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Record of Proceedings

Novato City Council Meeting - November 19, 2024

City Council — Tuesday, November 19, 2024
BodyNovato, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, November 19, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:39:50

Original source
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0:20

Welcome and good evening to the uh city council meeting for Novato Tuesday, November 19th, 2024.

0:28

We're gonna start with the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:30

If everybody can please rise.

0:45

Under God, indivisible with liberty of justice for all.

0:56

Councilmember Eklund.

0:58

President, Councilmember Farak.

1:00

Present, Councilmember Warnick, present Mayor Pro Tem O'Connor.

1:04

Present.

1:04

And Mary Milberg.

1:06

Present.

1:06

Everyone's accounted for.

1:08

Thank you.

1:09

Closed session.

1:11

We met in closed session.

1:12

Is there anything to report out, sir?

1:14

Yes.

1:14

Mayor and council members, there is a report out from closed session.

1:17

The council unanimously authorized initiating litigation.

1:21

Once commenced, um, the action defendants and other particulars shall be disclosed upon request.

1:28

Thank you.

1:30

Okay, with that, we're gonna move to the uh we have a ceremonial matter and presentation this evening.

1:37

We're gonna start with a presentation from the Marin Small Business Development Center, and we're gonna call on Miriam Carrill, the executive director of the Marin Small Business Development Center to please give the presentation.

1:55

Welcome!

1:57

Good timing.

1:59

Hi, okay.

2:01

Sorry, I had all this like crazy traffic and I wasn't exactly.

2:05

Take your time.

2:08

Hello, everybody.

2:11

Welcome, Miriam.

2:12

Hi, yeah.

2:13

That was really funny.

2:14

I just saw her my name right as I came in.

2:18

So hi, thank you so much.

2:20

Thank you for being here.

2:21

Oh, there's a clicker.

2:22

Oh, perfect.

2:23

Awesome.

2:25

Well, thank you.

2:26

It's so nice to connect with all of you.

2:28

And um I just want to thank you so much, first of all, for oh, what happened to my first slide?

2:35

I guess it didn't come on, but um, there's a thank you slide that didn't show up.

2:40

But I just wanted to thank you first for supporting the small business development center.

2:45

It's really important for us.

2:47

Our the funding that you guys help give us helps us to do our program because we have to have match funding in order for this program to be in existence.

2:57

And so it's a huge um huge success, huge contribution to our program.

3:02

So thank you very much.

3:03

And so I'm just gonna share a little bit about some of the results.

3:07

I put in data from this year, so we have it's not complete.

3:11

This is um till October for some of the data from January to October.

3:15

But um just to introduce you and for anyone who doesn't know that we um small business development center SBDC, we're part of the largest network for support programs of small businesses in the US.

3:31

And so we're partially funded by the SBA, but we get state funding and then we get local funding to support the whole program.

3:38

And with our course service is no cost one-on-one business advising, and we also do training programs.

3:44

So these are the specialties of our team.

3:48

We have a wide breadth of knowledge that we can support businesses with.

3:52

Um it's really amazing, all the you know, ways that we have been able to support businesses in the last well, since I've been doing this since 2013.

4:04

So it's it's profound.

4:06

Um, all the ways that we can support.

4:09

So I always think it's great to hear from the clients themselves because you know, they they're the ones that we're working with.

4:16

So these are just some just a couple testimonials of clients.

4:20

I have pages and pages of testimonials from clients, but you know, this one is um was opening their dream restaurant in Novato, and they were really helpful for all the support we they received.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement█████████████████17%
Economic Development███████████████15%
Procedural██████████████14%
Public Safety████████████12%
Budget Equity Analysis██████████10%
Mental Health Awareness██████████10%
Engineering And Infrastructure███████7%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Homelessness███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Novato City Council Meeting - November 19, 2024

The Novato City Council met on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. The meeting included ceremonial presentations, approval of the consent calendar, two public hearings, and a major general business item authorizing a five-year pilot alternative response program. The council also received updates on the November 5th election results, including the passage of Measure M (a three-quarter cent sales tax) with 57.71% approval, and recognized the upcoming departure of Assistant City Manager Jessica Deakyne.

Consent Calendar

  • The council approved the consent calendar (items G.1 through G.11) with a 5-0 vote, with Mayor Pro Tem O’Connor recusing himself from item G.4 (Wooden Streetlight Replacement Project) due to a proximity conflict. Routine items included approval of minutes, investment report, bid advertisements, grant applications, contract amendments, and budget adjustments.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Elizabeth Sleet (public comment) reminded the council and public that nominations for the 2024 Citizen of the Year are due by November 25, 2024. She provided instructions for submitting nominations via the Paint the Town Red website or by mail/email, and noted the annual Novato Birthday Party will be held on January 24, 2025, where the winner will be announced.

Discussion Items

Ceremonial Matters & Presentations

  • Marin Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Update: Miriam Carrillo, Executive Director, presented data on SBDC services in Novato. From January to October 2024, the center served 99 unique business owners with 476 hours of one-on-one advising. Demographics: 57% women, 42% minorities. Top industries: service establishments, retail, arts/entertainment. Top advising topics: business plans, financing, marketing. The center also conducted 31 workshops with 860 participants, a 71% increase attributed to relevant topics and high-quality presenters. Councilmembers expressed strong support for the program and its impact.
  • Small Business Saturday Proclamation: The council proclaimed November 30, 2024, as Small Business Saturday, recognizing the role of small businesses in Novato’s economy. Representatives from the SBDC, Novato Chamber of Commerce, and Downtown Novato Business Association accepted the proclamation.

Public Hearing I.1: Downtown Novato Business Improvement District (BID) Annual Assessment

  • Staff presented the annual assessment process for calendar year 2025. The protest period began October 22, 2024, with a public hearing held November 19. No public comments were received. The council adopted a resolution confirming the DNBA/BID 2024 Annual Report and 2025 Budget, authorizing levy and collection of assessments. Vote: 5-0.

Public Hearing I.2: Master Fee Schedule Update

  • Community Development Director Clare Hartman presented a comprehensive update to the 2022 Master Fee Schedule. Key changes include: reducing minor permit fees (e.g., HVAC, water heater permits exempted from administrative surcharge), adding new fees for building pre-application services, clarifying existing fees, and adjusting electric vehicle (EV) charging rates from $1.50/hour to $0.45/kWh to cover actual electricity costs. The update is not intended to increase revenue but to improve customer service and cost recovery. Councilmember Eklund expressed support for the EV rate change, noting it aligns with state mandates and ensures users pay full costs. The council adopted the resolution with a 5-0 vote, effective February 1, 2025.

General Business J.1: SAFE Alternative Response Program Contract

  • The council considered a five-year pilot contract with the Petaluma People Services Center for the Specialized Assistance for Everyone (SAFE) program. The program provides a mobile crisis response team (two-person van: a crisis intervention specialist and an EMT) dispatched through 911 for mental health, substance use, and homelessness-related calls. The model is based on the CAHOOTS model and has been successful in Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Cotati, and San Rafael. Key statistics from July 2021 to September 2024 across all jurisdictions: over 25,000 calls handled, 70% solo response, 80% resolved in the field, 783 emergency room diversions, and reduced police response times. The first-year cost is $548,713, funded by ARPA money (with $53,000 in one-time startup costs potentially covered by general fund savings). The pilot will operate five consecutive days (Tuesday–Saturday), 12 hours per day. Councilmembers expressed strong support, with Councilmember Eklund requesting a six-month review instead of annual. The contract was approved unanimously (5-0). The program is expected to launch in Q1 2025.

Key Outcomes

  • Adopted Resolution for Downtown BID 2025 assessment (5-0).
  • Adopted Resolution amending the Master Fee Schedule, effective February 1, 2025 (5-0).
  • Approved SAFE program contract with Petaluma People Services Center, five-year pilot, $548,713 for FY 2024/25, funded by ARPA (5-0).
  • Council directed staff to provide monthly statistical reports on SAFE program performance to the council.
  • The meeting adjourned in memory of Craig Anderson, a Novato Rotarian and community volunteer, at the request of Councilmember Eklund and Councilmember Wernick.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome and good evening to the uh city council meeting for Novato Tuesday, November 19th, 2024. We're gonna start with the Pledge of Allegiance. If everybody can please rise. Under God, indivisible with liberty of justice for all. Councilmember Eklund. President, Councilmember Farak. Present, Councilmember Warnick, present Mayor Pro Tem O'Connor. Present. And Mary Milberg. Present. Everyone's accounted for. Thank you. Closed session. We met in closed session. Is there anything to report out, sir? Yes. Mayor and council members, there is a report out from closed session. The council unanimously authorized initiating litigation. Once commenced, um, the action defendants and other particulars shall be disclosed upon request. Thank you. Okay, with that, we're gonna move to the uh we have a ceremonial matter and presentation this evening. We're gonna start with a presentation from the Marin Small Business Development Center, and we're gonna call on Miriam Carrill, the executive director of the Marin Small Business Development Center to please give the presentation. Welcome! Good timing. Hi, okay. Sorry, I had all this like crazy traffic and I wasn't exactly. Take your time. Hello, everybody. Welcome, Miriam. Hi, yeah. That was really funny. I just saw her my name right as I came in. So hi, thank you so much. Thank you for being here. Oh, there's a clicker. Oh, perfect. Awesome. Well, thank you. It's so nice to connect with all of you. And um I just want to thank you so much, first of all, for oh, what happened to my first slide? I guess it didn't come on, but um, there's a thank you slide that didn't show up. But I just wanted to thank you first for supporting the small business development center. It's really important for us. Our the funding that you guys help give us helps us to do our program because we have to have match funding in order for this program to be in existence. And so it's a huge um huge success, huge contribution to our program. So thank you very much. And so I'm just gonna share a little bit about some of the results. I put in data from this year, so we have it's not complete. This is um till October for some of the data from January to October. But um just to introduce you and for anyone who doesn't know that we um small business development center SBDC, we're part of the largest network for support programs of small businesses in the US.

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