OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Monterey City Council Meeting Summary - October 21, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, October 21, 2025
BodyMonterey, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 21, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 6:33:40

Transcript — Verbatim
5:33

Awesome.

5:34

Thank you so much.

5:35

Good afternoon.

5:36

I'm going to go ahead and uh get us started.

5:38

Our mayor is uh running a few minutes behind.

5:41

He's gonna join us soon.

5:43

Um and uh a portion of this meeting will be conducted by teleconference, and then council member barber will request to participate today by teleconference.

5:55

Uh but before we go to that, um gonna pass it over to Clementine to take roll and make announcements.

6:05

Councilmember Barber.

6:07

Present.

6:08

Councilmember Rash here.

6:10

Councilmember Smith.

6:11

Here and Vice Mayor Garcia.

6:13

And the record will reflect when Mayor Williamson arrives.

6:19

Oh, and public comment and participation information is provided on the meeting's agenda, which is online at Monterey.gov slash agendas.

6:31

In-person attendees, please keep your electronic devices and phones muted to prevent audio audio interference with our meeting.

6:37

And thank you for participating in your city government.

6:40

Thank you, Clementine.

6:42

So again, Dr.

6:42

Barber uh has requested to participate today by teleconference.

6:46

So uh I would like to now request that council member Barber respond to the following questions.

6:53

Councilmember Barber, can you hear me well?

6:56

Yes.

6:58

Were you able to hear our proceedings on this end up until now?

7:03

Yes.

7:04

Do you have a copy of the agenda for this meeting?

7:07

Yes.

7:08

What is a brief explanation of your need to participate remotely under the emergency circumstances clause?

7:15

There's no need to disclose medical information or disability status.

7:20

Medical.

7:21

Is anyone aged 18 or over with you in the room?

7:25

No.

7:28

Uh the Brown Act uh requires that any votes taken during the teleconference portion of this meeting be taken by roll call.

7:35

So with that, we're gonna open it up for public comment on specifically on council members' request to participate via teleconference.

7:44

So if we have anyone uh here in the chambers who would like to offer public comment again, regarding council members, uh council member barber's participation uh via teleconference.

7:55

Please stand uh next to the podium.

7:58

In the meantime, we're gonna do a countdown for folks on Zoom if they wish to offer public comment.

8:10

Seeing none on Zoom, nobody here in the chambers.

8:14

We're gonna go ahead and close public comment.

8:17

And we're gonna move right along then uh to uh uh vote to make sure um that um yes.

8:29

We're gonna move uh over to uh roll call to approve council members barber uh council member barber's request so can I get a motion to uh have uh council member barber participate via teleconference.

8:50

I make the motion.

8:52

All right, we have a motion.

8:54

We'll have a second second by uh council member rash and roll call.

9:02

Uh Vice Mayor Garcia.

9:03

Yes, Councilmember Rash.

9:05

Yes, Councilmember Smith, yes.

9:07

And Councilmember Barber?

9:09

Yes.

9:10

All right.

9:11

So um approval has moved, has been moved.

9:16

Uh with that, we'll go ahead and move on to general public comments.

9:20

Um so this uh this is for items that are not on today's agenda.

9:27

Um for any folks who are interested in offering uh general public comments uh here in the chambers, please uh stand next to the podium.

9:39

Um and also for folks on Zoom, we're gonna give a countdown so you can identify yourself again.

9:45

This is general public comment for items that are not on today's agenda.

9:49

So for folks on Zoom, we're gonna count down five, four, three, two, one.

10:00

We have one, and here in the chambers, we have two, three, four, seven.

10:07

So we'll give two minutes.

10:09

Um, so we have folks standing, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement█████████████████████████25%
Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████21%
Budget Equity Analysis███████████████████19%
Pending Litigation███████7%
Personnel Matters█████5%
Procedural████4%
Technology and Innovation████4%
Zoning And Land Use████4%
Affordable Housing███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Monterey City Council Meeting Summary - October 21, 2025

The Monterey City Council convened on October 21, 2025, to address a $10 million structural budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year, approve a local density bonus ordinance for 100% affordable housing, and discuss various infrastructure and operational items. The session featured significant public testimony regarding street vending ordinances, the impact of a new sales tax measure, and concerns over the utilization of Neighborhood Improvement Program (NCIP) funds. Following a brief afternoon session, the Council recessed for a closed session regarding real property negotiations and existing litigation before reconvening for the evening deficit discussion. A consensus was not reached on final deficit reduction strategies, with the Council directing staff to provide further data on position freezes and program cuts before making a decision in December or early 2026.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Teleconference Participation: Councilmember Barber was approved to participate via teleconference following a roll call vote (5-0) after confirming accessibility and compliance with the Brown Act.
  • Consent Agenda Items: The consent calendar included various routine approvals, with Items 2 (First Reading of Building Codes), 3 (Tyler Technologies Contract), and 5 (Del Monte/Casa Verde Trail Contract Amendment) pulled for individual discussion and separate voting.
  • Approval: The remaining items on the Consent Calendar were approved by roll call vote (5-0).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Display Boat & Preservation: Kurt Chipton expressed strong opposition to the neglect of the historic display boat, urging the Council to establish an agenda item for protecting city properties of historic value.
  • Wharf Vendor Stress: Mary Nissim criticized the current vending ordinance for causing "dramatic loss in sales" and extreme financial stress for vendors, stating that no city study was conducted prior to its implementation.
  • Neighborhood Harassment: Jason Asmus requested city intervention regarding a neighbor allegedly utilizing city resources (towing, building inspections) to harass residents.
  • Vending Ordinance Litigation & Ex Parte Violations: A series of speakers argued that the city violated the ex parte rule regarding public records and communication with Councilmember Barber. One speaker presented evidence they alleged was an audio recording of a business owner offering a bribe to City Manager Hans Oosler to implement harsh vending enforcement, claiming the bribe was accepted as enforcement intensified after the offer.
  • Support for Vendors: Multiple speakers, including a 14-year-old representing vendors, George McNeely, and Jeff Swanson, expressed full support for sidewalk vending, describing the current ordinance as "illegal" and "unethical". They cited California SB 944 as protecting vendors from "economic gatekeeping" by established businesses.
  • NCIP Program Defense: Speakers including Karen Brown and members of the NCIP committee strongly opposed touching NCIP funds, describing the program as essential for community enhancement and defending it against claims of being a "piggy bank".
  • Budget & Spending Concerns: Rick Hoyer and others pointed to a "spending problem" rather than a revenue problem, citing a high percentage of six-figure salaries for city employees and the potential sale of city property. They urged the Council to freeze non-essential spending and eliminate the Economic Development Director position.
  • Aquarium Opposition: Nina Beattie opposed the Aquarium's practices (sonar, sea otter tracking) and urged the Council to negotiate a market-rate lease rather than granting a subsidized lease, calling the Aquarium's claims of poverty inconsistent with their $50 million boat purchase.
  • M1W Rate Study: Esther expressed gratitude for the City Academy and noted upcoming rate hikes from M1W.

Discussion Items

  • Building Code Adoption (Item 2): Council approved the first reading of an ordinance adopting the 2025 California Building Standards Code and 2024 International Property Maintenance Code, including local amendments for wildfire safety and urban interface codes. Staff clarified that while the adoption is immediate, the code becomes effective on January 1, 2026. A second reading is scheduled in two weeks.
  • Enterprise Resource Planning System (Item 3): The Council voted to approve a $3.869 million contract with Tyler Technologies Inc. to replace the existing financial system by 2027. Staff confirmed the funding is reserved in the IT reserve and that two new in-house positions will be hired to manage the implementation for 2-3 years.
  • Del Monte/Casa Verde Recreation Trail (Item 5): The Council authorized a contract amendment extending SJ Construction Management's services by six months and increasing the cost by $161,660 to address delays caused by "Buy America" steel pole waiting periods, groundwater issues, and utility conflicts. The project is now estimated to be completed in December 2025.
  • Density Bonus Ordinance (Item 8): The Council voted unanimously (5-0) to advance the first reading of an ordinance establishing a 50% density bonus specifically for 100% affordable housing projects. Staff clarified this fills a gap in state law where 100% affordable projects currently do not receive the "bonus on bonus" available to projects with less than 100% affordability. Discussion included concerns about potential "ghettoization" and the need to balance density with community integration.
  • Council Travel Reimbursement (Item 9): In response to public concern regarding the city's financial status, Vice Mayor Garcia moved to table the adoption of the new council engagement and travel reimbursement policy to focus on the structural deficit. The motion passed (5-0).
  • Deficit Reduction Strategy (Evening Session): Staff presented three primary scenarios to address the $10 million deficit: (1) Freezing unfilled positions (approx. $2.2M-$3.1M savings); (2) Extracting $3M-$4M from non-started NCIP projects; and (3) Skipping the next fiscal year's NCIP allocation. Councilmembers debated the necessity of pausing recruitment for the Economic Development Director, eliminating the Rental Assistance program, and using reserves vs. NCIP funds. No final agreement was reached, as Councilmembers requested further data on specific position freezes and program impacts before making a decision.

Meeting Transcript

Awesome. Thank you so much. Good afternoon. I'm going to go ahead and uh get us started. Our mayor is uh running a few minutes behind. He's gonna join us soon. Um and uh a portion of this meeting will be conducted by teleconference, and then council member barber will request to participate today by teleconference. Uh but before we go to that, um gonna pass it over to Clementine to take roll and make announcements. Councilmember Barber. Present. Councilmember Rash here. Councilmember Smith. Here and Vice Mayor Garcia. And the record will reflect when Mayor Williamson arrives. Oh, and public comment and participation information is provided on the meeting's agenda, which is online at Monterey.gov slash agendas. In-person attendees, please keep your electronic devices and phones muted to prevent audio audio interference with our meeting. And thank you for participating in your city government. Thank you, Clementine. So again, Dr. Barber uh has requested to participate today by teleconference. So uh I would like to now request that council member Barber respond to the following questions. Councilmember Barber, can you hear me well? Yes. Were you able to hear our proceedings on this end up until now? Yes. Do you have a copy of the agenda for this meeting? Yes. What is a brief explanation of your need to participate remotely under the emergency circumstances clause? There's no need to disclose medical information or disability status. Medical. Is anyone aged 18 or over with you in the room? No. Uh the Brown Act uh requires that any votes taken during the teleconference portion of this meeting be taken by roll call. So with that, we're gonna open it up for public comment on specifically on council members' request to participate via teleconference. So if we have anyone uh here in the chambers who would like to offer public comment again, regarding council members, uh council member barber's participation uh via teleconference. Please stand uh next to the podium. In the meantime, we're gonna do a countdown for folks on Zoom if they wish to offer public comment. Seeing none on Zoom, nobody here in the chambers. We're gonna go ahead and close public comment. And we're gonna move right along then uh to uh uh vote to make sure um that um yes. We're gonna move uh over to uh roll call to approve council members barber uh council member barber's request so can I get a motion to uh have uh council member barber participate via teleconference. I make the motion. All right, we have a motion. We'll have a second second by uh council member rash and roll call. Uh Vice Mayor Garcia. Yes, Councilmember Rash. Yes, Councilmember Smith, yes. And Councilmember Barber? Yes. All right.

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