Good evening.

Welcome to the City of Belmont City Council and Belmont Fire Protection District Board of Directors regular meeting.

It is Tuesday, June 11th, 2024, 7 p.m.

We are here in Twin Pines chambers in our city hall.

To maximize time for live public comment, we encourage members of the public to provide comments by joining the city council meeting via Zoom by telephone by calling Star 671 669 900 6833 or by submitting written comment to C Clerk at Belmont.gov before the council considers the item.

Any public comment regarding agenda items that are received from the publication of the agenda through the meeting date will be part of the meeting record, but it will not be read during the council meeting, and all of this information can be found on our published agenda.

First item of business tonight is roll call.

Madam Clerk, can we please have roll?

Good evening, everyone.

Councilmember McCune.

Heard.

Here.

Vice Mayor Lauder Merlo.

Here, Mayor Mates.

Here.

For present, Pang Mangamaris Absen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Item number two, Pledge of Allegiance, please rise if you're able.

I'd like to allegiance to the fly of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation under God, individual liberty and justice for all.

Item three is report from closed session.

Mr.

City Attorney, do we have a report tonight?

Good evening, Madam Mayor.

We did not have a closed session, so we have no report.

Okay.

That moves us to item number four special presentations.

Uh this first item is a proclamation recognizing Pride Month.

And um, as as everyone knows, we did raise our flag and had a flag raising ceremony for the Pride flag last week was um very well attended.

Thanks for all who came and joined us, and I'll read just a little bit here of the proclamation recognizing Pride Month.

Whereas the City Council of Belmont recognizes and proclaims the month of June as lesbian gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual, and more, LGBTQIA plus Pride Month throughout the City of Belmont.

And whereas the 2024 theme of Pride Month is medicine, to celebrate the lives and work of LGBTQ plus AAI health care professionals who have made significant contributions to the field of medicine, and also to examine and address the health and inequalities that LGBTQ AI plus people have experienced historically and still face today.

And whereas the City of Belmont joins the County of San Mateo in observing Pride Month with the Progress Pride flag raising ceremony honoring the history of the LGBTQIA plus liberation movement and supporting the rights of all citizens to experience equality and freedom from discrimination.

Whereas while society at large increasingly supports LGBTQIA plus equality, greater education and awareness remain vital to end discrimination and prejudice, including access to medical care.

And whereas the City of Belmont is committed to supporting the visibility, dignity, and equality of LGBTQ IA plus people and its diverse community.

Whereas the City of Belmont recognizes Dignity Health staff for their commitment to safe and compassionate care for the LGBTQ IA plus community and their participation in the June 4th Pride right Pride flag raising event.

And whereas the City of Belmont recognizes Dr.

J Benjamin Lana Lanaikia for their contributions to the advanced advancement of comprehensive and tailored health care services for the LGBTQIA plus patient population.

Now, therefore be it resolved that I, Julia Mates, mayor of the City of Belmont, on behalf of the Belmont City Council, hereby proclaim the month of June as Pride Month with a 2024 theme of medicine and a pride progress pride flag raised on June 4th, 2024 to recognize all LGBTQIA plus residents whose influential and lasting contributions to our neighborhoods make the City of Belmont a vibrant community in which to live, work, and visit.

So happy Pride Month, everyone.

And our next presentation is a proclamation recognizing Juneteenth.

It is a proclamation observing Juneteenth Independence Day and the day on which slavery finally came to an end in the United States.

Whereas President Abraham Lincoln's emancipation proclamation was issued January 1st, 1863.

Yet news of the end of slavery did not reach the frontier areas of the United States and in particular the Southwestern states for over two and a half years.

And whereas on June 19th, 1865, Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were free.

And whereas African Americans who had been slaves in the Southwest celebrated June 19th, commonly known as Juneteenth Independence Day, as inspiration and encouragement for future generations.

And whereas the Belmont community is encouraged to join the continued nationwide celebration of Juneteenth Independence Day to provide an opportunity to learn more about the past and to better understand the experiences that have shaped this nation.

And whereas the City of Belmont recognizes Notre Dame de Namur University's commitment to diversity and inclusion by offering a Master of Arts in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Program.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Julia Mates, Mayor of the City of Belmont, on behalf of the Belmont City Council resolved that June 19th, 2024 is recognized as Juneteenth Independence Day and urges the Belmont community to actively raise awareness of the significance of the celebration in African American history and in the heritage of our nation and our city.

And good evening.

I think we have uh Dr.

Vaughn with us tonight.

Hey, good evening.

Hello.

Hello, thank you for joining us.

Of course, of course.

No, I'm uh I'm happy to uh celebrate with you.

Um I can barely see your uh the faces of the council.

Uh I know I recognize some of you uh from years ago.