Folsom City Council Regular Meeting - August 23, 2022
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Folsom City Council Regular Meeting - August 23, 2022
The Folsom City Council held a regular meeting on Tuesday, August 23, 2022, beginning at 2:45 PM. The meeting included public comments, presentations, consent calendar approvals, a new business ordinance on residential permit parking, review of the COVID-19 local emergency declaration, and reports from the city manager and council members. Key discussions involved underutilized city properties, the SACOG Blueprint transportation plan, and adjustments to pandemic-era policies.
Consent Calendar
- Items 4 through 22 were approved as part of the consent calendar, with items 13 and 18 pulled separately.
- Item 13 (Resolution 1089) was approved unanimously after Councilmember Aquino recused herself due to a potential conflict of interest.
- Item 18 was also pulled but no further details were provided; the motion passed.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Jason Davis expressed concerns about how the city handles unhoused individuals, stating that police are not properly trained, the navigator phone number is incorrect, and city staff discard belongings. He urged the council to review policies and cite the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
- Jim Harville (President, Placerville and Sacramento Valley Railroad) provided an update on MOU progress with developers regarding signals south of Highway 50. He requested temporary city assistance for rail events (Railfest and steam events) to satisfy CPUC requirements, noting the events generate significant revenue and have been shut down for over a year.
- Rick Rabrick criticized nightclubs and bowling alleys for scanning IDs, calling it an invasion of privacy and unconstitutional. He demanded the practice be stopped immediately.
Discussion Items
- Proclamation: Prostate Cancer Awareness Month – Councilmember Aquino presented a proclamation declaring September 2022 as Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, sharing personal experience and urging men to get tested early.
- SACOG Blueprint Update – James Corless (Executive Director, SACOG) presented the long-range Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP) update through 2050, emphasizing triple bottom line (equity, economy, environment) and three growth scenarios. Discussion included the Southeast Connector, greenhouse gas reduction targets, and regional trail plans. Councilmember Kozlowski raised concerns about modeling differences and the Connector's middle segment. Corless noted upcoming public outreach in 2023.
- City Properties Ad Hoc Committee Report – Councilmembers Rodriguez and Aquino presented findings on 15 underutilized city-owned properties. Recommendations included selling or redeveloping sites (e.g., Fong Street, 906 Leedsdorf, the Y property), rezoning some for open space, and referring Einstein Cafe, Zittel Family Amphitheater, and Dan Russell Arena to commissions for activation and revenue generation strategies. The council supported the recommendations and directed staff to proceed.
- Residential Permit Parking Ordinance – Public Works Director Mark Rackovin presented an ordinance to codify permit parking, focusing on the Historic District. After debate, the council settled on two permits per address at $50 per two-year period, with the possibility of one guest pass (to be discussed with residents). The first reading of Ordinance 1331 passed unanimously, with staff to return with details after a community meeting.
- Review of COVID-19 Local Emergency – City Manager Elaine ? reviewed the history of emergency orders and current conditions. The council discussed rescinding the local emergency. Final direction: rescind all emergency orders except those related to outdoor dining (parklets) and garage sale restrictions, which should be codified via separate ordinances. Employee COVID leave will be allowed to expire September 30. Staff to bring back items for the next meeting.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimously adopted the proclamation for Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
- Directed staff to move forward on recommendations from the City Properties Ad Hoc Committee, including selling small parcels, engaging adjacent property owners, and referring underutilized spaces to commissions for activation plans (90-day report back).
- Approved the first reading of Ordinance 1331 (residential permit parking) with direction to set permit fees at $50 per decal for two years, two permits per address, and guest pass options to be finalized after resident input.
- Directed the city manager to bring back a resolution to rescind the COVID-19 local emergency declaration at the next meeting, while creating permanent ordinances for outdoor dining and garage sale limits.
- City manager announcements: East Bidwell widening construction began; ADU workbook available; donation drive for military; Community Service Day on September 17.
- Councilmember reports included St. Louis study mission takeaways, schools traffic safety discussions, and a visit to a BYD electric bus factory in Lancaster.
Meeting Transcript
We will reconvene the special meeting of the Folsom City Council for Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022. Do we have anything to report out, Mr. City Attorney? None tonight. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Okay, in which case we will adjourn the special meeting. And we will convene the regular meeting of the Folsom City Council for Tuesday, August 23rd, 2022. The clerk will call the roll, please. Council members Kozlowski. Here. Rodriguez. Here, Aquino. Here, Chalem Chairla. Here. And how here. If you guys will join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge allegiance to apply the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Do we have any updates to the agenda? Good evening, Madam Mayor. It is in one additional information, trust middle for item number 23 on tonight's agenda. A copyhouse previously being a provider to you, it is also available on the table in the back. Okay. That moves us to business from the floor. And I see one request to speak. If there's anybody else that would like to speak to us on anything that's not on the agenda, if you want to pick up a blue card in the back of the room and bring it down to the officer up front. The first request to speak is from Jason Davis. Good evening. And first of all, thank you, all the city council members that have actually called me back. We've all had some good discussions the last few weeks. I totally appreciate it. I want to talk about some uh some issues that I personally have uh witnessed on our streets in regards to how our unhouse they're being handled. Um there's an officer that was uh helping out an individual. Um he was actually an excellent officer, and that individual was being given um information that wasn't correct. Um I engaged in that conversation. Um that had to do with uh where where this person could uh actually be uh where this person could go. The officer had said, let me get in my car, I can take you to Bidwell Studios, and I came to clarify what Bidwell studio was, which is not a place where it is not a shelter. Um after talking to this gentleman, it was very clear that he is not being trained um appropriately, and he had had told me that. Um yesterday I was out um uh asking lots of questions in our town, and I had an individual who works for the city who is um was very clear that um he will stand there, and if he sees somebody that's unhoused and they leave their stuff behind, that he takes it, he puts it into his truck, and he dumps it in the dumpster. And I can talk to you all individually. I'm totally available. You all have my phone number, and I can talk to you in greater details on that. And I have a recording of it. I've also talked to Rapid Transit employee yesterday, and this rapid transit employee. Um, I said I've noticed that it seems that there's not as many unhoused individuals. Um I said, uh, have you been witnessing anything? She said, Well, some of my staff have been talking a lot about that the Folsom Police Department will actually take individuals to the sunrise uh light rail and we'll just will we'll we'll have them get on light rail, and that doesn't seem very appropriate. Um the navigator phone number is still not correct. Um, there's been multiple messages left on that navigator's phone number.
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