It's got quiet.
I call to order January 12th, 2026, city
council successor agency to the re
redevelopment agency housing authority
regular meeting. Are there any
teleconferences today? There are no
teleconference announcements by city for
this meeting. We'll go ahead and do our
pledge of allegiance with Bren Acres
Troop leading the pledge of allegiance
number 62170.
Girls ready.
» Please stand for the pledge of
allegiance. Place your right hand over
your heart.
>> It's over here.
» It's over here.
>> This way. I pledge aliance to the flag
» This way. I pledge aliance to the flag
of the United States of America and to
the republic for which it stands, one
nation under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.
>> Thank you.
Thank you.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
Are there any um changes to the agenda
tonight? We have none.
>> Nothing from staff this evening, Madame
» Nothing from staff this evening, Madame
Mayor.
>> Thank you, council. Any changes to the
» Thank you, council. Any changes to the
agenda?
No.
Um next is report from close session.
Greg, do are there any to report from
close session?
>> There's no reportable action from close
» There's no reportable action from close
session. Madame Mayor,
>> thank you.
» thank you.
>> Moving to section 8. Tonight, we'll be
» Moving to section 8. Tonight, we'll be
recognizing city city manager Jal Maltby
upon his retirement from the city of San
Carlos.
We are honored to be joined this evening
by local dignitaries who will each be
presenting and sharing a few remarks.
Um, we'll start with Nick Ly
representing Congress and Kevin Mullen.
» Thank you, council, and thank you to our
new mayor. It's wonderful to see you
here. I just had the privilege of moving
back home, as I was telling you before I
got up here.
I grew up growing up back in 2001 on 16
Shelton Avenue just down the block from
Council Member Dugan. And to see what
this city has become and to move here
when it's at its greatest rise. And you
sir came in 2011. So it's been 25 years
that you've served. But as city manager,
I've seen the city more people out and
about, happier, healthier, thriving,
more children and families created here
in the city. And that's in large part
due to your service. And on behalf of
the congressman, on behalf of our
office, in partnership with you and this
wonderful council, we congratulate you
on your service and your leadership to
this wonderful city, which has really
become a shining star along the
peninsula. and we're really grateful for
your service in conjunction with this
wonderful council. So, thank you for
having me. The congressman wishes he was
here. He's in Washington fighting for
you. Uh but we're going to continue to
need your counsel, sir, and can continue
to need your leadership because even if
democracies dim on the national stage,
it's the small actions of you, the small
actions of our council that renew
democracy and make it great for all of
us. So, thank you very much and
congratulations.
I'd like to welcome Supervisor Ray
Mueller. Ray, would you like to come up
front?
Very relaxed tonight.
And uh and you should be. I I was going
through the list. So, I have a
resolution from the board of supervisors
uh honoring your service here in St.
Carlos. And I was going through the list
of all the things that you've done, and
it is just so incredibly impressive. And
to think and and I see Ron and Mark, I
to think I go back uh to when you first
became city manager in 2011, that 2010
time period, you were already with the
city. And a lot of people uh who don't
follow local government may not realize
that the city was always not in the
financial condition that it's in now.
And uh you steadfastly led the city from
that time period to now where it really
is an economic beacon on the coast. It's
so well, this city is so well managed
and the finances of the city are so
strong and you've built a foundation uh
with the industry that you've brought
here and you really have built a
foundation here. You look in the
downtown, you look at affordable
housing, you look at all the components
uh that we uh public policy look at in
St. Carlos, they're strong across the
board and you've done it in a way that
the residents of this city have such a
high quality of life and satisfaction
with the city. Really is uh just a
tremendous career to reflect upon and to
look at for other policy makers, for
other city managers to look at and say
if we're going to do it, we're going to
do it like Jeff did. So, I'm really uh
I'm here today to congratulate you. We
do have this resolution from the board
of supervisors signed by the entire
board that goes in the city's history in
the in the county's history, excuse me.
But just uh job well done, sir.
» Thank you, Supervisor Mueller. So Jeff,
we have something from the city also. If
you'd like to join me up front, I can
present it to you.
Strategic here.
It's on. Okay. Whereas, city manager
Jeff Malby is retiring following a
distinguished career of more than 30
years in public service, including 25
years of dedicated service to the city
of San Carlos. And whereas Jeff Molfy
began his tenure with the city in
January 2021, 2001 as senior management
analyst in the city manager's office.
was promoted to deputy city manager in
2005, became the city's first
administrative supervisor director in
2006, and was appointed city manager in
2011 following his service as interim
city manager. And whereas throughout his
career, Jeff Malby has exemplified the
values of collaboration, trust, and
integrity, building a culture of
professionalism and teamwork that
resulted in a high, capable, and high
tenured city staff. And whereas during a
time of significant financial
instability, Erin's leadership Jeff
Malby guided the city through critical
decisions including the outsourcing of
police and fire services that is
restored San Carlos to financial health
and set the stage for long-term
prosperity. And whereas under Jeff
Malty's leadership, San Carlos enter a
period of growth and stability marked by
innovative public private partnerships
such as Wheeler Plaza, expansion of
affordable housing, new life science
development, generating over 71 million
in community benefits, major park and
facility improvements, including fire
station 16 and Shelton Park, and
strategic financial planning that
expanded the city's capital program and
reduce long-term obligations. And
whereas Jeff Maltby has championed
strategic planning, transparency, and
open communication, ensuring alignment
between the city council, city staff,
and the San Carlos community, a living
and leaving a distinguished legacy of
sound governance and shared vision. And
whereas Jeff Malt Malty's wealth of
institutional knowledge, creativity, and
collaboration, spirit have steered San
Carlos through both challenges and
triumphs, always grounded in the staff
commitment to acting in the best
interests and community he served. Now,
therefore, it be complained that I,
Prina Venitesh, mayor of the city of San
Carlos, on behalf of the entire city
council and committee, do hereby express
our deepest gratitude and appreciation
to Jeff Malty is an exemplary
leadership, integrity, and lasting
contributions to the city of St. Carlos.
Presenting the 12th day of January,
2026.
Thank you.
Comments from the council now.
Comments from councel.
>> Council member Leighton.
» Council member Leighton.
>> Uh thank you. So Jeff, uh I find it
» Uh thank you. So Jeff, uh I find it
somewhat ironic that uh today we're
presenting you with a proclamation
mainly because anyone who has ever seen
you at a hometown days parade knows that
public recognition is not really your
thing.
Uh s want to take a moment to offer
perspective on your career. Um one not
from a council member, but one from a
fellow fellow public servant who will
likely spend their entire career in
government as well. Uh those outside of
public service often measure career by
statistics, how many miles of roads we
repaired, the size of the bud budgets
you oversaw, the number of constituent
emails answered, or the major capital
projects completed. And although those
numbers matter, they don't really tell
the true story of your job. As a public
servant, we know that the real work is
fluid. A city manager is essentially the
CEO of a multi-million dollar
organization reporting to a board of
directors that may change every two or
four years. At the same times, the rules
are con constantly shifting. State and
federal regulations evolve, expectations
change, and how you do the job today is
no guarantee of how you'll do the job
tomorrow. And yet, despite the goalposts
constantly moving, you still have to
show up every day and deliver on a
long-term vision. one that should
outlast any single manager, council
member, or individual sitting up here
today.
Of everyone up here on the dis, I've had
the shortest time working with you. But
even in that limited time, I've been
able to witness and learn from your
passion and your respect for the craft
of public service. You taught me that in
government, process is just as important
as ideas. You showed me that patience is
often the only thing that allows a
vision to become a reality. And perhaps
most importantly, you help me understand
that the role of a council member is not
to undo the decisions made before us,
but to improve them, guide them, and
ultimately see them through. What many
people may not realize is that someone
who has devoted their entire career to
public service and risen to the role
that you've held was clearly built for
it. Jeff, you were built for the
especially long meetings uh for
balancing diverse constituent interests
with broader city goals and for working
with new bosses of different
backgrounds, perspectives, and
priorities every few years. I know that
you often say uh very convincingly when
we talk that you are finished with
government work. Uh while I wish you
nothing but the very best in retirement,
I hope it may not last that long. Uh
cities will continue to need steadfast
leadership, thoughtful guidance, and
institutional wisdom. uh and you have
proven all three. Thank you for your
service to St. Carlos. Congratulations
on a truly meaningful career and I hope
we see you again.
» Thank you, Council Member Leighton.
Council member Dugan.
>> Uh thank you, Madame Mayor. And uh yeah,
» Uh thank you, Madame Mayor. And uh yeah,
thank you, Jeff. Uh thank you from uh
mostly the people of San Carlos for all
of your steadfast leadership since you
joined the city. Uh you know 2011 as
city manager but you were with us
several years before that as well. Um
you know we have a great community here
in San Carlos and a lot of it really
does come down to the team that you put
together and the leadership you've
shown. Our city government here works
well. Well, it it really is the u the
the center of the engine that our
community springs from and you've really
been central to that. So, I really want
to thank you from the people of San
Carlos. Uh we have a very warm, open and
decent place here and I think that
describes your leadership style very
well and uh and that has meant a lot to
most of us in this room. So, uh we thank
you for that and I just want to thank
you personally. you know, I I was the
council member that joined uh in the
pandemic and uh uh kind of, you know,
didn't even get a tour of the place. So,
it was kind of hard for me to get
oriented at first. Uh but from our very
first meeting, uh you just, you know,
late in your career, you decided you're
just going to pour into all of us. I'm
sure you were pouring into Neil uh the
last couple years. And uh you you uh you
know, thank you. you really helped bring
me up to speed, I feel quickly. Uh you
gave me the benefit of all of your
decades of experience and uh and and we
just had some really interesting deep
conversations and I thank you for that.
I um know a lot more uh than I did
before I met you and uh I intend to keep
using that for St. Carlos and you're
leaving us now. Uh you know, we have
great plans in place. So you and your
team I in the last 3 four years we've
literally replanned I believe every
aspect of the city and uh so that's
there that's and that is going to be
your legacy as these plans uh come to
fruition. So I I do hope you check in
with us uh and let us know how it's
going cuz uh I think it's going to be
pretty fundamental. Uh you left us in
great financial shape. that was not the
case when you took this over and it
really was your leadership um uh around
some really tough issues, you know, the
public safety issues, etc. And you
really put us on on a new foundation and
uh and you're leaving us with that. Uh
but most importantly, uh you built a
great culture here in in in our city
government and you built a great team.
So, thank you for that. Um uh job well
done. Thank you, Jeff.
Thank you, Council Member Dugan. Um,
Council Member McDow.
Thank you, Madame Mayor.
Um, so I have known Jeff for about 10
years now, going back to when I became a
city commissioner on the Economic
Development Advisory Commission. And
what I immediately noticed at city hall
reminded me a lot of what I had left
behind in my federal government office.
A close-knit staff who in many ways felt
more like family than colleagues.
Setting that tone starts at the top. And
Jeff deserves great credit for building
such a strong, dedicated, and smart team
who work together to make our city a
better place. Leaving behind a solid
staff that you built up one by one is a
huge legacy, Jeff. Jeff has seen our
city through some really trying times. A
budget crisis that he had to dig out of
with the city council, which led to
moving away from our city's own fire and
police department. But out of that
incredibly hard decision grew a strong
partnership with Redwood City Fire and
the county sheriff's office. Jeff
created a new model that other cities
then followed. This move saved the city
a lot of money, restored our healthy
budget, and enabled us to focus on
meeting more needs in our community.
He then managed the PG& line 147 crisis
with led which led to a settlement that
allowed us to create our own unique
community foundation that is doing a lot
of good work in our city now.
Jeff then led the San Carlos through the
pandemic during some very dark and
uncertain times, but that also led to
San Carlos being the first city in the
county to pedestrianize our main street,
expand parklets, and support our
downtown businesses. And now we have a
plan in place to make our downtown even
better.
What I think these three examples show,
and I'm sure there are countless others,
is that Jeff met hard times with a can
do attitude and creativity.
He did not stop. We didn't close the
doors. He and our staff dug into the
work, supported our community, and
positive improvements came from really
tough times. We came out of dark days
and found bright new opportunities.
So, thank you, Jeff, for working so hard
for the residents of San Carlos. Being a
city manager means you are always on.
You get all the midnight texts and phone
calls when bad things happen. You are
the fixer and the solution maker. It is
a huge ask for anyone to take on such a
stressful job. The city becomes another
family member that you must worry about
and care for. But you did a stellar job
and you created an incredible team who
will continue your work here. You have
overseen giant leaps of forward progress
in our town and we owe you just a huge
debt of gratitude. So, thank you for all
of your dedication and for all of your
service to our city.
» Thank you, Vice Mayor Rack.
>> Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um,
» Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um,
so I'm I tend to be a little more off
the cuff, Jeff, so you'll have to bear
with me on that. Um, but first I just
want to say thank you. I I think to
start with it, and I think we all owe
you a thank you. Um, we are certainly I
think Supervisor Mueller kind of hinted
at it. We are sort of the envy of many
cities in this county and around the Bay
Area.
you've taken us through some difficult
times, but we've done some really
amazing things around housing, the
downtown, uh, parks and wreck, and
you've kind of given us the, I think, on
the council standpoint, the ability to
have just enough leash to do things. Um,
but, you know, keeping us, you know, in
check to make sure that we're not sort
of overstepping and doing things that
might u not be as successful and as as
as we could be. But um and I think as I
think about our staff, we have so many
senior staff, so many people that stick
around. You don't see a lot of turnover
in San Carlos with staff. And that's a
testament to you and the work you do. Um
I think I would I think a lot of people
would want to be a fly in the wall and
follow you around for a day or two and
and understand how things work and and
how things get done because a lot of it
happens behind the scenes and before you
know it, things have changed. And it's
not just here in the city, but it's
working with our partners like the
school district. Um I think just a few
years ago how we were you were able to
create a good solution with them from a
financial standpoint with Alexandria and
others and really out of the box
thinking that um really is a credit to
you and I think about it. You came up
with this idea and then you kind of step
back and let us take credit for it. So
um really you should stand up and take
more credit for um all the great things
that you've done. But um I'll certainly
I think personally just miss sitting in
your office and spending the time to
talk through ideas
um talk about what's possible and what's
not possible and uh really through the
challenges that we're having and being
able to kind of work through how to
approach things and what's what could
happen and what could be done and how
maybe to think about ideas. Um cuz I
know sometimes I'll come with you and
say here Jeeoff I have these five things
I'd love to do and you know I'll walk
away with like okay those four are never
going to work but this one might. Um so
I really appreciate that and that you
know I hope uh we can continue to do
that. I'll even come up to Pacifica and
buy you a beer up there to do that. Um
but it's really been an honor to work
with you. Um, and I'm going to miss
working with you and uh I think you
should be proud of all you've done and
uh I think you're leaving the city in a
place that we can live up to our motto
as the city of good living. So, thank
you.
» Okay. Thank you, Vice Mayor Rack. Um,
let's move to public comment. If you'd
like to make a public comment on this
item, please fill out a speaker slip in
the back of the room and turn it over to
our city clerk. If you're joining us via
Zoom, you may raise your hand at any
time. We'll take the first comments in
the room and then move on to remote
attendees. Crystal, do you have any
speaker slips?
>> Yes, I do have a few for in person. Um,
» Yes, I do have a few for in person. Um,
first up is David Buruto from Assembly
Member Diane Papin's office. Welcome.
Good evening, madame mayor.
Congratulations members of the council
and our esteemed staff and departing
city manager. Um, here representing
something for Dian Papin and Senator
Josh Becker. Do have a big glass thing
for you, but it's delayed. So, I'm going
to have to bring it to Pacifica. So, I'm
going to join you in that beer.
>> Taco Bell.
» Taco Bell.
>> It's the best Taco Bell in the United
» It's the best Taco Bell in the United
States.
Uh I just wanted to come here real quick
because uh you know Jeff you've been you
have a long tenure here actually an
unusually long tenure for a city and
I've been able to watch you for a long
time and how you've guided the city and
you know being a the CEO it's a tough
gig you know because unlike a corporate
CEO you also have the public you also
get buffeted by the state and federal
government. We do lots of stuff you
sometimes don't love.
Um, so it's a complicated job and with a
publicly elected board, which is
different than a corporate board, uh,
you have to be responding to, you know,
a council that has to be responsive to
the public. You know, Adam, what you
said I thought was very funny because I
can imagine the conversations you had to
have of, you know, Adam, that's a great
idea. Let's talk about the time and
resources it takes to do that. Or, let
me tell you why that's a bad idea.
And you have to have those conversations
diplomatically, right? you have to
manage up.
And St. Carlos, yes, is a model for
Sonteo County. It is a really well-run
city. And that's largely thanks to your
tenure and your your thoughtful
guidance.
So, yes, you're going to probably miss
your city manager, although I know the
Dan is quite capable and skilled and has
been working here for a long time. So, I
trust you're in good hands. And you're a
great board, so, you know, I think that
helps as well.
So to Jeff uh really you know from the
regional perspective as well thank you
very much for your service to San Carlos
but also to Sanonteo County. Uh you've
done a great job and provided a good
model for the rest of us to follow. So
thank you so much and we'll see you in
Pacifica real soon.
Okay, next up is uh Jennifer Fentes from
the school board uh school district and
then we'll have um Mark Ober and Ron
Collins.
>> Thank you, Madame Mayor and uh city
» Thank you, Madame Mayor and uh city
council for letting me be here to
celebrate Jeff. Um congratulations on
your retirement. Um impressive uh list
of career accomplishments. Um but I'm
here to talk about the small moments.
Not only have you been a friend to a
district, but when I was a new
superintendent, uh you made time to
coach me, to fill me in on the past and
uh a legacy uh that you're leaving is
also all of the ways in which you
invested in my success, which has really
contributed to the success of our
district. So, thank you so much for
that.
So, former San Carlos mayors Mark Obert
and Ron Collins.
» No, no, no. We'll let the better dress
guy go first.
>> All right. Uh well uh Mark and I have a
» All right. Uh well uh Mark and I have a
just a little gift for for Jeff. But I
think the thing that I want to say is
that uh in 40 years this town has had
three city managers and only three.
There are many cities surrounding us
that have had many many more than that.
One city had one that left after a
month. Can you imagine how what that was
like? But I also feel fortunate that I
spent my entire 13 years on the council
with one city manager.
It was Jeff. And I cannot even begin to
describe how valuable that was. Uh Adam
talked about a fly on the wall. Because
Jeff's wife was the city manager. I
always wanted to be a fly on the wall in
their dining room at dinner time when
they were talking about what was going
on in Daily City and San Carlos. But uh
I made a lot of uh most of what I want
to say I I said last month. And uh I
just want to say thank you again, Jeff.
Uh you know, your service here and to me
personally uh means more than I can even
I can even say. So I'll leave it up to
Mark for more. Thank you, Ron. U good
evening, Mayor Venitesh and Vice Mayor
Rack or Mayor of Vice Rack. I always get
that confused.
>> I answer both.
» I answer both.
>> There you go. And the rest of the
» There you go. And the rest of the
council. Uh, as Ron mentioned at the
end, we were each here last month and
made more lengthy remarks, uh, which I
definitely still stand behind. Um, but
tonight we actually wanted to show up
and present Jeff with a little, uh,
momento that we put together. There are
still pieces of it that are in the mail,
unfortunately, but a number of, uh,
former mayors who are, uh, no longer
here uh, wanted to leave you some
testimonials, so we've put them
together. Um, and um, I'm just going to
read uh, the introductory piece here
because I think it summarizes a lot of
what everybody's been saying tonight. To
Jeff Malty, who served the San Carlos
community and council so well, many
didn't realize he was on the job and
just took for granted how safe and fun
the city was on his watch. Thank you for
your service, sir.
Oh, and there's there's one other thing
I got you. You inspired me after uh our
little exchange at the end of my
comments last month. Um this is uh you
won't have to report this to on form
700. So um this is a little something
that you may find useful when you need
to project leadership in another
environment.
Thank you. Um, those are the only slips
I have for in person, but if you uh
you're here and you'd like to make a
comment, now would be a good time.
>> Okay. Thank you. Uh, and there are no
» Okay. Thank you. Uh, and there are no
hands on Zoom.
>> Thank you, Crystal.
» Thank you, Crystal.
Um, thank you everyone for
>> Could I just say one thing?
» Could I just say one thing?
>> Of course.
» Of course.
>> Um, I don't know if this is out of
» Um, I don't know if this is out of
order, but I wanted to get in there in
front of Jeff. Um, I guess this I could
say this is like a bit of a closing
argument. Um, I wish I'd like to I wish
I could encapsulate all the wise words
that everyone has said here. It was they
were so wonderful and on point. Um Jeff
and I have worked together actually
since 2001 really because I was the
deputy city attorney that um the whole
time and I remember um lots of things
that we talked about and lots of advice
that I've given him and lots of wise
words that he's given me. Uh but mostly
um I'd like to share them, but they're
most of them are attorney cl privilege
and I I can't talk about them, but but
uh Jeff um has proven to me that he's
the type of leader that
uh any city would want to have. Um he
was wise,
especially when when under pressure in a
crisis. He was so
uh thoughtful and calm and really when
we would talk about things that that
were um affecting the city, we both um
worked together and Jeff, he was the
manager. He made the decisions. I was
the just the adviser and Jeff, I think
every time made the right decision. So,
I'd like to congratulate Jeff on his
time with the city and I'd like to say
that he's been a great friend of mine
and thank you very much, Jeff. And I
hope you have a great retirement. You've
earned it.
Um, it's a lot to take in. Thank you.
Thank you all. You know, I've hadve been
planning this for a while, so I've had a
good amount of time to think about it
and came to the realization that um
there really isn't any way to say
goodbye to a place that I've worked for
half my life really and a profession
that I've been involved in for as long
as I can remember. Um, you know, I mean,
I literally watched Sesame Street and
council meetings at the same time
growing up.
Um
I there was no time in my life that um
city hall wasn't present. Um the Santa
Clara County and San Monteo County have
been huge parts of my life. Um Mike
Nevin married Shauna and I
in Halfoon Bay. And um so I thought it's
not really a goodbye. It's it's that's
not what I want to do. I want to just
simply express my gratitude. Um, you
know,
I'm really proud of the work that we've
done here. I've worked with I think
seven I think Neil, you're I think
you're like my 17th council member as a
city manager and 20some since I've
worked with the city and they've all
been really good people and um the
community has been just wonderful to
work with. Um, you know, I mean there's
you never get agreement on everything
but um and that's fine. that's that's
government and that's democracy. Um but
the disagreements in San Carlos were
always, you know, really good and um
people could get along and people could
accept decisions and make the best of
them. Um whether it was the council, the
staff or the community and I really
appreciated that and and all the
different councils that I've had over
the years, including this council. Um,
you know, while, you know, we've agreed
on a great great many things and
disagreed on a few, there was never a
single city council that I worked for
that when the chips were really down and
things were, you know, grim and we had a
real serious problem to deal with that I
even for a second didn't feel like had
my back and the staff's back. And you
know th it's really that level of
partnership that allows you as staff
people and and I'm sure as probably
council too. It empowers you to be able
to do the right thing to try to do the
right thing because the right thing is
not always the politically expedient
thing. It's not always the comfortable
thing. Um sometimes the right thing is
going to lead through some deep dark
woods. And we've had plenty of those
over the years. And we really we really
were, I thought, a great team when those
things came up. And I will be forever
grateful to all the uh men and women
that served on the San Carlos City
Council during my tenure um with the
city. Um the the city staff, I mean,
what can I say? Um you know, this this
current management team, I many of us
have been together for a long time.
uh many of the staff members have been
together for a long time and uh those
that have retired or moved on already um
you know are always in my thoughts too.
Um you know Chris Chris Valley sitting
here is one of the few people in the
city that's been here longer than I
have. We were just kids Chris we we
didn't know how good we had it. Um,
you know, all the accomplishments, all
the accolades, all you know, that's
always the, you know, I personally, I
mean, as the council pointed out, you
know, accolades are not my thing. Um, I
appreciate them. You get them as the
city manager, you know. I mean, I guess
that's the balance because when things
go wrong, it's it's your name that
that's on the front page of the paper,
too. Um, but it's, you know, it's really
been the team. you know, you all have uh
taken such good care of me over the
years. Um, you know, I I just have
complete trust and faith in in your
abilities and just the people that you
are. Um, there's a lot of people out
there that that can do the kind of work
that we do. Every city has a staff. Um
but you are all really good people and
um I have really enjoyed my time with
you so very much and really been honored
uh to be the leader of the of the city
organization. Um, but at the end of the
day, you know, when it can be very
overwhelming at times, you know, there's
a fire in this department, there's
something going wrong over here, there,
you know, whatever. We're trying to
pushing hard for deadlines and those
kinds of things. There's a lot of things
that can really keep you up at night.
Um, but the one thing that always
allowed me to be able to go to sleep at
night was knowing how good my staff was
and how you would do whatever you needed
to do um to get that result for our
organization and our community and and
the community is is really really lucky
to have you. Um, you know, in many ways
I'm sorry to be leaving you. Um, but I
know that you all are going to go on and
continue to do great things for this
city and great things within this
profession for, you know, as far as your
careers take you. Um, you're really a
bunch of very talented people. I'm, you
know, really lucky to be able to count
so many of you as friends. Um,
and I hope that u in the future that our
relationship can continue. Um, most
importantly to my wife Shauna. Um,
wow.
I mean, we met through local government.
We were married by local government. It
was super weird to run two cities from a
third city in Sonteo County during COVID
from our living room. Um,
you know, you having you there, you gave
me great advice over the years. Um, you
know, every every time some other city
would come courting and I'd think, uh,
it's a little bit bigger, it's a little
bit, you'd say, why? And remind me of
exactly what I had.
And I am so grateful for that as well as
a lot of really good advice when I was
about to do something stupid at work. So
you have Shauna to thank as much as you
as much as me probably more. Um but it's
really been an honor to to be a part of
the San Carers community for so long and
um I'm going to miss you all. So thank
you. And uh Nile, you're up.
Thank you, Jeff. Um, when during our
weekly calls, I'd say, "What are you
doing this weekend, Jeff?" He'd always
say, "Oh, my honeydew list." So, I hope
your honeydew list gets filled with more
honeydew list.
Um, okay. We're going to go to item six,
council of communications.
I'll let people leave if you'd like.
Announcements. Um, council of
communications and announcements are
brief items from members of the city
council regarding upcoming events in the
community and correspondence that they
have received. They areformational in
nature and no action will be taken on
these items at this meeting. Anything
for my colleagues? Crystal, any hands
raised?
» Oh, sorry.
>> Um, council member Leighton.
» Um, council member Leighton.
>> Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh, just one
» Thank you, Madam Mayor. Uh, just one
thing for my colleagues. Um, we received
a presentation at Silicon Valley Clean
Water at our last meeting in regards to
um there's a push now mandate to have
more recycled water. So, Silicon Valley
Clean Water is looking into um what's
called the Peninsula Pure Water Program,
which would be the SFPU.
Um would then be uh pumping water and
then purifying it to a pure standard and
then pumping it back into uh Crystal
Springs Reservoir. I only mentioned this
for council as uh what it would be is as
we think about um building and Purple
Pipe historically, this would probably
change to more indirect system. uh if
that's something where you would go to
in our considerations and how it would
reflect um in regards to if we wanted
new construction to work on Purple Pipe.
Uh if it's going to be pumped back into
uh Crystal Springs and Pure Water, then
it may be a different analysis for us,
but something to keep our eyes out down
the road.
» Thank you, M Council Member Leighton. Um
I don't have anything. Next is public
comment.
Do you have anything? No.
Persons wishing to address city council
on matters not on the posted agenda may
do so. Each speaker is limited to two
minutes. If you if the item you are
speaking on is not listed on the agenda,
please be advised. The city council may
briefly respond to statements, but no
questions posed or allowed under the
Brown Act. We will start with public
comments in the room and then move on to
online comments. Once we begin taking
public comments on Zoom, we will not be
allowing additional commenters to join
the queue. So, please be sure to raise
your hand now so that you have a turn to
speak. Crystal, is there anyone wishing
to speak?
>> Yes, I have a slip for in person uh from
» Yes, I have a slip for in person uh from
Dr. Frentice.
again to uh madame mayor and the city
council members. I'm here on behalf of
the San Carlos School District and the
uh board of directors to congratulate
Mayor Venites. Um our district has a
strong commitment to equity and
elevating celebrating the diversity
within our community and so we're really
proud to see you sitting in the DAS in
this position. Um personally for me to
see strong women in leadership is a
great model for our youngsters. Um, and
so congratulations to you. And, uh, we
also know that it's nice for our
students to see themselves represented
in the community at large. And so I'd
like to invite all of the city council
members to be judges for a thing that we
do in St. Carlos School District called
the ropes. It's right of passage
experiences. Um, I will be following up
with an invite from Ashley Brown, who is
our teacher leader who oversees this.
It's an opportunity to learn about the
great projects that kids uh they
investigate on their own and then they
present to a judge, a couple of judges
and we need judges. So I'll push this
out and invite any of you to participate
and again my congratulations.
>> Thank you. I signed up so I'm good.
» Thank you. I signed up so I'm good.
>> Uh is there anybody else in person who
» Uh is there anybody else in person who
would like to speak?
Okay, seeing none. Uh and there are no
hands on Zoom. Thank you.
Item nine is consent calendar. Um, are
there any items council would like to
pull?
>> Madame Mayor, I would like to pull item
» Madame Mayor, I would like to pull item
L from the consent calendar concerning
the library maker space.
>> Thank you. Um, Council Member Dugan.
» Um, I can go ahead and and move to
approve city council consent calendar
items A through K and M.
I'll second.
» Crystal, will you call a roll?
>> Yes. Uh, council member Dugan,
» Yes. Uh, council member Dugan,
>> yes.
» yes.
>> Council member Leighton,
» Council member Leighton,
>> yes.
» yes.
>> Council member McDall,
» Council member McDall,
>> yes.
» yes.
>> Vice Mayor Rack,
» Vice Mayor Rack,
>> yes.
» yes.
>> And yes,
» And yes,
>> thank you. And Mayor Venites,
» thank you. And Mayor Venites,
>> yes. Thank you.
» yes. Thank you.
>> And thank you, Madame Mayor. Um, I, you
» And thank you, Madame Mayor. Um, I, you
know, obviously very supportive of our
new maker space, but since it's I think
we had 800 pages of design specs in our
council packet, I just wanted to pull
this item to highlight it a little bit.
And uh, for the community, it'll be uh,
this is a maker space that has been
designed and will be installed in the
coming months in our library. And I we
just haven't had a discussion or any um,
visibility on on what this is going to
look like. And as I looked through the
plans, I thought I saw elements of of um
uh both STEM and creative uh uh maker
space aspects, but I just wanted to
hopefully hear from staff on a little
bit more color on how this design was
developed and h who it's intending to
serve, etc.
>> Okay. Thank you. Uh we have Adrien Guas,
» Okay. Thank you. Uh we have Adrien Guas,
our new San Carlos Library branch
manager with us this evening to uh speak
a little bit more about this project.
Hello. Good evening, um, Mayor Benitesh
and members of the council. Um, thanks
for, uh, asking about the maker space.
I'm thrilled to share with you the
exciting plans that we have for the new
community maker space. Um, we hope that
the maker space will be a vibrant hub
where community members can gather,
collaborate, and engage in enriching
maker activities. It will be a place to
cultivate steam skills. uh spark
creativity and inspire innovative
problem solving. After a comprehensive
planning and community input process, we
are very excited to be at the
construction phase of the project. This
project enjoys broad support from the
community, including from the friends of
the library who have pledged over
$100,000 towards the maker space. Um,
one of the reasons that this project has
so much interest and is highly
anticipated by the community is because
the project was developed through an
intensive community engagement process.
In November 2023, working with the city,
the library engaged WRNS studio
architectural firm and launched the
community engagement process, which
involved focus groups, community
meetings, and surveys to align the
design with community input. The design
input provided by the community was then
considered by a makerpace design task
force which included the library and
city staff and representation from the
friends of the San Carlos Library who
worked together with the architect to
develop the final design. Um I want to
express gratitude to the strong
collaboration and teamwork between the
library, friends of the library and the
city. And I'd also like to acknowledge
uh the library JPA governing board for
approval of this project and especially
council member McDow's work as a member
of the library JPA to move the project
forward. We're thrilled to see the
community's vision come to life with
today's approval of this item and thank
you for your community or your continued
support and partnership in making the
maker space a reality.
>> Yeah, thank you very much for that
» Yeah, thank you very much for that
overview. I I I really appreciated that
and hearing more about how the project
was developed and I know it came last
minute. So, thank you. I really
appreciate it.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> And and with that, Madame Mayor, I would
» And and with that, Madame Mayor, I would
move to approve city council consent
calendar item L.
>> I'll second.
» I'll second.
>> You have to take public comment, don't
» You have to take public comment, don't
we?
>> Public comment.
» Public comment.
>> Yes. I do not have any slips for in
» Yes. I do not have any slips for in
person. I don't see any hands and there
are no hands on Zoom. Thank you.
>> We have a motion and a second. Crystal,
» We have a motion and a second. Crystal,
can you please call roll?
>> Council member Mcdow,
» Council member Mcdow,
>> yes.
» yes.
>> Vice Mayor Rack,
» Vice Mayor Rack,
>> yes.
» yes.
>> Council member Dugan,
» Council member Dugan,
>> yes.
» yes.
>> Council member Leighton,
» Council member Leighton,
>> yes.
» yes.
>> And Mayor Venites,
» And Mayor Venites,
>> yes.
» yes.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> The Go ahead.
» The Go ahead.
>> The motion passes.
» Okay.
Okay. Item 10, new business.
I'm Yeah, I'm going to um out of bend
some of caution. I'm going to recuse
myself from this motion.
All right. Uh, good evening, vice mayor,
uh, members of the city council. My name
is Andrew Douglas, and I'm a senior
management analyst in the community
development department. I'm here this
evening to present staff's
recommendations for funding through the
2025 child care grant program.
Perfect. Uh, childcare has been an
important focus in San Carlos for nearly
the past decade. In 2017, the San Monteo
County Childare Partnership Council
published a report which indicated a
shortfall in the number of child care
spaces available in our community. Over
the coming years, city council elevated
child care as a strategic priority,
ultimately adopting the childcare
development impact fee in 2022.
The fee applies to new non-residential
developments and is intended to offset
the demand for child care that is
generated through employment growth.
Developers have the option to provide
child care on site or to pay the impact
fee. Collected fees must be used to
expand physical capacity of childcare
facilities. In 2024, city council
approved the childare grant program as
the means of distributing childcare
development impact fees and uh expanding
local capacity.
The program offers San Carlos childcare
providers grants of up to $100,000 to
create new childare spaces. Funds may be
used to acquire a new facility, expand
an existing center, or remodel a
facility to accommodate a different age
group. Funds may not be used for
operational or maintenance expenses. The
city conducted the first round of the
childcare grant program in 2024 and
distributed just shy of $500,000 between
five local childcare providers.
For the 2025 funding cycle, our second
funding cycle, the city accepted
applications between September 8th and
October 3rd. We received five
applications.
Uh while we budgeted 250,000 to the
grant program for fiscal year 2025 2026,
the initial grant requests exceeded that
budget by nearly $150,000 at just around
$400,000.
However, the representatives from the
nonprofit Grains of Good Foundation
ultimately decided to withdraw their
application as they had not yet found a
a physical location in St. Carlos where
they could open their facility. This
reduced the funding pool down to four
applications and brought the total value
of the grant request to about $85,000
over the approved budget.
The first application is from Shu
Academy Preschool located at 1601 Laurel
Street. The applicant is requesting
$35,654
to make interior and exterior
renovations
inside. The grant funding would
reimburse the cost of removing an
existing storage area and converting
that into classroom space and outside
the grant funds would uh support the
removal of unused structures, some
regrading um so that the play area can
be used by more children simultaneously.
All in all, the applicant estimates that
this would expand enrollment by eight
spaces.
The owners of Shu Academy are also
expanding their presence in St. Carlos
and are in the process of acquiring a
new facility just up the road here from
city hall at 1622 San Carlos Avenue. The
working name for the new facility is
Curious Beans by Shoe Academy, but
that's subject to change.
Uh after the sale is final, the
applicants will be remodeling the
facility to support their license and
the owners are requesting $100,000 to
reimburse a portion of their down
payment on the property. Property
acquisition is an eligible grant
activity per the notice of funding
availability. Although this is the first
time an applicant has requested that
reimbursement of a share of the down
payment will assist with cash flow for
the building improvements and the owner
has already submitted building permit
applications to the city. The applicants
estimate that this uh new facility will
add between 48 and 55 new child care
spaces including spaces for children as
young as 18 months old.
The next application is from Bright
Horizons located up in the hills uh at
2851 St. Carlos Avenue. The facility is
currently licensed to support children
older than 24 months. But in recogn
recognition of the strong regional
demand for spaces for younger children,
Bright Horizons will be applying for an
expanded state license so they can
accommodate children between 12 months
and 24 months old. to be issued that new
license, Bright Horizons will need to
renovate the outdoor play area to
accommodate uh the older and the younger
children. And that's what the $100,000
would be used for uh in accommodating
those two different spaces. And Bright
Horizons estimates that these
renovations will provide 24 new toddler
spaces again for that younger age group
um that did not exist previously.
The final application is from St. Carlos
Belmont After School uh who are
requesting $100,000 to update bathrooms,
remodel kitchens, install new window
coverings, and add storage in the
portable structures at Arundle, Britain
Acres, White Oaks, and uh Heather
Elementary Schools. St. Carlos Belmont
After School leases the portable
structures from the school district and
those uh buildings are shared between
the children in the transitional
kindergarten or TK and the afterchool
programs. City staff met with the
applicants to discuss the proposal and
to get a better sense for how those
modifications would expand capacity
within the portable structures. The
applicants indicated that they would
re-review their proposal and see if they
could make any modifications that would
expand their capacity. Despite several
attempts to reach out uh and hear back
from the applicants, staff did not
receive any follow-on details.
As grant funds must be used to expand
childcare capacity, staff are not able
to recommend the grant application from
St. Carlos Belmont after school as it
was submitted. The applicants are
encouraged to reapply to the program in
a future year's funding cycle. However,
as the remaining applicants, the
remaining three meet the program
requirements and will expand childcare
capacity. staff recommending recommend
awarding the full value of the grant
request to those three and that includes
the 35,654
for Shoe Academy for the interior and
exterior renovations, 100,000 for the
property acquisition for Curious Beans,
and then 100,000 for the playground uh
renovations at Bright Horizons.
Combined, uh these activities would
create between 80 and 87 new child care
spaces in the community, which is a
really great number. And uh the grant
awards would total $235,000654
or excuse me 235654
uh which is within the 250,000 budgeted
for this fiscal year.
Should city council agree to the
recommended funding allocations, staff
will notify the remaining applicants of
their award status. We will coordinate
with them to execute agreements for uh
receipt of grant funds, collect their
documentation to show that the eligible
projects have been completed and then
issue the reimbursements. Over the next
5 years, staff will collect annual
reports from the recipients to track
their childare capacity.
And staff plan to open the third round
of this program. Again, this was the
second uh for uh this fall, which will
be another 250,000 as budgeted.
So based on all the above, staff
recommend the city council adopt a
resolution awarding the recipients of
the 2025 childcare grant program and
authorizing the execution of agreements
for grant funds with the three eligible
applicants. This concludes staff's
presentation and I'm available to answer
any questions. Uh Katie Shen, owner of
Shu Academy, is also present in case you
have any more specific questions for her
about her applications. Thank you.
>> Thank you Andrew uh for the presentation
» Thank you Andrew uh for the presentation
and all the work on this. Uh do any of
my colleagues have uh questions? I see
uh Council Member Dugan.
>> Uh thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor, and uh
» Uh thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor, and uh
thank you, Andrew. Appreciate the the
overview and and the program. And uh
yeah, phenomenal to think that this
program is working um as intended. We uh
you know, drew those impact fees and are
now investing them directly into child
care. And it looks like these grants
will result in or at least assist in the
development of about 85 um new child
care spaces in town. So So that's
terrific. Um you know, in my time on
council, it is a little unprecedented
the way this this money is released and
and and somewhat the open-ended nature
of it. And I, you know, so as I review
these, I always just am like, ah, what's
the accountability here? And are these
subject to matching funds? How does that
aspect work?
>> Sure. Uh there no that is no longer a
» Sure. Uh there no that is no longer a
requirement. I know it was for the first
program, but earlier this year we made
some modifications to the notice of
funding availability through city
council and the matching requirement was
removed. I know it was confusing for
some of the applicants and the idea was
to help uh you know get as much money
into the community as quickly as
possible. So that's not something that's
um considered anymore. However, we do
look at the financial viability of the
applicants as they come in and it is a
reimbursementbased program with wording
in the agreement that says, you know,
this is exactly what um the city will
reimburse the applicants for. And so, if
that work is not completed, they don't
receive the the funds in return. So, we
have those protections in the agreement.
>> So, in all cases, they have to front the
» So, in all cases, they have to front the
money, they've made the spend, and then
they submit that. Do we then go verify
that the money was spent on a facility?
I mean, how how close are we observing
these projects?
>> Yes. Yeah, we're collecting the
» Yes. Yeah, we're collecting the
documentation back, you know, looking at
all of the invoices, making sure that it
matches up with what they had
anticipated, and then often we do go at
the end then and make a tour, see the
facility, and, you know, wrap everything
up nicely. Uh, I know it was very
successful for our first five last year,
which was really nice.
>> Got it. And then curious beans. This one
» Got it. And then curious beans. This one
is a new one. So the full H 100,000 and
and and it was for an acquisition, but
are are they did they buy the business
that is currently there? You know, is
there currently a child care business
there that they purchase or is this for
purchase of of the building itself?
>> My understanding and uh Katie can jump
» My understanding and uh Katie can jump
in if uh I get it incorrect is that it
was an existing building. I think it was
a medical office,
a therapy clinic. Thank you so much.
That was uh in the facility. It's just
up the road here in St. Carlos Avenue
and uh so they are acquiring the
property so they'll actually own it
versus leasing and then um in addition
to the uh purchase price I think they
planned on making about $800,000 in
tenant improvements to be able to meet
state childcare licensing. So, there'll
be some significant modifications inside
as well. Okay. Um, and the idea again
for the down payment assistance is that
they put that money down towards the
down payment, but in getting it back uh
faster through the grant, they'll be
able to then turn that around and make
those improvements faster.
>> Okay. Yeah. No, it's uh well,
» Okay. Yeah. No, it's uh well,
congratulations on that. Um, it's good
to know there'll be another freestanding
child care facility in town and uh and I
know owning the property will give you a
degree of stability over time. So that's
that's good news for child care in San
Carlos. Um is there is there any kind of
vesting with that? Like if they fold up
shop in 6 months, do we have any
clawback right or is there any you know
like you got to kind of think through
the potential outcomes here?
>> Sure. Uh my understand you know our
» Sure. Uh my understand you know our
program so far it's it is new but uh and
we've tended towards uh you know being
much more open and flexible with the
applicants in the way it's currently
worded. Uh I know again though Shu
Academy it's uh been in the city for
quite a while. They're making a
significant investment. Um and so what
we do though is rather than having
specific wording, we require 5 years of
reporting that we'll follow on
afterwards where we'll be checking back
in with the applicants to make sure that
they're, you know, meeting those
enrollment numbers that they indicated.
Um there's not necessarily teeth at this
point with that, but um I you know
something that we could look at in the
future if needed, but I think our you
know our hope is that we all work
together closely and you know it's for
the common goal in the community and
that we wouldn't necessarily need
something like that.
>> I appreciate that. Um it's u you know as
» I appreciate that. Um it's u you know as
public funds go we just have to be very
mindful that it just takes one bad
example and this program will no longer
be sustainable, right? So we we do have
to tread carefully in in this kind of
situation and then just over time I
really would be interested in reports
back on you know these applicants were
expecting this many spaces and we in
fact verified you know just how the
program is continuing over time. I'd be
very interested in um that's all I had.
Thank you Vice Mayor.
>> Thank you Council Member Dugan. Uh I
» Thank you Council Member Dugan. Uh I
have Council Member Leighton.
>> Uh thank you Vice Mayor. I just had a
» Uh thank you Vice Mayor. I just had a
couple questions on Andrew and then
maybe Katie can um help me out too. You
said in your presentation that the sale
on the um building wasn't final.
>> That's my understanding is that it's in
» That's my understanding is that it's in
process correct stuff.
>> Can you just elaborate on what that
» Can you just elaborate on what that
means to be like in process?
>> But can you come up to the here to
» But can you come up to the here to
answer just so we it's because it's
recorded. Thank you.
So, we have submitted the um application
package to the building permit and we
have received the first round of uh
feedback um and uh right now we're uh
expecting to receive the feedback from
the planning and public work department
by the end of this week. Um yeah.
>> And is it still in escrow or is it for
» And is it still in escrow or is it for
the purchase all?
>> Uh we're still in escrow. We have
» Uh we're still in escrow. We have
removed all the um physical
contingencies. We're just simply waiting
for the result of the city making sure
this can be a childcare facility to
remove all the contingencies.
>> Okay. Um
» Okay. Um
and then does that
in regards to permit timeline then? So
there's a permit timeline from the city
to make sure it meets all the
contingencies and is there any licensing
that's the next stage or has that
already been approved? Yes, licensing
has to be um we have to wait until you
know the the building and the facility
is ready to proceed to the licensing
process.
But sorry, but but just adding to that
regarding the timeline, we're looking to
um start the construction po we're being
positive here. We are expecting to start
the construction um in around June time.
Um and the con construction itself might
take about six months. Um and uh the
licensing process will after uh start
after that.
» Okay. Thank you very much.
>> Thank you,
» Council Member McDow.
>> Thank you, Vice Mayor. I just wanted to
» Thank you, Vice Mayor. I just wanted to
follow up on the comments. Thank you for
that. um with regard to release of funds
then how would that work in this in this
very kind of unique situation that we
have?
Uh so uh for this situation I think
there could be a way that in the
agreement we could state that you know
uh pending approval of a childare
license for the facility could have the
funding come through or you I think we
could be open to the way that um you
would receive the the reimbursement. Um
and you know whatever uh council would
be most comfortable with uh if there
were any specific triggers or if just at
this point you know we uh would offer
the full amount you know uh knowing that
the purchase has gone through you know
that I'm sorry I'm kind of talking
myself into that one that receiving the
the confirmation that the sale has
completed that that may be our um
trigger to release the funds.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Okay. I don't see other comments from my
» Okay. I don't see other comments from my
colleagues. I had one question though.
Um so we have in the past had a $100,000
limit per um applicant and I mean I look
at this as the same applicant asking for
$135,000.
Tell me how you can you go through that
process because it's both by Shoe
Academy and we had issues at the last
one where someone had wanted more money.
We said no we're capped at $100,000.
>> Absolutely. Um, so for this one, there
» Absolutely. Um, so for this one, there
is a grayer. There's no specific wording
within the notice of funding
availability that says we someone cannot
apply for multiple locations. However,
in this case, it's the same owner, but
there's going to be separate employee
identification numbers, going to be
separate tax documents between the two.
Um, so there was that separation that
it's, you know, separate businesses just
by the same person. And then in addition
to that, we looked at the fact that, you
know, this really is going to be um
creating so many new spaces,
particularly the new facility up here on
St. Carlos Avenue that's making a strong
impact for the community. It would be
adding um childcare spaces for younger
children down to 18 months, which is
something that's um very needed. And
then also um the funds do expire after 5
years per the mitigation fee act. If we
haven't used them for the uh intended
purpose, they could roll back. So, I
think we were um you know, just really
open to being as flexible as possible
with the goal of getting that money back
to make spaces now um and be as
proactive as we can. Okay. I guess I'm
just concerned because we were not
flexible last time and it caused issues
for us um at least feedback from, you
know, from a couple child at least one
childare provider who um was trying to
do a larger project. And so I I guess I
I kind of feel like we we're sort of
changing the rules on that and I'm
personally not really comfortable with
that to say we're going to now just say
oh well now it's because I mean we could
have you could in some case have one act
one company maybe they have different
EIN but they're essentially the same
company getting all $250,000.
And so I'm just concerned about the
precedent we're potentially uh setting
here by getting beyond the $100,000
without sort of you know I think a a
council decision around that that we'd
want to I mean I know we're making a
decision here on this but I from a
policy standpoint I'm not comfortable
with that. I know Andrea I don't know if
you wanted to add something on that.
>> Thank you. Good evening. Uh Andrea
» Thank you. Good evening. Uh Andrea
Martisich assistant community
development director. Um just to to
respond to that Mayor Rack and you
you've mentioned this too. Sorry Vice
Mayor Rack it's the chair. Um, I think
the the difference between the first
application, I recall the one you're
talking about in the last the last cycle
and this one is the separate physical
locations. So, I think that that would
be our response to how that's different
than the first application where their
project they were asking for more than
the maximum.
I guess I have a hard time just drawing
that distinction because it's almost
like saying if I happen to have three
childcare facilities, I can get $300,000
or I can get because I'm happen to be a
larger organization. And I just worry
that we're prohibiting some smaller
organizations from be able to have that.
And um I I think the purpose is to kind
of, you know, have be able to give out
to multiple childcare providers. And I I
feel like we're we're not doing that in
this case. Um I understand where the
applications were. I'm just concerned
that of the precedent we're setting with
this. I just I I mean I'm not really
comfortable with with doing that at this
point with that.
>> Understood. Thank you.
» Understood. Thank you.
>> Thank you though. Uh Council Member
» Thank you though. Uh Council Member
Dugan.
>> Yeah. Thank you, uh, Vice Mayor. Um,
» Yeah. Thank you, uh, Vice Mayor. Um,
yeah, I appreciate your concern. I guess
I do understand. So, are we being asked
now to make that distinction that the
100,000 will apply per facility? Is that
what we're are we being asked that? I
mean, is that
>> uh it just in terms of precedent
» uh it just in terms of precedent
setting, something that we could add
later to the notice of funding
availability in either direction whether
or not it's allowed or not allowed. Um
but again, it was a gray area that
wasn't specifically called out in the
notice of funding availability. Um
>> Got it. Yeah, I I you know, I could go
» Got it. Yeah, I I you know, I could go
either way on that. And I do think I
Andrea I think you mentioned there was
um you know we have to get these funds
moving or there you know where are we at
in this program? Are are we up against
uh uh needing to allocate some of these
funds or you know were there a lot of
applicants that you know we've turned
away like where are we at in this and
how generous
where's our leaning and recommendation
from staff on on this sort of matter?
Sure. So, uh, my understanding is we
have about 640,000
collected at the moment in fund 26, the
childcare impact fee fund. Um, we had
500,000 that we issued last year for
those first five applicants. So, that
was a significant number. I don't know
the exact timing for when that 640,000
came in, but I would imagine we still
have several years before we would be
near our our um our 5year limit on
those. And with the 250,000 budgeted
this year and then 250,000
for this next fiscal year, I think we
could move through that um you know at a
at a good pace. Um we were happy that we
received the five applications. Again,
it was the five uh submitted you know
heard back from people that there was
interest but just obviously there the
applicants need to be open to having a
specific project. And so this year this
was the the set that we received could
change in the future but again we do
have a relatively small number of
existing providers. So there's not as a
large universe of people that could be
coming in year after year. And I I think
again that was another consideration and
being more flexible is that as we've now
assisted five with initial projects. I
think we have know specifically have
about 12 or 13 providers in the city. So
that we're already kind of reaching the
halfway point of known providers that
have been assisted through the program.
Okay. And and and the 100,000 right now
it's it it's one time or are we saying
after four years or something they can
reapply or
>> I was going to add I think it's after
» I was going to add I think it's after
one year that they could reapply. So
after so the five that you've already
awarded in the last cycle could
theoretically apply again in the at the
end of this year for another 100,000
based on how the program currently is is
designed
>> for project.
» for project.
>> For a different project. Correct.
» For a different project. Correct.
>> Yeah.
» Yeah.
>> Yeah. Um and just sorry to go back um
» Yeah. Um and just sorry to go back um
one second to to answer your question
about applications. Um for the first
round we received five applications and
and as you're aware you granted funds to
all five. Um this round um even though
we're not recommending approval for one
because they're not meeting the
operational standards. I'm sorry the
capital improvement standards. Um we
haven't had any instance where we've had
to say oh this is too many. We can't
move forward. Um so were for example the
afterchool application and the one that
withdrew if they had met our
requirements and had a location um we
would probably be coming forward with um
the recommendation or the question of
whether to allocate more funds that we
already have to be able to grant those
five.
>> Okay. Okay, that helps. Thank you. Um
» Okay. Okay, that helps. Thank you. Um
yeah, I I I appreciate the concern,
Adam. I really could go either way. I
think I would be most interested in
where the subcommittee came out on this
because I think it really is a matter of
wrestling with these applications and
determining, you know, from, you know,
living and breathing with them what's
appropriate. So, I think I'd defer to
the subcommittee.
>> Okay. Thank you, Council Member Dugan.
» Okay. Thank you, Council Member Dugan.
Who's on the subcommittee for that? Is
that But I think uh Sarah, you have your
you have your
>> Yeah, I had
» Yeah, I had
>> I had a follow-up question actually
» I had a follow-up question actually
before I council weigh in, but um two
questions actually. You mentioned
there's 640,000 in the fund right now.
So that's right now that's not So the
500k is already gone and that does that
include the 250k that we would be giving
out?
>> That does not. So that would bring us
» That does not. So that would bring us
down to about 400,000 after
>> after we dull this out. Okay. Okay.
» after we dull this out. Okay. Okay.
>> Okay.
» Okay.
>> Um and then my I appreciate you raising
» Um and then my I appreciate you raising
this concern, Adam. I for me personally,
I think the more slots we can build,
I I kind of see a difference between
asking for more money for the same slots
versus more money for, you know, two
different buildings, two different
facilities, two different, you know,
increases and slots for um the the
younger kids. Um, but if we do that, I'm
wondering how that impacts a potential
request from um the afterchool program
because then could they say, well, we
want 100k for a rental and 100K for
Britain acres and 100K for White Oaks.
So, I appreciate you bringing this up
because it does seem like something that
we need to clarify. Um, I do also think
that the afterchool program is a little
different because they're leasing space
from the school district and I'm not
really sure how all of that works. So, I
would need more clarity on um tenant
improvements to um facilities on the
school district property. I think that's
very different than the private sector
um who doesn't have the same benefits as
the the school district. Um so, um I I
don't really remember where Neil and I
came down or if we wrestled with this,
but for me personally, I I see a big
difference between two different
buildings. Um it is incredibly
um the childare industry is really
underwater right now because um it's
really hard to hire and retain staff. Um
it's super difficult. It's very
difficult to um build out facilities. Um
it's easier in San Carlos because we've
done such great work in take making the
permitting process easier and um lots of
different things, zoning. Um, but
when the state subtracted TK, the older
kids out of, you know, child care, it's
incredibly difficult to make
the books balance when you're just
charging for infants because there's a
smaller child um child and caregiver
ratio. Your expenses are so much higher.
Um, I honestly I I'm so grateful that
you are investing in San Carlos because
it is just a really really difficult um
business right now. So for me, the fact
that they went to build out a a second
facility um for me, I can see those
these two things as being very
different. Um, one is upgrades to an
existing facility, one is building
something brand new. All of it will add
new spaces. we can tie the money per kid
to each of the spaces versus someone
just coming in and saying, "I want
$300,000 for nine spots." For me, it's
those are two different um cases. So, um
that's where I stand, but I'll turn it
over to Neil.
>> No, I I think to summarize what um the
» No, I I think to summarize what um the
subcommittee meeting we had on this when
it got first presented to us, uh there
was two things. One of which we had sent
back uh more information on um the
academy and where it was at in its
process and permitting. um in those
regards. And then uh the question that
staff had asked Belmont after school was
how do these uh improvements lead to
just more spaces? Um which it didn't
sound like they hadn't answered for for
us in that regards of that just that
question um for it. I I think uh Sarah
and I both recognized that the issues
that we were discussing tonight are the
same issues that we spotted and issue
spotted of what could come about. And I
think it depends a little bit of on
where you fall on certain things. Uh I
mean I don't want to put words in
Sarah's mouth, but her this is something
she wants to make sure that she's
improving and constantly push. Uh I'll
put words in my own mouth of I'm far
more cautious and risk adverse uh in
certain situations especially as it kind
of around the boundaries of it. I uh
didn't have the privilege I don't know
if that's the word I want to use of not
being around under the last round where
there was some contention. So, I
couldn't answer that question, but Sarah
did mention this would be an issue that
the council would have to grapple with
um in its regards. I mean, our our
general consensus of where we came out
with it is um it kind of just depended
on each individual member of what they
wanted and we realized that as we're
kind of building this plane, as we're
flying it, that these are issues we have
to grapple with um during the time. So,
that's I don't know if that summarizes
anything, but that kind of tells you
where we landed on it. No, I think that
I mean it's helpful for me and I don't
know for John if that's what you were
hoping for from the subcommittee. I mean
>> yeah thank you. Um so I would support
» yeah thank you. Um so I would support
the subcommittee recommendation on that.
I I would with regard
>> they didn't have a recommendation.
» they didn't have a recommendation.
>> Well that's the thing.
» Well that's the thing.
>> I see. Um it sounded like you were
» I see. Um it sounded like you were
supportive of both uh funding requests.
So, if I didn't hear that, then I would
appreciate
>> I I mean, I'll tell you just my personal
» I I mean, I'll tell you just my personal
thought on it is um in re I I always
tell everyone I'm very riskadverse. So,
I appreciate the Katie being here in the
shoe academy going through the process
to get it. I would probably uh before I
would approve the $100,000 for it, I'd
like to see it get through the
permitting process and start the
construction. Um I think that fits more
into the category of what um the at
least the grant application said for
acquisition and starting and I
understand that that capital needs to be
there and I think it fits into our goals
at that point in time. Um my risk
adverse in me is always going to say I
want a little bit more accountability in
the process than instead of just getting
and hoping and seeing work down the
road. So that's where I fall um on those
regards and uh I think outside of that
we'd follow the rest of the
recommendations at this time with the
encouragement that they would continue
to work with you know whoever those
providers were Belmont after school to
try to get them to answer those the
question we asked for everybody is how
is it going to expand capacity and then
we can have a deeper conversation but
that's kind of stage one um from it. So
that was where I would fall uh in those
regards.
>> Yeah.
» Yeah.
>> All right. Uh thank you Neil. Um I um uh
» All right. Uh thank you Neil. Um I um uh
I mean I shared your concerns about the
100,000 um and I assume those would be
addressed programmatically like we're
not going to release those funds until
the building's closing or what have you.
>> Correct. We I think we can uh you know
» Correct. We I think we can uh you know
>> we'll modify the grant agreement to have
» we'll modify the grant agreement to have
a condition like that.
>> Got it. I'd be much more comfortable
» Got it. I'd be much more comfortable
with that too. But Neil, my question
really was do you also approve the
second grant to the same applicant in a
second location? And that that's really
what I'm I'm hoping to I I didn't know
if you guys wrestled with that aspect or
not.
>> So I I I guess my our discussions we had
» So I I I guess my our discussions we had
with it when we wrestled with it. Um
I think if I'm part of the committee, I
would probably fall more toward um
Council Member McDow's point of we're
starting to hit kind of a cap of where
we're at with these providers within San
Carlos. So, we're going to have to get
to a point where if we want this money
to get out the door or we need to think
more strategically about it as what we
want it to do with this money. Um, where
if someone is going to be I view it as
two separate locations, at least in my
mind, given kind of how they at least I
know how they operate and how they will
operate. Um, so I I felt that I was fine
giving it to two, but again that's with
the asterisk that I wasn't here to know
the background and arguments from the
last one. Um, but that's just my own
personal opinion.
Go
>> ahead.
» ahead.
Okay. Um, so I just want to jump in. So
I think I I appreciate the I guess I had
one just a hypothetical for the for for
the two of you too. So had the Grains of
Good Foundation for example, if that
grant had they had been ready and would
you make the same decision?
» I mean I I love a good hypothetical. you
have spread things out more cuz now
you're saying like if you had an extra
$64,000 that you were going to give out,
we would be over the cap. And then what
would you do?
>> I I mean I think we were all very I
» I I mean I think we were all very I
think again I don't want to put words in
Sarah's mouth of I I think we're very
contingent on we want to stay within
budget um for it at least maybe that's
not what
Okay, sorry. I I think for me
personally, I would stay within budget
and then I think you would have to have
a more detailed um
kind of analysis of each one of how you
wanted to give them out with the grains
of good if they didn't remove it. So,
you know, not to be a very lawyerly
answer to you, but I want to say it
would just depend on
>> Sounds very lawyerly.
» Sounds very lawyerly.
>> It is. Yeah. So, I guess I look at it in
» It is. Yeah. So, I guess I look at it in
terms of what's in front of me for this
term of the grant application. So, in
this term of the grant, we only got
four. And I would view it as I would
probably still just be more I don't
think it would change my analysis of how
I view the two separate organizations
within the Shoe Academy.
>> Um, thank you for the question. I would
» Um, thank you for the question. I would
have just asked for more money because
we have I think something that we've
talked about with like housing funds is
to get the money out the door. There's
no reason to sit on these funds if
there's projects that are in need. And
we've highlighted this as a priority.
And I think we also have to think about,
you know, once commercial development
starts on the east side, we're looking
at tens of thousands of new employees
who could potentially be bringing their
kids to our city and dropping them at
child care and going to work. So, if the
money is here, I think I think that we
should um get it out the door if there's
a need and there and and as I mentioned,
it's so difficult to even start a child
care and if people are brave enough and
incredible enough to want to invest in
our community and invest in our
children, I think childare is our most
precious community infrastructure and we
should do everything we can to support
it. And there's no reason for us to sit
on this money if there are qualified
applicants willing to build out
childcare slots.
So I agree with you that we should not
sit on the money. I I think my my view
is we should update our policy
before we give out all the money. We
should have a policy that it is we
should look at because we have these
funds, we should look at higher caps. we
should look at giving away more money
and doing it in a more policy
processbased system versus saying well
we're going to because this is where we
are right now we're going to sort of say
this is how we're going to do it for
this grant cycle and then the next cycle
we may have five people and and it's
going to be a different thing again and
so for me I would rather say plus I
think in this situation where they're
not going to break ground until June
potentially why can't we come back do
the policy give them $100,000 give
$100,000 to Bright Verizon
and then come back and and change the
policy and and build something out that
says it could be 200,000 or 250 per and
let's spend of the money when we have
it.
» I mean, if you would want to preference
on that would be
>> I feel like we put a lot of thought into
» I feel like we put a lot of thought into
the policy already. I think we wanted to
try and spread the money among many
providers,
>> 12 providers. So, according to
» 12 providers. So, according to
>> there's new ones coming every day. I
» there's new ones coming every day. I
mean,
>> I I don't know. I maybe that's something
» I I don't know. I maybe that's something
that we need to have a discussion about.
» Council member.
>> Uh thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor. Um so, uh
» Uh thank you, Mr. Vice Mayor. Um so, uh
thank you um Neil and Sarah. Um so, uh
I'm supportive of this on a perlocation
basis. I agree with Adam. If that is a
decision we want to make, we should make
it programmatically. And I think and I
appreciate your thoughtfulness. Um so I
think perlloccation does make sense. We
do want to get these funds working. We
want to get them out the door. Um so if
that needs to be if that can be handled
at subcommittee, great. If that needs to
come back to us, I would propose we are
formal about saying it's per location. I
think that's that's a supportable
position. I would not be supportive of
going above the 100,000 per year. Uh I I
view this program as high risk, frankly.
Uh I just it's a very loose program and
100,000's a lot of money to be kind of
floating out there per project. So I I
do not support going above the 100k by
the way. Um, and I would just on a
slightly different note, um, I also have
been hearing how difficult it is on on
child care providers with the TK uh,
competition basically, you know, putting
more costs on them in a way. Um, and so
I, you know, I I I will let the
subcommittee wrestle with this fully,
but um, I would just point out that, you
know, is that's needed child care in
town. So, I've generally been very
supportive of TK because we just need
more child care in town. Um, but I'm not
sure about us subsidizing
uh, after school programs given how
heavily subsidized those programs
already are. Um, specifically, I believe
that the bond last year was in part to
dedicate a lot of funds to preparing
those classrooms for these after school
programs. So, um, I'll let the
subcommittee wrestle with it, but um, I
I would have to think long and hard
about further subsidizing the TK
programs, you know, above and beyond the
bond and what the schools are already
doing there. So, um, just wanted to put
that out there.
Just to clarify, John, just so you're
aware, the TK program wasn't TK program
is basically a statemandated new class,
right? So instead of kindergarten, now
you're starting TK. So I can tell you
personally, I don't think any district
wanted to start the TK program. Um, but
you just had to at a certain point in
time. So what these are just to put it
in perspective when you think about this
in the future is this is essentially uh
rented spaces at the schools right so
you're talking about tenant improvements
things like that and how they may rent
they may rent space they could easily
say no to the schools and rent space
across the street find places at a
church you know and run the program out
of there for after school. So, it it has
the bonds would cover the physical
structures potentially that these are
housed in, but they wouldn't necessarily
cover the inside or tenant improvements,
which fit currently under our policy if
we're talking like policy terms. Just so
you're aware, um it doesn't it's not a
addition to the TK program. It's the
same after school that a fourth, fifth,
or even some sixth graders can go to.
So, just to so you're aware.
>> No, I appreciate that. I understand
» No, I appreciate that. I understand
these are the afterchool programs, but
I'd imagine it'd be similar facilities.
It's not like they're going to remodel,
you know, the back lot or something. So
anyway, I would really want us to take a
hard look at further subsidizing, you
know, what a $180 million bond is
probably already developing quite
nicely. So, um,
» Okay.
>> May I make a recommendation?
» May I make a recommendation?
>> You may.
» You may.
>> Excellent. Um, I think I think this
» Excellent. Um, I think I think this
conversation we're having is a
consequence of this council being
trailblazers on this topic. The fact
that you as a council have decided to
take this on to develop a program to
collect the fees and now figure out how
are we going to distribute it. And since
this is only the second time we're doing
it, um, I think questions are going to
continue to come up. if we had sat back
and tried to sort of plan for every
single hypothetical scenario that might
have come up um we might have never
gotten this off the ground. So I think
it's very healthy and normal that as we
approach and see new situations we have
to make some new decisions. I heard
about three different issues um that
were raised, but I think only one of
them really relates to tonight. And that
is do we feel it's appropriate to uh
fund over 100,000 when um we're looking
at the same provider but in two
different locations? And I think that is
the question for the council. And the
question is, would supporting that
advance our goal, your goal of creating
more child care spaces? And I think if
you did make that decision um tonight,
yes, we would agree to that or no, we
wouldn't, then that could set that
precedent and become a part of the
policy going forward. I don't think we
need to step away and then think about
that in a subcommittee meeting. And then
if that decision is made tonight, yes,
we will do two locations or no, we
won't, that becomes part of the policy
going forward. But then the other two
questions, um the issue of whether an
organization can come back a year later
and ask for another 100,000 or the
second issue of how do we want to treat
after school programs, those can be
considered at later subcommittee
meetings and um worked into a policy
going forward.
But I think the one main question
tonight is um should you consider um one
provider at two different locations when
it takes you over the 100,000 cap and
then we can consider that in our policy
going forward.
>> Thank you. Now I think that's a good
» Thank you. Now I think that's a good
summary of where we are on that. Um
>> madam u Mr. Acting mayor,
» madam u Mr. Acting mayor,
>> excuse me.
» excuse me.
I have a suggestion because there the
agenda is really awarding the grants
tonight. Um, so that's really the
decision you're you're making. But we
could have we could bring back the
notice of funding availability for you,
which is really your policy document.
That's what you put out there for the
public to look at when um or I mean the
providers to look at to determine
whether they want to apply. um that the
rule that might be your policy decision
whether two locations yes, two locations
no could be in your the next notice of
funding availability as a policy
document for you. So you could separate
that and tonight act on the on the uh
requests, but then we could bring um a
modification either through the
subcommittee or to the council of the
notice of funding availability, which is
the document that the applicants look at
to decide if they're going to apply or
not.
>> You can.
» You can.
>> Uh thank you, Greg. I I have a follow-up
» Uh thank you, Greg. I I have a follow-up
question to that. Um,
you spoke earlier about the trigger for
the $100,000. Is that something that we
should give guidance on this evening of
when that trigger happens or what is the
trigger or what are you thinking on the
trigger?
>> I think that's related to the decision
» I think that's related to the decision
you're making tonight. Um, when when to
release the funds. I think it could be
when construction's underway as was
suggested or or when the licensing from
the state to approve approving the the
spaces. Those are two choices you could
have. Um once the construction's
underway, probably very likely that
they'll get the licensing, but um that's
that's really a a question for you.
Maybe staff has something to add on
that.
» I was just clarifying with Andrew. I
thought I heard earlier that you
mentioned that the licensing doesn't
happen until the very end. So the
building needs to be completely built
out before you can get the license. Um,
so since that would be considerably
later, we'd probably recommend once
building construction's underway.
>> I think that's a that's a viable choice
» I think that's a that's a viable choice
given the how these centers are are
built out.
» Okay, I would support that.
» Okay. Um, I think if we're done with
questions, I'd like to take public
comment and then we can take uh any sort
of comments from the council and Nick
and move forward with a potential
motion. Crystal, is there any public
comment on this item?
>> I don't have any slips. Uh, I can't see
» I don't have any slips. Uh, I can't see
around. Andrew, is there is there anyone
in person interested in making a
comment? Doesn't look like it. Okay. Uh,
and there are no hands on Zoom.
>> Okay. Thank you. Um,
» Okay. Thank you. Um,
all right. Are there any uh com any
further comments on this or discussion?
Um I'll just say I I appreciate the
discussion on all this and um I I'm
struggling with supporting this not
because I don't think these are good
good projects. I'm just I feel like
we're sort of making a lot of policy
just on this on on terms of multiple
locations, when we're going to award
grants, how we're going to do this. I
feel like this is the purpose of this is
decide whether to uh release funds or
not, not to develop policy as part of
this process. So, um I'm going to uh not
support this. I I certainly support the
efforts that people are doing and I'm
not I don't feel a concern that this is
not going to move forward. Um but I just
think we're we're making policy here on
stuff when we should be doing that at a
separate item that's agenda is to do
policy around what that process is and
the funding for that.
And if there's not other comments, then
I'll happy to call. Go ahead, sir. Vice
Mayor, excuse me, Council Member Mel.
>> Thank you. Um, Mr. Vice Mayor, I I I
» Thank you. Um, Mr. Vice Mayor, I I I
really do appreciate your concerns and I
think you've brought a lot forward
tonight to think about. I also think
that, um, this is a very nuanced program
and we're learning a lot as we go and
we're learning as people apply. And I've
actually I've been delighted by how many
applicants we've had because I was
concerned that, you know, we'd hit a
point when we wouldn't see so many
applicants. Um I would love to see more
family child care providers apply as
well to diversify our um you know what
we provide in our city. So, I'm hoping
that in our next rounds um we can do a
little more I don't know outreach
through different family childcare
organizations just to let reach that um
that group of childare providers as
well. But um I think as I said I think
this industry needs a lot of support and
we happen to be in a very lucky place
based on staff's work for so many years
to get us sitting on this pot of money
and um I'm I'm delighted to um support I
mean this the number of slots that will
be created from this is is really
incredible and um through different um
facilities and um I think that's
something that we should be proud of.
So, um I will be supporting this and um
you know hope that we can continue to um
support future providers as well. So,
thank you.
>> Okay. And I just would ask I guess we
» Okay. And I just would ask I guess we
can do um I take a motion if there's a
motion and if not we can
>> I move to adopt resolution 2026-
» I move to adopt resolution 2026-
>> six a resolution of the city council of
» six a resolution of the city council of
the city of St. Carlos awarding the
recipients of the 2025 childcare grant
program and authorizing exe the
execution of agreements for receipt of
grant funds with Shu Academy preschool
$35,654
TBD/curious
beans by Shu Academy $100,000 and Bright
Horizons $100,000.
» Second
through the through the acting mayor.
Um, I just want to make sure the
condition you talked about before was
included in the motion.
>> Um, and conditioning the $100,000 for
» Um, and conditioning the $100,000 for
Curious Beans by Shoe Academy to be
distributed um during construction.
>> Second. Okay. I have a motion and
» Second. Okay. I have a motion and
second. Crystal, can you call the role,
please?
>> Council member Leighton,
» Council member Leighton,
>> I.
» I.
>> Council member McDall,
» Council member McDall,
>> yes. Vice Mayor Rack,
» yes. Vice Mayor Rack,
>> uh, no.
» uh, no.
>> Council member Dugan,
» Council member Dugan,
>> yes. and mayor is recused. Thank you.
» yes. and mayor is recused. Thank you.
>> Motion passes 3, two, one. All right.
» Motion passes 3, two, one. All right.
Thank you.
Call the mayor back.
Uh, madame mayor, members of of the
council, I will go ahead and recuse
myself for this nice next item as it
relates to me.
» Okay.
Okay, Madame Mayor and members of the
city council, um, tonight you're
considering adopting a resolution
approving the interim city manager
agreement, including a 5% base pay
increase during the time of the interim
assignment.
Uh, the council uh, on November 24th,
the council appointed Nell Blackburn as
interim city manager effective January
16th.
Um, this item is placed before the city
council to extend the term of the
temporary assignment pay contained in
the management salary and benefit
resolution to coincide with the full
term of the interim assignment.
Under section three of the management
salary and benefits resolution, the
temporary assignment only allows for an
increase of pay of 5% and it's limited
to the first 30 days. But the the
provision
doesn't really contemplate the situation
you're in now. contemplates the city
manager being able to um extend the 5%
pay but because the position involved as
a city manager um council has to decide
whether to increase this I mean to
extend this
and uh the extension is required because
the um recruitment schedule for the um
for the placement of a permanent city
manager is very likely to go beyond the
30 days provided in the resolution.
Um
so under under the um agreement that's
proposed with the continuation of the 5%
increase the interim city manager's
monthly salary would increase to
$28,85153
per month.
Um Miss Blackburn has accepted the
appointment effective January 16th as
well as the compensation arrangement
proposed. There are no other changes to
her current compensation package
and and the the resolution will not
otherwise affect her current employment
status with the city.
So that is the end of the presentation.
I'm available to answer any other
questions
of the council.
>> Thank you Greg. We'll now move to
» Thank you Greg. We'll now move to
council questions.
Vice Mayor Rack.
>> Thank you. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um,
» Thank you. Thank you, Madame Mayor. Um,
Greg, sorry. Can you just I I missed the
part you said. So, it allows 30 days
extension and then this obviously this
process for hiring process would go
longer than 30 days. Um, are we today
looking at extending that? Do we have to
come back every 30 days to if we wanted
to extend that? What's What are we
>> No. What what you're doing tonight is
» No. What what you're doing tonight is
extending uh the resolution says you're
extending the 5% um increase for
assignments um
beyond the 30 days to coincide with the
position of the interim assignment. So
when the inter assignment ends the 5%
will end.
>> Got it. Okay. Thank you for that. No
» Got it. Okay. Thank you for that. No
further questions madam m.
We'll now move on to public comment.
Crystal, do we have any public comments?
>> There are no hands from members of the
» There are no hands from members of the
public in person and there are no hands
on Zoom. Thank you.
>> I will entertain a motion.
» Um, Madame Mayor, I move to adopt
resolution 2026-7,
>> a resolution of the city council, the
» a resolution of the city council, the
city of St. Carlos approving the interim
city manager agreement including a 5%
base pay increase.
>> Second
take.
>> Council member Dugan.
» Council member Dugan.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Leighton.
» Council member Leighton.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Council member Mcdall.
» Council member Mcdall.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> Vice Mayor Rack.
» Vice Mayor Rack.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
>> And Mayor Benitesh.
» And Mayor Benitesh.
>> Yes.
» Yes.
Madame Mayor, I'm I'm just being a
stickler because the Brown Act says I'm
supposed to announce it after you've
made the decision even though I included
it in the staff report that the monthly
salary is increasing to $28,85153.
» Thank you, Greg.
» Um item 11. Are there any items for
agenda setting this evening?
questions around that. Madam Mayor, if I
can go ahead.
>> Um, and based on the child care
» Um, and based on the child care
discussion that we had, Greg, is it
appropriate? I know we sort of have a
process to notice it, but since it was
an agenda item today, is that something
I can request that we look at the NOA
and the policy at a to agendaize if the
council's amendable to it? I I think
since it came up tonight as an issue and
you didn't have time to ask in advance
really um that we you could certainly
ask the council if they want to bring it
back.
>> Okay. Well, then I would ask that
» Okay. Well, then I would ask that
question. Um does the mayor have to
recuse herself from this one again or is
she okay to sit here while I ask that
question?
>> Yeah, that's a good question. I I think
» Yeah, that's a good question. I I think
that um you're not making a decision
right now. So, you're only making a
decision to agendaize it. So, I think
that we're safe from her not having to
step down. Um, but she cannot
participate in the in the vote because
she's recent.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Can I ask a cl Sorry.
» Can I ask a cl Sorry.
>> Yeah, sure.
» Yeah, sure.
>> I I just had a clarifying question. Does
» I I just had a clarifying question. Does
staff usually bring back the NOA before
the next round? Is that part of their
process? So, we would
>> I thought I thought it comes back I
» I thought I thought it comes back I
thought I remember the NOA was part of
something that the council considered,
but I I can't remember off the top of my
head. Okay. came back this time, right?
I don't remember.
>> We did we did approve the NOA because we
» We did we did approve the NOA because we
took out the formula matching
requirement and then they went out and
published the NOA. You know, it was like
a step-by-step process.
>> And I can't remember if that was two
» And I can't remember if that was two
years ago when you started the program
and the NOA has wasn't changed since
then or if we came back.
>> It was changed because the first NOA had
» It was changed because the first NOA had
the formula matching and then the second
NOA for this round removed the formula
matching and made a couple of other
little tweaks and I feel like that came
to the council. So I'm I I think I
absolutely agree we should you know look
at the NOA. I'm I'm wondering if that's
pre-programmed and
>> already in due course. Yeah. Okay.
» already in due course. Yeah. Okay.
>> So can I ask this in two points? If it
» So can I ask this in two points? If it
is already um pre-programmed then I
would we don't need to agendaize it. If
it is not then I would ask that we get
support to get support to agendaize it
to look at it.
I I'll just chime in to say I think the
subcommittee can take a look at it and
and bring it back around. If if they
don't then I would support you agenda
agendaizing it formally, but I think we
can let the process work here.
>> So, but are you saying you'd like to let
» So, but are you saying you'd like to let
the subcommi you're requesting the
subcommittee look at it and then bring
it back if there's any recommendations
>> to the full council?
» to the full council?
>> That's right. I mean, we set a new
» That's right. I mean, we set a new
precedent tonight, so I would expect
that to come back around.
Sarah and I love meeting, so we're happy
to meet
>> more meetings. Thank you.
» more meetings. Thank you.
>> You're welcome.
» Oh, are there any We just said agenda. I
We're journed with that. We're ajourned.
Thank you everyone.