OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Sunol Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting - November 6, 2025

Board of Supervisors — Thursday, November 6, 2025
BodyAlameda County, California
SessionBoard of Supervisors
DateThursday, November 6, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:21:07
Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

Okay, it's 6 30, October 15th, 2025.

0:07

And so we'll call the meeting to order.

0:10

Do we all have agendas here?

0:12

Okay.

0:16

So we'll do the roll call.

0:21

Present.

0:23

Present.

0:29

Chair DeGrange.

0:30

Here.

0:31

Okay, thank you.

0:32

Okay.

0:33

The first item on the agenda.

0:35

The layout's a little different, so I'm not used to not used to working in all those directions.

0:39

But the first item on the agenda is public comments.

0:42

And I think Tom, is Tom's comment first?

0:45

Tom Knutson.

0:49

Let's work on two minutes.

0:54

Good evening.

0:54

My name's Tom Knutson.

0:56

I'm a local resident here.

0:58

Some of you on Kill Care Road may have received a notice from the Pleasanton City of Pleasanton regarding the quality of your water.

1:07

Apparently, in June, they found a high level of contaminants, something called TTHM or whatever that is, I don't know.

1:22

But the uh troubling thing about it is they discovered it June 10, they notified the citizens on September 30th.

1:31

Um they claim that uh there's no immediate risk.

1:36

Um, however, some people who drink water containing this contaminant over many years, they don't describe what many is uh experience liver kidney central nervous problems or whatnot.

1:50

I guess my main complaint is, and I don't know if Lindsay can help us out in this or the council can.

1:56

Um I think the city of Pleasanton had a duty to notify its consumers sooner than 90 days.

2:05

When I talked to the water guy, they said, Well, the state gives us 90 days to notify the consumers.

2:12

Well, they took all 90 days.

2:14

So I would ask that there be some inquiry into the status of the water when this contaminant is going to be removed and uh go from there.

2:26

Tom, what what was what do the notice look like?

2:29

I don't remember getting it.

2:31

Well, you're not on Kill Care Road.

2:33

But I guess City of Pleasanton Water.

2:35

Oh, but it was only those on people on Killcare Road?

2:38

Yeah, oh, isn't that interesting?

2:40

Yeah, okay.

2:41

And yeah, if you have an extra copy, I don't have an extra copy.

2:45

I got one.

2:46

Okay, apparently the deal is there's a tank at the end of Killcare that has six million gallons, and it sits for a long time, and they uh used to get 100% uh groundwater, uh well water, and now they're getting 30 percent runoff, and it has organic material that interacts with the chlorine that they use as a contaminant and creates this some other contaminant.

3:18

So, yeah, yeah.

3:22

This is very concerning.

3:24

Is it still considered audible?

3:26

Well, I say it is, but it'll just take longer to kill you.

3:30

Well, the uh fix is a flush of the tank, and I don't know why they just don't dump all the water down the creek and fill it back up, but they're apparently not gonna do it.

3:46

Okay, so it sounds like it's a temporary thing.

3:50

Yeah, not sure.

3:51

Okay, okay.

3:52

Well, thank you for letting us know.

3:54

Um Lindsay, can I talk you into closing that back door?

4:00

So that we the temperature's gonna start dropping.

4:04

Okay, uh Kelly, you you have a public comment?

4:14

So we're going to different meetings, and the county comes in and explains all the about how how the budget works for the unincorporated areas and and so on.

4:25

And uh what's funny is that all the other areas there are a lot of constraints and things are things are tough.

4:35

But um, this is Synol, and this is the other side of the track.

4:40

So in Synol, uh the constraints don't really apply.

4:45

Here it's uh, you know, there uh partly it's because like you're running a if you're if you're trying to water a garden.

4:52

If your garden is a thousand acres of rice, you need a lot of water.

4:55

If you just have a little flower bed uh to take care of, you can take really good care of it with very little water, and you'll be very happy with your little flower bed, and that's the that's the benefit of having a small operation like Sinnol.

5:09

So in in Sinnol, it's an abundance mindset.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety████████████████████████24%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████17%
Environmental Protection█████████████13%
Public Engagement████████8%
Community Engagement████████8%
Water And Wastewater Management███████7%
Parks and Recreation██████6%
Fiscal Sustainability██████6%
Land Use Planning█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Sunol Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting - November 6, 2025

Note: The meeting transcript indicates the meeting occurred on October 15, 2025, but the provided timestamp is November 6, 2025. This summary uses the specified date of November 6, 2025.

The Sunol Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) held a regular meeting on November 6, 2025. The agenda included public comments, updates from the Sheriff's Office, progress reports on community projects, and a participatory workshop on the Alameda County unincorporated area budget input process. No formal votes were taken; the meeting was adjourned after staff comments.

Public Comments

  • Tom Knutson (local resident) raised concerns about the City of Pleasanton's delay (90 days) in notifying Kill Care Road residents about elevated TTHM contaminants in their water, discovered June 10, 2025. He requested an inquiry into the water quality and remediation timeline.
  • Kelly commented on the unique advantages of Sunol (small operation, abundance mindset, strong local coordination) compared to other unincorporated areas, asserting that standard budget constraints do not apply here.

Sheriff's Office Report

  • Sergeant Patrick Patrini reported that a small shooting range on a nursery property was found to be legal (proper distance and backstop). 34 calls for service, 46 proactive stops, and 64 business checks since last meeting. A deputy completed motor school and another starts next week to address traffic issues.
  • Lindsay noted three abandoned vehicles on Pleasant and Sunol Road (including a burned-out RV) and a burned vehicle at Scott's Corners. The sergeant said the parking technician would investigate tomorrow.

Progress Reports

  • Jim (Tree Advisory/Depot Gardens) reported the milkweed project nearly complete; 2,300 pots distributed. Upcoming creek cleanup on October 25 (coordinated by Alameda County Resource Conservation District, Cal Trout, and Alameda Creek Alliance). 20 dogwood trees to be planted. He encouraged community participation to promote Sunol and build relationships with resource agencies.
  • Benjamin announced that the county board of supervisors voted on the wayfinding sign prototype; final outcome pending. The sign will be a prototype for community feedback before ordering four signs.

Discussion Items

Unincorporated Area Budget Input Process

Claudia Albano (Deputy Chief of Staff for Supervisor Miley) led a workshop. The process aims to give unincorporated residents a formal way to provide input on the county budget. Previous community meetings (urban: 70 attendees, rural: 20 attendees). Next steps: analyze data in November, present findings on December 3 joint meeting.

CAC members identified macro issues affecting Sunol: government regulation/gridlock, political divide, water, climate change, fire/flood danger, aging infrastructure, reduced public funds, housing scarcity, weather, government responsibility, political stress. Then they listed micro-level changes needed: better flood prevention response, agency accountability ("the buck stops here"), better emergency communication systems, more sheriff presence, better response to illegal dumping.

Discussion emphasized that Sunol faces chronic, unresolved issues due to lack of agency ownership and funding. The board of supervisors was urged to prioritize Sunol's special vulnerabilities even with limited population.

Key Outcomes

  • The budget input workshop was completed; CAC provided input on macro issues and service improvements. No formal motion or action taken.
  • The wayfinding sign prototype decision awaits final outcome from county board.
  • Staff announced: Killare Road walkthrough (Oct 22); sandbag brigade by Boy Scouts (date TBD); Highway 84 closure update; Zone 7 Water Wonders event (Oct 18); creek cleanup (Oct 25).
  • Main Street pedestrian improvement presentation rescheduled to January 2026.
  • Next meeting agenda includes climate change amendments to planning document.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:45 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, it's 6 30, October 15th, 2025. And so we'll call the meeting to order. Do we all have agendas here? Okay. So we'll do the roll call. Present. Present. Chair DeGrange. Here. Okay, thank you. Okay. The first item on the agenda. The layout's a little different, so I'm not used to not used to working in all those directions. But the first item on the agenda is public comments. And I think Tom, is Tom's comment first? Tom Knutson. Let's work on two minutes. Good evening. My name's Tom Knutson. I'm a local resident here. Some of you on Kill Care Road may have received a notice from the Pleasanton City of Pleasanton regarding the quality of your water. Apparently, in June, they found a high level of contaminants, something called TTHM or whatever that is, I don't know. But the uh troubling thing about it is they discovered it June 10, they notified the citizens on September 30th. Um they claim that uh there's no immediate risk. Um, however, some people who drink water containing this contaminant over many years, they don't describe what many is uh experience liver kidney central nervous problems or whatnot. I guess my main complaint is, and I don't know if Lindsay can help us out in this or the council can. Um I think the city of Pleasanton had a duty to notify its consumers sooner than 90 days. When I talked to the water guy, they said, Well, the state gives us 90 days to notify the consumers. Well, they took all 90 days. So I would ask that there be some inquiry into the status of the water when this contaminant is going to be removed and uh go from there. Tom, what what was what do the notice look like? I don't remember getting it. Well, you're not on Kill Care Road. But I guess City of Pleasanton Water. Oh, but it was only those on people on Killcare Road? Yeah, oh, isn't that interesting? Yeah, okay. And yeah, if you have an extra copy, I don't have an extra copy. I got one. Okay, apparently the deal is there's a tank at the end of Killcare that has six million gallons, and it sits for a long time, and they uh used to get 100% uh groundwater, uh well water, and now they're getting 30 percent runoff, and it has organic material that interacts with the chlorine that they use as a contaminant and creates this some other contaminant. So, yeah, yeah. This is very concerning. Is it still considered audible? Well, I say it is, but it'll just take longer to kill you. Well, the uh fix is a flush of the tank, and I don't know why they just don't dump all the water down the creek and fill it back up, but they're apparently not gonna do it. Okay, so it sounds like it's a temporary thing. Yeah, not sure. Okay, okay. Well, thank you for letting us know. Um Lindsay, can I talk you into closing that back door?

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