Monterey City Council Meeting - June 3, 2025: Budget Approved, Rainbow Crosswalk Vote, Native American Apology Postponed
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Monterey City Council Meeting - June 3, 2025
At a regular meeting beginning at 3:51 PM UTC (8:51 AM Pacific), the council addressed a full agenda including a Pride Month proclamation, public comments, sewer service charges, continuation of a Native American apology resolution, debate on rainbow crosswalks, adoption of the FY2025‑2026 operating budget and capital improvement plan, and guidance for the Neighborhood and Community Improvement Program (NCIP). The meeting also included a special session at 4:00 PM and an evening session that continued into closed session.
Proclamation – LGBTQ+ Pride Month
- Mayor Williamson read a proclamation recognizing June 2025 as Pride Month in support of the LGBTQ+ community. Public speakers included supporters from Monterey Peninsula Pride and several residents who asked for equal recognition of veterans, environmentalists, and other groups. The proclamation was received by representatives of Monterey Peninsula Pride.
Public Comments & Testimony
- General public comments (non‑agendized) included: Nina Beattie criticized CalFire tree clearing and warned of the Navy’s Hawaii California Testing and Training Program, urging the council to ask the Coastal Commission to object; Lorna Moffitt opposed eucalyptus removal and herbicide use, citing invasive‑species pseudoscience; Brian Rosen called for peace, nonviolence, and protection of trees and animals; Stephanie voiced support for the Pride proclamation and encouraged recognition of other groups.
Consent Calendar
- Items 2‑6 (routine approvals) were passed unanimously on a roll‑call vote.
Discussion Items
- Sewer Service Charges (Item 7): Public hearing to continue placing sewer fees on the property tax roll. Staff confirmed current rates were previously approved; no protests were received. Council approved moving forward (5‑0).
- Native American Apology Resolution (Item 9): Council continued the item to June 17, 2025, to allow further collaboration between staff and tribal leader Rudy Rosales. Public speakers supported the apology but urged deeper recognition of historical harms. Tribal Chairwoman Louise Miranda Ramirez also spoke. The continuation was approved unanimously.
- Rainbow Crosswalks (Item 8): After extensive public comment (over 143 emails in favor, 94 opposed, and numerous in‑person and Zoom speakers), Mayor Williamson moved to approve a rainbow crosswalk at the mouth of Alvarado Street (option 2), contingent on private funding and staff approval of design consistent with standards. Councilmember Smith opposed, citing safety concerns and fiscal responsibility. Councilmember Rash supported, noting the updated crosswalk policy now allows future proposals as government speech. The motion passed 4‑1 (Smith dissenting). Offers of private funding and volunteer painting were noted.
- FY2025‑2026 Operating Budget (Item 13): Staff presented a $120 million general fund budget with a projected $10 million deficit, closed through salary savings, reserve adjustments, and restructuring. Six new positions were added (net 5.25 FTE). Council approved the budget with an amendment to add $50,000 to the special event support program (down from $100,000) and administrative corrections to salary schedules. A motion by Councilmember Smith to reduce rental assistance from $250,000 to $200,000 failed for lack of a second. The budget passed 5‑0.
- Capital Improvement Plan (Item 14): Staff presented a five‑year CIP with $21.9 million in appropriations for FY2025‑2026, funded primarily by Measure S and other restricted sources. General fund contributions are limited to $850,000 from facility reserves. Council approved the plan and authorized reappropriation of $11,295,940 from closed projects. Vote 5‑0.
- NCIP Guidance (Item 15): Staff requested council guidance on priorities for the 2025‑2026 NCIP cycle. Proposed projects included Wharf 2 repairs ($1.65M), citywide restroom remodels ($800K), retaining wall repairs ($250K), ADA improvements ($300K), undergrounding utility credits ($1M), El Estero Park Center improvements ($1M), and Schultz Park Center improvements ($250K). Councilmembers provided feedback supporting most projects, with some caution on Wharf 2 and the Montecito Avenue tenant improvement (pending legal review). Formal guidance was adopted on a roll‑call vote with abstentions for potential conflicts (Councilmembers Barber and Smith recused from specific parks).
Key Outcomes
- Pride Month Proclamation – Issued and received.
- Sewer Fee on Tax Roll – Continued for FY2025‑2026; no protests.
- Native American Apology Resolution – Continued to June 17, 2025.
- Rainbow Crosswalk – Approved (4‑1) at Alvarado and Pearl, contingent on private funding and staff‑approved design.
- FY2025‑2026 Budget – Adopted (5‑0) with $50,000 added for special event support.
- Five‑Year CIP – Approved (5‑0) with $11.3 million reappropriated.
- NCIP Guidance – Council provided priorities; projects to be vetted by the NCIP committee and returned for final approval in April 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Welcome to City of Monroe uh Council meeting for Tuesday, June third, twenty twenty-five. Um mayors connecting remotely, so uh we will have teleconference participation at this meeting from Mayor Williamson, pursuant to the California Brown Act rules for just cost attendance. Mayor Williamson, I will ask you a few questions. Can you hear me well? Yes. On this end up until now. Yes. Do you have a copy of the agenda for this meeting? Yes. Um on city business. Does anyone over the age of 18 with you in the room? No. Can everyone clearly hear mayor wheels? Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes. All right. Yes. The Brown Act requires that any votes taken during the teleconference portion of this meeting be taken by roll call and that each member participating remotely shall participate through both audio and visual technology. All right, with that, I'm gonna pass it over to Clementine to take role and make announcements. Councilmember Barber. Yes. Vice Mayor Garcia. Councilmember Rash here, Councilmember Smith here, here. And Mayor Williamson. And information on participating in today's meeting and providing public comment, including remotely by Zoom or telephone is available on our meetings agenda, which is online at Monterey.gov slash agendas. Remote commenters will be muted until it is your turn to speak, and a timer will be shown on the screen. If you're connected on Zoom, the timer is accurate with no delay. In-person attendees must keep your phones and devices muted to prevent audio interference with our meeting. And thank you for participating in your city government. Thank you, Clementine. And with that, we'll go ahead and get started with item number one, recognizing June 2025 as Pride Month. Um I know that this item is very close and personal to our mayor, so what I'd like to do is offer the opportunity for him to read the proclamation. I appreciate that uh Vice Mayor uh Garcia. Um it is my honor and privilege to read the proclamation for June uh 2025 LGBTQ plus Pride Month, whereas the Monterey City Council recognizes and proclaims the month of June as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, two-spirited in the countless affirmative ways in which people choose to identify LGBTQ plus Pride Month throughout the city of Monterey. And whereas the City of Monterey joins our neighboring cities in observing Pride Month by raising a pride flag to honor the history of the LGBTQ plus liberation movement and to support the rights of all citizens to experience equality and freedom from discrimination. And whereas the City of Monterey has a long and proud history of inclusion in civil rights and is committed to supporting visibility, dignity, and equality for the LGBTQ plus uh uh people in our community. And whereas the Supreme Court decision guaranteeing marriage equality in all 50 states was a historic victory for the LGBTQ plus community. Our country still has far to go with respect to the equitable treatment of the LGBTQ plus community. While society at large increasingly supports LGBTQ plus equality, it is essential to acknowledge that the need for education and vital to end discrimination and prejudice. And whereas celebrating Pride Month influences awareness and provides support and advocacy for cities across the world, including here on the Monterey Peninsula, and is an opportunity to take action and engage in dialogue to strengthen alliances, build acceptance, and advance equal rights. June has become a symbol symbolic month in which the LGBTQ plus community and allies come together in various celebrations of pride, and now therefore be proclaimed that I, Tyler Williamson, mayor of the city of Monterey on behalf of the city council and citizens hereby proclaimed the month of June 2025 as Pride month in support of the LGT LGBTQ plus community. Thank you so much, Mayor. And um for other additional meetings or sorry items going forward. Um I know we're in a different time zone and it's a little late over there, but if you could speak up a little bit into your the mic, uh that would be helpful. Um I'm gonna bring it to council. Any uh comments, yep, yep, just uh comment on the technology. I think uh I would suggest that we get the volume of Tyler's up, and maybe it's his uh computer on the speaker, but also I've got some uh indications from the audience at home that there's a feedback and a lot of echoing and they're not able to hear Tyler and and the sound is limited on us because our volume here is so high. So maybe we can get that adjusted soon. So that was the only I will share that I do hear echo on my end too, so I'm I'm hearing that. Yeah, we wear we're having a little bit of a hard time hearing you at the moment.
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