Folsom City Council Regular Meeting - July 9, 2024
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Folsom City Council Regular Meeting - July 9, 2024
The Folsom City Council held a regular meeting on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at 6:30 PM in City Council Chambers. The meeting began with proclamations for National Zookeeper Week (July 21-27, 2024) and Parks Make Life Better Month (July 2024). The council approved consent calendar items except for three items pulled for discussion: Item 4 (tree removals for light rail), Item 7 (water conservation assessment), and Item 11 (Dish Wireless license). A public hearing on a rezone for 1000 East Natoma was held and approved. The council also accepted a progress report on the River District Master Plan and authorized formation of a second citizens advisory committee.
Consent Calendar
- The council approved Resolution Nos. 11218, 11220, 11221, 11224, 11226, 11228, 11229, 11230, 11231, and minutes from June 25, 2024, as part of the consent calendar, with a motion and second. The consent calendar was approved unanimously (5-0) for items not pulled for discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Business from the Floor: Justin Raithel, a resident, reported homeless encampments and illegal camping near Parkshore community, including unleashed dogs, a fire, and trash dumping into Willow Creek. He stated the land is City of Folsom property and urged faster cleanup. He suggested hiring contractors if staff is insufficient, adding a "illegal camping" category to the ClicFix reporting system, removing benches behind Goodwill, and securing backflow devices. Raithel noted Folsom PD plans to clean up next Wednesday but requested immediate action.
Discussion Items
- Item 4 – Declassification of Five Landmark Trees for Light Rail Modernization: Two public speakers commented. Barbara Leary expressed support for the light rail project and noted RT's commitment to enhanced mitigation including replanting larger trees. Bruce Klein, representing Friends of Folsom Parkway, provided history of the landmark grove designation and urged on-site mitigation rather than off-site payments. Councilmember Rohrbough expressed concern over the cumulative number of tree removals (23 total) and questioned whether the council would have approved the project had they known the full extent. Mayor Kozlowski and Vice Mayor Aquino described walking the site with staff and stated the tree canopy loss would be minimal. The resolution was approved 4-1 (Rohrbough dissenting). (Vote: 4-1)
- Item 7 – Agreement with Water Systems Consulting for Water Conservation Needs Assessment: Councilmember Chalamcherla praised staff for a thorough procurement process and noted the importance of including cost in evaluation under the Brooks Act. The item was approved unanimously without further discussion. (Vote: 5-0)
- Item 11 – Communications Site License with Dish Wireless at B.T. Collins Park: Senior Management Analyst Liz Voggy answered council questions about equipment (151 sq ft on PG&E tower), market rate (3% escalation), and that Dish will be a co-locator with a direct agreement with the city. The license was approved unanimously. (Vote: 5-0)
- Item 13 – Rezone for 1000 East Natoma (Ordinance 1346): Principal Planner Jessica Brandt presented the request to rezone two parcels from split zoning to R1-ML to allow future development. The site is 4.6 acres currently with a residence and barn; the applicant (Foundation Lutheran Church) intends to develop a church subject to future use permit. The Planning Commission recommended approval 6-0-1. No public speakers. Council approved the first reading unanimously. After the vote, Pastor Dave Calpine briefly thanked the council. (Vote: 5-0)
- Item 14 – River District Master Plan Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) Progress Report: City Manager Goss reported the first CAC has held 11 meetings over 10 months, covering opportunities and constraints, key sites (river promenade, Rodeo Park, Traders Lane), and land use direction. Staff requested acceptance of the progress report and formation of a second CAC to complete the plan by year-end. The resolution was approved unanimously. (Vote: 5-0)
Key Outcomes
- Item 4 approved 4-1 (Councilmember Rohrbough opposed).
- Items 7, 11, 13, 14 approved unanimously (5-0).
- The consent calendar was adopted for items not discussed.
- The council received city manager reports on cooling center hours (through July 12), zoo early closures due to heat, waste route changes (beginning week of July 22), free concerts, and National Night Out (August 6).
- Council comments included recognition of volunteers for Rodeo and Fourth of July, a call to address illegal fireworks enforcement and pet safety, and appreciation for staff and volunteers.
Meeting Transcript
And call to order the regular meeting of the Folsom City Council again for Tuesday, July 9th, 2024. Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Council members Rodriguez here. Challenge. Here. And Kozlovski. Also here. And if everybody will please rise and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. I'll wait for the flag with the United States of America. And to the Republic for which stands one nation on indivisible team justice as well. Okay. We are going to start this evening with business from the floor. This is the opportunity for residents to address the city council on items that are agenda update. Let's hold that for just one second. Are there any agenda updates for tonight? Yes, Mr. Mayor. There are additional information transmittals for items 13 and 14 ontenas agenda. The copy has been previously provided to you, and they are also available on the table in the back. Fantastic. Thank you. Okay, that will move us to business from the floor. Okay, business from the floor is the opportunity to address the council on items that are not already on the agenda. Do we have any speakers requesting to speak? Yes, you have one request tonight under business from the floor from Justin Raithel. Mr. Rafel, please come forward. Good evening, Mayor, Council members. Uh, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak tonight. Um I went out walk in and around the Parkshore community this morning after I got some text from residents. Um they are struggling with homeless encampments that are around uh Parkshore, as I'm sure you guys are very well aware. Um they've had illegal camping, uh unleashed dogs. They had a fire at one of the encampments last night and the dumping of trash um that's flowing into Willow Creek is pretty astounding. Uh I was pretty pretty shocked that I could see the campsites on city property. Um, I could see the trash that was all around there. Uh I would say if this was private property, uh, that the city of Folsom would have already issued a notice to abate to that property owner. Um I did call the assessor today and did confirm that is City of Folsom property that's there. There is fish and cane property that probably needs attention also to the east of there. Um, but I'm here tonight to talk to you about the city of Folsom property, uh, of course. Um I know Grants Pass has just recently changed how the city can handle these. Um so I know it's only been I don't know, nine days, eleven days here. Uh um so I know you guys are working on it, and I know Folsom PD and code enforcement is working on it. But I wanted to bring this area to your attention. Um these areas, these camps actually are already in open space that are shut down from fire danger, so it's not like we are waiting on this decision. Um between my walk this morning and the meeting tonight, I did get confirmation that Folsom PD is planning on cleaning that up next Wednesday. Uh but I'm here tonight to say if they've been there a while, we've got trash all over the place. We're gonna ask these residents to wait another week um in order to clean this up. Uh I I'm here tonight to make some suggestions. One, um, it's time to clean these encampments up. Uh, if we don't have the staff and personnel to do it, let's go hire some contractors to do it and get these encampments cleaned up.
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