OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Merced BPAC Meeting June 23, 2026: Minutes Approved, Roles Reviewed, CARB Grant Discussed

City Council & Commissions — Tuesday, June 23, 2026
BodyMerced, California
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateTuesday, June 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:25:33

Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

Hi, I'm gonna go ahead and I call to order this meeting of the B PAC for uh June 23rd of 2026.

0:13

I now ask for a moment of silence.

0:20

Uh do I have a volunteer to read the Pledge of Allegiance?

0:31

All right, a commissioner, Commissioner Thomas, thank you.

0:51

Uh Vicky roll call.

0:57

Um, Commissioner Gonzalez is absent excused.

1:02

Um, Commissioner Martinez.

1:09

Present.

1:09

Uh ewing.

1:12

Here.

1:13

Shoe.

1:15

Here.

1:15

Kaiser Grant?

1:16

Here.

1:17

Chambers?

1:18

Here.

1:19

Chairperson Maraz.

1:20

Here.

1:21

Ex officio Thomas.

1:23

Present.

1:25

Watkins, Sandoval, and Harmelin are not present.

1:31

Okay, thank you so much.

1:34

Members of the public who wish to speak on any matter not listed on the agenda may speak during this portion of the meeting and will be allotted three minutes.

1:42

State law prohibits the planning commission from acting at this meeting on any matter raised during the public comment period.

1:48

Members of the public who wish to speak on a matter that is listed on the agenda will be called upon to speak during discussion of that item.

1:55

Members of the public were able to leave a voicemail or email prior to 1 p.m.

1:58

for this item as well.

2:00

Vicky, do we have any requests to speak?

2:02

Um, I have one from Joe Brucia at this point.

2:06

We would like to ask him to come up and speak.

2:28

And just as a reminder, there's the clock up there.

2:31

Um because I know I I like a visual.

2:33

I like the visual.

2:34

Sorry.

2:35

Thank you.

2:36

Thank you.

2:37

Only because I know it helps me.

2:38

You know, one reads the Fresno B of accidents involving uh electric cycles.

2:42

You want to use a microphone?

2:45

Can you hear me?

2:47

Okay.

2:50

One reads uh in the Fresno B of accidents involving electric cycles about once every two weeks.

2:56

Uh last week's a little a kid from Pollard High School just died uh from an e-bicycle accident.

3:05

We all have seen bike riders riding against traffic, doing wheelies, and often surprising walkers on the bike path.

3:13

There's only one long-term solution to this, and that is to educate our writers on the cycling laws and writing etiquette.

3:25

I urge you to talk to our curriculum experts.

3:30

The three school district superintendents are waiting to talk about adding cycle safety laws and etiquette to their curriculum.

3:41

It is not part of the state of curriculum.

3:45

As they have as they have a staff, they have assistant superintendents and instruction, directors, coordinators, program specialists, you name it, they've got them.

3:54

And they're not doing much during the summer.

3:56

This is an easy task because most of our third grade to high school curriculum is already published on the web.

4:04

All you gotta do is find it.

4:06

And that's not difficult at all.

4:12

You can initiate these talks.

4:16

But maybe it's easier for the bicycle coalition to initiate the talks, or even our chief of police.

4:31

Hopefully, at the end of this meeting, one of you might say, you know, I think I'll meet with the chief of police and welcome him back from his uh leave of absence.

4:42

He just came back, I believe, today.

4:44

And I mean, we could mention cycling curriculum, school safety curriculum.

4:51

After all, he's got people right now, those SROs that have nothing to do during the summer.

5:00

And they could work with a teacher or an administrator, and put some curriculum together and no time at all.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████65%
Community Engagement█████████████19%
Active Transportation████████11%
Transportation Safety██3%
Planning Commission Operations█1%
Public Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Merced Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission (BPAC) — June 23, 2026

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission met on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 4:00 PM in the City Council Chamber, Merced Civic Center, 678 W. 18th Street. Chairperson Maraz presided; the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Commissioner Thomas. Roll call showed Commissioners Martinez, Ewing, Shu, Kaiser Grant, Chambers, and Chairperson Maraz present; Commissioner Gonzalez absent/excused; Ex-Officio Commissioner Thomas present; Watkins, Sandoval, and Harmelin absent. City staff included Senior Planner Leah, Recording Secretary Vicky, Chief Deputy City Attorney Rhonda Lucas, and Public Information Officer Jennifer Flack. The meeting ran past 6:30 PM and included a short break.

Consent Calendar

  • Both consent items were removed for discussion. E1 (minutes of Feb. 25, 2025, Aug. 26, 2025, and Oct. 28, 2025) initially failed on a 3–3 vote after Commissioners Kaiser Grant and Martinez raised concerns about the minutes being too sparse and containing a corrected typo that listed commissioners who were not on the commission as absent. After Deputy City Attorney Lucas explained that Merced minutes are action-items-only by city policy and that reconsideration was available, the commission voted to reconsider and then approved the three sets of minutes.
  • E2 (Review of Items of Interest) was approved as a legitimate record/list of past commissioner requests for future agenda items.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Joe Brucia expressed support for adding bicycle safety laws and riding etiquette to school curriculum. He cited Fresno Bee reports of e-bike accidents about once every two weeks, the recent death of a Pollard High School student in an e-bike crash, and urged the commission, bicycle coalition, or police chief to initiate talks with school district curriculum leaders.
  • Gina Coolie, speaking for Strong Towns Merced, expressed full support for a public tracking tool of commissioners' requests for future agendas, requested the BPAC submit a work-product template, and recommended making the tracking tool a recurring agenda item. She also agreed with Mr. Brucia.

Discussion Items

F1: Roles and Responsibilities of the BPAC

  • Senior Planner Leah reviewed Merced Municipal Code 2.52.010. The BPAC is an advisory body to the City Council on bicycling, pedestrian activity, active transportation, and mobility needs of elderly and disabled residents. It has seven voting members (six district representatives and one at-large; a vacancy was noted), at least two members from recognized bicycle organizations, and up to four non-voting ex-officio members. Meetings are held every two months during business hours; a meeting is canceled if there is no quorum; staff emails attendance confirmations; agenda direction comes from City Council and staff.
  • Commissioner Chambers asked how to change the ordinance; Deputy City Attorney Lucas explained the commission would need to advise the Council through a resolution, and ordinance amendments require noticed public hearings, a first reading, a second reading, and a delayed effective date.
  • Commissioners Thomas and Kaiser Grant raised concerns about canceled meetings, including a December 2025 cancellation attributed to lack of quorum despite a scheduled Brown Act presentation. They said half of last year's meetings were canceled and asked for better processes. Staff acknowledged staffing and agenda limitations.
  • Legal guidance was given on Brown Act compliance: no serial emails or group discussion outside agendized meetings; individual commissioner-to-staff emails are allowed; emailing all commissioners together could create a Brown Act violation.

F2: CARB Grant — Connect South Merced Safety and Mobility Planning Project

  • Staff reported that the City Council recently adopted a resolution accepting the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Community Planning and Capacity Building Grant, a little over $400,000, with no required general fund match. Over two years, the grant will support community engagement and strategic transportation planning in South Merced (areas south of Highway 99), focusing on pedestrian safety, bicycle connectivity, public transit access, and transportation barriers.
  • Outreach will be conducted with community partners Valley Onward and Lao Family, including promotoras who can communicate with Hmong and Hispanic residents. The grant will fund a full-time administrative assistant. The main deliverable is a mobility/active-transportation plan; reports and deliverables will be public. Staff stated the grant is strategic-planning only, so it cannot fund interventions such as temporary flexi-post installations.
  • The project is intended to strengthen Merced's future application for Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) planning and implementation funding. A prior 2023 TCC planning grant application was unsuccessful.
  • Commissioner Chambers asked about the removal of the 16th Street crosswalk in front of Bob Hart Square and wanted the process for crosswalk removal/installation reviewed by the commission. Staff said community outreach for the grant can gather such input and that progress reports could return to the BPAC.
  • Commissioner Shu expressed concern that the previous ATP grant added many HAWK systems on two-lane roads despite the Local Road Safety Plan identifying other, often cheaper, safety treatments. She urged the city to layer the Local Road Safety Plan into the CARB outreach and not let plans sit on the shelf. Staff said they are using prior studies, the Local Road Safety Plan, and community input to guide decisions.
  • Commissioner Martinez confirmed the item was informational only, praised promotoras' cultural competence, and expressed strong support for investment in South Merced.

Business: Future Agenda Requests and Commissioner Comments

  • During G1, Commissioner Kaiser Grant asked to revisit the Strong Towns Merced tracking tool and bicycle-education etiquette. Commissioner Thomas reported on a conversation with Merced PD Lt. Haygood: school resource officers are doubling as bike patrols this summer, Merced PD is exploring grant funding for bicycle education, and council members Smith and DuPont have the issue on their radar. Thomas also recommended $30 traffic-grade signs and separated bike/pedestrian designs for future multi-use paths.
  • Commissioner Martinez requested a future action item/resolution to ask the City Council to amend the ordinance so meetings move to 6 p.m., meet more frequently, and possibly redirect the disbanded traffic committee's role to BPAC. Deputy City Attorney Lucas explained the proper agendized process, ordinance timelines, and Brown Act email limitations.
  • Commissioner Chambers requested a future item on the process for removing/installing crosswalks. Commissioner Shu proposed a future agenda item to discuss and prioritize the interest list; staff suggested commissioners mark up copies and return them.
  • Commissioner Thomas requested an open-ended action item to request changes to the ordinance defining BPAC, rather than piecemeal changes. Commissioner Martinez asked for an item on keeping meetings within the one-hour/business-hours guideline and on how to prioritize the 20+ item list.
  • During G2, Commissioner Kaiser Grant said it was her final meeting after 15 years; Commissioner Ewing said Merced PD will visit his bike shop to film e-bike class educational content; Commissioner Martinez encouraged community members to apply for open seats; Commissioner Chambers thanked staff and praised the value of young people riding bikes.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved the Feb. 25, Aug. 26, and Oct. 28, 2025 minutes after an initial 3–3 failure and a successful motion to reconsider.
  • Approved the Review of Items of Interest as a record of past commissioner requests.
  • Commissioners requested future agenda items including: a resolution asking the City Council to amend Ordinance 2.52 to move meetings to 6 p.m., meet more frequently, and potentially give BPAC the role of the disbanded traffic committee; a review of the crosswalk removal/installation process; an open-ended action item requesting changes to the ordinance defining BPAC; and a process for prioritizing the 20+ item interest list.
  • Staff was asked to share the Strong Towns Merced tracking-tool template and to prepare onboarding materials for new commissioners.
  • Commissioner Kaiser Grant announced that this was her final BPAC meeting after 15 years as a founding member and urged commissioners to verify their appointment terms. Commissioner Ewing reported that Merced PD will work with his bike shop on e-bike class educational content. Commissioner Martinez encouraged community members to apply for open commission seats.
  • With no further business, the commission adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Hi, I'm gonna go ahead and I call to order this meeting of the B PAC for uh June 23rd of 2026. I now ask for a moment of silence. Uh do I have a volunteer to read the Pledge of Allegiance? All right, a commissioner, Commissioner Thomas, thank you. Uh Vicky roll call. Um, Commissioner Gonzalez is absent excused. Um, Commissioner Martinez. Present. Uh ewing. Here. Shoe. Here. Kaiser Grant? Here. Chambers? Here. Chairperson Maraz. Here. Ex officio Thomas. Present. Watkins, Sandoval, and Harmelin are not present. Okay, thank you so much. Members of the public who wish to speak on any matter not listed on the agenda may speak during this portion of the meeting and will be allotted three minutes. State law prohibits the planning commission from acting at this meeting on any matter raised during the public comment period. Members of the public who wish to speak on a matter that is listed on the agenda will be called upon to speak during discussion of that item. Members of the public were able to leave a voicemail or email prior to 1 p.m. for this item as well. Vicky, do we have any requests to speak? Um, I have one from Joe Brucia at this point. We would like to ask him to come up and speak. And just as a reminder, there's the clock up there. Um because I know I I like a visual. I like the visual. Sorry. Thank you. Thank you. Only because I know it helps me. You know, one reads the Fresno B of accidents involving uh electric cycles. You want to use a microphone? Can you hear me? Okay. One reads uh in the Fresno B of accidents involving electric cycles about once every two weeks. Uh last week's a little a kid from Pollard High School just died uh from an e-bicycle accident. We all have seen bike riders riding against traffic, doing wheelies, and often surprising walkers on the bike path. There's only one long-term solution to this, and that is to educate our writers on the cycling laws and writing etiquette. I urge you to talk to our curriculum experts. The three school district superintendents are waiting to talk about adding cycle safety laws and etiquette to their curriculum. It is not part of the state of curriculum. As they have as they have a staff, they have assistant superintendents and instruction, directors, coordinators, program specialists, you name it, they've got them. And they're not doing much during the summer.

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