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Record of Proceedings

Novato City Council Meeting: Audit Presentation & Gymnastics Donation (Jan 27, 2026)

City Council — Tuesday, January 27, 2026
BodyNovato, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, January 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:09:26
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right, welcome to the Novato City Council meeting, January 27th, 2026.

0:06

Please join me in the Pledge Allegiance.

0:11

I pledge allegiance to the flag.

0:16

And to the Republic.

0:20

One nation, another individual, liberty, justice.

0:28

Laura, can you please take roll call?

0:30

Councilmember Eklund.

0:32

I am present.

0:33

Councilmember Carkle.

0:35

Present.

0:36

Councilmember O'Connor.

0:37

Present.

0:38

Mayor Pertem Jacobs is absent.

0:40

Mayor Farack.

0:41

Present.

0:42

Thank you very much.

0:44

Moving on to closed session announcements.

0:46

I'll go to City Attorney Bell.

0:49

Thank you, Mayor and Council.

0:51

There's no reportable action from closed session.

0:54

Thank you very much.

0:58

This is a presentation, so I'd like to call up Carrie Walsh, Boosters President, and Park and Recreation and Community Staff Members, Alexander Camber, Perry Sue, and Carrie Proctor.

1:14

And Carrie, I believe you're going to be presenting the donation.

1:27

Yes, please.

1:30

So my name is Gary Walsh.

1:32

I am the turn of the off.

1:37

Hello, there we are.

1:39

So I'm Carrie Walsh.

1:40

I'm the president of Novato Gymnastics Boosters.

1:43

Super excited to be here tonight and to present our annual 2025 donation to the city for $25,000.

1:52

Wow.

1:53

Yeah.

1:54

Super excited to do this year after year.

1:57

It's our reinvestment into the city that has given us so much.

2:02

We are a program that you know we're so proud to represent.

2:07

We have, you know, loads of kids that go through the program from toddler through uh the time that they graduate.

2:15

Um we do multiple events every year, and we were just talking numbers.

2:20

We hosted across our meets over 1,200 attendees in one year last year.

2:26

Well, so we're super excited.

2:29

Um but mostly I want to talk just for a moment about the community.

2:33

We do this in partnership with Park and Rec and with our excellent uh coaches, and it's something that I think really makes a huge impact on our community and on our athletes, and we're just thankful to have the opportunity to have them be involved and uh to be in an environment that is so you know growth oriented and enabling for that.

3:03

Wasn't really even planning to speak, but thank you very much, Carrie.

3:07

Of course, the City of Novato works hand in hand with Novato Gymnastics boosters, especially for our large events like the Novato Classic, which is actually coming up February 6th through 8th.

3:20

Uh we have currently 550 participants planning to compete throughout the weekend.

3:28

Um that does not include spectators, of course.

3:31

Um, we're expecting a large event, including a chance to see our own Novato gymnastics team compete on Saturday.

3:41

So you're welcome to come, city council course.

3:44

Um, and if you need information, please reach out.

3:47

We'll be happy to give you more specific information.

3:51

Can you repeat those dates again, please?

3:53

Yes, February 6th through 8th.

3:54

We actually start on a Friday evening, and it'll carry through throughout the weekend.

3:59

Great, thank you.

4:01

Thank you.

4:02

One last comment.

4:03

I just want to say again, this program is so unique.

4:06

I don't know if you realize from past conversations, but Novato Gymnastics program is one of the few city-sponsored programs that has a competitive gymnastics team in the country.

4:18

Right, right.

4:19

So we're not only building confidence and engagement, and you know, like it's really lifelong skills, and it we do it very uniquely, and we do it with a lot of engagement, not only from the the athletes that are so excited and passionate to be part of this, but they take that away after they graduate high school, and either they take it to them with call to college or into their careers, and it really is the basis for you know so many things that drive success.

4:52

But I love the partnership that we do with Park and Rec and with our expert coaches and the community of parents that volunteer is farm nut.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability█████████████████████████████████████████████66%
Parks and Recreation███████10%
Environmental Protection█████7%
Community Engagement█████7%
Personnel Matters██3%
Procedural██3%
Youth Programs█2%
Engineering And Infrastructure█1%
Technology and Innovation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Novato City Council Meeting - January 27, 2026

The Novato City Council met on January 27, 2026, with Mayor Farack presiding and Councilmembers Eklund, Carkle, and O'Connor present; Mayor Pro Tem Jacobs was absent. The meeting featured a presentation of a $25,000 donation from the Novato Gymnastics Boosters, a report on the city's FY 2024-2025 financial audit, and routine approvals.

Consent Calendar

  • The council unanimously approved the consent calendar (4-0), which included routine items such as grant applications and other administrative matters.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Curtis Aiken, a long-time Novato resident and member of the Novato Multicultural Committee Advisory Committee, thanked the council for their public service and encouraged them to continue their work. He also noted his mother's 99th birthday on January 13, 2026.
  • No other public speakers were present for items not on the agenda.

Presentation: Novato Gymnastics Boosters Donation

  • Carrie Walsh, President of the Novato Gymnastics Boosters, presented a $25,000 donation to the city, representing the program's annual reinvestment. She highlighted the program's impact, noting that it hosted over 1,200 attendees at meets in the past year and that the upcoming Novato Classic (February 6-8, 2026) will feature 550 participants.
  • City staff members Alexander Camber, Perry Sue, and Carrie Proctor also participated in the presentation.
  • Councilmembers expressed strong support for the program, with several noting its uniqueness as one of the few city-sponsored competitive gymnastics teams in the country. Councilmember Eklund praised the partnership and the team's efforts.

Discussion Items: FY 2024-2025 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (Audit)

  • Finance Director Carla, Polo Lopez (Accounts Payable Supervisor), and Justin Williams (audit partner from MUN CPAs) presented the audit results for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025.
  • Key achievements:
    • The city received an unmodified (clean) audit opinion for the first time in several years.
    • The audit was completed on time, a significant improvement after years of catch-up work (six audits in three years).
    • Material weaknesses from prior years were reduced: the material weakness in cash and investments was downgraded to a significant deficiency, and only one compliance issue was noted (related to obtaining certified payroll reports under a federal grant).
    • Four management letter recommendations were made, including improvements to deposits, capital assets, project expenses, and Marin Valley Mobile Country Club reconciliations.
  • Financial highlights:
    • Overall net position increased by $6.2 million year-over-year.
    • The General Fund unassigned fund balance was negative $94,101, requiring a transfer from the emergency reserve (which is now fully funded at 32% of General Fund expenditures per policy).
    • Measure M sales tax receipts began April 1, 2025, providing one quarter of revenue in FY 2024-2025.
    • The city has applied for the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.
  • Councilmembers praised staff for their hard work and asked clarifying questions about deposit cleanup and software investments. The council unanimously approved the audit (4-0).

Key Outcomes

  • Unanimous approval (4-0) of the consent calendar.
  • Unanimous acceptance (4-0) of the FY 2024-2025 audit report and financial statements.
  • Staff directed to continue resolving audit findings, filling vacancies, and improving internal controls.
  • The next regular council meeting is scheduled for February 10, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

All right, welcome to the Novato City Council meeting, January 27th, 2026. Please join me in the Pledge Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag. And to the Republic. One nation, another individual, liberty, justice. Laura, can you please take roll call? Councilmember Eklund. I am present. Councilmember Carkle. Present. Councilmember O'Connor. Present. Mayor Pertem Jacobs is absent. Mayor Farack. Present. Thank you very much. Moving on to closed session announcements. I'll go to City Attorney Bell. Thank you, Mayor and Council. There's no reportable action from closed session. Thank you very much. This is a presentation, so I'd like to call up Carrie Walsh, Boosters President, and Park and Recreation and Community Staff Members, Alexander Camber, Perry Sue, and Carrie Proctor. And Carrie, I believe you're going to be presenting the donation. Yes, please. So my name is Gary Walsh. I am the turn of the off. Hello, there we are. So I'm Carrie Walsh. I'm the president of Novato Gymnastics Boosters. Super excited to be here tonight and to present our annual 2025 donation to the city for $25,000. Wow. Yeah. Super excited to do this year after year. It's our reinvestment into the city that has given us so much. We are a program that you know we're so proud to represent. We have, you know, loads of kids that go through the program from toddler through uh the time that they graduate. Um we do multiple events every year, and we were just talking numbers. We hosted across our meets over 1,200 attendees in one year last year. Well, so we're super excited. Um but mostly I want to talk just for a moment about the community. We do this in partnership with Park and Rec and with our excellent uh coaches, and it's something that I think really makes a huge impact on our community and on our athletes, and we're just thankful to have the opportunity to have them be involved and uh to be in an environment that is so you know growth oriented and enabling for that. Wasn't really even planning to speak, but thank you very much, Carrie. Of course, the City of Novato works hand in hand with Novato Gymnastics boosters, especially for our large events like the Novato Classic, which is actually coming up February 6th through 8th. Uh we have currently 550 participants planning to compete throughout the weekend. Um that does not include spectators, of course. Um, we're expecting a large event, including a chance to see our own Novato gymnastics team compete on Saturday. So you're welcome to come, city council course. Um, and if you need information, please reach out. We'll be happy to give you more specific information. Can you repeat those dates again, please?

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