[0:00] All right. Good evening, everyone. If everyone can take their seats, we're going to go ahead and get started. Thank you for joining us for our regular city council meeting of August 14th, 2026. After a short break, we're back and happy to be back in action. We hold meetings in a hybrid format with both in person and virtual participation available. The city welcomes public comment on topics within the city's subject manager's section, and members of the public may provide comments as follows.

[0:30] In-person speakers will be called first, speaker cards are located at the back table in council chambers, and must be turned into the City Clerk here at the days.

[0:40] Please be sure to indicate the agenda item number you wish to speak on.

[0:44] Attendees who have joined us by Zoom will be called to speak after the in-person comments have been given.

[0:49] Detailed instructions for public comment will be provided on the screen when the time for public comment begins.

[0:56] And with that, I'll now turn it over to our City Clerk to call the roll.

[0:59] Good evening. Council Member Chiu. Here. Council Member G.

[1:04] Present. Council Member Howard. Here. Council Member Patia.

[1:08] Present. Council Member Sturkin. Here. Vice Mayor Aiken.

[1:11] Here. Mayor Martinez-Cabius. Here. Thank you. Thank you, everyone.

[1:15] And with that, we'll move into the Pledge of Allegiance.

[1:17] Council Member Sturkin, could you lead us?

[1:20] Please rise if you like for the Pledge of Allegiance.

[1:44] Thank you, Council Member Sturkin.

[1:45] and we have all members of the Council participating in person today, so we will move through item 4 and go into item 5 for our first recognition item this evening.

[1:58] We have the pleasure of swearing in newly appointed members of our City Board's commissions and committees or BCCs.

[2:06] On the screen, you'll see all of the names of our newly appointed or reappointed members of the Arts Commission, the Board of Building Review.

[2:15] to port, excuse me, board of port commissioners housing and human concerns committee, our library board, the Parks Recreation and Community Services Commission, the Planning Commission, Architectural Advisory Committee, who are appointed by the Planning Commission, the Historical Resources Advisory Committee, also appointed by the Planning Commission, and our Senior Affairs Commission.

[2:38] If you were new or returning BCC member, please make your way to the front of the dayis for the ceremony, and I'll now turn it over to our city clerk to administer the oath of office.

[2:50] Welcome, everyone.

[2:51] Thank you, Mayor.

[2:53] If you are here to be sworn in, please come to the center of the dayis, you can actually face the audience.

[3:10] So everyone's going to raise your right hand, and you're going to repeat after me, but as we start, I will ask you to state each of your names separately.

[3:16] the rest of the oath will be in unison, okay?

[3:19] I do

[3:33] solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States

[3:43] and the Constitution of the State of California against

[3:48] all enemies foreign and domestic,

[3:53] that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and

[4:03] the Constitution of the State of California that

[4:08] I take this obligation freely without any

[4:12] mental reservation or purpose of evasion and then I will well and faithfully discharge

[4:23] the duties upon which I am about to enter.

[4:29] Congratulations.

[4:40] One last quick thing if you have not already signed an oath of office certificate please

[4:45] see Julie in the lobby and she will give you a copy.

[4:49] Thank you.

[4:49] Thank you Mayor.

[4:53] Thank you Doris.

[4:54] and resworn commissioners who have joined us this evening.

[4:58] We really appreciate your time, your panel.

[5:00] Fashion and the energy you're giving in service to your communities, so thank you again everyone for being here. And with that, we will now move to item 5B. Our next recognition item this evening is rooted in the city council's top priorities of children and youth. International youth day is recognized annually on August 12th and serves as a global platform for awareness, dialogue, and youth led action. On behalf of the city council, I'm pleased to present the

[5:29] following proclamation of which I'll read a few of the

[5:32] warehouses, whereas international youth day observed on

[5:37] August 12th of every year and observed by many countries is

[5:41] recognized and endorsed by the United Nations as a day

[5:45] dedicated to raising awareness of the potential of young

[5:48] people as springers of peace, shapers of our future and

[5:52] agents of change. Whereas the 2026 theme places particular

[5:57] attention on young people living in least developed countries or LDCs, landlocked developing

[6:03] countries, LLDCs, and small island developing states or SIDS, who have often experienced

[6:11] overlapping challenges linked to poverty, climate change, geographic isolation, limited economic

[6:17] opportunities, and unequal access to digital technologies.

[6:21] At the same time, these young people continue to demonstrate resilience, leadership, and

[6:27] innovation in advancing sustainable development within their communities and beyond.

[6:32] And whereas the City Council is committed to amplifying endeavors that provide opportunities

[6:37] for young people to ensure that they embody their true potential as bringers of peace and

[6:42] positive change.

[6:43] and whereas Redwood City together employs active youth

[6:48] promontorous ages 14 to 18 dedicated to

[6:52] uplifting their community through weekly outreach,

[6:56] local non-profit tutoring, professional development,

[6:59] and internships, these young people gain the skills

[7:01] to become strong civic leaders.

[7:04] Now therefore be it resolved that I,

[7:06] Elmer Martinez-Abios, Mayor of Redwood City,

[7:08] on behalf of the City Council and the people of Redwood City,

[7:12] Do you hear by proclaim August 12th, 2026, as International Youth Day, and express

[7:17] its sincere appreciation to Rev. City Togethers, Robyn Thote's team for actively taking part

[7:23] in the endeavor to focus our younger generation to make meaningful, positive change for years

[7:29] to come.

[7:30] And with that, I'd like to welcome Rev. City Togethers, Executive Director, Rafael Londonio

[7:35] and the team to the podium for remarks.

[7:38] And welcome everyone.

[7:39] It's great to have you all here.

[7:42] Thank you Mayor,

[7:45] there it is.

[7:47] Good afternoon, city council, city manager, city management staff and all the wonderful

[7:52] Redwood City and North Fork's community here and also online.

[7:56] We want to thank you for honoring youth and Redwood City and North Fork's on this international

[8:00] youth day.

[8:01] That brings youth issues to the attention and also international community that we serve.

[8:06] And it set up plates of potential of young people in our community and also aspiration is

[8:12] here.

[8:12] and I can't wait for you to hear it.

[8:14] It's happening every single day in your community

[8:16] through your commitment to your city strategic plan.

[8:20] We wanna just thank you for that

[8:21] and reflecting on the city strategic plan,

[8:25] we're not just talking about it, we're actually doing it.

[8:27] And it's here today in person

[8:29] and as someone who's been in this community

[8:32] for about 15 plus years starting a youth center,

[8:36] to being able to say that we've created over 130 youth jobs

[8:39] in the past three years.

[8:40] Let's give a round of applause to the city. Come on

[8:44] That's remarkable and we are a now a state model for California around how to do violence prevention

[8:52] So again today youth from the state recognized program will be able to share a little bit about what this day means to them

[8:58] So I'm gonna pass the mic to them. So first is angel

[9:01] My

[9:06] fault

[9:07] Good afternoon city council and fellow community members. My name is Angel Lopez. I'm

[9:15] I just want to say thank you for honoring International Youth Day.

[9:19] It's a very important day to me because I'm able to work with

[9:22] Catholic community members here just giving out resources,

[9:25] giving to those and like low development, like low income households

[9:29] where they need like extra clothes or just need that extra resource and

[9:33] need that extra knowledge.

[9:34] So I do want to thank you guys here for being here and recognizing that.

[9:37] And that's really important to me.

[9:46] Okay.

[9:47] Good afternoon everyone, I want to start off by saying thank you city council and mayor

[9:53] and the Martinez for recognizing international youth day.

[9:58] My name is Anya Rodriguez.

[10:00] I'm a current Revocity Together Promotora, where I have gained a lot of experience throughout my summer and current job.

[10:07] Thanks to your support and recognizing the recognition of youth and giving us opportunities to learn, grow, and give back to the community.

[10:17] I was able to be a summer intern with Family Dias Unidas. In the organization, I got to help families.

[10:31] I learned what being a leader is like, from there I got the opportunity to connect with

[10:36] our city together where I continue to grow my experiences, and just really get to be

[10:44] a part of the community, which is something very important to all of us, and again thank

[10:50] you so much for recognizing International Youth Day.

[10:54] We really appreciate it a lot.

[10:59] Thank you so much in the spirit of youth development.

[11:02] So it stays within this day.

[11:04] We're going to do a strong clap.

[11:05] And we do this after all of our trainings.

[11:07] Whenever we train them once a month.

[11:09] And it goes like this.

[11:10] Three, two, one.

[11:12] It's a strong clap.

[11:14] In youth development, it's so important that we keep youth energy.

[11:16] No matter the age, right?

[11:18] So in three, two, one.

[11:21] Thank you.

[11:29] Thank you, Rafael.

[11:31] And thank you to the whole team.

[11:31] I think we just found the new way to end our City Council meetings.

[11:36] Well, we've got a city proclamation of let's take a photo with all team.

[11:40] Thank you.

[12:58] Thank you again to the Revved City together team.

[13:01] I know you all are heading out the door.

[13:03] Just wanted to remind you, we do have youth and children as a study topic later today.

[13:08] So feel free to tune back in.

[13:10] And we will keep moving on to item six, our public comments.

[13:15] So turning on to the public comment section of the agenda.

[13:18] We will now take public comment on the consent calendar, matters of council interest, and as

[13:24] well as items that are not listed on tonight's agenda.

[13:27] We welcome speakers providing public comment, but please be advised that this is a limited

[13:31] public forum, and as such, speakers must address matters within the subject matter jurisdiction

[13:36] of the city.

[13:37] If speakers do not, they'll be warned, and if they continue to disregard city rules, their

[13:42] opportunity to speak will be limited.

[13:44] If you're attending in-person, please fill out a speaker card and submit it to the City Clerk here at the days.

[13:51] And if you're attending virtually, feel free to raise your hand on Zoom at this time or press star 9 if you've joined by phone.

[13:59] Once we've gathered all the speaker cards and raised hands and have begun public comment, no additional speakers will be allowed to queue up to speak.

[14:06] And I'll now turn it over to our City Clerk to facilitate public comment.

[14:10] Thank you Mayor. We have four in-person speakers at the moment and we have six online so I'll give it a

[14:19] few more moments to either submit a speaker card or raise your hand on Zoom to be recognized for a

[14:24] public comment. As the mayor said once we begin public comment no additional speakers will be added to the

[14:30] list.

[14:36] So we'll start with our in-person speakers. If you're joining us for the first time we have a timer on

[14:41] On the top of the podium, the orange light with the chirp is your 32nd warning and the

[14:46] red light with the beat means your time is up.

[14:48] I'll call 2 at a time, starting with Emily and then Amber Garza Washburn and then we'll

[14:55] move to our Zoom speakers after our in-person speakers.

[14:57] Welcome Emily.

[15:00] Hi, my name is Emily. I work five days a week in Redwood City and every day I get off the exit ramp and pass a flat camera. I know that recently it has been discussed that we probably will not be reviewing the flat contract. But I'm here to request the city does not sign a new surveillance camera contract until the public has been given ample time to learn about these types of cameras and give comment on any potential new contracts from other companies. The public meetings and places for people to learn

[15:30] and give comments should occur on multiple days,

[15:33] different times of day, and in multiple languages.

[15:36] And there should also be the option for the city

[15:38] to choose not to sign a contract at all,

[15:41] which would be my personal recommendation.

[15:44] Two weeks ago, I went to the Police Advisory Committee meeting

[15:48] where the police presented their use

[15:49] of flock surveillance cameras.

[15:51] And I don't believe that the Redwood City Police will

[15:53] responsibly use any future surveillance systems.

[15:56] The presentation they gave showed a glaring lack

[15:59] of technical competence and an inability to self-audit and catch problems before they happen.

[16:06] During this PAC, they showed a few anecdotes of times they used flock to solve crimes,

[16:11] but very few of these stories proved that they could not have solved the crimes without

[16:16] the flock cameras, and a couple of them seemed pretty easy to do without that. All of the

[16:22] data they shared was cherry-picked. They do not, they admitted to not keeping track of any

[16:26] negative statistics. They do not keep track of false positive license plate reads, which

[16:31] has happened many times in other cities.

[16:35] They also made a meager show of reforms that

[16:38] implemented, but those reforms only came after heavy pressure from activists, and I don't

[16:42] think that they would do these on their own, or for any future contracts. Any new contract

[16:47] will require the public to continually monitor the police usage of its programs in their free

[16:52] time to hold them accountable. Yet, the Redwood City Police have already taken steps

[16:56] to make this difficult as they have said they removed the reason column from public records

[17:02] requests.

[17:04] Yep.

[17:05] Please don't renew any surveillance technology.

[17:08] Thank you.

[17:09] Our next speaker is Amber Garza Washburn.

[17:11] We'll be followed by Rush Rem.

[17:15] Hello, City Council members.

[17:17] Thank you.

[17:18] Good to see you again.

[17:20] My name is Amber Garza Washburn.

[17:22] I've been a resident of Redwood City for almost six years now.

[17:26] I am a former prosecutor for Riverside County and for the DOJ U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles,

[17:35] and I also worked as a civil rights attorney very briefly.

[17:41] So first though, I wanted to, so those are my qualifications, and I'm a resident,

[17:47] but first I wanted to thank you so much for everyone who is involved in the decision

[17:52] and not to auto-renew the contract with FLOC.

[17:56] That very well could have happened,

[17:58] and I think you and the rest of the city

[18:01] showed a lot of courage and care in doing that for us.

[18:09] So I'm here as a resident and as an attorney,

[18:14] and as a voice for not only my concerns,

[18:18] but for my community.

[18:20] And there are hundreds, if not thousands of us, and there would be more if people understood what was going on.

[18:28] I think there's a lot of, there's not enough information going on.

[18:33] And you know, that's a reason for the town halls that I'll get to in a minute.

[18:38] But I want to say that at the foundation of what I'm saying is a very non-existential,

[18:49] very real threat to peaceful resistance, first amendment protest, bodily autonomy and the safety of our immigrant neighbors, families, and loved ones.

[19:01] This danger is not abstract. At one point it may have been, but we've seen every single day with this federal government administration just how far they're willing to go.

[19:11] So I would ask the council to pause the RFP and give us a town hall.

[19:19] Thank you.

[19:20] Thank you.

[19:21] Our next speaker is Rush.

[19:23] Rem.

[19:24] Who will be followed by Bill Newell?

[19:29] Hello.

[19:30] Thank you for having me.

[19:31] It's my first Redwood City Council meeting.

[19:33] I'm a resident of Redwood City for the past 35 years.

[19:37] I want to call attention to the council to problems with the water supply

[19:41] In particular environmental and rate issues, this has to do as I understand it with the fact

[19:47] that Redwood City purchases your water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

[19:51] and I have been to some of their meetings and done some work with them and many people

[19:57] I don't believe that's the SAP UC.

[20:00] Over estimates how much water will be needed in the future. They have a design drought that many people find impossible to credit, something like 25,000 years as a possibility of the design to happen, but they made their predictions of water usage on that. And also, they over inflate the possible needs of water supply, even as the population goes, as you probably know, conservation is meant that water uses remain basically flat, but that is not reflected in the SAPUC's water program.

[20:29] The problem with this, of course, is that ultimately we pay for it, the rates rise in the city,

[20:35] and also, of course, are environmental damages that I don't need to tell you about,

[20:39] salmon flows, bay delta, algae buildup, and so forth.

[20:43] Why am I asking, I'm mentioning this to you, because the Redwood City buys us what an SFPUC,

[20:50] I think they have representatives on an organization called Bosca, and what we would like is local

[20:55] people to stand up for, people like residents of Redwood City who are worried about these issues,

[21:01] since SFPUC doesn't seem to listen to anybody, maybe they'll listen to people from below,

[21:05] which would be us. So, thank you very much. One, two, three. How do

[21:18] I follow that?

[21:24] Good evening, council members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.

[21:31] When Redwood City leaders, including yourselves, ends the Flock surveillance contract, you're taking action to keep our loved ones safe and I'm grateful.

[21:43] But in the last year we know 140 San Mateo County residents were taken from our community.

[21:49] Faith in action has reported that immigration agents increasingly surveil and detain our neighbors when they are driving or getting out of their vehicles.

[21:59] Federal agents will continue to exploit these local surveillance camera systems because

[22:04] they're rich with information collected by local police departments and subsidized

[22:08] by our communities.

[22:10] To further protect our community, we're asking that the city, the city manager, police

[22:14] department, please deactivate all FOX surveillance cameras now if we are in the true spirit

[22:21] of ending this contract.

[22:23] Chief Bill has acknowledged real concerns about the flock surveillance contract and the city informed flock that its contract would not auto renew.

[22:33] In May she asked the police advisory committee for feedback about the surveillance program, overwhelmingly they provided input about that moving forward.

[22:44] Unfortunately the city has continued to go forward with their RFP.

[22:54] When Redwood City authorized the ALPR, city leaders did not know how much surveillance camera

[23:00] systems put community members at risk.

[23:05] Public comments about ALPRs have been shoehorned into many meetings, but the city must give opportunities

[23:12] for meaningful community input, which is necessary when automated license plate readers put Redwood

[23:18] City communities in danger.

[23:20] The city must host at least two town halls that are accessible by language, hybrid format, and schedules of our community.

[23:28] And we ask you to hold those town hall meetings and pause the RFP process until the community has full understanding and full information about AOPR's.

[23:38] Thank you so much.

[23:39] Thank you.

[23:41] Thank you, Bill.

[23:42] We'll move now to our Zoom speakers.

[23:45] We'll call in the order that Hansa raised and when you unmute yourself, you can go ahead

[23:51] and begin your comments in the timer.

[23:52] We'll begin when you start speaking.

[23:54] So we'll start with Sylvia Tang and following Sylvia will be call in user one.

[24:06] Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers, City staff and community members.

[24:11] My name is Sylvia Tang.

[24:12] she her pronouns and I'm here on behalf of the San Mateo County Suicide Prevention Committee

[24:17] and San Mateo County Health. September is Suicide Prevention Month and this year's theme is the

[24:22] weight we carry, which reminds us that many people carry emotional pain, grief, stress, trauma

[24:28] and pressure to be strong. And too often we may not see someone who is carrying that weight but we

[24:35] don't have to carry that weight alone. And I'm especially making public comment today because I wanted

[24:41] to invite you all to an upcoming event, especially for our veterans active duty military personnel,

[24:49] active and retired first responders, their families, service providers and community members to join us for our

[25:00] The event called, when the mission follows you home, and it's a San Mateo County hosted free forum focused on mental health. The forum will be held Thursday, September 10th, from 9 a.m. till noon, at the Central Peninsula Church, at 1.005 Shell Boulevard in Foster City. And we welcome all Redwood City residents and our larger Bay Area community. We will have an honest conversation and share resources related to trauma, PTSD, moral

[25:29] oral injury, recovery, healthy coping, and finding support after service.

[25:35] Registration is encouraged and walk-ins are also welcome.

[25:38] And if you know anyone who is in emotional distress or thinking about suicide,

[25:43] they can call text or chat 988 for 24-7 support.

[25:48] Thank you so much.

[25:50] Thank you, Sylvia.

[25:52] Our next speaker is Colin, user 1, who will be followed by Jenny K.

[25:56] This

[26:03] is all I want to talk about the issue of public safety here in Reedwood City, specifically

[26:12] eye trainees and suicide prevention months and transgender people are not worthy of

[26:20] life.

[26:21] Anyway, Drew Steve 9-11 in sub baby penis, God bless America, God bless all Trump and God

[26:30] bless Israel.

[26:35] Thank you.

[26:35] Our next speaker is Ginny K, who will be followed by Sarah Matlin.

[26:44] Thank you. Good evening. My name is Ginny Krauss and I'm active with several community

[26:49] groups in Redwood City. Our immigrant community is extremely frightened, hesitating to leave

[26:55] their homes worried about going to work but having no other choice.

[26:59] Worried about their parents, kids, friends, all at risk to be picked up by ICE because as

[27:04] As we have seen, ICE has no boundaries.

[27:07] They have the green light from this administration to arrest, detain, and even kill anyone they

[27:13] choose, even American citizens.

[27:15] I urge this council to not renew the ALPR contract with FLOC, or any other vendor whose technology

[27:22] is causing such fear in our community.

[27:25] While minimal guardrails have been established by the Redwood City Chief of Police, and some

[27:33] reward analysis that must be considered.

[27:36] Is solving a few crimes worth risking all of our privacy and personal data that has been

[27:42] shown to be easily accessible by ICE?

[27:45] Do you want your and your neighbor's data exposed to ICE?

[27:48] The federal government trumps local law enforcement, and there is nothing you can do to effectively

[27:53] stop ICE from accessing this data.

[27:56] Flock in particular has been hacked.

[27:59] The technical vulnerabilities of which there are many have been exposed and are easily accessed by any hacker or one with some basic technical knowledge.

[28:08] Frankly, none of these license plate reader systems are safe.

[28:12] ICE can and has overwritten any guardrails put in place to prevent abuse of the data.

[28:18] So I urge you to review the risk of keeping license plate readers as compared to the rewards.

[28:27] The risks far outweigh the rewards with this technology, and as most technologies advance

[28:33] in their capabilities, we cannot predict the future risks.

[28:37] Restore a sense of safety to our community.

[28:40] Stop the surveillance.

[28:42] Do not renew any ALPR contract.

[28:45] Thank you.

[28:46] Thank you.

[28:47] Our next speaker is Sarah Matlin.

[28:49] We'll be followed by Liz Van Zile.

[28:55] Good evening.

[28:57] Thank you, City Council members, for your work every day.

[29:01] You are doing your very best to protect our community.

[29:05] And still in the last year, 140 of our San Mateo County neighbors were taken from our community.

[29:10] Many while driving are getting out of their cars.

[29:12] Protect our community members, the City Council should not rush into a new contract that would

[29:17] subsidize that abuse.

[29:18] Instead, the City Manager should hold off on awarding the ALPR contract to a new vendor

[29:22] and negotiating into contract until we can get accurate information and broad community input about surveillance cameras.

[29:28] The city should host study sessions with all city council members present to be held in multiple languages.

[29:34] The city could collaborate with local nonprofits and other experts to research and implement ALPR best practices to decrease serious risks involved with subsidizing a tool that ICE uses to track down our immigrant neighbors.

[29:46] A few of us are putting together a draft ordinance that City Council could pass to include a checklist of best practices

[29:51] to avoid some of the problems that have gotten to other cities in trouble or even super violations.

[29:56] And that would take into account the...

[30:00] Information the grand jury report about the problems that the grand jury found in the city's audit reports. Those audit reports didn't show that the city complied with the state laws and local surveillance camera policy. And the RFP and the chief's report don't address those problems. So please pause to the contract process, do a more accurate assessment of how the current ALPR system is complying or not complying with California law.

[30:29] our city's surveillance policy and our city's values. Gather community input

[30:34] about guardrails to protect our community member safety and privacy and then

[30:38] after the city has revised its requirements consider putting out a new RFP

[30:43] thank you. Thank you Sarah. Our next speaker is Liz Van Zile who will be

[30:49] followed by Laura Aiden.

[30:59] Liz you can go ahead and unmute yourself and begin your

[31:01] comments.

[31:05] Thank you council. Good evening city council my name is Liz

[31:09] and Zile, and a lot of my errands and movement brings me through your beautiful city.

[31:15] I work as an emergency department pharmacist in the South Bay, and a lot of my errands

[31:20] and movement brings me through there, including my meditation center, my local sangha, in

[31:26] Redwood City.

[31:28] For my work as healthcare professional, I've come to appreciate the way that individuals'

[31:32] privacy should be guarded and respected.

[31:34] Our privacy is tightly linked to our ability to authentically and freely move about the world

[31:38] and express ourselves and feel safe doing so.

[31:42] I'm reaching out to you because of the Pacifica Flock contract,

[31:45] the Redwood City Flock contract that will renew yearly,

[31:49] if the Council does not vote to cancel it.

[31:53] This is really important to me,

[31:55] and I humbly ask you to cancel your current RFP process,

[32:02] get community input.

[32:04] But this type of data is making us all vulnerable to potential stalking by law enforcement,

[32:18] pursuing of protesters that are coming home from expressing their opinions at rallies.

[32:27] This is incredibly personal to so many of our community members that feel vulnerable right

[32:33] now including naturalized citizens or people from countries that are not considered up to Trump's

[32:42] standards. So this is really important to me as an immigrant and I urge you to please, please,

[32:50] please consider the most vulnerable among us when you make these kinds of decisions that impact us

[32:56] all. Thank you.

[32:59] Thank you. Our final speaker is Laura Aiden.

[33:15] We cannot hear you. You can

[33:17] and begin your comments.

[33:27] We can hear you now.

[33:29] Oh, thank you.

[33:31] I'm just calling about the redwood life

[33:34] that the city council is considering.

[33:36] Actually, Laura, I'm so sorry to interrupt.

[33:39] That is item 8A on city clerk Castro.

[33:44] We actually don't have redwood life today.

[33:46] I am so sorry I mix it up with our redwood shores.

[33:49] Levy item, I am so sorry.

[33:51] Laura, please proceed.

[33:52] We're gonna restart the timer.

[33:53] I apologize.

[33:54] No, no problem. It's fine. Yeah, I'm just talking about Redwood life because they're, you know, they're building on a toxic waste dump that already has been disruptive and they have to manage that.

[34:07] And I think that's really unwise for them to redistribute that waste cap cap for and they're saying over 20 years and all these bio labs are just they're not doing well right now.

[34:19] So I hope that they really consider looking it out everything and not just going forward because there's some money attached to it.

[34:29] So that's all I have to say. Thank you very much.

[34:34] Thank you, Laura.

[34:35] Thank you.

[34:39] And if you weren't able to give public comment this evening we welcome you to email the council at council at redwoodcity.org.

[34:46] That concludes public comment mayor. Thank you.

[34:48] Thank

[34:52] you to our city clerk and everybody who made public comment this evening we will keep the show going

[35:00] Item 7, items on the consent calendar are routine and nature are approved by one motion. Are there any items on consent from which councilmembers are recused? Councilmember Chu? I will be recusing myself from item 7b, as I live one block from the bathroom in question. Great. Thank you. And councilmemorgy, I will be recusing myself from item 7e. One of the consultants on the item CTS is a consultant to me.

[35:28] My business on one of my state agency contracts.

[35:33] Okay, thank you both.

[35:35] And do we have a motion for all items on consent aside from item 7b and 7e?

[35:42] Mr. Mayor, before we go there, I'd like to pull item 7a to add a friendly amendment.

[35:52] And Councilor Mr. Clerk, I wanted to just pull 7i as an igloo for a quick question.

[36:03] And then I'm sorry, the majority say 7J is being pulled or it is being pulled on

[36:08] Saturday.

[36:09] No, that was 7A, 7B and 7E.

[36:13] Okay, let's interact here.

[36:14] May I also dispole for a comment, 7J, as in Jake, please.

[36:20] Thank you.

[36:21] Perfect.

[36:24] So for those keeping track at home, we have Council Member 2 recues from item 7B,

[36:32] Council

[36:34] item 7a, 7i and 7j. So let's start with City Attorney just making sure we're going to start

[36:45] with our pooled items before we do any voting. Mary, if you'd like to go ahead and take a vote

[36:52] on all consent items except those four, five. Perfect. Okay, sounds good. Is there a motion for all

[37:01] All of the items on consent, aside from items 7A, B, E, I, and J.

[37:07] So moved.

[37:09] Thank you, Council Member Howard, and is there a second?

[37:11] Second?

[37:12] Okay.

[37:13] Okay.

[37:13] Perfect.

[37:14] That was a second from Council Member Chu, and could we get an electronic vote, please?

[37:20] Thank you, and we'll take a roll call, but that's okay, Mayor.

[37:23] We'll start with Council Member Chu.

[37:24] Yes.

[37:25] Council Member Ji.

[37:26] Yes.

[37:27] Council Member Howard.

[37:28] Yes.

[37:29] Council Member Petia.

[37:29] Yes, Council Member Sturkin.

[37:32] Yes.

[37:32] Vice Mayor Aiken.

[37:33] Yes.

[37:34] Mayor Martinez of IOS.

[37:35] Yes.

[37:36] Motion passes unanimously.

[37:38] Thank you, Wall.

[37:39] And so with that, we'll begin with our pulled items, beginning with item 7a, and so we'll

[37:45] go to Council Member G.

[37:47] Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[37:49] My proposed addition to the motion, given that the bill has not been fully printed yet, and

[37:58] that amendments could still happen is that the motion be amended to also delegate to the

[38:03] governance committee and he changes pending final printing of the bill.

[38:12] And the reason for that is time is of the essence.

[38:15] This is going to be approved hopefully or possibly August 31st, the bill will go to the governor

[38:22] and the governor then has three days of sign and we will not have time to come back to council

[38:27] for any changed position if the final amendments

[38:30] has, we've been chaired, don't materialize.

[38:38] Councillor Neill.

[38:39] Mayor, I think that's a wonderful idea

[38:41] because I do realize the urgency.

[38:43] I was hoping that we could just, whether Council member G

[38:47] or staff member, just very briefly tell the audience

[38:50] what this bill is about.

[38:52] Thank you, Council member Howard.

[38:54] I see Michelle going up to the mic.

[38:56] Good

[39:00] evening, Council.

[39:02] Michele Poche-Flority Assistant City Manager.

[39:05] This is a bill that is rather complex in a few different ways.

[39:12] It is intended to provide protections to voting rights.

[39:22] Redwood City is one of the cities that switched from citywide elections to district elections.

[39:30] and there were some technical questions in the original version of the bill that related to when that was adopted and whether or not if you did it by a certain date or not you would have safe harbor or if it was a different date and so we were advocating for a handful of amendments that would have cleaned some of those technicalities up.

[39:56] are letters to the legislators.

[40:00] Clearly stated that we supported the spirit of the bill and the intention of the bill, but there were technicalities in the bill that would have presented significant financial impacts on the city unless they were corrected. Since that time, the author and co-sponsors have been very ready to listen to those arguments and have made all of the changes that we requested in our letter.

[40:29] And as a result of that, staff has recommended that we switch to a neutral position and our firm in Sacramento advises the same.

[40:43] Thank you very, very much. I appreciate that.

[40:45] I just, it is very complex, but I was very pleased to see that all of the suggestions that you made were accepted whether that author is maybe should be more involved in writing more legislation, because he listens.

[40:59] we were very grateful. Thank you. And I'll second the motion of Council member G, if you're looking for a second.

[41:08] Sure. I'll make the motion as amended. Thank you, Council Member Howard.

[41:14] Thank you both. We appreciate that and getting some more information out to our community with that.

[41:20] Let's get a vote on that was item 7a.

[41:25] We'll start with Council Member G.

[41:27] Yes.

[41:28] Council Member Howard.

[41:29] Yes.

[41:29] Council Member Patia.

[41:31] Yes.

[41:32] Council Member Sturken.

[41:33] Yes.

[41:34] Council Member Chu.

[41:35] Yes.

[41:35] Vice Mayor Aiken.

[41:36] Yes.

[41:37] Mayor Martinez Tobias.

[41:38] Yes.

[41:39] Motion passes unanimously.

[41:41] Wonderful.

[41:42] Thank you, everyone.

[41:43] And we will go to Council Member Sturken for item 7i.

[41:49] Thank you, Mayor.

[41:50] Mayor, I'm wondering if Council Member Sturken would like

[41:55] to handle both I and J at the same time, or if councilmember Sturkin has different questions

[42:03] for them?

[42:12] Oh yes, I'm sorry.

[42:13] I thought it was the two sentences.

[42:15] Okay.

[42:15] Thank you.

[42:16] Please.

[42:18] It's a real quick question for staff, I'm not sure if Tinesha is here, but about the stop

[42:25] signs and the selection of the stop signs, one was, I got a question from constituent

[42:31] about intersection of Argoio and B Street that isn't slotted for a stop sign, but I'm

[42:37] sure there's a reasonable reason why in that neighborhood since almost every other intersection

[42:42] is a lot different in a stop sign.

[42:45] Thank you for the question, Tanisha Werner, Director of Engineering and Transportation.

[42:50] We did look at 14 intersections along the whole stretch and we can't do stop signs at every

[42:56] every single intersection just for circulation and flow of traffic purposes.

[43:02] So that's one of the reasons why that location wasn't selected.

[43:06] Thank you very much.

[43:08] And if I get to say one last thing, I just want to share appreciation, I know a lot of

[43:14] my constituents and my neighbors appreciate a stop sign being installed at Sandish and

[43:20] Warren, where there's been several accents over the past few years and that was something

[43:24] I heard four years ago when I ran that people wanted and I just want to thank you and your team for

[43:30] Making a centennial safer for everyone, so thank you. Thank you.

[43:37] Thank you councilmember Sturken

[43:39] That was item seven. I do we have a motion? So moved. Thank you. Do we have a second second?

[43:46] Great. That was a motion from councilmember Sturken a second from councilmember Howard. Could we get an electronic vote please?

[43:52] Council member Howard. Yes.

[43:57] Council member Sturkin. Yes. Council member Chiu. Yes.

[44:00] Council member G. Yes. Vice Mayor Aiken. Yes. Mayor Martinez of my motion passes unanimously. Thank you.

[44:06] Wonderful. Thank you everyone. And we'll go back to Council member Sturkin for item 7J.

[44:12] Sorry to take up more time. So with this item, I just wanted to firstly just thank staff for

[44:19] listening to Council's interest in a billboard courtyard.

[44:25] That was something I know I raised when, under our previous city manager, and the concept

[44:31] of us being able to, in another way, as we've discussed at this day, is recoup our costs.

[44:38] How do we put it?

[44:38] Our goal is to, how do we put it?

[44:42] It's a couple of costs of services.

[44:44] Somebody help me here.

[44:46] Yes, cost recovery. Thank you so much. Okay, mayors on it. So this is just another way that we could possibly do that. So I appreciate staff for looking into design for that. That's all. Thank you.

[45:02] Thank you, Councilmember Sturken. And that was item 7j.

[45:07] I just want to make clear that that's not all that's in item number 7j. It has many other aspects, and I guess I'll just say I'm not particularly interested in studying billboards, but that's for another day. This would just be among many other things to study the possibility of a billboard on the corporation yardland.

[45:29] I

[45:34] second the motion to approve, 7J.

[45:38] Great, so I would say.

[45:41] I'm sorry.

[45:43] That was a motion from Council Member Sirkin, a second from Vice Mayor Eakin, and could

[45:50] we get an electronic vote please.

[45:52] Council Member Padilla.

[45:54] Yes.

[45:55] Council Member Sturkin.

[45:56] Yes.

[45:57] Council Member Chiu.

[45:58] Yes.

[45:58] Council Member G.

[45:59] Yes.

[46:00] Council Member Howard.

[46:01] Yes.

[46:01] Vice Mayor Aiken.

[46:02] Yes.

[46:03] Mayor Martinez Abios.

[46:04] Yes.

[46:04] Motion passes unanimously.

[46:06] All right.

[46:06] Thank you.

[46:07] And before I move on from consent, we do have the recusal items to vote on, so we'll first

[46:12] take up seven B, which I believe Council Member Chuse refused from, is our motion.

[46:17] Motion to approve item seven B, as in Bob.

[46:21] Great.

[46:21] Thank you.

[46:22] Council members, they're second.

[46:23] Second.

[46:25] Perfect.

[46:25] Thank you, Council Member.

[46:26] That was a motion from a Council Member G and a second from Council Member Howard for

[46:30] item 7b, could we get an electronic vote please?

[46:33] We'll start with Council Member Sturkin.

[46:34] Yes.

[46:35] Council Member G.

[46:39] I'm sorry.

[46:40] Council Member G.

[46:40] Yes.

[46:41] Yes.

[46:42] Thank you.

[46:43] Council Member Howard.

[46:45] Yes.

[46:46] Council Member Padilla.

[46:47] Yes.

[46:48] Vice Mayor Aiken.

[46:49] Yes.

[46:50] Mayor Martinez-Vias.

[46:51] Yes.

[46:52] Motion passes with six votes.

[46:53] Council Member Chiu is recused.

[46:55] Thank you.

[46:56] Wonderful.

[46:57] Thank you, everybody.

[46:58] And we have up next item 7e which Council Member G is recused from.

[47:02] Is there a motion?

[47:05] So moved.

[47:06] Second.

[47:07] Council Member Howard and seconded by Council Member Sturkin.

[47:12] Can we get an electronic vote, please?

[47:14] Council Member Howard.

[47:16] Yes.

[47:18] Council Member Pitilla.

[47:20] Yes.

[47:21] Council Member Sturkin.

[47:22] Yes.

[47:23] Council Member Chiu.

[47:25] Yes.

[47:26] Vice Mayor Aiken.

[47:27] Yes.

[47:28] Mayor Martinez-Vius.

[47:29] Yes.

[47:29] Yes. Motion passes with six votes. Councilmember G is recuse. Thank you.

[47:35] Amazing. Thank you, everybody. That was our consent calendar for the evening. So we will

[47:40] move on to item 8, our staff reports. And our city manager, Patrick Heisinger, will provide

[47:46] a brief introduction before turning the presentation over to engineering and transportation director

[47:52] Tunisio.

[47:53] Great. Thank you, Mayor. Just two things quickly. One, I just want to express a lot of gratitude

[47:58] to staff. This has been a big lift and it's going to continue to be a big lift. When you're at

[48:04] 60 percent design, you saw a heck of a lot of way to go. But you're here in this presentation,

[48:10] a lot of different methods of outreach, whether in-person, on-site, hybrid, walking tours,

[48:15] whatnot, and there's a lot more to come. So even starting in September is another office hours.

[48:20] So just wanted to let everybody know, please get engaged. Staff is ready to hear from you.

[48:24] So in addition to that, I did want to acknowledge that this kind of has been branded as the Redwood

[48:29] Shores Sea level project.

[48:32] But you'll hear in this presentation how it fits in with a larger plan in conjunction

[48:37] with other cities, with one shoreline.

[48:40] So we at the staff level are really starting to look at this as a city wide project.

[48:44] It doesn't just protect Redwood Shores, this project over time will help to protect billions

[48:49] of dollars and assessed value of real estate and safety, you know, in and around the city.

[48:54] So maybe we could work on our branding and get some more folks to those outreach meetings

[48:58] because it's definitely well-tended, but just want to throw that out for the rest of the group.

[49:02] This is something that we're going to be looking at to connect the southern part of the city

[49:05] with the northern part of the city. So with that, I'll turn it over to Tunisia. Thank you.

[49:10] Thank you, Patrick. Good evening. Mayor, City Council members, staff and members of the community.

[49:15] My name is Tanisha Werner, I'm the Director of Engineering and Transportation and tonight

[49:21] I'll be giving you an update on our 60% design for the Redwood Shores sea level rise protection

[49:27] project.

[49:31] So tonight's presentation I will do an overview of the project and look at the regional

[49:36] context in which this project sets.

[49:39] We'll go over a really high level schedule overview, discuss some of our current public outreach

[49:46] and engagement opportunities, some of the public amenities and improvements that are

[49:51] associated with the project.

[49:53] And then we will be going over two different design alternatives that we are asking for some

[50:00] The policy direction from the council in order to identify how wide we should make the levity. And there will be multiple opportunities to further refine the direction further refine the design. Today's decision does not lock us into one thing over another. And then at the end we will have time for questions and answers.

[50:24] As you're listening to the presentation, please just keep in mind these two questions.

[50:28] Does the City Council support advancing alternative two which staff is calling the optimized design as the preferred alternative?

[50:37] And the second question is, are there any additional considerations the City Council would like staff to evaluate as the project advances?

[50:46] There are many opportunities for us to incorporate different features if there's something that council likes in one alternative or so the other.

[50:55] and so just having that direction is really helpful once we're at the 60% design level.

[51:03] Our project is at a regional level.

[51:06] See level rise doesn't just impact one jurisdiction when our waters are rising

[51:11] or when we have extreme rain events. Water is going to go to the point of lowest

[51:17] elevation and also the point that has the smallest amount of restrictions. It's

[51:22] going to go where it wants to go. It doesn't care if we're called Redwood City

[51:27] if we're called Belmont St. Carlos, it really doesn't care about that.

[51:31] And so, C-level rise is something that our county, San Mateo County has been looking

[51:36] at at a county-wide level.

[51:38] In March of 2018, there was a county-wide C-level rise vulnerability assessment that went out.

[51:46] This assessment basically said that there are significant areas of impacts to our shoreline

[51:53] and our infrastructure that are vulnerable to sea level rise. Out of that study was born one

[52:01] shoreline and they are the county's district to adjust sea level rise resiliency and flooding

[52:07] at the county wide level. They're born in January 2020 and then as we move forward redwood city has

[52:16] been looking not only at this regional effort but also a little bit closer to home in redwood city

[52:23] in July of 2024, we put out our sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation study.

[52:32] And this looked at different assets within the entire city to assess where we vulnerable

[52:38] and what are some potential elements that we can do to improve those vulnerabilities.

[52:43] And then looking into the future, we have a really strong, wonderful partnership with One Shoreline

[52:49] and they are really learning together with five of our neighbors, Belmonts and Carlos,

[52:56] Redwood City and Menlo Park East Palo Alto to do what they're calling a Southern

[53:01] Bayside Resiliency Plan. That is future-looking, 2027, but it is an effort that Redwood City

[53:09] will be part of the collaborative efforts.

[53:14] This is a map showing the San Francisco Bay area

[53:18] or Bay region that has shoreline and as you can see there are multiple areas where different

[53:25] jurisdictions have a portion of the shoreline.

[53:29] And this basically represents one shoreline's reach.

[53:32] The portion in red is redwood shores and you can see that that is outlined in red but it's

[53:39] actually in a yellow color.

[53:41] If we go to the next slide we're going to just zoom in on redwood shores on its own and

[53:48] this is what our project is looking to protect. The area outlined in blue is the alignment of the

[53:55] current lobby project and just to orient you, I'll see if this is working.

[54:03] Well, never mind.

[54:07] So you can see at the very top of it which shores is the Silicon Valley clean water

[54:13] treatment plant and then highway 101 is just below the vertical section of that blue line.

[54:20] and apologies, my pointer isn't working.

[54:23] Next slide, please.

[54:27] So when I say this regional coordination,

[54:29] what on earth does that mean?

[54:31] When we're looking at Redwood City,

[54:33] Redwood City is leading the Redwood Shore

[54:36] sea level rise protection project.

[54:39] Our city is leading our project design,

[54:41] our community engagement.

[54:43] We are seeking FEMA accreditation

[54:46] to help protect this portion of our community

[54:49] and also broader, more broader portion

[54:51] of Redwood City.

[54:53] Redwood City is also leading the environmental review, the permitting implementation, and of

[54:59] course

[55:00] This is taking policy direction from our city council. One shoreline is looking at this regional

[55:05] effort. They are looking at regional flooding and sea level rise coordination for all of

[55:11] those member agencies that you saw on that first map. They are also serving as a person

[55:19] or body on our Redwood Shores Technical Advisory Committee, and they are leading our five city

[55:25] resiliency plan, which was that future looking plan that will start in 2027.

[55:31] We have a number of regional partners and these regional partners have shoreline resiliency

[55:39] plans of their own that they have to either move forward or find another way to protect

[55:44] their communities.

[55:46] Each city is at a different spot, faster city, which is not on the list, they completed their

[55:51] Labid, they are credited, which is wonderful. Redwood City is in design, and that's also

[55:56] a wonderful milestone. There are other jurisdictions that are in either a planning or a design phase,

[56:03] and so I really want everyone to keep in mind this regional context that we are one portion

[56:09] of.

[56:12] So looking at our specific project, our project is being designed to help protect

[56:18] vulnerable assets to protect our homes, schools, businesses, and critical infrastructure

[56:24] in Redwood Shores. Redwood Shores is home to 31 Santeres to our pump stations, and all

[56:31] of the flow not only in Redwood Shores, but all of Redwood City flows through the shores

[56:36] and ends up at the treatment plant, which is at the very tip of Redwood Shores.

[56:41] We're also looking at an umbrella goal of flood protection.

[56:47] We want to protect our community from flooding to really protect these valuable assets.

[56:53] And under flood protection we're looking at FEMA accreditation in order for our residents,

[57:00] our businesses, our properties that do not have or that do have a mortgage on their property

[57:06] to not have flood insurance, we need to be out of a flood zone, and we need to have a

[57:12] levy that is accredited, and that is basically FEMA's way of saying you are no longer in a flood zone.

[57:19] We do have an existing levy that currently protects redwood shores, that levy is there.

[57:27] It is not at a height that FEMA currently recognizes for accreditation.

[57:32] However, FEMA is working really closely with the city and they have put us into what is called seclusion.

[57:40] So they're basically saying that we recognize that your LIB isn't at a height to reach current standards of accreditation,

[57:47] but we know that the city is working towards getting there and FEMA is not placing our area in a flood zone,

[57:55] which would trigger that flood insurance requirements.

[57:57] While we have this really great project, we have other opportunities aside from flood protection.

[58:06] We can look at enhancing placemaking. Our Redwood Shores Levy is a destination for individuals who enjoy hiking, biking, birding, just really being out in nature.

[58:19] And this project is a great opportunity to add in more of those amenities.

[58:26] Looking really high level at our schedule in July of 2025, our City Council awarded a design

[58:34] contract to Shappen Wheeler to do the design improvements for our Libby project.

[58:40] That's really what kick started us off to this journey where we are today, where we have reached 60%

[58:46] design, which is a really big milestone for the engineering project, and we are coming

[58:52] me before you tonight just to see which design alternative council prefers us to move forward.

[58:59] There are many, many ways to design this project.

[59:03] There's not just one way or two ways, there are many ways.

[59:07] And what staff is presenting tonight is two alternatives that provide the same basic

[59:13] flood protection goal, but in different ways.

[59:18] and then as we move past tonight's meeting, the project team will be moving into our

[59:24] environmental permitting and environmental review. We're anticipating that process to

[59:29] take about two years and that would be dependent upon securing the available project funding.

[59:37] And then once we have our permitting and environmental review stage, we can move into final design.

[59:46] That's

[59:47] where things really start to come together. We can finalize what amenities are really going

[59:52] to be out there. At this stage we're looking at what is the suite of options that are available

[59:57] to us and where some different locations are available to us.

[1:00:05] We have all of our construction funding secured. We are looking at a four-year, maybe a five-year construction cycle, so between 2030 and 2030 for 2034.

[1:00:22] Staff has been engaging with the community since we started this project and onboarded our design consultant team in the fall of 2020.

[1:00:32] We released a survey to our Redwood Shores community and received a pretty good response rate

[1:00:40] of about 481 responses and a few, well, a slide in a few minutes will show you some of

[1:00:47] the themes that came out of that effort.

[1:00:50] But in 2026 we've been doing more community outreach.

[1:00:54] We've held three community meetings.

[1:00:56] We've held two office hours and that is just an opportunity for the community to talk with different members of the project team and opportunity for them to share any feedback on the design and also just to get an update on where things are right now.

[1:01:13] We have presented at the annual meeting for RSCA and at one of the board meetings for RSOA and we will have plenty of opportunities to continue the public engagement.

[1:01:27] There is a dedicated project website, a mailing list, so anyone who has attended our community meetings, we've given them the opportunity to share their email address that we can include them on any email blast for community engagement meetings.

[1:01:43] meetings that are coming up. We also have coordination through our office hours, so we're

[1:01:49] really trying to capture as much of the community as possible just to really make sure that

[1:01:54] everyone has an opportunity for their voice to be heard.

[1:01:59] Some of that community feedback has followed some general themes. The community really wants

[1:02:05] a clean, safe, and well-maintained, levy and shrill system. We're looking for areas where

[1:02:12] we can add in more access, more connectivity, really looking at what we're

[1:02:17] calling place making. We want the levy to have that same feel that it has right

[1:02:22] now, where people go there to be close to nature, to really enjoy everything

[1:02:27] that our short line has to offer. We're looking at increasing the natural

[1:02:33] character of the levy and increasing our viewing spots and interactions with

[1:02:39] wildlife. There are so many incredible elements that we can achieve with this

[1:02:46] project and one of the big things that we're doing is flood protection. We're

[1:02:52] not just trying to do an engineered solution. That is part of it, but we want

[1:02:57] to make sure that it's a destination as well. Something that the community is

[1:03:01] really going to continue to cherish for generations to come.

[1:03:08] So some of the

[1:03:09] public amenities that we are looking at include areas for seating along the

[1:03:15] alignment, some areas for shade. These are just two examples of what it could

[1:03:20] look like. These are, think of this as a starting point. The exact bench doesn't

[1:03:27] have to look like that. It could be a different color. It could be a different size.

[1:03:31] But we're just showing that an area for resting along the alignment is

[1:03:37] something that is possible and it's something that we're making space for in the design.

[1:03:42] So one of the questions that I really wanted Council to keep in mind as you're listening

[1:03:46] to the presentation is, what amenities would you like to see incorporated as we continue

[1:03:52] to advance this design along? Nothing is set in stone in this moment. Everything is open

[1:03:58] for further refinement.

[1:04:04] When we're looking at public amenities, we do have some constraints.

[1:04:07] So a few of those constraints include permitting.

[1:04:12] This project will be subject to permitting from various state and federal agencies.

[1:04:18] We have BCDC which is the Bay Conservancy and Development Commission.

[1:04:24] They're looking at development along our shoreline.

[1:04:27] We have to have a permit from them in order to do a project.

[1:04:31] We're also looking at the Army Corps of Engineers.

[1:04:33] they're looking at the Federal Clean Water Act and ensuring that anything that

[1:04:39] we're discharging or putting into the water is safe. It's not going to kill the

[1:04:44] aquatic or plant life. To name another one, we're working with the California

[1:04:52] Regional Water Quality Control Board. They're looking at water quality. We are

[1:04:57] right at the water. Nothing has been...

[1:05:00] We've been treated before it gets into the water, and that's why we have a lot of federal agencies that are really keeping a close eye to make sure that we're not harming the environment. Those permitting agencies will have different requirements and restrictions. And now that we're at 60% design, we're at a point where we can take our plans to those permitting agencies and start that conversation. What amenities will be permitted? What is a no-go?

[1:05:28] and now we're at that point. We also have grant opportunities. We do have a

[1:05:34] funding gap for construction and there are some incredible grant

[1:05:38] opportunities out there. By having this level of a design we can be very competitive

[1:05:44] for grants because we're showing that it's not just a planning document. It's not

[1:05:49] just an inspiration that Redwood City has in our mind. This is something that we are

[1:05:54] actively going towards. And then finally maintenance considerations engineering and transportation

[1:06:00] can design and build it and then we hand it over to our partners and public work services

[1:06:06] and they are responsible for maintaining it in collaboration with our parks and recreation

[1:06:11] departments.

[1:06:14] Tonight we'll be going over two different design alternatives. The first one is what

[1:06:19] staff is calling a baseline design. This design element includes a very wide width of the

[1:06:27] trail. Our current trail is about 10 feet in width. What design alternative number one

[1:06:33] is doing is widening that by a factor of two. So we'll be looking at a 20 foot wide trail.

[1:06:41] This will require extensive ground improvement in order to add in that extra real estate,

[1:06:47] we need to have the stability underneath to hold it up.

[1:06:51] And then because we're widening,

[1:06:54] there are many, many opportunities to carve out places

[1:06:58] for place making for ecological improvements

[1:07:01] for people to get down into nature to extend marsh areas.

[1:07:07] So this is what we're referring to as alternative number one.

[1:07:11] Alternative number two is what staff is calling an optimized design.

[1:07:15] This is a design that's going to have a similar look and fill to what the levy is in its current condition today.

[1:07:22] The trail is about 10 feet wide with a two foot shoulder and this is wide enough for maintenance vehicle to drive on top of it.

[1:07:31] Because we're not doubling the width of the levy, there's not as extensive ground improvements that are needed to make it strong enough to withstand the loads.

[1:07:41] so they're just what we're calling targeted improvements and because we're

[1:07:46] not adding in that extra real estate there's less opportunities for us to

[1:07:50] intentionally carve out areas for that place making and so we're looking at

[1:07:55] very specific locations along the alignment and that's why we're calling it

[1:07:59] modest amenities.

[1:08:04] When you're thinking about both alternatives these are some

[1:08:07] that they're both doing. They're both seeking that FEMA plus one height elevation and this was the policy direction that staff obtained from council in February of 2026.

[1:08:22] They're both looking at flood protection. Both alternatives will get us out of the seclusion area and get us to a point where our levy can be accredited through FEMA.

[1:08:34] Both alternatives are looking at bay trail access, they are looking at incorporating habitat

[1:08:40] and ecology improvements so that place making one alternative has an opportunity to do more

[1:08:47] and the other one is just scaling that back a bit. And with both alternatives there will

[1:08:52] be continued refined design and reviews so you're not locked into any one decision that happens

[1:08:59] tonight because we are, we're at 60%. All

[1:09:06] right, so this is a cross section of alternative

[1:09:08] number one and just going to walk you through it. I've got a couple of cross sections. So just bear

[1:09:14] with me on the technical part. This is a typical cross section. So it's not at any one particular

[1:09:22] person's backyard. It's just what we're calling typical. On the left side of the screen you'll see

[1:09:28] and grade out a home. So this is just to help with orienting you to see what the

[1:09:35] vertical differences are. Where you see the brown, that is the existing ground

[1:09:43] surface and our water level is at seven feet and that's just in the vein. This alternative

[1:09:52] of number one will be raising the levy to an elevation of what we call 13.5 and that's

[1:10:01] And then it will be 20 feet wide, so that's why you can see everything is just a little bit wider. And then this cross section is showing how it will be raised in the future to meet that 16 foot elevation. And that's as design criteria changes with FEMA, there will be other opportunities to re evaluate our design for a levy.

[1:10:29] and make sure that we're always maintained

[1:10:31] in accreditation standards.

[1:10:34] Okay, and then, sorry, the people at the top

[1:10:38] are supposed to represent just standard adult

[1:10:41] sized individuals.

[1:10:46] So this is another cross section for alternative number one.

[1:10:51] And in this area, the main difference is what we call

[1:10:55] a flood wall.

[1:10:56] So if you look just to the right of the raised pathway,

[1:11:00] You see a little notch out of a wall. The wall is not extensive. It's about two

[1:11:07] and a half feet in height, so most individuals will still be able to enjoy the

[1:11:13] wonderful views as they're going in this area. The flood wall in this location

[1:11:18] is needed because you can see the water level is a little bit higher, and there's

[1:11:23] more opportunities for wave action, and that's just where the bay is just

[1:11:29] sloshing up onto the path.

[1:11:34] Let's go to the next one. Alright, so now we're going to talk

[1:11:37] about alternative number two, which is the optimized design. This is one typical section

[1:11:45] and you're not seeing that wider 20-foot wide levy. You're really just seeing a 10 to 12-foot

[1:11:53] levy, which is kind of mimicking the width that we currently have today. In order to

[1:11:59] Let's strengthen the ground to hold the levy height to accreditation standards.

[1:12:05] We have to introduce a sheet pile wall, and this is just a piece of material that is

[1:12:13] basically drilled into the ground that can help anchor the soils.

[1:12:17] Everything is on Bay mud, and Bay mud is really squishy over time.

[1:12:22] It will slowly settle as the water starts pushing out.

[1:12:28] The sheet pile wall will have what we call a concrete cap on top of it and that is just

[1:12:35] think of a curb.

[1:12:37] So a curb on top of the metal portion of the sheet pile wall to protect the sheet pile wall

[1:12:43] and also protect individuals.

[1:12:46] The height of this cap, it's only about three three and a half feet tall.

[1:12:51] So it is a little bit taller than the two-and-a-half feet with alternative one.

[1:12:56] However, it's still at a height where most people can still enjoy the view of the bay.

[1:13:02] And this is to help obtain accreditation heights.

[1:13:06] And then you can see the two people on the path.

[1:13:08] They are just average adult sized individuals.

[1:13:14] This is another section for alternative number two.

[1:13:18] and in this section we're looking at a slightly different treatment for the soils.

[1:13:24] We're looking at what's called deep soil mixing and that is that slightly

[1:13:29] browner shaded area in the middle of this image. This is where we will have to

[1:13:36] remove all of that Bay mud squishy material and bring in an engineered fill

[1:13:41] solution that is structurally stronger to hold up our levy. And then we are also looking at

[1:13:50] introducing a concrete wall in this scenario which will just help with that wave action again.

[1:13:57] So this is just another section, typical section, along the levy. Both alternatives are not bound by

[1:14:06] one ground treatment. We can do multiple types of ground treatment in order to achieve the

[1:14:13] same goal. But these are just two sections that are showing you two different ground

[1:14:17] treatment opportunities.

[1:14:21] And then this is last section of the night. This is a typical

[1:14:25] section for alternative number two. And this is interesting because it's right next to the

[1:14:31] and Carlos Airport and so it is a much wider path. You can see at the very top is about

[1:14:40] our 10-foot path and then it slopes down to another level with a horizontal or flat

[1:14:47] 10-foot wide area. That is a requirement of the airport and so they have much more restrictive

[1:14:57] of requirements than we do.

[1:15:00] Other portions of the alignment. And so this is just showing how we're accommodating those other requirements for some of the agencies along the alignment.

[1:15:12] So staff's recommendation is alternative number two. This alternative provides our core flood protection goals. It has a lighter touch on the environment. There is less opportunities to bring in more heavy equipment to remove additional amounts of materials.

[1:15:32] and it will be a little bit quicker to construct because we're not going quite as wide.

[1:15:40] We are maintaining the FEMA plus one objective.

[1:15:44] This project alternative is looking at a cost of around $324 million with a redwood city portion of $200 million.

[1:15:56] dollars. Alternative one was looking at about $440 million with a Redwood City

[1:16:03] share of about $290 million. So, cost is a factor that we consider, but it's

[1:16:10] not the only factor, but it's something that you should be aware of as you're

[1:16:13] providing some policy direction for staff.

[1:16:19] Financing and funding have been very

[1:16:22] big topics of communication when we do our community outreach. Right now we do have a funding gap

[1:16:30] for construction. We do not have funding secured for a 324 or even a $440 million project.

[1:16:39] The city is looking for different opportunities to bridge that funding gap. The city has recently

[1:16:46] retained a financial or municipal advisor and financial consultant. We will be working

[1:16:52] really closely with that individual just to outline different options to close

[1:16:57] up funding gap. There will be cost sharing opportunities with the other agencies

[1:17:03] along our alignment. So San Carlos Airport, City of Belmont, the city of San

[1:17:10] Carlos, their other agencies along their alignment that are participating in

[1:17:15] our project and they will be sharing the cost. So that's why from a $324 million

[1:17:22] dollar project, we can come down to a $200 million redwood city share when we're looking

[1:17:28] at the cost sharing with the other jurisdictions.

[1:17:32] We're also looking at different funding opportunities.

[1:17:35] There are FEMA grants out there, state coastal conservancy grants, and other state and

[1:17:42] federal programs.

[1:17:44] Staff will be meeting with our Finance and Audit Committee in November, and as part of our work

[1:17:51] with our financial consultant, will be bringing some of those options to the Finance

[1:17:56] N audit committee, subcommittee, so we can further identify what that funding and financing

[1:18:02] strategy will ultimately look like.

[1:18:05] And tonight we are not asking for direction or approval on any cost sharing agreements.

[1:18:15] Looking at some of our next steps, we are here tonight for a direction from Council on

[1:18:22] which alternative to move forward, this allows the city to meet our grant deliverable for

[1:18:29] $2 million hazard mitigation grant from FEMA for our design. That grant was only to take

[1:18:35] the project through 60% design, which we are right now, and there's many, many ways to design

[1:18:42] the project, and the two options that we have before you are very different. They accomplish the

[1:18:49] same goals but they're very different and so we'd like for that policy direction to come from

[1:18:54] council. On September 10th we'll be having another iteration of our office hours where the community

[1:19:01] can meet with team members to talk about the project and learn a little bit more. On September 11th

[1:19:08] the team will be presenting to the Utilities Subcommittee meeting and as I mentioned before in

[1:19:14] in November, we will be going to our Finance and Audit subcommittee.

[1:19:19] Throughout all of this, the design team will continue working on our environmental permitting and agency coordination opportunities.

[1:19:29] And thank you for your attention. I'll pass it back to the clerk.

[1:19:38] Tenisha, thank you for the great presentation.

[1:19:41] We appreciate all the background and work to get us to this point with that.

[1:19:47] before we get into council discussion, I think we need some public comments.

[1:19:50] Thank you Mayor. Okay, we have two in-person speakers, we'll do the last call to the audience

[1:19:55] for any in-person or comments on Zoom this evening.

[1:20:00] On this topic, we have two folks on Zoom, and we will, three folks, and we'll close the speakers list. Once we begin public comment.

[1:20:14] Okay. So we'll start with Rhona Gundram, who joined us in person, followed by Gita Dev.

[1:20:30] Good evening, council and staff. I'm a member of the Transportation Advisory Committee, but my comments this evening are as a 38-year-old, which is resident. I hope you are able to read

[1:20:42] I need my detailed public comment email.

[1:20:46] Both alternatives presented this evening will satisfy the project's fundamental flood protection purpose.

[1:20:52] So the central choice is not whether to protect the community, but how much additional investment,

[1:20:57] public space, trail capacity, amenities, and construction complexity we should pursue.

[1:21:03] While balancing long-term resilience, environmental sensitivity, neighborhood impacts, affordability,

[1:21:09] maintenance, privacy, and future adaptability.

[1:21:13] Instead of a 20-feet everywhere versus 10-feet everywhere approach,

[1:21:19] perhaps a hybrid site-specific approach to better balance community-wide

[1:21:24] flood protection and impacts on businesses, infrastructure,

[1:21:28] and quality of life of homeowners immediately adjacent to the levee would make sense.

[1:21:33] A uniform 20-foot wide design could create unnecessary impacts.

[1:21:39] Conversely, there may be locations where additional width would provide real benefits.

[1:21:44] In short, protect the entire community to the same high standard, but do not assume

[1:21:49] that every segment needs to look or function exactly the same.

[1:21:54] I propose selecting alternative two as the starting point to secure the $2 million FEMA grant

[1:22:00] and ask the team to evaluate a third context-sensitive hybrid alternative from a current and future

[1:22:07] homeowner perspective it would seem the most useful approach is to evaluate the alternatives

[1:22:13] against a clear set of long-term priorities rather than focusing solely on today's price tag.

[1:22:21] Thank you. Thank you. Our next speaker is Geeta Dev and then we'll move to our Zoom speakers.

[1:22:49] I apologize. I didn't want to come but I thought if I do this on Zoom I need to be here.

[1:22:58] So, I apologize for, but it's okay, good evening, Mayor and Council members.

[1:23:07] My name is Geeta Dev, I'm speaking on behalf of the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club.

[1:23:14] I would also like to add some context of why we are commenting today.

[1:23:21] We participated in BCDC's advisory committee.

[1:23:25] During the development of the regional shoreline adaptation plan, the RSAAP, and since then

[1:23:32] I have continued to serve on BCDC's implementation committee, which is following how cities

[1:23:38] and counties are moving forward with this critical sea level rise plan.

[1:23:44] So sea level rise is ongoing and it's a challenge and we'll need a variety of adaptive pathways

[1:23:53] because conditions change over time. For that reason we actually believe alternative

[1:24:00] one deserves serious consideration because it appears to keep more future options open

[1:24:08] and maintaining flexibility is particularly important because the city has not yet begun

[1:24:15] It's sub-regional RSAB plan and we can anticipate robust regulatory review for those who have

[1:24:28] not seen how these projects progress through the regulatory agencies.

[1:24:36] If additional protection is ultimately needed, the sort of wall type structures we've seen

[1:24:42] and alternative two could potentially be added,

[1:24:45] so it's very similar to Rhoda's idea

[1:24:47] that we may need a hybrid.

[1:24:50] But once we commit to a more restrictive approach

[1:24:53] like an option two, alternative two,

[1:24:56] it will be very difficult to preserve other options.

[1:25:00] In the future. So we also urge the city to take our thank you. Thank you, Kita. We'll now turn to our Zoom speakers. We'll start with Chris, who will be followed by Collin user 2. You can unmute yourself and begin your comments.

[1:25:26] Good evening, council members and other participants. My name is Chris McIntosh. I'm with the San Mateo County Bird Alliance.

[1:25:37] and I'd like to add to the discussion of these two alternatives and the excellent presentation

[1:25:42] that we'd hoped to see some clear discussion of how nature-based adaptations would be included

[1:25:49] in the project. This is listed as one of the project goals. Nature-based solutions and

[1:25:55] also amenities such as viewing platforms will enable residents to benefit from wildlife viewing

[1:26:01] as they walk or bike along the levees.

[1:26:04] Alternative one clearly seems to allow for more adaptation options over the coming decades,

[1:26:10] and it allows for more natural solutions.

[1:26:13] And alternative two, as has been mentioned, seems to leave little or no room to maneuver

[1:26:18] for the future.

[1:26:20] And even though alternative two seems cheaper right now, the main reason not to select

[1:26:25] it is that it may box the city in a way that could be more expensive in future.

[1:26:29] We expect that using nature-based solutions as much as possible paired with the flood control in alternative one would present in no regrets, better long-term adaptation solution.

[1:26:41] And the bird alliance looks forward to working with you on developing amenities to help the residents enjoy the wildlife safely, safely for both humans and birds.

[1:26:53] Thank you very much.

[1:26:56] Thank you.

[1:26:58] Our next speaker is Laura Aiden. Welcome.

[1:27:07] Okay, thank you very much for all the work you've done.

[1:27:12] This is Laura Aiden. I've been a resident for over 40 years here in Redwood Shores.

[1:27:18] The levee is beautiful and it's very natural and you can see all the birds in the wildlife.

[1:27:25] And many people come only from the shores but Redwood City

[1:27:28] many and many cities in the Bay Area to just walk and enjoy nature and I think it'd be nicer to keep it as possible is natural.

[1:27:42] And so I'm looking at the options and I don't like really either one, but I think the less intrusive one would be number two. However, the wall there really bothers me just having a wall because you I don't know if people have been over to foster city.

[1:27:58] but it is not very pretty and there's some advantages but it's really, it's not

[1:28:07] conducive with being natural having a big wall there. I mean it's in like

[1:28:13] three and a half feet or something. So I just hope that the city can figure out

[1:28:25] what to do for the flood insurance, you know, for all those people, but just keep it as

[1:28:31] natural as possible and not have amenities in front so you can, you see those instead of seeing

[1:28:37] nature. Thank you very much. I know it's a hard decision. Thank you. Thank you, Laura.

[1:28:44] And that wraps up public comment on this item. Mayor, thank you. Thank you, City Clerk.

[1:28:50] And as a reminder, public comment is only for those making comment on subjects within the subject

[1:28:55] management jurisdiction of the city. So with that, we will move this to the city council

[1:29:01] for discussion. Who has, we'll start off with the vice mayor.

[1:29:07] I just, I just have some clarifying questions.

[1:29:11] So Tunisia, thank you so much for such a

[1:29:14] thorough presentation. So in 2010, we built a levy that was permitted

[1:29:25] by all the agencies as protecting from sea level rise. Is that right?

[1:29:31] In 2010 we built a levy that was high enough for FEMA accreditation.

[1:29:37] And then in 2020 FEMA deacredited the levy. Is that right?

[1:29:45] FEMA's requirements for accreditation changed and so the height of the existing levy no longer met those requirements.

[1:29:56] Now this

[1:30:00] Option 2 that we have now, it was presented to us in February and at that time it was 30% designed,

[1:30:11] is that right? No, so in February we were at 30% designed, that is correct, but the options

[1:30:19] that were presented were looking at the elevation or the height of the levy and so we presented

[1:30:26] it two different options in February. One was the FEMA plus one and the other was the

[1:30:31] FEMA plus 3.5. Tonight we're presenting options for the width of the levee and alternative

[1:30:38] one is a 20 foot wide section versus a 10 to 12 foot wide section for alternative two.

[1:30:47] So, what

[1:30:53] concerns me about option 2 and several of the commenters, public commenters,

[1:31:02] have mentioned it as well, it seems to, in contrast to what we were presented in February,

[1:31:11] There seem to be fewer options to expand it later.

[1:31:22] It looks like we are foregoing some of the ground improvements that would allow this adaptation to change conditions.

[1:31:32] There are fewer options tonight to expand it later than there were in February.

[1:31:41] Is that right?

[1:31:45] The alternatives that we have for tonight are further along in design.

[1:31:51] And both alternatives can be expanded or raised in the future just in different ways.

[1:31:57] one alternative is looking at basically removing all of that bay mud and

[1:32:04] rebuilding up that height with engineered materials and the other one is

[1:32:09] looking at just adding a wall under the ground, a sheet pile wall, to add in

[1:32:17] that structural stability. It's different than what we shared in February as

[1:32:23] That was just looking at the elevation.

[1:32:30] In February, we were told that ground improvements could

[1:32:38] be allowed if we built higher.

[1:32:42] But now those grand improvements can't be allowed.

[1:32:45] Is that right?

[1:32:46] That's the difference between February and now?

[1:32:51] No.

[1:32:52] In February, we were looking at what elevation or what year

[1:32:55] of accreditation protection are we looking at?

[1:32:58] 2060 versus 2100. And the 2060 option was FEMA plus one. And so that's how we

[1:33:06] got to this FEMA plus one. That's our policy guy that the team is looking at

[1:33:11] for both alternatives that you're looking at tonight. Tonight we're looking at

[1:33:16] now that we know how high the levee is going to be built to what's another way

[1:33:22] that we're going to enjoy how wide is it going to be. Both options can be adapted.

[1:33:28] Option number one is much wider so that in the future it is a little more streamlined to

[1:33:35] build up. It just kind of gets a little bit more narrow and because you start with such a wide

[1:33:40] base you can go up higher. It's a little easier. In option number two we would have to add in more of

[1:33:48] that deep soil, mixing, perhaps adding additional sheet piles or piers to other engineered solutions

[1:33:55] to adapt it, but both options provide adaptability.

[1:34:02] The reason that I'm concerned is because sea level rise is going to come, whether we want

[1:34:09] it to or not, and what concerns me is, you know, in hindsight, to have built a levy in 2010

[1:34:18] and then to discover in 10 years later that it wasn't good enough, it was more

[1:34:25] expensive than if we had engineered, built something stronger and more robust, even

[1:34:31] if it had been more expensive back in 2010, what looked inexpensive in 2010,

[1:34:38] what wasn't really so, and I just don't want us to have regrets that we did that

[1:34:44] a second time in this very same place. So I want us to be really, really aware of how

[1:34:51] we got to where we are right now. This isn't the first levy we're building.

[1:35:01] I believe that, well,

[1:35:06] let me ask you another question. I believe you said that you are beginning

[1:35:13] outreach, let me, the permitting agencies, BCDC, Army Corps of Engineers, California quality

[1:35:22] control board.

[1:35:26] What happens, you're beginning the outreach? What happens if they come back

[1:35:34] And they say, look, you know, Mill Bray and Berlin game are doing three and a half feet.

[1:35:40] San Carlos Airport wants to do two feet.

[1:35:45] Why are you only doing one foot other than cost?

[1:35:50] We want you to do more. What happens then?

[1:35:57] So there is a distinction between we want you to do more

[1:36:02] and we require you to do more, we will fulfill the requirements to obtain the permitting from

[1:36:09] those agencies, and that means coming back to Council and saying that we need to go higher,

[1:36:15] then that's a discussion that we're going to have to have.

[1:36:19] There are, our design has been based off of the current standards from those agencies,

[1:36:24] and so we're going into those more in-depth conversations aren't with the knowledge that

[1:36:29] that we've built it to how we interpret their standards to be and that's how we've

[1:36:34] presented it to the council.

[1:36:36] If we choose our alternative one tonight, do we still secure that $2 million funding?

[1:36:46] We secure it regardless of which alternative we choose, is that right?

[1:36:52] We've already been awarded the Hazard Mitigation Grant, the $2 million grant from FEMA.

[1:36:56] the grant is based on its reimbursement basis, so if the city chooses an alternative

[1:37:03] tonight, staff can submit our final deliverable and we secure the requirements for that grant.

[1:37:10] If the city does not identify which alternative to submit to FEMA, we are not in compliance

[1:37:17] with the grant requirements and that could make our funding that we have already received

[1:37:24] subject to reimbursement so I'm really I'm just concerned that we don't have

[1:37:38] the permits yet we we're at the very beginning of talking with these

[1:37:42] permitting agencies and we know one of your sites talk about acting

[1:37:48] regionally and that the water doesn't stop in Redwood City and that even though

[1:37:54] in one part of Redwood City that we're doing this levy, it's going to affect all of Redwood City,

[1:37:58] and then all the jurisdictions around it. And so looking at that regional viewpoint, it concerns

[1:38:07] me that other jurisdictions are building to a higher standard or are planning that their plans,

[1:38:19] their aspirations are to build at a higher now. And so it concerns me, I feel like we're being driven

[1:38:28] too much by cost. And we've seen an example where doing something

[1:38:39] incompletely and being concerned about cost cost us more later because here we are.

[1:38:49] So, I'm concerned that if the regulatory agencies look at what the other jurisdictions are

[1:38:55] saying they are planning for and it's more than, you know, it's three and a half feet

[1:39:02] instead of one foot, combined with our history of already building a levy that wasn't sufficient,

[1:39:10] I'm concerned that we're not going to get the permitting and that then we're going

[1:39:15] be back here with more time having passed. And so I just I just wanted to share that with

[1:39:25] my colleagues. I'll leave it there for now. But I'm I'm I like the idea of a hybrid.

[1:39:34] I think let me just check one more thing.

[1:39:42] And I really am concerned about I'll just leave

[1:39:46] But with one more thing, I've already said this, but I really am concerned that we are too

[1:39:50] constrained, we're too boxed in with alternative two, that we're foregoing some

[1:40:07] We don't have money for either alternative. And I feel like we're making too many concessions to cost and boxing ourselves in too soon.

[1:40:17] Those are some of my thoughts. I may talk more later, but those are some of my questions.

[1:40:22] Thank you. Mayor if I may. I just want to reframe one thing that you did say in 2010 we didn't build a levy that was

[1:40:34] substandard. We built a levy that met the current day's requirements. Requirements changed over the years and

[1:40:42] that's why we find ourselves in this situation. As climate change is continuing we anticipate that those

[1:40:50] requirements are going to continue to evolve. So yes, we will likely be here in a decade,

[1:40:56] a couple decades, but that's not a reflection of the standard that the current product was built

[1:41:02] to in that existing environment. I just wanted to rephrase. No, thank you. And you're absolutely

[1:41:09] right. And thank you, Tanisha. I was a little cavalier with my words. So thank you. You're right.

[1:41:15] It was done, you know, C-level rows, 9 inches in the last 50 years, and it's going to start rising faster, plus ground level rise, and I'll leave it there.

[1:41:34] Thank you, Vice Mayor, for getting us started.

[1:41:36] We'll go to Councilmember Chu next.

[1:41:39] I just had some clarifying questions, so this is a new area to me, so forgive me if these are sort of ignorant.

[1:41:45] So, you know, with taking the premise that the goal of the wall is to avoid flooding,

[1:41:50] what are FEMA's assumptions with respect to events?

[1:41:55] Like, are they, are the standards for every thousand year, every 500, you know what I'm

[1:41:58] saying?

[1:41:59] Like, what are their assumptions when setting the standard?

[1:42:05] I'm not, it wasn't meant to be a gacha, it was more like trying to know where I'm going

[1:42:10] with that.

[1:42:11] So if it's anticipated that these standards are going to change, you know, barely consistently

[1:42:19] because climate change is accelerating and there is sea level rise. How long do we want this

[1:42:26] levy to be good for? And is there any way to model that so that we build it for however long

[1:42:31] that is irrespective of what FEMA does? Do you know what I mean? Yeah, so there's two different options.

[1:42:38] One is to design to current FEMA requirements, which is what we're doing with that FEMA plus one.

[1:42:45] We could take it in a different direction but we would need policy direction for that to design it to an even higher standard.

[1:42:54] And we did present a FEMA plus 3.5 in February and we did receive our direction for FEMA plus one.

[1:43:01] If the council chooses to give different direction, we can definitely pivot.

[1:43:07] It'll just add time to the process, but we can pivot.

[1:43:10] Sure.

[1:43:10] And then just from my own understanding, what is the height difference between the previous

[1:43:16] FEMA standard and this standard?

[1:43:18] With that bias, 10 years, do you think?

[1:43:20] I mean, what is the plug?

[1:43:21] You know?

[1:43:22] Yeah, that's a great question.

[1:43:24] So we have raised about four feet in 10 years.

[1:43:28] and what's interesting about the existing levy,

[1:43:32] it's built on Baymide, which is really squishy,

[1:43:35] so you put pressure on it, water's gonna start seeping out

[1:43:38] and things are gonna settle.

[1:43:40] We've settled four feet in those 10, actually 16 years,

[1:43:44] at this point.

[1:43:46] So if we hadn't have settled, would it still be compliant?

[1:43:50] If we hadn't settled and lowered, we would likely be okay.

[1:43:54] Okay, thank you, that's very helpful.

[1:43:56] Okay, and then if you had to and I'm not going to hold you to this because you can't tell the future

[1:44:01] But if you had to ballpark it a FEMA plus one about how long do you think that's going to be good for?

[1:44:08] We're estimating that to get us to the year 2060 for FEMA accreditation

[1:44:13] Great. Thank you.

[1:44:20] Thank you, councilmember true

[1:44:22] Who else has any questions your comments for staff

[1:44:33] I have a little different history than some of my colleagues here, and it wasn't ten

[1:44:39] years after we completed the RevLevy project, it was a matter of a couple of years.

[1:44:44] But when we did raise the levy, it was to comply with FEMA requirements at that time.

[1:44:51] Period.

[1:44:51] It was not that we didn't do a good job.

[1:44:53] We complied with FEMA requirements at the time of construction, and within a couple of years after a few...

[1:45:00] Amendment change its requirements, and that's why they recognized that they admitted they changed the requirements. And that's why we are in seclusion for the River Shore's levy. That is the reason. No other reason is because we did meet FEMA requirements. It was certified to meet FEMA requirements at that moment, but then FEMA changed the rules. And they recognized the investment, they recognized the expense, and they left River Shore's in seclusion.

[1:45:30] so that's the history there. Otherwise, you know, I don't believe anybody should change that history.

[1:45:38] Just to back up a little bit, you know, this is part of a master plan as you showed earlier.

[1:45:44] And so I happened to represent another board and transit agency that we are doing FEMA plus one.

[1:45:50] And it is because of cost and time.

[1:45:53] And when you do these mega infrastructure projects, if you just figure out 3% per year escalation,

[1:45:58] you figure out 300 million at 3% every year is 9 million compounded and cost

[1:46:04] increased. So it's not just about time and money together but you add the

[1:46:10] seclusion component to it. FEMA could change its mind tomorrow and remove

[1:46:16] seclusion from Redwood Shores. There's no time bound on that. They can change

[1:46:21] to mind at any time and that's why it was intentional that the council members from District

[1:46:30] 1, 2 and 3 are on the Climate Action Committee because all three districts are subject to

[1:46:37] sea level rise. District 2 is already in the flood zone. The properties in District 2, the

[1:46:44] businesses are already paying for flood insurance. When we did the Bayfront Canal, that was a city

[1:46:50] initiative. It was not a friendly acres initiative or a mobile home park initiative. It was a city

[1:46:56] initiative to help moderate the flooding in District 3 which is the contemporary name for friendly

[1:47:03] acres and the mobile home parks. So it's really, really important that we look at it on a bigger

[1:47:09] perspective that at a minimum it's not just meeting FEMA but I think from a cost and time standpoint

[1:47:15] FEMA plus 1 is the right answer to 2060, and the way I look at what has been done at 60 percent, both solutions, and you can tell me I'm wrong, allow for future height increases.

[1:47:29] They're just going to be different solutions, but it does not preclude going to FEMA plus 3.5 or FEMA plus 10 or whatever the magic number may be in 2060 or 2080.

[1:47:41] So, am I correct that both solutions allow the levies to be raised in the future?

[1:47:48] Yes, both solutions allow the levies to be raised in the future, just different mechanisms

[1:47:53] for each one.

[1:47:55] And the other part is this is just not a redwood shorts project that I agree with, part

[1:48:00] city manager.

[1:48:01] I mean, I think it's lost when you say there's 30-something pump stations, but we collectively

[1:48:08] Lee, San Carlos, Belmont, Redwood City, West Bay Sanitation have made a multi-hundred million dollar investment to pump sewage all the way to the end of Redwood shores.

[1:48:22] And so if we don't maintain and protect that infrastructure, I challenge the other cities and the other five districts take care of your own sewage.

[1:48:30] And it's probably not a pragmatic solution because it's now a forced main versus a gravity main.

[1:48:37] and based on what I know from colleagues on that board there's several hundred million dollars more investment needed to continue to meet changing regulatory requirements and so there's going to be more infrastructure requirements at the Silicon Valley clean water plant out there.

[1:48:58] I really want to thank you for all the outreach and more outreach that will continue to occur.

[1:49:06] I ride the levees every weekend or every week night I can to, that's my exercise, that's

[1:49:12] how I deal with some of this rest of the day, it is not the same all the way around.

[1:49:17] There are some parts that are asphalt, there are some that are dirt, there are some that

[1:49:22] are maybe closer to eight feet wide and others that are closer to 12 feet wide.

[1:49:26] So it really is a combination of a lot of different things, but the bottom line is the levees

[1:49:31] need to be raised.

[1:49:32] and what you've shown are different solutions from different places.

[1:49:36] There are homes on the south side of Redway Shores that right now

[1:49:40] you can look right into their backyard into the living room and when we raise it

[1:49:43] it will be easier to look in their proper, so there's got to be sensitivity

[1:49:47] to privacy on the south side. Other parts

[1:49:52] I think behind Indian Creek Apartments are probably the narrowest

[1:49:55] section back there and I remember

[1:49:59] You

[1:50:00] Back after we raised the first, the lever, the first time, when we removed the asphalt many sections, some of the homeworks complained about that, but that also gives us the flexibility to raise the levies without having tear out asphalt. So when I look at all of this and what's going forward, you know, it, the rubber shorts lever is part of the master plan. And we have seen that the master plan at least from Belmont, all the way through Menlo Park, and we've seen that here at council and the price tag associate.

[1:50:29] with that. We have chosen FEMA plus one. And like I said, the other board I sit on

[1:50:36] we're protecting a 1.5 billion dollar asset. We are going to go with FEMA plus one also

[1:50:41] because anything different than that takes too much time and it costs too much money.

[1:50:50] Seclusion can change at any time so time is important. We all, not just the residents and the

[1:50:56] businesses, but the city owns property out there, we would be all affected.

[1:51:01] Silicon Valley, clean water would all be affected if we had to pay flood insurance,

[1:51:05] which would then, which show up in increased rates.

[1:51:09] Both solutions provide flexibility for increasing in the future.

[1:51:16] And I'm very, very cognizant of the local city match or local agency match,

[1:51:21] because we are going to have significant financial pressures.

[1:51:24] Whether it be this project, $1.184, potentially increasing per's liability, reduced if not eliminated VLF funding.

[1:51:34] There's a lot more financial pressures on us in the future.

[1:51:39] And most importantly, we don't, you know, option two doesn't require any more land.

[1:51:43] We can deal with the existing footprint for the most part.

[1:51:46] So my leaning is to option two as the base.

[1:51:50] I suspect as time marches on, we're going to have to value engineers from amenities.

[1:51:56] So I would look at amenities as an alternative bid item and given the permit agencies like

[1:52:04] BCDC, they'll probably want some amenities because parts of this are part of the big trail

[1:52:09] which requires public access.

[1:52:11] Some of the presidential committees even have to provide public parking to get to the big

[1:52:17] trail in their communities and maintain it. So I think when you take a look at

[1:52:22] everything, I think option two is the base with alternate bid items for

[1:52:29] amenities, hybrid elements, whatever is my recommendation to my colleagues. I

[1:52:38] would be reluctant to change the design at this point because I think you

[1:52:42] We politely said if we do not meet the deadline or we change our minds, we run a

[1:52:48] foul of our grant requirements and we don't have the $2 million to give back to FEMA.

[1:52:54] We need to keep moving forward to meet the grant requirements and given the complexity

[1:53:00] of the world we live in and particularly the administration, they probably like to have

[1:53:04] us give back the $2 million if we don't meet the grant requirements.

[1:53:08] So I think we need to keep moving forward, continuing the outreach, head for option 2 with some of the parameters I just mentioned.

[1:53:19] And let's keep this project moving as quickly as possible.

[1:53:25] Thank you, Council Member G. I will go to the vice mayor.

[1:53:27] Just really quickly. I want one comment I want to make. Thank you, Mr. G. There's just one comment I want to make on the financing and the funding.

[1:53:38] and everyone's point is right, we don't money doesn't grow on trees.

[1:53:42] I just, you know, Redwood City has 20 miles of Bay Shoreline.

[1:53:48] It's the most of any city in the county.

[1:53:52] And a new type of funding, that's very, very new,

[1:53:56] but it's going to be ever present.

[1:53:59] It's going to be ubiquitous in five years, four years, two years,

[1:54:03] is going to extremely benefit Redwood City because of the 20 miles of shoreline that we have.

[1:54:10] And that's mitigation banks because in a place like Burling Game

[1:54:15] where the Hilton Hotel or the Marriott Hotel, you know, it's just a wall and then the water or maybe a trail.

[1:54:24] And if they ever wanted to remodel that Marriott,

[1:54:28] They would have unmitigable impacts with their secret documents, and they could buy mitigation

[1:54:38] credits by funding a horizontal levy on some of the 20 miles of Bayshore that Redwood

[1:54:46] City has, so it's going to become possible in the future that we could get some of these

[1:54:54] environmental things that are best practices in the environment done.

[1:55:02] I just want us to be cognizant of that because we're planning, and I'll have more comments later, but just because you talked about financing, Mr. G, I wanted to throw that into the mix because it's an amazing asset that we have.

[1:55:24] Thank you, Vice Mayor. Well, Councilman Broward.

[1:55:30] Thank you. Thank you for the excellent report. It really was very good.

[1:55:35] and I appreciate the detail that you have put into it.

[1:55:40] I did want to say, first of all, I really appreciate the history that was brought up by

[1:55:45] Councilmember G regarding Redwood Shores, and I didn't want to miss this moment to say,

[1:55:55] we've got to capture this history.

[1:55:58] We can't afford to go down a road where we forget what we did before, and whether it be

[1:56:05] ten years or several years, but it's important, important information.

[1:56:10] So I'm wondering how possibly your department or wherever it would be appropriate, we

[1:56:16] can capture what was said this evening so we can carry it forward.

[1:56:20] We need to learn from the past so we don't repeat problems and make mistakes in the future.

[1:56:26] And this was a good example.

[1:56:28] It's just we're losing that history as we go forward and less people remember what happened

[1:56:35] in the past. So I'm hoping that I could put this in your capable hands that somehow we

[1:56:41] capture what was said tonight so we can use it and have our baseline as we make decisions

[1:56:47] going forward. And thank you again to Councilmember G, because I do remember, but not as

[1:56:55] vividly as you do it. So I really appreciate that you reminded us how this began and our

[1:57:01] cooperative efforts with FEMA actually led to a getting a special dispensation or whatever

[1:57:09] you want to call it, but we're grateful for it.

[1:57:12] And I think that's important to make sure we keep side of that.

[1:57:18] It mentions, thank you for mentioning all the costs sharing that we'll be going on with

[1:57:24] our key stakeholders.

[1:57:26] I wanted to know though there are so many.

[1:57:30] And the Bayfront Canal, we know what we went through trying to get cooperation from just

[1:57:35] a handful of key stakeholders and one actually didn't really step up to the plate at the

[1:57:42] end of the day.

[1:57:44] So I'm wondering how has your outreach been to these stakeholders?

[1:57:47] Do you feel pretty confident that going forward they see the urgency and they see the necessity

[1:57:54] participating in the cost sharing?

[1:57:58] Yes, so we've been meeting with what we call our technical advisory committee and they

[1:58:04] are professionals from one shoreline, city of San Carlos, Belmont, Silicon Valley,

[1:58:11] clean water, the airport, San Trans bus yard.

[1:58:14] We meet with them quarterly to talk about the project to go over the status and we also

[1:58:19] talk about the cost sharing responsibilities.

[1:58:22] We're currently saying up a dedicated meeting with our TAG to go over what that cost sharing percentage is going to look like for each individual agency.

[1:58:33] So where, I don't want to say where.

[1:58:39] We are pretty sure that the cost sharing aspect is not going to be a hurdle.

[1:58:47] Well, that's very optimistic and I'm really happy to hear you say that.

[1:58:51] And I hope that they're listening, but I understand our finance and audit committee will be working with you on this and bringing the stakeholders together and there's more we can do you please let us know because it's going to be important that everybody has some skin in the game to make this work.

[1:59:11] And boy, I've only saw the list. I'm glad for the list, but I'm also worried about the list because it's a lot more people we have to convince this is the right thing to do.

[1:59:21] I did want to ask a question about option one, option two, option one, the 20 foot wide and plus

[1:59:30] additional for shoulder or anything in addition. My concern is I've walked the levy and I know that

[1:59:38] there are large expanses of area where if you did that you'd almost have to do a taking of

[1:59:44] of people's backyards in some areas because it's that close.

[1:59:49] And if you were to do that with,

[1:59:51] I would think that would cost a lot more money,

[1:59:54] and I don't know if that's really represented in this cost,

[1:59:58] that if you had to do that,

[2:00:00] We offer money to homeowner in return for additional.

[2:00:05] I'm concerned about that. And is that one of the things that was taken into consideration when you decided on option two, alternative two, excuse me. Yes, property taking is a very long and very touchy process. We're going through that on our 84101 process project right now.

[2:00:25] we never want to bring imminent domain into the conversation.

[2:00:31] There are areas along the alternative number one,

[2:00:36] which would require some property acquisition.

[2:00:40] From what we've studied, they do not include areas of residential homes.

[2:00:46] It's mostly in more commercial areas.

[2:00:49] Not that those property takes are less important,

[2:00:51] but the sensitivity around some of our residents,

[2:00:55] we really wanted to study that.

[2:00:58] Making the levy wider does mean acquisition,

[2:01:01] and the full cost of the acquisition

[2:01:04] is not included in that $440.

[2:01:08] $440 million.

[2:01:10] We wish.

[2:01:13] If not included in that estimate.

[2:01:18] I really appreciate you adding that on

[2:01:20] because that could be a significant cost.

[2:01:22] It's also a very emotional thing for people to deal with that.

[2:01:28] And so I'm leaning towards alternative two

[2:01:31] because if we wanted to widen in some areas,

[2:01:35] a hybrid was suggested, that would be far easier.

[2:01:39] If you can pick and choose where you would do the widening,

[2:01:43] rather than having a forced 20 foot

[2:01:46] And then you have to make allowances and possibly get into an extremely higher cost to accomplish what we want to accomplish.

[2:01:56] If we really want to do this right, we can make changes, but tonight I know you've got a deadline, we've got to choose something.

[2:02:04] So right now I'm leaning towards alternative two with the possibility of possibly adding amenities or adding some within the future.

[2:02:12] But to get this to ensure that we get the money and get it in on time, I would support alternative to and thank you again for a very good report and your staff.

[2:02:28] Thank you councilmember Howard. Any other questions or comments?

[2:02:38] Thank you, Mayor.

[2:02:40] Thank you so much, Dunisha.

[2:02:41] I really appreciate all your hard work on this.

[2:02:45] I do have a couple of questions and comments as well.

[2:02:48] So I'll just begin with, let's see.

[2:02:55] Based on the conversation I've heard here tonight,

[2:02:57] I just want to clarify, does that 40% remaining design

[2:03:06] design accommodate for what councilor Howard just suggested, you know, changing the width maybe in some places where appropriate, but, but, but not to change the type, the fundamental type of the levy, right, you know, the deep soil mixing versus the sheet metal.

[2:03:31] So if we were to move forward tonight with one of the options, complete our FEMA

[2:03:37] deliverable, and then we go back and look at some hybrid options, we can take

[2:03:43] the base point that we start from tonight and then add on to that.

[2:03:48] Keep in mind that the estimates, they're going to increase as we get further along

[2:03:53] on our process, but by adding an additional width, if you were to start from alternative

[2:03:58] to, it would add a little bit of additional cost, but it is definitely something that can

[2:04:03] be considered. And it's something that we can use with the additional width to add

[2:04:09] in more amenities, more place making, more marsh areas. So there are a thousand different

[2:04:17] options out there. Thank you so much. I appreciate that flexibility of

[2:04:22] alternative to. This is what I would actually call a redwood city levy not just the redwood

[2:04:29] shores levy right to the city manager's points comes over geez points and those amenities

[2:04:36] that we currently have there and that we could add to are for everyone regardless of where

[2:04:42] you live in redwood city or neighboring jurisdictions. So I very much appreciate the intention behind

[2:04:52] And

[2:04:59] I know it's

[2:05:00] We've been mentioned a couple times that we have a deadline, but as is in the staff report, just for clarity, our deadline is literally just Friday to submit this, right?

[2:05:10] Okay, so that definitely creates a sense of urgency for me.

[2:05:18] But I appreciate that alternative, too, is slightly quicker to build, like you mentioned, and would require less fill, less, you know, equipment, less impact on residents for a shorter amount of time. That's another thing we have.

[2:05:32] haven't really discussed is all the construction noise and the vibrations and

[2:05:36] in disruption to wildlife and all that that will happen with this project regardless of

[2:05:41] which alternative we choose tonight. So I'm really glad to hear that that alternative

[2:05:46] to lessons to blow a little bit.

[2:05:52] And I wanted to ask, is it possible to maybe

[2:05:54] highlight as you already have any additional insights from the

[2:06:01] The public outreach results summary, I know City Manager had shared the links with me

[2:06:07] and I think, I think you have the printout, but in case anybody on Council didn't get

[2:06:13] the chance to read that memo from Civic Center, Civic Edge Consulting.

[2:06:22] Yes, so Civic Edge Consulting is part of our team with Chapin Wheeler.

[2:06:26] They're doing an incredible job with some of our outreach.

[2:06:29] from the survey we looked at areas for natural character enhancing the

[2:06:36] views maintaining our ability to interact with wildlife that we also wanted to

[2:06:42] do practical amenities that increased comfort flood protection was huge

[2:06:49] access and connectivity improving the bay trelline improving bike areas

[2:06:55] as way-finding. And then they were also looking at areas for bench, benches, seating, lighting, shade, and rest areas.

[2:07:05] So our server results are part of the project website, and it does include the raw data there.

[2:07:12] So if anyone would like to do a deep dive, you're more than welcome too.

[2:07:18] Thank you so much for summarizing that for my colleagues and I thank you.

[2:07:31] I'll just pause there. I mean, I'm leaning towards alternative two as well, but I'll pause there.

[2:07:38] Thank you, Councilmember Sherkin. We'll go to Councilmember Padilla.

[2:07:42] Perfect. I'll pick up on the community outreach. I do have a printout. So I'm going to reference it in case.

[2:07:49] So I think this is important. I appreciate all of our discussion about, is this the red root source issue?

[2:07:57] is that it's a city issue so then something that I'm fond of no matter where it's

[2:08:03] happening in our city is community outreach. So I first thing I say okay I want to

[2:08:07] look I heard people talking though there was only one presentation so I look

[2:08:10] and I want to see the meetings so I look and I see that we've had hybrid

[2:08:14] community meetings we've had in person I appreciate the office hours but what I

[2:08:19] see in the notes is that it looks like even though we want to say that this is

[2:08:27] an issue that benefits all of us right now from what I'm seeing, the only people that are weighing

[2:08:32] in on it are the people who live in Redwood Shores. At least, you know, 95 percent in person

[2:08:38] community, 95 percent from zip code 94065. So I know you're saying that civic edge is doing a great

[2:08:45] job, but I'm going to challenge them to do better because Redwood Shores, and then I think I read

[2:08:50] something in the staff report that like the age of attendees is like 50 and over. So I know the

[2:08:57] the demographics of the shores and I don't think it's represented in this community outreach

[2:09:02] nor is anyone outside of 94065 and this is going to be a high ticket item that clearly

[2:09:09] everyone's going to have to pay for so I don't want us to make big decisions and then

[2:09:14] everyone else has to foot the bill and they never were even asked.

[2:09:18] I looked at our mailer so we sent out a mailer but we spent the money but we only sent it

[2:09:23] to people in redwood shores. So I just want to make sure that from here on out we, if we're going to say it's for redwood city, let's ask everyone in our entire city. That's really important.

[2:09:36] And then I will go on to some of my thoughts. So cost sharing, I know that's going to be really important. I saw the names, CalTrans, SamTrans, City of San Carlos, Belmont.

[2:09:47] And I heard you referenced the San Carlos airport, but I just want everyone to know that the San Mateo County owns the airport

[2:09:53] So I'm just when you say you're meeting with Representative, you're meeting with a county representative in your group

[2:10:00] The county representatives and representatives from that side of the airport. Fantastic. So as well as just all redwood city residents to council member Howard's point, this is it's it's a big thing and we all have to be involved in it.

[2:10:16] When I was looking at the different alternatives, I know that we everyone saying we do have the option to build on both of them. But just if you look at surface area, you're starting with more

[2:10:29] more surface area and I think to your point earlier, it would make it easier when we

[2:10:36] know that FEMA regulations are constantly changing.

[2:10:41] It's not only about the investments we make now, but how much will those updates cost?

[2:10:47] The adding of the piles that alternative two does requires that, whereas if we had more

[2:10:53] surface area to start with an alternative one.

[2:10:55] So to council member Eacon's point, you know, we don't want to always be consumed on what's the lowest bid, what's the smallest number because we think we've learned historically that that has cost us 10 times over in certain situations.

[2:11:08] I mean, I'm loosely using numbers, but that's that should never be the only factor.

[2:11:20] I think we need to be having more focus and talk on groundwater rise in the impacts of

[2:11:27] that.

[2:11:27] I just think that with that, I would like us to have more information with just and also

[2:11:34] where are we in talking with Foster City and Pallow also just to see how other groups

[2:11:41] and those in checking in with those communities as well.

[2:11:45] I think would be a nice thing for us to have because Foster City has already been down

[2:11:49] this path, so I would like, and they've faced some hurdles and obstacles themselves, so

[2:11:54] I think it would be nice to connect with those communities.

[2:12:04] I just think it's very important back to the ground water, you know, that we have utilities

[2:12:10] and foundations to buildings that will be completely vulnerable because of ground water saturation,

[2:12:16] so just focus on that when we're doing this.

[2:12:21] And more than anything, yeah, I just really want it more robust community outreach.

[2:12:28] And

[2:12:31] I would also like to see more maybe involvement with our schools and the youth and even maybe

[2:12:38] some partnerships with the port and sometimes like the Marine Science Institute.

[2:12:43] I know they're very knowledgeable, they're doing their own building of some sort of sea level

[2:12:47] while there.

[2:12:47] I just think that the more people we can bring into this, the better.

[2:12:50] Thank you.

[2:12:51] So, actually though, but with that, I will say that there are some things that I will

[2:12:56] admit are very attractive to me about alternative one, because I do, I like have maintaining

[2:13:04] optionality.

[2:13:05] I think both of these plans are going to be expensive, and we know that there will be updates

[2:13:11] along the way, so I do feel like even though one may appear more expensive now, it may not

[2:13:16] be in the long run.

[2:13:18] Thank you.

[2:13:23] I just have another clarifying question and thank you for all my colleagues.

[2:13:33] But I'm trying to get back to this one thing and it's that I'm just trying to understand.

[2:13:39] So the alternative one, alternative two, alternative one is more nature-based, alternative two is

[2:13:49] more engineered, more steel-based, but it's the ground improvements.

[2:13:58] So if we have four feet of subsidence as we did with the Levy in 2010, can we use the

[2:14:11] ground improvements after that, like that the soil, that the improvements described in

[2:14:20] alternative one, which are kind of nature-based and trying to do nature-y things.

[2:14:27] Are we locking ourselves in if we do get four feet of subsidence with option two?

[2:14:37] Can we, after that happens say in five years after it's built or something, can we go back

[2:14:44] and do some of the ground improvements from that are described really well in option one?

[2:14:54] Yes, so the deep soil mixing is looking at removing the...

[2:15:00] Between 15 and 20 feet of material, and that's taking all that bay mud out and adding in an engineered, engineered material, which is more structurally sound. Option number one has deep soil mixing as its ground treatment throughout the alignment. Option number two has pockets where we're using a smaller section of the deep soil mixing, and then more areas where we're using that sheet.

[2:15:29] pile wall. We can always go back and do that deep soil mixing later on if we need to further raise

[2:15:38] a levy. Another thing we're looking at right now are value engineering improvements. What can we do

[2:15:44] to increase our bank for a buck if you will but also have a structural section. What other

[2:15:54] mixtures can we add into the soil to make it stronger so that when we have to adapt it

[2:16:00] in the future, it's just easier for that team in the future to adapt. So we are working

[2:16:06] through bioengineering opportunities. We have to work with our geotechnical engineer and

[2:16:11] our structural engineer on the team, but I guess the short answer to your question is, yes,

[2:16:17] we can come back and do more deep soil mixing.

[2:16:19] Well, that's a real concern of mine because I want, okay,

[2:16:27] let me, I'm glad to hear that.

[2:16:30] Thank you.

[2:16:31] Let me ask the question another way.

[2:16:34] Can you assure us that we would be able, that if we build, I'm not going to ask you that.

[2:16:42] But if we build alternatives to, we

[2:16:49] won't have to, we would be able to come back and build

[2:16:54] more of what looks like alternative one later if alternative two which is much more engineered.

[2:17:02] You know, we have the subsidence, we have the syncing.

[2:17:06] But again, let me, I mean, I'm answering my question by saying if we need to save that

[2:17:13] alternative because the engineering doesn't work and we have to use nature-based isn't

[2:17:18] it more expensive? Why not just do it nature-based to begin with? I'm just asking that question

[2:17:25] for my colleagues to think about and then just one more thing is I heard and I can't remember

[2:17:33] where I heard it and I could be wrong but to council members of Padilla's point about

[2:17:39] But let's ask, how did it go in Foster City or Palo Alto or what have you?

[2:17:44] I think that I heard because Foster City, it's a very, it's a wall.

[2:17:49] It's a very hard surface that water bangs up against and then it ricochets off and then

[2:17:56] it goes maybe into other jurisdictions because it's a hard surface and so some other jurisdictions

[2:18:04] are like, hey, that wall is just shooting, you're flooding into our jurisdiction.

[2:18:10] And that's, again, one of the benefits of these nature-based, horizontal levees and

[2:18:15] more dirt-based kind of gradual gradations in the water.

[2:18:26] Have you heard of that?

[2:18:28] Have you heard of other jurisdictions saying that that wall in Foster City is just shunting

[2:18:34] extra water into our jurisdiction. We wish it were a softer landing there.

[2:18:42] I have not personally heard that, but I can check in with some of our colleagues over

[2:18:48] on the design team. We have the same design team that did the Foster City,

[2:18:53] Levy, and so they've got some really good lessons learned that they're

[2:18:56] incorporating into our design in Redwood City. But I personally have not heard

[2:19:01] that, but I can look into it.

[2:19:04] I know that in Marin in San Rafael, which has half the number of residents that we do

[2:19:10] and twice the budget, they have a $400 million dollar a year budget and 40,000 people, but

[2:19:18] anyway, back to my point, they're planning for sea level rise, incorporates a lot of nature-based

[2:19:30] solutions and a lot of horizontal levies, and I would ask you to look, I think they've

[2:19:37] already done their BCDC plan, and it incorporates a lot of nature-based solutions I'm told, and

[2:19:49] so I would ask you to check in with them and look at the design team that they use.

[2:19:56] I think

[2:20:00] And I'll stop there.

[2:20:05] It's just so we can do a hybrid. I heard you say we can do a hybrid. Is that right? Yes. If that's the direction of the council, we can submit one alternative to satisfy FEMA, which, I'm sorry, I'm really pushing for at least something to give to FEMA. And then as we're advancing this design, we can go into a hybrid option.

[2:20:30] Thank you, Vice Mayor. We'll go to council, but you.

[2:20:32] So thank you so much for answering all our questions and for a terrific presentation.

[2:20:39] So as I understand it, this as well has three purposes to prevent our homes from flooding and our businesses from flooding to bring us into compliance with FEMA regulations.

[2:20:49] And then will that impact the ability of individuals to obtain insurance?

[2:20:54] Will building this while not just prevent the homes from flooding in real life,

[2:20:59] but also enable people to obtain more favorable rates on their home owners insurance.

[2:21:06] As long as we have a levy that is accredited, home owners are not required to do flood insurance.

[2:21:13] I can't speak to the other property insurance. Okay, so it exempts. Okay, so it will prevent

[2:21:18] the necessity of a costly insurance purchase. Yes, as long as we are not in the flood zone,

[2:21:24] they are not required to have flood insurance. Okay, and so from a practical perspective,

[2:21:28] you know, I would absolutely prioritize just keeping the water out of, you know, districts

[2:21:33] one, two and three, and above all protecting our sewage and sanitation.

[2:21:37] I think that's, you know, just the really practical thing we're trying to accomplish here.

[2:21:42] At the same time, I acknowledge several things.

[2:21:45] Number one, this is effectively a linear park.

[2:21:48] I lived on such a park, you know, when I lived in Japan, I lived on this canal, and it went

[2:21:58] was about 10 feet wide and it was lined with cherry trees

[2:22:00] and had little benches and things like that,

[2:22:03] but a really good linear park can be an incredible amenity.

[2:22:07] And so I certainly acknowledge that, you know,

[2:22:09] that this is a linear park to many people.

[2:22:13] If we have two options, you know,

[2:22:15] one that's effectively 200 million, one that's 290,

[2:22:18] I would much rather spend that extra 90 million

[2:22:21] connecting that linear park to the rest of the city

[2:22:24] than making it wider.

[2:22:26] I think, as one resident suggested, getting the 10-foot option done excellently and then

[2:22:36] having the option to do areas kind of little bump-outs, essentially, where it's wider, little

[2:22:42] vignettes, things like that in areas where it makes sense, I think, allows us to accomplish

[2:22:46] the goals of the wall and still have a wonderful linear park.

[2:22:52] to Council Member Padilla's point about community outreach.

[2:22:56] I think a big part of convincing the city that this isn't just a redwood shores

[2:23:01] levy, it's for all of us, is really ensuring that there is connectivity,

[2:23:07] that there are ways to get to this linear park without having to get in a car,

[2:23:12] park somewhere, you know, and I'll be honest, I'm always trying to figure out

[2:23:17] is there any way I can bite to it and there's really not.

[2:23:20] I mean, you could, but it's not something you'd want to do.

[2:23:26] So that connectivity, I think, would really help advance the idea that this isn't just

[2:23:31] for one district, it's for all of us.

[2:23:35] And it could be an amenity we could all access, trying to think if there's anything else.

[2:23:42] Just to count some member G's comment about asphalt, if there's a way to do asphalt free

[2:23:50] options that I think might be cheaper and nicer, I think it's especially with the rise

[2:23:55] of e-bites. It's also sort of natural traffic calming. It's a lot harder to ride a bike

[2:24:01] fast on compacted granite or something like that than it is on asphalt and it's also more

[2:24:06] pleasant to fall on compacted granite than it is on asphalt. I've tried that out myself.

[2:24:11] So, I think with that, I would be supportive of option two with, as we go along, you know,

[2:24:20] if we can find opportunities to do bump outs and enhancements where it makes sense.

[2:24:25] And really emphasizing connectivity for car-free modes.

[2:24:31] That'll also keep traffic out of the community.

[2:24:33] I mean, there were a lot of people who expressed, you know, we don't want people driving here to, you know,

[2:24:37] hang out on our levy, and if you can make it accessible outside of a car that

[2:24:41] obviates the need for parking. Thank you so much.

[2:24:48] Thank you, Councilmember Chu. Not seeing anyone else's mics on.

[2:24:53] I will add my thanks to Nisha and I have a couple of quick questions to hopefully clarify.

[2:24:59] I know

[2:25:00] So, folks have brought up FEMA's high requirements kind of changing over time. And I'm sorry if I missed this in one of your earlier responses, but do we have a sense of when FEMA might be coming back to us with an update on their high requirement? I do not know at this time. Yeah, of course. That's how it goes. Thanks, Sonisha. Aside from that, you had also mentioned that both of these options give us the ability to add high to it in the future.

[2:25:29] So, if we did hear from, you know, other neighbor interstictions that they're going above and beyond, female plus one, we would still have that ability and capacity to make change.

[2:25:42] I was just kind of curious, what would be the cost and time sort of savings of going with like an option to over an option one if we did have to build an extra height to it?

[2:25:57] Um, is there any sort of cost benefits to that too?

[2:26:02] So option number one is adding a little over $100 million to the price tag for construction.

[2:26:09] That doesn't include any property acquisition.

[2:26:14] If we do need to increase in high over time, those estimates would be variable.

[2:26:21] I couldn't even put a number on it because as we march forward in time,

[2:26:26] the economy, everything's just inflation.

[2:26:30] Definitely, thank you.

[2:26:31] And I heard a couple of my colleague's mentioned just what if there are other jurisdictions

[2:26:40] who are coming up with different standards than what we have in mind.

[2:26:44] So I was just curious.

[2:26:45] I know we were intentional about FEMA plus one because we saw our friends in foster city

[2:26:50] and I think that was sort of matching the hype that they had to, but how do we compare

[2:26:55] to other cities who are other jurisdictions who are still moving in the process and kind

[2:27:01] of playing catch up to, where are they in the process and just how do we compare to them?

[2:27:08] Yeah, I'd say the other jurisdictions are more in the planning stages, so our project is

[2:27:15] probably a little bit further along in our design phase.

[2:27:19] All of the jurisdictions are required to meet the minimum requirements for permitting just

[2:27:24] like we are and should they choose to go above that?

[2:27:29] I mean there are trade-offs for that and once they come out of planning stage we'll know

[2:27:34] exactly what direction they're trying to go rather than what they aspire to.

[2:27:42] Yeah, thank you Tanisha and that all helps and it was a really great presentation and

[2:27:48] And I know there's been so much, you know, community outreach, I had a chance to go to the February meeting you'll organize another a few more recently leading up to this and I think, you know, it's been mentioned that, you know, we had focused so much of our outreach on, you know, the media of the chores area and I do think we're getting to the point where it's time to start thinking about reaching out to other folks.

[2:28:13] So definitely have some appetite to to have outreach to our other neighbors, especially as we're starting to go through the

[2:28:21] cost sharing process and coming up with what that formula will look like with all of our

[2:28:27] our, you know, neighboring jurisdictions, but I

[2:28:32] am also thinking about that part. I sit on the Silicon Valley Clean Water Board and, you know, excuse me,

[2:28:39] I'm going to take my mask off.

[2:28:41] I sit on the Silicon Valley Clean Water Board,

[2:28:43] and there are a handful of jurisdictions

[2:28:46] who are represented on that agency.

[2:28:48] And so coming up with how we divvy up

[2:28:50] the cost to any project is a fun time.

[2:28:55] And so I guess I think of that experience

[2:28:57] and I think of since we're the first ones or the city that

[2:29:06] is the furthest advanced in the design process,

[2:29:10] I feel like that's an opportunity for us to set the tone, and also I think we're going

[2:29:16] to be the ones who have to go to the other cities to say, hey, this is what we have in

[2:29:21] mind. Please come to the table, right? How do we be partners on this? How do we share

[2:29:26] the cost, right? That's going to support your community and protect your community just

[2:29:30] the same. So, with that in mind, I feel like alternative to helps us accomplish that.

[2:29:37] And I like the idea of having a hybrid model in our back pocket as the number two.

[2:29:43] I do think there are pockets where this project could be really helpful for place making.

[2:29:50] And somebody said maybe it was during the presentation that this should be something that attracts folks to red matures.

[2:29:57] And that is an amenity to the red matures community.

[2:30:00] Right, so I want folks to feel proud of having something like this in their backyard, right? And I also think about what is going to protect the more than 4,000 homes who are at risk right now. And I think staff had calculated over a billion dollars in property that's going to be protected by this project. So thinking about that and what's going to be the quickest and fastest way to get us there. And I have to say,

[2:30:29] alternative to the design of alternative to looks really great and it's not a

[2:30:35] pure functional engineering solution to a nature problem right. I know we have

[2:30:42] friends from the the foster city project who are now consultants on our team and

[2:30:48] are working with the the working groups so we get that shared experience and

[2:30:51] learned lessons to so that's all to say I feel like alternative to staff's

[2:30:57] recommendation is the right path and if there are opportunities for us to create more

[2:31:04] place making with that hybrid approach, creating more spaces for the community together or making

[2:31:10] it just, yeah, I think Tunisia know where I'm going with this, but just being thoughtful

[2:31:16] about how we approach that because I don't think it needs to be completely uniform all the

[2:31:21] way around Levy, so I will leave it there.

[2:31:25] Again, I appreciate all the support here at Tendish for me and your team, and if there

[2:31:31] are no other lights on, we'll go to Councilmember Sturkin and then Councilmember G.

[2:31:38] Thank you, sir.

[2:31:38] Just a couple of rapid-fire questions based on the discussion.

[2:31:41] Okay, so looking at the alternative to, there's the very short wall up to 3.5 feet, right?

[2:31:48] You were saying Tendish, but it's covered in concrete.

[2:31:50] It's enclosed.

[2:31:51] You don't see the sheet metal, right?

[2:31:53] And that was a concern that we heard from some residents

[2:31:55] and namely about the foster city living.

[2:31:57] So just kind of debunking that you cannot see the sheet metal.

[2:32:01] OK, great.

[2:32:02] Golden.

[2:32:03] And then groundwater.

[2:32:05] So both of these versions, alternatives

[2:32:09] prevent groundwater sea binge, right?

[2:32:12] I mean, to the extent possible.

[2:32:17] We have a very high groundwater table in redwood shores.

[2:32:20] is if you just stay the two-foot trench, you will start getting infiltration. Both options

[2:32:27] are engineered to address the impacts of groundwater.

[2:32:31] And does one do it better than the other, or are they just comparable?

[2:32:34] No, they're just different methods.

[2:32:36] Yeah, okay. Okay. And then Councilmember Chiu suggested a asphalt-free cap and for a variety

[2:32:47] of reasons, right? But I wanted to check that doesn't have any ADA implications, does

[2:32:51] it? It does not. There are some maintenance concerns. We have a lot of burrowing squirrels

[2:32:59] and having that cap there does help deter, if you will. But a lot of residents do really enjoy

[2:33:09] that natural bill, particularly those who are riding bikes. It is a lot nicer to fall

[2:33:15] under the asphalt, and also if there's someone walking there, their pet, you know, the asphalt

[2:33:21] does tend to get a little hotter.

[2:33:23] Okay.

[2:33:24] Recognizing there's maintenance impacts, very supportive of the idea of a more natural

[2:33:29] cap, based on the committee feedback we received that you mentioned for the memo, as well

[2:33:33] as the councilmember G said about giving us that flexibility to continue building it higher

[2:33:39] If we need to add a lesser cost, it's been

[2:33:42] on to remove asphalt.

[2:33:45] And then I just want to clarify a question

[2:33:47] that the mayor asked, so I know we can't know for sure.

[2:33:51] But the cost of increasing the height of alternative one

[2:33:55] type levy or alternative two type levy,

[2:33:59] I mean, can you estimate which one costs more to increase?

[2:34:05] Like I mean, we're starting with a smaller base.

[2:34:07] Sorry, I'll go ahead.

[2:34:07] Go ahead.

[2:34:08] I would estimate that alternative two would require a little bit more of an engineering

[2:34:13] solution to raise, so it would cost a little more.

[2:34:17] Alternative one does have a much wider base, so as you go up, you could make it narrower,

[2:34:23] so from that perspective.

[2:34:25] That's what I thought, but we also have to take into consideration, as was mentioned, possible

[2:34:32] necessary taking, which is costly.

[2:34:35] So I wish we had like a net cost comparison for these two

[2:34:42] based on future height increases.

[2:34:47] But I think we can figure that out as we move forward.

[2:34:52] A little more, I just wish I had that information in front of me

[2:34:56] as well as input from residents outside of Redwood Shores.

[2:35:00] Well, 20% was from out of several shows from that, but more than just 20%. Right?

[2:35:12] I'm so sorry, and I'm not going to belabor this, or I'm not going to prolong this. But what you said, Mr. Syrkin, just made, gave me a question in my colleagues as well. Is it possible? It's some places to have the 20 feet, and it's some places to have the 10 feet wide? Is it possible?

[2:35:33] Well, can the hybrid be, you know, like that?

[2:35:37] The hybrid could look at expanding up to 20 feet where we're going to have minimal property

[2:35:43] acquisition concerns.

[2:35:44] Yeah, that's my point where there's no taking of property and that's certainly an option

[2:35:50] for the hybrid.

[2:35:51] It will increase the cost, though, just, just, okay.

[2:35:54] Okay, so I'm very supportive of that in concept because it might be cheaper later.

[2:35:59] we'll

[2:36:05] go to councilmember jeep. Thank you before I lean in with a motion if no one else makes it.

[2:36:11] I want to thank councilmember Howard and councilmember sir. I didn't really want to go there knowing

[2:36:16] the levy's system. I didn't want to use the eminent domain word and taking word,

[2:36:23] particularly along the cider ridwood shores that faces the port. It is narrower and I'm

[2:36:30] I'm not adamantly opposed, particularly the residential properties of any taking to get that 20 feet.

[2:36:35] I just want to make sure I said that on the record.

[2:36:38] I didn't want to take any commercial properties.

[2:36:40] There's not a lot of space between property line on that side of red which sure is facing the port.

[2:36:47] And so to the extent other places might work for 20 feet, I'm fine with that, but definitely no way can I support taking private property,

[2:36:57] particularly residential properties and their backyards.

[2:37:02] You know, as we move forward with, you know,

[2:37:05] I've said before, alternative two,

[2:37:08] with different parts, maybe 20 feet or different amenities,

[2:37:14] I just want to make sure that as we develop and mature the design,

[2:37:18] that public works is involved because they get to maintain it.

[2:37:22] What is not in the surveys is, you know,

[2:37:24] how often are the garbage cans going to be emptied, how many there are, and while there is

[2:37:30] public works, we'll say yes we will, there's a cost to yes we will. And as well as the

[2:37:38] widening of the levy, what also didn't show up in the surveys but showed up in the community

[2:37:43] meetings is this phenomena that we've all talked about here about e-bikes and speeding.

[2:37:49] And that has happened. I have been on a bicycle or somebody got knocked off their bike and e-bike.

[2:37:59] And so that becomes PD and enforcement. But how do you enforce bikes on the levy when you can't even have PD out there?

[2:38:08] And so those are the different things to look at as the design matures the next 40% to make sure public works is involved.

[2:38:15] and PD, or how do you even deal with e-bikes on the levy, and they are out there, I can guarantee that.

[2:38:24] And those were things that came up in the last community meeting by different residents.

[2:38:28] So I think there's a built-in tension between privacy, public access,

[2:38:36] people on bicycles, e-bikes, maintenance and things like that.

[2:38:39] that in that next 40%, we just need to make sure public works and PDN are involved to make

[2:38:46] sure those two issues are addressed somehow. I don't have a good answer, I'm just particularly

[2:38:52] for the e-bike enforcement.

[2:38:56] So Mayor, if you would like, I'll second your motion. I think

[2:38:59] you made one in your comments about alternative two with some hybrid opportunities for other

[2:39:11] to balance that with the other departments that are required to maintain and look at what that cost may be as well as PD for enforcement of he bikes and other speeding things that I come close, that's great, so that was a motion and a second for alternative to with the hybrid opportunities there, not seeing anyone else's lights on, could we get an electronic vote, please.

[2:39:44] Yes.

[2:39:47] Councilmember Hauer.

[2:39:48] Yes.

[2:39:49] Councilmember Padilla.

[2:39:51] Yes.

[2:39:52] Councilmember Sturkin.

[2:39:53] Yes.

[2:39:54] Vice Mayor Eakin.

[2:39:55] No.

[2:39:57] Mayor Martinez Avias.

[2:39:58] Yes.

[2:39:59] Motion.

[2:40:00] Passes with six votes. Vice Mayor Aiken is opposed. Thank you.

[2:40:06] Thank you, everybody, for the discussion on item 8A. We'll now move on to item 9. Our study sessions beginning with 9A. Study session on activities to advance the city council's strategic priority of children and youth. We have our assistant city manager, Derek Wolfgram, who will introduce the item prior to turning it over to our interim library director, Sarah Latora, and parks, recreation, and community services

[2:40:35] Thank you very much, Mayor. Good evening. To you, Vice Mayor and Council members, Derek Wolf Graham assistant city manager, I'm delighted to have the opportunity to introduce this item tonight as initiatives to support children and youth in our community have been one of the most critical and one of the most fun things I've gotten to work on the entire time I've worked in Redwood City.

[2:40:59] So, as the mayor mentioned tonight, our interim library director, Sara Latora, and our

[2:41:04] parks recreation community services director, Tierra Warner, will present some updates on

[2:41:10] children and youth in Redwood City and our services for them.

[2:41:14] But this council priority really touches almost every city department.

[2:41:18] We have a number of youth engagement programs that happen in our public safety departments

[2:41:22] in police and fire.

[2:41:24] Our public works department does some wonderful environmental sustainability education initiatives,

[2:41:30] engineering, and transportation, keep our children safe through the design of our pedestrian,

[2:41:37] bicycle, and traffic infrastructure, and finance helps figure out how to pay for it all.

[2:41:42] So, you know, I could go on, but I'm intending to keep this introduction pretty short.

[2:41:48] I do want to give a shout out to you get not only Sarah and Tierra, but we have a wonderful

[2:41:56] showing of the Parks Recreation Community Services, Youth and Teen staff who've stuck

[2:42:01] it out through the meeting so far, so it's great to have the whole team here.

[2:42:08] And so yeah, it's been about three years since we last did this study session presented

[2:42:14] presented by Chris Beth and myself at that time,

[2:42:17] and a lot of great work has happened since then.

[2:42:20] One of the things that came up in a discussion earlier today

[2:42:24] is that with the Council's three main strategic priorities

[2:42:29] of housing, transportation, and children and youth,

[2:42:33] there are a lot of housing and transportation items

[2:42:35] that come to the Council for action.

[2:42:38] With the children and youth, it's less so,

[2:42:40] And so there's less opportunity for you all to be informed about the work that's happening in that area and so I'm really glad that we have an opportunity to share some of it with you tonight.

[2:42:53] I do encourage everyone who's in attendance or everyone who's watching to check out the very detailed staff report and the attachment to the staff report.

[2:43:03] With the time we have tonight, we will only be able to scratch the surface of all of the

[2:43:08] amazing initiatives and programs and services that we offer youth in the community.

[2:43:14] But here to highlight some of the key data, the impacts that we're having and the trends

[2:43:20] that are impacting our work, I'd like to invite Sarah and Tierra to come to the podium.

[2:43:25] Thank you.

[2:43:29] Thank you, Derek.

[2:43:30] Sarah Latora, Interim Library Director.

[2:43:34] And let's see. Looks like we're already up. Perfect. Can we go to the next slide?

[2:43:39] So this is just an overview of what we're presenting tonight, which includes questions

[2:43:43] for city council consideration, a map of city services, key demographics and numbers,

[2:43:49] current trends that are guiding our work, impact stories, and then we'll end with a Q&A session.

[2:43:55] Next slide.

[2:43:58] The two questions for council consideration are, does the city council have any questions

[2:44:03] regarding the current programs and services provided by the city and its partners for children and youth.

[2:44:09] And are there additional or alternative programs and services that the city should consider prioritizing within the existing resources?

[2:44:17] Next slide.

[2:44:20] Good evening, Tierra Warner, Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services.

[2:44:24] Thanks to our awesome GIS team, we were able to get this map produced that highlights where our programs exist.

[2:44:31] so in the green you'll see our parks and the pink you'll see where our libraries are located,

[2:44:35] blue or the community centers that serve the main youth and children programs and then in yellow,

[2:44:41] I think that's coming up as yellow, as where our reach after school programs sites are located.

[2:44:48] Next slide.

[2:44:51] In Ridwood City, there are roughly 17,500 people under the age of 18. 46.5% of these youth are

[2:45:00] Hispanic or Latino. 26.9% are white. 12.6 are Asian. 8.5% are two or more races. About 3.2 are black.

[2:45:11] 1.6 are American Indian and 0.7% are Native Hawaiian and or Pacific Islander. Next slide.

[2:45:21] This slide gives a high level view at the ethnicity of students in Redwood City. The numbers on the Sequoia Union High School District

[2:45:29] in campus schools outside of Redwood City and has noted in the report students from Redwood

[2:45:33] City attend schools throughout the high school district. So we thought it was important

[2:45:37] to include that information here. Redwood City School District has the largest percentage

[2:45:44] of Hispanic students compared with the Redwood Shore Schools which those are two schools within

[2:45:50] the Belmont Redwood Shore School District and we did have specific numbers just for the two

[2:45:54] schools. So that's what 900 students comes from. And that is more heavily Asian, compared

[2:46:01] to with Revised City as a whole. And then the Sequoia Union High School District most closely

[2:46:06] matches the demographics of the city as a whole. Next slide, please.

[2:46:13] Oh, one of the coolest things about my job is after all the hard work behind the scenes, planning

[2:46:18] and programming is to see our programs in action. This slide is a visual representation of how many

[2:46:23] Many people are engaged in our youth and children led programs.

[2:46:27] So over 23,000 youth came to parks and rec programs last fiscal year.

[2:46:33] We served over 7,000 kids or youth athletes, shall I say, on our fields.

[2:46:38] Thank you, Mike.

[2:46:41] We served also a great number of kids in our summer camp programs.

[2:46:45] They have over 90 contracted structures that help us decide what programs we're going to

[2:46:50] offer during the summer.

[2:46:51] and so we've been able to serve over 5,000 youth participants in our summer camps.

[2:46:56] And then to the library with all the awesome books that we love.

[2:47:00] There have been over 450,000 library materials dedicated to children of youth that have been checked out.

[2:47:06] And then attendance over 65,000 and attendance for programs for children of youth.

[2:47:12] And then over 7,000 participants in the library summer learning challenge.

[2:47:19] Next slide please.

[2:47:22] These are the funding sources that are hoping to provide these programs for the city.

[2:47:27] As you can see the majority of the money comes from the general fund.

[2:47:30] And then we have additional funding that comes from a variety of grants.

[2:47:35] And then also our community nonprofits that support both the parks and the libraries.

[2:47:40] So all this together helps us to do the amazing service.

[2:47:44] And I would say our staff are pretty nimble at trying to go after additional funds

[2:47:47] to continue to expand programs and services for the community.

[2:47:52] Next slide, please.

[2:47:56] And then we really love to talk about the why.

[2:47:58] Why does this work better?

[2:47:59] Why do we do it?

[2:48:00] What does it do for the folks that are participating in our programs?

[2:48:04] There's scientific-based research that backs that,

[2:48:07] a substantive, robust offering of programs for youth

[2:48:13] leads to improved school readiness and literacy.

[2:48:16] It supports the academic success beyond the classroom,

[2:48:18] promotes physical health. We should help strengthen mental and health and

[2:48:24] resilience and we know that's huge. We help reduce risk factors for youth

[2:48:28] involvement in the justice system. We also help prepare youth for the future

[2:48:32] and careers in economic mobility. We also develop civic leadership and community

[2:48:37] engagement through our AB and tab programs and beyond. We also help increase

[2:48:41] equitable access to opportunities and then support working families. And if I was

[2:48:46] and born and raised in Redwood City, I was born and raised in San Diego, but I am walking

[2:48:51] representation of how important youth programs are. Day camps, after school programs, all

[2:48:55] those things help people be awesome, contribute to the community, so we're excited to be

[2:49:00] able to offer these programs.

[2:49:05] There's quite a few different things that impact our work and we looked at these four key

[2:49:09] trends and how there are both opportunities and challenges that come along with these

[2:49:15] trends. So the four trends are third grade reading level, mental health resilience, economic

[2:49:21] mobility, emerging adulthood, e-bikes, e-mobility. And so I'll cover the first two and then tap

[2:49:27] on my partner here for the second two. So some significant achievement gaps persist

[2:49:33] while 47% of Redwood City School District third graders met or exceeded ELA standards.

[2:49:38] Perficiency varies sharply by race, income, disability, status, and English language, English

[2:49:46] learner status. Students facing additional barriers experienced largest gaps. Perficiency

[2:49:52] falls to 31 percent among low-income students, 16 percent among students with disabilities,

[2:49:58] and just 9% a month.

[2:50:09] We have the opportunity to continue strengthening partnerships with the city, schools, and community organizations to improve literacy outcomes and reduce disparities. Youth mental health concerns are increasing.

[2:50:26] Diagnosed anxiety and depression among youth have risen substantially alongside growing

[2:50:32] concerns about loneliness and social isolation.

[2:50:36] Connection is a critical protective barrier.

[2:50:39] Supportive relationships, trusted adults, peer connections, and strong sense of belonging

[2:50:44] help build resilience and promote healthy development.

[2:50:48] Technology presents both opportunities and risks.

[2:50:51] Digital platforms can support learning and connection, but excessive use, cyberbullying, social

[2:50:57] comparison, and disrupted sleep can negatively affect well-being.

[2:51:04] The city has opportunities to expand safe, inclusive spaces, and programs that promote

[2:51:09] social, emotional skills, healthy coping, responsible technology use, recreation, and meaningful

[2:51:16] community connection.

[2:51:17] The city can address some of these concerns through the ways we provide programming.

[2:51:27] And I know everyone's excited to talk about e-bikes, but I'm going to start with economic

[2:51:30] mobility first.

[2:51:32] The transition to adulthood is taking longer.

[2:51:35] Young adults are reaching milestones such as financial independence, leaving home, marriage

[2:51:39] and parenthood later than previous generations.

[2:51:42] Local economic conditions amplify these challenges, high housing costs, longer educational pathways,

[2:51:48] and changing workforce expectations can delay independence for young adults in San Mateo County and beyond.

[2:51:54] Emerging adulthood is an important period for investment.

[2:51:58] Young people need support navigating education, career exploration, finances, housing, relationships, and mental well-being.

[2:52:05] The city has opportunities to strengthen workforce development, financial literacy, career exploration, leadership, mentorship, and civic engagement programs that create pathways to long-term economic mobility.

[2:52:18] eBike usage is rapidly expanding among youth, eBikes and other e-mobility devices provide

[2:52:26] convenient transportation and recreation but introduce increased safety considerations

[2:52:30] due to higher speeds.

[2:52:32] Use safety remains a priority.

[2:52:35] Inexperience, excessive speed, limited traffic awareness, inconsistent helmet use and unsafe

[2:52:40] interactions with pedestrians and vehicles are key risk factors.

[2:52:45] Education and prevention are central to the city's approach, police, parks, and recreation

[2:52:50] and library programs are combining education, outreach, enforcement, and hands-on safety

[2:52:56] training as measures.

[2:52:58] We have more opportunities to build a community-wide culture of responsible writing by expanding

[2:53:04] education for youth, parents, and schools while supporting safe active transportation and shared

[2:53:09] public spaces.

[2:53:10] I want to give a special shout-out to the Safe Fouts to School program.

[2:53:13] We have Ivana, who works with our engineering transportation program, to work with the task force.

[2:53:19] That provides collaboration on measures to get kids to school safely.

[2:53:25] So thank you, Ivana, for all of your work.

[2:53:27] In addition, engineering and transportation have helped to provide 15 mile-an-hour zones around our schools for butter safety efforts.

[2:53:35] Additionally, staff are waiting on state legislation to help guide where we go next with eBike rules and regulations.

[2:53:44] And I just want to add that the eBike discussion is not ending tonight.

[2:53:48] We will dive more deeply into eBike legislation at a future council meeting.

[2:53:52] So tonight, it's more around programs that we can utilize to help strengthen our communities.

[2:53:58] Next slide please.

[2:54:00] Alright, some quick impact stories before we dive into questions.

[2:54:04] So, these are a few stories I thought would be great to share with you.

[2:54:08] Library is a refuge.

[2:54:09] A customer shared that the library was a refuge for her family when they first arrived in the community.

[2:54:14] Seeing children reading, using computers, and accessing books, including Spanish language materials, moved her deeply.

[2:54:21] Today, her children are university students and she credits the library with watering the seeds of knowledge.

[2:54:26] A parent shared how the teen center helped her homeschooled autistic son come out of his shell by connecting with peers and participating in activities he enjoys.

[2:54:36] She praised staff for creating such a welcoming and supportive space.

[2:54:39] And finally, a teen living in shelter shared how meaningful it was to see a Christmas tree in the teen center.

[2:54:45] Without a home of their own to decorate the simple gesture, gave them a chance to experience the joy and spirit of the holiday.

[2:54:53] and many other holidays are celebrated in the teen space as well.

[2:54:57] Next slide, please.

[2:55:01] I had the opportunity to talk to you about 20 middle schoolers a few weeks ago and I said, if I were the only person tasked with bringing a message to all of the adults in the world, I can be the only one to take your message to adults, what would you have me take to them? And a couple of things came up. They said, one, we don't get what it means to that it always happened that way or I did it or back in my day, we don't understand it, we don't relate.

[2:55:30] The other thing was we can't use the excuse of walking 10 miles in the snow in barefoot.

[2:55:36] We can't use that excuse anymore, it's not working.

[2:55:39] The next piece was they felt like they're being watched more than any other generation.

[2:55:44] They felt like if they make a mistake that could be on the internet at any moment in time

[2:55:48] and they have no control over that.

[2:55:51] The other piece was as much as some people abuse having phones in the classroom, they really

[2:55:56] to do appreciate having a phone close to them,

[2:55:59] just in case they need to make a phone call

[2:56:00] in an emergency.

[2:56:02] And so with all that said,

[2:56:03] we're committed to providing programs

[2:56:05] that are for the kids in this generation

[2:56:07] with the influence of the kid that lives inside of us,

[2:56:10] and we'll continue to do that

[2:56:14] next slide.

[2:56:16] All right, so we're here at questions.

[2:56:18] The city council have any questions regarding

[2:56:19] the current programs and services provided by the city,

[2:56:22] and it's partners for children and youth,

[2:56:24] and are there additional or alternative programs

[2:56:27] and services that the city should consider prioritizing within existing resources.

[2:56:37] Are we going to public comment first?

[2:56:39] Okay.

[2:56:43] Thank you both for that great presentation, and we'll take public comment before bringing it back to the city council.

[2:56:49] Thank you, Mayor.

[2:56:50] I don't have any speaker cards at this time to the last call to the audience, or on Zoom to be recognized for public comment on the study session item this evening.

[2:56:58] I'll give it a few moments.

[2:57:06] That concludes public comment.

[2:57:10] Thank you, city clerk, and again, thank you to our wonderful presenters this evening.

[2:57:15] I think Tara what you mentioned just serving the youth of today's generation with the experience of the inner kit is just exactly what I think we want to be hearing from the people leading our person libraries.

[2:57:30] So it's amazing to hear but I'll bring it back to our council colleagues here for any questions or comments.

[2:57:38] who would like to get us started.

[2:57:41] Council Member G.

[2:57:43] Thank you, Mayor.

[2:57:44] Thank you.

[2:57:45] This is great.

[2:57:46] And I think part of the secret sauce goes to all the councils who have been very clear

[2:57:51] with our strategic priorities.

[2:57:54] That clarity I think helps over the many years of what you need to do as department leads

[2:58:00] as well as our donors and everyone.

[2:58:03] that clarity just helps amplify what you do and hopefully attracts new donations, funders,

[2:58:10] grantors and things like that. So thank you for the great work. I was curious. You know,

[2:58:17] we do a lot with our city budget, but as I think I mentioned in the previous comment,

[2:58:22] it's going to be heavily stressed going forward. Is there a split between, what's the split between

[2:58:30] city, federal, state, and philanthropy in terms of, you know, at the high-level funding.

[2:58:37] Do you know that? What that might be right now?

[2:58:41] We're not on. Can we go back to the slide about the budget?

[2:58:50] Yeah.

[2:58:57] So this sort of captures one year of what happens in budgeting that we get

[2:59:03] from federal streams of funding, state streams of funding, even local grants

[2:59:08] varies from year to year. For example, the library receives annual funding from the California

[2:59:14] State Library, passed through from the State Budget for Project Read. So that's matching

[2:59:19] funding and our positions we fund match those. So that's one that is relatively reliable,

[2:59:28] but it is dependent on the State Budget. And then there's additional funding this past

[2:59:33] this year, such as the PD grant that is, oh, it's not a regular annual based funding

[2:59:38] that varies if there's different opportunities.

[2:59:42] I would say the funding that the library in particular is receiving from our nonprofits

[2:59:47] continues to be steady, although the nonprofits are having challenges with fundraising.

[2:59:53] It is harder for them to raise money.

[2:59:55] So, for example, our Funds of the Library, we, overall, they give me...

[3:00:00] The last year was about $106,000. This year, the fund's library only can do $101,000, so that means we need to make choices on how are we going to reduce what we're asking for. So, I think this is similar to what parks are experiencing as well. Yes, and then addition, our reach after school program is funded by the ACES and ELOB grants, which have been pretty steady for us as well. It would be great to be able to kind of see the trend lines over years, to see what's stable, what's increasing, what's decreasing.

[3:00:29] just so that as council members we know where to to the extent we comply any

[3:00:35] pressure or help or be supportive or buy more tickets or whatever and to

[3:00:40] disaggregate the top one about city journal fund versus PRCA's PRCS ticket sales.

[3:00:47] I think splitting that out might be you know also another dimension of helpfulness.

[3:00:54] Well picnic on block is an annual fundraiser for Parks and Rep program so I

[3:00:58] encourage you to come if you're looking for tickets to back.

[3:01:00] So that's 66.9% can go to 80% if we go to October Fest.

[3:01:04] Yes, even though people go and also you should mark your

[3:01:09] calendars there's a pub in upscale pub crawl coming up that

[3:01:14] supports the library foundation.

[3:01:15] That's in October.

[3:01:16] So we hope folks will join us for that as well.

[3:01:18] But again, I think we can control general fund more directly

[3:01:21] and then we can celebrate and advertise ticket sales.

[3:01:25] so I think having those taken apart a little bit is helpful.

[3:01:29] The other comment I'd like to make, I want to thank Terri U and Derek

[3:01:33] for recognizing our commitment to infrastructure too.

[3:01:37] And when you add that into the numbers,

[3:01:40] I think it probably will double it.

[3:01:42] You know, with safe pathways and safe routes to schools,

[3:01:45] the 15 mile per hour zone, all the different things we have done

[3:01:50] and continue to do crossing guards, you add all that in here.

[3:01:54] We're not doing it just to do it.

[3:01:56] We're doing it to make our communities safer for our young people.

[3:02:00] And that needs to be celebrated and acknowledged also, along with my community who doesn't

[3:02:05] know how to drive 15 mile per hour to test the rubber shorts elementary school, they don't

[3:02:10] know what to do.

[3:02:10] I think PD's gotten a lot of calls on there, non-emergency line, but what do I do?

[3:02:16] But we need to recognize and celebrate because of that clarity that the council has provided

[3:02:21] our strategic priorities.

[3:02:23] We continuously invest in making sure our community is safe for our young people.

[3:02:27] So be nice to be able to quantify that and put that in here too.

[3:02:31] Because some of that is one time expense, some of that is future, some of that is annual recurring expenses too, or investment.

[3:02:38] So great, great report.

[3:02:40] Thank you for all the hard work and thank all the other departments that have a piece of this too.

[3:02:46] Thank you for getting us started, Councilmember.

[3:02:49] Who would like to go next?

[3:02:53] Councilmember Howard.

[3:02:55] Thank you. Great report. And your enthusiasm always gets me always feeling good. I really appreciate it and I'll try to get to both of those activities because they are a lot of fun. They really are put it out that you need volunteers to make a plug.

[3:03:14] We need volunteers.

[3:03:16] Thank you.

[3:03:16] I think the sign-ups arrived for October 5th.

[3:03:20] OK, great.

[3:03:23] I do have, I wanted to feel right now,

[3:03:27] one of the biggest problems that we have.

[3:03:30] I know eBikes are problem, we've got a lot of problems.

[3:03:33] But the one I'm most concerned about right now

[3:03:36] is young people and the mental health issues

[3:03:43] that don't sometimes get expressed or talked about loneliness you're talking

[3:03:49] about I mean with COVID what happened with the isolation people in their

[3:03:54] homes and I think it left scars that are going to take years to unravel we

[3:03:59] don't even know probably the extent of how this is going to shape the young

[3:04:04] people who live through that but I bet they're living with I don't know bad

[3:04:11] thoughts or sad thoughts and how can we do a better job with that. We're offering so many

[3:04:18] wonderful things but you could go to a program and have a great time but you still haven't

[3:04:25] dealt with the issue that's in your head and so do we have those kinds of partnerships especially

[3:04:32] with the county who they deal with this a lot and I'm wondering do we have those kinds of partnerships

[3:04:40] and plans to address it more fully for the future.

[3:04:44] Do you want to take it first?

[3:04:45] Sure.

[3:04:46] First of all, I want to give a shout out to our youth and teens program staff.

[3:04:50] They have a youth center. That's very popular.

[3:04:53] And these staff do a really great job of conducting with the kids that come in on a variety of bases.

[3:05:00] Interacting them, engaging with them, making sure the homework is done, but also making sure they have a safe place to be. I am working with a local nonprofit that has a van that comes to different spaces to offer those mental health opportunities for youths. So the library has it also. So that's a partnership that I'm currently working on so that we have that option for youth to have someone to chat with and get some valuable resources.

[3:05:28] I just want to add about our spaces, I think part of the challenge is trying to make

[3:05:33] sure teens are aware they exist because it is such a valuable space for youth.

[3:05:38] We have caring supportive adults and as somebody who was a teen librarian myself and I started

[3:05:43] my career here, we've really built a culture where when youth express issues that are occurring,

[3:05:50] we connect with the schools and let those schools know about like, hey, this child needs

[3:05:54] you to check in on them, because maybe there's some issues at the home or there's issues around

[3:05:59] cutting or suicide. So we are very proactive about seeking out resources to support the families.

[3:06:05] We also work closely with PD and might ask for a wellness check if we feel that there's a need.

[3:06:11] While we are not a after-school program and like a required reporter of these issues,

[3:06:17] we do take them seriously and try to make sure the students have the supports they need.

[3:06:21] There have been incidences where we've also worked with one life counseling and other resources in the community.

[3:06:27] I can't remember. I'm blanking on there was a one group we used to work with which now is not available.

[3:06:33] But we are still seeking out ways that we can connect kids with more mental health resources.

[3:06:38] One area of this that I really want to highlight is our youth let us know after the pandemic that they wanted quiet spaces.

[3:06:47] not just the noise, you're in bunches,

[3:06:49] teen centers and youth centers.

[3:06:51] And so we actually converted one of our spaces into a quiet teen space

[3:06:54] so that students that want to be able to come to read, to talk quietly,

[3:06:59] to work within small groups, to just be in a place that's restful and relaxing,

[3:07:03] have that opportunity.

[3:07:05] So we do really try to take what the students are telling us

[3:07:08] and put it into action.

[3:07:12] I appreciate that.

[3:07:13] But I know you mentioned that you'll bring into the attention of the schools

[3:07:17] Sometimes when you're aware of a problem, I did volunteer at Sequoia as a mentor for some high-risk students and the teachers said we're just overwhelmed.

[3:07:28] So if we give that information to them, I'm worried what do they do with it because I think everyone's a little overwhelmed and not sure how to deal with some of these problems.

[3:07:39] So I was wondering do we have a connection or plan to maybe collaborate more closely with the county

[3:07:49] because I feel there they may have the resources that can address some of these problems.

[3:07:55] Any thoughts on that? I'm sure it's definitely something we can look into

[3:07:59] how a partnership might work to address those issues. I know the county offered the council

[3:08:05] to go on tours of their resources and where they're located and they're going to have a North County tour in the South County tour.

[3:08:12] I already signed up for the South County and encourage my colleagues to please sign up because I want to find out I don't know much about the locations or the type of services other than what I read, but to see it firsthand, I'm wondering if maybe it'll spring some ideas on how we could work together because just taking a problem to the school.

[3:08:34] I feel like we're overwhelming and already overwhelmed teacher population and there's got to be a better way and maybe a parent can't even handle it because they're overwhelmed and don't know how to deal with the child.

[3:08:49] So there's got to be more of a collaboration to deal with this precious resource we have which is our kids.

[3:08:57] So I'm hoping we can do all report back after our tour with the county, but have you done this before or do you think it's something we could explore further?

[3:09:08] Yeah, there's quite a few different county groups that we work with now, which I think we can continue to build on those partnerships.

[3:09:15] We work with the Pride Center.

[3:09:16] We work with, um, there's a new emerging partnership, which I'm not certain if this is the one TRS talking about or not

[3:09:22] It which is with Edgewood, um, they have a new mobile van that they're starting up

[3:09:27] And so we are staff are going tomorrow, I think to go tour their facility in Redwood City

[3:09:32] But also to see the van and then we're gonna start discussing like what would it look like if they came and parked in from the library once a month or

[3:09:40] Depending on how much bandwidth they have to be able to start that this is a new initiative that the county is launching

[3:09:45] So I'm sure there's many other groups that we can use throughout the county and utilize

[3:09:50] their services, but we've had a lot of success working with the various county agencies, so

[3:09:55] I look forward to hearing additional ones you suggest we should reach out to.

[3:10:00] And I do want to give a shout out to our HR department. We did have an incident recently with one of our youth in the youth center and we reached out to HR and they provided someone to come out to chat with the kids and staff as a as a debrief so. That's great. That's very helpful. So I and the other thing is I wanted to just lastly say we have two plus two plus two. Well, we have relationships with the schools and we meet or

[3:10:29] supposed to meet frequently enough that we can discuss each other's issues and how we

[3:10:34] can work better together.

[3:10:36] And the one I find that's just not very successful is the one with the Redwood City schooled

[3:10:46] elementary school district and the Sequoia high school district.

[3:10:49] We haven't met, I don't think, once this year.

[3:10:52] Maybe we met in January, but...

[3:10:55] Yeah, thank you, I believe we met last January, I mean, yeah, so, but-

[3:11:00] That's just not good.

[3:11:01] Yeah, a couple times a year.

[3:11:02] Good idea.

[3:11:03] We know it, but everyone's busy.

[3:11:05] So I was going to suggest that maybe we think about dividing it up and saying, let's meet

[3:11:11] with the elementary school district because they might have unique problems and then make

[3:11:16] the- I think we have to kind of take control of the situation because if we just let it go

[3:11:22] the way it is, it'll be another year before we ever meet with these groups and that's

[3:11:28] an opportunity to really share resources and problems and solutions. We can't do it alone,

[3:11:34] they can't do it alone. So that's my suggestion for the council is maybe we stop trying to

[3:11:41] get everyone into the room and maybe we'll have to make the extra effort and even go to

[3:11:46] their facility. I'd be willing to do that. Just, that's how desperately I think we need

[3:11:51] to meet with these teachers and educators to know that we want to work together.

[3:11:58] I'll just add that we have recently within the last week reached out to the new Superintendent

[3:12:04] of RCSD to try to set up a meeting with both myself and the Division Manager of Youth Services

[3:12:09] and Outreach. So we are intending to have that meeting very soon. Obviously the school is

[3:12:14] to start it back up, but I will be persistent and make sure we set that up and the intent

[3:12:18] is to talk about what sort of supports we can provide to the school as well as to make

[3:12:23] sure the new superintendent is aware of what are we already doing in the schools and

[3:12:27] maybe build upon those current process.

[3:12:31] We do have great contacts with all of the schools directly through both our principals and

[3:12:35] their library staff so we do make an effort to communicate on a regular basis to all of

[3:12:41] schools and through them often the teachers, but definitely it's always worthwhile to continue

[3:12:47] to strengthen those relationships. I'm not going to have to have a student at Sequoia

[3:12:51] High School, so I do have really good relationship with the current principal, and I actually have

[3:12:56] a meeting with some counselors tomorrow morning, so I think it is one of those areas that the

[3:13:01] library would love for it to bring you along, and we can help strengthen these relationships.

[3:13:06] That's wonderful to hear. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

[3:13:12] Thank you, Council Member Howard.

[3:13:15] Go to Council Member Strick.

[3:13:17] Thank you, Mayor.

[3:13:18] Thank you so much, both of you for your hard work.

[3:13:21] This is, I know just like a taste of all the work that goes into our programs, and I really

[3:13:27] do applaud you for everything that you have shown us here.

[3:13:32] I know I can't believe to begin to thank you enough for how much work you do.

[3:13:40] I do want to spend some time just kind of focusing zeroing in on a couple key issues, areas

[3:13:46] of improvement that aren't unique to us, of course, right, but that we do have a part

[3:13:52] in.

[3:13:53] And one of the areas that struck me the most was youth homelessness and the 507 students

[3:14:02] experiencing homelessness and RCSD.

[3:14:08] And I read in a press of connection that, you know, we've temporarily paused enforcement

[3:14:15] of hope on horizons ordinance because we don't have shelter space right now, because as

[3:14:20] of August 11th, the county reported that there were 179 adults and 55 families on our shelter

[3:14:27] wait list, some of whom are likely RCSD families and students.

[3:14:31] And so that's what I want to focus on.

[3:14:35] How do we get what is in our control to zero?

[3:14:40] Zero youth homelessness in Rebus City.

[3:14:44] Now I'll have the answer for that right now, obviously.

[3:14:47] But that's the question I want us to ponder.

[3:14:51] And then moving on from that, I didn't see Rebus City together in the mix here.

[3:14:58] but I do understand in talking with you.

[3:15:00] Earlier today, that this was, of course, a focus on our specific Redwood City programs and initiatives. And while we are a partner of Redwood City together, a funder even, you know, this is, we're not the sole leader there. But I would like to discuss, you know, how can we can partner even more with Redwood City together? You know, a couple weeks ago, when Roppo was here earlier, he referenced the summary.

[3:15:29] our intern showcase. And we had actually a couple of the students speak, Ms. Rodriguez,

[3:15:37] for example, who interned with Amadeus Amadeus through that summer internship. And it was

[3:15:42] really amazing to hear from each of them what they've accomplished over the past couple

[3:15:47] months in the learning experiences they've had and the job opportunities they will now have

[3:15:54] access to, like I was wondering if she's actually staying on, I think, with the many of

[3:15:59] some of you guys.

[3:16:02] So I want to, I want us to do our part as a council to show up.

[3:16:11] It's the least that we can do to rip it city together events for the kids to extent that

[3:16:19] our schedules allow, right?

[3:16:24] And then with the exception of mentioning the

[3:16:28] price center moment ago, I was saddened to see no mention of the LGBTQI

[3:16:34] plus community in this presentation of work. And that's not okay. I know it

[3:16:41] It wasn't intentional by any means, I'm short, but you know, we have the Pride Center.

[3:16:50] We have outlet, outlet in Redwood City, up Westside Road.

[3:16:55] So could you just speak to some of the work that we're doing with the Pride Center for

[3:16:59] those who may not know, please?

[3:17:04] So there's a variety of things we do with the Pride Center, and it's not just during

[3:17:09] June, it's throughout the year.

[3:17:11] So we work with them on working with our teens.

[3:17:16] There are different initiatives they're often doing.

[3:17:19] So we try to cross promote their efforts.

[3:17:23] And I don't think the work just starts and ends with the Pride Center.

[3:17:27] It's also the philosophy and attitude of the teen space.

[3:17:31] Part of our libraries are we're welcoming everyone.

[3:17:36] And so there is a very intentional

[3:17:39] up in the space you are welcome here, rainbow flags are there, so the space we are trying to communicate visibly

[3:17:48] and also through our actions that those spaces are for people of all walks of life.

[3:17:56] So I'm blinking on specific programs but I do know we do stuff throughout the year.

[3:18:01] And then it's also through our collections, that's a really big part of how you help to provide opportunities for youth to explore

[3:18:08] and think about their own identities and that's by having those materials that are from a range

[3:18:15] of perspectives and ethnicities and showing kids like them in books whether it's picture books,

[3:18:23] chapter books, books for young adults, whatever it is, those representations are really important

[3:18:29] so that people can see themselves and feel validated. And I think it's an effort that we do

[3:18:35] We want a regular basis, so I'm sorry it's not in the report, but absolutely it is a

[3:18:39] fundamental topic that we care about in our spaces and different programming like the

[3:18:46] drag story times.

[3:18:48] Those are intended so that you are celebrating and highlighting joy and the different ways

[3:18:54] that people experience life.

[3:18:57] I would be happy to come back and share more about what we're doing, but I know time is limited

[3:19:02] tonight. Thank you so much. I didn't mean to put you on the spot, but I do appreciate

[3:19:08] you sharing a little bit about how we are supporting queer and trans youth in

[3:19:14] ribocity. You know what you said about having a collection in our library

[3:19:19] that is reflective of the community, like that was very impactful in my childhood.

[3:19:26] You know being able to pick up books that where I saw myself in that book and

[3:19:29] and fell validated, as you said.

[3:19:32] So thank you.

[3:19:34] All right.

[3:19:36] And then I, to the point about collaborating more

[3:19:39] with the school district, I mean, I got, you know,

[3:19:43] Trustee Cecilia Marquez and Trustee Mike Wells

[3:19:45] like on Speed Dial here.

[3:19:47] I mean, I was texting with Cecilia earlier

[3:19:50] asking, hey, what would you like me to bring up?

[3:19:52] So leverage our personal relationships

[3:19:54] with our fellow elected officials

[3:19:58] at the local school.

[3:20:00] District, sorry, city attorney for having my phone out.

[3:20:06] But, you know, so Cecilia asks, what are we doing to bring back spaces that are whether protected spaces for teens, like she mentioned Malibu Grand Prix? I mean, we're not going to get that again, right? But, you know, we have been doing that, right, with the parcade, with the mini golf and those of an excellent. But what resources do you need from us?

[3:20:29] to make that happen more frequently, permanently, and more robust, because some of the supplies

[3:20:39] is a little war-torn, but still fun, I've played it, so yeah, what resources do you need

[3:20:46] from us?

[3:20:47] I'm sorry, did you say whether protected?

[3:20:49] Yes, so as an example, the parcade, it's under that big giant kind of courthouse square.

[3:20:55] Yeah, Lucas Wilder Assistant Director is a wizard and McGiver is an amazing piece of

[3:21:02] our team that comes up with brilliant solutions like that.

[3:21:05] And Indore Parkade, I don't know of an event like that across the state.

[3:21:09] And I know a lot of people in Parks and Rec are networking.

[3:21:12] Mine is in common with Parks and Rec professionals.

[3:21:14] So there are certainly opportunities for us to look into more things like that.

[3:21:19] If the council is interested in us pursuing those.

[3:21:22] But yeah, the parcade was one of these bonus things that really works out and kids love it so we can definitely look at more options.

[3:21:29] Very innovative, fully support looking into that further if there's a majority support for that.

[3:21:35] Thank you. And I'll wrap up in, I'll just pause here. I have more.

[3:21:44] I'll jump in. Thank you. Can we go to figure one, the map of facilities, please?

[3:22:00] I want to leave this out because I think this will is a good visual for us to have up

[3:22:06] while I make my comments.

[3:22:08] And I make these comments as I'm a newer council member but I was a long standing commissioner

[3:22:15] on the Parks and Recs Commission so I'm going to ask questions so I may already know the

[3:22:21] answers too but I'm going to ask them anyways for everyone else's benefit.

[3:22:24] But we know where we see these green spots, we can see where they're concentrated and

[3:22:32] where they aren't.

[3:22:33] So I just want everyone to visually take that in.

[3:22:37] And I want to see that what's looks like if I read correctly, we spent around 8 million,

[3:22:43] probably about 3.9% of our general fund is for youth and children, I think was on the staff

[3:22:50] report.

[3:22:52] Okay.

[3:22:56] What I'm thinking is, well, what I know is that not only are we park deficient, I want

[3:23:06] to know who's taking our programs, where are our programs and who's in them, and something

[3:23:11] that I was so excited about, you know, is when we've developed this technology and parks

[3:23:18] and everyone was getting all this map being and we're getting close is how can we really

[3:23:23] see who we're serving?

[3:23:25] Because when we see who we're serving, you know what it also tells us?

[3:23:27] Who we're not serving?

[3:23:29] And while I appreciate Table 5 in the chart where it shows us, you know, total number of

[3:23:37] youth age 0 to 17 served by PRCS programs, that's not helpful for me.

[3:23:45] Because what I want to see, and I've made the request, and if you guys can run the report, and I know that we can, is I want a zip code breakdown.

[3:23:52] I want more demographics. You guys said we were going to have demographics, but these are all just big numbers. None of this is broken down. This isn't helpful.

[3:24:01] I mean, it's helpful for telling one story, but it's not really helpful for getting to serve the communities that we need to serve.

[3:24:09] So I would really appreciate seeing some metrics and more data about who we're serving with these kids, where they live, where they're coming from, because I have been saying this for years.

[3:24:25] We need more programming in different areas of our city. Everything can't be at Redmore Inn, everything can't be downtown.

[3:24:31] town. You look at the list. It's like it's either in Redwood Shores or it's Add Red More

[3:24:35] Inn. And it's been like that since I was whittled and it can't continue to be like that.

[3:24:44] So I would like us to really focus on that. And then something that no one is talking about

[3:24:49] that I think we really need to mention, and this is because of things above us, but child

[3:24:57] We, you know, there have been things that have passed in the end world.

[3:25:00] We're all very excited that everyone can go to TK now in preschool, but if you see in the numbers, there's a huge gap. From five to 12, those school-aged children, who are the ones that we need in programs? We have a need there. So that we need to have a big focus on that. And when I think of a lot of these kids, you know why they can't be in programs? Because they're taking care of their siblings. They can't be in the soccer camp because they got to get home because mom has to get to work and they have to pick up their brother after school.

[3:25:29] So I want us to have this data because then we can actually create programs that serve the people that we have been leaving behind.

[3:25:39] So I would really appreciate having that information and us just looking at more closely we can partner to address the fact that we do now have more children in elementary school at our younger age and what that has done to our caretakers, our child care providers.

[3:25:57] There are over-ambundance of space at certain ages, but we have a huge gap at 5 to 12.

[3:26:04] And to speak to some of the mental health things, you know what I think?

[3:26:07] These kids need their why.

[3:26:09] Kids love sports, some of them, and some of it is cultural.

[3:26:13] We need to invest in their things that they care about, and you know what, when you start

[3:26:17] caring about something, you care about, if you didn't care about school, now you do, because

[3:26:21] you don't want to lose football, you don't want to lose soccer.

[3:26:23] So, if we could do whatever we can to reduce any of the barriers for kids, whether that's the cost of playing the sport, whether they get a uniform or not, the shoes, let's make it really accessible.

[3:26:36] When I see the huge amounts of money, and then I see that our children aren't reading.

[3:26:42] I mean, Derek, I see you're excited, but I have to tell you, I was really sad when I read this.

[3:26:49] This is the numbers are terrible.

[3:26:54] It's below 40% in reading and math, third grade reading levels.

[3:26:59] It's not okay.

[3:27:00] We have to do more in this, I just don't think we have to have more creative programming

[3:27:06] because just summer reading challenges, and I think the world of project read, but it's

[3:27:10] not enough.

[3:27:11] And there are certain segments, and if you take a look and you can care the shores, it's

[3:27:17] more than disheartening. I can see why you didn't want to put those charts up here, but

[3:27:23] I think it's important that we all look at them because we are doing a disservice to

[3:27:29] our children and we need to make proper investments in strategic investments. So I would really

[3:27:35] like to see how we can help programming, how we can better work with the school districts

[3:27:40] and I will be quite honest. And maybe this is my questions to mayor. I would love to be

[3:27:45] on one of these, I hear everyone talking about,

[3:27:48] we have these school districts two by two's,

[3:27:50] I think I may be the only person on council

[3:27:52] with a school-aged child.

[3:27:54] I go to PTO meetings, I read the news,

[3:27:56] I know what's going on, I would love to serve.

[3:27:58] So, if there is a way that we can be more involved,

[3:28:01] I know council member G spoke earlier

[3:28:03] about how certain districts are on climate action

[3:28:06] because they affect you.

[3:28:07] Well, I want to advocate for our children.

[3:28:10] So, if there's an opportunity for me

[3:28:12] to be in a group where I could do that,

[3:28:15] I would welcome it, so I'm happy to talk about that off line as well, but I appreciate

[3:28:19] everything you all are doing, but we need to see more and more focus, and we need the

[3:28:24] people at the different school districts to get on board, too.

[3:28:28] Thank you.

[3:28:30] If I could quickly highlight something brand new that came up with the fundraising from

[3:28:34] picnic on block.

[3:28:36] Every year the foundation asks, gets our feedback on something that they could fundraise

[3:28:41] for this year with feedback from our YAB and our TAP programs.

[3:28:45] They requested that the fundraiser be dedicated towards providing equipment

[3:28:49] for someone who wants to play football, paint brushes for someone who wants to get art.

[3:28:54] So we're really lucky to have that partnership with the foundation

[3:28:56] to provide some opportunities for something like that.

[3:29:00] Thank you.

[3:29:00] And it would be also helpful if we could see the breakdown for parks and art foundation

[3:29:06] is what their scholarships that they divvy out

[3:29:09] because it said scholarships versus equipment.

[3:29:12] So I would like to see how much money

[3:29:13] is scholarships versus equipment.

[3:29:16] Sure, thank you.

[3:29:19] Council Member Chu.

[3:29:21] So thank you so much both for the presentation

[3:29:23] and for all the work you do.

[3:29:26] Something, I always honestly brag about our parks

[3:29:29] and our libraries, but I feel like every single staff person

[3:29:32] really cares and it shows in everything you do.

[3:29:36] and it's so appreciated and I think it's every single person on this

[3:29:40] day, it says job, it is the school district job and it's all of our job to

[3:29:45] ensure that our kids have their best shot at a healthy, happy, productive life.

[3:29:51] And so I understand that there are things outside of your purview that really

[3:29:55] affect kids. And so I think that this conversation has

[3:30:00] Has become about, you know, the kids in our community and how can we help them flourish? And I know that intersects with what you do. So I'm going to talk about things that intersect with what you do, but I understand they're not directly a responsibility. So the first thing I wanted to go to, I just had a question back to that map where the parks are.

[3:30:18] Yeah, I see it's in a line. Is there a reason for that? Is there some kind of like geographic feature that makes parks in a line like that? I don't believe that's the case.

[3:30:30] a lot there's often parks in neighborhoods right that we are part of this

[3:30:36] overall map that the city maintains and then there's some other bigger ones

[3:30:40] such as Red Morton. Okay, I don't know that I was in Hetchy. Hetchy. What I was

[3:30:46] thinking that looks like Hetchy to me because I've been like looking through

[3:30:50] chain link trends thinking that should be a part because you know and I was

[3:30:54] like I think this looks like that. If that's Hatchechi I think we should turn Hatchechi empty

[3:31:02] lots into parklets. So that's the first thing. Because that's a cheapy-beauty writing that

[3:31:10] down. Okay. Yeah, I think that's Hatchechi. I think that's what that is. Okay, great. So I was

[3:31:16] really thinking about, you know, I think about the kids in my community a lot and kind of,

[3:31:22] you know, Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

[3:31:24] And go back to our city's priorities,

[3:31:26] housing, transportation, and children and youth.

[3:31:29] It is very hard to override being homeless with a program.

[3:31:36] It is very hard to override, you know,

[3:31:39] being unable to get from A to B.

[3:31:41] You know, if all the programming is down at Red Morton

[3:31:43] and my kids, they're not my children,

[3:31:46] but the children in my community

[3:31:47] can't get safely from our community downtown or to Red Morton it may as well

[3:31:54] not exist for them and so it is our job to make sure that you know we have

[3:32:01] abundant housing that we have safe streets and that we really you know frame

[3:32:09] those things with respect to children and youth and you know by definition kids

[3:32:13] you know many can't drive and I know I bring this up a lot. Car crashes have been

[3:32:18] the leading cause of child death by far without a close second for most of the

[3:32:24] century and if you look at the injuries it's about 30 to one in California so

[3:32:30] you know it's not just deaths it's catastrophic injuries like if we want our

[3:32:34] kids to grow up and grow old dealing with road safety is probably the number one

[3:32:41] one thing we can do, the second most important thing we can do is abundant housing.

[3:32:46] But that's our job, that's not your responsibility.

[3:32:50] But I just wanted to echo Council Member Sturkin's comment about no homeless children and

[3:32:57] I'd love to see no road deaths or serious injuries or even injuries at all.

[3:33:04] So then, you know, things that kind of fall or adjacent to your purview is the, I was

[3:33:12] dismayed by the numbers with respect to literacy, numeracy and literacy, and I know it's

[3:33:20] hard to educate kids, and I know that, you know, when you're dealing with learning differences

[3:33:24] and language barriers and things like that, it's hard, but there are states like Mississippi

[3:33:31] that have seen enormous gains, and certainly Mississippi is dealing with much more substantial

[3:33:36] challenges economically than a place like Redwood City.

[3:33:41] And so I would love, you know, I don't know what we can do to support the schools, but

[3:33:46] I know that I would really love to engage more with the schools on to councilmember Pidea's

[3:33:54] point and to understand what can we do as a council to help the school district succeed

[3:33:59] in helping our kids learn to read and to succeed academically because that's going to have a huge

[3:34:06] bearing on whether or not they're able to go on to lead happy healthy productive lives. So then

[3:34:12] coming to parks and libraries, so that's kind of near the top of the pyramid of needs. I share

[3:34:19] Council Member Pidea's view about sports when I think about what really brings joy, where I see joy,

[3:34:25] where I see attachment and community, where I see connection in my community.

[3:34:31] A lot of it is on the soccer field.

[3:34:34] Like that's kind of the, it's like church, you know, it's like where they meet,

[3:34:37] it's where they connect, it's where they eat together.

[3:34:40] And so, you know, I feel like my job is to get my community a soccer field.

[3:34:45] But I think the role the parks play in bringing sports to kids and in programming sports

[3:34:52] but it's so important and to Council Member Padia's point

[3:34:56] the more we can distribute that equitably throughout the city.

[3:35:00] And again, I know a big rate limiting step for that is the, you know, there's no stop-of-field on my end of town. I guess there's one at Hoover. I take that back. Hoover packed. We need one kind of further south. So sports programming, I think is super important. I would also add that I'm going to articulate this e-bikes and really e- motorcycles. You know, a bicycle goes 20 miles an hour, it has about, you know, 250 watts.

[3:35:29] Like, that kind of vehicle is not a danger, something that has 750 watts and goes 28 miles

[3:35:36] an hour is how kids are getting hurt.

[3:35:41] You know, and that's not really something for us to deal with here, but the ability

[3:35:46] to ride in middle gangs of bicyclists, I think, would be immensely helpful for kids.

[3:35:52] If our streets were safe enough, my dream is that our streets are safe enough, they can

[3:35:56] ride downtown and little gangs and it's fine and do their little wheelies and have fun.

[3:36:02] That's a wholesome, healthy, physically vigorous activity.

[3:36:07] And I was even thinking, you know, maybe we could have certain weekends where we close

[3:36:12] the street off and kids can do wheelies all the way downtown, I don't know.

[3:36:18] So I think even leveraging the space we have in streets to bring joy and physical activity

[3:36:27] I think what's respect to the programming at the library, I think it's amazing, I mean,

[3:36:31] I think what you're doing is terrific, keep it up.

[3:36:34] I would also be interested in knowing, I noticed that we're helping about two to three

[3:36:39] times as many kids as actually live in redwood city and my first thought was I wonder if that,

[3:36:44] I wonder where those kids are coming from.

[3:36:47] And it'd be really cool if there's a way to find out who we are serving because we're

[3:36:52] doing a lot. I'm trying to think if there's anything else. Yeah, so I absolutely love the

[3:37:01] work you do, but I share the wish that it was distributed more broadly with respect to

[3:37:11] geography.

[3:37:14] And maybe that's something we can work on together. We have to provide the facilities

[3:37:18] but once they're there being able to keep them.

[3:37:20] So thank you for all you do, it's terrific work.

[3:37:22] And two things I want to just add in comment on.

[3:37:26] One is that we absolutely can always use

[3:37:29] more volunteers with project read.

[3:37:31] We're currently serving about 350 youth

[3:37:33] of Redwood City School District,

[3:37:35] and these are all students within our boundaries

[3:37:38] and northeharops, but that's the limitation

[3:37:41] is we need more volunteers.

[3:37:43] So if more folks are interested,

[3:37:45] we have regular trainings throughout the year,

[3:37:48] so we would absolutely love more volunteers.

[3:37:51] And also speaking to that hierarchy of needs,

[3:37:54] one of the things the library does try to do

[3:37:56] is with our project lead families

[3:37:57] who are often food, have food deserts or insecurity,

[3:38:03] we do provide weekly groceries for those families

[3:38:06] to help them to be successful.

[3:38:08] And when you eliminate food as a reason

[3:38:11] why you're not able to learn,

[3:38:12] It does allow people to be able to focus more on those other skills.

[3:38:18] Anything else you'd like to add?

[3:38:20] Sure, and just I haven't been able to shout out our Ferro's community center who serves our human services

[3:38:26] of vision who also provides resources for families who are in need of food

[3:38:29] and things like diapers as well for their kids.

[3:38:32] So I just want to give that team a big shout out.

[3:38:35] Another thing the library tries to do is outreach events.

[3:38:38] So that is a way we do try to get out to the community to speak to what Marcello was saying as well,

[3:38:43] to try to do that.

[3:38:45] So obviously we would love to have more time and staffing to be able to do that.

[3:38:50] And we try to meet out at the schools when we're invited to different celebrations as well.

[3:38:57] So definitely an area that we are focused on and interested in engaging more.

[3:39:06] One thought I had.

[3:39:07] But I know that it's hard to build like a new library, but I remember one of the biggest

[3:39:13] most important and I think historic houses in our neighborhood went on sale and I think

[3:39:18] it might be haunted because it does go on sale like every two years or so.

[3:39:21] So our chance will come again, but I just remember thinking, you know, this house is incredible

[3:39:26] and it would make an amazing library and community center.

[3:39:30] And so even as we think about ways, I think we have to start getting creative about things

[3:39:35] like parks and libraries, you know, a really perfect street is like a linear park, you

[3:39:40] know, a cool haunted house is a perfect library, you know, so, and it's a lot cheaper

[3:39:46] than building one.

[3:39:47] And I don't want to discredit what you're saying about libraries in your region in particular,

[3:39:52] but we do have very close partnerships with the county of San Mateo's library system which

[3:39:58] which has the North Shore Oaks Lab.

[3:40:00] All right, so we do a lot of work with them and they're on the same property as the Fairx Community Center. So I'm not saying that we shouldn't continue to invest and do more in this space, but we do have partnerships with the existing libraries as well.

[3:40:17] Thank you, Councilmember. Go to the vice mayor. I'll be extremely brief because I took a lot of time in the last item. So just the slide about the grants or the just want to go there again real quick. My question is just simply how many, how many

[3:40:32] much money and it's okay if you don't know, you can email me later, but how much money

[3:40:36] does Project Read get with grants? I think it's the federal grants, state grants, county

[3:40:42] grants, what tell me about Project Read's grants?

[3:40:45] Yes, so that's two separate things that they get funding from their funds for literacy

[3:40:51] and that nonprofit specifically benefits the Project Read program with backpacks of supplies,

[3:40:59] with eye-gloss exams for students that need it, hearing exams, et cetera.

[3:41:03] Like if you have a different learning challenge, you can get those tests.

[3:41:06] That is included in the library support groups.

[3:41:11] In the report, we actually have more specific details on how much different groups are giving,

[3:41:17] but we can absolutely give you more information.

[3:41:19] So there's funding from that local nonprofit and then a good chunk of the budget

[3:41:24] which is actually accounted for in the current budget this year are those term-funded positions.

[3:41:32] I can't remember the number off the top of my head but those term-funded positions are funded

[3:41:38] through the CLLS grant from the state and that gives us direct funding to be able to provide more

[3:41:45] staffing to support project read. This is not just for youth, this is also for adult literacy.

[3:41:51] So, there's a family literacy component as well as an adult literacy component.

[3:41:55] So, if you're interested, we can get you the numbers of how much money is coming from

[3:42:00] the state for those specific programs.

[3:42:02] And then they're matching grants, which is why the city funds project read through our

[3:42:07] general fund, and then we're able to provide those programs.

[3:42:10] Yeah, I would just, any information about the funding for project read, I would love.

[3:42:15] And then I'm done. The only other question I have is, could you have some wonderful people

[3:42:25] here who are helping with our youth? Could they introduce themselves? Absolutely.

[3:42:31] Come on in. Thank you for staying so late. And if you could just tell us your name and

[3:42:36] what you do, that would be fun.

[3:42:40] Good evening, Council.

[3:42:42] I'm Talisha Brent, Interim Recreation Manager for the Youth and Teen Services. Thanks for

[3:42:46] having us.

[3:42:49] Hi, Councilor.

[3:42:49] I'm Mike Smith.

[3:42:50] I run the after school sports program, and I'm working with the field's policies now

[3:42:54] and running some of those programs.

[3:43:00] Hey, Councilor, how's it going?

[3:43:01] My name is Eric Beddingcore.

[3:43:03] I'm the interim team coordinator, and I also help with our U-Center, Red Morton.

[3:43:10] And our awesome Spokes program.

[3:43:12] Don't forget about that.

[3:43:16] Good evening.

[3:43:17] My name is Jordi Fernandez.

[3:43:18] Recreation supervisor for Parks and Rec.

[3:43:20] as a pleasure of serving lots of our kids that are reach out to school programs.

[3:43:24] Our special events, our summer camps, all kinds of great stuff.

[3:43:32] Hello everyone, I'm Yvonne Rodriguez.

[3:43:34] I am the Redwood City Safe Routeschool Program Specialist.

[3:43:37] My role is essentially just getting youth to walk by crew.

[3:43:41] Get to school, provide them with the transportation resources they need in our community.

[3:43:45] I'm also working very closely with the transportation department here every Tuesday.

[3:43:50] just to make sure that we're updated on any projects going on around schools,

[3:43:54] that we're updating all of our school admin. We also host a lot of different

[3:43:58] events, activities and programs in the community to advocate for

[3:44:04] bike and pedestrian safety.

[3:44:07] Fantastic. Well thank you all for

[3:44:10] staying up late with us and those are my questions.

[3:44:14] Speaking of bike gangs in the summer you can catch Eric

[3:44:18] leading about 20 kids on their bikes throughout the city getting to different trips.

[3:44:27] I have a few more questions and this is actually given that you brought

[3:44:31] spokes up. I saw spokes I think it's great but I saw our really high absentee

[3:44:36] rates in schools and I thought here's maybe an opportunity I thought

[3:44:41] everything here I think we need more outreach. I like I asked several parents if

[3:44:45] they had heard of these financial literacy programs. No one I had asked

[3:44:49] had even heard of them. They actually told me they had paid for ones at a local community

[3:44:53] college for their kids to go to. So, one, just how do we get the word out more? Two,

[3:44:58] could spoke, could spoke, perhaps?

[3:45:00] Let's be focused on some of the kids who maybe are having some issues getting to school. Like, I just don't know, do you apply to get that? I sought to six weeks program, but maybe we could have, you know, referrals to the program or some kids who couldn't use some help. If that could be a nice partnership, I would really love to see that. And then with that, just more, I know we do this naturally, and I've always seen it at the Library and Parks and Rec, but just more youth employment. I see that we have sprinklings. I feel like I find out that parks and works has an internship.

[3:45:29] But it's and then I'll find out that the library has interns, but it would be great if we knew of all the youth employment opportunities that we had in the city and then created more.

[3:45:42] I think the best way I think that will help with mental health.

[3:45:46] I mean, kids, I asked this young kid this way.

[3:45:47] He said, I want to make my own money to buy my own shoes.

[3:45:52] Like he was like, I'll pick up your lead.

[3:45:54] I mean, they really want to just get things for themselves.

[3:45:59] There's a real pride in that, so I think anything we could also do, if that's through

[3:46:04] tutoring or big buddy programs, I mean, even with the schools, I know my daughter had

[3:46:08] a little buddy and she'd be so excited to pick out the book she's going to read, and I've

[3:46:11] had little kids come up to me and say, oh, your daughter is my, you know, just any programs

[3:46:16] where we could get that foster leadership and reading and any kind of stipends that we

[3:46:21] could create to give to youth and for employment, I would love to see more of that.

[3:46:26] And our leaders in training program is doing a really good job.

[3:46:29] I think we're at 50 this summer.

[3:46:32] So that's more than 50 leaders in training this summer and that's kind of where we start

[3:46:36] them at, like getting them the training with a little lower pressure and then hoping that

[3:46:40] that's the session builds them into applying for our rec leader programs and beyond and sometimes

[3:46:44] they become city managers.

[3:46:45] It's really great.

[3:46:47] Maybe we need some interns for city council.

[3:46:49] So, I mean, I think I'm all for internships

[3:46:52] in getting people engaged civically, so, thank you.

[3:46:56] Yeah.

[3:46:58] And I love, we would also love more teen volunteers

[3:47:02] specifically for our project rate.

[3:47:04] So in case folks are not aware,

[3:47:06] we have a wonderful program where teens,

[3:47:08] two to youth, and this is actually something

[3:47:11] that shows everybody's literacy level rises

[3:47:14] because often kids that are neurodiverse.

[3:47:17] When they're teaching a subject,

[3:47:19] They gain mastery over that subject and so it actually improves the literacy rates of both the tutors as well as the students

[3:47:25] So if anybody knows more volunteers that are interested

[3:47:28] I'd love to be able to give them stipends. Unfortunately, I don't have that budget

[3:47:31] But if the council is interested we would be delighted to provide those opportunities

[3:47:38] Thank you Sarah. Thank you Councillor Peridio. We'll go to council more jeep now just to wrap up

[3:47:43] You know what I've heard

[3:47:44] Well, we back up tonight's presentations focused on what we do as a city

[3:47:49] But we can't lift up all of you by ourselves, it's a partnership with the school district,

[3:47:54] the high school district, community, college district, and from what I know, a lot of

[3:47:59] nonprofit organizations out there.

[3:48:01] So maybe to our city manager, is there a way to do a memo to us that lists all the different

[3:48:07] partners out there and what they focus on so that we can help distribute and let people

[3:48:13] know what's going on?

[3:48:14] Because it's not just parks, it's just not the library, it's just not the school district.

[3:48:21] But from what I know, there's a lot of people out there.

[3:48:24] And if we can get sort of a resource guide of all the different partners, I'm with the school district's doing.

[3:48:30] Because I know, for example, Rebusy School Districts, I think partnering at the Gartner Center and maybe Stanford,

[3:48:35] and I want Rebus Shores's partnering with some others.

[3:48:38] And there are different nonprofits that are providing after school programs are mentoring or

[3:48:43] counseling or different things. I think having all that in one place rather than in 20 different

[3:48:49] places and everyone has a little piece might be very helpful. And maybe one of our nonprofits

[3:48:55] may be together, combined together, or somebody. So I'll leave that with you.

[3:48:58] Yeah, sure. Thank you. Derek, what was talking?

[3:49:04] No, he's got the lens across the organization and elsewhere. So yeah, thank you for that.

[3:49:10] Thank you, Councilor Richie.

[3:49:13] I'm seeing anyone else's lights on.

[3:49:17] Thank you for the great presentation.

[3:49:19] And everybody who stayed with us, it's great to see everybody here.

[3:49:24] I am just so impressed by the incredible work that you all are doing.

[3:49:29] And it's so comprehensive and it's so holistic.

[3:49:32] It's not just providing a basketball league and calling that wraps, right?

[3:49:37] It is just you all are really thinking about new and creative ways to support the generation today, which is amazing, but I also just have so much appreciation for what somebody of my colleagues have mentioned around powering our youth and giving them opportunities for leadership development, and doing it at a cost that families can actually afford because I...

[3:50:00] There's not too long ago that I remember playing club soccer and the cost of that, just membership fees and somebody mentioned jerseys, right? Or going to a weekend tournament, the costs add up so quickly. So, and I know it's only intensified since I've been out of school. So, it's amazing to be able to provide these opportunities for folks. But I just respond to a couple of things that I heard. You know, I'd be very open to revisiting the frequency of our two-by-one

[3:50:29] are coming up with a new way of figuring out those meetings.

[3:50:34] I know our city clerk was trying to get something scheduled in the summer time

[3:50:37] and it is tough to organize what six of us write in our calendars.

[3:50:42] So, you know, finding a way, a new way to just bring up these issues

[3:50:47] and hear what's going on, I think that's really valuable.

[3:50:50] Councilmember Vidya, definitely hear the interest in wanting to serve more

[3:50:54] and appreciate your interest on Broad TV together that is touching all of these districts, right?

[3:50:58] So we'll keep that in mind as we go through this, but I also would be really hungry for some district level analysis too.

[3:51:08] I think zip codes would be great.

[3:51:09] I know my districts, we have, we might be one of the younger districts just because of the amount of families that live in D4, right?

[3:51:17] So I'd be curious to know, get a snapshot of what that looks like for every district, not just my own, but to get a sense of what the needs are and how they change.

[3:51:26] so that would be really helpful. And some folks mentioned mental health, and that was really clear.

[3:51:36] There are different ways that that's being provided, but you know, it would be amazing to be able to lock in

[3:51:42] edgewood or somebody, a provider of those kind of services, because I think we're only going to see those really critical services sort of fall to the wayside.

[3:51:54] right, and that kind of led me, I, you know, connected with somebody from the

[3:51:59] Rebus City at Foundation, who's working with our community schools, serving

[3:52:03] Rebus City and North Faroaks, and they were alerting me that, you know, their

[3:52:08] mental health resources are potentially going to be cut by HSA at the

[3:52:12] county. So definitely coming up with a map and sort of a collective game plan of

[3:52:18] how do we provide these services that are going to be falling off is going to be

[3:52:21] really important. And just prioritizing the resources that we are offering to. And then aside

[3:52:28] from that, I am also thinking about because the competition for grants is going to be so much

[3:52:35] more intense. And, you know, it will be a much more difficult environment, I think, for nonprofits

[3:52:43] to be surviving and thriving in. I would also be interested in hearing from staff what are some

[3:52:49] ways that you all are seeing ways that we can streamline these services and

[3:52:54] supports to the nonprofits like I know working in the nonprofit space some

[3:52:58] contracts are based on just reimbursements right and that could be very

[3:53:02] helpful if it's a very large nonprofit but if it's a small nonprofit providing

[3:53:06] really acute services that might not actually work out and they might prefer

[3:53:10] getting the money up front and being able to work that way with the budget right

[3:53:14] so coming up with those solutions I think would be really helpful next couple of

[3:53:17] years, but I think it all wraps up to some of the questions around, how do we get to zero

[3:53:28] youth homelessness, or how do we close a childcare gap, and these are all amazing things,

[3:53:32] and I know our youth population is also shrinking, which is something we want to reverse, but

[3:53:39] in the meantime, thinking about just how do we provide that best quality of life for our

[3:53:43] kids and our youth, right?

[3:53:45] And how do we do that in tandem with the school districts,

[3:53:48] and all the community partners, right?

[3:53:51] School districts who are so close to the issues,

[3:53:53] but I'm thinking about our community partners

[3:53:55] who can create internship opportunities, right?

[3:53:58] I think about Roatsy Together, all the different businesses

[3:54:02] at that table, you know, that is such an incredible,

[3:54:06] just a credible group of community folks working

[3:54:09] towards a single issue like this.

[3:54:11] And then I'll just wrap up by saying, you know, I, I know I've brought up sort of funding and all of the the ways of making that easier.

[3:54:22] It's been a couple of years now, I think 2019, when we, the council made this a citywide priority.

[3:54:29] So, to councilmember G's point, I'd be curious to see what those funding trends have looked like in the last couple of years.

[3:54:36] And that way we can keep ourselves honest to what is acceptable for the City Council, right?

[3:54:42] As we maneuver through all the financial headaches that we have in store, how do we keep that consistent and make sure that people don't feel a change in, you know, levels of service, right?

[3:54:54] So that's what I'm thinking about, too, but again, just such a deep appreciation for all the work that you're doing.

[3:55:00] As somebody who's benefited from some of these projects listed on here, and some of these different community spaces, it just means a lot to see you all bring the joy to the work every day and continuing it. So I appreciate it. But colleagues, this is a study session. So we don't have to vote on anything, but just want to do last week. So council are completely very much. I just said some more comments.

[3:55:24] So, you know, Councilmember Pidiya mentioned barriers for kids, right?

[3:55:30] And so I combed through some of the BCC applications last night

[3:55:34] from specifically youth, some of whom we appointed, some we didn't,

[3:55:37] and I hope they apply again.

[3:55:39] But one that came up for me was Zayn Rizak, who we did a point, he had said,

[3:55:45] you know, youth access to parks and myths, unequal access to facilities

[3:55:48] and gaps is important.

[3:55:50] And so in talking about our fields, we're making lots of headway there, right, with improvements

[3:55:56] to Hoover field, for example, changing to artificial turf.

[3:56:04] But you know, that's just something that is on our young people's minds, right, is the accessibility

[3:56:11] and equity of our service, of our parks, of our fields.

[3:56:17] And, you know, he also mentioned opportunity specific engagement.

[3:56:22] So, on that note, I second the idea around council interns.

[3:56:28] I know mayor and then former vice mayor of Las Vegas, and I was a gardener, both had

[3:56:33] interns briefly during the e-program, I think it was a couple of years ago.

[3:56:37] So we've done it creatively before, and I think we can do it creatively again.

[3:56:44] And then moving on to spoke's program, I was also going to highlight that and thank you.

[3:56:51] Thank you for that program.

[3:56:56] But I was reading, you know, the county has adopted a e-bike ordinance recently, right?

[3:57:05] And I know we're not talking about that yet, but I do want to at least preface.com

[3:57:11] conversation since we've heard a few of my colleagues touch on it and in the Daily Journal

[3:57:15] it said that the ordinance prohibits operating any of these devices in an unsafe manner which

[3:57:24] could include tricks or release and phone use while writing and I just want to reiterate

[3:57:30] what I've said before this day is that that kind of language definitely targets certain youth

[3:57:37] over to others, okay? So, I'm really wary of that and I hope that as we prepare our own

[3:57:42] ordinance that we are not replicating problematic language or having any kind of oversights.

[3:57:57] And I want to say the other thing.

[3:58:01] But one thing I do appreciate about the ordinance is

[3:58:03] that it allows for writing the mobility devices on sidewalks as necessary and that was something

[3:58:09] we discussed before that when the street does not allow, I should wrap up, okay, when

[3:58:17] the street does not allow for safe writing on city streets, we need to allow kids to be

[3:58:23] able to write on sidewalks.

[3:58:24] That's all I'll say about that because it's not on the agenda.

[3:58:29] But it was mentioned in this report.

[3:58:31] And then just to summarize, so I think I heard at least three of my colleagues express support for a kind of a breakdown of that, this demographic effort data that you provided, which is very comprehensive by a zip code or other geographic equivalent.

[3:58:46] I would agree with that, so that is a majority if anyone's counting like me.

[3:58:56] And then in terms of next steps in engagement, I would really like to see as receive a presentation

[3:59:04] from Rubit City together, you know, a 10 minute presentation like we give so many other

[3:59:08] partners to learn more in depth what they're doing that's complimentary to us and that we

[3:59:14] are investing in.

[3:59:16] And then when we host study sessions like this that thought it occurred to me, why aren't

[3:59:21] We're doing it with one of our youth representative bodies, like the tab, like the YAB, like the Black Youth Advisory Council with VACAC.

[3:59:32] Notice how you say, it's the big area health advisory council, you know.

[3:59:37] There's so many options and we should be doing that kind of engagement.

[3:59:42] I would rather this conversation be a conversation with youth and not about youth.

[3:59:49] And then finally, I'll just close by saying that we have made children and youth a

[3:59:56] for I already, for several councils at this point.

[4:00:00] But we are not funding it, like it's a priority. And so looking ahead at the mid-year budget, I want to see us fund children and youth programs like it's a priority. Thank you.

[4:00:35] Great.

[4:00:35] Thank you all.

[4:00:37] And with that, that was our study session.

[4:00:40] So we will keep it going.

[4:00:42] We do not take a formal action on this evening, but the work will continue.

[4:00:47] Thank you again to all of our representatives from parks and libraries.

[4:00:52] Thank you all for being here again.

[4:00:54] And we will move into item 10 that matters of council of interest, beginning with 10A City Council

[4:01:01] Councilmember, report of meetings and conferences attended and we'll go with Vice Mayor and then we'll go to Councilmember Howard.

[4:01:14] Okay, thank you.

[4:01:17] This past weekend I went to the Redwood Chores Levy cleanup and they've been doing this.

[4:01:24] Gosh, over 20 years now.

[4:01:27] It started with Pete and Jenny Hughes back in the day and it was really nice to be with.

[4:01:32] And it was about, they counted 76 people who signed up to do it

[4:01:36] and everyone was having a wonderful time.

[4:01:38] And the important thing was that they went and walked around

[4:01:42] what we talked about today, the levies.

[4:01:45] And they cleaned up a whole bunch of stuff

[4:01:46] and they had a wonderful time and it was a great community event.

[4:01:50] So I want to thank Nina and others, Nina Boreb and others

[4:01:55] who put this on and continue to do that and bring awareness

[4:02:01] to the importance of our levies.

[4:02:03] Union Cemetery also, they did a major cleanup of Union Cemetery and it was lovely to attend

[4:02:12] and I think her name was Ellen Crawford passed away not that long ago and I wasn't aware

[4:02:19] that she passed away.

[4:02:20] She was a real leader in Union Cemetery and getting people involved and cleaning up the

[4:02:27] the monuments and pretty amazing and when I heard that she had passed away I was very

[4:02:34] sad and her family showed up and they said thank you for taking care of Union Cemetery

[4:02:39] but I thought I'd mention that and then of course I went to a lovely service with my

[4:02:45] colleagues for David Aiken on Saturday at the San Mateo County History Museum and what

[4:02:52] a lovely service and people had such beautiful things to say about your dad. Sound like

[4:02:57] a truly remarkable human being. I wish I'd known him. So that's thank you.

[4:03:05] Thank you, Councilmember Howard.

[4:03:09] Let's go to Councilmember Susan.

[4:03:10] Three quick things. So like I mentioned earlier, I did go to

[4:03:13] Riversidey together summer showcase, summer interns showcase. 36 interns

[4:03:18] graduated from a variety of appointments, a different nonprofits partners that we

[4:03:23] work with. It was just really amazing to see those kids

[4:03:27] and learn about what they did and accomplished and hand them certificates alongside Supervisor

[4:03:33] Goshet and State Senator Josh Becker, who drove in from Sacramento for the event, which

[4:03:38] was pretty impressive.

[4:03:42] Secondly, oh gosh, I already forgot what I was going to say, but I will leave it there,

[4:03:49] given the hour.

[4:03:52] Thank you, Councilmember.

[4:03:54] I'll say anyone else, we will move into item 10b and start with governance, and I'll send things over to the vice mayor.

[4:04:01] The governance subcommittee comprised of Mayor Martinez-Sabios, Council Member G, and myself met on August 18th.

[4:04:09] The city's legislative consultants from California Public Policy Group, CPPG,

[4:04:15] provided a legislative overview which included updates on legislative timing,

[4:04:19] vehicle license fee, shortfall, tort or form, wildfire liability, data centers, budget,

[4:04:27] budget trailer bills, and information on additional legislation affecting Redwood City.

[4:04:34] In accordance with the 2026 legislative platform, the committee discussed and confirmed

[4:04:39] the city's position on key bills, which included a position change to neutral on SB 1164 related

[4:04:47] to elections which was approved on tonight's consent calendar.

[4:04:53] The next governance subcommittee meeting is scheduled for September 21st.

[4:05:00] Thank you, vice mayor, and I'll give a quick update on the intergovernmental relations ad hoc. The ad hoc comprised of vice mayor Aiken, council member G and myself held its first meeting on July 28th. The committee reviewed the purpose of this committee, which is to collaborate with city staff on intergovernmental relations matters, including engagement with regional, county, state, federal, and affiliated agencies and organizations. Identify opportunities.

[4:05:30] to advance city priorities through partnerships and advocacy and provide input on the strategic initiatives involving external governmental entities through December 2027.

[4:05:41] The next meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, August 27th.

[4:05:46] And on the Project Labor Agreement ad hoc, the ad hoc comprised of council members Chris Sturkin and council member G and myself convened its first meeting on July 31st.

[4:05:57] The committee review, the purpose of this committee, which is to explore an assisted city manager in bringing forward

[4:06:03] for city council consideration potential project labor agreement policy options. And we expect to complete this work by the end of this calendar year.

[4:06:13] Staff presented to the committee on an overview of the project labor agreements and community workforce agreements, including what they are,

[4:06:21] the range of benefits and risks they might present, and the typical elements in agreement might involve.

[4:06:27] We are in the process of scheduling at the next meeting for that committee, and we'll

[4:06:32] move into item 10c and update from our city manager.

[4:06:36] Thank you, Mayor.

[4:06:37] Just a real quick update.

[4:06:39] Thanks to the Mayor and Vice Mayor who agreed to agenda is at the next meeting, but I want

[4:06:43] to give the rest of the council a heads up that on September 14th, we will be having a study

[4:06:47] session on the city's process of preparing for this winter, you know, so please bring

[4:06:54] We are looking at some ways in which we can do some unique outreach, you know, scientists are saying it's going to probably be a pretty heavy El Nino, and that does mean roughly 50% chance, but we really want to get out there early.

[4:07:07] So folks that are listening right now just want to let them know Derrick Wolfram will be leading that effort, but working closely with pretty much every department.

[4:07:14] So love some outreach ideas from the council and things we could do in individual neighborhoods.

[4:07:20] Thank you.

[4:07:22] Thank you, Patrick.

[4:07:23] And before our last items, we'll go to Councillor Sturkey.

[4:07:27] Sorry, Mayor, and council, I just have two other report outs that I remember now.

[4:07:30] So I did attend the police advisory committee meeting, a town hall that they had last week of the week before.

[4:07:36] And I just wanted to highlight a couple things I learned from the member, or heard from the members.

[4:07:41] So John McMullen, one of the members, he supported adding like damages to our contract.

[4:07:47] with whichever vendor we choose to go with, if we do, in the event that they reach the contract.

[4:07:55] That was an interesting thought.

[4:07:57] And then Don, Daniel, excuse me, Torinion opposed a surveillance state

[4:08:04] and advocated for pausing the process, RIP process, rather.

[4:08:10] And then there was majority support for basically not moving forward

[4:08:15] with the current status quo from Austin Bach, Christie Chang, Clara Jekyll, and Daniel

[4:08:24] Turinian.

[4:08:26] That is just something that I think you should know, that we should know, going into our

[4:08:31] next step of this process, and I really highly encourage you to watch the recording.

[4:08:37] If you haven't already, I was, I think, the only one listening in.

[4:08:41] I didn't go in person because I didn't want to put my thumb on the scale so to speak.

[4:08:46] But it was very well attended, a very robust conversation, and I really do think each

[4:08:51] of you should listen to it.

[4:08:54] And I also went to the 901 Marshall Open House on Thursday that was well attended.

[4:09:01] The number one question apparently they received was, when can I move in?

[4:09:06] People thought it was already open.

[4:09:09] Then again, there was one person who did say that you should knock it down a few stories.

[4:09:13] So there was a variety, but I'm mostly very positive.

[4:09:18] Thanks.

[4:09:20] Thank you for those updates, council member.

[4:09:23] Our last update is just that we are moving into adjourning to closed session to discuss anticipated

[4:09:29] litigation and real property negotiations as identified on the agenda.

[4:09:34] Before we move to closed session, I'll ask the city clerk if there's any public comment

[4:09:38] on the closed session item.

[4:09:40] Thank you, Mayor.

[4:09:41] No public comment.

[4:09:43] At this time, last call to anyone who would like to give public comment on the closed session items this evening.

[4:09:52] Seeing none, Mayor, turn it back to you.

[4:09:54] Thank you.

[4:09:55] In the event that there is reportable action following the closed session, we will be returning.

[4:10:00] adjourning to the days to report the action. If no reportable action is taken, we will adjourn the meeting immediately following closed session and not return back to the days. With that, I thank you all for joining tonight's city council meeting. We're next scheduled to meet on Monday, September 14th. I wish you all a great evening and we got. Thank you everyone.

[5:17:20] The city council is back, reconvening after closed session, and we took some action items, all passing over to our city attorney. Thank you mayor. So this is to report out on the conference with legal counsel on anticipated litigation. The city council unanimously authorized initiation of litigation. Person to California government code section 54956.9.

[5:17:48] The information regarding the litigation will be available upon filing of the lawsuit upon

[5:17:56] request but will not be available before then in order not to prejudice the city.

[5:18:01] Thank you so much.

[5:18:02] Thank you everyone.

[5:18:04] And we will adjourn.

[5:18:05] Our next meeting is September 14th.

[5:18:07] We will see then.

[5:18:08] Thank you.

August 24, 2026 City Council/Successor Agency/Public Financing Agency Regular Meeting

Agenda

Transcript