[1:44] Good afternoon, good evening everyone. Thank you for joining us.

[1:49] For this regular City Council meeting Tuesday, August 25th. I

[1:54] will ask the City clerk to do a roll call

[1:56] vote. Bidding Mayor call. Thank you. Council Member Edwards. Here,

[2:05] Council Member Landrum. Here, Councilmember Le Fay. Here. Mayor Pro

[2:11] Time Eccles. Here. And Mayor Wixon. Here. Council Member Edwards.

[2:17] Thank you, Mayor. I will be participating remotely under Usb

[2:22] 707 Just Cause. Provisions due to medical condition, which limits

[2:28] my ability to participate in person. Thank you. With that,

[2:37] we will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance. Mrs. Armin

[2:41] is my favorite part. Many, begin. I pledge allegiance to

[2:46] the flag of the United States of America and to

[2:50] the Republic. For which it stands one nation under God.

[2:55] In the best visible and justice for all. Just like

[3:04] the paper to it. You are. City Attorney, Mr. Stack,

[3:11] Close Session Report, please. Good evening, Mayor Council members and

[3:15] members of the Public. The City Council did meet this

[3:17] afternoon in closed session to discuss three items. The first

[3:21] of which was a real property negotiation matter regarding the

[3:25] Morro Dunes RV Park at the Address Commonly known as

[3:28] 1, 700 Barcadero. The second item was a potential litigation

[3:33] item. And the third was a Public Employee performance evaluation

[3:36] for the City Manager and no reportable action was taken

[3:39] under the Brown Act on any item. Thank you, Mr.

[3:43] Stack. With that, we will move on to reports and

[3:46] announcements from City Council Member Edwards. All I want to

[3:56] include this evening is that I wish I could be

[3:59] there with all of you tonight, unfortunately. I thought I

[4:03] was going to be able to, but I'm just not

[4:04] there yet. So be there soon. Thank you. Mayor Pro

[4:10] Tim. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you all for being

[4:17] here. It's good to see so many people out in

[4:18] the audience. Last Saturday, let me get the date for

[4:24] you. Yeah, actually it was a week ago Saturday on

[4:28] the 15th. I hosted office hours in the form of

[4:31] a town hall at City Park. That's the park between

[4:34] the fire station and the police station. It was great.

[4:38] I got more people there than I expected. So we

[4:40] had about 20 people show up. Wonderful discussion. It was

[4:43] open topic, round table. And then what was really fun

[4:48] and neat is at the end of it, I brought

[4:50] some plastic gloves and some bags. And we went around

[4:54] the park. And when we left, there wasn't a piece

[4:56] of trash nor cigarette, but in the park. So it

[4:59] looked beautiful when we left. So it works so well.

[5:02] This coming Saturday, I'm going to have office hours at

[5:04] the park from 10 to 12. If you're on my

[5:08] mailing list, I'll send that out. The next day or

[5:09] two as well as a reminder. And if you are

[5:13] so inclined, we'll pick up trash and cigarette, but then

[5:16] as many now, but I've been to many of the

[5:20] meetings that I'm sure my colleagues are going to discuss

[5:23] here. Thank you. Council Member Landon. Oh, I get to

[5:31] announce all the meetings. Test my memory. Well, I'm so

[5:35] glad to be in Morel Bay. I had reason to

[5:38] go to San Lewis today. And, you know, Cal Poly

[5:42] started this week. And San Luis Coastal. And San Lewis

[5:47] found it a good time to start striping their streets,

[5:51] especially right around the Cal Poly entrance. And so the

[5:53] traffic was awful. So I'm just glad we live here.

[5:59] I attended the CFAC meeting, the Planning Commission meeting. The

[6:06] Public Works Advisory Board meeting. And also the home builders

[6:12] Public Officials Night. I attended the National Estuary Program meeting

[6:20] board meeting that I learned at that meeting that some

[6:23] interesting things diesel prices have made Albacor fishing for our

[6:28] local fishermen almost impossible. Um, let's see.

[6:40] The levels of. What is it called? The kelp in

[6:44] the Bay are a little bit lower, but they're still

[6:48] really high. Um, there's lots of concern about the El

[6:54] Nino. Supposa del Nino that's going to be here this

[6:56] winter and whether the creeks are ready for that. Um,

[7:00] the eel grass. Sorry. It's not the kelp. Um, they're

[7:04] not seeing, um, they're seeing not a large scale die

[7:07] off of eel grass, but some has disappeared at higher

[7:09] levels and they think this has to do with, um,

[7:12] the heat. And I think that's it. Good evening,

[7:22] everyone. I also attended the Planning Commission meeting, the CFAC

[7:26] and the Public Works last week. But I also attended

[7:31] a discussion at the pickleball court to Del Mar Park.

[7:35] We met with the seniors down there. And there is

[7:38] them discussion of adding pickleball courts. And I believe it

[7:42] will be agenda dyes on the October 13th City Council

[7:48] meeting to look at, uh, some options to add some

[7:52] pickleball courts for the pickleball players. Um, I also wanted

[7:57] to announce that I was, I'm under the impression. And

[8:02] I was told that we are replacing the playground equipment

[8:05] at LISIKES or park. And it will be done by

[8:07] the end of the year. So those are two announcements

[8:11] to improve our City parks. And I wanted to announce

[8:15] them to the public here. Welcome. Thank you. Um, as

[8:20] was shared, we've attended a lot of the meetings jointly

[8:23] sitting separately just so everybody knows our City Attorney keeps

[8:26] a good eye on us. Um, public works in which

[8:29] I'm the liaison for during Public Works. They had a

[8:33] lengthy discussion about the, um, quarterly report. The Wharf Quarterly

[8:41] Report, which is on tonight's agenda. So for those of

[8:43] you who haven't had an opportunity to see that you

[8:47] can follow that on the Public Works Advisory Meeting from

[8:50] last week, it was just an update on all the

[8:53] activities over the last three months. And, um, comments and

[8:57] recommendations from them. Along with some of my fellow council

[9:03] members attended the Public Officials night, uh, hosted by the

[9:07] home builders association, uh, council member landrough myself had a

[9:11] subcommittee meeting with our new Public Works director and staff

[9:15] on the Water Reclamation Facility. And, uh, I met with

[9:21] Supervisor elect D'Antona. We had an opportunity to just network

[9:26] and talk about, uh, interactions for the City and County

[9:29] in regards to emergency preparedness. And how best to support

[9:33] each other. And the county's rolling that. And also had

[9:36] an opportunity to talk to him, uh, briefly about some

[9:40] of the library programs that have recently been cut in

[9:43] Moral Bay.

[9:53] Meeting for mayors and city managers. This is all seven

[9:56] cities that participate in that. And, um, just to give

[10:00] an update and get a report card from them. So

[10:03] far, we're looking good. We haven't heard anything from them.

[10:05] That's always good news. And I attended the mayor's meeting.

[10:09] We meet once a month of seven cities. And during

[10:12] that, the liaison, not the liaison, the staff, um, from

[10:17] the Sanlos County homeless services gave us an update from

[10:23] the point in time. And just to share the countywide

[10:26] report that was done January 26, 2026, they identified 1,

[10:32] 118 individuals experiencing homelessness in Santas Vespo County. Of that

[10:38] number, three percent are on the coast. That's Morbay, La

[10:44] Sosa's, Cayucas, and Cambria. So we are very fortunate out

[10:47] here that, uh, we've had this port we do. And

[10:52] that, um, that our unhouse population is very minimal compared

[10:55] to the rest of the county. With that, I will

[10:59] move on to the City Managers Report. Thank you, Mayor

[11:05] Council. Uh, for the managed report tonight, I attended many

[11:08] of the meetings which you've already discussed in - house

[11:11] as well as, uh, one important meeting that we discussed,

[11:14] that we attended was the, uh, department, the commission of

[11:18] fishing wildlife discussion about, um, marine protection areas off the

[11:23] coast of not only Morbay, but several other areas around

[11:26] the state, three of which directly impact our fishermen. It

[11:29] was an all day meeting. Uh, which Harbor staff and

[11:32] I were on. And we're able to give our comments

[11:34] about how that might affect our, uh, not only our

[11:37] community, but also our commercial fishermen and residential fishermen. And

[11:41] we are opposed to that. The commission took no action

[11:44] on the August meeting. They're planning to come back in

[11:46] October and take action on the items they heard. But

[11:48] it was a well, uh, it was a good turnout

[11:51] of people and the speakers offered good comments. Uh, most

[11:55] of which were, uh, against, uh, MPA that was planned

[12:00] for his petitioned for officer off of Moro Bay basically

[12:04] from the rock up towards Cayucas. And so, uh, wait

[12:08] to see on that. Also attended with our staff, uh,

[12:12] our monthly meeting with the coastal commission staff had a

[12:14] lot of conversations with them about ways in which we

[12:17] might ensure that we're doing, um, good by them, uh,

[12:21] do, uh, the proper protocols in each of our issues.

[12:26] One item we discussed was the potential of volleyball, uh,

[12:29] on the beach. Council Luffe is interested in that. And

[12:33] so we did discuss with them the ins and outs

[12:35] about how that might work. Uh, and so, uh, I

[12:38] think that, uh, that's a go. And we actually have

[12:41] a conversation with him about that. And good, good feedback

[12:44] on how we might go about doing that and allow

[12:45] for volleyball courts down on our area. Uh, as well

[12:49] as many other items that really affect the city. So,

[12:53] um, this month seemed to be reaching out to, uh,

[12:57] state commissions and committees and a lot of work with

[12:59] not only our elected officials, but also state government advocating

[13:03] on behalf of the city and the citizens here. So

[13:07] with that, I'll answer any questions that you may have

[13:08] on any of the issues. Thank you. Um, I just

[13:12] want you to know that I'm in favor of volleyball

[13:14] courts on the beach too. I saw you look at

[13:16] that. I'm sorry for saying, no name counselor fake. Thank

[13:22] you. With that, we will move into no subcommittee reports.

[13:27] So, um, I have one proclamation this evening. We will

[13:33] be recognizing Hunger Action Month. Whereas each September, the nationwide

[13:41] hunger action month campaign Unites millions of people across the

[13:44] country to raise awareness and provide nutritious food to neighbors

[13:49] facing hunger. And whereas the region's high cost of living

[13:52] frequently forces many of our neighbors and San Luis Biscouny

[13:56] to make impossible choices between pain for essential needs such

[14:00] as rent and buying groceries. And whereas the San Lozo

[14:05] Food Bank provides food for 50, 000 neighbors every month,

[14:10] a 58 percent increased over the past five years. And

[14:14] whereas the San Luis Bispo Food Banks Hunger Relief Network

[14:18] reaches more than one in six county residents, including over

[14:22] 3, 700 neighbors each month along the North Coast. And

[14:27] whereas this work is made possible by a collaborative network

[14:30] of 70 nonprofit partners who distribute food directly within their

[14:34] own neighborhoods, including a sterile bay kindness coalition. Coastland's vineyard

[14:40] church, Mor Bay Lyons Foundation and ROC Harbor Fellowship and

[14:43] Morro Bay. Whereas the slow food bank's mission is to

[14:47] make, where the slow food bank's mission is made possible

[14:51] by the profound generosity of our community with more than

[14:55] 70 percent of the organizations funding coming directly from local

[14:58] individuals, businesses and nonprofits. Whereas the expansive reach and daily

[15:04] operations of the slow food bank are sustained by the

[15:08] dedication of over 1, 300 active volunteers who generously give

[15:13] their time to nourish their community. And whereas hunger action

[15:19] month serves as a countywide call to action inviting all

[15:22] residents to learn, raise awareness and contribute their time and

[15:26] resources to help feed as subtle low county together. Now

[15:31] therefore be it resolved that the Mor Bay City Council

[15:34] does hereby proclaim September, 2026 as hunger action month in

[15:40] Moro Bay. And I would like to invite their director

[15:46] up. Thank you. Thank you, Sean. Thank you so much

[15:53] for having me. My name is Savannah Kolevins. I'm the

[15:56] director of community engagement at the Slow Food Bank. Um,

[16:00] Mayor Wixom and council members, thank you for shining a

[16:02] light on this vital issue, food insecurity is something that

[16:06] happens behind closed doors. Um, there's no way to know

[16:10] if your colleague, your child's friend, or even the person

[16:14] bagging your groceries is experiencing food insecurity. During hunger action

[16:19] month, we open those doors to make sure that thousands

[16:22] of our neighbors know that they are not alone. And

[16:27] that the entire county is working to alleviate hunger and

[16:30] build a healthy community. As you shared in this proclamation,

[16:35] our community is experiencing food insecurity at a level we

[16:39] have not seen in our 36 year history. Um, for

[16:44] some context prior to this year, the most people that

[16:46] we had ever served in a single month was 47,

[16:51] 000 during the COVID - 19 pandemic. We are now

[16:54] regularly serving 50, 000 or more each month. We are

[17:00] honored to provide compassionate nutritious, hunger relief to the tens

[17:04] of thousands of slow county neighbors. Through our direct Hunger

[17:08] relief efforts and a network of more than 70 independent

[17:11] nonprofits whose kitchens and pantries we stock. While hunger is

[17:16] a challenge that is very much part of our local

[17:18] community in Moro Bay and across So County, the solution

[17:22] is local. In the compassionate hearts of our agency partners,

[17:28] the hard work of hundreds of volunteers, the support of

[17:31] thousands of donors, large and small. We are so grateful

[17:35] to be this community's food bank. Thank you again for

[17:39] your kindness for helping us share our story and supporting

[17:42] our mission on hunger action month and throughout the year.

[17:48] If you are ever interested in learning more, invite you

[17:51] or anyone in the community to come and take a

[17:53] tour at our warehouse volunteer and see firsthand, uh, the

[17:58] difference in nutritious meal can make. Thank you so much.

[18:13] Thank you. We appreciate your advocacy and hard work. What

[18:19] that will move into Public comment is for items not

[18:23] on the agenda. I have some speaker slips to start

[18:26] out with. Sugar cliff followed by Linda Winters followed by

[18:31] Linda Merrill. Thank you.

[18:42] Hi, my name is Sugar Cliff and I'm the owner

[18:44] of grandma's Mercantile on Maine on Main Street. I wanted

[18:48] to talk about our farmer's market. Recently there has been

[18:51] a rumor going around that our farmers market is going

[18:54] to be moved to the city park. And so I

[18:58] was inundated with not only vendors, but other business people.

[19:03] And they told me go find out if it's true.

[19:06] Do we need to get a coalition together? Do we

[19:08] need to argue? Do we need to do what? So

[19:10] I'm here to tell you that the farmers market where

[19:13] it's at is wonderful. It has kept my business and

[19:16] other business going. That's one of the biggest things that

[19:18] we count on to keep our downtown businesses. So, um,

[19:23] basically I just instead of walking around and asking other

[19:26] people and rumors, I thought I'd come to the horse's

[19:28] mouth and find out if this is something that is

[19:31] truly being considered or if this is just something that

[19:34] we can rest on. So that's really all I had

[19:37] to say. I just wanted to let you guys know

[19:39] how much the farmer's market means to not just that

[19:43] one, the two blocks that covers, even just the whole

[19:47] downtown area. You know, that's where we get a majority

[19:51] of our business. And right now the way things are,

[19:55] I know my business open last year. So, um, thank

[19:59] you for being letting me know if that's real or

[20:02] not so I can tell all my friends on the

[20:03] street whether or not we need to get petitions together.

[20:07] Because I don't want to tune into that if I

[20:08] don't have to. All right. Thank you very much.

[24:18] There was an old studio building out in front of

[24:22] the community center. If anybody remembers this studio room, was

[24:30] studio building. It was like falling down. And so we

[24:34] just met there for our art group. I mean, it

[24:37] was covered with paint and all of that. So we

[24:42] met there and it had been used like for 10

[24:46] years before that. And so I'm hoping what happened was

[24:53] when the new building was built, the seniors were promised

[24:58] the senior area because they eliminated. They used to have

[25:02] a trailer that they met in. So they eliminated that

[25:07] trailer. So they were promised the senior center area. We

[25:12] were promised a studio room in the new building. So

[25:18] it's been a long time and everybody that I know

[25:22] that would have known this story isn't around anymore. So

[25:28] if there's anybody else in the audience that knows this

[25:33] and can support me, please let me know. And thank

[25:38] you all for everything you do.

[25:54] Good evening. I would like to ask if the City

[25:57] of Morro Bay would consider lowering the flag in honor

[26:00] of Dolly Barton. Thank you.

[26:17] Hello, Mayor Wixim and Council. I'm Sidney Ramos of 40

[26:20] plus year Moro Bay residents. Since the last council meeting,

[26:25] I've continued to look into Motorola's automated license plate readers.

[26:30] The company itself and they're associated database learn, which is

[26:34] an acronym for law enforcement archival reporting network. I found

[26:39] dramatic stories of misread license plates leading to innocent people

[26:44] being held at gunpoint arrested and handcuffed before they were

[26:47] able to straighten anything out. While I'd like to believe

[26:51] that these positive outcomes, oh wait. Okay, I also looked

[26:56] for positive outcomes to balance any bias that I may

[26:59] have. And while I'd like to believe the positive outcomes

[27:02] outweigh the instances of abuse or error, I just don't

[27:05] believe that they do. My concern is much less about

[27:08] this tool being in law enforcement hands, but it is

[27:11] also in the hands of Motorola. Specifically Motorola gives direct

[27:17] databates access to the federal government and other third parties.

[27:21] And what this means is that they are enabled to

[27:24] directly search databases without needing local intermediaries or warrants. And

[27:30] some studies are already facing backlash and repercussions from illegal

[27:34] data sharing. In addition, Motorola acknowledges flaws, which allow unauthorized

[27:40] parties to view feeds in real time, along with vulnerabilities

[27:45] to hacker tampering. There's currently a class action suit against

[27:51] Motorola for violating state privacy laws. The gist of the

[27:57] suit is that the methods used for collecting and storing

[28:00] data need laws to be put in a safeguard. New

[28:05] Hampshire is starting to enact laws requiring purging within specific

[28:10] timeframes. And this is probably more of a state issue.

[28:13] Finally, Motorola is participating in unmonitored mass tracking. The recordings

[28:20] of our movements and patterns and location and histories can

[28:23] be used to predict our future whereabouts. And while I

[28:27] thought of that, this, it reminded me of being on

[28:30] Instagram and the algorithm finding just that cute thing for

[28:33] me to order. But in this case, you and I

[28:36] are the product. So I'm urging the City of Morro

[28:40] Bay to take a stand against a nationwide video surveillance

[28:45] system, which is contrary to the guarantees of our Constitution.

[28:49] So I would ask the council to please put it

[28:52] on an agenda so our concern citizens. Can talk about

[28:56] it. Thank you. I have no more speaker slips, Public

[29:00] Common is open for items not on the agenda.

[29:10] Good evening, Council. On Lee. I just wanted to mention

[29:15] and experience I had a week ago Sunday. I was

[29:19] at the ROC bathroom. And it was locked, you know.

[29:24] So they had three port - a - potties or

[29:26] more. And then there was a sign that said you

[29:29] could use those or you could walk a half a

[29:31] mile down the road to the new ones. And my

[29:33] mind did a quick assessment thinking, because it's after sunset,

[29:37] maybe those are locked. I don't know. I didn't know,

[29:39] I didn't care. Well, anyway, so fortunately I had some

[29:45] tissue paper with me because they were empty. And when

[29:50] I got out, there were some maintenance workers there. And

[29:55] I asked them if they wouldn't mind putting some toilet

[29:58] paper in the bathrooms. And I just wanted to say

[30:01] thank you to them just because, you know, they were

[30:04] there. They actually had, I guess it was their job.

[30:08] I don't know, to carry toilet paper around. But there

[30:12] were people gathering. So, you know, but are those bathrooms

[30:17] down the road? That's one of the other questions. It's

[30:19] like, is there a time when it closed them? You

[30:23] know? But I just want to say, he didn't know

[30:25] if I was a tourist. Or if I was a

[30:28] citizen and that I would thank them. So whatever, whoever

[30:32] that person was, um, on a Sunday night, he was

[30:36] needed because there were others gathering. Thank you. Anyone else

[30:46] for Public comment for items not on the agenda. Betty

[30:56] Winholtz, I'd like to read something to you as chairman

[31:00] of the Recreation and Parks Commission. It's email that came

[31:04] from Cambria in light of one of our programs. It

[31:08] was actually a very long letter that came to Mr.

[31:11] Carmichael. But I did grab the last paragraph because I

[31:14] thought it was, um, a pertinent that we, um, like

[31:19] just did, uh, honor our workers. So it says you

[31:23] have been tremendous partners for the Cambria Youth Athletic Association

[31:27] and the Cambria Community at Lage. As such, a small

[31:31] community, we rely on partnerships with our friends and neighbors.

[31:36] So our kids can participate in youth sports. And this

[31:39] one has been tremendous. Our kids never had the opportunity

[31:44] to play flag football locally until we started playing with

[31:48] the league three years ago. All the kids ages K

[31:52] through six have had such a great experience. And we

[31:56] hope to add seventh and eighth grade next year. It

[31:59] has been such a privilege to watch these kids grow

[32:02] and learn to play the game together over these past

[32:06] three years. Cheers to the Moro Bay Reck League team

[32:10] that helped make it possible. We took, we look forward

[32:14] to playing with you again next year and in the

[32:16] years ahead from Lex. And this was to our, um,

[32:21] Ken who works in the parks and rec department and

[32:25] coordinates all that. So I thought it was just really,

[32:28] uh, glowing report and that rather than just keep that

[32:32] among the Parks and Rec and the, and the staff,

[32:36] I thought the whole community should know that we're doing

[32:38] such a fine job. Anyone else for Public comment

[32:48] for items not on the agenda. I. Didn't. Stay. That's

[32:56] fine. Please come forward then. If you can't stay.

[33:14] My name is Marley Nowens and I'm an old timer

[33:17] in Morel Bay. I can remember sitting here and speaking

[33:21] here when Lila Kaiser was sitting up there on that

[33:24] bench. And she lila Kaiser was a person I'm talking

[33:28] about in that day because she has to do with

[33:31] moral elementary. A whole bunch to do with Moral Elementary.

[33:37] Lila Kaiser was of all things she loved parks recreation

[33:42] and kids. And she wanted them a place to play

[33:46] and a place to be. There is only one place

[33:49] in Morel Bay for kids to play on a flat

[33:53] ground and play soccer. Most of the parks are sloped.

[33:58] More obey is sloped. But kids can play soccer at

[34:03] Morrow Elementary. And it's very important. And I remember when

[34:07] Lila was, was working with Lila to put in the

[34:10] playground at Harbor Street Park. And she would be very

[34:14] much impressed if you put in a playground at Moro

[34:18] Mountain. And there's room. And it's a place where kids

[34:22] can hit a baseball. Or a softball. And let it

[34:27] roll and say, wow, did you see how far that

[34:31] role? And I remember days like that, I can remember

[34:34] them because we, my husband and I coached little league.

[34:38] And there were four teams in the minor league in

[34:42] that day. And there were at least four teams in

[34:44] the major league. And some of those kids went on

[34:48] to college scholarships. And so on. Because they could play

[34:53] at Morrow Elementary. And you know that for a fact.

[34:57] So in Lila's memory, we need to make sure that

[35:01] the kids have a safe place to play with a

[35:06] ball roll into the street. And where they can kick

[35:10] a soccer ball and it won't just keep rolling because

[35:14] to the bay, because it's downhill, it's flat. It's set

[35:19] up for that. Thank you. Thank you, Marlene. Anyone else

[35:24] for Public Combat for Items not on the agenda. Hi,

[35:30] I'm Margaret Carmen. And thank you Mayor Wixom for mentioning

[35:33] the library. And so I'm going to continue the theme

[35:36] of talking about children because I want whoever's listening and

[35:41] whoever's in here to realize what just happened that the,

[35:45] uh, library director decided to, uh, cut our children's librarian.

[35:51] And we only get her for one day one, what

[35:56] do you call it? The reading where they do the

[35:58] help me out. Storytelling, storytelling, yes. And she's being sent

[36:03] to San Luis Obispo. It's not where she wants to

[36:06] be. And we, I mean, I could just cry because

[36:09] I worked in the library in elementary school. It was

[36:12] my school, my campus job in college. And any kids

[36:16] who want to be in the library and not on

[36:19] their phone doing nothing. We need to support that. And

[36:23] I don't know who we write letters to or what

[36:26] we do. And I just really appreciate that you mentioned

[36:28] it at that meeting where you were. But we need

[36:30] to get that director on our side to say, we

[36:36] need the full - time children's librarian. And we're down

[36:39] to only four days a week of the library because

[36:44] it's closed on Friday mornings. And it's closed on Saturday

[36:47] afternoons now when a lot of families would come in

[36:51] after they've done their chords in the morning. And they

[36:53] come to the library. So we need help keeping our

[36:57] library open for adults and children. Thank you very much.

[37:07] Anyone else for Public Comit for Items Nut on the

[37:09] Agenda. Rare, are there any raised hands in the queue.

[37:13] Yes, there is one raised hand. Layla Fabians, go ahead.

[37:19] Yes, I wanted to say that I support the City

[37:22] purchasing the property of Moral Elementary. I think it's very

[37:26] important for the community as a historic site for City

[37:29] offices and especially for the school. And the sports field,

[37:33] as was mentioned before. Thank you. Thank you. Any more

[37:36] raised hands, Ray. There are no more raised hands in

[37:40] the queue. Thank you. With that, I have a close

[37:41] Public comment and bring it back. Um, I would just

[37:46] share with the community as a whole Board of Supervisors

[37:49] reach out to them in regards to the library programs

[37:52] or anything regarding the library. Supervisor Gibson is District 2

[37:56] supervisor. And I would encourage you to, um, write or

[38:00] call. You can watch their meeting, I believe two weeks

[38:03] ago. They addressed library funding. And, uh, I would just

[38:07] encourage you to use that avenue. Bathroom sun up to

[38:14] sun up to sundown. Is that the bathroom howers? Sounds

[38:17] good. Thank you. I believe it's, uh, you know. Our

[38:25] three week into his job's Public Work Director, Dave Laccaro,

[38:28] may have an update on it. Uh, yes, Mayor, members

[38:33] of the Council, David Lacaro Public Works Director. So yeah,

[38:36] I leaned over a little bit to our utilities Division

[38:39] Manager got a little bit of a, uh, background on

[38:42] this. So the locked restroom was due to, uh, a

[38:46] couple of weekends ago. We had, so we're backup. So

[38:50] we needed to make sure that that was locked for

[38:51] the safety of the Public, uh, especially with exposure and

[38:54] so forth. We're also in the meantime banking those fixes

[38:58] and doing the cleanup necessary to get that restroom back

[39:01] in order. I believe it's open now. Uh, so there

[39:04] is accessibility. Um, and then for future, uh, I will

[39:08] be working with D'Ames to make sure that we can,

[39:11] uh, make sure that this doesn't happen again. It's a

[39:16] very difficult bathroom. Thank you. Mayor, I just add that,

[39:22] uh, the President Trump, I believe this afternoon ordered flags

[39:24] at half staff for one week, American flags at half

[39:27] stat for one week on behalf of the dolly pardon's

[39:29] death. So to answer that. Yes. For those who didn't

[39:33] know. Thank you. With that, we will move on to

[39:37] the consent agenda. Um, Public Common is open. On items

[39:42] on the consent agenda. Betty

[39:51] Windholtz, just want to briefly ask a couple of questions.

[39:56] One's on 6E clarifying our hydro geological investigations. Are those

[40:01] ongoing or is it a different kind of investigation that's

[40:04] happening now? It was in the report that went to

[40:07] PWAP last week and is in your report this week.

[40:10] Um, also, um, in particular, uh, on items 6B and

[40:16] 6F, it affects board communication, advisory boards, commissions to the

[40:22] council. And at what point will you all be clarifying

[40:26] that so we know that what we talk about comes

[40:28] to you in an official way? And then finally, um,

[40:34] I was hoping that on 6D, um, where it talks

[40:38] about your goals, um, that you would ask that the

[40:43] Reserve discussion come back sooner than later. Um, that we

[40:47] can make that part of the discussion regarding financing or

[40:52] not financing of the elementary school. Anyone else for comment

[40:58] on items on the consent agenda. Where are there any

[41:03] raised hands in the queue? There are no raised hands

[41:05] in the queue. Thank you. With that, I will close

[41:06] public comment on the consent agenda and bring it back

[41:09] to council. Are there to my left. Anything to pull?

[41:15] Council Member Edwards. I'm good Mayor. Thank you. Thank you.

[41:21] Council Member Landrum. Um, I think we have to pull

[41:29] six C. And. I guess six, maybe there could be

[41:36] more clarity for six B and six. Is it six

[41:39] at F. Sorry. I need to know what you're asking.

[41:45] Six B and six F. Six C and six F.

[41:48] Six B C and F. Six B C and F.

[41:55] Yes. Okay. Council Member Lafay anything? I'm done. Thank you.

[41:59] I'll ask for a motion to approve the other items

[42:02] on the consent. And a second. You have a motion

[42:07] and a second. Roll call vote, please. Council Member Eccles.

[42:11] Yes. Council Member Le Fay. Yes. Council Member Edwards. Yes.

[42:16] Council Member Landry. Yes. And Mayor Wixon. Yes. Motion carries

[42:20] five. Oh. Thank you. Council Member Landrum 6B. 6B. I

[42:26] just wonder if we could get a little, a little

[42:28] more. Just an update, or not an update. Just a

[42:34] quick. My question about that was that is, they're doing,

[42:41] the cities doing an archaeological review in that area. Who

[42:44] am I talking to. Public Works Director? Yeah, where is

[42:49] he? He's over there. Oh, I can't see him, but

[42:52] it's awkward. Um, so I'm not, I'm unclear since there

[42:57] was an archaeological investigation that was negative. Does that mean

[43:02] that no further archaeological, um, work needs to be done.

[43:07] In that like development phase or any future. Thank you.

[43:12] I believe we're going to have our utilities manager.

[43:21] Evening's Division Manager. Um, I believe you're talking about further

[43:26] wells that we did archaeological studies for that. And they

[43:29] came back. Yes, that there was no, um, no findings

[43:31] or anything there for those locations. Okay. So that's all

[43:34] clear in that whole area. And then, um, since we're

[43:37] nearing the end of a new quarter, will there be

[43:40] much change or an increase in costs or anything? For

[43:46] the whole program or for. Yeah. That we're still working

[43:50] on other parts of the program that, um, part of

[43:53] it is a ASR permit that we discussed before that

[43:57] we'll have to, um, do some more work on that

[43:59] one as well. But I think you're asking if there's

[44:03] going to be changes with it? Yeah. I mean, because

[44:05] we're already approaching the end of a new quarter, right?

[44:08] Yeah. Yeah. Is it going to be much different than

[44:13] this one? I'm just wondering if it's looking to be

[44:16] much different than this one. There may be some changes

[44:19] due to the ASR permit because the regional board asked

[44:22] for more requirements on this ASR permit than they did

[44:25] the previous ASR permit. So we're still working through it

[44:28] all though. Okay. Thank you. Demaris quick question. Um, on

[44:35] the mitigation effort that we're working with with the, um,

[44:40] Chorro Valley, uh, it's stated in here that, uh, we're

[44:44] requested to give between 200, 000 and 250, 000. Would

[44:48] that be the total amount that we will be obligated

[44:51] for the mitigation for the, um, farmland in that area?

[44:58] That is the amount that the coastal commission has put

[45:01] on the value of the land, um, but we're still

[45:04] working through a lot of details on where we're going

[45:06] to land with that whole project. So. Oh, that could

[45:09] be more money that's involved in that. Or other negotiations

[45:13] with it. Maybe property and other things. Thank you. Um,

[45:22] why don't we move on and do the other two?

[45:23] I'm going to do one motion then. Okay. Then, um,

[45:26] on six C. That one, it seems like it's not

[45:32] complete. Like there is no, there has to be a

[45:36] voting delegate. And I don't think one has been, it

[45:38] doesn't appear to me in this item that that has

[45:41] been determined. And I think we should determine that. City

[45:46] manager. Thank you, council. This is regard to the, uh,

[45:50] business meaning of the California League of Cities, which is

[45:52] coming up where I believe Councillor Landron, the mayor Artinian,

[45:55] as well as myself. And so, uh, the request from

[45:58] the League of Cities, we are voting body of, uh,

[46:02] Voting member of that body. And so, uh, they, they

[46:05] need an official motion by the, uh, council to select

[46:10] the voting delegate and up to two alternates for that

[46:13] conference. And so that's the council's purview tonight to a

[46:17] point one of the three of us as the Voting

[46:19] Delegate and two, as alternates. Do they need a name

[46:24] for who the person is or just that two of

[46:27] us are alternates and one's a voting member. My understanding

[46:30] is they need the name of the Voting Delegate. So,

[46:33] so that's why I thought we should pull it. There's

[46:35] only one vote. Yes. Council Member Lafayette. Yes. I'd like

[46:38] to make a motion to appoint Mayor Wixtrum as our

[46:42] voting delegate for the California League of Cities meeting in

[46:46] Anaheim and the two alternatives would be council member Landrum

[46:51] and City Manager. John Craig. I'll second that. That's fine.

[47:00] I have a motion and a second. Any discussion. Thank

[47:04] you. I'll go back to the other one. Sorry, Dana.

[47:08] Roll call vote, please. I was trying to do all

[47:09] three of ones. Council Member Le Fay. Yes. Council Member

[47:13] Landry. Yes. Council Member Edwards. Yes. Council Member Eccles. Yes.

[47:18] And Mayor Wixom. Yes. Motion carries five. Six F. Yeah.

[47:25] Um, six F. I guess I would ask. Is this

[47:29] Mr. Heimel? I'm asking. Um, I guess I would ask

[47:35] the same kind of question as far as, um, will

[47:39] there be, does this look like the future more changes

[47:43] to this? More additions. Oh, okay. Trevors. Mr. Evers. There

[47:52] you go. Evening Matty versus Utilities Project Manager. The question

[48:00] that was asked earlier, are there additional archaeological investigations required

[48:04] for the extraction well? No, that was completed with the,

[48:08] um, already, um, sonic coring. The amendment is for additional

[48:13] hydrogeological, um, services. So that includes finalizing the design of

[48:19] the well, not further investigations. And to answer the question

[48:23] about whether future costs are expected to change, we foresee

[48:30] currently. Okay. Thank you.

[48:41] Any other questions, Council Member Edwards? No, I'm good. Thank

[48:46] you, Mayor. Thank you. So Councillor. Okay. I move that

[48:49] we approve item 6B and 6F. I'll second that. Thank

[48:53] you. I have a motion and a second. Roll call

[48:55] vote, please. Council Member Landry. Yes. Council Member Le Fay.

[49:00] Yes. Council Member Edwards. Yes. Council Member at Eccles. Yes.

[49:04] And Mayor Wixon. Yes. Mosh carries 5 - 0. Thank

[49:07] you. With that, we will move on to our business

[49:13] item of the evening. 8A, Acceptance of Moreau Elementary Site

[49:17] due diligence report, determination regarding the City's intent to purchase

[49:21] a property and direction to staff regarding close of escrow.

[49:25] And with that, I will turn it over to Mr.

[49:28] Craig. Thank you, Mayor, before say that Council of Faith

[49:32] and mayor may want to have word with you in

[49:33] the parking lot after the meeting, it sounds like. It's

[49:36] voting delegate and your motion to appoint her as voting

[49:39] delegate. I'm just, I'm not sure. I just want to

[49:41] make sure you take care of yourself on the way

[49:43] home. Yeah, I know. I'm parking next door in the

[49:48] council. Tonight, uh, the item in front of us is

[49:51] discussion of the due diligence report and the more elementary

[49:55] purchase that is. The council was currently agreed to with

[49:59] the unified school district. So tonight's discussion concerns, uh, the

[50:03] city's potential acquisition of the Moro Elementary School site at

[50:06] 1130 in 1330 Napa Avenue from the St. Louis Coastal

[50:11] Unified School District. On March 10th of this year, the

[50:14] City Council approved a purchase and sale agreement established in

[50:16] a 5. 3 million dollar purchase price. And initiating a

[50:20] due diligence period to investigate the properties physical, environmental title,

[50:24] historic and regulatory condition. Over the following months, city staff

[50:29] and the coordinated consultant team, uh, led by Michael Godrin

[50:33] at the EMBC Planning Strategies conductedtion and engage the community

[50:37] through two Public meetings, uh, in written comments. The due

[50:40] diligence period closes on October on August 31st. And under

[50:45] the agreement, the council has with the school district, the

[50:48] council must now determine in its sole discretion whether the

[50:51] property is suitable for the city's intended purposes and whether

[50:54] to proceed towards closing on October 31st. Tonight's action is

[51:00] to help council determine that suitability determination inform the due

[51:04] diligence report informed by the due diligence report before you.

[51:09] And the Public and Public receives night as well as

[51:10] the recommendation of the City manager. Tonight's discussion was not

[51:13] built to be a referendum on the merits of the

[51:15] purchase. Uh, the council has already agreed to the purchase

[51:18] of the property. This is also not a decision of

[51:20] what the council would like to do with the property,

[51:23] how much housing will or not be approved on the

[51:25] site or any other questions. Really, the discussion tonight is

[51:29] solely for the council to receive the information. Listen to

[51:32] Public comment and decide whether they find the property suitable

[51:35] for the city's needs. Uh, as part of that, obviously

[51:38] there are a lot of questions and dynamics around that.

[51:41] And I think that what our discussion will play out

[51:43] with tonight. So part of the suitability question is whether

[51:46] or not cost associated with using the site for city

[51:49] purposes, including as a new City Hall or some other

[51:52] purpose coupled with any potential revenues that might be created

[51:55] from the site for housing parcels or any other purpose.

[51:58] Makes the property suitable for the city. With that, we

[52:02] have a short slideshow to present on the findings on

[52:05] behalf of our due diligence team. And after that, we'll

[52:08] be happy to discuss any questions. Councillors have regarding that.

[52:11] So I'll turn it over to Michael Codrin who head

[52:14] up, held up, are headed up our staff due diligence

[52:18] team to go through a short presentation. All right. Well,

[52:21] thank you City Manager Craig. Good evening. Madam Mayor, members

[52:24] of the City Council. My name is Michael Codran. I've

[52:27] been hired by the city to serve as the due

[52:28] diligence manager for this project. Uh, tonight is an important

[52:32] milestone in the due diligence process. And I'm happy to

[52:35] present to you the final due diligence report for your

[52:39] consideration. Let me start by providing an overview of the

[52:45] due diligence effort. The PSA or purchase and sale agreement

[52:50] with the school district has provided the city with an

[52:53] extended period for due diligence to look carefully at the

[52:56] property. And not just its condition, but its suitability for

[53:00] future uses. In order for the, to properly frame and

[53:08] answer the question of suitability. We began the process of

[53:11] engaging with the public and conducting site investigations. The City

[53:16] hired an array of consultants who contributed really important information

[53:20] about the condition of the property as well as its

[53:22] historic status. Ultimately, this process has led to a detailed

[53:27] and lengthy report that was published and made available to

[53:29] the Public on August 12th. I'm going to summarize the

[53:33] report in this presentation, but want to be clear that

[53:36] the intent is to support cancel discussion. The report itself

[53:40] doesn't include any recommendations. My hope is that the council

[53:43] will find the information helpful and that the report will

[53:45] continue to be useful reference document well into the future.

[53:51] So the entire report is centered on the question of

[53:54] whether or not the property is suitable for the city's

[53:57] use, which is the City Council's call to make. If

[54:01] the council decides that the site is inacceptable condition and

[54:04] suitable for future city use, then the acquisition process can

[54:08] proceed. However, if the council does not want to move

[54:11] forward, tonight is the night to say so, because after

[54:14] August 31st, the city won't be able to recover its

[54:18] due diligence to positive 500, 000 dollars except under very

[54:22] limited circumstances. The report is organized around six dimensions of

[54:30] suitability and present information relative to each of these topics.

[54:35] This is how the report defines suitability based on the

[54:39] site's physical, environmental, title and boundary. Historic and regulatory and

[54:46] cost and value characteristics. And the report uses a working

[54:54] scenario as one lens through which we can assess its

[54:58] suitability. It considers rehabilitation of the schoolhouse building for a

[55:02] future City Hall. It looks at housing across multiple properties

[55:06] and considers what the process would look like if the

[55:09] council wants to pursue a public - private partnership to

[55:12] accomplish its vision. It is important to know, however, that

[55:16] the scenario used in this report to evaluate suitability is

[55:19] not a council commitment to any particular use. Ultimately, the

[55:23] council may choose to do something completely different with the

[55:26] property. One important point to make about the working scenario

[55:33] is that it was shaped by Public Input. Community meetings

[55:37] were held on April 22nd in June 24th. The purpose

[55:40] of the first meeting was to share the plan for

[55:43] evaluating the building and to hear feedback from the community

[55:46] on those concepts that were shared. During the second meeting,

[55:50] we were able to provide some of the results from

[55:52] the consultant studies that had been concluded at that point.

[55:56] And overall, the community expressed broad support for the acquisition

[55:59] itself. There was consistent feedback about the value of preserving

[56:04] the historic buildings. There is community support for housing on

[56:08] this site and potentially off - site on the current

[56:10] City Hall campus. And there is definite interest in preserving

[56:14] open space for sports fields. These themes helped inform the

[56:18] working scenario evaluated in this report and confirm that we

[56:21] were on the right path with our study. So let's

[56:28] jump into the question of physical suitability. Much of this

[56:32] information was reported during the Second Community meeting. Consultant reports

[56:36] allow us to conclude that the buildings are fundamentally sound

[56:40] for their age. Spectre Company was the architect that evaluated

[56:44] the building condition and their report includes a structural analysis

[56:48] from T. Y. Lynn and engineering firm. Their conclusions are

[56:53] that the rehabilitation scope can be targeted, not wholesale, which

[56:56] is great news. Another consultant net positive consulting engineers evaluated

[57:02] the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing requirements, as well as fire

[57:06] sprinklers. They recommended modernization of systems that are at the

[57:11] end of their useful life and the installation of fire

[57:14] sprinklers, which becomes an important part of the historic preservation

[57:17] process as well. Hunter Smith is another architectural firm that

[57:23] performed an evaluation to determine if the functions of the

[57:26] city's current City Hall could fit in the building, and

[57:30] they concluded that it could. Uh, the report concludes that

[57:34] no physical condition of the property or the primary schoolhouse

[57:39] buildings was discovered that would preclude an adaptive reuse. Regarding

[57:49] environmental suitability, Earthsystem - specific conducted a phase one environmental

[57:54] site assessment and identified no recognized environmental conditions. Padre Associates

[58:00] surveyed identified asbestos containing materials, survey, and identified, asbestos containing

[58:06] materials and lead surface codings. They found that the amount

[58:11] of material and abatement required was normal for a building

[58:14] of this age requiring standard debatement management during renovation. As

[58:20] a result, there are no environmental conditions on the property

[58:23] that would preclude an adaptive reuse. Another important consideration is

[58:33] tile and boundary. The City needs to be sure that

[58:35] the property they are buying is exactly as it has

[58:38] been described and that there are no surprises such as

[58:41] easements or other encumbrances that surface later. And alta survey

[58:45] was prepared by MBS land surveys, which also gives the

[58:49] City the ability to obtain tidal insurance to cover any

[58:51] surprises that do emerge. During the Second Community meeting, it

[58:55] was noted that there may be a reversion clause to

[58:58] a previous owner if the school used discontinued. However, the

[59:01] City Attorney directly reviewed the 1936 Herrera deed to the

[59:06] Moro Union School District and confirmed that there is no

[59:09] reversion clause. Therefore, we've concluded that the property is suitable

[59:13] relative to Title and Boundary Concerns. Regulatory and historic suitability

[59:21] are considered together. First, I'll discuss the zoning and its

[59:25] suitability for potential future uses. The property is currently zone

[59:30] RH or high - density residential. So is natural for

[59:33] the report to consider housing development on a portion of

[59:36] the site. However, the current zoning would require a general

[59:40] plan amendment and rezone to chain some of the residential

[59:44] land to Public Facility if the historic schoolhouse buildings are

[59:48] rehabilitated for a new City Hall. Similarly, the current City

[59:52] Hall would need to be rezoned to residential to allow

[59:56] housing at that location for that to be developed on

[59:59] that site. This process would also include a local coastal

[1:00:05] plan amendment, subject to coastal commission review and approval. So

[1:00:08] from a regulatory standpoint, there is a defined and manageable

[1:00:12] pathway. But that will add time to the process.

[1:00:22] Regarding historic suitability, there are four buildings on the property

[1:00:26] that contribute to its historic significance. Two separate architectural historians,

[1:00:32] Robert Chattel and LSA Associates have concluded that the four

[1:00:37] buildings are eligible for the national register of historic places.

[1:00:40] And there is a nomination pending state review. This report

[1:00:45] assumes that the building, that the property is a historic

[1:00:48] resource that would be eligible to employ the California Historic

[1:00:52] Building Code and earn federal historic tax credits. Both of

[1:00:56] these regulatory features would help with the financial feasibility of

[1:00:59] a future rehabilitation. Through the due diligence process, we also

[1:01:03] were able to determine that rehabilitation of the school for

[1:01:07] use as a city hall could be accomplished consistent with

[1:01:11] the Secretary of the Interior's standards for the treatment of

[1:01:13] historic properties, which would ensure a good outcome on the

[1:01:17] CECLA front. To highlight the historic work covered by the

[1:01:22] report in a little more detail. I want to note

[1:01:25] that the city hired LSA Associates to conduct a peer

[1:01:28] review of the complete historic resource assessment that was prepared

[1:01:33] for the Friends of Mora Elementary by Robert Chattel. The

[1:01:36] LSA work confirms chattel's conclusions and recommends a preservation framework

[1:01:41] based on avoidance and minimization to preserve the building's character

[1:01:46] - defining features as much as possible. LSA also prepared

[1:01:50] a follow - up memo recently published on the City's

[1:01:53] website, which includes their opinion that the interior modifications identified

[1:01:57] in the Hunter Smith test fit. And these include cloak

[1:02:02] group partition modifications, the chalkboard treatments, and classroom door adjustments,

[1:02:09] that those can be designed to comply with the Secretary

[1:02:13] of the Interior Standards for rehabilitation, which is abbreviated as

[1:02:17] SOI on this slide. Now on to value, the report

[1:02:27] discusses four value streams, but only one of those has

[1:02:31] a calculated value. For example, there is intrinsic value to

[1:02:35] the community of preserving a historic asset. There is also

[1:02:38] value in having a single civic campus where residents can

[1:02:41] go to get the services they need and consolidating operations

[1:02:45] will have some efficiencies for the city. Um, also along

[1:02:49] these lines, the fields currently provide open space and recreational

[1:02:53] value to the community. Those items are difficult to calculate

[1:02:57] the value of, and we have not attempted to do

[1:03:00] so. But to the extent that there is a future

[1:03:04] housing development on the property or on the current City

[1:03:08] Hall site, we have calculated value, and we've used a

[1:03:11] method called residual land value, or RLV as it's abbreviated.

[1:03:18] Um, to make that calculation. This is discussed in chapter

[1:03:22] 10 of the report in detail. Residual land value is

[1:03:26] essentially the amount of money that a home builder will

[1:03:29] be able to pay for the land after taking into

[1:03:31] consideration home values, construction costs, and profit, and it is

[1:03:36] very different from what the appraisal says is the market

[1:03:39] value of the property. It is a conservative estimate, but

[1:03:43] one that gives the City more control over the final

[1:03:46] development scenario than would occur if the city just decided

[1:03:50] to sell the land to the highest bidder. There are

[1:03:54] also additional sources of revenue for the city. Some of

[1:03:57] these are noted in the report, and some include placeholder

[1:03:59] amounts. For example, there is the potential for historic tax

[1:04:03] credits to help offset certain rehabilitation costs. Uh, there could

[1:04:08] be grants available for some of this work. And there

[1:04:10] are other city properties, uh, such as the teen center

[1:04:14] site, uh, that the city could use to support the

[1:04:17] cost of acquisition of the property. All of this cost

[1:04:27] and value information is pulled together in chapter 10. Of

[1:04:31] the report to highlight a total city investment. Of purchase

[1:04:36] price and rehabilitation cost of approximately 14. 7 million dollars.

[1:04:42] And I think I got off. Did I get off.

[1:04:47] Okay. All right. All of the cost information, all the

[1:04:57] cost and value of information is. Yeah. Okay.

[1:05:11] This is. Going to get, um.

[1:05:23] I'm sorry. Okay, I'm going back to, um. Slide 13,

[1:05:29] and, uh, to talk about, uh, cost, because I think

[1:05:31] I jumped, I captured slide 13 and 14, John. What's

[1:05:38] that? Word from here. Okay. Thanks. Okay, sorry. So I

[1:05:42] just concluded the, um, the second slide on historic preservation

[1:05:47] more in depth. And now instead of jumping a value,

[1:05:49] I wanted to talk about cost. Um, so obviously cost

[1:05:52] is an important consideration and no doubt on everyone's mind.

[1:05:56] The report looks at this in two ways. First of

[1:06:00] all, the purchase price is below the appraised value of

[1:06:02] the property. So that is an important starting point. Next,

[1:06:07] the report looks at the cost of rehabilitation of the

[1:06:09] primary schoolhouse building and annex for a future City Hall.

[1:06:13] The rough order of magnitude estimate for this work is

[1:06:17] eight and a half million dollars, which is covered in

[1:06:19] detail on the report. Some of the major cost items

[1:06:22] identified in the estimate include fire sprinklers, millwork and lighting

[1:06:27] requirements to name a few. The decision about whether the

[1:06:31] cost of the property and the rehabilitation project are suitable

[1:06:34] to the city is a determination for the City Council.

[1:06:38] The report supports the council's decision by also looking at

[1:06:41] the value that could be created to help offset these

[1:06:45] costs. But before discussing what the report says about value

[1:06:52] generation again, sorry. I want to spend a little more

[1:06:55] time discussing the rough order of magnitude cost estimate what

[1:06:59] it is and what it isn't. Um, so the ROM

[1:07:02] is a, it's a pre - designed pricing exercise. It's

[1:07:07] not a bid. This is a price prepared by qualified

[1:07:11] and experienced architects and engineers before architectural and engineering design

[1:07:16] has been completed. It is a certainty that the actual

[1:07:19] cost will differ up or down depending on the final

[1:07:22] project design. The ROM builds in a contingency of 30

[1:07:27] percent that specifically covers costs associated with design, inflation and

[1:07:32] construction. All of this is to say that the ROM

[1:07:36] is not a menu of costs. Um, in order to

[1:07:38] arrive at a more accurate cost estimate, the City would

[1:07:41] have to move forward with additional design work and studies.

[1:07:45] Um, so this information in terms of the cost is

[1:07:47] essentially the best information that we could develop at this

[1:07:50] time. Um, and now onto value, we did cover this

[1:07:56] slide. And sorry, I went out of order. It's been

[1:07:58] a challenge to work with reading glasses at the same

[1:08:03] time. It's looking at the City Council at Distance. So

[1:08:06] I appreciate you hanging with me on that. Um, but

[1:08:09] just to summarize this slide, as I mentioned, some of

[1:08:12] these streams are qualitative. Others are quantitative. Um, the rehabilitation

[1:08:16] value, the operational consolidation, the fields. Those are intrinsic values

[1:08:21] that weren't quantified. But the, uh, the report does quantify

[1:08:26] the residential land sale and proceeds that the city might

[1:08:30] receive, uh, from a development partner. And that was what

[1:08:35] I was discussing about residual land value. Um, and so,

[1:08:39] uh, the next slide then gets into what the details

[1:08:45] of those revenues are. So all of the cost and

[1:08:49] value information is pulled together in chapter 10 of the

[1:08:53] report to highlight a total city investment and purchase of

[1:08:56] purchase price and rehabilitation cost of approximately 14. 7 million

[1:09:03] and considers three different development scenarios to show what the

[1:09:06] long - term remaining funding requirement would be for each

[1:09:10] scenario. Each of these scenarios includes 50 Affordable housing units

[1:09:14] generating 2. 25 million dollars in value for the market

[1:09:19] rate units, the residual land value is 52, 800 dollars

[1:09:23] per unit so you can see that in this model,

[1:09:25] the more units you build, the lower the remaining funding

[1:09:28] requirement. Based on this scenario, which is just an exercise,

[1:09:33] not a plan of any sort. The remaining funding requirement

[1:09:37] would range from 7. 8 million to 2. 5 million,

[1:09:41] depending on the number of market rate units constructed. The

[1:09:45] report also highlights that these units could be located on

[1:09:49] any city - owned property. The scenario isn't specific as

[1:09:52] to how many units are constructed on the Moral Elementary

[1:09:55] property versus the current City Hall property, for example. On

[1:10:01] another note is that these numbers do include a placeholder

[1:10:04] of 2 million dollars for the Teen Center property, which

[1:10:07] has been discussed as a potential funding source for the

[1:10:10] acquisition. Items not factored in, but mentioned in the report,

[1:10:15] include the value from the historic tax credits, achieving a

[1:10:19] higher residual land value. Creating a CFD to support infrastructure

[1:10:25] costs, as well as grants. So there are important caveats

[1:10:34] that are detailed in the report. The revenue model is

[1:10:39] based on a study completed by Deloitte of this actual

[1:10:43] site in 2020. The analysis is similar to the ROF

[1:10:48] order of magnitude cost estimate in that this is a

[1:10:50] model, not an actual bid. The model uses the residual

[1:10:54] LAN value, which is a conservative measure of value that

[1:10:57] the City might receive for the land. Developer Prophet is

[1:11:02] assumed at 22 percent if the city chooses to go

[1:11:07] down that path. In the model, home sale prices are

[1:11:12] escalated 30 percent from 2020 values, which is lower than

[1:11:15] what we have actually seen in the market. But we

[1:11:18] thought it was reasonable as it keeps houses, the home

[1:11:21] prices below 1 million dollars in today's money based on,

[1:11:26] and that's based on preferences expressed by the community. Construction

[1:11:30] costs are escalated to their current levels according to the

[1:11:33] California Construction Cost Index. The Report highlights in chapter 10

[1:11:38] that the calculated remaining funding requirement is very sensitive to

[1:11:42] all of these factors. Construction costs, home values, developer. So

[1:11:46] it is important to note that the actual values the

[1:11:49] City will experience in the future will certainly be different

[1:11:52] from what these numbers are today. Uh, and as we

[1:11:56] all know, the market can go up and it can

[1:11:57] go down. As a result, these numbers and the remaining

[1:12:01] funding requirements should be thought of as a snapshot of

[1:12:04] a point in time. One assumption included in the report

[1:12:12] is that if the city moves forward with the purchase

[1:12:14] and ultimately pursues a project like the working scenario described

[1:12:18] in the report, execution through a Public - private partnership

[1:12:21] is assumed. This is because a multifaceted project that involves

[1:12:25] historic rehabilitation, uh, with housing development, um, that span specialties

[1:12:32] that are beyond city staff's capability to perform while also

[1:12:35] doing their normal work. In addition, a partner is needed

[1:12:39] to take advantage of any historic tax credits that may

[1:12:42] be earned through the rehabilitation of historic buildings. Since the

[1:12:45] City is not a taxable entity, you are not eligible

[1:12:48] to earn those tax credits directly. The visioning process pursued

[1:12:53] by the council would help shape the terms of selection

[1:12:57] of a partner, and that could be accomplished through a

[1:13:00] competitive qualifications process for example. If the city decides to

[1:13:09] move forward and closes escrow to acquire the property, there

[1:13:11] is no commitment to any future use. The City would

[1:13:15] have time to re - engage the community and enlist

[1:13:17] technical experts to help inform what is possible. The visioning

[1:13:21] process that the City pursues could be designed to help

[1:13:26] shape the development program and the search for a development

[1:13:28] partner. Most importantly, council retains full discretion over the next

[1:13:33] steps. So this is the next - to - final

[1:13:38] slide and it highlights the findings included in the report

[1:13:41] across each of the six dimensions of suitability, the physical,

[1:13:45] environmental, title and boundary, historical and regulatory, as well as

[1:13:50] cost and value. And to conclude, uh, the report indicates

[1:13:56] that no condition that we found on the property obviously

[1:14:00] disqualifies from acquisition and consideration of the rehabilitation and development

[1:14:06] scenarios that we evaluated. The working scenario is feasible under

[1:14:10] identified regulations and processes. There is a remaining funding requirement

[1:14:15] present that the city would have to address and some

[1:14:18] sources of potential additional revenue are identified. The determination of

[1:14:23] whether or not the property is suitable for the city's

[1:14:25] use under the current purchase and sale agreement is a

[1:14:28] decision that only the City Council can make. If the

[1:14:31] city chooses to move forward, pass this due diligence period,

[1:14:34] close of escrow is scheduled for October 31st. So again,

[1:14:39] I'd like to thank you. I'm Michael Codrin, the due

[1:14:41] diligence manager for the project. And, uh, this final slide

[1:14:44] lists all the consultants who contributed to the report. I'm

[1:14:48] available for any questions you have, but I think first

[1:14:50] I'll turn it back to City Manager, Craig. Thanks, Michael

[1:14:54] Counsel. Um, uh, that's our report. Obviously, the due diligence

[1:14:58] report. We've released it. Wanted to release it early from

[1:15:00] this meeting as opposed to the normal timeframe. We did

[1:15:02] that about two weeks ago. Uh, and so the community

[1:15:06] and the council, you had time to review that report.

[1:15:08] It's a lot of information. Uh, I certainly understand that

[1:15:11] there are rules of procedure in this meeting because it

[1:15:14] is more of a formal setting as it is a

[1:15:17] council meeting. But we certainly stand available to have back

[1:15:20] and forth with a council with answering any questions, providing

[1:15:23] any input. We can on any comments you hear tonight

[1:15:26] that you would like clarify or some answers on. So,

[1:15:29] uh, I'll leave that up to you to respond to

[1:15:31] us with questions. We have several different items in each

[1:15:35] of the areas in which we gave a brief overview

[1:15:37] tonight financing use, potential, uh, for revenue off the site.

[1:15:44] We've got a lot of information in each of those

[1:15:45] categories. And so we'd be willing to offer you up

[1:15:49] any back and forth you'd like as a council as

[1:15:51] you go through the meeting. Thank you, Mr. Craig. Thank

[1:15:55] you, Mr. Caldron for the report and for everyone who

[1:15:58] participated staff, Mr. Singwald and Ms. Conrad. Questions starting on

[1:16:05] my left. Thank you, Madam Mayor. The report generally answered

[1:16:12] all my questions. So, uh, so that the Public may

[1:16:16] be aware, however, uh, Mr. Cawdren, could you estimate approximately,

[1:16:21] well, can you tell us, um, how much time it

[1:16:24] took to compile the report and maybe approximately the hours

[1:16:28] that went into it just so that we have an

[1:16:30] awareness of, uh, the level of depth of this report.

[1:16:37] Well, your city manager drives a tough bargain. So I

[1:16:40] did not bill hourly for this project. There were a

[1:16:45] lot of hours. We met weekly, um, as a team,

[1:16:48] uh, you know, there were a lot of visits to

[1:16:50] the property, uh, working with the consultants to oversee the

[1:16:53] work that they were doing. Um, and to understand the

[1:16:56] property. So I can't give you an estimate of how

[1:16:58] much time, but every week we were, you know, putting

[1:17:01] in 10, 15, 20 hours at least, uh, of my

[1:17:06] time. But everybody contributed. And yeah, it's been consistent efforts

[1:17:12] into March to get to this point. I'll just add

[1:17:15] to that appreciation of, uh, subcommittee from the council, counselors

[1:17:19] Luffay and Landrum, um, were a big part of this

[1:17:22] and received updates regularly from us throughout the process. Uh,

[1:17:25] and gave their input. So thanks to them for being

[1:17:27] involved as well. Any other questions. Councilmember Edwards questions.

[1:17:37] Yeah. Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to also express,

[1:17:41] um, my gratitude for all the work that went into

[1:17:44] the due diligence report. Thank you, Mr. Codran. And you

[1:17:49] working with the support of staff, um, that's greatly appreciated.

[1:17:58] I would also like to express, um, thank you to,

[1:18:02] um, council members, Landrum and Le Fay for working alongside

[1:18:07] all the parties and stakeholders as that was very informative

[1:18:12] as well. Everything that they brought to us, um, all

[1:18:16] the previous council meetings and other meetings. I'm going to

[1:18:22] pass on questions right now. Mayor, I'm looking forward to

[1:18:25] hearing some of what the community has to say, um,

[1:18:29] and all of you as well. And so I will

[1:18:32] reserve my questions. Um, I don't, I don't really have

[1:18:41] any questions either. I just really want to thank, um,

[1:18:43] Mr. Caudrin and the City team for this such an

[1:18:48] extensive report and so much information here. I think we're

[1:18:55] really going into this with our eyes wide open. Thank

[1:19:03] you very much. Um, we're going to move into Public

[1:19:07] comment. I have some speaker slips to start out with.

[1:19:10] And I asked the City clerk, but I didn't announce

[1:19:12] it at the beginning. I was hoping to keep everybody

[1:19:15] at two minutes so that we have enough time to

[1:19:17] deliberate and we're not doing this at 9. 30 tonight.

[1:19:20] Um, so, uh, I will use the speaker slips in

[1:19:24] just a minute. And I will ask for those few

[1:19:25] of you who signed up for three minutes. If you

[1:19:27] can just be a succinct and quick as possible. But

[1:19:30] before we move into that, because I expect this to

[1:19:33] be, um, a little time consuming for the Public comment.

[1:19:36] We're going to take a really quick break.

[1:30:49] Thank you everyone. We're ready to resume the meeting. I

[1:30:59] know.

[1:31:19] Everyone. Before we get started on Public Comment, I want

[1:31:25] to turn it back over to City Manager Craig real

[1:31:28] briefly. Thank you, council. One item I wanted to share

[1:31:32] with you is regarded to the financing of the purchase

[1:31:36] and or a conversation that I have been having with

[1:31:41] the personnel from the school district about three weeks ago.

[1:31:46] I contacted the business manager, I believe it's a business

[1:31:49] manager's time. Ryan Pickerton with the Unified School District and

[1:31:53] asked him if we could meet to talk about the

[1:31:55] 5. 3 million that we may owe them, or the

[1:31:57] 4. 8 remaining. We met together and have met for

[1:32:01] a couple times, and they have agreed to, if the

[1:32:06] city is interested, they have agreed to carry the debt

[1:32:09] of the 5. 3, again, 4. 8 remaining, because we've

[1:32:12] put 500, 000 dollars. If the council chooses to continue

[1:32:20] with the process this evening, they have agreed to a

[1:32:24] scenario under which they would carry the debt for our

[1:32:27] remaining purpose. We would take ownership of it by the,

[1:32:31] as the purchase in sale agreement details by October 31st.

[1:32:35] We would own it outright. We would also enter into

[1:32:40] a binding contract with them that we would owe them

[1:32:42] the remaining 4. 8 million over the next three years.

[1:32:47] That would be no payment. Three years. That would be

[1:32:50] no payment, further payment this year. And a 500, 000

[1:32:54] dollar payment in one year. And then that would leave

[1:32:58] us with a 4. 3 million deficit. After one year,

[1:33:03] when we give the first 500, 000 of the principal

[1:33:08] remaining, interest with start. One

[1:33:18] year from then, but two years from now, we would

[1:33:19] pay a balance of 2 million dollars. And then in

[1:33:23] the third year from this fall 2029, we would pay

[1:33:26] the remaining 2. 3 million of principle, and any accumulated

[1:33:31] interest that would begin on the 4. 3 and a

[1:33:34] year from now. So that'd be no interest accruing and

[1:33:37] no payments until one year from now. And then in

[1:33:42] one year we would pay them 500, 000 dollars and

[1:33:45] they would begin accruing interest on the remaining balance. That

[1:33:51] interest amount would be. Our student finance directors less than

[1:33:55] 200, 000 dollars, as I believe what we calculated to

[1:33:58] be over that, over the final two years of that

[1:34:01] agreement. There was some discussion that if we were to

[1:34:04] pay off early with selling property or coming up with

[1:34:06] a large sum, uh, that they would forgo that interest

[1:34:10] that had been accumulated over that time. And so, uh,

[1:34:13] that's a long way of saying that the school district

[1:34:16] has agreed to be our carrier of our debt payments

[1:34:21] would be 500, 000 in one year. Give us two

[1:34:24] years then to come up with another two million to

[1:34:26] pay them. And three years to pay the balance of

[1:34:30] 2. 3 final payment and then any accrued interest that

[1:34:33] would be still outstanding in three years from now. So

[1:34:36] that is one scenario, another scenario that the finance director

[1:34:40] and I looked at was borrowing from different area USDA

[1:34:47] loans or EDA loans or other instruments that the state

[1:34:50] may offer interest rates are very high on those, certainly

[1:34:53] more than two percent that would be willing to do.

[1:34:56] I think that, um, we have done some preliminary looking

[1:35:00] about how the City might come up with, uh, the

[1:35:03] 4. 8 additional money's. And with this added two years

[1:35:08] to come up with the main portion of what would

[1:35:10] be due, I think we could enter into some other

[1:35:13] sort of agreement if we, at that time, hadn't sold

[1:35:15] property or didn't have any, uh, additional revenue coming in

[1:35:18] that we could borrow the money from somewhere else at

[1:35:20] that time, uh, to repay them. And so that, uh,

[1:35:24] that ended yesterday afternoon in discussions with the school district

[1:35:27] personnel, uh, they, uh, he gave me a green light

[1:35:31] to discuss this. He had discussed it previously with the

[1:35:34] school district board. And they, uh, again, reiterated that their

[1:35:38] goal was to have the City own this site and

[1:35:40] they would be willing to work with us. And I

[1:35:41] think this is proof. They have worked very well with

[1:35:44] me as we've gone through this process. And so I

[1:35:47] just want to let you know that that is an

[1:35:49] option that the city has. Should we end up continue

[1:35:52] with this and pushing it as of October 31st. Thank

[1:35:56] you for sharing that update. Yes, ma'am. Appreciate that. And

[1:35:59] apologize for the late notice in getting that to you.

[1:36:02] It has been an ongoing discussion over the past three

[1:36:04] weeks. And again, we just confirmed that in dealt with

[1:36:06] get that deal yesterday. So. Thank you. With that, I

[1:36:10] will open public comment, um, again, reminder, um, that we're

[1:36:15] doing two minutes. Thank you very much, everybody. Um, I'm

[1:36:18] going to read three at a time. Tina Wiener followed

[1:36:21] by Barry Brannon followed by Pat Mangioni. Ma'am, Manginia, I

[1:36:27] hope I'm saying I'm right. Sorry. Bull, am

[1:36:37] I? Cause sitting in the cheap seats, I don't always

[1:36:39] hear everyone. Um, thank you, uh, City Manager Craig. Uh,

[1:36:43] he addressed some of my questions. So I'm not even

[1:36:45] going to use the two minutes that I was allocated.

[1:36:49] I look forward to hearing and seeing more detail about

[1:36:54] how we're going to put a plan together for that

[1:36:56] property and what those details may look like and what

[1:37:01] properties we may be considering for sale and subsequent development.

[1:37:06] And, uh, thank you for letting the city manager present

[1:37:10] that information and do away with my last minute and

[1:37:13] a half. City manager mayor council.

[1:37:23] Thank you for that news. Uh, this obviously is a

[1:37:26] legacy property. And if you look at the pictures, you

[1:37:28] can see how it Kaiser Community Center, which will be

[1:37:31] the future City Hall with the, all the opportunities there.

[1:37:35] Uh, 20 years now. Thumbnail got saved. Wow. Those guys

[1:37:38] really had it figured out. Look what we got here.

[1:37:41] Look what we got here. So I want to say

[1:37:44] thank you for all your efforts. I did read the

[1:37:47] due diligence report. Oh, what a pain. And that's a,

[1:37:51] that was tough. But, uh, we could pay for it.

[1:37:53] We could pay for it with properties we have. The

[1:37:55] Teen Center. And if you look at the plot plan

[1:37:58] we had this parcel is actually three parcels. We have

[1:38:01] the green space. Then we have the part on the

[1:38:04] other side of Surf Street. So basically my vision is

[1:38:08] to sell the piece on the other side of Surf

[1:38:09] Street for someone to put in the proper number of

[1:38:12] houses. That's high density already. That satisfies some housing requirements

[1:38:17] generate some revenue. So I think that we can finally,

[1:38:20] the rest of the money. And then facetiously, um, the

[1:38:23] Montessori schools have agreed to increase their monthly payment to

[1:38:27] cover the rest of it. Uh, Pat Manjoni, my letter

[1:38:37] got a little outdated just by his speech also. But

[1:38:40] I do feel that the city has to consider other

[1:38:43] things that need to be done here, especially street repair,

[1:38:47] um, a lot of us would probably vote for street

[1:38:50] repair, um, over a new City Hall. Sorry. Um, I

[1:38:55] felt that you were maybe a little bit in a

[1:38:57] hurry to get all of this completed. I come from

[1:39:00] South Pasadena where we are the little city that has

[1:39:02] fought the 710 freeway forever. Moving a library is a

[1:39:06] big deal. And especially a beloved library. And I think

[1:39:09] that's what kind of doomed the 710 freeway in South

[1:39:12] Pasadena at that time. Um, so I would like you

[1:39:16] to consider that. Um, the city is having a hard

[1:39:19] time meeting other expenses. And we all need to be

[1:39:22] aware of budget deficits. We need more revenue generating things

[1:39:26] and property in the city to help us out. Um,

[1:39:29] all of us want to see old buildings, um, reserved

[1:39:34] preserved. Um, so I am for that, but I want

[1:39:37] it to be used in a good way. And maybe

[1:39:40] a revenue generating idea. Thank you. Thank you. Tim Crawley

[1:39:45] followed by Courtney Schepler followed by Janice Peters.

[1:39:59] Good evening City Council. Everybody else, including the guy who

[1:40:02] just ripped up about half of my presentation here. Um,

[1:40:06] I'm not a friend of the Mortal Elementary, but I

[1:40:09] have fond memories of it. Like that first day of

[1:40:12] kindergarten for my kids or the great staff and the

[1:40:16] teachers that live there and the fierce protective dedicated PTA

[1:40:22] moms. And I don't know. I'm just, um, concerned about

[1:40:27] the funding. I said he put a he alleviated a

[1:40:30] lot of my fears, but there are still some serious

[1:40:32] concerns. I mean, right now, according to the budget, Public

[1:40:35] Works doesn't have enough money to go clean effectively the

[1:40:39] community center every day. And now we're going to give

[1:40:41] them a nine acre campus to take care of. How

[1:40:44] are we going to pay for that? I'm also worried

[1:40:46] about where all the money's going to come from. I

[1:40:49] mean, I've read some people are talking about going into

[1:40:52] the tapping entire reserve fund. And that doesn't seem like

[1:40:54] a wise thing to do with a monster Elninia supposedly

[1:40:58] approaching us this winner and with homeless populated Tinder dry

[1:41:03] state park on the east side of our city. I

[1:41:05] mean, it's a big concern. I live right near there.

[1:41:08] Um, I'm pretty sure I know how this vote's going

[1:41:11] to go tonight. But the question is ultimately, are we

[1:41:14] going to end up spending 500, 000 or 14 million

[1:41:17] dollars still is an unessential, unfunded, unbudgeted property that's going

[1:41:23] to generate an unknown amount of revenue from an unknown

[1:41:26] source. It's your decision tonight. I've seen this happen. 40

[1:41:30] over the last 40 years, I've seen something like this

[1:41:32] happen numerous times. Some passion group comes in, you know,

[1:41:36] representing the majority while the majority's out there distracted just

[1:41:40] by life. Um, and then when it hits the fan,

[1:41:44] it hits the fan. I mean, it's your choice tonight,

[1:41:47] but there are going to be consequences, especially if you

[1:41:49] mess with our library. Thank you very much. Good evening.

[1:41:59] Courtney Schepler, I think I'll just keep it short and

[1:42:02] say I agree with most of what Tim just said.

[1:42:04] And I really do appreciate the work that, um, Mr.

[1:42:07] Craig has done on the, uh, short term financing arrangement

[1:42:11] with the district. So it's, it's one thing to think

[1:42:13] about this as the current five million dollar proposal, but

[1:42:17] I feel like the conversation always gets lumped in with

[1:42:20] and we're going to have this new City Hall. And

[1:42:22] that's going to cost this extra, you know, eight plus

[1:42:25] million, um, and I think it would really help the

[1:42:28] Public to have clear heads about this. If you can

[1:42:31] put some bookmarks around what we're really talking about tonight,

[1:42:35] what you're committing to and what you're absolutely not committing

[1:42:37] to yet until you've got more information that pencils out.

[1:42:41] And that's what's been missing. We have this huge potential

[1:42:44] expenditure, but we're not seeing how you actually pay for

[1:42:47] it and what the rest of that plan look like.

[1:42:49] Thank you. Hello, I'm

[1:42:59] Janice Peters. I have a different viewpoint on all of

[1:43:02] this. I think there is a lot of things that

[1:43:05] we, well, first of all, I took the tour the

[1:43:07] other day. And I was impressed with the condition of

[1:43:11] the property. I thought it was going to be, you

[1:43:13] know, moldy and all that stuff. It's in really good

[1:43:15] shape. I know the stuff behind the walls that needs

[1:43:18] fixing. But we can do that. And eight million dollars

[1:43:22] extra, City Hall for a million dollars. It's actually cheap.

[1:43:28] And this is a good property already that people love

[1:43:31] and could be a wonderful civic center. Which I've hoped

[1:43:36] for 10 years on now, I think. Anyway, I think

[1:43:39] that what can happen, having seen the condition of the

[1:43:42] building, there are certain rental opportunities there, offices could be

[1:43:48] rented their. Montessori is already there still paying rent. And

[1:43:53] once the consolidation of the city offices, you could have

[1:44:00] your police department there, everything. It could save money in

[1:44:04] the long run to consolidate all of that together. Um,

[1:44:09] what else? We also would have this room available for

[1:44:14] rental again. If we use the auditorium over there for

[1:44:18] the meetings, this one would now be available for more

[1:44:21] activities. We always need conference space. We always need office

[1:44:25] space. I've personally looked for both of those things. And

[1:44:29] it's a challenge with what we have now available. So

[1:44:33] this could be a win - win. I think we

[1:44:34] could make enough money on renting things. To cover our

[1:44:39] costs as we go along improving everything and end up

[1:44:43] with a beautiful Civic center. Thank you.

[1:44:55] Sorry Glenn Sellaway followed by Marlus, Mike Pearson.

[1:45:05] Good evening, Mayor and Council and staff. Uh, my name

[1:45:09] is Glenn Sillaway. I am 25 year resident of Morel

[1:45:13] Bay and I'm the president of the Historical Society of

[1:45:16] Morro Bay. I want to say we started looking at

[1:45:19] the historical society started looking at these buildings seriously, maybe

[1:45:24] six years ago whenever the school district first started talking

[1:45:28] about redeveloping that property. And the report that came out

[1:45:32] of Deloitte that Mr. Cogwin has talked about in his

[1:45:36] paper was in the works then. At that time, we

[1:45:41] were arguing with them that they should preserve the buildings.

[1:45:44] And our interests in doing that has, is long set.

[1:45:47] One of the reasons that we developed a historic preservation

[1:45:52] ordinance draft for the city six years ago was to

[1:45:57] partly preserve these buildings. So we're glad, I'm glad we're

[1:46:00] finally getting to it. And I appreciate the effort that

[1:46:03] Mr. Cottern has put into putting that process in paper

[1:46:08] and to the friends for starting it. The fact is

[1:46:11] tonight you are going to make a decision. If you

[1:46:14] think about this as kind of like an environmental, uh,

[1:46:17] review process, you typically have alternatives. You have two alternatives

[1:46:22] in front of you tonight. One is no change. That

[1:46:25] would be no. Give us back our 500, 000 dollars

[1:46:28] The other one is yes. We're going to have a

[1:46:30] change. The thing is that we don't know what that

[1:46:33] change is going to be. There is no real plan.

[1:46:37] We have a working scenario. It's valuable for a framework,

[1:46:40] but you're going to have a lot of work to

[1:46:41] do. Luckily, uh, because of our good news on financing

[1:46:45] tonight, you have some time. You probably are going to

[1:46:48] need quite a bit of it two or three years.

[1:46:52] It wouldn't be surprised. I would like to see several

[1:46:57] things happen in that planning process. The first one would

[1:47:00] be, and I hope this would be fairly simple for

[1:47:04] you to do. Put together some kind of document that

[1:47:10] would show. Set three minutes. We're doing two minutes. So

[1:47:15] I go ahead and finish your comment. Just real quick.

[1:47:18] I document that you could produce that would show us

[1:47:20] the capital expenditures overall. This plan, this project being part

[1:47:26] of many. And let the Public see that as soon

[1:47:30] as possible. Because these are opportunity costs. You're going to

[1:47:33] have to consider. The second thing is you need a

[1:47:36] process going forward that would be acceptable to the community,

[1:47:39] uh, in a neutral way to evaluate as we go

[1:47:42] forward and learn more about it to the point where

[1:47:44] you get to a process or plan that can be

[1:47:47] priced. When you can do that, put it to a

[1:47:51] vote of the people. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Good

[1:47:59] evening. Madam Mayor City Council Member staff. Well, I'm here

[1:48:06] as the fiscal conservative because I really care about how

[1:48:10] we're going to pay for the property. And while I

[1:48:14] really appreciate and thank Mr. Craig for the work he's

[1:48:17] done to get a good deal with the school district.

[1:48:19] I still have questions about how that deal fits in

[1:48:23] with our current budget year and with our future, the

[1:48:26] forecast. Because I know I've seen the budget forecast and

[1:48:30] it's forecasting, um, deficits. And so you've got to find

[1:48:35] a way to pay that money. The other thing I

[1:48:38] want to say is that I don't think the City

[1:48:40] has to own this property to control it. And if

[1:48:44] you think about it, um, historic preservation ordinance application goes

[1:48:50] through. It'll be preserved. And that's going to limit the

[1:48:54] amount of development and what kind of development can be

[1:48:56] done there because that property, and I'd like to know

[1:48:58] what the boundaries of that are so that we know

[1:49:01] how much more land is available for housing and what

[1:49:04] the value of that property is. Because it's going to

[1:49:08] decline once we do, uh, get that designation. And it

[1:49:13] seems to me that if we worked with the, if

[1:49:16] we let the school district. Just keep the property, they

[1:49:21] run the risk of finding that developer that you have

[1:49:23] to work with because they're still going to be interested

[1:49:26] in selling it. And you're still in control because you

[1:49:28] control zoning. You control the entitlement process. You control the

[1:49:32] final decision of what will go there. And it would

[1:49:35] be to me, it would make sense because they're accepting

[1:49:38] the risk because you can't really move forward until you

[1:49:40] have that, uh, partner. So I do want to thank

[1:49:44] everybody who works so hard on the report and the

[1:49:46] staff and I'm grateful to have it. And thank you

[1:49:48] very much. I have no more speaker slips, public comment

[1:49:54] is open on this item. Please come forward. Line up

[1:50:01] if you need to. Or whatever we can do to

[1:50:03] move it. Good evening, distinguished council staff. Shirley Frazier 30

[1:50:07] year resident. I guess the way I'm seeing it as

[1:50:10] we're getting this property, which is a valuable piece that's

[1:50:14] right in the middle of town, um, for almost half

[1:50:17] the cost. And if we go ahead and acquire this,

[1:50:20] I believe there precludes us in the future from selling

[1:50:23] this property and even making a profit on it, um,

[1:50:27] to a developer. We hold the ultimate control on it

[1:50:29] that way. Um, more so than what we could do

[1:50:32] even with a historic designation, which may preclude development to

[1:50:36] one or two buildings, but not the entire site. And

[1:50:39] then the site that the city seems, um, again, a

[1:50:41] lot of the residents seem very, um, concerned about keeping

[1:50:45] the fields and things could easily be developed away. So

[1:50:48] it seems like the ultimate control, um, would lie with

[1:50:51] us in purchasing it, even though money is tight for

[1:50:54] everyone these days, I believe, um, but we're getting absolutely

[1:50:58] amazing favorable financial terms for this. And even buying it

[1:51:04] at a discount. So I would just ask you to

[1:51:05] consider that. And perhaps the, again, I understand fiduciary responsibilities

[1:51:12] and being conservative financially. But the total amount of renovations

[1:51:17] seems like really a lot, again, considering what is in

[1:51:21] there already and what need to be upgraded. So maybe

[1:51:24] there is a compromise there too. So you have a

[1:51:27] lot to think about, but I think it is a,

[1:51:29] um, potentially a very good deal. And we're under the

[1:51:31] most favorable terms for it. So thank you for your

[1:51:34] diligence and careful consideration.

[1:51:50] Good evening council staff and residence in Mor Bay. My

[1:51:54] name is Mike Gerson candidate for Mor Obesi City Council.

[1:52:00] I had a really hard time wrapping my head around

[1:52:03] this deal financially. At first. You know, I like to

[1:52:07] see a spreadsheet with data and, uh, return on investment

[1:52:11] at the bottom and all that stuff. And I really

[1:52:14] wanted to get behind the project. So I picked up

[1:52:17] the phone and started calling other members of the community.

[1:52:21] And between that and the favorable financing that Mr. Craig

[1:52:27] has presented to us tonight, I do see a path

[1:52:30] for making the deal work with minimal impact. To our

[1:52:35] city's financial reserves. I want to say that my vision

[1:52:39] for the Moro Elementary property is to lean into, um,

[1:52:44] preserving the open space and making it a great public

[1:52:47] park. I'd love to see this City hold a special

[1:52:51] meeting specifically to ask the community what they want that

[1:52:54] space to become. And personally, I envision a dog park

[1:53:02] there. And this is always too low for me. I

[1:53:07] envision like a dog park preserving the fields. Um, and

[1:53:11] even like a walkway that connects the community center to

[1:53:15] the new city hall and creating, uh, civic plaza, something,

[1:53:20] I mean, like look at what a task it arrows

[1:53:23] done with their City Hall. It's amazing. Um, I don't

[1:53:29] believe that sports fields are where the housing belongs. There's

[1:53:32] already two potential housing opportunities. Um, we've talked about the

[1:53:36] northern parcel at the elementary school for workforce housing. And

[1:53:41] if City Hall relocates, uh, using the existing City Hall

[1:53:45] property for senior housing. And between those and the favorable

[1:53:50] financing, um, I think we can really make this happen.

[1:53:55] Thank you very much.

[1:54:08] Things always ridiculously high. Okay. All right. Well, you must

[1:54:12] have you know me. I'm DRC Castro. I'm a resident

[1:54:15] here in Morro Bay. I live here. I work here.

[1:54:18] I raise my four kids here and I love living

[1:54:20] here. Um, and I'm here to talk on behalf of

[1:54:23] Friends of Mor Elementary, which you all know I belong

[1:54:26] to. We encourage the City to approve the purchase and

[1:54:29] sale agreement of the Mora Elementary site. We believe it

[1:54:33] is in the city's best interest to maintain control of

[1:54:35] such an important piece of land that sits at the

[1:54:38] heart of the community. Converting the use of the 1936

[1:54:42] building into a city hall addresses the current City Hall

[1:54:45] building that needs additional space and repair. The savings to

[1:54:49] Retrofit Moral Elementary versus building a new City Hall alone

[1:54:53] could be worth acquiring the site. I would like to

[1:54:55] thank the City for their extensive due diligence, the report

[1:54:59] tonight and publicly posting the reports. Um, along with the

[1:55:04] tours of the site. I feel like the due diligence

[1:55:06] reports establishes confidence in the buildings conditions. Um, Moreau Elementary

[1:55:12] was first built. 1936 issue of the sun stated one

[1:55:18] of my favorite quotes. Citizens will pride themselves and their

[1:55:22] foresight. This site is celebrating 90 years of serving the

[1:55:25] community in November. And I have no doubt it can

[1:55:28] serve our community for the next 90 as well. Thank

[1:55:32] you, council, for your consideration in supporting this valuable purchase.

[1:55:36] And we urge you to proceed in escrow. So thank

[1:55:38] you. Anyone else for Public Common on this item?

[1:55:51] I'll be fast. Um, same with Taurus. I'm here to

[1:55:56] give my support for 8A and say thank you to

[1:56:00] everybody who's worked on this for so long. I've been

[1:56:03] paying attention. Um, for quite a while. And it has

[1:56:07] been a lot of work. And I think the, many

[1:56:10] people in the community that appreciate it. I agree with

[1:56:14] many people that it's a once in a lifetime opportunity

[1:56:17] for a city, especially when you separate. I know right

[1:56:21] now a lot of people are putting together the moving

[1:56:23] of City Hall and the property. But when the decision

[1:56:26] is just about the property, it's really a no brainer.

[1:56:29] I mean, if you bought it one day, the next

[1:56:31] day the city already has a lot more value. Um,

[1:56:35] when you consider the value of that property in that.

[1:56:39] So thank you very much. That's it. Yeah. Mall for

[1:56:43] it. Thank you.

[1:56:59] Hello counsel staff. May I request three minutes since we're

[1:57:04] doing so well? Okay. I'm Judy setting a very grateful

[1:57:09] 59 year resident of Moral Bay. It is encouraging to

[1:57:13] see the amount of community participation, the Moral L site

[1:57:17] acquisition is generating. The very thought of acquiring our very

[1:57:21] own community civic center is exciting, inspiring and symbolizes and

[1:57:27] investment in the growth, unity and future of our community.

[1:57:32] I believe in each of you. And your ability to

[1:57:35] make this sound real estate venture happen. The historic site

[1:57:40] is valuable. I also believe in the value of remaining

[1:57:44] debt - free. We have the means to make this

[1:57:47] purchase independently while it was generous of the school district

[1:57:51] to offer five years of salary financing. We can essentially

[1:57:55] lend the money to ourselves and preserve the interest savings

[1:57:59] for a rainy day. Moving our library has been of

[1:58:02] concern. I personally would like to keep the library land

[1:58:07] and mural intact. I need to say that I'm speaking

[1:58:12] independently of friends of moral and mentary. Regarding housing after

[1:58:18] discussions with a successful retired developer, I have changed my

[1:58:23] stand. We suggested that the he suggested that the entire

[1:58:27] site be dedicated to community service. As that would create

[1:58:33] a fair scenario. I now believe that new housing development

[1:58:37] can be located on other city - owned properties. To

[1:58:41] maintain control of building codes, the city should consider 99

[1:58:46] - year leases for these future housing properties. It has

[1:58:50] been said that many community members are basing this purchase

[1:58:55] decision on emotions. They are correct. We love this historic

[1:59:02] site and we will go to the ends of the

[1:59:04] earth to keep it as our own. Thank you to

[1:59:07] everyone who has worked to move this valuable project forward

[1:59:11] and a special thanks to Mr. Cauldron for his hard

[1:59:14] work. And if you did put in time that gave

[1:59:17] us the benefit of a break in price, thank you

[1:59:20] so much.

[1:59:36] Good evening. Um, Debbie High Phil. I've lived here 25

[1:59:40] years. Um, I think this land is a good deal.

[1:59:44] I think we've got lots of options. If worst case

[1:59:48] scenarios happen, um, we're getting it below cost. And we

[1:59:56] can always sell if, you know, it was the worst

[1:59:59] case scenario. I would like to also talk about the

[2:00:03] programs that are presently at the site. It is the

[2:00:07] only Montessori that is a public Montessori, which in the

[2:00:12] whole county. That I'm aware of. And as an education

[2:00:19] who has gone through the monastery training as well as

[2:00:22] Public School, it's exceptional. And I just would really love

[2:00:27] to see the programs that are there right now. Stay

[2:00:31] there. And I definitely would like to see that beautiful

[2:00:35] field preserved, at least for the most part, because it's

[2:00:39] well used. Thank you.

[2:00:53] I'll talk fast. Well, we think about buying, when we

[2:00:58] think about proceeding with buying the property, we should ask

[2:01:01] ourselves the questions. What consequences are there from not buying

[2:01:05] the property? For instance, replace our only, how much would

[2:01:11] it cost to replace our only soccer fields in Morro

[2:01:14] Bay. What is the cost of repairing deferred maintenance mentioned

[2:01:22] in the due diligence report on the current City Hall

[2:01:25] or to create additional space for. Outgrown city offices and

[2:01:31] departments? What is the cost of a housing developer building

[2:01:35] high density housing in which state overrides local. Decisions on

[2:01:41] development in which 20 percent of wave parking requirements? What

[2:01:48] is the cost of the strain of Public Services such

[2:01:51] as fire and police. Street congestion and parking nightmare. What

[2:01:59] is the cost of losing tuition fee from the Montessori

[2:02:04] School that serves approximately 60 families? So tonight I ask

[2:02:09] you. To please approve moving forward with this purchase. Thank

[2:02:14] you very much.

[2:02:24] Anyone else for Public comment on this item. Ray, are

[2:02:28] there any raised hands in the queue. Yes, sir. Raised

[2:02:32] hands in the queue. Let's see, we have Jamie Motley.

[2:02:36] Go ahead.

[2:02:46] Hello. Um. I'm actually Jamie Motley's husband. This is Nicholas

[2:02:51] Cueva. Resident of Morro Bay, father of a student at

[2:02:56] the Montessori School there. And hopefully a father of multiple

[2:03:01] more children that go there. So we support the City

[2:03:05] purchasing the property and we think it's important for the

[2:03:08] community as a historical site. For City offices for the

[2:03:11] school and for the sports fields. Um, thank you very

[2:03:16] much for your time. And I second that Jamie Motley,

[2:03:20] thank you so much. Okay. We have another person under

[2:03:27] the name Zoom user. Go ahead. Hello. My name

[2:03:37] is Tondi Bansi Stapleton and I am a longtime resident.

[2:03:41] Of Morbe currently raising my three children here. And I

[2:03:45] very much want to think City Council for recognizing the

[2:03:49] community's desire to keep in utilize this property. I strongly

[2:03:54] support the City acquiring the property. I feel it's important

[2:03:57] as a historical site and that it would be great

[2:04:01] for city offices. Um, I would love to see the

[2:04:04] sports fields continue to be available for use by our

[2:04:07] community. And for the school to remain there as well.

[2:04:11] Um, please continue to move forward with the purchase. Thank

[2:04:14] you. There are no more raised hands in the queue.

[2:04:20] Thank you, right. Anyone else before Close Public comment. Seeing

[2:04:25] none, our close public comment and bring it back to

[2:04:28] council, Mr. Kreg, is there anything you want to address

[2:04:31] from Public comment. Either one. I don't believe so. We'll

[2:04:39] answer any questions. Um, so before we move into deliberations,

[2:04:42] I'll see if the other questions from council. Council Member

[2:04:46] Edwards. Yes. Thank you, Mayor. If I may, for Mr.

[2:04:51] Singwald, um, can you please just clarify that we don't

[2:04:56] need to own the property in order to control it

[2:05:00] with regard to zoning land use, et cetera. Thank you.

[2:05:07] So good evening, Mayor Council. I'm Ehrliching Wald, community development

[2:05:10] director, study of Mor Bay. So if the city does

[2:05:15] not purchase the property, a private developer, um, seeking to

[2:05:20] develop the property and or, um, potentially demolished or significantly

[2:05:25] alter. The schoolhouse building, um, would have to obtain a

[2:05:29] coastal development permit. And very likely a conditional use permit

[2:05:33] from the City of Morro Bay. Those entitlements would trigger

[2:05:38] environmental review. Under the California of our reminder quality Act.

[2:05:43] Or CEQA. One of the questions that CEQA asks is

[2:05:47] whether the proposed development would impact a historic resource on

[2:05:52] a state or federal registry. Or a resource that is

[2:05:56] eligible for listing as a historic resource. We know from

[2:05:59] the chattel report that the schoolhouse is eligible for listing.

[2:06:04] Therefore, under SEQA, this development would require an environmental impact

[2:06:09] report. The planning commission would be the review authority, um,

[2:06:14] to evaluate and review a discretionary coastal development permit and

[2:06:19] also to certify the environmental impact report. Um, and then

[2:06:22] of course the Planning Commission's decision will be appealable to

[2:06:26] the City Council. Since, um, in this scenario, uh, EIR

[2:06:33] would be required in order for the City to approve

[2:06:39] a development project that would impact a historic resource or

[2:06:43] resource eligible for listing as an eligible for listing. Would

[2:06:48] require the City, again, the planning commission or the council

[2:06:51] on appeal to make findings overwriting consideration that the, uh,

[2:06:56] benefits of the project outweigh the historic significance of the

[2:07:01] schoolhouse building. So that's the long wind and answer. There's

[2:07:04] short answer is, um, there would be a process available.

[2:07:12] For potentially for, um, demolition or altering the Schoolhouse building,

[2:07:18] but it would require an EIR. And it would be

[2:07:19] up to the city would have full discretion of that

[2:07:21] process. Thank you, Mr. Singwald. Um, if I

[2:07:31] may, uh, get some clarification from Mr. Caudran. We're, we're

[2:07:38] having multiple, uh, pieces of property and parcels, uh, in

[2:07:42] this working scenario equation, uh, with regard to the housing

[2:07:48] component mentioned, even there was mentioned, uh, the library parcel.

[2:07:56] I am hearing this evening that there is, uh, both

[2:08:00] through correspondence and this evening there is concern, obviously over

[2:08:04] the library and being mentioned in the report. Although I

[2:08:07] understand why it was in terms of available parcels that

[2:08:11] we own. But I think if you could just give

[2:08:16] clarification more to as where the housing, the 100 to

[2:08:24] 200 units that were mentioned in the scenario, um, could

[2:08:29] be placed. That might be helpful. Sure. And, uh, the

[2:08:35] process did not involve a site planning exercise to fully

[2:08:40] program the property in terms of, um, how many units

[2:08:44] could be developed in any particular location? Um, however, based

[2:08:49] on the zoning and the acreage, um, the number of

[2:08:52] units, uh, included in the study is allowable. Um, the

[2:08:59] idea of using the City Hall property and then the

[2:09:02] library property is mentioned as well. Um, really came out

[2:09:07] of the community meetings. And I think that, um, after

[2:09:14] the, in the second community, meaning what we proposed were

[2:09:17] alternatives that showed, um, different levels of preservation of the

[2:09:23] sports fields because the community had expressed that concern. And

[2:09:27] then, um, you'll notice that the final report doesn't really

[2:09:32] hazard a guess as to, it doesn't suggest exactly where

[2:09:36] those units should go or how much of the fields

[2:09:39] would or would not be preserved. Um, but the, um,

[2:09:45] ability to develop 200 units on the moral elementary property

[2:09:50] and on the City Hall site would necessitate, you know,

[2:09:54] would make less sports fields, less open space available in

[2:09:58] the future. That space would be needed for those 200

[2:10:01] units. And so, um, there would have to be other

[2:10:05] properties where those units would be located. And please let

[2:10:14] me know if that answers your question or if I

[2:10:16] can provide. No, it does. Thank you, Mr. Caudran, because

[2:10:22] I think that, uh, it speaks to just one concern

[2:10:26] that I'm having this evening, um, that I all get

[2:10:30] to. Also, uh, City manager Craig really appreciate you giving

[2:10:38] us this information tonight. It's a lot to digest. Um,

[2:10:43] I have to say, um, and I am concerned how

[2:10:46] this or any loan, um, that pertains to a project

[2:10:51] of any kind that has not been put into our

[2:10:55] fiscal 26, 27 budget. Would at all or how it

[2:11:00] would affect us moving forward with our other, um, projects

[2:11:05] and things that we have going on in the city

[2:11:07] of which is a lot. Um, but I want to

[2:11:10] say that that's a, that seems to be a much

[2:11:12] more favorable, um, idea than some that I've heard floating

[2:11:17] out there. Um, but I'll speak to that in a

[2:11:20] second. Um, just to clarification, I, I know we are

[2:11:23] saying that this would be uniting our, our, our, um,

[2:11:30] our departments, but I think somebody mentioned, and I may

[2:11:33] have heard it wrong. So I apologize. Was the police

[2:11:36] department mentioned because I did not believe that was something

[2:11:39] that would fit into this, um, frame. Counselor. That was

[2:11:49] not considered in our, uh, scenario under which we asked

[2:11:52] just for if the possible, um, Departments that are currently

[2:11:56] in City Hall and the annex building next door, uh,

[2:12:00] HR that is temporary located in the Chamber of Commerce

[2:12:04] building and visit Mor Bay Building. That is not include

[2:12:08] any movement of the, um, recreation division, uh, the police

[2:12:13] department or the fire department staff or the Harbor Department

[2:12:16] staff. All other staff. Or the, uh, maintenance division that's

[2:12:21] currently in the courtyard down on 41. So it's only

[2:12:25] City Hall staff that are located in the main buildings

[2:12:27] of City Hall and environs around there. I hope that

[2:12:31] makes sense. It does. I appreciate clarification because I think

[2:12:35] this is being framed as it's all under one roof.

[2:12:41] And that's not really the case in my opinion. So

[2:12:44] I just wanted to have that clarify. Um, thank you.

[2:12:47] That's, that's my questions for now. Questions. I'm just Councilmember

[2:12:55] Lefay. No more questions. Um. We will begin comments and

[2:13:05] deliberation. I'm going to just start off with a few

[2:13:07] couple things. Difficult to have capital expenditures. Scenario when we

[2:13:16] don't know yet what the plan is. I think as

[2:13:19] far as that goes for me, I'm not interested in

[2:13:23] the library building being any part of change in use

[2:13:27] there and being factored in. What I would consider is

[2:13:32] the, um, modular that our fire department used to be

[2:13:36] housed in temporarily while we built our fire station, um,

[2:13:40] that we've just recently moved one of our departments into

[2:13:43] because we've outgrown the space at City Hall as a

[2:13:46] potential piece of the element. And potentially, maybe you take

[2:13:51] a few parking spots or something from that side of

[2:13:53] the library. That would be about the extent of a

[2:13:56] library impact for me personally that I would see. But

[2:13:59] that could, um, open up an opportunity for some housing

[2:14:04] structures there too. We didn't really factor that in. But

[2:14:07] I look at it as a district kind of in

[2:14:10] that whole area and what do we own and what

[2:14:12] can we fit in? That being said, um, funding. I

[2:14:17] see revenue stream potential from the teen center, which is

[2:14:23] for sale. And I believe we're getting our commercial realtor

[2:14:25] here shortly that'll be looking at our city properties. That

[2:14:29] piece of property where the modular is from the old

[2:14:31] fire station that's currently housing a few business, the chambered

[2:14:36] a few things. Also our market street property. We've been

[2:14:39] waiting for the waterfront master plan to move into its

[2:14:41] final phases. Um, and kind of paused that, but there's

[2:14:45] an opportunity to move forward with the sale of that.

[2:14:47] So if you parlay those together, um, we get pretty

[2:14:50] close to that purchase price. I think having it out

[2:14:56] three years allows us to have an opportunity to look

[2:15:00] at other revenue streams. If the potential grants, we can

[2:15:04] apply for. I personally have zero desire to touch our

[2:15:08] reserves at all, um, as someone said, we have to

[2:15:12] be diligent about what the weather could be this year

[2:15:14] with the potential El Nino and what that could incur.

[2:15:19] So, so the, I see this project as phases, to

[2:15:27] council member Edwards comment about the police department. It was

[2:15:31] not factored in nor was the maintenance or the other

[2:15:33] departments, but I do see the potential on a 10

[2:15:36] acre site to have a future in a phase where

[2:15:40] there might be the police department located, relocated out of

[2:15:43] that little tiny building they're in that they're bursting at

[2:15:46] the seams also. But I think that this is a

[2:15:49] phased approach to what all those things will be with

[2:15:52] community input and hopefully, you know, maybe a blue ribbon

[2:15:57] committee or something put together with, um. Semi - professional,

[2:16:02] professional people who, who have experience in these things, um,

[2:16:06] that can, can shed some light on how to move

[2:16:09] that project forward with some scenarios for community use. This

[2:16:14] is not, and correct me if I'm saying it wrong,

[2:16:18] Mr. Craig, this is not taking any money from any

[2:16:20] capital projects whatsoever that we have currently funded. I know

[2:16:23] we have approximately four million dollars going to streets. It's

[2:16:26] still going to streets. This doesn't detract from that as

[2:16:32] far as I'm concerned. It might not add funding, but

[2:16:36] this is, um, is spread out at two percent, which

[2:16:40] is pretty favorable. So I'm going to stop right there

[2:16:42] and let my colleagues, um, have their comments and then

[2:16:45] I'll finish up later and I'll start down on my

[2:16:47] right with council member Lefe. Yes. Uh, thank you Mayor.

[2:16:54] You know, this is a pretty simple decision for me.

[2:16:56] I started working on this with Council Member Landrom about

[2:17:00] a year and a half ago. We're on the subcommittee.

[2:17:04] And we've met with developers. We've met wood. People self

[2:17:08] help. Um, I'm looking at it as a purchase of

[2:17:11] 5. 3 million dollars period right now. And with the

[2:17:16] favorable financing, um, this is a no brainer. I mean,

[2:17:20] this is an opportunity, a legacy that we would be

[2:17:24] foolish to pass up as far as I'm concerned. I

[2:17:27] bought, you know, probably eight pieces of property here in

[2:17:30] Moral Bay. And I buy my properties based on really

[2:17:34] what the universe tells me on that particular site. I

[2:17:37] know you're probably being a little weird, but I've walked

[2:17:40] that site many times. And the first time I did

[2:17:43] walk on it, which was just a year and a

[2:17:45] half ago, it just had a special meaning, a special

[2:17:48] place. And that's what we could achieve here. We have

[2:17:52] a blank sheet of paper. Weather City Hall moves in

[2:17:55] there or not. Um, I'm not going to tell you

[2:17:57] that it's going to happen. I think the, um, due

[2:18:02] diligence report was really just to tell us that what

[2:18:05] we're buying here and to give us up here an

[2:18:09] opportunity to make sure that if we do purchase this

[2:18:13] property tonight, that it's really a no risk on us.

[2:18:17] And it's not a financial burden for the city or

[2:18:20] the citizens. So, I mean, it's pretty simple for me.

[2:18:24] I mean, I'm already in favor of making that decision

[2:18:28] to purchase this site for 5. 3 million. Yes. Um,

[2:18:37] council member Le Fay and I started, when we started

[2:18:41] working on this, um, I want to thank friends and

[2:18:45] Morro Elementary for all their work on this project. And

[2:18:48] when we first started this, they weren't even created yet.

[2:18:50] They weren't even a nonprofit. And, um, the trajectory to

[2:18:56] get them there, we were looking for, um, support in

[2:19:00] trying to get the building because we felt, as council

[2:19:04] member Le Fay said when he viewed the property, um,

[2:19:08] he felt that it was, you know, it's just gives

[2:19:12] you such a sense of place when you're on the

[2:19:15] property and you're looking at the school. And I think

[2:19:18] he saw, I'm speaking for you, but I think he

[2:19:22] can, he can tell me if I'm wrong. But I

[2:19:25] think he just realized that that needed to be protected

[2:19:28] and saved. And so, um, to get that property, um,

[2:19:33] deemed historic, um, we naturally went to the historical society

[2:19:39] of Morel Bay and asked them if they would sponsor

[2:19:41] this to, to be, you know, deemed historic. And, um,

[2:19:47] unfortunately they were unable to do that. But it was

[2:19:50] a blessing in disguise because then Friends of Morro Elementary

[2:19:54] formed, um, in a really quick way. And, um, got

[2:19:58] to work. And they are moving towards having that property

[2:20:03] certified historic, which as we see in the due diligence

[2:20:06] report saves money on, on the property on any renovations

[2:20:12] and work done on the property. So I think, um,

[2:20:16] I really want to thank them. And I call out

[2:20:19] the enormous effort that they have put in into all

[2:20:21] of this. And, you know, we're, we're always, you know,

[2:20:27] people travel, I'm sure many of us in this room

[2:20:30] go to Europe and to, um, countries like that, that

[2:20:34] value old, old buildings. And, um, I, I think that

[2:20:38] this is such a step in the right direction for

[2:20:42] Morbay in a really big deal. Um, I, I, um,

[2:20:46] I know that there's, you know, if we buy the

[2:20:49] property and we still have time to assess what we

[2:20:54] can do there, but there's just tonight I've heard all

[2:20:56] different kinds of options for revenue creation. And the brainstorming

[2:21:03] as a community, I think we can come up with

[2:21:05] ways to make this happen. I think that the, you

[2:21:08] know, I hear really loudly that the, uh, the open

[2:21:11] space is important to the community. I know that housing

[2:21:15] is important. I think that there can be a mix

[2:21:18] of all of those things within this project. And I

[2:21:21] think the way I see it is that it can

[2:21:25] be a project and something that we can all be

[2:21:29] proud of here in Moro Bay. Thank you, Council Member.

[2:21:35] Pro Tim. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I have to say,

[2:21:43] um. I am, I'm just humbled to be sitting up

[2:21:48] here tonight. And Bill privileged to be part of making

[2:21:54] this decision. One of five council members on behalf of

[2:21:58] all the residents. It's a big decision and it's not

[2:22:02] something that I've taken lightly. It's not something that staff,

[2:22:06] uh, has taken lightly. I don't think anyone in the

[2:22:08] community has taken this decision lightly. We put a lot

[2:22:11] of, uh, effort and thought and passion into it. Um,

[2:22:16] that said, I can tell you, uh, easily and I

[2:22:20] echo a lot of what my colleagues have said. I

[2:22:22] support moving forward with the purchase of the property. And

[2:22:27] I wrote down a few comments to make sure that

[2:22:29] I'm conveying what I want to acquiring this site is

[2:22:33] already an adopted city goal. And the purpose of the

[2:22:36] due diligence process was to answer really a straightforward question.

[2:22:41] Is there anything about the condition title environmental status historic

[2:22:46] constraints or regulatory framework that should cause us to walk

[2:22:50] away. Based on the work that has been completed. I

[2:22:54] did not believe there is. The buildings are fundamentally sound.

[2:22:59] No recognized environmental conditions were identified no title issue has

[2:23:03] been found that would prevent the cities use of the

[2:23:05] property and no regulatory obstacle has been identified that would

[2:23:10] preclude moving forward. We have done our due diligence and

[2:23:14] the report did exactly what it was set out to

[2:23:16] do. Just as importantly today is not a decision on

[2:23:21] a final City Hall plan housing density open space configuration

[2:23:26] library plans or any other specific future use. Those decisions

[2:23:31] come later with robust public input. The financial questions, of

[2:23:37] course, are important, our paramount. Staff has been clear that

[2:23:41] funding options will come back to the council before closing.

[2:23:45] They've been working on it consistently ever since we gave

[2:23:51] them this direction as a city goal. And tonight was

[2:23:53] more evidence of that hard and diligent work. So for

[2:23:57] me, the due diligence has done what it was intended

[2:23:59] to do. It has shown that this is a viable

[2:24:03] property and a significant long - term opportunity for more

[2:24:07] obey. I believe the responsible decision today is to preserve

[2:24:11] that opportunity and move forward with the acquisition. This obviously

[2:24:19] is a once in, well, we say once in a

[2:24:21] lifetime, it's once an eternity, because if we don't seeze

[2:24:24] this opportunity, it's gone and it's gone forever. So I'm

[2:24:30] proud. I believe I know the direction or I hope

[2:24:33] the direction that this vote is going to go tonight,

[2:24:37] uh, if we decide to acquire the property, I want

[2:24:39] to say that I am proud to be sitting on

[2:24:42] a council that has the courage and the vision to

[2:24:46] move this acquisition forward. Thank you. Thank you. Council Member

[2:24:52] Edwards. Yeah. Anybody that knows me knows that I'm a

[2:24:58] creative person. I'm a lover of, um, old buildings reuse

[2:25:04] repurposing the creative aspect of this project is absolutely exciting.

[2:25:09] The idea, even if it's the working scenario, a civic

[2:25:13] center that is inclusive of everyone, um, staff wise, that

[2:25:18] is brilliant. I just want to give a little bit

[2:25:21] of peppering here tonight of just some thoughts that I'd

[2:25:25] like everybody to go away with. Um, my eyes are

[2:25:29] wide open on this. And for me, it actually isn't

[2:25:33] that simple of a decision. Um, we were here, brought

[2:25:37] here tonight to determine whether or not we continue to

[2:25:41] perceive with the closing escrow and completing the purchase of

[2:25:44] Moreau Bay Elementary. By accepting the due diligence report, it's

[2:25:49] suitability findings. We're presented with the following. As Re mentioned,

[2:25:53] um, by ProTem Eccles. The one that stands out to

[2:25:58] me is totally investment that significant and partially offset by

[2:26:04] value streams identified leaving remaining funding requirements. This leaves me

[2:26:09] with questions and concerns. Is the balance of consideration a

[2:26:15] suitable moving forward. Part of my job as an elected

[2:26:19] is to approve our annual budget. This project or this

[2:26:25] working scenario was not budgeted in. Our annual budget and

[2:26:29] represent the community and its best interests, both establishing goals,

[2:26:34] long and short term and being fiscally responsible in delivering

[2:26:38] upon them with the help of our staff. This council's

[2:26:41] goals that were set forth were three, not just this

[2:26:45] one. One economic vitality, two infrastructure resiliency three, Morro Bay

[2:26:52] Elementary. It's important that I refer to this because nowhere

[2:27:00] in our goals set forth should we necessarily have to

[2:27:05] forgo one for another. It jeopardizes the ability potentially for

[2:27:10] us to pursue, um, other things that we need to

[2:27:15] finance with regard to our economic vitality and infrastructure resiliency

[2:27:19] goals. Perhaps we may be asked to prioritize those. Base

[2:27:26] our decisions on the economic climate and our budget balancing

[2:27:30] reality. I think it seems clear that most of us

[2:27:34] don't want to dip into our reserves, which are our

[2:27:38] emergency funds. And this is in reality not an emergency.

[2:27:44] Can we rationalize tonight with little time to digest the

[2:27:49] questions that we were given through correspondence and new financing

[2:27:53] information and only one site plan alternative to opine on.

[2:27:59] We've been unable to identify significant new revenue streams to

[2:28:04] compensate for our increased expenses and flattening out revenues. A

[2:28:10] seriously critical component of our first goal of economic vitality.

[2:28:15] We've looked at our reserve policy, as I said before,

[2:28:18] and to my knowledge, um, there was no, uh, desire

[2:28:22] to, to lower those and use that money. Although I'm

[2:28:28] happy we're getting to our five year capital improvement plan

[2:28:33] soon, very soon. I'm very happy about that. How does

[2:28:36] the purchase of this school affect our second goal of

[2:28:40] infrastructure resiliency? There is a component of this goal that

[2:28:44] I want to read here to include regular maintenance to

[2:28:48] prolong the life of existing infrastructure while implementing and prioritizing

[2:28:54] new ones. Staff has worked incredibly hard to get us

[2:28:58] here tonight to assist in our being able to deliver

[2:29:01] on our goals. This one being more obey elementary. The

[2:29:06] status update attached to consent agenda item 60 confirms this.

[2:29:11] I applaud them. Before I could deliver a vote on

[2:29:14] tonight's item, I needed to state all of this for

[2:29:18] the record and for the Public to hear. Because I've

[2:29:21] been struggling with this fiduciary obligation. And of course this

[2:29:26] is a wonderful opportunity that may come to fruition if

[2:29:31] we moved with a swift timeline with all the moving

[2:29:35] parts in play and being confident that this community can

[2:29:39] come together in agreement that the housing element is needed

[2:29:44] and necessary for this to happen. Thank you. Can I

[2:29:50] make a motion. Can I finish? Oh yeah. Thank you.

[2:29:56] I was just starting. I wanted to be the last.

[2:30:00] Thank you, council member Edwards. Um, I want to, um,

[2:30:04] share my gratitude also for Council Member Landerman Le Fay

[2:30:08] for their diligent work over this in the last year.

[2:30:11] And our city manager, um, who brought this project, this

[2:30:15] goal home in the first place, uh, in a short

[2:30:17] time that he was here moved this forward, um, and

[2:30:21] was able to negotiate a deal with the district that

[2:30:24] the council and the community found acceptable and has gone

[2:30:27] to the next step to find an option for funding.

[2:30:31] Without touching our city funds right now, um, someone talked

[2:30:37] about being a fiscal conservative. I think I consider myself

[2:30:41] a fiscal conservative. I'm self - employed. The others up

[2:30:44] here, we work very hard and are very cognitive of

[2:30:49] what our Reserve Funds are. They're the highest they've ever

[2:30:52] been. And we watch that piggy bank because it's your

[2:30:55] money. The decisions we make, we always weigh that in.

[2:30:59] It's your money. We're residents also when it costs you.

[2:31:03] It costs us. So, so we're very conscious and very

[2:31:06] cognitive. I think of it every time that I look

[2:31:09] at 120 million dollar sewer that was funded that's now

[2:31:13] at 100, almost 70 million that was done by our

[2:31:16] predecessor. So I'm very aware of what that can be

[2:31:21] and that cost and that burden to the community we

[2:31:24] see it constantly as the Project can't even close out

[2:31:28] at this point. Um, so, so I take it very

[2:31:31] seriously. I look at a task at Arrow City Hall

[2:31:35] when I go over there for meetings or to visit.

[2:31:38] And it's the most beautiful building. And it connects that

[2:31:42] downtown area with their park and the opportunity for moral

[2:31:46] elementary to be that space. To be that building for

[2:31:50] us is huge. I didn't go to school there. But

[2:31:55] my husband did. My kids did. So yeah, I have

[2:31:58] an emotional attachment and I'm not making this vote based

[2:32:01] on those emotions. I make in it based on this

[2:32:04] legacy idea of what that property can be for this

[2:32:07] community and what it means to the community moving forward,

[2:32:11] the opportunities are endless. And what we can do there.

[2:32:13] And I agree. I hope we can coalesce and come

[2:32:16] to decisions that we can all agree on or best

[2:32:19] we can do to agree on. And move forward. And

[2:32:23] the opportunity and the considerations, which again, are all conversations

[2:32:27] about City Hall being there is because that's allowed us

[2:32:29] an opportunity to utilize that space. For housing. It allows

[2:32:35] us the opportunity to not spend the money that would

[2:32:37] need to be reinvested into those buildings. Public works for

[2:32:40] people who don't know is in part of modular. I

[2:32:43] mean, it's, it's not even a real complete building. Sorry,

[2:32:47] Irland. But to maintain those and to consider upgrading those

[2:32:54] will cost millions of dollars. So that offsets some of

[2:32:58] what it's going to cost us to make that move.

[2:33:00] So I see those things as finding a balance as

[2:33:03] you move forward to weigh those out. The grants and

[2:33:05] the other opportunities. But, um, I feel that this opportunity

[2:33:10] will rival any other city hall. And that's my comments.

[2:33:15] We will, um, certainly be back soon. What future meetings

[2:33:21] for financial planning and discussions so that the community can

[2:33:24] be part of that. I think we're very fortunate to

[2:33:27] have this opportunity. And I would just say that, um,

[2:33:31] there's a comment about not having this in the budget

[2:33:35] based on what the city manager is telling me we

[2:33:37] don't have to address it for the next year because

[2:33:39] they're not requesting any funding. So, um, it gives us

[2:33:42] time to move forward and how to manage that and

[2:33:44] what that looks like. But it's not putting us at

[2:33:47] a deficit of our budget that we've already approved this

[2:33:49] year. So, um, any other comments before we move into

[2:33:53] a motion. Member Landry clarification on the motion or do

[2:33:58] you know? Is it the second? I need to do

[2:34:05] all three of them. Well, the motion's going to be

[2:34:08] one, two, and you have to do three A. Okay.

[2:34:10] And then I move that we receive and accept the

[2:34:13] Morro Elementary School site due diligence report and make a

[2:34:17] determination pursuant to Section 1. 5 of the purchase and

[2:34:21] sale agreement, whether to find the property suitable for city

[2:34:24] purposes and confirm the city's intent to purchase the property

[2:34:28] and proceed through the due diligence period. And based on

[2:34:32] the determination provide direction to staff on next steps, which

[2:34:36] are proceed to close of escrow and return to the

[2:34:40] city council in October with the final terms of the

[2:34:43] purchase, including the potential for seller financing. Do I have

[2:34:47] a second? I'll second that. I'm emotional. Second. Mr. Steck.

[2:34:51] NFA may real quickly Bryce Axety attorney here to confirm

[2:34:55] that item two we should delete the word weather. And

[2:34:59] it will make, it said, if you make a determinant,

[2:35:01] determination pursuant to Section 1. 5. Of the purchase and

[2:35:05] zero agreement to find. Can you strike that weather? Just

[2:35:08] wanted it clear for the record. Yep. You agree. I'm

[2:35:12] the second degree. I'll second. I agree. Okay. Thank you.

[2:35:16] Council Member Landrum. Yes. Councilmember Le Fay. Yes. Council Member

[2:35:22] Edwards. No. Council member Eccles. Yes. And Mayor Wixom. Yes.

[2:35:27] Motion carries 4 - 1.

[2:35:37] Thank you everyone. And we look forward to the continued

[2:35:40] participation as we move into the next phases. And, uh,

[2:35:44] I know Mr. Craig will have some information available on

[2:35:48] what that looks like any future agenda items. With that,

[2:35:55] we are adjourned. Thank you.

City Council Regular Meeting

Agenda

Transcript