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Record of Proceedings

Napa Nomination Committee Interviews and Recommendations - September 28, 2026

City Council — Monday, September 28, 2026
BodyNapa, California
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, September 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 59:03

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Unassigned speaker

1:02

All

Speaker 1

1:02

right.

1:02

We'll call to order the meeting for the NAPA nomination committee.

1:07

Thank you everybody for being here.

1:10

We'll do roll call.

Speaker 2

1:12

Council members Narvaez.

Speaker 1

1:14

Here.

Unassigned speaker

1:15

And

Speaker 2

1:15

Painter.

1:16

I'm here.

Speaker 1

1:16

All right.

1:17

Thank you very much.

1:19

Agenda review and supplemental reports.

Speaker 2

1:22

We did receive an updated application from Daniel Willkowski for the bicycle and pedestrian advisory commission nomination.

Speaker 1

1:31

Great.

1:31

And do we have any public comment?

1:35

Okay.

1:35

I see no public comment.

1:37

Approval of the minutes.

1:39

So need a motion to adopt.

1:41

Move to approve.

1:42

I'll second that.

1:42

All in favor say aye.

1:44

Aye.

1:44

Okay.

1:45

That motion passes.

1:46

Great.

1:46

Next we'll do the interviews and recommended appointments.

1:50

We'll start with Parks and Rec.

1:54

We'll give everybody three minutes to provide their feedback on why you're applying.

2:02

Anything relevant, and then we'll follow up with some questions.

2:05

I'd see that we have somebody on video, so I'll ask the video um Megan to go first, you know, that way we won't have any technical difficulties or anything later on, and we can make sure we get that done.

2:17

And then we'll follow up by by uh Jeffrey Richard, then Mike Wallace, and then Brian Burdona.

2:24

And um we'll do three minutes.

2:26

Are you able to time?

2:28

Absolutely.

2:28

Perfect.

2:29

Great.

2:29

So Megan uh Cassidy, you have three minutes.

2:33

Um get started when you're ready.

Unassigned speaker

2:38

Oh,

Speaker 3

2:38

thank you so much.

2:39

Um can you hear just a sound check real quick?

2:42

Everybody okay?

Speaker 1

2:43

Yes.

Speaker 3

2:44

Okay, wonderful.

2:45

Um well, thank you so much for allowing me the space and the time to come and interview for this committee position.

2:52

Um I have been um watching some of the um past advisory meetings to better understand what this role

Speaker 2

3:03

would need.

Speaker 3

3:05

And I think really honestly, uh what I'm most excited about is the ability to see what the community needs and really think about how much can you listen about it, and then how can you make thoughtful recommendations that balance those needs both for the community and what the council will need to approve.

3:24

It was really I think right now the time is especially exciting with the harvest middle school and uh or the harvest school about all the updates that can be happening there.

3:34

It was also really interesting to hear about the off-leash dog area in the Esther Deaver Park is also very interesting to

Unassigned speaker

3:43

me.

Speaker 3

3:43

Um I know there's other things that are focused on, especially with trees and the what we keep and what we remove.

3:51

So if we think about that and what I do for a living, what I do for a living is I I do leadership learning and development.

3:59

And a lot of that is about bringing people together, understanding different perspectives, and then finding a solution that works best for the enterprise.

4:07

Um I work for a very large company, so that I think that's beneficial for um working with the community as the nice sizes of it is in NAPA.

4:17

I'm very interested in the work related to urban forestry.

4:21

Um I'm very interested in the work that um helps neighborhoods feel more welcoming and sustainable.

4:28

And I feel that with the knowledge that I've um gotten from the bylaws about what the um focuses of the job and with the um areas of focus in the meetings that I've reviewed, that this is a good alignment both from what the the committee needs and what the council needs of a committee person and what my skill sets

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████33%
Transportation Safety███████████████████████████27%
Procedural█████████████13%
Community Engagement████████8%
Public Engagement███████7%
Youth Programs████4%
Active Transportation████4%
Budget Equity Analysis██2%
Land Use and Planning██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Napa Nomination Committee Interview Meeting - September 28, 2026

The City of Napa Nomination Committee met on September 28, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. in City Hall Council Chambers (955 School Street, Napa, CA), with Council Members Narvaez and Painter present. The committee interviewed applicants for two boards and recommended appointments to the Parks, Recreation, and Trees Advisory Committee and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, forwarding its selections to the City Council for final action. The meeting adjourned at 5:59 p.m.

Approval of Minutes

  • Members unanimously approved the February 9, 2026 Regular Nomination Committee Meeting Minutes via motion and second.

Public Comments

  • None were offered; the chair confirmed no public comment.

Interviews: Parks, Recreation, and Trees Advisory Committee

Four applicants were considered for two-year terms: Megan Cassidy (via video), Rex Stoltz, Mike Wallace, and Brian Bardona were interviewed; Jeffrey Richard was not present due to travel plans but submitted a letter.

  • Megan Cassidy: Works in leadership learning and development for a large company and is an International Coaching Federation-certified coach. She expressed strong interest in urban forestry, the Harvest School project, and the Esther Deaver Park off-leash dog area, and said her schedule (in Modesto on Mondays and Tuesdays) fits the Wednesday meeting schedule, with classroom teaching occurring 99 percent of the time on Tuesdays.
  • Rex Stoltz: Served 20 years as a volunteer youth basketball coach and four years on the commission, including two to three years as vice chair. He expressed support for the Harvest Middle School community-input process, noted splash pads and a community swimming pool as recurring requests, and stressed staying within budget and being realistic about parcel size, parking, and affordable housing.
  • Mike Wallace: Served 50-plus years in education and two years on the commission. He identified teens as an underserved population, proposed surveying teens and including them as stakeholders, and suggested Napa Valley wine-industry leaders could be an untapped source of private funding.
  • Brian Bardona: A 30-year Napa resident and county planning and building staff member, on the commission since 2018 and chair for three to four years. He described the General Plan as the "North Star" for project vision and emphasized listening, feedback loops, and managing public expectations for what the Harvest project can deliver.

Vote: Members voted on a weighted scale of one to five (five being the most qualified) and nominated Rex Stoltz, Mike Wallace, Jeffrey Richard, and Brian Bardona. Two seats require demonstrated experience; the committee noted Jeffrey Richard and Brian Bardona applied as the candidates with demonstrated experience.

Interviews: Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission

Three applicants were considered for two-year terms ending September 30, 2028: James Rosen, James McKinney, and Donald O'Brien were interviewed; Daniel Willkowski was traveling and submitted a letter (an updated application was received at agenda review).

  • James Rosen: Served two years on the commission and studied NACTO design guides. He expressed concern about pedestrian access gaps, citing ADA compliance issues around Shearer Elementary, and advocated for objective performance metrics (such as VMT-based scorecards) and stronger public communications.
  • James McKinney: No prior commission service; he grew up in Baltimore, biked to a vineyard job for 10 years, and moved to Napa in 2010. He identified the Old Sonoma Road overpass as a dangerous spot and said his initial focus would be the most dangerous intersections, with pedestrian safety as the immediate priority.
  • Donald O'Brien: A civil engineer with six years on the commission, including one year as chair. He cited accomplishments including the Jefferson Street bike lanes, the Browns Valley Road project, and the Coombe Street bike lane, urged framing projects as public-safety improvements for all road users, and highlighted east-west connections across Highway 29, including the Old Sonoma Road bridge and access to the Harvest site.

Vote: Members nominated Daniel Willkowski, James Rosen, and Donald O'Brien.

Key Outcomes

  • Recommended four nominees for the Parks, Recreation, and Trees Advisory Committee: Rex Stoltz, Mike Wallace, Jeffrey Richard, and Brian Bardona.
  • Recommended three nominees for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission: Daniel Willkowski, James Rosen, and Donald O'Brien.
  • Recommendations will be submitted to the City Clerk for City Council final action.
  • Committee members encouraged unsuccessful applicants to reapply and to consider the city's citizens academy as another way to learn about city government.
  • Note: The transcript records the traveling BPAC applicant's surname variously as "Willkowski," "Bulkowski," and "Willaskowski."

Meeting Transcript

All right. We'll call to order the meeting for the NAPA nomination committee. Thank you everybody for being here. We'll do roll call. Council members Narvaez. Here. And Painter. I'm here. All right. Thank you very much. Agenda review and supplemental reports. We did receive an updated application from Daniel Willkowski for the bicycle and pedestrian advisory commission nomination. Great. And do we have any public comment? Okay. I see no public comment. Approval of the minutes. So need a motion to adopt. Move to approve. I'll second that. All in favor say aye. Aye. Okay. That motion passes. Great. Next we'll do the interviews and recommended appointments. We'll start with Parks and Rec. We'll give everybody three minutes to provide their feedback on why you're applying. Anything relevant, and then we'll follow up with some questions. I'd see that we have somebody on video, so I'll ask the video um Megan to go first, you know, that way we won't have any technical difficulties or anything later on, and we can make sure we get that done. And then we'll follow up by by uh Jeffrey Richard, then Mike Wallace, and then Brian Burdona. And um we'll do three minutes. Are you able to time? Absolutely. Perfect. Great. So Megan uh Cassidy, you have three minutes. Um get started when you're ready. Oh, thank you so much. Um can you hear just a sound check real quick? Everybody okay? Yes. Okay, wonderful. Um well, thank you so much for allowing me the space and the time to come and interview for this committee position. Um I have been um watching some of the um past advisory meetings to better understand what this role would need. And I think really honestly, uh what I'm most excited about is the ability to see what the community needs and really think about how much can you listen about it, and then how can you make thoughtful recommendations that balance those needs both for the community and what the council will need to approve.

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