Folsom City Council Special and Regular Meeting - January 25, 2022
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Folsom City Council Special and Regular Meeting - January 25, 2022
The Folsom City Council held a special meeting at 5:45 PM for a closed session on the Murer House property lease, followed by a regular meeting at 6:30 PM on January 25, 2022. The regular meeting included business from the floor, recognition of holiday lights contest winners, approval of a consent calendar, a public hearing on the Russell Ranch Phase 2 project, appointment of a historic preservation member, city manager reports, and council comments. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Resolution No. 10789 – Authorized the City Manager to execute an agreement with Western Truck Parts & Equipment Company LLC for the purchase of a dump truck. Approved unanimously.
- Resolution No. 10790 – Authorized the City Manager to execute an agreement with PSOMAS for construction management and inspection services for the Natoma Alley Rehabilitation and Replacement Project, and appropriated funds. Approved unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mr. Reynolds (speaking during Business from the Floor) expressed support for moving forward on parking management and code changes in the Historic District, citing a need to reduce inefficiency and conflict. He also endorsed John Lane for appointment to the Historic District Commission.
- Kate Tedesco (speaking during Business from the Floor) requested direction on how to advocate for a Kaiser emergency hospital in Folsom, noting long travel times to Kaiser facilities. Mayor Howell advised her to contact Kaiser directly, mentioning Dr. Anthony Rotodo as a starting point, but noted that the decision is beyond the city's control.
Scheduled Presentations
- Recognition of 2021 Folsom Holiday Lights Contest Winners – The inaugural contest had over 50 entries across five categories. City social media reached more than 35,000 people; the Folsom Telegraph reached more than 21,000 weekly readers; Macaroni Kid reached more than 20,000. Winners were selected by council members:
- Holly Jolly Residents (best overall residence): Tyler Pepper, 1510 Thurman Way (judged by Councilmember Aquino).
- Hollywood Christmas (best use of fictional characters): Darren Prochew, 1027 Hildebrand Circle (judged by Mayor Howell).
- Clark Griswold (best use of holiday lights): Enid Baldock and Michael Aubrey, Christopher Street (judged by Councilmember Chalamcherla).
- Merry and Bright Business: Jim Snook, Snooks Candies and Chocolate Factory (judged by Vice Mayor Rodriguez).
- Illuminate the Block (best multi-house display): Gene Perrier, 117 Ledgemont Court (judged by Councilmember Kozlowski).
Discussion Items
- Public Hearing: Russell Ranch Phase 2 Lots 24-32 (PN 21-118) – Planning consultant Kathy Peace presented the project, which amends a previously approved plan to convert 208 age-restricted units into conventional single-family homes. The change eliminates a gated community, private roads, and a second clubhouse, replacing the clubhouse with a 1-acre private park (passive use, with turf, barbecues, and benches). The project generates 59 new AM peak trips and 79 PM peak trips, and an additional 83 acre-feet per year of water demand, still within the specific plan's 5,600 acre-feet per year cap. Condition 42 prohibits turf in front yards. Councilmember Chalamcherla suggested installing water-flow monitoring devices (e.g., Flume) and adding more active recreational amenities (e.g., volleyball net) to the park. Councilmember Kozlowski supported leaving the park as turf for flexible use. The applicant (Lennar Homes) agreed with staff recommendations. No public speakers testified. The council approved Resolution No. 10791 (unanimous 5-0) and introduced Ordinance No. 1323 (first reading, unanimous 5-0).
- Old Business: Appointment of At-Large Historic Preservation Member to the Historic District Commission – Four applicants were considered. The council voted orally: Councilmembers Chalamcherla, Kozlowski, and Aquino voted for John Lane; Vice Mayor Rodriguez and Mayor Howell voted for Darren Brock. John Lane was appointed (3-2).
City Manager Reports
- City Manager Elaine Andersen reported:
- Condolences for Elk Grove Police Officer Ty Linehan, killed in the line of duty.
- The city is transitioning to by-district elections; a public hearing on draft maps will be held February 8, 2022, at 6:30 PM. Feedback can be submitted to AttyDept@folsom.ca.us.
- A new community recycling bin is available at Folsom City Hall (mixed recyclables), joining existing bins at Folsom Middle School, Andy Moran Sports Complex, and the Historic District.
- The application window for nonprofit groups to sell state-approved fireworks runs from February 1 to March 18, 2022.
- The February 8, 2022 City Council meetings (special workshop at 1:00 PM on the funding gap, and regular meeting at 6:30 PM) will also be held via Zoom.
Council Comments
- Councilmember Aquino shared insights from a FACOG meeting on walkability, noting that creative solutions (like parking meters) are sometimes necessary.
- Councilmember Kozlowski noted that he will chair the SACOG Policy Committee.
- Councilmember Chalamcherla requested updates on the fiber cable project and parking management in the Historic District.
- Vice Mayor Rodriguez reminded everyone of the State of the City address on February 24, 2022.
- Mayor Howell urged traffic safety, noting increasing speeding and red-light running, and adjourned the meeting in honor of Officer Ty Linehan and all uniformed personnel who have lost their lives.
Meeting Transcript
Is why we need to somehow work on parking management to the state of being able to reach a steady state situation in the historic district and determine, you know, what is the next step after that. And so what I tried to outline in there was a set of line items of types of projects, and a lot of them are derivatives of what came from the uh the ad hoc committee that we could uh you know work on together and implement to try and move to that next phase. And then there was a second piece, which is around the code. And you know, I don't claim to understand exactly what tweaks we should make in the code, but I feel like the point that was made that night of where the code sits today is driving a ton of inefficiency as we pit professionals against uh amateurs, stakeholders against stakeholders, and there's got to be a better way for using the code for us to use the collective smarts in the room to work together to solve some of these things instead of constantly girding up for battles, whether it be at the HDC or at the council over these issues that I think could be tweaked and then fixed in the code. And so given that we have the goodwill in the district, a constancy of purpose amongst stakeholders and potentially some funding from the ARPA money. Um, I just kind of would like to see is there a recognition? Did I read the signals right? Is there an endorsement from the council to say let's move forward and try and get some of these items worked? Um, so you know, I will pause. I know I only have 48 seconds, um, and maybe there's a response, but right before I run out of time, I do want to also give a nod to John Lane, um, who's being considered for the position of uh the historic commission tonight. Um, I had made a point last time about the soup and the ingredients mixing together. Well, and I think John would be an excellent ad as a candidate to that. So anyway, I will I will quiet after that. But are there any questions on sort of the statements I made previously? Um Mr. Reynolds, the um the council has heard your comments, but since this isn't an agendized item, they they really can't engage in dialogue about it, but um they have heard your comments and staff has as well. Okay. Thank you. Okay, I think we'll be Kate Tedesco. Hi, uh, I'm Kate Tedesco, and this is a wonderful community that I dearly love, but I have a concern, and that is I've had a couple of uh medical issues that weren't an emergency, but it took a long time to get to the Kaiser. And part of the reason I moved out here is because there are a couple of Kaiser facilities. Now it's nothing that you can do, but I guess I need some direction. If anyone could write me some notes as to how to find out how many residents of Folsom are in need and would be interested in having an emergency hospital here. I'm aware that they have some property over by me by the palladio, and I'm aware that there may be some places. So I I guess what I need, and I know this can't happen overnight, that it's going to take some time, some uh research or guidance, a name, somebody to follow up with uh at City Hall, uh, for me to see if I can uh find out what the interest in is and obviously if they wanted to do it, they would do it. So at this point, I I think there needs to be a significant amount of interest, but I don't uh being a person, my uh background is education. I don't have the slightest idea how to do this. So if somebody here has a name of somebody that might be able to talk with me about that, I I would be interested in pursuing that. And then maybe if possible, figuring out how to bring something to the community to see how much interest there is in making that request of Kaiser. Kate, I can tell you from the many years that I've served on the city council. Kaiser has owned that property for many, many years. No one would be happier to see them build um uh a more um extensive medical facility in Folsom than the Folsom City Council. Um, your discussion needs to take place with the folks at Kaiser. Okay. And the one person that I might recommend that you try to contact is Dr. Ritodo, who runs the existing Folsom facility. Um R-O-T-O-T-O. Uh I don't think that's the correct spelling. It's Dr. Anthony Ritotto. Anthony. Um but I would I would call um I would call the Kaiser Folsom facility. Okay, and see how to reach him. And I'm sure it's also not Dr. Rototo's. Um he's not the one that makes that decision. It's much further up the food chain at Kaiser. Okay, but it is about okay. I can talk to him, but I mean, if it doesn't come from the community and it's not a community interest, it'd probably be a very short. No, I can tell you that all the Kaiser membership in Folsom, and we can't tell you how many they have.
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