Napa Senior Commission Meeting - February 4, 2026
Napa Senior Commission Meeting - February 4, 2026
The Napa Senior Commission met on February 4, 2026, at 2:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. The meeting included the introduction of a new commissioner, a presentation from the Napa Valley Transportation Authority (NVTA) on transit services and planning, a report on senior center activities, approval of the 2026 meeting schedule, and election of officers. No public comments were received.
Consent Calendar
- The commission unanimously approved the minutes of the December 3, 2025 meeting.
New Commissioner Introduction
- Michael O'Connell was welcomed as a new member. He provided background: a healthcare administrator for over 40 years, recently moved to Napa, works as a career transition coach and with nonprofits for the unhoused. He expressed interest in supporting programs for seniors and elderly.
Presentation: Napa Valley Transportation Authority (NVTA) and Vine Transit
- Diane Mahan (Planning and Program Manager) and Rebecca Schenck (Transit Operations) presented an overview of NVTA and Vine Transit. Key points included:
- NVTA is a joint powers agency covering all six jurisdictions in Napa County, responsible for transportation planning, tax authority (Measure T/U), and transit operations.
- Vine Transit offers fixed-route service, paratransit (VineGo) for ADA-eligible riders, on-demand shuttles in smaller jurisdictions, and travel demand management programs (vanpools, taxi script for seniors 65+ in Napa city).
- Discussed fleet transition to zero-emission vehicles (19% electric so far), challenges with hydrogen fueling, and the need for hybrid/CNG for evacuation reliability.
- Highlighted long-range planning: Countywide Transportation Plan (CTP) with goals on equity, safety, economic vitality, energy, and maintenance; Active Transportation Plan (combining bike/pedestrian plans) to be released in mid-February.
- Recent projects: Bus maintenance facility (on Devlin Road), Soscol Junction ($54M), Napa Valley Vine Trail (33 of 47 miles complete), Imola Park and Ride improvements.
- Upcoming: American Canyon Hwy 29 corridor improvements, Airport Boulevard interchange, Redwood Park and Ride improvements.
- Community-based Transportation Plan (adopted Dec 2025) identified nine equity priority communities; accessible transportation needs assessment highlighted gaps for seniors and disabled, including medical transportation outside county, and ongoing one-seat ride pilot to Vallejo.
- Commissioners asked about sidewalk maintenance (50-50 cost share with property owner in city), bus usage and vehicle size, staffing challenges (bus driver recruitment from Solano County due to housing costs), technology upgrades (new contract for integrated app, wider band antennas), and services for remote areas like Spring Mountain (county funding needed for unincorporated areas).
Senior Center Report
- The senior center director reported:
- Holiday luncheon had nearly 140 attendees; January luncheon had 52 (higher than typical post-holidays).
- Valentine's Day luncheon expecting 75-76 people.
- January class enrollment saw significant increases: Line Dance (140% increase), Eccentrics (50%), Tai Chi (48%), Drawing/Painting (25%), Get Fit (21%), Ukulele Jam (11%).
- Staff training on APS (Adult Protective Services) reporting to be provided by Public Guardian Joe Cherry in late February.
- New visitors have been touring the center; efforts to engage them.
Approval of 2026 Meeting Schedule
- The commission approved the 2026 schedule: meetings every other month on the first Wednesday at 2:00 PM in City Council Chambers (April 1, June 3, August 5, October 7, December 2). Motion seconded and approved unanimously.
Election of Chair and Vice Chair
- Jim was nominated and elected as Chair for the year.
- Katie was nominated and elected as Vice Chair (after noting current Vice Chair Liz was absent and may not continue).
Other Business
- An update was provided on the community-wide survey conducted in November/December; data is being finalized and will be presented at a future meeting.
- A commissioner raised a constituent concern about letters from the city requiring business licenses for second homes used by family. It was suggested to contact the finance department.
- A commissioner reported attending the Napa County Commission on Aging meeting; collaboration opportunities were discussed, and an annual report idea was mentioned. The city's annual commission dinner in April would include highlights from each commission.
Key Outcomes
- Approved minutes of December 3, 2025 (unanimous).
- Approved 2026 meeting schedule (unanimous).
- Elected Jim as Chair and Katie as Vice Chair (unanimous).
- No votes were taken on policy items; presentation was informational.
Meeting Transcript
Holland. Here. Marks is absent. Stevens. Yes. Holman. Seeger. Here. O'Connell. Here. Wolf. Okay. Thank you. Let's see. Public comments. Do we have any public comments? No. Okay. Approval of the minutes of December the third, 2025. Do I have a motion? I move you approve it. Second. Second. All approved. Say aye. Aye. Aye. Okay, we do have a new member of our commission, Michael O'Connell. And I'd like to welcome you to the board. And if you want to give us a little background on you and why you wanted to be on the board. Is it not working? Does that sound better? Yeah, that's better. Is it better? Yeah. Do you think my starting work? So again, I'm uh Michael O'Connell and uh I moved to Napa about a year ago. Uh I had uh I was born and raised in Chicago. Uh I worked as a health care administrator in both hospitals and medical groups for over 40 years. Uh I came here specifically to work at Stanford, where I manage 70 of their ambulatory clinics in five counties. And uh when I semi-retired, uh my wife and I have always loved Napa and uh decided that this would be a wonderful place for us to be able to uh retire. And so I currently work as a career transition coach, uh helping people that have been laid off and uh helping them to find new positions. I also work at two nonprofits uh in uh for the unhoused. Uh I also do uh quite a bit of uh coaching and mentoring of early careerists, as well as uh I've worked extensively in healthcare in all aspects uh with the elderly, whether it's nursing homes, home care, whether it's uh adult daycare facilities. Also done a lot of work with uh uh social determinants of health and helping individuals uh within the community to partner with the organizations that will support them in the work that they do. Uh I uh when I came here to Napa, I uh joined or was accepted into the NAPA Academy, uh which is over six weeks, uh, for three hours, the different uh services and programs of NAPA come together to be able to educate us about what the services are. I was incredibly impressed with the organization, uh the city as well as the services that they provided, and so when this uh opportunity uh became available, I'm a big believer of giving back. I'm a big believer of uh making a difference as well as I like to have fun, and so hopefully we'll have some fun here and uh to be able to provide uh support and guidance. I've also served on multiple boards so that I do understand uh the role of a board or the role of a commission, as well as uh our role is more strategic than it is operational. So I'm happy to be here.
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