Folsom City Council Meeting – October 13, 2021: Redistricting, Parks, Utilities
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Folsom City Council Meeting – October 13, 2021
The Folsom City Council held its regular meeting on October 13, 2021 (the session began on October 12 but concluded after midnight per the user's instruction). Key actions included approving consent calendar items, conducting the second public hearing on transitioning to district-based council elections, and approving designs for Benevento Family Park and Neighborhood Park #3 in the Folsom Plan Area. Council also heard presentations on Community Service Day results and a proposed change to utility billing.
Scheduled Presentations
- 2021 Community Service Day Results: Christine Brainerd reported over 2,500 volunteers completed more than 100 projects on September 21, 2021. The event collected approximately 80,000 pounds of food (nearly 25,000 pounds above typical), 67 bikes, 138 purses, 141 letters for the military, 10 boxes of Legos, and 33 pints of blood. 54 seniors received home repairs. Sponsors included Intel and Dignity Health ($15,000 each).
- Utility Billing – Property Owner Accounts: Elizabeth Hannah proposed changing the municipal code so utility accounts remain in the property owner's name, aligning with 13 surveyed local agencies. Currently 30% of monthly account turnovers (over 200 per month) are rental properties. Tenants could still pay via duplicate bills. An 18-month transition was recommended. Council expressed support; a formal ordinance will return.
Consent Calendar
- Items 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 were approved on one motion (Councilmembers Howell, Rodriguez, Chalamcherla, Aquino all yes).
- Item 5 (Resolution 10713 – Black & Veatch Agreement): Councilmember Howell recused herself. The remaining council approved the resolution (4-0).
- Item 10 (Resolution 10721 – Seniors Helping Seniors Program): Councilmember Chalamcherla noted the increased maximum grant amounts and removal of lifetime caps. The council approved (4-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Muriel Bronstein (30-year Folsom resident): Supported moving to district elections and asked about accessing map-drawing tools. Staff noted tools are delayed due to census data issues.
- Cheryl Davis (12-year resident): Questioned the 16-day submission deadline for maps, urging the council to postpone hearings if data is not ready. Staff agreed to monitor and adjust timelines.
- Ian Cornell (resident and business owner): Asked how future population growth in the Folsom Plan Area would be handled. Doug Yochum explained a 10% total deviation allowance.
- Scott Rafferty (by phone): Criticized the demographer (NDC), alleging gerrymandering and questioning data delays. Councilmember Aquino clarified that Yochum had worked for her deceased father over a decade ago, not currently. Rafferty urged the council to move forward without delay.
Discussion Items
- Public Hearing #2 – California Voting Rights Act Redistricting: Doug Yochum (NDC) presented the second of five required hearings. Key points:
- The 2020 Census data release was delayed; corrected data arrived September 27, 2021, but mapping tools are not yet available.
- The city's total population is 75,038 (likely adjusted for prison population), requiring five districts of approximately 15,007 people each.
- Criteria include equal population, federal Voting Rights Act compliance, and California Fair Maps Act (prohibiting partisan gerrymandering).
- Online mapping tools (DistrictR and Maptitude) will be posted once accurate data is ready.
- Current timeline: public hearings on November 9, mid-December, and adoption on January 11, 2022. Councilmembers Howell and Aquino expressed concern about the three-week delay and advocated for adjusting the schedule. Staff confirmed hearings will be pushed back if necessary.
- Resolution 10719 – Benevento Family Park: Brad Nelson presented the Parks and Recreation Commission's recommendation for phased design and construction. The park includes an eight-court sand volleyball complex, picnic areas, trails, and a pond feature. Phase one cost is $5.4 million ($3 million approved, $2.4 million additional). Council approved (4-0).
- Resolution 10722 – Neighborhood Park #3 Preferred Master Plan: Brad Nelson presented the plan for a park near Mangini Ranch Elementary School. Following community meetings, a plan without a cricket field was favored (102-19). The approved plan includes a lighted baseball field, two sand volleyball courts, a dog park (separate areas for large and small dogs), playground, basketball court, multi-purpose grass fields, picnic shelter, and a nature area. The Gold Rush mining theme was selected. Council approved (4-0).
Key Outcomes
- Approved all consent calendar items as listed.
- Approved Resolution 10713 (Black & Veatch agreement) 4-0.
- Approved Resolution 10721 (Seniors Helping Seniors program update) 4-0.
- Approved Resolution 10719 (Benevento Family Park) 4-0.
- Approved Resolution 10722 (Neighborhood Park #3 master plan) 4-0.
- The council discussed adjusting the redistricting timeline; staff will monitor data availability and notify the public of any changes.
- City Manager announced new water conservation rebate programs (Cash for Grass and Flume monitor), a public safety trunk-or-treat event (October 30), park naming submissions, Veterans Day parade (November 11), and the appointment of Mark Rackaban as Public Works Director.
- Councilmembers provided updates on regional committees, school safety, CAPS, water resources, and community events.
Meeting Transcript
Order the regular meeting of the Folsom City Council on Tuesday, October 12th, 2021, where the clerk please call the roll. Council members Howell. Here. Rodriguez. Here. Here. Here. And Kozelski is absent. If you'd all please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. And to the Republic. Under God, indivisible with Liberty and Justice Carl. Okay, Madam Clerk, do we have any agenda updates? We have agenda updates for consent calendar items four, five, and six, and public hearing item number 15. And those are revised agenda items. And then we have one additional information item for public hearing item number 15. And they are all in the back and bit have been distributed to the city council. Okay, thank you very much. That brings us to business from the floor. This is an opportunity for members of the public to address the council on items that are not on the agenda. But please understand that because that item is not on the agenda, we are prohibited by state law from taking action or deliberating. So I don't think we have any blue cards, but is there anybody in the audience tonight who would like to address the council on something that is not on the agenda? Seeing no one. Do we have anybody on the phone who would like to address the council on item not on the agenda? Okay, hearing no one, we will move on. Uh please call the first item. The first item tonight under scheduled presentations is presentation of 2021 community service day results. Welcome. Christina, if you need help, I'm there for you. Yeah, I just wanted to. Christine, if you need help, please talk to YK. Hior and Council members. I'm Christine Brainerd, Communications Director with the City of Folsom, and I'm pleased to share with you tonight an overview of the 2021 Community Service Day, which was held on Saturday, September 21st. More than 2,500 volunteers served uh served their community at more than a hundred projects throughout our city, as well as a donation drive and a food drive. Projects that took place all throughout Folsom included a Lembe Park wheelchair accessible fitness station, parklets in the historic district, Lego sorting and packaging, Cummings Bike Park jump improvements, a baseball field renovation at Rodeo Park, trail stenciling at over 80 locations, and repairs to bridges along the open space near Oak Chan School, and so many more projects taking place throughout our city. About 80,000 pounds of food was collected to benefit the Twin Lakes Food Bank this year. That's nearly 25,000 pounds more food than we normally collect in a typical year. We also received generous donations at the drive-through donation drive, including 67 bikes, 138 purses, 141 letters for the military, 10 and 10 boxes of Legos. For the second year, we partnered with Vitalent for a blood drive. And this year, 33 pints of blood was donated by um volunteers in our community. And teams of volunteers went to go help out local seniors in need, and 54 seniors received a helping hand with fence repair, landscaping, gutter clean out, and other projects at home. This event wouldn't have been possible without the generous in-kind and cash support support from our sponsors, including our $15,000 presenting sponsors, Intel and Dignity Health, our many platinum, gold, silver, and bronze sponsors. And I'm pleased to share with you a video that highlights this year's event. Folsom Community Service Day unites thousands of volunteers of all ages and interest to complete projects that have a lasting impact across the city. We're very interested in getting out and giving back where we could. I think it's really important for most of us that work locally in in Folsom to support the community that we uh that we live in. That turnout's been great the last several years. We've always had a good time. It's just nice to nice to see the city a little bit cleaner when we leave. We just arrived here to give some blood today, so um, really getting into the spirit, dropped off some food. So we've kind of covered a number of bases.
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