All right. Good evening, everybody.

Welcome to the special meeting of the Folsom City Council for

Monday, December 9th, 2024.

Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll?

Yeah. Councilmember Zekino.

Here.

Chalem Chirla.

Here.

Rodriguez.

Here. Roarba.

Here.

Koslowski.

Also here.

And Councilmember Alex,

Barbara Leary and Justin Raythol are also present.

Excellent. Okay.

Let's begin this evening with the Pledge of Allegiance for

where you'll stand and join me.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God,

indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Okay. First order of business.

Madam Clerk.

Yeah. Your first order of business.

Save these this evening as your new business item number one.

This is resolution number 11306,

a resolution reciting the facts of the general municipal election

held on November 5th, 2024 and declaring the result.

This is just a routine action whereby the council acknowledges

and declares the result of the election that was held in November.

I will move adoption at resolution 11306.

Second.

Okay. We have a motion and a second.

Councilmember Zekino.

Yes.

Chalem Cherlev.

Yes.

Rodriguez.

Yes.

Roorba.

Yes.

And Koslowski.

Yes.

Okay. That brings us to schedule presentations.

Okay. Your first presentation this evening will be a resolution

of accommodation honoring Rosario Rodriguez for her

distinguished service on the city council.

All right.

Well, let's do these down by the microphone.

This is Rodriguez.

I've got a presentation this evening of a distinguished service award

for Rosario Rodriguez.

The resolution honoring her says this.

Councilmember Rosario Rodriguez has faithfully served the city of Folsom

demonstrating unwavering dedication to improving the quality of life

for all residents by championing initiatives that prioritize public safety,

parks and recreation, community services.

And throughout her tenure, councilmember Rodriguez has been a steadfast advocate

for economic development, working to attract new business, create jobs,

and support local entrepreneurs.

All while maintaining the unique charm and character that make Folsom a vibrant

place to live, work, and play.

And her passion for the Folsom community has been evident in every aspect

of her service from her tireless efforts to engage with residents,

to her deep commitment to preserving the city's rich history, natural beauty,

and strong sense of community for future generations.

And councilmember Rodriguez has consistently approached every issue

no matter how big or small with integrity, thoughtfulness, and a genuine love

for the people of Folsom.

Her leadership on the council has left a lasting impact on the city's growth

and progress, helping to ensure that Folsom remains a welcoming, prosperous,

and thriving community for all those who call it home.

OK, so we'll take another like 20 minutes.

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Folsom City Council hereby expresses

its deepest gratitude to councilmember Rosario Rodriguez for her exemplary service

and dedication to the city of Folsom and wishes her continued success and happiness

in all her first future endeavors commended this ninth day of December 2024.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That's a clap for you.

So just on a personal note, I wanted to make sure that you got one final award,

which is kind of like the Wizard of Oz handing something out,

but everybody's going to bear with me for a second.

OK, so I was asked by somebody to make sure that they pointed out

that we have a councilmember who has had perfect attendance for four years.

So being a track coach, I know where to get medals.

I love it.

Just want to say a few words. Thank you, Mike.

I did tell Mike. I said, Mike, 100% attendance.

I have spent the last four years here truly honored to serve the city of Folsom.

It has been such a great introduction to the fact that I actually really do love governance.

It is something that I've become very passionate about,

aside from supporting small businesses and ensuring that we have what we need to be able to run the city.

But I leave the city truly just honored to have worked with an amazing staff.

The city of Folsom has individuals who lead departments that truly,

as somebody who has spent four years on this council can say that you all should,

we're in good hands with the people that run departments.

But I want to give a really big shout out, one specific one.

I spent 24 years in healthcare and worked with some amazing CEOs.

And the one thing that set them apart was heart.

The good ones had really good heart and they led with people first.

And Elaine, you have done an outstanding job in ensuring that the people of Folsom,

the residents, the employees have really been honored and respected.

And it is something that I take away here as the city is looking for another city manager.

The one thing that I hope that they have is a heart for the city

because it really is something that sets people apart.

So thank you for letting me serve voters.

And thank you for the past four years and supporting the causes and the issues that the city has faced.

But it has been an honor to serve the city. Thank you.

Thank you.

And as I think everybody knows, Rosario is going to continue her service to the community

by serving as county supervisor for district four,

which Folsom is located in here in Sacramento County.

All right, so if I can ask Mr. Chalam-Cherola to please join me down here.

I got one for you too. I don't have a perfect attendance award though, I apologize.

Thank you.

Very welcome.

Okay, this is a resolution honoring council member YK Chalam-Cherola

for his distinguished service on the Folsom City Council.

Whereas council member YK Chalam-Cherola has served the city of Folsom

with exceptional dedication, continually striving to build community consensus,

foster collaboration, and bring together diverse voices to ensure that all residents

feel heard and valued in the decision making process.

And council member Chalam-Cherola has consistently gone above and beyond in his volunteer efforts,

contributing countless hours to local organizations, events and causes,

always with the spirit of generosity and a commitment to strengthening the fabric of the Folsom community.

His energetic and proactive approach to outreach has connected him with residents across the city,

allowing him to address concerns directly, share important information,

and keep Folsom residents engaged and informed on key issues that impact their daily lives.

Council member Chalam-Cherola's dedication to public service is evident not only in his work on the Folsom City Council,

but also in his ongoing efforts to build an inclusive thriving community

through his involvement in numerous civic projects and initiatives.

And his enthusiastic approach has made a meaningful and lasting impact on Folsom,

contributing to the city's continued cohesion and well-being.

Now therefore, be it resolved that the Folsom City Council hereby extends its heartfelt appreciation

to council member YK Chalam-Cherola for his outstanding service,

dedication and tireless efforts to enhance the Folsom community,

and wishes him all of the best in his future endeavors,

thus commended this 9th day of December 2024.

Awesome.

Awesome.

Awesome.

Awesome.

Awesome.

That's great.

Awesome.

Awesome.

Awesome.

Awesome.

Awesome.

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Awesome.

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Awesome.

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Awesome.

Awesome.

So thank you, Mr. Chalam-Cherola, for your patience.

Awesome.

Awesome.

Awesome.

Awesome.

So thank you, Mr. Chalam-Cherola, for giving me a chance to visit my home in YK.

Awesome.

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity of having a driver here at Folsom City who,

here the other day to take the picture for me,

to tell my mother-in-law,

your son-in-law is a council member.

It was yesterday.

Now again, she's going to send today

that he is stepping down, right?

So it went so fast.

I want to thank you.

Again, continuing, I have few words to share, Mayor.

To start with, my beautiful family, my wife,

she has been with me every step of the way.

When I was running for the city council,

I was one of the senior management leadership role

executive in state.

I quit that job.

She was telling, you are making a decent six-figure income,

but you are going for, by quitting, $600 per month job.

Right?

So that's her.

If you don't mind, please join me to give a big round of applause

to my wife and my family as well.

I have two beautiful children.

My older one gave me that strength

to quit that six-figure income to take this beautiful $600 job.

Believe me.

She's working by then.

She said, dad, go ahead.

Go ahead and pursue your passion.

You worked so hard 47 years.

And this is your time.

And she backed me once again.

I know I get tears whenever I know.

They gave me such an opportunity.

And also, city of Folsom, every resident sitting here,

watching there online, and somebody

is going to watch the recorded message.

You trusted me.

You gave me the vote in 2020.

I got the highest votes among the seven people I was running.

You literally trusted me.

Again, thank you for every city of Folsom resident.

And when I took this job, I came with some passion

from the state.

Let's spend the dollar more wisely.

I continued driving that path.

We were working together as all my colleagues.

We are making the progress to make sure we are spending

your dollar more wisely.

I continued that last four years without any hesitation.

And my colleagues helped me in so many ways, especially Mike.

He understands my language in terms of the procurements

and all those.

Thank you, Mike, for that beautiful support.

And our employees, as my good friend, Razario, said,

you guys are the asset.

Elaine, your executive team.

And every member working on the ground, incredible.

They are really, really asset.

I know some of our cops have been mentioning our employee

count is below 2008 number year.

But still, we are performing so many excellent services,

even though so many people went up.

And thank you to each and every one executive team.

Please pass it.

During my tenure, I got a chance to go and visit most of them,

just to name a few, especially on the Thanksgiving

day early morning at 5 o'clock, Carpillard, to greet them,

because they are working on a Thanksgiving day

with the doughnuts and some goodies,

thanking them sincerely for their hard work at 5 AM

in the morning.

And every police department and every fight department

on Christmas day on the day, they're working.

So I just want to put some gratitude

and thank you for them by visiting them

on those special days.

And at least before I leave, at least

I have one significant item, which probably I can under my belt,

Christmas lights contest.

Thank you.

Thank you.

This is the fourth year we are driving that.

And believe me, the competition is going up,

and the news is going around.

More visitors are coming to Falsum.

Joe, where is Joe?

He was walking in.

Joe, yeah, more business people are coming.

When they come in the evening, they

don't go without a beer or nice dinner, right?

So it's economic development.

But thank you for my colleagues who are giving me.

Those are a few notable ones.

Again, from the bottom of my heart,

thank you each and every director for giving me

this opportunity, because it's a collaboration and a partnership.

And I know we do have two mayors.

Mr. Glenn Faith is here.

Mr. Holderness, Bob Holderness, he's here as well.

Thank you for being here as well.

It means a lot to all of us.

Well, as Mike said, I'm not going too far.

Not too far, maybe two miles, I guess, right?

So in closing, Elaine, thank you.

I know that seat is not easy.

We might have discussed it so many ways,

but thank you for standing up and giving us

your views and opinions.

Sarah, Mike, Anna, I know.

I'm going to miss you guys.

But I'll come back.

I'll come back as a citizen of Folsom,

and we will talk.

Krista, especially those one o'clock meetings

we were running with some hot heat, you handled it.

I just want to acknowledge that and every member of your team

for those PIRs, public information request stack.

Oh my god.

Thank you.

So in conclusion, congratulations to Barbara.

Justin, we are putting the city council

in partnership with them in a great hands.

City of Folsom, don't worry.

We are moving ahead with the bright future.

We have two great leaders here joining another three

great leaders up there.

Mike, thank you again as a mayor.

Here he is.

OK, if the school board thing doesn't work out,

you got a job as a preacher in your future.

Mayor, before I leave, I think it

has been my December tradition to bring the Santa.

I preach Hinduism, but I love celebrating the holiday season

and Santa.

One last time, please absolutely do it.

Hey, for what it's worth, the holiday Christmas lights thing.

Some of the courts and streets that

have really elaborate lights are going

to have to start charging for admission pretty soon.

So it's quite a thing.

All right, Rosario, YK, one last time.

Thank you both very, very much.

All righty.

With no further discussion, let's move on to item number four.

OK, our next item this evening will

be the swearing in of our newly elected council

members, Barbara Larry and Justin Rayfield.

You will both come down and meet me in front of the podium,

please.

OK, if I can have you both raise your right hand

and repeat after me.

I state your name.

I, Justin Rayfield, do solemnly swear

that I will support and defend the Constitution

of the United States and the Constitution

of the State of California against all enemies,

foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith

and allegiance to the Constitution

of the United States and the Constitution

of the State of California, that I take this obligation freely

without mental reservation or purpose of evasion

and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties

on which I'm about to enter.

Well, arm wrestle, please, tomorrow.

OK, with that business concluded, welcome.

It's our newly seated council and we will now

hold an election amongst the five of us

so that I can hand off the gavel to somebody

to be mayor for the coming year and a vice mayor.

So what I've passed out here is just ballots for the mayor,

so the council members will fill out their ballots,

turn them back into me, and then we'll announce each vote.

Oh, I misread this.

OK, make sure I've got them all right.

Our elections team is verifying the ballots.

We do a quick canvas up here.

So I will say there was unanimous support for Sarah Akinot

to serve as mayor.

Every council member voted for Sarah Akinot.

So congratulations, Mayor Akinot.

I'll now we'll repeat the same process now for vice mayor.

OK.

OK.

So council member Raythal votes for Justin Raythal for vice mayor.

Mayor Akinot votes for Justin Raythal for vice mayor.

Council member Kosolowski votes for Justin Raythal for vice mayor.

Council member Roarbaugh votes for Anna Roarbaugh for vice mayor.

And council member Leary votes for Justin Raythal for vice mayor.

So congratulations, vice mayor Raythal.

Would you like to say a few words, Madam Mayor?

Or save that for another time.

OK, any council comments, a general note for this evening?

There we go.

I know I have to learn how to turn the mic on.

I'm sure you'll hear me talk plenty over the next four years.

But I'm just honored to be up here.

And I'll do my best to serve our wonderful city.

Thank you so much to the voters of Folsom for putting me up here.

I'll do my best.

Ms. Leary, any comments?

Thank you very much.

And I really appreciate all of the support

that I got from the residents of Folsom.

I've been working hard for a lot of you for a long time.

And I really appreciate former Mayor Glenn Fate for getting me

into the business of working for the city when he appointed me

to be on the Parks Commission many years ago,

when my daughter was four years old.

So he said to me recently, I got you started in this

and you've never quit.

He's right.

I really enjoy working with the residents

and working with the staff and other council members

on making Folsom a great place to live.

Looking forward to keeping up with that tradition.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I only did one comment.

I do.

I'm going to take this opportunity

because we start the business with our full new council

tomorrow night right back at it.

So that's great.

So as we look ahead, our city stands

at the threshold of an exciting new chapter.

Next year, we will welcome a new city manager

and we'll have to say goodbye to Elaine this week.

And thank you for your service.

I'm sure there's going to be lots tomorrow said about that.

But we welcome a new city manager with the hope

they will bring fresh ideas, energy,

and innovative solutions to our community.

This change presents a unique opportunity

for these council members to have equal footing,

to collaborate with, and create a new partnership that

will work alongside this council so that we together can

guide Folsom forward and build upon its strengths.

Politicians must remember, as always,

that true leadership is not about maintaining the status quo

or being part of the establishment.

It's about making bold decisions that reflect the needs

and aspirations of the people that they serve,

that they're lucky to serve.

The residents of our city have spoken clearly.

They want something different.

Their decision to vote down the tax measure

was not a rejection of progress, I believe,

but a call for leadership that will take necessary steps

and move the city forward.

I believe that both those who voted no and for the tax

measure share in the idea that they

want to counsel that is willing to have tough conversations

and take action to improve the stability of our community.

This year, we hired an economic consultant

who delivered an action plan to this council in September.

We must not let this go to waste collecting dust.

I've already been engaging in discussions and options

with community leaders and stakeholders

throughout the past two years of my service

to discover how we can build upon our strengths

and implement strategies to improve

our financial sustainability.

It's now time to implement.

This doesn't call for management.

It calls for leadership.

Leaders are hired or elected to embrace and lead change.

As we move forward, we have the chance

to reset to approach challenges with a renewed sense

of purpose and unity to do things differently.

We also must prioritize the experience of living in Fulsom

by ensuring our city remains competitive within our region.

To do this, we need to adopt policies

that support our residents and prevent

the loss of valuable employees.

This includes not only focusing on the needs of our community,

but also recognizing and supporting

the dedicated staff members who are responsible for delivering

those services.

Above all, my focus remains on serving the people of Fulsom.

I'm committed to listening to you representing your needs

and ensuring your voices are heard in every decision,

no matter where I sit on this dais.

I'm excited to work with our new city manager

and these new council members to bring accountable solutions,

actionable solutions, retain and support our business community,

attract potential employers, as well as create opportunities

and experiences that benefit the greater good for all

our families in Fulsom.

With your support, we will move Fulsom forward together

as a group, building a stronger, more vibrant city that

welcomes diverse perspectives and delivers results.

Let's make this year of action and collaboration.

And I promise I will never lose sight

that I serve at the pleasure of you.

Thank you.

Well put.

At the risk of holding you from the final comments

by our new mayor, I just want to say thank you to everybody

for trusting me with this assignment for the year.

I remain and am resolute that I am one of the most outrageously

fortunate people that walks the earth.

I have a great family and I have magnificent neighbors

who trust me to do important things.

And I really am grateful for that.

And any slings or arrows or accolades that come my way

are small potatoes relative to the warm feeling I get

from being able to do this job.

So thank you all very much.

And I'll be very happy to switch to one of the other chairs

for tomorrow night.

Madam Mayor.

And I would just like to thank YK and Rosario

for their service the past four years.

We are going to miss your energy and your enthusiasm.

You were both visible, accessible council members.

And we thank you very much for your leadership.

YK, you're going back to my old stomping grounds.

You're going to have a great time.

Great staff at Folsom Cordova.

There's graduation week.

There's nothing like it.

And Rosario, you're going to represent the Fighting

Fourth District, as my dad called it.

And so I want to get a picture from you

as you walk into the chambers.

We've got all the names of the people who

represented the Fourth District.

And I want to thank Mike for his leadership the past year.

And I want to welcome our new council members.

I am very, very optimistic about this council.

I think this is going to be a very policy-focused council.

We have a lot of good experience here.

So I'm looking very much forward to it.

And lastly, I want to wish our fabulous Public Works

Director, Mark Rackavan, a happy birthday today.

Happy birthday.

Happy birthday.

All right.

I too just want to extend some thank yous.

YK, I wish you the best working for our kids

in the school district.

I think you have a natural affinity for that.

And I wish you every good thing there and everywhere

in your life.

Rosario, you beat me to the punch.

I have hugely valued our relationship.

And I thank you for the many hours spent together

in partnership and collaboration.

I think you are a strong, fabulous leader.

And we are lucky to have you.

And I was certainly lucky to have you.

So thank you.

And God bless you.

Thank you.

All right.

We'll save public comment for the after party

and add 6.01 this evening.

We are adjourned.

Thank you.