Folsom City Council Regular Meeting - August 11, 2026

The Folsom City Council met on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, for its regular meeting. The council heard public comment, honored the Folsom American 11U All-Stars, adopted the consent calendar, received a Change.org civic engagement report, approved the formation of CFD 22A, approved the purchase of a Lakeside Church property for future affordable housing, and approved a fire department single-role ambulance staffing model. All formal votes were unanimous unless otherwise noted.

Consent Calendar

• The council acknowledged additional material on agenda item number six. No items were pulled.
• A motion to adopt the consent calendar passed unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Terry White spoke in support of keeping the Limby Park basketball court and against removing it for pickleball. He said pickleball and basketball can coexist and urged the council not to 'strike at the heart of diversity' or 'spit in the face of our children.'
• Armando Bueno urged the council to pause the city's Flock Safety automatic license plate reader program and conduct a transparent review. He cited over 400,000 unique vehicle detections, 232 searches, and 780 hotlist hits in the most recent 30-day reporting period, a 121-day retention period, Flock's claim of about 93% license plate capture accuracy, and more than 20 billion plate readings per month across Flock's network, implying over a billion inaccurate readings monthly. He also cited 27 documented cases in which ALPR errors contributed to innocent motorists being stopped or detained, examples of misuse by officers, and Mountain View's termination of its Flock contract. He recommended terminating the contract if safeguards cannot protect residents.

Discussion Items

Commendation: Folsom American 11U All-Stars

• The council presented a resolution commending the Folsom American 11U All-Stars as the 2026 Northern California state champions. The team went undefeated through District 54 and Section 4 tournaments, won the state championship, and hosted the tournament in Folsom. The coach thanked the council and presented signed gifts.

Community Survey and Civic Dialogue Results (Change.org)

• Elijah from Change.org presented results from a civic dialogue process: over 1,000 residents used the platform, submitted 430 ideas, and cast 668,000 votes. A representative mini-public of 168 residents attended a two-hour dialogue. Fourteen policies reached consensus across party groups. The priority-one policies included publishing an infrastructure priority list and road repaving schedule, creating a small business retention strategy, developing a strategy for partnerships and sponsorships on public land, and creating a system for economic development incentives.
• Council members noted that many ideas had been discussed before but valued the unscripted community input and good data. The council gave five yes votes to continue working with Change.org and to allow Change.org to list Folsom as a city it has worked with.

CFD 22A - Folsom Heights

• CFO Stacey Tamani presented the initial steps to form Community Facilities District 22A with three improvement areas totaling 533 lots: improvement area one with 262 lots, improvement area two with 268 lots, and improvement area three with three non-residential lots. The proposed facility special tax would range from about $2,000 to $3,700 per residential unit, increase 2% annually, and end in fiscal year 2086-87. The services special tax would range from about $117 to $137 per unit, adjust by CPI with a 2% minimum and 4% maximum, and be replaced after bond repayment by a transition services special tax equal to 50% of the facility tax plus the services tax.
• The council unanimously approved Resolution 11679 (boundary map and intention to form) and Resolution 11680 (necessity of bonded indebtedness and calling a public hearing for September 22, 2026).

Purchase of Lakeside Church Property for Housing

• Community Development Director Pam Johns presented the proposed $7.1 million purchase of an approximately 6.69-acre property at the northeast corner of East Bidwell Street and Oak Avenue Parkway from Lakeside Church, using the Folsom Housing Fund. The property is listed in the city's housing element and is near the Los Rios Community College campus. The property was listed at $6.83 million and received 12 offers, including 10 from affordable multifamily housing developers; the city was given the chance to match a $7.1 million offer. The appraisal came in at $7 million. Staff said the purchase would give the city control over timing, type of housing, and future partnerships, including possible student housing.
• Public comment: Robert Holderness appeared on behalf of Lakeside Church as seller; Chad Vanderveen offered no concerns; Jack Copeland asked for affordability guarantees and expressed concern about data centers. Staff said the business professional zoning would not allow high-intensity data center development.
• Note: The record contains conflicting descriptions of the site's assumed housing capacity: about 20 lower-income units versus about 200 multifamily units. The discrepancy was not clarified during the meeting.
• The council unanimously approved Resolution 11686 authorizing the purchase and appropriation from Folsom Housing Fund 238.

Fire EMS MOU and Single-Role Ambulance Transport

• Fire Chief Jason Solak presented Resolution 11690 to establish EMT and paramedic classifications, add four FTEs, reclassify 10 current firefighter positions, adopt a memorandum of understanding with Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522, and implement single-role ambulance staffing. The plan would leave 27 firefighters and create 14 single-role positions (7 EMTs and 7 paramedics), with no additional general fund funding. Estimated annual salary and benefit savings are about $46,289; one-time academy savings add about $164,000, for a projected total savings of about $210,000. The model restores the fifth engine (Engine 39), which had been browned out in late 2025, while maintaining three medic units. Full implementation is expected around September 19, 2026.
• The council unanimously approved Resolution 11690.

City Manager Report & Council Comments

• The city manager reported weed abatement and goat grazing to reduce wildfire risk, a pavement resurfacing project in the Willow Creek area funded by Measure A and state funds without general fund dollars, Prospector Park receiving an APWA Project of the Year award, the 13th annual Folsom Community Service Day on September 19, a Police Department patriotic employer award, deployment of a Folsom Fire battalion chief to the Oregon Grasshopper Fire, and a water rescue at Rainbow Bridge.
• Council comments included thanks for National Night Out, an update on a SACOG VMT exchange, an August 26 community safety meeting in District One, regional budget observations, and a report on the Sacramento Homeless and Housing Board ad hoc committee. The mayor also noted the DMV center property in the Central Business District changed hands.

Key Outcomes

• Adopted the consent calendar unanimously.
• Honored the Folsom American 11U All-Stars for the 2026 state championship.
• Directed staff to continue engagement with Change.org and allowed Folsom to be listed as a partner city, with five yes votes.
• Approved CFD 22A resolutions 11679 and 11680 unanimously; public hearing set for September 22, 2026.
• Approved the $7.1 million Lakeside Church property purchase (Resolution 11686) unanimously.
• Approved the Fire EMS MOU and single-role staffing model (Resolution 11690) unanimously.