Monterey City Council Meeting - June 16, 2026: Budget Adoption, Intersection Safety, and Patriotic Crosswalk
Monterey City Council Meeting - June 16, 2026
The Monterey City Council met on June 16, 2026, in a session that began at approximately 2:53 PM and continued into the evening. Key actions included adoption of the FY2026-27 operating budget with a $25,000 surplus achieved through one-time measures, a vote to proceed with a temporary patriotic crosswalk for the 250th anniversary, and direction to staff on the Madison/Herman/Larkin intersection safety project after community outreach concerns. The council also approved annual levies for business improvement districts and maintenance districts, and recognized multiple city employees for 20+ years of service.
Employee Milestones & Recognitions
- Fire Department: Recognized for 20+ years of service: Captains Adam Rust, Mitch Ocon, Brian Holm, Neil Heard (20 years), and Engineer Russell Sopper (25 years). Captain Heard was noted as a Medal of Valor recipient for a 2012 rescue.
- Library & Museums: Public Services Manager Kim Smith recognized for 20 years of service, credited with securing a $190,000 grant for a new bookmobile.
- Finance: Accountant Auditor Herlinda Franklin recognized for 20 years of service.
- Public Works: Parking Maintenance Supervisor Michael Coleman retired after 21 years; received a 2025 Public Works Teamwork Award. He was not present.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Tom Raleigh (Fisherman's Flats Homeowners and Residents Association) raised concerns about a July 1 legal matter regarding a 50-acre buffer area owned by MPUSD in Tarpee Flats, noting the city has been sued over its inclusion.
- Tom Reeves (Del Monte Beach resident) objected to the city's new sidewalk repair policy, where homeowners received demand letters to pay for repairs and permits, arguing that Measure S already funds sidewalks and that the policy changed after Measure D failed.
- Josh Stevens (North Monterey resident) criticized the city's spending, specifically the $10 million deficit partly caused by operating a municipal gym, urging the council to cut unnecessary expenses before asking taxpayers for more revenue.
- Patrice Parks (co-founder, OCO Arts Foundation) announced the nonprofit is close to signing a lease for the OCO Theater Complex and aims to have it operational by end of 2026, seeking city support.
- Luna Moffat (Zoom) urged the council not to disturb or gas Canadian geese in parks, citing their potential medical and environmental benefits.
- Esther (Zoom) defended Measure D, noting all council members supported putting it on the ballot, and warned that cutting services will harm the city.
Consent Calendar
- Approved items 2-8, except item 7 (pulled for discussion), with a unanimous vote.
Discussion Items
Item 7: Madison/Herman/Larkin Intersection Safety Improvement Project
- Staff Presentation: Andrew Easterling (Public Works) described a quick-build project funded by an RSTP grant ($130,000) to install painted medians, narrowed pedestrian crossings, a mountable traffic circle, and bollards to calm traffic and improve safety for Monterey High School students. The project is temporary and low-cost.
- Council Questions: Councilmember Rash asked about bike lanes (none proposed), traffic circle design (mountable, stop-controlled), and community outreach. Staff confirmed outreach was done when the grant was applied for years ago, but not for this specific design.
- Public Comments: Two residents opposed the project, arguing that it would create chaos and that the high school's drop-off pattern is the real problem. One noted no recent notification to neighbors.
- Council Debate: Councilmember Barber and Smith favored pausing for community outreach; Councilmember Rash proposed a substitute motion to award the bid and proceed with outreach, requesting a TAMSI extension and returning to council for modifications. The substitute motion passed unanimously.
Item 13: Patriotic Crosswalk for 250th Anniversary
- Staff Presentation: Public Works Director Andrea Rennie presented a request for a temporary red, white, and blue crosswalk on Alvarado Street, to be installed by July 4, 2026, at a cost of $2,100 (painting) and $1,700 (removal), funded by donations of $3,800 from community members organized by Councilmember Smith.
- Council Questions: Councilmember Rash raised concerns about maintenance and ensuring the crosswalk remains in good condition, asking whether future refresh costs are covered. Smith confirmed the funds cover installation and removal, and the group will not continue after it wears out.
- Public Comments: Eight speakers in the chamber and two on Zoom; most supported the crosswalk as a patriotic gesture, urging the council to approve it. One speaker opposed all colored crosswalks on safety grounds. Another urged equal standards to the rainbow crosswalk.
- Motion: Approved unanimously.
Items 10-12: Business Improvement Districts & Maintenance Districts
- Staff presented annual levies for Cannery Row, New Monterey, North Fremont Business Improvement Districts and Alvarado Street Maintenance District 85-1 (Cali Principal). No protests were received. Assessments approved unanimously.
Item 15: FY2026-27 Operating Budget
- Staff Presentation: City Manager Dante Hall and Finance Director Raphaela King presented a $114 million revenue / $125 million expenditure budget, with a structural deficit of $10.9 million. One-time fixes include: freezing 30 positions ($3.7M), NCIP transfer ($3.5M), salary savings ($2.7M), and O&M savings ($1M), yielding a $25,000 surplus. The five-year forecast shows growing deficits without structural changes. A "Roadmap to Resilience" was introduced to achieve long-term sustainability.
- Council Questions: Councilmembers discussed rental assistance (cut from $250K to $125K), sports center cost recovery (62% including debt service), overtime challenges, downtown security ambassador elimination, and the need for outreach on Measure S renewal.
- Public Comments: 15 speakers; some urged passing the budget, others advocated for maintaining rental assistance, downtown security, and the rental registry. Some called for cutting non-essential programs.
- Motion: Councilmember Rash moved to approve the budget as presented; seconded and passed unanimously.
Item 16: Capital Improvement Program (CIP) FY2026-27
- Staff highlighted $14.5 million in restricted funds (no general fund) for capital projects. Measure S provides $3.9M initially; revenue projections assume renewal. The CIP includes critical projects like Wharf 1 fire suppression, pump station repairs, and parking structure upgrades. The five-year outlook shows a steep decline in funding if Measure S is not renewed.
- Motion: Approved unanimously.
Item 17: Council Request – Cost of Living Reduction and Coordination Task Force
- Councilmember Barber requested to agendize a future discussion on forming a temporary task force to address cost of living pressures through partnerships and streamlining services. Debate centered on staff impact and duplication. The request was approved on a 2-1-1 vote (Barber and Rash in favor, Smith opposed, Williamson abstained).
Key Outcomes
- Adopted FY2026-27 Operating Budget with a $25,000 surplus, using one-time measures such as freezing 30 positions and transferring $3.5M from NCIP. The budget includes $125,000 for rental assistance (down from $250,000) and no funding for downtown security ambassador.
- Approved temporary patriotic crosswalk for Alvarado Street, funded by $3,800 in donations, to be installed before July 4, 2026.
- Directed staff to proceed with the Madison/Herman/Larkin intersection project but to conduct community outreach and return with modifications, using a 15% contingency. Bid awarded to Don Chapin Company Inc. ($140,306.50).
- Approved annual assessments for Cannery Row, New Monterey, North Fremont BIDs, and Alvarado Street Maintenance District (no protests; 86.1% and 73.5% yes votes respectively).
- Closed session: Council gave confidential direction on negotiations for 735 Ramona Avenue (Casinova Oaknell Park Center).
- Future agenda: Discussion on cost of living task force to be agendized.
Meeting Transcript
How do we give us a hug Okay. There you go. Don't smudge. No smudge. All right, thank you, Jeremy. Thank you. All righty, we'll go ahead and call the meeting to order, and we'll pass it to Clementine to do roll call and to share announcements with the public. Council Member Barber present. Council Member Rash here. Council Member Smith. Mayor Williamson. And the record will reflect that Council Member Gino Garcia is absent. Public comment and participation information for this meeting is provided on its agenda, which is online at Monterey.gov slash agendas. In person attendees, could you keep your electronic devices muted, please to prevent audio interference with our meeting and consistent with the First Amendment and the Brown Act, individuals have the right to speak at public meetings, which includes the right to criticize or support city policies or actions. And I think the council gets to hear a little bit more often than the general public does. Um, but it's always just nice to hear the work that's being done behind the scenes um and recognizing the the great work that's being done that allows the city uh to continue to function and provide the great services that we have. So with that, I'll pass it to Dante for uh staff presentation. Thank you, Mayor, and I echo everything that you said. Um it's um been amazing for me as um I'm meeting with every department and every every employee, and the number of times where I hear people have been here for 20 years, 30 years, um, it is quite unusual. I I would say, you see, in a lot of the cities and municipalities that I've served, you see people move around, but people stay put here. Um, and so I think it's important for us to really recognize uh tonight. We have several uh employees with uh 20 year milestones, um, and then we have a retirement, uh, upcoming retirement with 21 years of service. And so what I'd like to do is um let our department heads uh come up, uh, talk a little bit about um the employees that are receiving this honor and and maybe saying a few words, um, and then after that, like to take some pictures and give uh some certificates. Um the three departments, and I'll call them up. I think we have several represented um in our fire department, um, one in our finance department, uh, one in libraries, and then the last is public works. So um let me call up fire first and they can start the presentation. Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor, Council. Um, thank you for allowing us to do this today. This is one of the more enjoyable things I get to do. So, you know, it seems like I've been doing this a lot lately, and I think even I take it for granted at times. Kind of brought me back down to earth as Dante is saying is that introducing him to our fire employees. He says, Seems like we have a lot of tenured employees in our in our department. And and I said, Yeah, it is, and I think it's a testament to not only our community, our city, and our department. I think it's something we could all be proud of and be uh excited about. So with that, um, there's five members of the fire department we're gonna recognize today. Um, three were supposed to be here, but I don't see the third one, but two of them um are not. So I'm just gonna start briefly with them. So the first one we're gonna recognize is Captain uh Adam Rust, who's 20 years of service within the department. He was hired as a firefighter in 2006, promoted engineer in 2017, and then promoted captain in 2020. He's currently assigned to medic engine 15, which is our engine in Carmel. Um, he resides here in Monterey a couple blocks up the street with his wife Jen, two sons, Sullivan, and Gideon. One thing I just want to recognize about Adam is something I just learned recently is that he's gonna be awarded a community service award from our police department. Something I had no idea that he was even involved with. Chief Hover called me and said, Hey, do you know when you're firefighters? He has award, I said, No, I I didn't. But what happened was in December, um, he lives up, like I said, around the street, he backs to an apartment complex, and he heard a lady calling for help. So he looked over his fence and saw that there had been a man that had grabbed the lady and was threatening her with a hammer and had her um in his grouse. So he jumped over the fence with another citizen, separated the two, and kept them separated until police could come and resolve the situation. I think it says a lot about Adam one is that he actually did it, like decided to intervene, and then two that he didn't tell anybody.
openpublica.com