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Record of Proceedings

Merced City Council Special Meeting: Recognizing Championship Teams and PAL Program Partners - December 16, 2025

City Council & Commissions — Tuesday, December 16, 2025
BodyMerced, California
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateTuesday, December 16, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 46:11

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

We want to call our special December 16th, 2025 meeting of the Merced City Council to order.

0:07

We're going to begin with a Pledge of Allegiance.

0:08

So if everybody could please stand and our city manager will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:36

Okay, agenda item B roll call.

0:37

Councilmember DuPont.

0:39

Tao.

0:40

President.

0:40

Harris.

0:41

Present.

0:42

Smith.

0:43

Zhang.

0:44

Mayor Pro Tem Boyle.

0:45

Here.

0:45

And Mayor Serrado.

0:47

Here.

0:47

Hey, Mayor, I'd like to remind the audience that if they wish to address the city council, they must submit a green request of speak form located at the podium in the back of the chamber.

0:54

Agenda item C, public comments.

0:56

Members of the public who wish to speak on any matter that is only specifically on this agenda may do so and we'll be allotted three minutes.

1:09

So far, I haven't received any.

1:19

Okay.

1:20

Seeing none, we'll proceed.

1:21

Okay, agenda item D, ceremonial matters D1 certificate of recognition to the El Capitan High School Girls Varsity Tennis requested by Mayor Mary Serrado.

1:30

Thank you, Jim.

1:31

We're gonna go a little out of order.

1:33

I think the uh uh Merced High Girls Fled football team, a lot of their players, coach uh told me a lot of their players are also playing basketball, so they have a game tonight.

1:41

So we're gonna we'll go a little out of order with uh then what is compared to what's on the agenda.

1:45

Uh but we're here tonight trying to really make it a special night.

1:48

It was really a you know, all of us here, we we were proud of our city, proud of our people, and especially our young people, and to see uh young people in Merced thriving, doing so well, uh and just doing great things.

1:59

We this town can really raises a lot of great people, uh, and you make us proud.

2:03

So we're here tonight to celebrate you to celebrate all your accomplishments.

2:06

Um and the city of Mercedes did something very unprecedented this year.

2:09

We had four teams that won section championships.

2:12

Um team, the girls' water polo team that won the NorCal championship as well.

2:25

So we're proud of you.

2:27

We're excited and honored for all the great things you do to serve Merced, and we're here to recognize you tonight.

2:31

So without further ado, we'll uh invite Coach Victor.

2:35

Come on down, sir, and we're gonna honor the uh section champion, Merced High Girls Flag Football team.

2:48

Uh first of all, thank you, uh City Council and the mayor for putting this together.

2:52

Uh, really appreciate it.

2:53

Uh, we're excited about the great season we have this year.

2:56

Um black football.

3:00

Flag football, this is only the third season, and we were able to win a section championship, so it's the first time there's been a section championship in our area.

3:07

Uh primarily it's been in Sacramento the last two years, so it's kind of nice to bring it down to a small town like Merced.

3:13

Um so that's pretty much it.

3:14

It was a great season.

3:15

We hope to repeat it again next year.

3:17

Tell us about the team.

3:19

Tell us about some of the good moments about the team.

3:21

Um the biggest thing I would say about our team this year is that we did a different game plan with our schedule.

3:26

Uh, we went down into LA to challenge some teams, won all three games in LA.

3:30

We also went up to the Bay Area in Milpitas, played in their tournament, won that tournament.

3:35

So we kind of beat teams up north, down south, so we kind of challenged the girls.

3:38

Um the schedule is really tough.

3:40

We put a lot of games in, so we're just really proud that what we're able to accomplish.

3:44

And a lot of our players even got recognized statewide and stuff like that, which was really exciting.

3:51

Certificates for clear.

3:58

Rian Corrett.

4:13

Next is Amachi Turner.

4:31

Okay, thank you again.

4:34

Asia Beavers.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Youth Programs█████████████████████████████████████████████84%
Procedural████7%
City Awards And Recognition███5%
Public Safety██4%
Summary of Proceedings

Merced City Council Special Meeting: Recognizing Championship Teams and PAL Program Partners - December 16, 2025

The Merced City Council held a special meeting on December 16, 2025, at 5:30 PM in the City Council Chamber to honor local high school sports teams that won section and NorCal championships, as well as community organizations that supported the Police Athletic League (PAL) program. The meeting lasted approximately one hour and was entirely ceremonial, with no public comments or other business.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke during the public comment period.

Ceremonial Matters

  • Certificate of Recognition to Merced High Girls Flag Football Team: Coach Victor described a tough schedule that included games in Los Angeles and the Bay Area. The team won the section championship in only the third season of the program. Several players were recognized as statewide standouts. Mayor Serratto noted that this was the first time in Merced history that four teams won section championships in one year (the closest comparable season was 1996-1997).
  • Certificate of Recognition to El Capitan High School Girls Varsity Tennis: Head coach highlighted the team's historic accomplishment: first girls tennis section championship in school history and the first in the Merced Union High School District. The team finished 24–1 overall and 10–0 in the Central California Conference (CCC). Individual standouts included Leah Garcia (16–2, CCC singles champion and MVP) and Emma Weber (18–3, doubles MVP).
  • Certificate of Recognition to Merced High Boys Waterpolo Team: Head coach Eric Larson stated the team lost only three games by a combined six goals and won the CCC championship and the Division II section championship. Several players earned CCC and section honors, including Ree McCall (CCC and D2 section MVP). The team is young (three seniors, two juniors, rest freshmen and sophomores) and demonstrated strong veteran leadership.
  • Certificate of Recognition to Merced High Girls Waterpolo Team: Head coach reported a 31–2 season and the first NorCal championship in school history. The team won back-to-back CCC titles and back-to-back Division II section titles. Key players included Dottie Drury (CCC defensive player of the year) and Sarah Slocum (CCC and section MVP). The coach thanked the City of Merced for a special send-off by police and fire departments before the section championships.
  • Certificate of Recognition to Organizations Helping the PAL Program: Councilmember Michael Harris and Detective Shaw of the Merced Police Department described the origin of the Police Athletic League (PAL) program, which started in November 2023 after a student sought boxing opportunities. Detective Shaw secured a building with help from community partners. As of December 2025, PAL serves approximately 130 children, with about 80 attending weekly boxing sessions. Recognized organizations included the Barber Club Merced, Gutierrez Maintenance and Repairs, Dr. Johnson and Associates, and Cardoza Construction. Detective Shaw was also nominated for the Attorney General's Award for Outstanding Contributions to Community Partnerships for Public Safety.

Key Outcomes

  • All certificates of recognition were presented without objection.
  • Mayor Pro Tem Boyle moved to adjourn; Councilmember Harris seconded. The motion carried unanimously, and the meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

We want to call our special December 16th, 2025 meeting of the Merced City Council to order. We're going to begin with a Pledge of Allegiance. So if everybody could please stand and our city manager will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay, agenda item B roll call. Councilmember DuPont. Tao. President. Harris. Present. Smith. Zhang. Mayor Pro Tem Boyle. Here. And Mayor Serrado. Here. Hey, Mayor, I'd like to remind the audience that if they wish to address the city council, they must submit a green request of speak form located at the podium in the back of the chamber. Agenda item C, public comments. Members of the public who wish to speak on any matter that is only specifically on this agenda may do so and we'll be allotted three minutes. So far, I haven't received any. Okay. Seeing none, we'll proceed. Okay, agenda item D, ceremonial matters D1 certificate of recognition to the El Capitan High School Girls Varsity Tennis requested by Mayor Mary Serrado. Thank you, Jim. We're gonna go a little out of order. I think the uh uh Merced High Girls Fled football team, a lot of their players, coach uh told me a lot of their players are also playing basketball, so they have a game tonight. So we're gonna we'll go a little out of order with uh then what is compared to what's on the agenda. Uh but we're here tonight trying to really make it a special night. It was really a you know, all of us here, we we were proud of our city, proud of our people, and especially our young people, and to see uh young people in Merced thriving, doing so well, uh and just doing great things. We this town can really raises a lot of great people, uh, and you make us proud. So we're here tonight to celebrate you to celebrate all your accomplishments. Um and the city of Mercedes did something very unprecedented this year. We had four teams that won section championships. Um team, the girls' water polo team that won the NorCal championship as well. So we're proud of you. We're excited and honored for all the great things you do to serve Merced, and we're here to recognize you tonight. So without further ado, we'll uh invite Coach Victor. Come on down, sir, and we're gonna honor the uh section champion, Merced High Girls Flag Football team. Uh first of all, thank you, uh City Council and the mayor for putting this together. Uh, really appreciate it. Uh, we're excited about the great season we have this year. Um black football. Flag football, this is only the third season, and we were able to win a section championship, so it's the first time there's been a section championship in our area. Uh primarily it's been in Sacramento the last two years, so it's kind of nice to bring it down to a small town like Merced. Um so that's pretty much it. It was a great season. We hope to repeat it again next year. Tell us about the team. Tell us about some of the good moments about the team. Um the biggest thing I would say about our team this year is that we did a different game plan with our schedule. Uh, we went down into LA to challenge some teams, won all three games in LA.

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