Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Benicia City Council met on June 16, 2026 at 6:00 PM at City Hall. The meeting included a Juneteenth proclamation, approval of appointments to boards and commissions, appointment of a new poet laureate, consent calendar items (including janitorial services contract, pavement rehabilitation contract, and software renewal), amendments to the master fee schedule, and fire department fee clarifications. Public comment was received regarding the Families in Transition volunteer appeal.
The meeting adjourned.
Councilmember's birdside here, Largas Pada, Masenski, Scott and Mayor Young. Mayor, if you could turn on your mic, please. Sure. Is that better? All right. Um I have office hours on the first and third Mondays of each month at four thirty P.M. And if that time is not convenient, a an appointment can made can be made through the city manager's office. I have a proclamation for Juneteenth that I'd like to read. And if uh members of the vibe team and Brandon are here, maybe join me at the podium. More than two years after the emancipation proclamation was issued on January first, eighteen sixty-three. And whereas the first Juneteenth celebration was a time for reassurance, prayer, and the gathering of family members, Juneteenth continued to be widely observed in Texas decades later, with many former slaves and descendants making an annual pilgrimage to Galveston, Texas. Today, Juneteenth continues to grow within communities and organizations throughout the country. Numerous national and local Juneteenth organizations have organized with the common mission of promoting and cultivating knowledge and appreciation of African American history and culture while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all people and cultures. And whereas California Assembly Bill number 1749 state on July 12th, 2002, required the governor of the state of California to proclaim the third Saturday in June each year as Juneteenth National Freedom Day, a day of observance, and would urge the people of California to join in celebrating this day to honor and reflect upon the significant role that African Americans have played in the history of the United States and how they have enriched society through their steadfast commitment to promoting brotherhood and equality. Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Steve Young, mayor of the City of Venetia, on behalf of the City Council of the City of Venetia, hereby proclaim June 19th, 2026 as Juneteenth Freedom Day in the City of Benicia, and encourage residents, schools, businesses, and community groups to celebrate Juneteenth as a day of remembrance and celebration. Thank you. Would you like to raise something? So my name is Nancy Rothstein, and I'm accepting this proclamation with members of the city's VIBE team. I'm here on behalf of Benesha Black Lives Matter. Um we are a black led multiracial grassroots uh organization, and you can find out more about us at Benisha Black Lives Matter.com. It's through the work of Benisha Black Lives Matter that the celebration and acknowledgement of Juneteenth in Benicia has taken has begun to take place over the last five years. This Juneteenth, we are happy to partner with the Benicia Public Library and the Benicia VIBE Committee to co-sponsor a film screening of the documentary about legendary civil rights attorney John Burris, called John Burris, Godfather of Police Litigation, featuring a question and answer with John Burris himself, which is a major VIP. So please join us this Saturday, the 20th, 2 p.m. at the library in the Donia Room. And to contextualize this historical through line from the emancipation proclamation and then the passage of the 13th Amendment to present-day criminal justice system, I highly recommend this book from the Benisha Black Lives Matter reading list. Slavery by another name. This is by Douglas Blackman. Subtitle is The Reenslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II. So obviously we should celebrate Juneteenth, but you really need to know about what happens next because this is how we got to where we are today. And our co-founder Brandon Green was going to be here. I'm here in his stead because unfortunately at the last minute he wasn't available. Thank you so much. And I just want to add that we'll be raising the Juneteenth flag Thursday at 9 a.m. out here if anybody wants to join us. Thanks. So we're having a little technical uh difficulty with our microphones, and what we'll do is just pass this mic back and forth uh among the council as we uh discuss these items. So bear with us, otherwise we'd have to wait and try to fix it. But I think we can just try to power through this. Um next item is appointments, and this is a little different in the sense.