's behind the train.
[1:33:02] And actually, that space is highly underutilized.
[1:33:05] I spent months there painting another mural.
[1:33:09] Nannies and grandmas are bringing their kids there
[1:33:11] all day long.
[1:33:13] And it looks terrible back there.
[1:33:15] There's trash always back there.
[1:33:16] That wall gets graffitied up.
[1:33:18] So whether we put this mural up there or not, it's whatever,
[1:33:23] but we should put something there.
[1:33:24] It's a beautiful space that could be a park.
[1:33:28] It's like, what other town has a real train as a playground?
[1:33:32] Nobody.
[1:33:33] So it doesn't need to match the mural because--
[1:33:38] I mean, it's going to match the mural in color,
[1:33:40] but it's a different experience back there.
[1:33:43] When you walk back there behind the train,
[1:33:44] you can't see the other mural.
[1:33:46] Now, obviously, it doesn't connect to the sponsor wall,
[1:33:49] but we're leaving space if we get money to do that.
[1:33:52] But it is a hard wall to get to.
[1:33:55] You need a real big lift, $2,000 lift,
[1:33:57] just to get back there to do it.
[1:33:58] And we can do that one day.
[1:34:00] But I would just urge everyone to think about--
[1:34:03] the kids are going to love it.
[1:34:04] It's a perfect location for the event.
[1:34:07] People are going to be walking back and forth through there.
[1:34:10] And the kids will be able to see that space for a long time.
[1:34:12] So--
[1:34:16] Thanks, Tim.
[1:34:17] Any other comments?
[1:34:24] Sorry.
[1:34:30] I have no other hands.
[1:34:31] OK.
[1:34:34] All right, well, let's bring this back to council.
[1:34:39] I did want to make two comments.
[1:34:40] I know that I spoke with the head of the Hometown Hero
[1:34:44] Project, and he was supportive of it.
[1:34:46] And I believe Staff indicated that the Universal Sports
[1:34:49] Academy folks had expressed support.
[1:34:52] Is that true?
[1:34:53] So when the artist proposed the design that's
[1:34:57] before the city council this evening,
[1:35:01] Carrie Rivers and myself reached out
[1:35:03] to Bob Cellini with the Hometown Heroes Project
[1:35:06] and had a conversation with him, as he
[1:35:08] was one of the main people who was spearheading
[1:35:11] the original mural.
[1:35:14] Carrie also reached out to Universal Sports Complex,
[1:35:17] who currently has a lease with that building.
[1:35:21] And both of those individuals expressed support
[1:35:26] for the project.
[1:35:31] So I guess my question is, what would it
[1:35:36] take for us to have a consistent color theme on that?
[1:35:43] If everybody's sold on this and we're
[1:35:45] going to do the bottom half, and then
[1:35:48] I gotta look at the top half that's mauve and light pink,
[1:35:52] and everything else is consistent?
[1:35:55] So if this is what folks want to do,
[1:36:00] can we at least make that whole wall consistent in color,
[1:36:04] whether we do anything at the top or not?
[1:36:08] Again, maybe I'm looking at it-- but if the SMALL TOWN, BIG HEART
[1:36:14] is going to be the same colors as the sponsor wall,
[1:36:18] then we're just going to have this mauve pink upper half.
[1:36:22] So can we just consistently paint it?
[1:36:27] That would look a lot better.
[1:36:29] That's for sure.
[1:36:31] So I can't give an answer on this this evening,
[1:36:35] but one thing to put out there is
[1:36:38] I believe that Universal Sports Academy is
[1:36:41] thinking about painting the building
[1:36:43] in the not-too-distant future.
[1:36:46] We could reach out and have conversations with them
[1:36:48] to find out what their timing is for painting
[1:36:51] the remainder of the building and ensure
[1:36:53] that, at least for these two panels,
[1:36:56] there's coordination on a color alternative to what the existing
[1:37:01] building color is to address the concern that we're
[1:37:03] hearing from council.
[1:37:04] I think the challenge that we will
[1:37:06] have with the limited funding that's available
[1:37:10] and the cost associated with renting ladders
[1:37:14] and/or lifts to get to the height
[1:37:15] that this building is, that's not
[1:37:19] viable for the artist for this scope of work at this time,
[1:37:23] but there's potentially other paths to address that issue.
[1:37:27] Lest we just ask that Tim paints the whole building.
[1:37:31] I mean--
[1:37:32] Oh, yeah.
[1:37:33] Can I make a alternative proposal?
[1:37:36] Can we continue this item-- we have some pretty major items
[1:37:39] later in the agenda.
[1:37:42] Can we continue this item to our next meeting?
[1:37:45] We're talking about the sesquicentennial on the 29th.
[1:37:48] It will get very tight, but I think that we might--
[1:37:53] I feel like there's too many open-ended questions,
[1:37:56] and we don't have consensus.
[1:38:01] I think continuing the conversation,
[1:38:02] I'm not sure we're going to come to a resolution.
[1:38:04] How do people feel about continuing this
[1:38:06] to the next meeting?
[1:38:07] OK.
[1:38:09] I'll support continuing it, but I'd
[1:38:11] like to have some other suggestions because if the mural
[1:38:13] isn't going to be something that we're going to proceed with,
[1:38:18] I'd like to have some other artwork type of activity
[1:38:21] suggestions, like the tiles that we had for the Beaver Festival--
[1:38:26] kids got to paint their own tiles-- or some other type
[1:38:29] of art project that can be then put together
[1:38:32] later at another location.
[1:38:34] So they still have the ability to do artwork,
[1:38:36] but it may not be designated in a specific spot yet.
[1:38:45] I think that's a fair request.
[1:38:48] So, Staff, would you mind coming back
[1:38:50] at the next meeting with a few alternatives?
[1:38:52] And maybe you can work with the Hometown Hero Project
[1:38:55] to also identify a couple of potential improvements
[1:38:58] for color and consistency with the rest of the building.
[1:39:02] Great.
[1:39:03] Thank you.
[1:39:04] All right, there is no vote.
[1:39:05] We'll just move on on that.
[1:39:07] Let's move on to the next item.
[1:39:09] Adopt a resolution supporting the nomination
[1:39:12] of several census tracts for designation
[1:39:14] as opportunity zones.
[1:39:17] Brandon.
[1:39:27] Thank you, Mayor Zorn and members of the City Council.
[1:39:30] I'm Senior Planner Brandon Northart
[1:39:32] here this evening to present information
[1:39:34] related to the Opportunity Zones 2.0 program.
[1:39:40] So I'll get into exactly what opportunity zones are
[1:39:43] in the next couple of slides, but I just
[1:39:46] really quickly want to cover some
[1:39:47] of the history of the program and set the stage
[1:39:50] for tonight's decision.
[1:39:51] So the Opportunity Zones Program was
[1:39:54] established by the federal government in 2017.
[1:39:57] The original program is close to sunsetting,
[1:40:00] so a new round of Opportunity Zones, or Opportunity Zones 2.0,
[1:40:05] was established with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill
[1:40:09] Act on July 4, 2025.
[1:40:12] In summary, the program encourages
[1:40:14] reinvestment of capital gains into economically distressed
[1:40:18] census tracts.
[1:40:20] Economically distressed census tracts
[1:40:22] are tracts where median family income is
[1:40:25] below 70% of the metropolitan average
[1:40:28] or where there is poverty rate of 20% or greater,
[1:40:31] plus some additional formulas.
[1:40:34] The four shaded tracts that you see on the map
[1:40:36] here are all of those that fall within that category
[1:40:39] within Martinez.
[1:40:43] So what do opportunity zones actually do?
[1:40:47] So in short, they allow for the creation
[1:40:49] of what's called a qualified opportunity fund that can
[1:40:53] be used within a census tract.
[1:40:55] Once a fund has been created, it allows
[1:40:58] investors to reinvest their capital gains into the fund
[1:41:02] and defer or completely waive any associated taxes that
[1:41:06] would be owed after a certain amount of time,
[1:41:08] usually about 5 to 10 years.
[1:41:10] And as a reminder, capital gains are the profit
[1:41:13] that an investor realizes once they sell stocks or property
[1:41:16] and are usually subject to some form of taxation.
[1:41:19] So essentially, in summary, the program
[1:41:21] allows investors who want to be patient
[1:41:24] avoid paying those taxes.
[1:41:25] It also allows them to invest in other projects
[1:41:28] and potentially realize even greater gains.
[1:41:31] The fund can then be used on new real estate construction,
[1:41:35] rehabilitation of vacant or underutilized properties,
[1:41:38] equity investments and operating businesses,
[1:41:41] infrastructure and energy-related projects,
[1:41:44] among many others.
[1:41:45] And for clarity, this all happens
[1:41:47] through the private market.
[1:41:49] These funds do not provide any monies to the city directly.
[1:41:53] It also does not guarantee that investment will occur.
[1:41:58] So covering how opportunity zones are actually selected.
[1:42:02] So just because a census tract is
[1:42:03] in that economically distressed category
[1:42:06] I mentioned doesn't actually make it
[1:42:08] qualify as an opportunity zone.
[1:42:10] The first step actually requires that local jurisdictions,
[1:42:13] like the city of Martinez, express interest
[1:42:16] to the state first of those eligible census tracts.
[1:42:22] The deadline to do so is actually on July 20, 2026,
[1:42:27] so a couple weeks ago.
[1:42:28] Unfortunately, this whole process
[1:42:29] happened so quickly that Staff wasn't
[1:42:31] able to seek guidance from the city council prior to this date
[1:42:35] because we were all on the July recess.
[1:42:38] So as such, we took the liberty of submitting interest
[1:42:41] to the state for all four of the eligible tracts.
[1:42:45] And the state does not really have any selection criteria
[1:42:49] specifically but has mentioned there
[1:42:51] are some important guidelines and factors in their decision
[1:42:54] making, including the availability
[1:42:56] of shovel-ready project sites, the number of housing element
[1:42:59] opportunity sites, whether there's already committed
[1:43:02] public investment, if there's an existing or planned tax
[1:43:06] increment financing district, the potential
[1:43:08] to advance certain strategic job sectors,
[1:43:12] and the overall potential to attract public and private
[1:43:15] investment opportunities.
[1:43:17] And in addition, they'll take into consideration
[1:43:20] public comments that will be received during a public comment
[1:43:22] period that actually started on August 3
[1:43:25] and ends on August 28 of this year.
[1:43:29] Based on these factors, the state
[1:43:30] will then nominate 25% of all eligible census tracts.
[1:43:36] Since California has 2,469 eligible census tracts,
[1:43:40] there can only be a maximum of 618 nominated tracts.
[1:43:45] Once these 618 tracts are determined,
[1:43:47] the governor will then forward them
[1:43:48] to the US Department of the Treasury for formal selection
[1:43:51] and designation by the feds.
[1:43:53] Once approved, the opportunity zones
[1:43:55] will become effective and eligible
[1:43:57] for creation of those qualified opportunity funds on January 1,
[1:44:01] 2027.
[1:44:04] So how exactly do these opportunity zones
[1:44:08] result in projects?
[1:44:10] So the project has been successful to a certain extent,
[1:44:14] depending on where and what for.
[1:44:16] So estimates differ, but a conservative estimate
[1:44:18] is that since 2017, opportunity zones across the United States
[1:44:22] have generated $43 billion of equity across the US.
[1:44:27] And I have actually seen this number as high as $100 billion,
[1:44:30] but it's hard to confirm because so many of these transactions
[1:44:33] happen through the private market.
[1:44:36] Approximately 3/4 of all opportunity zones have seen some
[1:44:40] form of investment.
[1:44:42] And housing growth in opportunity zones
[1:44:44] has more than doubled since designation.
[1:44:46] Specifically for California, there's
[1:44:48] been an estimated $5 billion of investment,
[1:44:51] with most of it being directed towards residential, mixed-use,
[1:44:54] and commercial projects in major metropolitan areas.
[1:44:58] Contra Costa County, Antioch, Concord, Pittsburgh,
[1:45:00] and Richmond also have existing opportunity zones
[1:45:03] through the first iteration of the program.
[1:45:05] I did reach out to the city of Concord, who
[1:45:07] have a couple of opportunity zones from the first round,
[1:45:10] but they weren't aware of any qualified opportunity
[1:45:13] funds being established or utilized since implementation.
[1:45:18] And you can see there's lots of examples of projects,
[1:45:21] but here's just one example that was
[1:45:22] provided to us in some informational projects of--
[1:45:26] this was an affordable housing project
[1:45:28] that utilized one of the funds to secure investment,
[1:45:30] and this one was based in LA.
[1:45:35] So bringing it back to Martinez and why we're here,
[1:45:39] as I previously mentioned, Martinez
[1:45:40] has four eligible census tracts that qualify as economically
[1:45:44] distressed.
[1:45:45] We're allowed to submit interest to the state
[1:45:47] for as many or as few of these tracts as we'd like,
[1:45:50] but we need to establish an order of priority.
[1:45:54] As I mentioned, we submitted interest for all four
[1:45:56] of the tracks and took the liberty
[1:45:59] of establishing the order of priority shown here
[1:46:01] on this table and in the map.
[1:46:04] Our number one priority was the waterfront tract,
[1:46:08] where we sited the potential waterfront marina
[1:46:12] project being a major catalyst for development,
[1:46:15] as well as having 30 housing element opportunity
[1:46:18] sites and the location of our core downtown
[1:46:20] commercial district.
[1:46:22] The second was the Alhambra Avenue corridor,
[1:46:24] which has 45 housing element sites, the potential
[1:46:27] for the adult education redevelopment project,
[1:46:30] the county hospital, and other major commercial corridor
[1:46:33] for the city.
[1:46:34] Third was the area just south and east of Downtown,
[1:46:37] which has eight housing element sites, several county
[1:46:41] administrative facilities, the Martinez Unified School District
[1:46:44] offices, and industrial areas.
[1:46:47] And finally, the last one was the industrial area
[1:46:50] of Howe Road and the refinery, which has 10 housing element
[1:46:54] sites, industrial areas, and a large portion
[1:46:57] of MRC's facilities.
[1:46:59] So some of these tracts do also overlap
[1:47:02] with unincorporated Contra Costa County,
[1:47:05] which are the areas that are shaded
[1:47:07] but outside of the yellow boundary, which is our city.
[1:47:10] As such, we've been coordinating with the county
[1:47:12] on these nominations to ensure consistency,
[1:47:14] aligned priority, and coordination
[1:47:16] for letters of support.
[1:47:21] So on August 3, so this past Monday,
[1:47:24] the state actually released a preliminary list
[1:47:27] of their proposed nominations.
[1:47:30] This list so far has only included the waterfront,
[1:47:33] which I think is still a positive
[1:47:34] because at least there's one that we have a good chance at.
[1:47:38] The other three eligible tracts were not nominated
[1:47:41] or have not been included.
[1:47:43] That being said, this is not their official nomination
[1:47:45] or recommendation, and the list is still subject to change.
[1:47:49] Cities may elect to remove themselves from consideration,
[1:47:53] change order of priority.
[1:47:55] There's also the consideration the state might take,
[1:47:58] such as public comments and other letters of support,
[1:48:01] that may sway their direction.
[1:48:04] And the state is now, like I mentioned,
[1:48:06] accepting public comments and, more importantly, letters
[1:48:09] of support from stakeholders in the census tracts.
[1:48:12] And that ends on August 28.
[1:48:17] So with all that being said, staff are seeking feedback
[1:48:21] on the following.
[1:48:22] First, does the city council support Staff's submission
[1:48:25] to the state to have interest in all four
[1:48:28] of the eligible census tracts, or should we withdraw interest
[1:48:31] for any of them?
[1:48:33] Second, is the order of preference
[1:48:35] that we've created acceptable, or should it be changed?
[1:48:38] So again, as I mentioned, these things have already technically
[1:48:42] been submitted to the state, but we still
[1:48:44] have the opportunity to provide a public comment
[1:48:47] letter of recommendation to the state saying
[1:48:49] we would like to change or withdraw nominations, so on.
[1:48:53] So once we confirm your direction,
[1:48:56] Staff is going to continue working
[1:48:59] with the county as necessary.
[1:49:02] We'll forward any letters of support,
[1:49:04] as well as any adopted resolutions, to the state.
[1:49:08] We'll continue working with the city's lobbyists
[1:49:10] and soliciting letters of support
[1:49:11] from the federal, state, regional, community,
[1:49:14] local, business, education, transportation,
[1:49:17] economic development, and community partners
[1:49:19] and submit those letters of recommendation and letters
[1:49:23] of support by August 28.
[1:49:25] And then we'll continue monitoring the state and federal
[1:49:28] designation process and report back to the city council
[1:49:31] as additional information becomes available.
[1:49:36] And before I read the recommendation,
[1:49:37] I just want to reiterate one more time
[1:49:39] that Staff views that the opportunity zone designation is
[1:49:44] just one component of a broader economic development strategy.
[1:49:48] These funds, again, don't provide direct funds
[1:49:51] to the city.
[1:49:52] And they do not necessarily guarantee
[1:49:56] that investment will occur.
[1:50:00] It won't be a silver bullet.
[1:50:01] It's just going to be another tool in our tool belt
[1:50:03] to potentially create another stream of economic investment
[1:50:08] in the city.
[1:50:09] So with that being said, Staff's recommendation this evening is
[1:50:13] to adopt resolution supporting the nomination of census
[1:50:16] tracts-- bear with me--
[1:50:17] 06013316000, 06013318000, 06013317000,
[1:50:30] and 06013320001 for designation as opportunity zones under
[1:50:38] the Federal Opportunity Zones 2.0 program and direct Staff
[1:50:42] to forward the city council's affirmed support for the census
[1:50:44] tract nominations to the California Governor's Office
[1:50:48] of Business and Economic Development, GO-Biz,
[1:50:50] and continue advocacy efforts throughout
[1:50:53] the state's evaluation and public comment process.
[1:50:57] And with that, I am happy to answer any questions
[1:50:59] that you might have.
[1:51:02] I have one starter question.
[1:51:06] I felt that all four of these proposals were very valid.
[1:51:10] And if the state has only, in the draft recommendation,
[1:51:14] included the priority one, the marina,
[1:51:17] is there any negatives to us leaving all four in?
[1:51:22] Do we need to put all of our efforts into the marina?
[1:51:24] Because I like the last two, and I
[1:51:26] think industrial support is something we should do,
[1:51:30] but it's clearly not the frontrunners.
[1:51:33] So my take on this is that, one, the Marina is probably the most
[1:51:41] important and has been listed as a potential selection
[1:51:45] by the state.
[1:51:46] The state is only able to select 25% of the eligible tracts.
[1:51:52] My read on the situation is that cities are not
[1:51:57] going to have all or many of their tracts selected.
[1:52:02] And based on the 25% figure, if we have four and one of them
[1:52:08] is selected, that aligns.
[1:52:10] Again, we can reprioritize if you
[1:52:13] think that's necessary in terms of the four
[1:52:17] that we've put them in order as.
[1:52:19] However, my sense is I don't know how much the state will
[1:52:25] change based on their initial analysis of all
[1:52:28] of the eligible census tracts.
[1:52:33] So--
[1:52:35] I'd like to add something to that.
[1:52:37] I think what's also important is, again, as Brandon mentioned,
[1:52:41] this is a long-term strategy.
[1:52:44] And opportunity zones are for a 10-year period,
[1:52:47] so there will be a future round of opportunity zones.
[1:52:49] So there is always the possibility,
[1:52:51] by submitting nominations now, even if they're not included,
[1:52:55] it may set us up for success with future rounds
[1:52:58] as well as something that we've tried to do previously
[1:53:01] and potentially having a better standing.
[1:53:03] Yeah.
[1:53:04] And Michael mentioned something I neglected to include
[1:53:07] in my presentation that these are basically a 10-year rolling
[1:53:10] basis, where opportunity zone will be eligible for that fund
[1:53:14] for 10 years, where the next round will begin in 10 years.
[1:53:18] And that designation will lose itself or have
[1:53:21] to be renominated again.
[1:53:25] Thank you for both of those answers.
[1:53:27] So the waterfront is our shortest-term project.
[1:53:31] So I think it's great that it's number one,
[1:53:33] and I think it's great that the state has already allowed
[1:53:35] it to go on to the next level.
[1:53:37] The next item number 2 is the housing opportunity sites
[1:53:41] with the Adult Education Center, which is currently
[1:53:43] cued up by the school district for,
[1:53:45] what, 2031, which is within the next couple of years.
[1:53:49] So I think that's important.
[1:53:51] I don't have a super good handle on number 3.
[1:53:54] Number 4 has EUV Tech listed.
[1:53:58] And as a sitting member of the GZ,
[1:54:01] thank you, Alyson, for joining us from Contra Costa County.
[1:54:05] These are the kinds of things that the city of Martinez
[1:54:08] needs to get out there and to advocate for some of our census
[1:54:12] tracts that would be excellent for industrial innovation
[1:54:14] and clean energy transition, all of that.
[1:54:16] So I think it would behoove us to, if not include both, include
[1:54:20] and keep at least one of those census tracts.
[1:54:23] So if Staff would like to make an argument for one
[1:54:26] or the other-- or both is also fine--
[1:54:29] I'm not super excited about dropping the last three.
[1:54:33] Just to clarify, we did nominate and submit
[1:54:38] interest for all four.
[1:54:40] We have filed and submitted the forms and everything.
[1:54:43] So at that point, it really is up to the state
[1:54:46] to say yes or no to any of those census tracts, which they have
[1:54:50] preliminarily said yes to waterfront
[1:54:51] and no to the other three.
[1:54:53] OK, cool.
[1:54:54] Go ahead, Debbie.
[1:54:56] So I think the first question the mayor had--
[1:54:58] or maybe I thought she had was, there is no penalty for us
[1:55:04] to have all four submitted?
[1:55:06] And we submitted all four.
[1:55:07] Correct.
[1:55:07] If the state picks one, that's great.
[1:55:10] The other three are just still in the background.
[1:55:13] And perhaps over the next 10 years,
[1:55:16] there could be a selection made.
[1:55:18] But we're not hindered in any way by keeping all four there.
[1:55:23] So I don't see any reason why we would take any out,
[1:55:26] unless there's a penalty.
[1:55:28] I mean, let's keep all.
[1:55:30] Let's go for it.
[1:55:32] Yeah, and I think that was exactly Staff's thinking
[1:55:35] as well.
[1:55:36] There really isn't any downside to nominating.
[1:55:38] And I think that's why the state asked for a list of preference,
[1:55:42] because if they had to make a judgment call,
[1:55:44] they would rely on the city's judgment in that.
[1:55:51] I would like to align my comments with Council Member
[1:55:55] McKillop.
[1:55:57] I just feel there's no harm putting all of them in.
[1:56:01] OK, it's great.
[1:56:02] They clearly like one right now.
[1:56:04] But you said it's not a done deal just yet.
[1:56:07] So if we can get more, great, that's icing on the cake.
[1:56:10] But at least we got one in there, which is great.
[1:56:15] I would say that this is going to go before GO-Biz.
[1:56:22] Is that right?
[1:56:23] GO-Biz is the deciding entity, right?
[1:56:25] Correct.
[1:56:26] So GO-Biz and the Department of Finance are working together.
[1:56:30] And they are the ones who do the preliminary--
[1:56:33] who cut down the list to the 25%.
[1:56:35] They'll forward them to the governor, who will then
[1:56:37] forward them to the feds.
[1:56:39] OK, so having worked professionally
[1:56:44] as staff in the Legislature for many years,
[1:56:47] I can tell you that this is the exact type of thing where
[1:56:50] a city needs to go and engage with our legislative offices
[1:56:54] so that they can make the case for our city.
[1:56:57] That is what they are there for.
[1:56:59] So don't rely on just the lobbyist.
[1:57:03] Pick up the phone.
[1:57:06] And we're happy to do it too.
[1:57:07] We have relationships with them, too, so tell us.
[1:57:09] If we need to do it, we will do it.
[1:57:12] But that's how you get it done.
[1:57:14] All right?
[1:57:15] Duly noted.
[1:57:16] So that's the way I look at it.
[1:57:17] Don't just leave it to chance.
[1:57:18] You got to be strategic.
[1:57:19] If this is a priority, that's how
[1:57:22] it gets done because I can guarantee you
[1:57:24] the other cities who are out there that
[1:57:25] are hoping to make that short list,
[1:57:27] that's exactly what they're doing.
[1:57:29] So that's how it's done.
[1:57:31] All right?
[1:57:32] So are you offering to call?
[1:57:34] Because then I think we should--
[1:57:35] I will do it.
[1:57:36] Yeah, I think we should all call.
[1:57:37] We should all call.
[1:57:38] Yeah, we've got folks in our backyard
[1:57:41] here that we should be calling.
[1:57:44] And the end question or follow-up to that in terms of,
[1:57:50] what's the timing?
[1:57:53] Because again, the current governor is gone in four months.
[1:57:59] And so we're going to have a new governor in January.
[1:58:03] So just want to understand that dynamic and the impact
[1:58:08] it can have.
[1:58:11] Yeah, so the proposed timeline is here.
[1:58:15] And based on my experience so far,
[1:58:19] the state has been setting goals as time has gone on.
[1:58:25] They haven't provided a lot of hard and fast timelines.
[1:58:28] In fact, the date for the submittals, July 20,
[1:58:30] was actually moved up.
[1:58:32] It was supposed to be July 24.
[1:58:34] So a lot of it has been moving targets at this point.
[1:58:38] But based on everything that I've seen,
[1:58:40] the governors have until approximately beginning or end
[1:58:45] of October to submit to the feds.
[1:58:48] That's the piece.
[1:58:50] So this is something that will be done
[1:58:52] under the current governor?
[1:58:55] Because equally, there's stuff that could probably just
[1:58:58] be pushed out to whoever the next person is.
[1:59:01] OK, thank you.
[1:59:05] And I would definitely support what the other council
[1:59:07] member has said.
[1:59:08] Thank you.
[1:59:10] In addition to reaching out to our legislators, what
[1:59:14] other things would be really great for us
[1:59:19] to solicit or to provide or produce
[1:59:23] to put us in a better position?
[1:59:25] What other key documents or studies, reports?
[1:59:29] What is it that can better position us to be
[1:59:31] selected as one of the 25%?
[1:59:35] Yeah.
[1:59:36] So again, there wasn't any specific selection criteria
[1:59:41] or scoring rubric provided by the state.
[1:59:44] My understanding is it's basically
[1:59:46] up to their own discretion.
[1:59:48] So maybe diving a little bit more
[1:59:51] into the actual formal process, really,
[1:59:54] all it takes to submit to the interest list
[1:59:57] was a form, an online form.
[1:59:59] And the form basically is what census tract and a couple
[2:00:02] write-ups describing potential investment that the city is
[2:00:07] providing into those census tracts, which we include things
[2:00:11] like in the CIP, other known projects happening
[2:00:14] in the area, the number of housing element sites,
[2:00:17] known projects that may happen, such as the waterfront marina
[2:00:20] project.
[2:00:21] All of those things were provided in our write-ups.
[2:00:23] And that's really all that they ask for.
[2:00:26] Once that is completed, that's all
[2:00:28] that they're using for that preliminary selection.
[2:00:32] Really, at this point, now is just letters of recommendation.
[2:00:37] And that is what Staff has been working on
[2:00:39] since we submitted those forms, is
[2:00:41] we have been coordinating in with the lobbyist
[2:00:44] and several other stakeholders to secure
[2:00:47] those letters of support from local businesses, decision
[2:00:50] makers, economic development organizations.
[2:00:55] We've been reaching out to all of them.
[2:00:56] And to add to that, besides working with our lobbyists
[2:01:00] and relying on council members to connect
[2:01:02] with elected officials and staff that works at the state,
[2:01:08] the biggest thing that the state is looking for
[2:01:11] is that there will be investment within those census tracts.
[2:01:15] So we've identified some of the major corporations that
[2:01:18] may have plans for expansion or improvements.
[2:01:21] We'll be doing targeted outreach with focused letters
[2:01:24] from each of those individuals.
[2:01:26] EUV Tech, one of them as an example that was referenced.
[2:01:29] Representative from MRC is here this evening.
[2:01:32] That's another potential partner that we could
[2:01:35] get letters of support as well.
[2:01:38] The only other thing that I will add that was specifically
[2:01:42] mentioned in several of the presentations that I attended
[2:01:45] is the state is also highly favorable to census tracts that
[2:01:50] have planned or existing tax increment financing districts.
[2:01:56] I'm not really super in the urban economics field,
[2:02:01] but my understanding is that that is something
[2:02:04] that they looked very favorably to as well.
[2:02:20] Is there a write-up or blurb that
[2:02:25] could be produced if we wanted to give one of these legislators
[2:02:30] or potential influencers, hey, we're
[2:02:34] competing for an opportunity zone,
[2:02:35] here are the facts, blah, blah, blah, boom?
[2:02:38] There are paragraphs or something, quick and easy.
[2:02:41] Yep.
[2:02:41] So staff have been drafting-- sorry.
[2:02:45] I need it by Sunday.
[2:02:47] Yeah.
[2:02:48] Staff have been working on a draft letter of support
[2:02:51] to provide to organizations upon their request.
[2:02:54] So that's what we have been providing to people.
[2:02:58] There's also the blurb that we wrote
[2:03:00] as a part of the submittal, but that
[2:03:02] is more specific to the form and request that GO-Biz created.
[2:03:07] So I'd be happy to provide that draft letter of support.
[2:03:11] If council could get that, I think that would be great.
[2:03:17] We can give you a draft letter, and we
[2:03:19] can give you speaking points to make it easier for you.
[2:03:21] That'd be awesome.
[2:03:24] I think there's a sense of urgency for Sunday
[2:03:28] just because we have meetings or events
[2:03:32] with different congressmen.
[2:03:35] Got it.
[2:03:39] And on that list, in addition to speaking points and everything,
[2:03:43] the list of people to call, I don't
[2:03:45] know if you said that, but all of the people who
[2:03:47] might vote on this, it would be really helpful to make sure
[2:03:50] we all know who everybody's calling.
[2:03:51] Otherwise, we'll just be picking the phone
[2:03:53] to call the people that we know.
[2:03:55] Right, right.
[2:03:55] And even more important, are we getting a direct line,
[2:03:59] or are we getting third-tier staff members?
[2:04:04] Not that it's still not helpful, but--
[2:04:09] Staff will maintain between now and the public comment deadline
[2:04:13] an up-to-date list of information for outreach
[2:04:16] that we're conducting and what we hear back
[2:04:19] from each council member.
[2:04:20] And we will make sure that the city manager has access
[2:04:23] to up-to-date information in that space
[2:04:25] and can provide updates to you as appropriate.
[2:04:32] Thank you.
[2:04:33] Thank you.
[2:04:34] I'm going to open this up to a public comment on this item,
[2:04:37] I think.
[2:04:38] Anyone here this evening who'd like to speak on this item?
[2:04:42] Great.
[2:04:48] Hello.
[2:04:49] Good evening.
[2:04:50] My name is Sarah Baird.
[2:04:51] I'm the executive director of Downtown Martinez & Co.
[2:04:54] I've had an opportunity to briefly speak about it
[2:04:56] with a few Staff members.
[2:04:58] Obviously, this is a good thing, downtown/marina waterfront.
[2:05:02] I don't know if you can answer questions.
[2:05:04] You probably can't.
[2:05:05] But I see that slash.
[2:05:06] So as Downtown Martinez, I have to ask about it.
[2:05:10] Obviously, we would support it, and we
[2:05:12] would write letters of support.
[2:05:14] But I can also extend working with the property
[2:05:16] owners, the local businesses, the local community,
[2:05:19] and we can get something going.
[2:05:21] So I wanted to offer that and extend that tonight.
[2:05:24] That's it.
[2:05:26] Thank you.
[2:05:28] Anybody else?
[2:05:29] Alyson, come on up.
[2:05:33] Sorry.
[2:05:34] My name is Alyson Escarzaga, and I'm
[2:05:36] representing the Contra Costa County Department
[2:05:38] of Conservation Development.
[2:05:40] And I'm just commenting to express my strong support
[2:05:43] for the ongoing collaboration and coordination
[2:05:46] between the county and the city of Martinez
[2:05:48] regarding the nomination of the three census tracts that overlap
[2:05:51] with both jurisdictions.
[2:05:54] The County Board of Supervisors has authorized and approved
[2:05:57] county staff to submit these overlapping census
[2:05:59] tracts for nomination.
[2:06:01] And throughout this process, we have worked closely
[2:06:03] with city of Martinez staff, including Michael Cass
[2:06:07] and Brandon Northart, to ensure a unified and effective
[2:06:10] submission.
[2:06:11] Additionally, our teams have coordinated
[2:06:13] to secure letters of support for these nominations,
[2:06:16] further demonstrating our shared commitment.
[2:06:18] And the county will be submitting
[2:06:20] letters of support for those nominations
[2:06:23] under the public comment process.
[2:06:25] So on behalf of the county, I'd respectfully
[2:06:27] encourage the council to adopt the resolution supporting
[2:06:31] the nomination of the census tracts for the opportunity zone
[2:06:34] designation.
[2:06:34] The partnership will help to maximize
[2:06:36] the benefits and opportunities for both the city
[2:06:38] and the unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County.
[2:06:41] Thank you for your consideration.
[2:06:44] Thank you.
[2:06:44] And just really quickly, Michael, the three census tracts
[2:06:48] that overlap are all the ones that you have on the map, right,
[2:06:51] the ones that cross over the city boundaries?
[2:06:53] Correct.
[2:06:54] And as the description, the same between what
[2:06:57] the county submitted and what we were submitting?
[2:07:00] Very similar.
[2:07:01] OK, great.
[2:07:01] There are slightly different things
[2:07:03] that each organization emphasized
[2:07:07] as part of their application because it
[2:07:08] uncovers different land.
[2:07:10] And the nominations were very limited in space,
[2:07:13] but generally speaking, they are focused on the same priorities.
[2:07:17] Could potentially the state give us the opportunity zone
[2:07:22] for the waterfront census tract and then give the county
[2:07:26] two other ones?
[2:07:28] It's not given to an agency.
[2:07:31] It's assigned to a census tract.
[2:07:33] So if a census tract is provided the designation
[2:07:37] and it is a census tract that includes
[2:07:39] both the county and the city, it will benefit both.
[2:07:42] OK, great.
[2:07:43] Thank you for clarifying.
[2:07:44] And, Alyson, thank you for bringing that up
[2:07:45] because I didn't realize that that happened.
[2:07:47] So great.
[2:07:48] Any other comments?
[2:07:50] Was that a-- no?
[2:07:51] OK.
[2:07:53] It was a fly.
[2:07:54] OK, all right, Brandon, did you have any other comments?
[2:07:57] I'm going to open this up to virtual audience.
[2:07:59] The only thing I just wanted to add
[2:08:00] is the county also has about 18 eligible census
[2:08:04] tracts, so they have many that they're pursuing.
[2:08:06] That's all I wanted to add.
[2:08:08] Great.
[2:08:08] Thank you.
[2:08:09] How about the virtual audience?
[2:08:10] Anyone like to provide comment on this item?
[2:08:13] Please use the Raise Hand feature.
[2:08:20] I have no hands.
[2:08:21] OK, great.
[2:08:22] I'll bring it back to council.
[2:08:23] Any final comments or anyone like to make a motion?
[2:08:26] Note that these are four separate resolutions.
[2:08:30] Do we need to vote on them separately, or can we--
[2:08:33] One motion would be sufficient to capture all four resolutions.
[2:08:36] Great.
[2:08:36] Thank you.
[2:08:37] Can I ask a quick question before we--
[2:08:38] Yeah, go ahead.
[2:08:39] So, Michael, does our--
[2:08:44] so is the designation that was selected or somewhat selected--
[2:08:49] does that overlap with one of the county submissions?
[2:08:53] I wasn't sure because I think you said three of them
[2:08:56] overlap, but I wasn't sure if the one that was selected
[2:08:59] overlaps--
[2:09:00] This one does not, I don't believe.
[2:09:02] Oh, it does not?
[2:09:02] OK.
[2:09:02] But the other three do?
[2:09:05] OK.
[2:09:05] OK, thank you.
[2:09:07] Thank you for asking.
[2:09:09] Any comments?
[2:09:10] Anyone want to make a motion for all three resolutions together?
[2:09:14] I'll make the motion.
[2:09:15] I'd like to adopt resolution supporting the nomination
[2:09:18] of census tracts 06013316000, 06013318000, 06013317000--
[2:09:37] You can just say as recommended by staff.
[2:09:40] As recommended by staff.
[2:09:43] Second.
[2:09:45] All in favor, please say aye.
[2:09:46] Aye.
[2:09:48] Motion passes, all ayes.
[2:09:50] Thank you.
[2:09:50] I'm sorry.
[2:09:51] I would have said something, but I wasn't sure.
[2:09:52] I couldn't remember if he read the whole thing or not.
[2:09:55] That's fine.
[2:09:55] All right, let's see.
[2:09:57] It is 9:24.
[2:09:59] How about we take a five-minute break?
[2:10:01] Let me just read through the agenda really quickly.
[2:10:03] So the only thing that we have left is one public hearing.
[2:10:06] So if everyone is amenable, we'll come back,
[2:10:08] we'll finish that, and we'll be able to wrap up
[2:10:10] the whole agenda this evening.
[2:10:12] Sound good?
[2:10:12] All right, five minutes.
[2:10:13] We'll be back at 9:30.
[2:10:15] Nice.
[2:18:54] --hearing if everyone can take their seats, please.
[2:18:59] I just froze.
[2:19:05] All right, our last item this evening,
[2:19:09] conduct a public hearing to introduce and waive
[2:19:11] the reading of an ordinance on entertainment zones.
[2:19:15] Welcome to the podium for your first presentation this evening.
[2:19:18] And we can't wait to hear it.
[2:19:20] Thank you.
[2:19:21] Good evening, everyone.
[2:19:22] My name is Salmana Shah, associate planner
[2:19:23] here in the Planning Division.
[2:19:25] And today, I will be talking about entertainment zones.
[2:19:29] An entertainment zone is an area authorized and created
[2:19:32] by ordinance where alcoholic beverages can be purchased
[2:19:35] from participating storefronts located within the established
[2:19:38] entertainment zone with valid ABC licenses
[2:19:41] and consumed off-site on public property.
[2:19:44] The intent of establishing an entertainment zone
[2:19:46] is to encourage residents, employees, and visitors
[2:19:49] to stay longer within an area, move between businesses,
[2:19:52] support local restaurants and retailers,
[2:19:54] and participate in community events.
[2:19:57] An example of how an entertainment zone would work
[2:20:00] would be that let's say a group of friends
[2:20:01] is meeting at First Fridays.
[2:20:03] If a friend wants a beer, they can grab a beer from Five Sons.
[2:20:06] Another friend wants a wine, so they can grab a wine
[2:20:09] from William Welch Wines.
[2:20:11] A third friend wants to grab a cocktail from Brix & Craft.
[2:20:15] And they can all get grab their drinks
[2:20:18] and gather together where the event is occurring
[2:20:20] and enjoy a live performance together.
[2:20:23] So to provide some policy context,
[2:20:26] the state passed SB 76, which authorized the city and county
[2:20:30] of San Francisco to create entertainment zones
[2:20:32] effective January 1, 2024.
[2:20:35] The state then expanded this authority
[2:20:38] to allow other cities and jurisdictions
[2:20:40] throughout California to opt in and create entertainment
[2:20:43] zones if they wish to do so effective January 1, 2025.
[2:20:50] The benefits and purpose of entertainment zones
[2:20:53] are to help revitalize the city's commercial spaces
[2:20:55] through safe and vibrant events.
[2:20:57] In other cities, entertainment zones
[2:20:59] have been a proven tool to attract tourism, support
[2:21:02] local businesses, and foster economic growth.
[2:21:07] An entertainment zone can be activated
[2:21:08] for a variety of events, such as signature events or other events
[2:21:12] proposed by the city of Martinez,
[2:21:14] the Chamber of Commerce, and/or Downtown Martinez & Co.
[2:21:17] I've provided some example programming
[2:21:19] that could be associated with an entertainment zone
[2:21:21] activation, which could include performances
[2:21:23] by musical bands, comedy shows, farmers markets, night
[2:21:27] markets, and cultural festivals, among many others.
[2:21:32] There are a number of other cities
[2:21:34] that have already established entertainment zones,
[2:21:36] and they're on the screen.
[2:21:38] We have spoken with a number of these jurisdictions,
[2:21:41] including the city of Long Beach, Reading,
[2:21:44] the city of Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Monica,
[2:21:48] and Walnut Creek.
[2:21:49] There are also a number of other cities that
[2:21:51] are looking at establishing entertainment zones,
[2:21:53] such as the city of Berkeley and Oakland.
[2:21:58] From our conversations with other cities,
[2:22:00] we have received overwhelmingly positive feedback.
[2:22:03] They've noted that there's been a larger
[2:22:05] turnout for a lot of events that they previously held.
[2:22:10] They've noted that it amplifies activity within that space.
[2:22:13] It creates a flexible event-ready space or zone
[2:22:16] within wherever they've established the entertainment
[2:22:19] zone.
[2:22:20] One thing that some of the cities that we spoke to noted
[2:22:24] was that establishing an entertainment zone
[2:22:26] has helped reduce crime.
[2:22:27] So the city of Santa Monica said that crime levels
[2:22:30] reduced or remained stable, even on surrounding blocks.
[2:22:34] They didn't increase because of the entertainment zone.
[2:22:37] And the city of San Francisco stated
[2:22:39] that the entertainment zone has reduced crime,
[2:22:42] even when the entertainment zone is not in operation.
[2:22:47] Other cities also provided us with some best practices
[2:22:49] that we've incorporated into our own entertainment zone program.
[2:22:53] So this includes requiring a safety and security plan
[2:22:56] to be submitted as part of an entertainment zone event,
[2:23:00] requiring wristbands to help identify participants
[2:23:04] who are over 21, and standardized cups
[2:23:08] to ensure that there's some consistency
[2:23:10] throughout the entertainment zone.
[2:23:12] And so PD can effectively identify
[2:23:15] people who are participating in the entertainment zone.
[2:23:19] A lot of cities have limited who can activate the entertainment
[2:23:22] zone and have limited this to either a designated lead
[2:23:25] organization or one or more community organizations.
[2:23:31] Some cities, like Santa Monica, offer training for entertainment
[2:23:34] zone participating businesses, but a lot of the community
[2:23:37] groups also offer training for businesses
[2:23:38] that are participating in the entertainment zone,
[2:23:41] so not necessarily always the city.
[2:23:43] Sometimes the organizations that are leading the entertainment
[2:23:46] zone will do so as well.
[2:23:48] And then we've asked them for feedback
[2:23:50] on potential issues or changes.
[2:23:54] All of the cities that we spoke to just recommended
[2:23:56] a robust marketing campaign to ensure that people who intend
[2:23:59] to participate in the entertainment zone are aware
[2:24:02] of the rules, are aware of what businesses are participating,
[2:24:06] what the boundaries of the entertainment zone are,
[2:24:08] and where they can essentially have the to-go drinks.
[2:24:14] So we've done a great amount of outreach
[2:24:19] to help develop this program.
[2:24:21] As I've mentioned, we've spoken extensively
[2:24:23] to other jurisdictions.
[2:24:25] We've attended entertainment zone events.
[2:24:27] We've met with a variety of stakeholders,
[2:24:29] both internal and external, such as Downtown Martinez
[2:24:32] and the Chamber of Commerce.
[2:24:34] We've reached out to businesses both via a business roundtable
[2:24:37] on Zoom and also in person.
[2:24:40] We've reached out to downtown businesses.
[2:24:42] And we've done our standard notification process,
[2:24:45] standard public hearing notice process as well,
[2:24:47] to get people informed of the entertainment zone ordinance.
[2:24:54] Now I'll talk about the program that we're proposing
[2:24:56] for the city of Martinez.
[2:24:57] And I'll start off by mentioning that our entertainment zone as
[2:25:04] proposed would be activated only during an approved special event
[2:25:08] within the boundaries that are established by ordinance.
[2:25:10] So on the screen, I've provided a map of our proposed
[2:25:13] entertainment zone boundaries.
[2:25:16] This is generally the boundaries of events
[2:25:20] that are held within the downtown,
[2:25:22] with some modifications per suggestions from the police
[2:25:25] department, a recommendation from the police department.
[2:25:29] We are limiting who can activate the entertainment
[2:25:31] zone at this time.
[2:25:33] We're limiting it to Downtown Martinez & Co., the Martinez
[2:25:36] Chamber of Commerce, and the city.
[2:25:38] Businesses who are eligible to participate in the entertainment
[2:25:41] zone must have a storefront located
[2:25:42] within the entertainment zone as consistent with state law.
[2:25:46] So the state restricts who can participate in the entertainment
[2:25:49] zone to storefronts located within there.
[2:25:51] And then there's a number of license types
[2:25:54] that are permitted to participate,
[2:25:55] but, for example, off-sale licensees
[2:25:58] can't participate in an entertainment zone.
[2:26:01] Businesses who wish to participate
[2:26:03] must send a notification to the ABC, the California Department
[2:26:06] of Alcohol Beverage Control, every year about their intent
[2:26:11] to participate.
[2:26:13] And then event organizers would be
[2:26:15] required to provide proof of insurance to the city
[2:26:17] during the special event permit process.
[2:26:19] The city must be listed as additional insured.
[2:26:24] So there are number of state requirements.
[2:26:26] I mentioned a couple, but the state
[2:26:30] requires a number of things.
[2:26:32] Beverages cannot be delivered to consumers,
[2:26:34] so consumers must go to the storefront,
[2:26:36] purchase their beverage in the approved standardized cup,
[2:26:39] and consume that within the boundaries of the entertainment
[2:26:42] zone and special events.
[2:26:45] Businesses can only serve drinks to go
[2:26:46] during the hours of the event as permitted by the special event
[2:26:49] permit.
[2:26:50] And businesses can only serve drinks to go during the hours
[2:26:53] that they're authorized to serve alcoholic beverages by the ABC.
[2:26:57] So if an event is going until 10:00 PM but a business is only
[2:27:00] authorized to sell by the ABC until 8:00 PM,
[2:27:03] they can't serve drinks to go after that time.
[2:27:07] The state requires non-metal, non-glass containers.
[2:27:10] It doesn't specify whether or not those have to be branded,
[2:27:13] but the city would approve which containers
[2:27:17] are being used through our special event permit process.
[2:27:21] There has to be some age verification
[2:27:23] methods so that participants can be readily identified.
[2:27:27] Actually, all of the cities that I talked to use
[2:27:29] wristbands as a best practice.
[2:27:32] And we're required to do a biannual review
[2:27:35] and then provide the results of that to the ABC.
[2:27:38] So that would be city council, city departments,
[2:27:41] such as the police department, community recreation services.
[2:27:46] I just have a question for you.
[2:27:48] You mentioned about a business that sells alcohol till 8
[2:27:51] o'clock, but the event goes till 10:00.
[2:27:53] They couldn't sell alcohol between 8:00 and 10:00.
[2:27:56] What happens if there's a business that sells alcohol till
[2:27:58] 2:00 in the morning, but the event closes at 10:00?
[2:28:01] What happens in that situation?
[2:28:03] They can only sell alcoholic beverages
[2:28:05] to go until the end of the entertainment zone event.
[2:28:08] So they could continue to sell beverages within their premises,
[2:28:12] but they can't sell beverages to go.
[2:28:14] OK, got it.
[2:28:16] Thanks.
[2:28:17] So the city has our own requirements.
[2:28:20] So we would require anyone wishing
[2:28:22] to activate an entertainment zone to apply
[2:28:23] for a special event permit approved
[2:28:25] by the Recreation and Community Services Division.
[2:28:28] We would require a safety and security
[2:28:30] plan approved by the police department
[2:28:32] and a management plan approved by city council.
[2:28:38] So I'll get into some of the more important details.
[2:28:42] And a lot of these are derived from other cities' best
[2:28:45] practices and recommendations from the police department.
[2:28:49] We've had extensive discussions with the police department,
[2:28:51] and internally as well, about what would work for our city.
[2:28:54] There is a lot of flexibility within our program
[2:28:57] because every event is different.
[2:28:58] Every event has a different turnout,
[2:29:01] has different programming.
[2:29:03] So the city staff does review every single special event
[2:29:07] permit.
[2:29:07] And the same would go for entertainment zones.
[2:29:11] Each event is different and so would
[2:29:12] be subject to different regulations.
[2:29:14] Some events might require more security.
[2:29:16] Some might require less security because they're smaller.
[2:29:20] So it really just depends on the event.
[2:29:22] So we're requiring signage at the entertainment zone
[2:29:25] boundaries and at participating businesses.
[2:29:28] Businesses located within the entertainment zone that
[2:29:30] aren't necessarily participating in selling alcoholic beverages
[2:29:34] have the discretion whether or not
[2:29:36] patrons can enter their store with open containers.
[2:29:38] They can utilize signage on their doors that says,
[2:29:42] you can't enter with entertainment zone drinks.
[2:29:47] Street closure is not necessary for an entertainment zone event.
[2:29:50] Just how it is currently for special events,
[2:29:53] street closure isn't always necessary.
[2:29:56] And we do require a waste-- sorry, a waste diversion plan.
[2:30:02] And I also want to just point out
[2:30:04] that waste at entertainment zone events
[2:30:07] and also at special events in general
[2:30:09] is the responsibility of the event organizer.
[2:30:12] So we would require waste diversion plan.
[2:30:15] And that responsibility is also on the event organizer
[2:30:18] to ensure that the area is cleaned up during the event
[2:30:23] and also after the event.
[2:30:27] Can I ask-- oh, I have a question
[2:30:29] on the slide when you're done.
[2:30:30] OK.
[2:30:32] So businesses that are participating
[2:30:35] in the entertainment zone event will
[2:30:38] continue to bear responsibility to prevent overserving.
[2:30:42] Outside drinks are absolutely not allowed.
[2:30:45] And this is why we have standardized cups and wristbands
[2:30:47] as part of the program.
[2:30:49] So we are proposing the maximum hours that an entertainment zone
[2:30:56] event could occur in, and that would be 10:00 AM to about
[2:30:59] midnight.
[2:31:00] But every event is different, like I said,
[2:31:02] and this just is enabling a bit of flexibility.
[2:31:05] Not every event is going to start at 10:00 and end
[2:31:07] at midnight.
[2:31:08] But we have a number of events, so we can just
[2:31:12] think of when those events are generally held, usually
[2:31:14] within this time frame.
[2:31:16] So I think you had a question.
[2:31:18] Yeah.
[2:31:19] Really quickly, it said until midnight.
[2:31:23] And I don't remember any special events we've ever had that have
[2:31:26] gone past 10:00.
[2:31:27] And our quiet zone-- or, sorry, our quiet hours normally
[2:31:31] start about then.
[2:31:32] Can you clarify?
[2:31:33] Do we have the ability to have special events outside with
[2:31:38] noise after 10:00 PM?
[2:31:40] No.
[2:31:44] So we do have a noise ordinance that regulates that issue.
[2:31:47] There is the ability for an exception to be granted.
[2:31:50] However, you do have the discretion
[2:31:54] to direct Staff to specify an end time of 10 o'clock
[2:31:58] if that's what you would prefer.
[2:31:59] Confirmed with our recreation manager
[2:32:02] that that currently is the latest
[2:32:04] event that we have currently.
[2:32:06] Is until midnight or till 10:00?
[2:32:07] 10 o'clock.
[2:32:08] Yeah, OK.
[2:32:09] I don't think that I want to make that recommendation right
[2:32:12] now.
[2:32:13] I just wanted to clarify.
[2:32:14] So the way that it works right now is if you wanted to go past
[2:32:16] 10:00, you have to get an exception.
[2:32:18] So we already have a process in place for that.
[2:32:20] I'm thinking of the Martini Shake-Off is probably a good
[2:32:22] example that I'm pretty sure goes past 10:00.
[2:32:25] But it would be outside of the entertainment zone,
[2:32:28] so it doesn't necessarily apply.
[2:32:29] And then the other question, you've
[2:32:31] mentioned the standardized cups and wristbands
[2:32:33] a couple of times.
[2:32:34] And can you please remind me who's
[2:32:36] responsible for the cost of those two items?
[2:32:39] It's the event organizer.
[2:32:40] So the participants, the businesses
[2:32:43] that will be selling to-go drinks
[2:32:45] will be provided those items before entertainment zone event?
[2:32:49] So that's for the event organizer and the businesses
[2:32:52] to work out amongst themselves.
[2:32:54] So maybe the event organizer may provide it to the businesses,
[2:32:57] or they may sell it to the businesses.
[2:33:00] And there also are sponsorship opportunities
[2:33:03] on the cups that potentially offset some of those costs.
[2:33:08] So I have a question about the time again.
[2:33:11] If a business wanted to have music,
[2:33:14] say, inside till midnight, would that
[2:33:17] be something evaluated differently
[2:33:19] than-- obviously, they're not going to have music outside loud
[2:33:22] till midnight.
[2:33:25] So they still need to adhere to the city's noise ordinance.
[2:33:28] And a lot is going to dictate, how loud the music would play
[2:33:33] and who their immediate neighbors are, common walls.
[2:33:36] Particularly if there's residential units
[2:33:39] in the same building, it could still be problematic
[2:33:42] and still potentially could violate the city's noise
[2:33:44] ordinance.
[2:33:46] However, saying that, entertainment zone
[2:33:49] is focused on things happening outside,
[2:33:52] so that would be a separate matter.
[2:34:00] As part of our entertainment zone program,
[2:34:02] we've established a management plan
[2:34:05] for the downtown entertainment zone,
[2:34:07] which is the entertainment zone that we're proposing tonight.
[2:34:10] So the downtown entertainment zone management plan
[2:34:13] sets out the rules and operational guidelines
[2:34:15] for the entertainment zones, while the ordinance establishes
[2:34:17] the entertainment zone.
[2:34:19] The management plan has a lot more detail,
[2:34:22] and that was provided as an attachment.
[2:34:24] But it has a lot more detail as to waste management guidance,
[2:34:29] approved containers, what the process is, special event
[2:34:32] provisions, and safety and security requirements,
[2:34:34] amongst many other things.
[2:34:37] Participating businesses will receive a copy of the management
[2:34:41] plan from event organizers.
[2:34:46] So we had an Economic Development Subcommittee,
[2:34:49] I believe, in June.
[2:34:51] And the Economic Development Subcommittee
[2:34:53] supported the proposed entertainment zone regulations
[2:34:55] and provided Staff with recommendations
[2:34:58] and a few minor changes that we've
[2:35:01] incorporated into the proposal that we've
[2:35:05] brought before you today.
[2:35:11] We've also received a number of letters of support
[2:35:15] from different entities, so Downtown Martinez & Co.,
[2:35:17] Brix & Craft, Busywork, and Antiques
[2:35:20] on Main, which are all downtown businesses that
[2:35:23] would be affected by the entertainment zone.
[2:35:25] And these were in support of the entertainment zone.
[2:35:30] So we've done a number of things.
[2:35:34] We're currently on step 7, which is bring the draft ordinance
[2:35:38] and management plan to the city council for approval.
[2:35:40] And the next step would be to partner with Downtown Martinez
[2:35:43] & Co. and the Chamber to host a launch event in the Downtown
[2:35:47] if approved.
[2:35:55] This ordinance aligns with the strategic plan goal
[2:35:58] E, strategy 1, which is to maintain a safe, clean,
[2:36:01] and active downtown to ensure an enjoyable and welcoming
[2:36:03] experience for all.
[2:36:07] So Staff is recommending that the city council conducts
[2:36:09] a public hearing to introduce and waive
[2:36:11] the reading of an ordinance adding Chapter 8.53
[2:36:14] entertainment zones to the Martinez Municipal Code
[2:36:16] to establish entertainment zones within the city
[2:36:18] and provide direction to staff regarding the downtown
[2:36:21] entertainment zone management plan.
[2:36:24] Thank you.
[2:36:24] And I am available for any questions.
[2:36:27] Thanks, Salmana.
[2:36:28] Appreciate it.
[2:36:29] Anyone have any questions for her this evening?
[2:36:32] Jay, go ahead.
[2:36:34] I was just thinking maybe it's a good idea
[2:36:36] if we hear from one of the stakeholders.
[2:36:40] Do you want to comment on this?
[2:36:42] Is that OK?
[2:36:43] Should we just open up public comment
[2:36:44] and let the public speak, and then we'll come back to council?
[2:36:47] Sound good?
[2:36:47] All right, Sarah, go ahead.
[2:36:49] [AUDIO OUT]
[2:37:05] We fully support it, obviously.
[2:37:19] So yes, we ultimately completely support it.
[2:37:22] Michael and the team and Salmana have
[2:37:24] done such a wonderful job of researching and including me
[2:37:28] and our program in that process, which is helpful.
[2:37:32] It feels like we're partnering together on it.
[2:37:35] And I think it will address a lot of things.
[2:37:41] A lot of our events stem around the zombie crawl and some
[2:37:46] of those that were known for.
[2:37:48] Those are all put together to create a reason
[2:37:52] to move around downtown and explore,
[2:37:54] not necessarily to get drunk, but drinks are a part of it.
[2:37:58] But it is definitely intended to bring foot traffic downtown
[2:38:04] attracted by the actual event, but then
[2:38:06] the layout of that event is to create them going and exploring
[2:38:11] businesses that they might not have ever been to or even known
[2:38:15] that we have in Downtown Martinez.
[2:38:18] So we have time and time again heard from our member businesses
[2:38:21] that when they interact with these events in special ways,
[2:38:27] so they find ways to connect with those new people,
[2:38:30] they might not necessarily be spending
[2:38:31] money that day of the event, but they come back.
[2:38:34] And so what we ask our members to do is constantly
[2:38:37] talk and check in and temperature
[2:38:39] check with your customers of, how did you find us?
[2:38:42] Why are you here?
[2:38:43] And then we ask continuously throughout the year
[2:38:47] the return on the investment of participating in those events,
[2:38:51] and we find it very high.
[2:38:52] So what this does is it creates an opportunity for us
[2:38:55] to do it without necessarily putting that work or big lift
[2:39:00] on the retail businesses.
[2:39:03] They will still get that added benefit of us moving people
[2:39:08] around the entire downtown district,
[2:39:10] but not having to serve and become bartenders and do
[2:39:15] all of the things that happen in a traditional crawl.
[2:39:19] So what it does is it also brings in our food and bar
[2:39:22] because they primarily benefit from all of our events,
[2:39:25] but they don't actually do the lift.
[2:39:27] And I don't mean that as anything negative,
[2:39:30] but they just benefit from these events and the hard work
[2:39:33] of the retail because everybody goes for food and drink,
[2:39:36] before, after, and in between.
[2:39:38] Every one of the restaurants and bars
[2:39:40] are busy and benefit from every single event we do.
[2:39:43] The retail shops don't have that same thing.
[2:39:45] So this is a really great experience for our members
[2:39:49] to enjoy the benefits of new foot traffic and consistent foot
[2:39:53] traffic but not have to become bartenders and restaurants.
[2:39:56] And then our bars and restaurants
[2:39:58] can take care of that for us.
[2:40:00] And then they also have an opportunity
[2:40:02] to meet our visitors where they're at,
[2:40:05] which is walking outside on our sidewalks
[2:40:07] because we don't necessarily have
[2:40:09] to close the streets, exploring new places
[2:40:12] and businesses and music downtown,
[2:40:15] but still getting their food and beverage sales for the day.
[2:40:20] So that's how we see it, is that it's almost
[2:40:23] flipping and making it easier on our member businesses
[2:40:27] to benefit from new foot traffic.
[2:40:29] So that's one of the best things that I support about it.
[2:40:34] But, yeah, I mean, I think endless possibility.
[2:40:37] There's endless opportunities to partner
[2:40:39] with other organizations, the Chamber, Parks and Rec.
[2:40:44] Just the pros list is just-- we're always like, oh,
[2:40:48] that's another pro.
[2:40:50] So I we haven't found a lot of cons, so we're in full support.
[2:40:56] Thank you.
[2:40:56] Thank you.
[2:40:58] Is there anyone else in the room tonight
[2:41:00] who'd like to provide input on this item?
[2:41:03] Is there anyone in the virtual audience
[2:41:05] that would like to provide input on this item?
[2:41:07] Please use the Raise Hand feature.
[2:41:13] I have no hands.
[2:41:13] All right, back to council for comments or questions.
[2:41:17] I just wanted to say, as somebody
[2:41:19] who was on the Economic Development
[2:41:20] Subcommittee alongside Jay, I very much appreciate
[2:41:26] all the staff and stakeholder engagement on this.
[2:41:30] As I shared then and I'll share here, I'm supportive of this.
[2:41:36] The fact that we have buy-in from our local businesses
[2:41:40] but more importantly, from our police department, I think,
[2:41:44] gives me the confidence that we should move forward with this.
[2:41:52] My only question i-- and I can't remember
[2:41:55] because I believe we discussed this at the subcommittee.
[2:41:58] So I'm looking to Michael or other staff here.
[2:42:04] Is there a way that we can get an interim report
[2:42:08] of some kind brought back to us to let
[2:42:10] us know, is this working the way that we intended it to,
[2:42:15] or do we need to tweak it?
[2:42:17] Is that something that can be woven into this process somehow?
[2:42:22] If not coming to the full council,
[2:42:24] could it potentially come to the subcommittee
[2:42:28] for some type of oversight, a check, if you will?
[2:42:34] So yes, there is an opportunity for that.
[2:42:37] So there's actually two opportunities
[2:42:38] that I think are important to speak to.
[2:42:40] The first is per the state regulations
[2:42:43] and codified in the proposal before the council this evening
[2:42:46] includes a review every two years.
[2:42:50] That's intended as an internal review
[2:42:53] with the various departments that are affected
[2:42:55] as part of this process.
[2:42:57] Secondarily, as discussed at the Economic Development
[2:43:01] Subcommittee, the Economic Development Subcommittee,
[2:43:04] at least once a year, has an annual check-in meeting
[2:43:07] with both the Chamber of Commerce
[2:43:10] and Downtown Martinez & Co. usually at the same meeting.
[2:43:12] And so there's opportunities through that discussion
[2:43:15] to get direct feedback in terms of how the program is working
[2:43:17] and potential ability for making recommendations
[2:43:20] for changes down the line.
[2:43:24] Great.
[2:43:24] Thank you so much.
[2:43:26] Any final comments or questions?
[2:43:28] Yeah.
[2:43:29] I just want to say, I'm super excited about this entertainment
[2:43:33] zone idea, and I can't wait for it to get started.
[2:43:38] I like that it doesn't require street closures all the time
[2:43:42] because that's the thing that's always been problematic
[2:43:44] at the end of the night.
[2:43:46] So street closures are a thing for me
[2:43:48] because the traffic circling is tough.
[2:43:51] So I'm excited to hear that.
[2:43:53] I think this is going to be great for all
[2:43:56] of the events, particularly the Downtown Martinez events.
[2:43:59] It makes it a streamlined process,
[2:44:01] easier for the businesses, and to organize and to create
[2:44:04] these opportunities for people to come down and celebrate
[2:44:07] Downtown Martinez all different ways.
[2:44:10] I'm really excited about it.
[2:44:12] I'm supportive, and I'm going to vote yes.
[2:44:15] I do have a question about the time because I know it goes
[2:44:19] to 11:59.
[2:44:22] And I'm just curious, what would be happening--
[2:44:24] I looked at some of the comparisons,
[2:44:26] and some of them stop at 10:00, 11:00, 12:00.
[2:44:29] What type of activities are going between, say,
[2:44:32] 10:00 and 12:00?
[2:44:34] What kind of event would be taking place?
[2:44:36] I'm just curious.
[2:44:39] So we've established the guidelines
[2:44:41] to be flexible, so it depends on the event.
[2:44:44] Every event is different.
[2:44:45] And then city staff has discretion
[2:44:48] to approve or not approve an event
[2:44:50] or ask event applicants to modify their time.
[2:44:54] So I don't think we've developed that with something
[2:44:57] specifically in mind, just more to have a broader range.
[2:45:01] And then applicants can propose whatever time
[2:45:05] within that time frame.
[2:45:09] All right, well, sounds good.
[2:45:12] Somewhere between 10:00 and midnight,
[2:45:14] there'll be activity going on.
[2:45:16] Got it.
[2:45:17] OK.
[2:45:19] Yeah, I'm not seeing that happen very often.
[2:45:24] Anything else?
[2:45:26] Just the midnight just scares me a little, but I'm good.
[2:45:28] So to reiterate the question I asked a few minutes ago,
[2:45:32] you cannot stay out till midnight without a exception.
[2:45:35] But you heard that part, right?
[2:45:37] OK, good.
[2:45:37] You're good.
[2:45:38] Yeah.
[2:45:38] I think the exception is the most important part.
[2:45:40] OK.
[2:45:42] Yeah, nobody wants to work in the middle of the night.
[2:45:46] I think part of the process, too, is, as indicated,
[2:45:51] most events end no later than 10 o'clock.
[2:45:54] But we don't want to be in a situation where an event goes
[2:45:57] to 10:05 and then there's a violation of our ordinance
[2:46:02] and management plan because of a technicality.
[2:46:06] But understand the general direction of the council
[2:46:10] that you don't want disturbing events happening late
[2:46:14] into the evening.
[2:46:15] All the time.
[2:46:15] Right.
[2:46:16] Got it.
[2:46:17] Does this include city council meetings?
[2:46:19] It's 10 o'clock?
[2:46:20] [LAUGHTER]
[2:46:22] I agree.
[2:46:23] I agree.
[2:46:23] Disturbing late night meetings.
[2:46:25] We will move on quickly.
[2:46:26] Is this an entertainment zone?
[2:46:28] This is not an entertainment zone.
[2:46:32] Thank you very much for all this information.
[2:46:36] The street closures we've had in the past when we had live music,
[2:46:39] people were restricted to only be
[2:46:41] able to partake in just one or two businesses
[2:46:44] for drinks and food.
[2:46:46] And so only a few people benefited from it.
[2:46:48] And then we also had the additional problem
[2:46:50] that people were then bringing their own drinks.
[2:46:52] So we are now solving multiple problems at once.
[2:46:55] So I really like this solution.
[2:46:58] I want to remind everybody, if you do have members
[2:47:01] of the public that are asking about public drinking,
[2:47:03] the rule is you cannot bring alcohol from outside
[2:47:06] the entertainment zone.
[2:47:07] So we are both enforcing the existing rules
[2:47:10] and facilitating making our special events more
[2:47:13] accessible to people and inviting more.
[2:47:15] So I think this is a great solution to all
[2:47:18] of our little tweaks that we've been
[2:47:19] trying to make to our street closures
[2:47:21] and live music over the past--
[2:47:23] how many years now?
[2:47:24] Five years.
[2:47:25] We make minor tweaks every year, and I
[2:47:26] think this is a really great solution.
[2:47:29] So thank you very much.
[2:47:30] I support 100%.
[2:47:32] And if nobody makes a motion quickly, I will do it.
[2:47:34] Do you have any more comments?
[2:47:35] I'm happy.
[2:47:36] This is good.
[2:47:38] We're all happy?
[2:47:39] Who wants to make a motion then, please?
[2:47:41] I'll make a motion.
[2:47:42] Debbie's doing it.
[2:47:43] I haven't made one.
[2:47:43] Hold on.
[2:47:44] Let me get my--
[2:47:48] OK, I move to Staff's recommendation.
[2:47:52] Second.
[2:47:53] All in favor, please say aye.
[2:47:55] Aye.
[2:47:56] Wonderful.
[2:47:57] Thank you.
[2:47:57] Congratulations to us all.
[2:47:59] We passed it.
[2:48:00] Remind me, what day will this go into effect?
[2:48:03] Or do we have to wait?
[2:48:06] So it comes back for a second reading and approval
[2:48:09] of the management plan at the next meeting on the 19th.
[2:48:12] And then the ordinance takes 30 days to go into effect.
[2:48:17] And upon that time, we can submit the regulations
[2:48:20] and the management plan to ABC for ultimate approval
[2:48:25] and then start the process working with Sarah, Aaron,
[2:48:29] and businesses to submit the appropriate documentation.
[2:48:32] So no earlier than October?
[2:48:35] Correct.
[2:48:36] So will it make to the zombie beer crawl?
[2:48:42] We'll be in time for that.
[2:48:45] We've been having conversations with Sarah about an activation
[2:48:49] event for this year.
[2:48:50] We are still finalizing those details.
[2:48:53] Part of it is to allow sufficient time
[2:48:56] for implementation.
[2:48:57] So it likely is it might be a little bit later than the event
[2:49:00] that you're saying.
[2:49:01] Yeah, totally makes sense because, again, back
[2:49:04] to the-- we don't want to make a commitment to something
[2:49:07] that then requires a few additional steps from ABC.
[2:49:09] So for us, it will not be ready to go until late September.
[2:49:14] And then we have to go through the other steps.
[2:49:16] OK.
[2:49:17] Thank you very much.
[2:49:19] What did you say?
[2:49:20] So Debbie's just going to start listing off events
[2:49:22] that Sarah does.
[2:49:23] All right, next up, our next item
[2:49:26] is emerging issues and future agenda items.
[2:49:28] As a reminder, the Staff Report is attached.
[2:49:30] So anything that you've mentioned in the past
[2:49:32] is tracked on that document.
[2:49:34] Does anyone have any new agenda items
[2:49:36] they would like to request or make a comment about?
[2:49:40] Jay.
[2:49:43] Thank you.
[2:49:43] Thank you.
[2:49:44] So just to keep it real simple, we
[2:49:48] need to bring to council the entryway sign
[2:49:50] repair on marina vista.
[2:49:54] And I need everybody's buy-in on that to bring it to agenda.
[2:50:00] You have mine.
[2:50:01] Thank you.
[2:50:03] Anybody else?
[2:50:04] Mike, is it already on an upcoming agenda?
[2:50:07] I was under the impression that you were planning on bringing it
[2:50:09] back to us regardless.
[2:50:11] We could.
[2:50:11] We wanted to start here and have this conversation.
[2:50:14] And then Staff was already working
[2:50:16] on some additional updates and revisions to the sign.
[2:50:20] This is before it got hit by the house
[2:50:24] that we were going to bring it back to have that discussion.
[2:50:26] Got hit by that house.
[2:50:28] It was a revised style.
[2:50:30] I wish it was taken out by the house.
[2:50:32] We're tired.
[2:50:33] We're laughing.
[2:50:34] Yeah, we're compiling the information now and we could
[2:50:37] come back hopefully as early as the 19th,
[2:50:40] we'll, have to work with staff to confirm.
[2:50:42] So it's going to be on the agenda?
[2:50:44] We don't need to--
[2:50:45] Because he was strong arming us.
[2:50:48] So it's going to be on the agenda.
[2:50:49] So it will be on the agenda if not the 19th in the first week
[2:50:52] of September to discuss.
[2:50:53] Yes, he did ask that we start here.
[2:50:56] Yes, this is the appropriate method
[2:51:00] that we've established for if council members want to bring
[2:51:03] forward items for consideration
[2:51:05] And a verbal from us.
[2:51:07] Jay, you have my support.
[2:51:08] I have your support?
[2:51:09] Excellent.
[2:51:09] Yes, Jay.
[2:51:10] Thank you.
[2:51:11] You have my have my support with one slight addition,
[2:51:15] I would like for the issue of lack of lighting around
[2:51:20] the newly installed entryway, the monument
[2:51:23] signs to be included as part of that.
[2:51:27] Because I think there's some connectivity there.
[2:51:32] Yes, that's electrical--
[2:51:33] We invested in those signs as well.
[2:51:36] And they are not lit up.
[2:51:42] We already are working on the one issue.
[2:51:45] Can I recommend that they would come as separate issues
[2:51:47] but understand that they're both important?
[2:51:50] That way we can get a more timely direction on at least one
[2:51:54] of the issues.
[2:52:01] I actually support Satinder's comment
[2:52:03] that I would like to treat them together
[2:52:05] because I think the reason we are where we are
[2:52:07] is because this project went forward on its own,
[2:52:10] outside of a full discussion by council.
[2:52:13] So I would prefer that it come as a group proposal.
[2:52:16] I want to caveat with we've already
[2:52:21] acknowledged that we want to establish permanent lighting
[2:52:24] on the monument entryway signs, and what
[2:52:27] we did to accommodate a council interest was
[2:52:30] put temporary solar lighting--
[2:52:33] They don't work.
[2:52:35] --and we figured that they probably
[2:52:37] wouldn't be that effective.
[2:52:38] And there were concerns they might get stolen.
[2:52:40] But we did that and that was my direction
[2:52:42] to staff that they install those.
[2:52:44] That's not meant to be a permanent fix.
[2:52:47] But there's significant work regarding the wiring
[2:52:50] and analysis of that.
[2:52:52] So if we want to have a basic conversation about level
[2:52:55] of illumination and things like that.
[2:52:57] But I know in talking with Joe, we
[2:52:59] were hoping to fold some of that work
[2:53:00] into phase II of the median project, which is already
[2:53:04] beginning.
[2:53:04] I think it's important also that I support the vice mayor,
[2:53:08] that we're not just talking about lighting.
[2:53:10] We want landscaping, quality of life stuff there as well.
[2:53:14] That's also in phase II of a separate project.
[2:53:17] So that is going to come upcoming, anyway
[2:53:20] that's through the subcommittee first.
[2:53:23] I know I'm sounding repetitive, but I want
[2:53:26] and I will keep pounding on the table because I 100%
[2:53:31] know that, initially on this lighting thing on the entryway,
[2:53:36] I asked that the Vacaville entryway
[2:53:40] sign be taken as guidance.
[2:53:43] And I'll go back if you want, and I'll
[2:53:45] look it up in these meetings that are recorded.
[2:53:48] I know for a fact that I brought that up multiple times.
[2:53:52] And in that, I would really hope that that was taken as guidance
[2:54:00] and that somebody would reach out to the city of Vacaville.
[2:54:04] And we had a discussion about this the other day,
[2:54:06] that we don't have to reinvent this wheel.
[2:54:09] All we gotta do is reach out to them and get all their specs.
[2:54:13] I'm not saying, we have to make it exactly the same,
[2:54:17] but their level of visibility and the big thing
[2:54:21] for a street sign that is lit, that the lumens have to match.
[2:54:31] And what we have now is we have two lights
[2:54:35] that have been replaced on either side.
[2:54:36] And I really, really appreciate that both of them
[2:54:38] are now working.
[2:54:40] But then you have a little historic sign up here.
[2:54:45] And the good thing about that, and I'm trying to be positive,
[2:54:48] is that those letters are lit.
[2:54:51] They're not halo lit.
[2:54:52] Those lit are--
[2:54:54] Channel lighting.
[2:54:55] Thank you.
[2:54:56] Right.
[2:54:56] And then you go down to the other lighting
[2:54:58] and that somehow got approved that have halo lighting.
[2:55:05] And then with the open background,
[2:55:07] with the crisscross on the historic thing,
[2:55:09] you cannot see those until you are almost right on top of them.
[2:55:14] And council member McCaleb and I realized
[2:55:17] that the very first day that we went out there and took
[2:55:21] pictures and it was so disappointing.
[2:55:24] I really want to ask that somebody
[2:55:27] is doing quality control other than the city council,
[2:55:32] and I'm not trying to peg anybody.
[2:55:35] But I'd like somebody to take the lead
[2:55:37] on each one of these projects that we do together.
[2:55:41] And they say, I'm going to look at this after we have it done
[2:55:47] before, preferably, but also after it's done, and not
[2:55:50] just at daytime, at night time because what we hear about
[2:55:54] is from the citizens of Martinez.
[2:55:58] And they are there, around the clock.
[2:56:02] And they're like, what is this?
[2:56:04] And then we have to answer for it.
[2:56:07] And it's very frustrating.
[2:56:10] We'll definitely come back with options
[2:56:13] to improve the lighting including channel lighting.
[2:56:16] And we'll see.
[2:56:16] And also that'll be the first opportunity
[2:56:18] we've had with the full council to have that discussion
[2:56:21] and then get direction and hopefully
[2:56:22] have a good plan from there.
[2:56:24] What we could do with the lighting,
[2:56:25] as far as the monument signs, we could touch on,
[2:56:28] maybe some different options.
[2:56:29] I mean, it is going to come back to the subcommittee
[2:56:32] in really September 3 as part of the other project.
[2:56:35] Sure.
[2:56:35] Even if it's coming back with the plant pellets in the phase
[2:56:41] II, I think we're OK.
[2:56:42] Yeah, that's already coming.
[2:56:43] So if you lump all these things in have an enormous item,
[2:56:45] that's--
[2:56:46] OK, I think Jay's point has been made.
[2:56:49] It's coming back to council in either the next
[2:56:51] or the following meeting.
[2:56:53] So tender's comment has been received.
[2:56:55] And I think even though we would like it to be at the same time,
[2:56:59] and it might be, it's definitely going to be part of the phase
[2:57:01] II medium project.
[2:57:02] And everybody's going to have a chance--
[2:57:04] So we'll get a chance to talk about lighting regardless.
[2:57:07] We want that outcome as well, for sure.
[2:57:09] So cool.
[2:57:10] Thank you.
[2:57:10] All right.
[2:57:11] So are there any other emerging issues
[2:57:14] that we'd like to add to the list for this evening?
[2:57:18] I just want to reiterate my request
[2:57:21] for the revenue and expense reports for the sports courts.
[2:57:25] And I really want to see those in detail.
[2:57:33] What I keep getting is yeah, we got it, yeah, we got it.
[2:57:37] But I'm not seeing anything.
[2:57:39] So again, with this, and this is the second time I brought this
[2:57:44] up, I want to make sure we know that we
[2:57:50] are interested in a deep dive accounting and advice on how
[2:57:56] to increase our profit sharing.
[2:58:00] And I want to see these reports.
[2:58:04] And also we have to realize that there
[2:58:07] is a huge amount of traffic down there.
[2:58:11] At least one of the courts I don't know about both of them,
[2:58:13] but at least one of them is charging per person
[2:58:16] to get in there.
[2:58:18] So I want to make sure we get all of the revenue
[2:58:22] streams on this expense and revenue report, please.
[2:58:29] And that is on the emerging issues list already.
[2:58:32] Your request is noted, and it does
[2:58:34] say initial, information provided in June
[2:58:37] with the expectation that additional information will
[2:58:39] be provided.
[2:58:40] Debbie, did you have a follow-up?
[2:58:45] So a couple of years ago, maybe we
[2:58:47] had a discussion about annexation.
[2:58:49] We looked at the Pacheco corridor and Alhambra Valley
[2:58:52] area, and I would like to have an update
[2:58:55] on the potential about moving forward with the annexation
[2:58:59] potential for the Humber Valley, because that was
[2:59:01] the one that we had discussed.
[2:59:03] So it's sort of an update on the potential for that
[2:59:06] and what that might look like moving forward.
[2:59:10] And then one other comment, I'm not sure
[2:59:11] if it's an emerging issue, but it's an ongoing issue.
[2:59:14] And I know I've spoke with the city manager
[2:59:16] about this in the past, but there's a huge Bocce Federation
[2:59:21] here in Martinez, and they play almost every night
[2:59:23] except for Sunday.
[2:59:25] And I'm down there on Fridays and other nights too,
[2:59:28] and I am getting constant comments
[2:59:33] about the excessive smoking, smoking cigarettes, smoking
[2:59:36] marijuana, and it's impacting the children that are there.
[2:59:39] The people are there, they have medical conditions and things
[2:59:41] like that.
[2:59:42] I have personally spoken to some of the people who have been
[2:59:45] smoking and asked them to stop.
[2:59:47] Some of them are very kind, some of them are very rude.
[2:59:49] I've talked to the commissioner of bocce.
[2:59:52] He's approached people multiple times
[2:59:54] and it's either going to be compliance or completely
[2:59:57] rude and disrespectful.
[2:59:59] I know last year the city manager
[3:00:02] had gone down and surveyed the area for signage
[3:00:06] to make sure that people are aware of there was no smoking.
[3:00:09] And I think new signs were put up last season.
[3:00:13] Correct, new signs were put up, a very prominent signs, but it's
[3:00:16] still ongoing and there is no smoking down there at all,
[3:00:19] period.
[3:00:20] People should not be smoking anything.
[3:00:22] So I'm hoping that maybe we can do something
[3:00:26] to improve this, maybe through some sort of awareness program
[3:00:29] or working with the Bocce Federation
[3:00:31] so that they know the rules so that we can clear this up.
[3:00:34] I don't see this in other events and activities that we have.
[3:00:38] Downtown Martinez has a lot of events and activities
[3:00:41] that pull in hundreds of people, and you
[3:00:43] don't see them smoking and causing
[3:00:45] problems with other residents that
[3:00:47] don't enjoy having smoke in their face during bocce games.
[3:00:52] So perhaps we can look at that and take a little stronger
[3:00:55] approach to try to prevent this from going on,
[3:00:58] because we've done a lot of compliance and it's not working.
[3:01:03] So that's it.
[3:01:07] I think we are at the end of the agenda.
[3:01:12] Let's see.
[3:01:12] Make sure we're at-- yeah, city manager comments and updates.
[3:01:17] All right.
[3:01:17] I want to lead off with some recognition for Kat,
[3:01:22] our city clerk just received her certified municipal clerk
[3:01:26] designation.
[3:01:28] So three plus years in the making,
[3:01:30] and that's really the preeminent certification
[3:01:33] that a city clerk can get.
[3:01:34] That's a lot of time and effort.
[3:01:37] So kudos to her.
[3:01:38] That's a big time accomplishment.
[3:01:45] So we've got a couple of department updates, too.
[3:01:47] And so we'll start with chief of police.
[3:01:51] Thank you for everybody who came out for National Night
[3:01:54] Out, both visits to the neighborhoods
[3:01:57] and of course, the signature event,
[3:01:59] which lots of positive comments, both from people
[3:02:02] who live in Martinez, but other people who are now coming here
[3:02:05] as a destination event.
[3:02:06] So that was a great experience.
[3:02:09] By update regarding the alcohol selling establishments,
[3:02:13] we did do the outreach and particularly regarding
[3:02:15] the ongoing sales to individuals that are found habitually drunk.
[3:02:20] We are seeing some good results from that,
[3:02:22] including one individual who relocated from outside
[3:02:25] of downtown because they cannot get their alcohol.
[3:02:27] In fact, they went outside the city.
[3:02:30] Regarding downtown security, we did end the contract
[3:02:33] with the current provider.
[3:02:35] They were unable to satisfactorily fill
[3:02:36] the position.
[3:02:38] We did meet with Downtown Martinez & Co the board
[3:02:41] and are looking at options going forward.
[3:02:45] And lastly, as you may know, I've
[3:02:47] served on the 901 advisory board as a governor appointee.
[3:02:51] I'm having my last meeting this month
[3:02:53] and I'll be all done with that.
[3:02:54] So thank you to the council for allowing me to do that.
[3:02:56] That was, I think, almost five years of doing that.
[3:02:59] So with that, it concludes my report.
[3:03:04] Can I ask a question?
[3:03:08] Sure.
[3:03:09] How extensive were we with getting the--
[3:03:15] what are we calling that about--
[3:03:16] Our list?
[3:03:17] Yes.
[3:03:18] We went to each of the known establishments,
[3:03:21] primarily in this downtown area.
[3:03:24] And what was the response?
[3:03:26] Were they pretty receptive to it or was it negative?
[3:03:29] Yeah, so far, it's been positive.
[3:03:32] And I think it was a good educational opportunity
[3:03:35] that frankly, it's not clear that they knew exactly
[3:03:37] those various regulations.
[3:03:41] And how many people are on the list?
[3:03:43] I don't have the exact number, but there's a handful.
[3:03:46] I think there's maybe six or so.
[3:03:49] But one of the primary ones, without naming them,
[3:03:52] it would be somebody you probably all
[3:03:54] have heard about from complaints downtown, so.
[3:03:57] And there's also active criminal prosecution
[3:03:59] with that individual.
[3:04:01] Very good.
[3:04:02] Thank you.
[3:04:07] Next we have Nick who's going to give us
[3:04:09] an update on our GoMartinez app and the progress so far.
[3:04:15] Nick is our chief innovation officer,
[3:04:16] if you haven't met him before.
[3:04:19] Good evening, Mayor and council members.
[3:04:21] Nick Wilson, your chief innovation officer
[3:04:23] here for city of Martinez.
[3:04:25] I want to thank you guys for the time
[3:04:26] to let me give you a quick update on our Citizen Request
[3:04:30] Manager or CRM, also known GoMartinez app.
[3:04:34] So thank you, Kat.
[3:04:37] So a couple quick points on that.
[3:04:40] The goal of this solution or this system
[3:04:44] was to replace our previous service request
[3:04:47] form that we had posted on the city of Martinez's website.
[3:04:51] The GoMartinez app was one of the projects
[3:04:54] that we sought to implement with the strategic plan,
[3:04:57] and it aligns with the plan goal A number 9.
[3:05:02] The GoMartinez app actually does emphasize
[3:05:05] the values of modernization as well as transparency
[3:05:08] and open communication.
[3:05:10] And so first slide I have up for you
[3:05:13] guys is just a couple of nice metrics
[3:05:16] that we have had since tomorrow will
[3:05:17] be actually our official 30 days since we've launched the app.
[3:05:22] So within those 30 days, we have actually
[3:05:24] had 621 apps downloaded to the public.
[3:05:29] So that's going to be the various citizens downloading it
[3:05:32] on their Android devices or Apple devices.
[3:05:34] We have had 118 residents register with the application
[3:05:39] itself.
[3:05:39] We have had a total of 160 requests submitted since we've
[3:05:43] gone live on July 6.
[3:05:46] And our top request are on the fourth bullet point right there.
[3:05:50] Key one is sidewalks.
[3:05:52] We've had 26 requests for that.
[3:05:53] Roadways has been 13.
[3:05:55] Dumping and trash has been 11.
[3:05:57] And overgrown vegetation has been six requests.
[3:06:04] On top of that, we have some additional metrics.
[3:06:08] Again, the primary goal of the app
[3:06:10] was to focus on our public works corp yard.
[3:06:13] Since then, with some of the requests,
[3:06:15] we've actually had to expand to some of the other departments.
[3:06:18] We're still ironing out the initial workflows
[3:06:22] on how those will get resolved, but I
[3:06:23] did want to emphasize the initial goal, which was
[3:06:26] with our corp yard department.
[3:06:27] So public works corp yard, we have had
[3:06:29] 142 requests submitted to them.
[3:06:32] Out of those 142, 90 of those have
[3:06:36] been closed within the first 24 hours, 12
[3:06:39] within the 1 to 3 days, 21 within the 4 to 7.
[3:06:43] And we only have currently four requests outstanding past
[3:06:47] the 7-day mark.
[3:06:48] As of last night, when I pulled the metrics,
[3:06:50] we have currently 15 open requests for public works.
[3:06:54] Engineering has been getting a good amount of those requests
[3:06:57] as well.
[3:06:58] Just because something does start in the public works corp
[3:07:00] yard realm, it does eventually bleed over into engineering
[3:07:04] where it does need to have additional follow up.
[3:07:07] So engineering has had a total of 16 requests.
[3:07:10] They've done-actually an amazing job on those closing
[3:07:13] 50% of those in under the 15 day mark,
[3:07:17] and they currently have eight open.
[3:07:20] We do also have some that have also facilitated into our code
[3:07:24] enforcement department.
[3:07:26] Currently there's two open in that department.
[3:07:28] They have not resolved those yet.
[3:07:32] On top of that, the other stats that I haven't put on here
[3:07:36] is we do also send out surveys with each of these requests
[3:07:39] once the issue has been resolved.
[3:07:41] So out of the 160 requests, we've sent out 86 surveys.
[3:07:47] We actually got 13 responses on those surveys.
[3:07:50] Out of those 13, 8 were rated as superior service.
[3:07:56] Outstanding service, quick responses closed same day.
[3:07:59] We've had four registered as good service
[3:08:02] and one registered as poor.
[3:08:07] For this slide, I actually want to give a quick shout out
[3:08:10] to our public information officer, Eve Kearney.
[3:08:12] Do an amazing job putting together our social media
[3:08:16] and newsletter posting.
[3:08:18] On screen, we have the QR code where the public can register
[3:08:21] for the GoMartinez app.
[3:08:22] I would also like to give a shout out
[3:08:24] to our council members, who also assisted
[3:08:26] in spreading the GoMartinez app on their social media
[3:08:29] and among the public interactions.
[3:08:33] And with that, I would like to thank you guys for your time.
[3:08:38] Thank you.
[3:08:39] I would love for a report out in either 90 days or six months,
[3:08:43] whichever one makes the most sense.
[3:08:45] These kinds of trackers are spectacular in the beginning.
[3:08:48] And then it starts to accumulate dust or slightly uncompleted
[3:08:54] projects off to the side, and they just sit there.
[3:08:57] So you'll end up with this really great amount of projects
[3:09:00] you complete, and then a bunch of junk
[3:09:02] that just fills up the inbox.
[3:09:04] And so I'd love to report out 90 days, six months, something
[3:09:06] like that, just to get a feedback from staff.
[3:09:09] So maybe we could have someone in public works
[3:09:11] who's managing this to give us that feedback.
[3:09:13] Let us know how it's going and whether or not the way
[3:09:16] that we're submitting the requests is working.
[3:09:19] That would be great.
[3:09:20] Absolutely.
[3:09:20] We can definitely follow up with that.
[3:09:22] And I do apologize.
[3:09:23] I do want to give one other quick shout out
[3:09:25] to Joe Inky and the corp yard team,
[3:09:27] which we could not have done this without that collaboration
[3:09:30] and group effort.
[3:09:32] Thank you so much.
[3:09:33] Great report.
[3:09:33] Thank you.
[3:09:35] All right.
[3:09:36] And the last update is going to be from Eve.
[3:09:37] She's got the August event schedule for us.
[3:09:44] Good evening, council.
[3:09:46] So a lot of great events still coming up in August.
[3:09:49] We did have a great National Night out last night,
[3:09:52] but still more to look forward to.
[3:09:54] So very quickly, we have first Friday coming up this Friday.
[3:09:59] We also have open air market on Sunday,
[3:10:03] the Downtown Martinez car show and also the Martinez Yacht Club
[3:10:07] will be having a car show later this month, art in the Park,
[3:10:10] which is a great Martinez favorite.
[3:10:14] Everyone looks forward to that.
[3:10:15] That'll be on August 16.
[3:10:18] And then finally, coming up, the moment
[3:10:21] we've all been waiting for is the sesquicentennial festival
[3:10:25] on August 29.
[3:10:27] So that is going to be down at the Martinez Waterfront.
[3:10:30] The event will be from 11 AM to 7 PM,
[3:10:33] and then we're going to have the beer fest in partnership.
[3:10:36] They'll be actually from 1 PM to 6 PM at Waterfront Park
[3:10:40] as like the mega ultimate beer garden as part of our event.
[3:10:46] So really looking forward to that.
[3:10:48] There's so much for our community to do at this event.
[3:10:52] We really wanted to make this a celebration of our community
[3:10:56] and for our community.
[3:10:57] So other than food and drink, all activities
[3:11:00] that are going to be at the event are free to the public.
[3:11:03] So anyone who comes can enjoy it,
[3:11:06] and really trying to make sure that everyone feels welcome
[3:11:09] and it's a party for them too.
[3:11:11] So we're going to be having a climbing wall.
[3:11:14] We're having kayak rentals, rowboat races, foam parties,
[3:11:19] just water tag, all of these different things
[3:11:23] that people can enjoy for free.
[3:11:25] And just like a birthday party where
[3:11:28] you get a free piece of cake, we are also
[3:11:31] going to be giving a free dessert to everyone who comes.
[3:11:35] So all attendees get a free dessert on the city.
[3:11:39] So just looking forward to a really great day of community,
[3:11:42] and we're putting it together with a lot
[3:11:45] of local organizations and really
[3:11:48] appreciate everyone's pitching in to make this a great day.
[3:11:51] So any questions?
[3:11:53] But yeah, lots to look forward to.
[3:11:56] Thanks, Eve.
[3:11:57] One thing I wanted to make sure that the council was aware of
[3:11:59] is the parking situation for the event
[3:12:03] because as it gets closer and closer,
[3:12:05] there'll be more and more advertising
[3:12:07] and there'll be lots and lots of people coming.
[3:12:09] So there are three parking places.
[3:12:12] One will be behind the county building
[3:12:14] where there's hundreds plus parking spaces,
[3:12:16] and there will be a shuttle running.
[3:12:17] The other parking lot for cars will
[3:12:19] be down at the waterfront, the area I consider the boat trailer
[3:12:24] parking.
[3:12:25] That'll have several hundred parking spaces.
[3:12:27] And then the parking lot immediately adjacent
[3:12:29] to the bocce courts will be for bicycles and folks that
[3:12:33] are arriving that way, and for Ubers and Lyfts and things
[3:12:36] like that.
[3:12:37] So I just wanted to let us know so when people ask us,
[3:12:41] we can tell them which way to go and the shuttles will
[3:12:43] be running throughout the day.
[3:12:45] Will there be parking designated for council?
[3:12:51] There will be parking designated for volunteers.
[3:12:54] So--
[3:12:54] We count.
[3:12:55] --I expect all of you will have a designated parking
[3:12:58] spot in that way.
[3:12:59] Yeah, perfect.
[3:13:00] Thanks.
[3:13:00] Good answer.
[3:13:02] Eve, thank you.
[3:13:03] Thank you.
[3:13:08] Anything else, Mike?
[3:13:09] No, that's it, mayor.
[3:13:10] OK, great.
[3:13:11] Any outside agency report outs?
[3:13:13] The answer is no.
[3:13:15] Great.
[3:13:16] Really?
[3:13:17] Ooh.
[3:13:18] OK, go ahead.
[3:13:20] Just real quick.
[3:13:21] On July 9, we had a Chamber of Commerce meeting.
[3:13:26] They talked about upcoming events and activities,
[3:13:28] new membership, and focus on the Martini gala, which is up
[3:13:31] and coming soon.
[3:13:32] That's it.
[3:13:33] September 12.
[3:13:36] Any other agency reports?
[3:13:39] No.
[3:13:39] Great.
[3:13:40] All right, let's do comments and announcements.
[3:13:43] Debbie, you want to start?
[3:13:44] Do you still have your microphone on?
[3:13:45] Yeah.
[3:13:47] Just real quick.
[3:13:47] I want to have a shout out to the corp yard.
[3:13:52] People who took care of a couple of accidents.
[3:13:54] As we all know, the sign, the Martinez sign got hit.
[3:13:59] And they repaired that as best they could.
[3:14:01] But there was an accident at the Senior Center
[3:14:03] that took out the ramp.
[3:14:04] And within hours, they had reconstructed the ramp
[3:14:08] at the Senior Center.
[3:14:09] So that a lot of our seniors need
[3:14:10] the ramp to access the Senior Center because they
[3:14:13] can't maneuver the stairs.
[3:14:15] So I thought that was amazing.
[3:14:16] So shout out to the corp yard for repairing the damages
[3:14:20] that we had and making sure the Senior Center's operational.
[3:14:24] So yay.
[3:14:27] That's it.
[3:14:32] Thank you very much.
[3:14:33] And yes, I'd like to align my comments
[3:14:35] and say thank you to the corp yard
[3:14:37] for a job well done on that.
[3:14:40] Also shout out to everyone that made National Night
[3:14:44] out such a success last night.
[3:14:47] So thank you very much to Martinez Police, all
[3:14:51] the first responders, community organizations, the volunteer
[3:14:54] staff.
[3:14:54] Thank you very much.
[3:14:56] Job well done all around.
[3:14:59] Actually, I also wanted to shout out the residents of the Diablo
[3:15:03] View neighborhood.
[3:15:05] They held a little gathering last night, as I believe.
[3:15:08] Muir Oaks also had a gathering.
[3:15:10] And so I want to thank the residents for having me.
[3:15:14] That was really great.
[3:15:15] Congrats to the sturgeon.
[3:15:18] Yes.
[3:15:18] Right, Pecos league champs that they get that.
[3:15:23] Not yet?
[3:15:24] Soon to be, hopefully.
[3:15:25] Yeah.
[3:15:26] There you go.
[3:15:26] That's what I meant to say.
[3:15:28] That's what I meant to say, yes.
[3:15:29] So we're so proud of them.
[3:15:31] So wishing them all the best here in the final stretch.
[3:15:35] And last but not least, on behalf of the Council, Kat,
[3:15:40] we wanted to congratulate you as well
[3:15:43] on your recent certification.
[3:15:44] We know what a tremendous accomplishment that was.
[3:15:46] And so we just have a small token
[3:15:50] of our appreciation for everything that you do.
[3:15:52] So congratulations.
[3:16:03] All right.
[3:16:03] Really quickly just to pile on about the sturgeon.
[3:16:06] So Jay was super stoked.
[3:16:09] He and Eve were at the game last week
[3:16:11] when they won the two out of three in San Rafael.
[3:16:15] And so we were playing it by ear every day
[3:16:17] because nobody knew exactly who they were going to play
[3:16:20] and who was going to win and where they were going to go.
[3:16:22] So literally, this morning they left in vans caravanning
[3:16:27] and they caravan to Denver because they
[3:16:29] didn't know if they were going to go to Garden City, Kansas,
[3:16:32] or they're going to go to Roswell, New Mexico.
[3:16:34] And they figure if they made it halfway to the country,
[3:16:36] then they could either go North or go South.
[3:16:38] So I think they're going North or East or whatever.
[3:16:42] They're going to Kansas, I don't know.
[3:16:43] So the point of the story is they're in the finals
[3:16:47] and they'll be playing Friday and Saturday.
[3:16:49] And if they don't win the first two, then again on Sunday,
[3:16:52] Five Suns will be having a watch party for them
[3:16:55] on Friday at a minimum.
[3:16:58] And so because they're going to be in Garden City, Kansas,
[3:17:00] time zone is such that the 6 PM game starts at PM Pacific time.
[3:17:05] So if anyone would like to have happy hour at Five Suns,
[3:17:07] I'll be streaming the game on their TVs
[3:17:10] and you can watch it and cheer them on.
[3:17:16] All right.
[3:17:18] Ditto to what you all have said.
[3:17:22] Congratulations, sturgeons.
[3:17:24] Thanks for all the support and everybody
[3:17:26] showing up last night at National Night out.
[3:17:29] Thanks for corp yard and all the troubleshooting
[3:17:32] you all did this weekend.
[3:17:35] For all you football fans, preseason kicks off tomorrow
[3:17:39] with the Hall of Fame game.
[3:17:41] So we're getting into football season,
[3:17:43] getting into a great time of the year.
[3:17:45] So that's all I got.
[3:17:50] Yeah, congratulations to the sturgeon.
[3:17:52] And I just want to piggyback on what everybody said.
[3:17:54] It was super exciting.
[3:17:55] I was not at the game.
[3:17:57] I felt I was at the Yacht Club for the big celebration,
[3:18:01] and that was a lot of fun.
[3:18:03] And I think one of the wonderful things about this whole season
[3:18:07] is they dedicated it to Glen Monroe.
[3:18:10] And that was so touching because she was such a force
[3:18:13] to be reckoned with.
[3:18:15] And Eve and her wonderful kids get all the credit
[3:18:17] because they were the ones at the game.
[3:18:20] I was just on the sidelines.
[3:18:24] And let's see.
[3:18:25] What else did we want to cover?
[3:18:26] I really want to thank everybody for their participation
[3:18:29] at the National Night Out.
[3:18:31] It was so fun.
[3:18:32] And I have to lift up my local 152 carpenters.
[3:18:36] They had the award winning chili out there.
[3:18:38] That was good chili.
[3:18:39] I hope you all had some.
[3:18:41] It was amazing.
[3:18:43] And the vibe there.
[3:18:48] I think we gotta lift up because it was so wonderful how
[3:18:52] it brought everybody together.
[3:18:54] And I really want to thank Pete and everybody
[3:18:57] who was involved in that.
[3:18:58] They brought in-- what was the name of the band?
[3:19:01] The Eagles Cover band.
[3:19:04] Midnight Flyer.
[3:19:05] Midnight Flyer.
[3:19:07] They were so good.
[3:19:09] It was wonderful.
[3:19:11] And then all the community events, all the people out there
[3:19:16] and everybody mingling around.
[3:19:17] We had the Congressman there, the assembly member was there.
[3:19:21] And so it was just a wonderful event all the way through.
[3:19:25] I was exhausted by the time I got home.
[3:19:29] And I can't wait for next year.
[3:19:33] I would also just like to give a shout out to council member
[3:19:37] Howard, Mayor Zorn and all the people
[3:19:40] that joined us at the Downtown community cleanup
[3:19:42] a couple of weeks ago.
[3:19:44] That was fun.
[3:19:45] Yeah.
[3:19:46] So these two actually put on their waders
[3:19:48] and got down into the creek.
[3:19:50] [INTERPOSING VOICES]
[3:19:52] And we have the photos to prove it.
[3:19:54] So almost 400 pounds of trash were collected.
[3:19:58] Probably our most successful cleanup event yet.
[3:20:01] And so, I mean, it was a team effort.
[3:20:03] We had a great turnout.
[3:20:05] Almost over 2 dozen volunteers showed up,
[3:20:07] students, folks from the friends of Alhambra Creek.
[3:20:11] But oh my gosh, what a wonderful event that was.
[3:20:14] So yeah, love to see that energy.
[3:20:16] To piggyback on that, there may or may not
[3:20:18] have been some beaver sighting.
[3:20:22] We had a tree and it was nibbled and you can still
[3:20:24] see it from the Starbucks.
[3:20:26] If you look down, you can see where it fell over.
[3:20:29] I don't know, there's rumors.
[3:20:31] There's rumors.
[3:20:32] [LAUGHTER]
[3:20:34] Well, we shall see.
[3:20:35] We shall see.
[3:20:36] Thank you all very much for a long meeting.
[3:20:39] We covered a lot of things.
[3:20:40] Thanks for letting us get through everything.
[3:20:42] This meeting is now adjourned to our regular scheduled
[3:20:44] meeting on August 19.
[3:20:45] Have a great night.