The Lafayette City Council convened for its regular meeting on November 18, 2025, to conduct public input, approve the consent and regular business agendas, and address critical appointments. The meeting was marked by significant transitions, with three outgoing council members receiving recognition, particularly Mayor Pro Tem Brian Wong. A major portion of the evening was dedicated to the Planning Commission appointments, where the council faced a deep division regarding the appointment of Mayor Pro Tem Wong to the same commission following his term, ultimately deciding to reopen the application process for the second vacancy.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I will call to order the city council meeting for November 18th, 2025. We will begin with a Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge to the flag of the United States of America and the Republic for the United States. For which it stands one nation under God. Okay. Clerk, can we do a roll call, please? Mayor Monguet? Here. Mayor Pro Tem Wong? Here. Councillor Barnes. Good evening. Councilor Friedland. Here. Councillor Gallegos. Good evening. Counselor Sampson. Good evening. And Councillor Tapia Vega. Okay. Mayor, we have a quaum. Thank you so much. All right, we'll begin tonight's meeting with public input. If you wish to speak during this time, please make sure you fill out one of these white speaker forms so you can access the class doors in the back and get over to Clerk Beck and we'll get you on the list. You'll have five minutes to speak. Please state your name and address before you do so. You also have the opportunity to call in as well. Tonight we will begin with Karen Norbeck. Darren Norbeck 800. Good evening. I've been thinking about the mayor's comments during a meeting a couple of weeks ago when he told us he was going to resign and pass baton to a new councillor and a new mayor. He said he was a reflective person and had just turned 30 after spending his 20s at City Hall and was now ready to spend time with friends and family. I remember when he used to sit out in the cheap seats with the rest of us, and I've watched him through his time on council. That word he used, reflective, is a good one, and it has stuck with me since then. So I'm going to borrow it as the theme of what I want to say tonight as we come to the end of yet another council with three members leaving and a new council waiting in the wings. The mayor is off to spend time with family. Council Sampson will have time to figure out more ways to use Grey Water. And Mayor Pro Tam Wong, I imagine, will be looking through what I expect is his vast collection of data points. Sadly, I don't have a collection, but I do have an assortment of notes and documents. This morning I looked back at notes from your retreat as you started out as a new council. My memory told me recruitment and communications for boards and commissions was part of your discussion. Yes, it was, and filling vacancies twice a year was on the table, as was updating the board's bylaws. Since then, I've watched as you've had workshops and ongoing discussions about putting changes to the boards in motion. Taking those changes, sometimes more than once, and creating a new recruitment process. The new process puts all boards on the same footing, and a couple of weeks ago it became apparent that perhaps despite all your and staff's diligence, the planning commission is not benefiting from that. So we find ourselves with a bit of a situation that I am sure no one expected to arise. Not only did we not get new applicants for the commission, which by itself is troubling, but the timing of the vote to appoint comes at the same time as an election and the end of a council term, which has its own issues. As I often come before you with suggestions, I am here to do that tonight. Reflection on time spent on council tends to happen at these meetings as councillors' terms end.