Welcome everyone to the Novato City Council meeting for April 14th, 2026.

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance.

Under God, indivisible, liberty, justice for all.

Laura, can you take roll call?

Councilmember Eklund?

Councilmember Carkle is absent.

Councilmember O'Connor?

Present.

Mayor Pro Tem Jacobs.

Present.

And Mayor Farrakh.

Present.

Now we'll move on to ceremonial matters.

Please join me up front.

I'd like to call up Katie Hughes and her daughter Emory and Blair Shapu to accept the first proclamation.

Right up here.

All the way up.

Come on up.

And this one actually, my mayor pro tems gonna read.

Ready?

This month of April 2026 is Autism Acceptance Month, whereas Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disability impacting a diverse and vibrant population of individuals who contribute meaningfully to the social, cultural, and economic fabric of our community.

And whereas fostering a community culture of acceptance encourages all residents to recognize the celib and celebrate differences, promote dignity and respect, and ensure that all individuals feel valued and included in the Novato community.

And whereas Autism Acceptance Month, previously known as Autism Awareness Month, emphasizes not only increasing understanding, but also fostering inclusion, respect, and meaningful opportunities for individuals with autism to fully participate in all aspects of community life.

And whereas the City of Novado is committed to fostering an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming community that values neurodiversity and supports individuals with autism through thoughtful planning, universal design, inclusive public service delivery, and accessible programs and events, and whereas the city is proud to be celebrating the fifth annual spectrum safety event in April 2026, which fosters meaningful supportive interactions between individuals with autism and other intellectual and developmental disabilities, the Novato's first responders, while expanding access to local resources, strengthening community trust, and creating a safe, welcoming environment for neurodiverse individuals and their families.

And whereas in partnership with local organizations, educators, service providers, and advocates, the City of Novato plays a critical role in advancing acceptance, promoting belonging, and creating opportunities for individuals with autism to live, work, play, and thrive.

Now, therefore it be resolved that the City Council of the City of Novato on behalf of the residents of Novato does hereby proclamate proclaim April 2026 as Autism Acceptance Month in the City of Novato.

I just want to thank the city, Novato PD, Novato Fire, and Park and Rec for supporting Spectrum Safety.

And for celebrating.

We're celebrating autism acceptance.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

And then if you say that about people.

Thank you.

Now I'd like uh Alina Lina, Education Coordinator for Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California to please come up.

Hi, how are you?

So we're recognizing Fair Housing Month.

Whereas the principle of fair housing is not only a state and national law or policy, but rather a fundamental human concept and entitlement for all citizens.

And whereas discrimination based on race, national origin, gender, disability, family status, religion, marital status, and sexual orientation is illegal in California.

And whereas a community, we understand that economic progress and competitiveness is best served by promoting diverse inclusions communities with equal access to good jobs, schools, health care, transportation, and housing.

And now there for be it resolved that the city council of the city of Novato does hereby proclaim the month of April 2026 as Fair Housing Month in the City of Novato and urges all residents of our community to personally adopt the spirit of equal housing opportunities and adhere to the letter and character of the fair housing laws.

Congratulations, would you like to say a few words?

Yes, please.

Thank you.

So on behalf of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California, I want to thank the city of Navarro for issuing this proclamation recognizing April as Fair Housing Month.

The recognition is especially meaningful in the current political climate where the principles of fair housing and civil rights are being challenged.

Fair Housing Month marks both our progress and our responsibility.

The Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968 after Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination as part of a national commitment to combat housing discrimination and expand opportunity.

Today we are facing renewed attacks on civil rights at the federal level, including changes that directly affect housing protections and enforcement.

The challenges we are facing make local partnerships more important than ever.

We are deeply grateful for the support of the City of Novado's provid the City of Novado has provided over the years, which has allowed us to continue offering fair housing services.

Laws prohibiting discrimination are essential, but they only work when there are resources and partnerships that help us enforce them.

Thank you again for your leadership and your continued partnership.

Absolutely.

And I'll second.

Laura, can you take call for the vote?

Councilmember Eklund?

Aye.

Councilmember Carkle is absent.

Councilmember O'Connor.

Aye.

Mayor Pertem Jacobs.

And Mayor Farak.

Hi, that passes.

Now moving on to reports from the City Council and City Manager.

We're gonna start with E1.

Um Councilmember Uckland, you have an item you brought to us?

Yes, uh, thank you very much, uh Mayor.

Um I brought this item uh to the city council because this is an area of the city that we haven't really been able to focus much time on.

And now is the time, I believe, that we need to um really help the neighborhood.

Um as mentioned in my report, uh, this neighborhood was built in 1951 before the city was incorporated.

And so um the uh there are no as-built plans.

There is only a map available from the county that shows where the easements are and where the houses were supposed to be, but not necessarily where they currently are.

Um, and it was constructed by Novak Construction, and he did several developments in Novato.

Uh, this one he did for um Lauren Avenue, Garden Court, Joan Avenue, and Navi Court.

And um it is um interesting that the um streets and the easements sometimes are going into people's front yard, which is adversely affecting their ability to get permits because you have to have setbacks.

So there are a lot of these are that's a main issue that needs to be looked at.

And some of the homes have been denied permits for home improvements.

And so one of the there's two issues that I bring into the council about this.

One is we need to discuss at a future council meeting and provide some direction to staff to explore options on how we might be able to vacate that easement, because in my opinion, city street standards, which did not apply when these houses were built, don't apply for this neighborhood.

And the streets are between 27 and I believe 32 feet wide.

And so some of the setbacks really need to be looked at.

And then also that's primarily the main issue that's affecting the people that are living on this.

And so I wanted to ask you, to me, it seems a little bit easy for us to just vacate something that we're not going to use.

And I just wanted to get your opinion before we engage in some conversation about this, but it really does need to be talked about and but needs direction from council.

So thanks for that.

No.

No, it's a little button in the party?

One that has a little bit on my own.

That one?

Okay.

All right.

All right.

Um so it does happen occasionally that a subdivision goes in and you know, usually when subdivision maps are approved, they will include the right-of-way in the streets and other easements on them, and then the actual construction doesn't match up with where the right-of-way is.

So it's possible that that's what occurred here.

It's also possible that it was done to the county standards when it was put in, and then when the city incorporated the city standards make it non-conforming at this point.

So that's possible too.

Um I think you know, if the council or the city were to uh pursue this, I think you'd need to determine um exactly where the right-of-way is on the map in relation to the other houses, and then determine whether or not any of that right-of-way needs to be vacated that might be on what is considered to be part of the property, although technically the right-of-way, um, while preserving enough right-of-way for the city's own purposes.

So you would sort of realign it.

And occasionally that does happen where there's a mismatch between what's recorded and what's actually done, um, keeping in mind what the city needs for right-of-way.

Right.

Then also in keeping with the fact that this uh plan, the Novak construction plan was um approved by the county in 1950 and constructed in 1951.

That was way before the city ever started.

So do any other council members have any questions?

Yeah, I'd like to ask a question.

Um Manager Cunningham, do you know have there been any permits requested for these properties that have been denied because of this?

I couple them.

No.

Okay.

How about that?

Um, to my knowledge, none have been denied.

There is one person who has been um involved in code enforcement related activity and um had multiple permits that they have been trying to work through with staff over the course of several years, almost 10 years now.

Um that's the only one that I'm aware of that might be outstanding or has um had had had any issues associated with it.

Okay, thank you.

So I also think that there's going to be some people in the audience that would be able to answer your question as well.

Council now here.

Councilmember O'Connor.

Thanks.

Um is this a three-street issue in your opinion, or is it bigger than that?

Is this something that you think is happening in other places across the city?

No.

Um there's uh well, only when there was construction done under the county.

Um and so uh this is the neighborhood that um I know of that's closest to me.

I do believe that Novak construction uh did do some work on the other side of Nevada Boulevard, but I haven't had a chance to go over there to see if that neighborhood is the same as this neighborhood here.

But I haven't had a chance to go over there to see if that neighborhood is the same as this neighborhood here.

But potentially it's an issue that probably all all neighborhoods predating 1960 theoretically would have been done under the county way.

Especially if they had a developer that didn't provide as built as built plans and the county really didn't ask for them or didn't get them.

You know, whatever it is.

I don't know what happened in 1950.

But because there are no as built buildings, what is actually on the plans is not accurate.

And so you know it costs a lot of money to have a survey conducted on your property, especially when you're trying to just make your payments on your house.

And this neighborhood is is an older neighborhood.

Um in house uh age, and there are some people that are older that may not have the income to do that.

So um doing it for all this this streets in this particular area, because they're all related, um, would be heck of a lot easier than trying to do it one by one, which is what they've been doing for the past 30 years.

And then Gary, kind of on a related question, from a feasibility perspective.

Do we need to look at this as a whole?

Do you pull out three streets and just start there?

What what legally what's the best and cleanest approach?

Um subdivision by subdivision at least, I think, because if it's a if it's a problem, it's probably throughout the whole subdivision.

And then the question is how do you identify all the subdivisions where it's an issue and and tackle that if you chose to do it.

But it's likely if it was related to the subdivision that it's occurring throughout that original subdivision that went in.

And there's only four streets in this subdivision.

Would you be amenable to broadening it a little bit?

Because I like the idea of simplifying and if there's bureaucratic obstacles addressing those.

I prefer to kind of do it on a city basis so that we kind of look at it and make sure we're identifying everywhere that needs that help and do it on one go rather than just coming back with different I mean we can prioritize certainly.

So I I don't mind approaching it that way as long as we start with this neighborhood, because this is a unique neighborhood.

They're not all going to be cookie cutter, they're not gonna be all the same.

It depends on the developer.

Right.

So Novak construction as I understand it now after talking with the county and other folks.

They never did as built building uh plans.

So n nobody got them.

But in some of the other developments that may have this issue, and they have not been identified, so that's gonna take some time.

Um then, you know, it it's gonna be a different situation.

So I would not want that to delay this effort because there are you know a few homes.

There's not a lot on those four streets because they're all cul-de-sacks.

And they're between 27 feet and 32 feet wide.

And they're not going to be any wider because otherwise you're gonna hit the house.

And um and so uh it is the way it is.

Oh no, I'm agreeing with you.

I'm not questioning that part.

It's just that they need help.

Really need help.

There's some people that um really need to have their houses upgraded because they uh need some mobility, uh better access to their home.

Like they can't have steps because they are in a wheelchair now.

So um and it's an older neighborhood.

So um they they need help and they need the city's help.

And um I I just wish that we had seen this sooner, but um I didn't really understand this setback issue until I I took on this.

Just a follow-up question for the city manager, city manager cutting in from just uh an approach perspective, a staff perspective.

Do you have an opinion on what the best way to handle this promptly and ensure we're doing a comprehensive and thorough job citywide?

Well, if the council feels that it's a policy issue, then we would go ahead and take your direction.

Um I think that I would have some concerns about only focusing on one neighborhood rather than looking at um any neighborhood within the city that's actually impacted by this particular situation.

So um if you wanted to take this, if you wanted to direct staff to take a look at this, then we could start here.

But I do think that for equity and fairness reasons, we would want to expand that look further out to any other neighborhood that might have the same same or similar situation.

Um this would be uh fairly complex process.

My understanding is particularly in this neighborhood, there are um water and sanitary infrastructure that are in the roadway, so we would also need to be coordinating and working with them as well.

Okay.

And I think I think we're in agreement that it would be a citywide thing and not just focused on one neighborhood.

Right, but we would start with this one.

Right.

So but staff's direction is to look at it from a citywide.

And I'll be glad to help um identify the other locations.

I got I did get a call from someone that said that Novak did construct in another part of Novato.

And so I just haven't had time to go over.

Oh, that's what I that's the role of staff.

They should fish.

But I will do that because uh it's really Novak construction and that is identified through the county.

So I could go up to the county and and identify where all the Novak construction was.

Well, let's uh city managers, that's something that would be in staff scope, or do you need council assistance on that?

So that would be within staff scope.

Um this would be a fairly intensive technical project.

Okay.

Um Pardon me?

Yeah, I'm done with my questions.

Um as far as like attacking this just from uh initial level, what do you think staff time spent and kind of how would you just navigate it?

We took a look at this and um just for this one neighborhood, we're expecting this to take somewhere between 75 and 100 hours of staff time and cost about um 15 to 20,000.

Just for this neighborhood of the city.

And do we have any idea of how many neighborhoods this is this could potentially impact?

We don't at this time.

It could be a lot, it could be a few, but my understanding is is that there are a number of neighborhoods who were can that were constructed during this time that could possibly fit into this category.

And of course, we would need to also look and kind of set parameters around is it a street that was X width or is it houses that were built, you know, prior to the city's incorporation, um, how we would start looking at that.

And then of course we get into the questions of if there was something that was approved after the uh city was incorporated, are we going to look at those as well?

So, based on my knowledge of the city, and I've walked to every street in this town, there's not many of them like this.

There's not.

No.

And um uh and so but um I will do my due diligence though, and we'll research that up at the county um so we could save some of that staff time.

And would there be like a so is is the problem getting the permit and them having to survey?

Or like what's what what do you guess?

Well the concern the concern is is that some have not been able to get permits because of the setback and because of the easement that's encroaching into their property.

So um what we need to do is identify where that easement is and then just vacate it because we're never gonna make a four-lane road out of a dead-end street that has two lanes.

Would there, Gary, would there be an like another solution that we could do like an umbrella approach that would be like simpler um instead of going individual by individual.

Yeah, that's a it's a good point.

So um depending on what's found from the survey.

So I do think a surveys needed to sort of understand where the actual right-of-way is in relation to the structures and the other improvements.

But depending on what's found from the survey, the to fix the issue could involve moving a lot of utilities like the city manager um referred to, or possibly hydrants or other things that are very, very costly to move around.

So yeah, that's not.

Probably not within what the council is thinking of.

So there are other alternatives though.

I mean, you could create um different standards for these neighborhoods, right?

You could do that through your zoning code or through your chapter 5 development standards and and apply them to specific um to change it.

And that, of course, is something that can be done here legislatively without needing to move things around.

So I do think once you identify the issue, there are a couple options, and if one of them um is much more costly than the other, I think staff will consider that and come back.

Yeah.

Okay.

And I think you'll hear more from the neighborhood.

Huh?

They are given an opportunity.

Yeah.

You'll hear more from the neighborhood.

Okay.

Um, so I'd like to open it up for public comment.

So um Ronald Nelson, please come up.

Um if you'd like to talk on this issue, you can fill out a this is comment on this item, it's not public comment.

Okay.

E one perfect.

Uh microphone.

Oh, uh good evening, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Ronald Nelson and I live at Five Nave Court.

I'm here to support um in support of the council taking up this issue because I believe the problem is broader than any one property.

This neighborhood was built before Nevada became a city and under very different standards.

It was surprising to learn that when these homes were built, there were only about 3,500 people living in Novato area.

That really brought home to me how old this neighborhood is and how different the development assumptions were at that time.

Although my home is on Nave Court, it is the opposite end of the neighborhood from Lauren Avenue.

It was part of the same original development and the same older street lot easement and permitting issues appeared to affect all of these homes.

My family's experience reflects that history.

When I was growing up, our family of five lived in our two-bedroom house.

So my parents converted the garage into a bedroom because our family needed the space.

So I did not witness it firsthand, but I always heard how kind the city was in explaining the process to my family and how proud my stepfather was that when the work passed inspection.

So looking into this issue, I've also found historical documents relating to our house on Nave Court, showing creek and waterway easements affecting our lot, and I have learned a lot more about older street layout setbacks, right of way issues affecting our neighborhood.

To me, that confirms these are long-standing structural issues and not just isolated homeowner problems.

I'm not asking for blanket approval of unpermitted work.

I'm simply asking the city recognize that this neighborhood has a long and complicated history, and to approach these families with fairness, clarity, and common sense.

Thank you for your time and your consideration.

I would be happy to provide a written copy of my remarks for the record.

Thank you, Ronald.

Uh next up, Derek Nell.

Welcome.

Good evening, counsel, uh staff.

Uh Derek Nell, 18 Ruben Court, speaking to you as a citizen of Novato.

And I would encourage you to direct staff to take a look at this issue.

This is one of those one size, doesn't fit all.

And we really have had for a long time a need to do more for our original neighborhoods.

Not old, but original neighborhoods.

And when these uh these uh homes were constructed, there were the rules were different.

Uh in fact, there were no rules.

So I would encourage you, and I understand the staff's position, there's there's truth uh to the equity issue, and you certainly want to have uh efficiency and scale and approach it.

Might want to put it from a broader perspective, whatever, but hopefully you'll you'll be able to find a way to have staff this think about it a little bit more, a little more research and and and focus more on this original neighborhood concept as a way to come up with some variances and ways to help them with their uh issues.

Thank you.

Thank you, Dirk.

Uh next would be Dan Zamberlin.

Hi everybody, thanks for coming, guys.

Most of the people are from the Lauren Avenue, and uh I came into the contact with the city.

Thank you guys for being here too.

About like you said, close to nine nine years ago.

Um I had I'm a general contractor.

I actually worked with John Novak in the 70s.

I've been building in here and all over Moran County for years, and I've lived on Lauren for 42 years.

So I purchased the house in 1983.

I don't know if my math is right, and I bought it with an enclosed garage.

That was one thing.

So as we as we go along in business, I actually had a work shed out and back that I turned into one of my guys who was pretty much going to be homeless.

He was overweight, couldn't get back into construction.

So I put him out there, and basically, I'm just being honest with what happened.

Um told him that he's got to get Section 8 so he can get in because he's diabetes and severely overweight.

So I think what happened was medics came out there to take him to the hospital and somebody turned it in.

So that started this whole ball rolling.

That's where we came from nine years later.

So as they were walking through saying what I had to tear out, the last thing on the way out, he just says the garage is illegal.

And I said, I bought the house in 1983 just like that.

And I know they were permitted in the 80s and 70s.

So moving forward, I put in an application to do a carport because carports were allowed.

So I paid the uh architect, Marshall Balf, who used to work for the city here to draw up the plans.

I brought the plans down and they said, okay, come down, pick up the permit.

I came down to pick up the permit.

They said we don't allow that anymore.

I have an email that says come down and pick up the permit.

They denied it.

So that, as you can see, made me a little upset, right?

And so I dogged what I was doing because I was hoping like uh some of the other cities in this county have adapted the rules to allow these cross conversions.

I did one in Tiburon.

I did one in San Rafael.

On 1950 houses, they just said put a foundation in, make it right.

So as that time they bind me almost $13,000.

You guys can look, but it's pretty close.

Because I wanted them to separate the permits from demoing the things that needed to be demoed and the garage issue because I had to build out the garage or turn it into a j junior ADU.

Of course, I had plans redrawn to put in a garage with a 20-foot setback.

Can you wrap up your comments just in minutes as I think?

So it's not that easy.

It took a long time.

And I put in three different sets of permits.

One's for 20 foot setback, like my neighbors, once for 25.

They wanted me to do 35 feet.

They wouldn't tell me why 35 feet, because anybody knows that 25 foot setback is what's required.

So that brought to my me attention that there's something wrong here.

Why I I know you find me, but you can't treat me special.

You can't do it differently than anybody else.

So I went and started measuring the streets.

My architect put this in to show that the streets were originally 50 feet wide.

So I started measuring.

There was recent surveys done that I could pull off of.

And me and my wife's property is 112 feet.

I measured my property, it's off by nine feet.

So what's happening is they're not telling me.

Public comments three minutes, I'm sorry.

They wanted me to go ten more feet than it's required without telling me.

So that along one, because there was no.

Is that my cover?

It's time, yeah.

Sorry.

And I let you go about a minute over too.

Sorry.

Yeah.

But that's the long and short of it.

So thank you.

I've seen it.

Okay.

Um and then next, Don Carney.

Oh, this is J1.

Sorry.

Never mind.

Sorry.

Don.

Okay.

So that's the end of public comment.

Um do I have a motion, Pat?

Um I'll move that we um actually engage and and start um looking into this issue on a county-wide level.

Citywide level.

Citywide level.

Uh but prioritizing this area first.

Okay.

We need to really focus on this area because they are um you keep looking to the city manager, but we need to see.

We need to keep we need to start here because these people are trying to get permits.

Yeah.

And it's different.

So this is to put it on future agenda.

This is to put it on a future agenda.

So we didn't like have more discussion about it.

Yeah.

Correct.

Do you have a second?

Just to clarify timeline.

I know in your you remember you meant you'd mentioned May.

From staffing perspective, is it feasible to bring it back in May?

Um our next few meetings are packed, but if the council would like to put it on the May agenda, we have one meeting in May.

That's the question.

Well, I'd like to understand why I would be bumped.

Yeah.

What the impact is, because I mean you're in the middle of budget season.

We're in the middle of budget.

We have a number of things in the past.

So excuse me.

So if the city manager says May is packed, let's do the first meeting in June.

Which is that way, that way they know what the date is, and they could make sure that we're going to be able to do that.

I'm trying to ask the question.

Right.

That's okay.

Is June is June doable without the question?

We have a number of items or anticipated items in June as well.

The second meeting in June would be no problem.

The first meeting in June could potentially have a long lot on it.

If it doesn't, then we can put it on the first meeting.

In June, I think I've I mean I'm happy to say the second meeting in June, but if it's time sensitive and she can move it forward, I think that's a better option, right?

So if we just leave it open, bring it back in June.

Well, let's try to do the first meeting in June, and if it's two packed, then it can move to the second one.

But a lot of these people are trying to get permits and they're unable to.

So it and it's and winter is fast approaching, even though summer is not even here yet.

We still need the staff to do the work though.

So I I understand what you're saying.

I'm supportive of it.

And so that's why let's shoot for the first meeting, but then if it is quote packed with agendas uh that's dealing with budget stuff, yeah.

Then we can put it to the second meeting.

Perfect.

That's okay.

So with that I'll second.

All right, Laura.

Can you come for the vote?

Councilmember Eklund.

I councilmember Carkle is absent.

Councilmember O'Connor.

I mayor Bertem Jacobs.

And Mayor Farak.

I'm sorry, that passes.

Um now moving on to reports from the city manager and city council.

Uh City Manager Cunningham.

Um I anticipate a long agenda tonight, so no comments from me.

Thank you.

Councilmember Eklin.

Uh yes.

Um I've uh actually been quite busy um the last couple of weeks.

Uh first of all, I did uh participate in the age of disability committee meeting that was um held today.

And um also I wanted to share with the council the uh legislation that the Association of Bay Area Governments has been um working on.

And um, as you know, as an executive board member, um we did take um some positions on some legislation that you need to know about.

First of all, AB 1837, we supported that, which actually allows transit agencies to use video to um enforce um parking violations at the bus stops or uh on the bus lanes.

There is uh something that is near and dear to my heart um is SB 979, which is the regional housing needs allocation.

And what um and we're opposed to this legislation because it allows judicial review um of a city who uh may not like their um uh arena numbers.

Um the last piece of legislation I wanted to talk about is um SB 1087, which is the piece of legislation we're using in ABAG and MTC.

That's the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and ABAG to modernize SB 375, which dealed with Plan Bay Area.

So this is a uh sustainable community strategy piece of uh uh an update to the legislation that was passed in 2008.

Um I also um attended the ABAG Housing Committee and um wanted to inform you that there is a um uh way that people can access electronically affordable housing throughout the Bay Area, and it's called doorway housing portal website.

And that um and so we're funding that to make some more improvements in it.

Um also too, I wanted to inform the council that um we are updating the state of California's environment screen, which is a mechanism that's used for trying to identify where there's cleanup uh required.

And then also vital signs, which all of the um uh transportation agencies use that website and that data is being updated.

Um two additional things.

One is we are working with the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority to actually um get some legislation that allows BAFA as it's called to actually fund housing.

Because we are being required to build so many housing units or have so many housing units built, um, this fund will help um to allow contractors to be able to do that.

Lastly, um the thing that's nearest and dearest to my heart is the Bay Conservation Development Commission.

We did have a regional shoreline adaptation web seminar.

And also we had a budget workshop on some other issues that the BCDC and the regional shoreline adaptation plan is involved with.

So pretty busy couple of weeks, but very important for the future of the cities and counties.

Thank you.

Councilmember O'Connor.

No report.

Thank you.

Mayor Potem Jacobs.

Yeah, I'll make it real quick.

I attended a ribbon cutting for home pantry on Redwood Boulevard, a new business.

Also attended the Novato Historical Society presentation that was right here in City Hall.

Attended the school board workforce housing meeting for an update.

And I'm going to end it there because there's quite a bit on the list.

And then also watched the Planning Commission meeting last night.

So with that, we'll move on to general public comment.

So this is public comment time for items not in the agenda, and there's a three-minute time limit.

So if you'd like to fill out something, please fill out the yellow cards.

Lynn Wellesley.

Hi, Lynn.

Hi, hi.

My name is Lynn Wossley, 33-year resident here.

I thought I was going to speak after my friend Patty, so this may not work that well, but I'll do my best.

I've had the privilege to go out two mornings a week for three plus months and meet up with some of our day laborers along with Patty, who will speak hopefully next, and others.

We hand out important helpful information, including the whistle packets that Patty will speak about.

And water and coffee and food.

These men are appreciative and kind and hard working.

They've expressed that they feel safer in their city now that they have been informed of their rights, and also that they feel people respect and care about them.

We have become friends.

They feel more a part of our community, and we feel most fortunate to have the interactions that we have two mornings a week.

We all know that we have many people in our community who do not feel safe.

Like our day laborers, they are well aware of ICE activities elsewhere, for instance in Minnesota and LA.

Their fear is grounded.

We are talking about men, women, and children.

We're talking about our neighbors and friends, and some of the most conscientious workers who provide valuable services in our city.

Sorry.

Many of us rely on these community members to do the jobs we'd rather not do.

And yet we can do a lot more to help them feel safe and a part of our city.

The whistle packets that you'll hear about are a way to do just that, imparting information.

The packets are a way to share with those in our community who don't have easy access to what their basic rights might be, information that can help alleviate their fears and help them know that they are seen and heard and respected.

Please allow us to place these whistle packets at various city-sponsored venues.

Thank you.

And this neurodivergent gal also thanks you for acknowledgement of autistic autism acceptance month.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, Patty.

We're anxious to hear about the whistles.

Well, just as you said public comments was starting, I said, oh, shoot, I hope they don't call you first.

So I'm Patty Hoyt, and I reached out early last week to the city council and city manager about bringing the whistle packet program to Novato.

I was very grateful for the near immediate and enthusiastic response from Councilmember Eklund.

And with an eye in getting this to happen as soon as possible, here I am.

And here's Lynn.

So you've likely heard of Whistlemania that started in Chicago when the National Guard and Ice Surge began in June.

Communities throughout the country have since started the program in the areas when the Trump administration has set its sights on them.

So while Marin has not yet experienced an ice surge, I can't imagine you're foolish enough to believe what has been happening in places like Chicago and Los Angeles and Minneapolis and Durham won't eventually happen here.

It truly is just a matter of time before ICE comes to the Bay Area and conducts massive raids targeting our towns and our neighbors.

In February 2019, the Navado City Council passed the resolution to strive to ensure family unity, community security, dignity, and due process for all residents of the City of Navado.

You can't look what has happened since January of 2025 and not believe that more needs to be done.

I'm part of a small group of passionate and dedicated volunteers who have self-funded to produce and distribute more than 4,000 whistle packets throughout Marin.

We have the support of the Multicultural Center Marin, Canal Alliance, Parent Voices Marin, and North Marin Community Services.

In recent weeks, we've enlisted more than a dozen stores and cafes to serve as distribution points, and our goal is to have a hundred businesses handing out these packets by the end of May.

What I'm asking the City of Novato to do is just distribute packets as well at City Council and Commission meetings, at City Hall, at Margaret Todd, at the Novato Gymnastics Center, and so on.

We'll provide as many packets as you want at the outset, and we'll commit to replenishing them as needed, all at zero cost to the city.

The whistle packets are labeled with a QR code, linking to a brief whistle training videos.

The packet itself contains a whistle, of course, the know your rights red card, the Marin Rapid Response Network card, and zines in both English and Spanish.

Everything, in fact, is in English and Spanish.

As I outlined in my email, our goal is to be prepared just as we try to prepare for earthquakes.

Frankly, the damage ice does to communities is like the damage done by a large earthquake.

And just as we're not sure when that next big one is coming, we're not sure when ice will come.

But as surely as an earthquake is coming, so is ice.

So won't you help Novato residents be prepared?

Thank you.

I've left whistle packets on the table and encourage everyone to grab one.

See ice, form a crowd, stay loud, solo El Pueblo, Salva El Pueblo, only the people save the people.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Next we have Matt Craddeville.

The things I used to like, I don't like anymore.

I want a lot of other things I've never had before.

It's just like Mother says.

Yet knowing I'm a dope.

I'm as restless as a willow in a windstorm.

I'm as jumpy as a puppet on a string.

Oh, why do I have spring fever when it isn't even spring?

I'm starry eyed and vaguely discontented like a nightingale without a song to sing.

Oh, why do I have spring fever when it is an even spring?

I keep wishing I were somewhere else walking down a strange new street.

Hearing words I've never heard before from a woman I have yet to me.

I'm as busy as a spider spinning daydreams.

I'm as giddy as a baby on a swing.

Oh, I haven't seen a crocus or a rosebud or a robin on a wing.

But I feel so gay in a melancholy way that it might as well be spring.

It might as well as well be spring.

Thank you, Matt, for bringing some spring into this meeting.

Next, Bernie Myers.

Good evening.

Never had that in my day.

Good evening, Mayor, Council members, and staff.

I am Bernie Myers, a former council member and mayor.

I'm speaking about Marin Valley Mobile Country Club in which I have no financial interest whatsoever.

Nearly 30 years ago, the City of Navado helped the Marin Valley residents purchase their park.

The goal at the time was simple and admirable.

Preserve long-time affordable housing for the people who live there.

The structure of the transaction reflected that goal.

The park was placed in the Novato Financing Authority so municipal bonds could be issued to finance the purchase.

Those bonds were not paid by the city's general fund.

They were paid by the residents themselves through their increased rent payments.

Today, after nearly three decades, those bonds have essentially been satisfied.

The question now is what happens next.

The historical record, including city resolutions, financing documents, statements made at the time, as well as the contemporary statement of then city manager Rod Wood, which I have provided to you along with my letter setting out the historical facts, shows that the transaction anticipated that the park would ultimately be transferred to a nonprofit entity, while importantly preserving its affordability.

In other words, the structure that helped residents acquire the park was never intended to be the final chapter.

It was intended to make that chapter possible.

The residents accepted significant obligations to make that happen, including increasing their rent to finance the purchase and accepting significant long-term affordability restrictions.

I'm not asking the council to make a final decision tonight.

What I am asking is that the council begin a thoughtful process to examine how the original vision for Marin Valley can now be completed.

One that protects the city's interests while ensuring that this community remains secure and affordable for the residents who made the purchase possible and their successors.

Few cities get the chance to finish an affordable housing success story that began nearly 30 years earlier.

Novato does.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Bernie.

All right.

So moving on to item G.

But before we move on, can we hear from David Kenyon, please?

You could have three minutes.

I am not prepared to make a speech tonight.

I came just to watch to see what's going to happen.

I was involved in this purchase.

I helped the residents as their attorney and real estate broker in the transaction, and it took a long time to put it together.

We worked with the city to get it done.

And part of the process was that we were going to obtain tax-exempt bond financing to purchase it.

To do that, we needed to increase the rents in the park.

And the residents volunteered to do that.

The city put up some seed money, as did I, and my partner in the transaction.

We all worked together to make it come together.

And it did.

And as part of that process, we were promised, couldn't be in writing at the time, but we were promised that at the end of this transaction, when the bonds were retired, and the city's credit was no longer involved.

Although your money was not involved, you did have a reputation on credit that had to be maintained, that we would be transferred the park for the benefit of the residents into a nonprofit corporation.

And that's what we're asking you to fulfill your promise that was made.

Ms.

Eklund was there and was part of the transaction.

Rod Wood, who was the city manager, was there, part of the transaction, and others, Sonia Seaman and others, have all indicated that they remember this story to be exactly right, and this is what was done.

Just asking you fulfill your obligation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

So moving on to consent calendar, do I have a motion and a second?

I'll move the consent calendar.

I'll second.

Laurie, can you take the vote?

Councilmember Eklund?

Aye.

Councilmember Carkle is absent.

Councilmember O'Connor.

Mayor Pro Tem Jacobs.

And Mayor Farak.

Aye.

That passes.

All right.

So moving on to public hearings, hold a public hearing to receive and file an annual report in compliance with Assembly Bill 2561 regarding the City of Novado's workforce vacancies, recruitment and retention efforts.

I'd like to invite Eva Hiller, Chief People Officer, to present.

Welcome.

Mayor, I'm actually going to introduce this item.

Hi, everyone.

Good evening.

I'm Carla Hanson.

I'm the assistant city manager.

Very pleased to introduce this item before we get to our HR team because it shows how much progress we've made in one year.

We have reduced our vacancy rate by 7% in one year.

And with our labor agreements all settled, we've maintained a work a strong workforce and we've kept the momentum going.

And I think that's a testament to the council's commitment to fair and competitive compensation and our the strong leadership in our organization.

I also want to take a moment to embarrass and recognize our exceptional HR team that you're going to be hearing from tonight.

They have worked hard to streamline our recruitment process to work uh directly with our departments to hire good folks, improve our onboarding, and strengthen our retention.

And tonight's report is about a uh satisfying a state requirement that we have to do every year.

But more than that, it is showing that our strategies are working and that our organization is in a new place.

Also, uh I'd love um you're gonna hear this from them, but we are attracting a lot of strong candidates.

We are promoting from within, and we are continuing to see declines in our turnover rate, which is a lot different from what we were saying to you last year when we were giving you the same report.

So this is a very good news item.

This is good news for our organization, but more importantly, it's good news for our service delivery to our org to our community.

With that, I will hand it over to our HR team, Eva and Greg, and let them fill you in on all the details.

Thank you.

Good evening, uh Mayor and uh council members.

My name is Greg Canfield.

I'm the HR analyst uh in our HR department.

And this is our Chief People Officer Eva Hilliard, and we uh while we're here, sort of uh by obligation this evening uh for the from the assembly bill, uh we are very excited as Carla mentioned to provide you with some good news based on our uh most recent vacancy report.

So with that, um some of the key takeaways that uh I'll be talking briefly about tonight is um certainly our reduction in our vacancy rate and our turnover rate, which the vacancy rate is the lowest it's been in the last five years, which is exciting.

Um our recruitment and retention efforts have certainly been working well.

We have been attracting um some really great talent and the number of applications that we're receiving for those open positions have has increased uh quite a bit.

And uh certainly we're uh following uh along with the assembly bill and um remaining in compliance by reporting this evening.

So a quick overview of uh AB 2561.

Um it was enacted to address job vacancies in the local and local government to address any potential impacts on service delivery and employee workload.

And as we had mentioned last year, um it was it did go into effect last uh January 2025.

Some additional legal requirements that we're following this evening.

Um it is an annual public hearing that needs to be um adopted prior to prior to the adoption budget of the budget.

Um to report uh vacancies and any hiring challenges that we might be experiencing.

Uh allow employee organizations to participate, which we certainly reached out to all the recognized bargaining units and offered them the opportunity to be here this evening.

And um there's also an additional caveat that any bargaining unit with a vacancy greater than 20 percent has the opportunity to come and speak for council and um ask some certain questions.

And while this is a snapshot in time, um and we are below that 20% threshold.

Uh no time during the last 12 months have we exceeded that in any of our uh bargaining units.

The next slide shows uh just quickly that reduction in the vacancy rate.

And um as you can see, the the blue on the left is from last year and the orange is our uh current year.

Um just very simply, we've either stayed at zero percent for some units or we've had a market um decrease in all of those uh units uh with uh with a decrease at over seven percent, as Carla mentioned in total uh vacancy for the uh for the year.

Um and then some of our recruitment and retention strategies similar to last year, and uh I think we've really um and I'll attribute this to uh Eva's now been here over a year, and I think her leadership and direction has really provided us a way forward, and we've been able to really focus on some of the things that we're doing to bring quality candidates in.

Um so some of the things we've done, we've streamlined our hiring process.

Um we continue to expand on our outreach and marketing.

Um we offer flexible hybrid work schedules, uh we provide supportive onboarding and mentorship, particularly you know, when uh new employees arrive on site.

Our uh total comp and benefit analysis and benchmarking, which we certainly um have all dealt with within the last year.

We are trying to focus more on internal promotions.

Uh as you'll see in the staff report, we did have uh 18 promotional uh opportunities that we advanced people this past year, which is great.

Uh we're trying to look into increasing our training opportunities.

Uh we increased the promotion of our employee assistance program um for services for awareness throughout the staff.

And we did uh implement our exit interviews this past year to inform improvements as we move forward.

And so um recommendations for next steps.

Really, we're here this evening to um you guys receive and file the report.

We're gonna continue refining recruitment and our retention strategies to to keep things going in the right direction, monitor vacancy trends and labor market conditions, and of course we will see you next year at this around the same time to provide hopefully as successful a report.

And with that, I'll open it up to any questions.

Thank you so much.

I think on behalf of the whole council, just excellent work.

Um the numbers are great, the strategies you've implemented are working.

So great work there.

Does anyone have any questions or comments?

Yes.

Councilmember O'Connor.

Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation.

Um I was curious, since the last labor agreement was adopted.

Have you got any feedback on turnover trends?

Have you seen any change in them?

Go ahead.

So the exit interviews that we implemented over the last year, we received, I mean, the turnover is quite low, but most of the information that we have received has been mainly um either for promotional opportunities or sometimes being closer to homes is really the main portion that we've seen.

Um of it also has been more like resignation retirement, I mean retirements, excuse me, which you know we expect that.

Um but there is some feedback.

There is a little bit of feedback around you know, some burnout compensation, but the majority of it has been like I mentioned, mostly for promotions or uh position.

I mean it seems to be closer to home.

Thanks.

And then compared to this time last year, what was the vacancy rate?

Out of the two years coming up.

We have that we have that.

I know uh we're seven seven percent lower, so we were uh just over twelve percent last year, and we're just under five percent this year.

Okay, good.

And then um one last question.

How does our current vacancy rate compare to our neighboring cities?

Or do you have that data?

Yeah, uh we have looked into that.

The the um for a municipal agency, the general thought is uh anywhere from 10 to 12 percent.

Our immediate neighbors, Petaluma, San Rafael, those are hovering right around eight percent.

Okay, great job.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Eklund.

Yeah, I'm kind of curious.

Um, out of or over the last uh two or three years, what has been the retirement uh percentage um at each year?

Kind of curious.

Good question.

I uh I don't have I have last year, and I would imagine it holds pretty steady, but uh we had um 36% of the total exits.

What did you say?

36% of the total exits.

In 2025.

Yeah, which equals which is six retirements for the year, yeah.

And you think it was about the same the year before?

That would be my just sort of educated guess, but I could certainly look that up and 30 percent.

36% is is a high amount of retirements.

So succession planning is something that we do want to focus on, so um, so that we're passing that institutional knowledge down the line for sure.

Yeah, really appreciate that very much so.

Thank you.

Mayor Pertum Jacobs.

Thank you.

Good report.

Thank you very much.

It looks uh very promising.

Um question.

Have there been any situations where we've offered a position to somebody and they refused it in the last six months?

In the last six months, no.

I would say particularly in the last six months, our applications for our open vacant positions are four or five times the number of applications that we've typically been receiving.

So I think that people, I think we're a hot spot.

I'm speaking from from the recruitment standpoint, but I think people would like to work here.

We have in the past, sure, we have made offers.

And it wasn't what they were anticipating, so they have turned us down, but I would say certainly in the last six months, maybe even the last 12 months.

That has not occurred.

Great.

Thank you very much.

All right.

And I don't have any questions.

Again, great work.

Always love good news stories.

So thank you very much.

And we'll move on since we have a busy or an intense topic next with a lot of public comment.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Public comment.

Oh.

Yeah, I didn't do public comment.

Okay, any public comment for this?

No?

Okay.

So this item is closed.

Thanks, Dan.

All right, moving on to item J1, receive a presentation and conduct a study session on commercial cannabis retail storefronts in alignment with goal.

Number 20 in the Navado City Council strategic plan for July 1st, 2023 to June 30th, 2025, which states consider allow licenses for commercial cannabis storefront retail.

So I'd like to invite Claire Hartman, our community development director to present the item.

Great.

Good evening.

Actually, this is going to be a team effort here.

So yeah, I'm Claire Hartman, I'm the community development director.

Um, but I've been working with Katie Scorping, our economic development manager on this item.

So we're here tonight because I'm giving a progress report on where we're at with one of our strategic goals.

This is out of our most recent strategic plan at the council level, and it was number 20.

Um, and it was in our economic vitality section and specifically consider allowing licenses for commercial cannabis storefront retail.

Um and so it was started in the time frame of that strategic plan, but as some initiatives go, they they um they take more than that time to get started in that and then they continue on.

And that's this is one of those initiatives.

So again, tonight is just a progress report.

Wanted to check in with the council on the work that we've done uh since the last well, uh it's been one year since we uh last brought this topic to the council.

Uh so I want to bring some of the work that we've done and present that tonight.

Uh talk about next steps, uh, talk about our engagement strategy, the findings of a community survey, um, findings of a market study, uh, and then talk about what happens next.

So this slide is just uh a storyline of where we've been, um what the work that we have accomplished to date.

Um you can see there's a lot of study sessions on here.

This is one of the type of policy topics that does take time uh to uh do initial research to scope out uh what the interests are of the council.

We've also checked in with the economic development advisory commission, that is EDAC here.

Um and as you can see tonight, we're bringing some early preliminary information to your attention.

Uh one of the key milestones in the process to date has was last year in February.

Um, and that's where um I brought a lot of summary information about uh what the initiative like this would entail, uh what the scope would be, what are some of the directional choices when a city is pursuing cannabis storefront retail, what the context is.

Um and after that session, or is at the conclusion of that session.

Oh, this is just an example of the sort of the directional information that staff was provided that helps us shape what we do next.

Um as you can see, one of the key items here is um to conduct a market analysis and a community survey.

So at the time, um just to qualify some of these responses to these questions.

This was where we were at um last year, and but sort of a recurring theme while council was deliberating on these questions was we would like more information, we want a broad community survey, we want a broad market analysis before we get into specifics.

This slide here sort of bookends what the work plan would look like.

We were in the first bucket, if you will, here, conducting initial research.

I am starting to activate our engagement strategy.

I've connected with county health department, getting in early relationship and conversations about how county health might interact with our policy work, also starting to engage with our city police department on education and enforcement and best practices.

And then ultimately we'll move into it's a more of an iterative process, but preparing actual draft amendments or at least principles of them, engaging with the community broadly, but also with focus groups, and then ultimately bringing back policy to the city council and the types of policies that are created around this topic, some of which will land on our zoning code, so that is why the planning commission would be involved.

Others are out of other sections of our municipal code and/or our policy, and that will come straight to the city council.

So this slide shows this is accumulation of feedback I've received from study sessions, identifies specific focus groups to connect with through this process moving forward.

And so I just keep this as a reminder, these are the definitely the touch points that we hope to reach as we continue to navigate it.

So now I'm going to switch gears and really give a summary overview of the community survey that we conducted.

And this is also detailed in your staff report as well, and probably an extra layer of detail there.

First thing I'm going to say is this was a very, very popular survey.

This 800 responses was the biggest survey response we've had in Novato.

It was it really took off.

And we actually had just predominantly Novado residents participating in this, and so we were able to create results based on our residents as well as all respondents.

The other thing that was noteworthy is that it was there was clear support for an initiative for storefronts, and even more support when you only looked at the Nevada residents.

One of the other things that I looked at in this survey, this was one of our key questions here, is you can see that for no opinion, it's very little.

So one of the things I think that this is showing us is people are either real very much in support or very much against.

So that in combination with the community survey about what's important.

You can see the clear winner here in terms of percentages is security or crime, and to address that with those types of best practices and standard operating procedures.

And so they go hand in hand, which is why we'll continue to work with our partners and also City Police Department and making sure that we can create objective, clear standards that address these key issues that are of concern by the community.

What is interesting is almost a match to security and crime is 40% voted for or inputted that they were not concerned with any of the above.

That to me shows there's an element of confidence in this type of land use and that the you know there nothing too unusual is a serious concern that's a pretty high percentage for not being concerned specifically.

In terms of locational uh findings, uh one thing that's clear here is that uh Novado residents would like if we do have cannabis storefronts to locate them where other retailers are, so and they weren't exclusive, so large and small neighborhood uh shopping centers, uh, and they weren't exclusive to downtown.

They're indicating that downtown is one of the places, especially adjacent downtown is where they would like it the most.

In terms of business activities, one thing that we've are learning and um is always evolving in this industry is besides the retail component, they have other uses, they have special events, they have educational, some of them have pretty detailed wellness centers, so you can go in and talk to people about the products.

Um and some um go as far as having lounges or on-site consumption.

The on-site consumption can range from uh edibles all the way to smoking, um though that's a lot more rare because of the combination of other initiatives.

Um but in this case the clear support was retail sales only.

Um there was some uh interest as well for educational activities, but um, then it starts to uh reduce in uh interest.

Um and then uh in terms of limits and fees.

So one of the things we learned here, um, which was interesting is and and this is not too surprising because a lot of ordinances that I've already started to look at support the same setbacks that are in place for um by through state law, and that is the setbacks of a dispensary to a sensitive use.

And the sensitive use is defined, and in the survey it was defined in question in question eight, and then it was the very next question that asked uh do you support uh these same setbacks as the state to sensitive uses?

And sensitive uses is K to 12 schools, youth centers, um, and daycare centers.

Um, and so that was interesting to see that there's confidence that that's a sufficient setback.

Uh there was some interest in a buffer between cannabis storefronts.

Um, that's uh what another way we uh consider that is called over concentration, addressing that by having 600 feet or a thousand feet between two dispensaries.

The idea is you don't ever have two on one block as a as a as a catch.

Um and then by far, probably the biggest push in the findings of the survey was to have a cap.

There's clear clearly an interest to limit it to one, two or three.

This is what we've been talking about in terms of how many storefronts would be allowed in the in the city.

There's clear support to have a cap.

Um, and most of the late adopters, um, I'm already looking at other considering them late adopters because there was a big push in 2018-19, um, similar to when the city of Novato was also looking at what businesses to approve or permit.

Um we in Novato, just to be clear to the public, we did permit all uh business types, with the one exception of the storefront.

But we even started to allow delivery as well.

Um the late adopters, so those that have been um opening up to dispensaries in the last couple of years, have definitely come in with a cap.

Earlier adopters had over concentration, but not a lot of them had caps.

Um, and then my last slide on the survey is about open comments.

So again, we had as many as 800 responses, uh, and we had 560 something open comments, so people had took the time to write open comments.

I read them all, um, and these are the major themes.

And these are the major themes.

As again, you're what it was loud and clear, you're either very supportive or you're very not.

And so in terms of the pro or support, these are some of the themes.

And a major one was the cannabis products are much dissimilar to other adult legal adult products.

And those that consume these products would like to have them in this town so they don't have to go out of town to get them.

And we also received a lot of comments in the survey about that they are cannabis products are quite useful to address health issues like pain, sleep, anxiety, cancer, and the like.

Um, as a result of uh access or the fact that THC is just stronger.

A lot of concern about impaired driving, and if uh having a storefront would increase our uh issues with DUIs in the in a city.

Um I'm gonna leave it at that.

We're gonna switch gears and talk about our uh market study, and with that, Katie's gonna walk us through it.

Thank you.

Um good evening, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem Council members.

Um I'll present to you this evening the information that was prepared for the city in the market study requested at last year's council study session.

Um so the study begins with a description of the current market, uh, including sort of laying some groundly facts.

93% of consumers will travel a maximum of 20 minutes for their routine purchases.

And that um there are currently no adult use cannabis retail storefronts in Marin County with the nearest locations each approximately a 20-minute drive.

Thanks.

Um currently 16 companies deliver cannabis to Novato.

Um generally cannabis consumers show a strong preference for in-person sales.

So with approximately um 75% of cannabis sales taking place in person when that option is available.

And while storefront retailers on average bring in about 6.5 million per year, non-storefront retailers average 1.3 million per year.

Um additionally, retailers that offer both in-store and delivery options typically report that only about 5 to 10% of their sales take place uh via delivery.

Thanks.

Um, when considering the potential market capture for cannabis retail sales, the market study assumed a 70% capture rate, meaning the projections we'll talk about tonight and that are included in the study assume that 30% of Nevada residents' cannabis purchases could still leak to nearby jurisdictions.

Um that said, the projections do not include sales that Novato might capture from residents from other cities.

So the total cannabis market in Novato is estimated at approximately 8.6 million dollars per year.

This figure represents the total market for cannabis, whether it's for one retailer or shared among multiple retailers.

The market study projects that retail cannabis storefronts in Novato could gross approximately 172,000 annually for the city through a combination of our local sales tax, measure C tax and Measure M tax.

The study also projects that a community benefit fee ranging from 3 to 6% could result in between 250 to 500,000 annually for the city.

This fee range was studied, the 3 to 6% was studied based on uh direction at the council study session.

But the report does note that most nearby jurisdictions are currently charging at a rate between one and 4%, whether that's via a tax or a community benefit fee.

And again, the study notes these estimates are conservative as they don't quantify consumers who might travel into Novato.

Um and again, this revenue is for the total market, whether that's shared among multiple retailers or just one.

So the study discussed varying metrics that jurisdictions use to determine allowable locations for cannabis retailers and to set limits on the number of retailers.

So those include being based on overall population, uh dividing uh defining an appropriate number for particular commercial areas, approving businesses on a case-by-case basis, or taking more of a free market approach.

The study also described the ways that jurisdictions and retailers both seek compatibility with surrounding commercial districts.

So that includes prioritizing large footprint retailers that are compatible with large format retail and restaurant chains at larger shopping centers, existing lower profile storefronts in downtown or downtown adjacent areas, and smaller or more discrete retailers that could be compatible in smaller shopping centers.

So jurisdictions often use design standards to ensure that kind of compatibility.

And the study notes that allowing a variety of types and sizes of storefront location can help meet consumer needs and maximize the market potential, uh helping to reach those revenue projections that we just discussed.

So to summarize the conclusions from the study, cannabis sales could generate between 250 and 500,000 annually in fee revenue depending on the rate the city might set, uh, plus about 172,000 in sales and transaction taxes.

We talked about some of the um the data associated with these estimates.

They're conservative in that they don't um quantify any uh residents from other cities who might come and purchase in Novato.

Um it also doesn't quantify any leakage currently going to other communities that we could recapture here.

Uh the study acknowledges some indirect market benefits in that retail storefronts fill a demand for a product not currently available locally, and it discusses the ways that cannabis stores can help revitalize commercial areas, um, such as by filling vacant storefronts, attracting new customers, and bringing facade improvements.

The study notes that cannabis businesses do tend to require significant investment, and as such, they tend to include high-end design and marketing that can increase foot traffic for nearby commercial locations, and that required security measures can benefit adjacent businesses.

Great.

Thank you, Katie.

So now we've made it through our initial research of starting to make connections with uh best practices, other ordinances.

We've accomplished their community survey that was broad.

Um and we've concluded with our market studies.

So just looking at next steps.

So again, this is a progress report.

There's so much that goes into developing an initiative like that, even just for consideration.

Um it's important to take the time to make these steps.

So tonight, yeah, if you have feedback for staff, we're we welcome it.

Um otherwise, um, our next step is to continue on with the process uh to start to draft some uh key policy terms and then go out to the community and vet them.

Um, and then ultimately develop a draft that will go to the planning commission and to the city council.

And this is the timeline that we're looking at.

Um in terms of uh uh contact when people have questions or comments.

Uh I'm leading the initiative, uh, working with our our city partners, economic development, police, and um again, also our uh agency partners.

Um and if people have questions or comments, we already have a dedicated um email address that's up there, cannabis at nevato.gov.

And that's it.

Thank you so much for the presentation.

Um I'll open it for questions for council.

Councilmember Eklund?

Uh yes, um a couple of questions.

Um first of all, can cannabis be smoked in the public right away or just within the city of Novato?

Happy to chime in on that.

Um so state law Prop 64, which legalized recreational cannabis, prohibits public consumption or on private property where it goes over onto another parcel.

Can you say that a little bit that I didn't hear it?

Prohibits Yeah, so public consumption in that way, so what you're describing in the right-of-way or the street is not allowed.

No.

So what about in the parks?

Um it was not allowed in parks either, um, under your municipal code either or under state law.

So where is smoking currently uh cannabis, smoking cannabis currently allowed?

So in your private home, as long as the smell doesn't cross property lines.

Um and then state law also does allow um what are called cafes for consumption, though, although I know that's not part of the discussion tonight, um and not many cities do that, but there is a process for that under state law.

Okay.

So does the city's um uh prohibition on smoking tobacco um also play a role in this?

Or is the is it because it's just for tobacco versus cannabis, which is similar, but it's different.

Yeah, I'd have to review that code to see how broad it is, and I I can pull that up now.

Um but if it doesn't, you could certainly amend that to include cannabis as well.

And one of my concerns is access by youth.

And that's what initiated the city of Navado back in 2008 to really take on the tobacco industry in this town.

And it was with the assistance and the partnership with the school district at the time.

And so um uh we've done a good job, I think, in really trying to limit youth access.

But what can we do to if this were to go forward, and I'm not suggesting that we do at this time.

Um what could we do to do something similar to make sure that the youth are not engaged in in this?

Let me start by confirming that your ordinance does apply to all smoking, and that includes tobacco, marijuana, and other drugs as well.

So it does.

It does, yes.

Um there are um I I might look to Claire too to chime in on some of these programs, but there are grants from the state.

The state collects a pretty hefty excise on the sale of recreational cannabis.

That money is available for enforcement grants to cities and other programs, um, and many cities receive that.

I think the city is currently receiving some of that grant money, and there's more available if you go through the process and create what you guys are create or considering creating here.

Um that's part of it.

There's law enforcement tactics, but that's a question better left for the police department on how they would go about um enforcing and investigating this, um, and then coordination with the schools too.

Um but Claire, do you have any other info on the enforcement piece of this?

Yeah, I think you uh you hit uh you know straight on to what we um can work with.

So like I said, we we already we're we're seeing that access to youth is an issue.

Um obviously there'll be operational standards and security standards, youth will not be able to enter these dispensaries.

There's state laws about that.

Um there'll be uh supported with our local ordinance, uh advertising, signage, you know, visal acts, even visual access to the products, all of that is limited, starts with the state, and then you can sort of double down on your local ordinance.

Uh in addition, um again, already starting to work with the city police department.

Um they do have some grants already, they're looking for additional grants, and look really focusing on education and also enforcement.

So uh there'll be partners through this process.

Um, and when you when we do come back with draft policies, we'll certainly hit those very specifically with you.

So one of the um uh things that I read in the staff report is that um the storefronts would be um I I guess in the downtown or um or just off of the downtown.

I guess there's some concern about being on grant.

But what about like shopping centers?

Because there's a lot of youth that do go to shopping centers without their parents.

So where are you proposing or thinking about allowing these storefronts?

That's a great question.

And so one thing I forgot to mention is how we are going to use the community survey.

The community survey is a guide.

So one guide for developing our draft policy for the sake of vetting it with the community and bringing back a formal draft for consideration.

Is council direction?

So I I like I did I showed what we received last February.

That can be updated by the council.

Otherwise, I you know I'm going to look at the community survey since it was so well responded to, and it was very specific in terms of things like location.

And it was very clear that downtown and our large and neighborhood shopping centers were of interest.

And so we would look to that when we are shaping that draft policy.

Again, my concern is about youth access.

There's a lot of people that come downtown with their children, especially since there's a lot of youth stores too.

So I I'm hoping that the council can have some discussion tonight.

Because we don't have information from the surveys about what the demographics are for the respondents in terms of how many children they have or whatever, or what age they are.

So I I don't know.

And also I think we want to get some input from the school district as well.

Um at an elected level.

And so that's something I think that we need.

And I have some other comments too when it comes to that point.

If I may, Mayor, um so one thing is we we haven't started the robust engagement process.

We have an engagement strategy.

The the first steps was to do a broad community survey, so that's what we've accomplished, but we will go and do um more specific networking and uh community conversations directly with the schools with um some of the interest groups that have um risen up uh around this policy.

So that work hasn't been done yet, and that that will be part of the process.

Right.

I understand that, but part of the concern I have is that you know, like I being told, well, the community already supports this.

Well, I'm not convinced that the community as a whole does.

Um and I'm not sure that the type of surveys that you're conducting are going to get the annotated information that we need.

Um especially when it deals with access for youth.

So anyway, I'll have some other comments too at the end.

Thanks.

Mayor Putum Jacobs?

Thank you.

Thank you for your report.

Um can you define the difference between medical retail and adult recreational?

And is nowadays is there going to be any difference in it in purchases or in sales or anything?

Well, I don't have the legal terms, so I'm gonna look at Mr.

Bell for that.

Um so go ahead.

And um, yeah, is otherwise there's uh generally uh one is for well, I'll let you, I'm sorry, I'll let you do that.

Yeah, the the distinctions really between recreational and medicinal or medical.

Um medical went into effect in 1996 under Prop 215, so that's been in place longer, and there were a series of regulations that followed that.

Recreational um came into effect in 2016 under Prop 64 and has its own series of regulations following that.

Um the major differences and how they're regulated and who can access it.

So for medicinal, the same age restriction doesn't apply, provided that you have a doctor's recommendation because it's medicine, you also don't pay sales tax on it, for example.

Um for recreational, it's limited to adults 21 years of age and older.

Um and it is taxed and sales tax applies, and there's other excise taxes that apply.

Um so some cities do one or the other, some do both.

Um doing both in the same location can have um some um regulatory burdens, but they can be sorted through, and some cities do that.

But that's sort of broad strokes of the differences.

Okay, thank you.

When you come back in the future, will you have a map that will show areas where it's where it would be permissible in areas where it won't be.

Yes.

Great.

You've noted a maximum of three, which I think is good.

But my question, and I I think I've asked this before.

Unlike Petaluma, we don't have any retail or business areas that are in county.

Because I know Petaluma has a number of shops that are in county, but on the outskirts of the city.

But Novato, we really don't have that, do we?

In terms of shops, the only shop or dis or storefront that is in Marin County is in Fairfax and it's medical only.

Right.

But I mean we don't have any forget about cannabis.

We don't have any retail areas in the Greater Novato area that are not in city limits, correct?

There are in Bellmarine Keys.

There's some uh retail out there.

But the Bell Marin Peace commercial area is in the city county.

The Bell Marin Keys commercial area is city limits.

Not the county doesn't start until you get into the residential over the Oh, okay.

I believe that's correct.

Is it all of the Bellburn Keys retail?

Yeah.

I don't know the specific uh question that I was just conferring with the city manager.

Um this ordinance would apply within the city limits, not outside.

So maybe help us understand the question.

To clarify, Petaluma has a number of shops that are not in city limits, but they're in technically call it Petaluma, but they're not in city limits, they're in county.

Sure.

Unincorporated, thank you.

Right.

Yeah, so um I I'm not aware of any of those.

Um, and that would have to be authorized under a county or the county and the county would have to approve it.

And the county has not is not looking at this, or do you know, or have they deemed it?

No, they don't want it, like a number of cities have.

Currently uh no other cities and the including the unincorporated county of Marin are not allowing it.

Okay.

All right, thank you.

Um we know we had I believe we had two delivery shops in Novato previously.

Do we know what their annual sales were for 24 or 25?

I don't have that at my fingertips, but can get it for you.

Okay.

Um that's about it.

Thank you.

All right, council member O'Connor.

Thank you.

Um so the key location is going to be a key factor.

I was interested.

Can you kind of explain the process you're looking at for helping us identify suitable locations?

Well, our first um stage was to ask the the council, and the feedback was to look at commercial areas, including adjacent downtown.

So that was one direction we'll we'll move forward and see what that looks like in terms of zoning districts.

Um in terms from the community survey, what we learned is there was interest in the large and small shopping centers, and even potentially on Grant Avenue itself.

That doesn't mean all of grant.

We could look at what the different zoning districts are.

So ultimately, we'll want to be as specific as that.

Uh which zoning district would this be an eligible land use.

And so that we will have maps um associated with those different implications where people can toggle in and out to know, like, oh, if you extend it to this zoning district, now you're including this block.

Okay.

And then would that analysis also extend to hours of operation?

Um hours of operation.

Uh yeah, again, you know, we can look to best practices and we can look to community input, and that will definitely be one of the standard operating um uh requirements or operational standards that would be part of the process.

And then my last question has to do with the economic development uh strategic plan that's currently being drafted.

How does this tie in?

So do we look at the potential impact, the runover, the benefit of the loss?

What you can answer.

So at this point, the economic development strategic plan is really more of a higher level look at goals and vision for the city's future economic growth and looks at kind of multiple industries we might want to target, uh actions staff in the city should take to advance that vision.

Um so at this point it's not getting down to the specific level of this particular industry.

Um I would say these these two pieces are advancing simultaneously at this point because they were both included in the previous strategic plan.

Um but we could certainly uh include some discussion on this industry in the strategic plan um depending on the timing of these things moving forward.

Well, if not in the plan, at least understanding generally speaking, what the economic impacts are to other businesses and things like that, that would be helpful to know.

I didn't have any other questions.

Thank you.

Thanks.

All right.

I have um a few questions.

Um I appreciate the presentation.

Um it was very economic and financially focused around, you know, facts and stuff like that.

Um but what I think we neglected here missed was kind of what are the health concerns, what are kind of that, you know, public servant serving the public um risk.

Um because when we're making this decision, I'd like to think of it holistically, and that's including in our general plan, it has living well.

Um so that was something.

Did we ever look at any um health impacts or like what this does to a town or anything like that?

Not yet.

What we've done to date is um again connected with our county department of health, since uh we don't, you know, that that's who we lean on as a jurisdiction.

Um we look to social we look to that program through the county health.

Um and so we're working with them about how they might approach this as a land use.

Um we're also looking at uh the information out there for uh there's a I'm gonna blank on the name of the organization.

They put together an annual scorecard.

Um it's a health institute.

They put together a scorecard on how well um municipalities, uh city and county municipalities throughout the state of California measure up in particular to um health and also um specific to youth issues.

Uh and so those are great scorecards to look at because you can see who scores really high, meaning that they're uh really aligning with health values and restricting youth access.

And they have a they have some great examples for best practices in there.

So for example, not allowing on-site consumption, or for example uh not allowing signage that's very explicit.

Um there's many examples that can help us link to health principles.

And there's organizations that support or help direct that work that we'll we'll look into.

Thanks.

And then in your presentation, you mentioned like best practices and lessons learned.

What are some of those that you've have found so far?

Oops.

Well, they'll uh relate to those different sections of the policy work, right?

So best practices in terms of where uh where have most cities uh chose to locate them.

Uh generally that is retail, uh retail districts.

It's a retail use, so they're generally in retail um districts.

Uh hours of operations, the classic best practice, you know, nine to nine is as as an example, 9 a.m.

to 9 p.m.

Uh so there's some commonalities uh and frankly, a lot of experience after eight years of having many cities already um opened up to these.

Um and again, we're gonna build peer-to-peer relationships.

Um, our police chief is out there connecting with other police chiefs that have experience with these.

You know, I'm connecting with my counterparts and connecting with other agencies.

What have been some of the best practices like in Petaluma, for example?

Well, we'll look at Petaluma uh more specifically, but and I'm not I I can't quite report.

Um I have I have it in my stack of things.

Um, but really once we get into writing the issues when we start vetting it with the community, those will be good um pieces of information to have uh to because they'll probably help us um create those initial drafts is looking at some of our uh our other neighbors and how you know if they've been successful.

Petaluma is a very new late adopter.

In fact, I think they're just now opening up a dispensary that they just uh uh allowed.

And so Petaluma is close by, but they are they're new to the storefront market.

So we might look at their process because it's modern and streamlined.

Um, but for best practices, we'll probably look at other communities that have you know years of experience and know like when they did this, this is what they learned.

Okay.

Um and I think it would be good too to just get an idea of you know what their expectations were, what they were looking for, and is it implementing something like this, you know, actually what they thought and the result and the different impacts.

Um then this is just kind of in the realm of safety.

Um, has there been any, I guess, crime.

I know we have like a tobacco store, and I think there's been like cars rammed in because they've stolen the goods there.

Do you do you have any idea about that?

Yeah, I can um already starting to have the conversations with our police chief.

Um, so what you're talking about is uh what is casually called smash and grab.

Um, and though that's been a phenomenon that has hit uh it has hit some cannabis dispensaries in some uh markets, but also jewelry stores and um lululemon shops, and so it hasn't been unique to the cannabis land juices, um, but it's a phenomena of crime uh to be concerned about.

And so again, uh already working with the police chief on what uh best practices can be employed in terms of site planning, in terms of security plans, in terms of good communication with because some of those are regional, those are regional issues, communication across across uh municipalities.

Uh oh.

Okay, all the commercial.

So thank you.

Thanks for checking on that.

Um, so with that, we're gonna take a uh five minute break.

Um if you want to make a public comment, please fill out a card.

Um, I since we have a lot of public comments, I am going to decrease talking time to two minutes.

Um we will see you back at uh we'll say seven fifty seven.

Councilmember Acklin.

All right, so I'm going to open it up for public comment.

If you'd like to speak, please fill out a card.

You'll have two minutes.

If you do agree with the person instead of clapping, can you go like this?

So then we can see that you are supportive.

So the first speaker will be Elizabeth O'Donnell.

Hi, thanks.

So I'm Elizabeth O'Donnell, and I'm a retired educator living in Marin.

So first I want to point out that HDL, the agency that prepared the fiscal projections, has a clear conflict of interest because they stand to benefit from the City of Navado hiring them to provide post ordinance compliance and auditing services.

And the City of Alameda, with seventy-nine thousand residents and four retailers, reported just four point three million in annual sales.

So using the actual average of the per capita sales in Berkeley and Alameda, an optimistic estimate of annual sales would only be 2.7 million.

So the revenue projections only tell half the story.

HDL only presented gross revenue calculations and did not account for costs for law enforcement, public safety, administrative oversight, and fees to firms like HDL.

So this said in closing that there is no amount of tax revenue that should be traded for our children's health and the well-being of our communities.

And Marin jurisdictions have all linked hands in an effort to keep cannabis by delivery only.

This proposal puts Novato in a regrettable position as the first city to break this commitment.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Elizabeth.

Um Kelsey Hernandez, and then it'll be Oliver Rivas.

Welcome, Kelsey.

Thank you.

Good evening, Kelsey Fernandez.

I'm the executive director of Marin Healthy Youth Partnerships.

After Prop 64 passed in 2016, your predecessors, including Councilmember Eklund, along with every other jurisdiction in Marin County, made a cautious, thoughtful choice in not allowing recreational cannabis storefront sales.

At the time, much was still unknown.

The data wasn't in, and the unintended consequences had not yet unfolded.

Eight years since the first storefront opened in California, we have a much clearer picture.

And there is not a single data point that doesn't support the decision that was made.

Big tobacco, the same industry with a decades-long record of targeting youth and concealing harms, is now heavily invested in the cannabis industry.

Altria, the company behind Marlowe and that poured money into Joule e-cigarettes that flooded our schools, has since invested 1.8 billion into cannabis.

Studies show that greater retail availability is linked to increased adolescent use, reduced perception of harm, and higher rates of psychosis, anxiety, and depression in youth.

THC potency has skyrocketed, making today's products far more addictive than what existed in 2016.

Cannabis use disorder is now the most common drug use disorder in the United States.

The tax revenue projections made at legalization have not materialized, and many of the promised youth programs have been eliminated as a result.

But prevention is most effective when it includes the social and physical environment in which young people live.

Novato has been a strong link in a countywide commitment to put public health over profits.

Thank you for taking this into consideration.

Thank you, Kelsey.

Oliver Rivas.

Good evening, Council.

My name is Oliver Rivas.

I'm a junior at Novato High School and a leader with Transforming Justice, an organization working on the front lines of youth wellness, keeping students in classrooms and away from the justice system.

That is why I'm here tonight to explain why our previous dispensary would directly impact our work.

The moment a dispensary opens within the local shopping center, the children in our community will be synthesized of the idea of drugs at an earlier age.

It begins to be a more prevalent signal to the young students that cannabis is low risk and normal.

According to the California Healthy Kids Survey of 2023, we are already at a tipping point.

Moran County 11th graders use cannabis at 3.6, the state time average.

That is our community, our reality, and we are seeing it firsthand.

So the focus here isn't just teenagers.

Sooner or later we're gonna have kids younger the age of middle school dealing with this issue.

That's because when something becomes visible, it feels normal, and when those perceived risks drop, the usage will go up.

So let me ask, is that what we want for our beautiful Marin?

Anyways, we need to also be clear about what is actually being sold.

This is not the cannabis of yesterday.

THC levels have risen around from 5% to as high as 90% in today's concentrate.

So this isn't the same drug.

The CDC also confirms that youth cannabis uses directly impairs memory, learning, and decision making, particularly in adolescents whose brains don't defend don't finish developing until the age of 25.

So we're not talking about theoretical risk.

We're talking about students sitting in classrooms right now.

As I'm here today, I know that if I don't advocate for a change now, mine and many future generations will be affected.

So I am asking you today to vote against this dispensary.

Youth transforming justice, we believe in protecting our peers, and we are asking all of you to do the same.

Once you increase exposure to a high potency drug in our community where youth use is already this high, there's no one doing that.

Thank you, Oliver.

Sorry, 10 seconds?

Yep, go fast.

Welcome, Craig.

Thank you.

And I apologize, I don't have a springtime song for you.

Um I never got that when I was on the city council in Sebastopol, but that was pretty sweet, I have to say.

Uh Craig Litwin, I am here to talk to you about the benefits of moving forward on regulation to protect the youth and to protect the environment and to generate tax revenue.

I've seen this firsthand in other communities.

I do public affairs work with Mercy Wellness in Qatati.

And when you have a regulated industry, what you can do is actually test the medicine, test the cannabis products.

It's mandated by state law.

So now the consumers know that they're not going to get anything with uh poisons, toxic residues, heavy metals, pesticides, fungus, molds, mildews, and that's really important for lung health.

That's really important for the consumer to have that sort of regulatory oversight, which is why legalization actually does, you know, it's one of the many things that it can do to help.

Um there are other financial benefits, not just to the city.

Uh also think of the county of Marin, right?

Tax money goes to the county of Marin at sale as well.

Those monies go to public health, they go for fire departments, they go for public roads.

It's not just the the actual tax money that you get as a city uh that would re you'd recuperate uh for your um for your folks.

Uh the environmental benefits, right?

Fewer hours in a car for the consumers.

There are fewer people, there are fewer tires being treaded on the roads, there's fewer road repairs, there's less time spent in traffic, there's you know fewer emissions.

Obviously, we need to do that.

Uh security and safety, when it's regulated, you stop the youth from getting access because if they get access at one of the regulated spots, they lose their license immediately.

The city can cut the license, the state can cut the license.

They have spot inspections by the State Department of Cannabis Control.

You don't get that if it's just being sold on the street.

You're actually creating that regulation that keeps it out of the hands of minors.

So thank you very much for your time.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Uh Josh Lewis.

Good evening, Mayor, members of the city council.

Uh my name is Josh Lewis.

I have the honor of serving as government community relations manager for Imbark.

Uh, we're a family of 17 neighborhood dispensaries across the state of California.

Um, really just here to commend staff on the deliberate approach to a thoughtful community survey.

Um, it's really exciting to see the community have spoken and are in support of moving forward in this process.

Um, just here to say that you know we're happy to be a resource as you all move forward uh and really excited to see this process unfold and hopefully uh have the opportunity to one day serve the Nevado community.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Allie Bayer is that it and then Alexandria Talbot will be next.

Hello, I'm Allie Baer.

I work with school districts to help teach students about the harms of underage cannabis use, and I constantly hear from schools about how their goal of teaching our kids is undercut by students being high in the classroom.

There's actually just a Wall Street Journal article published titled High Schools Are Losing the Struggle to Block Pot Even During Class.

And the subtitle is Legalization Makes Marijuana Culturally Acceptable and Easy to Get.

It was a party in the bathroom.

So enforcement is not working for many schools.

I also work in a residential treatment center here in Marin, treating clients as long as as young as 18 who struggle with cannabis use disorder and cannabis-induced psychosis.

When I hear tonight the annual cannabis retail tax revenue projections, I compare this to what families pay monthly for treatment at the rehab where I work.

For a private room for one month, individuals pay 125,000.

And clients often stay for more than one month.

And on top of this, they've already paid thousands in therapy, legal fees, family counseling before they even end up in rehab.

So any potential tax revenue Nevada might gain doesn't come close to what even just two families can pay for the loved ones' treatment.

If you're not aware of families struggling with this experience, please know they exist and their pain is excruciating.

Given this, there is no amount of money in the world that could justify legalizing cannabis storefronts in Novato.

I sincerely ask that you please continue to stand alongside all of the other city councils in Marin who've deliberately prevented cannabis storefronts in their community.

Thank you.

Thank you, Alexandria Talbot.

And then Michelle Leopold will be next.

Hello, my name is Alexandra, and I'm a resident of Novato.

I'm here today to share my perspective on the impact of THE THC access in our community, especially among young people.

Marin County, including Novato, is already dealing with a highly normalized drug culture among youth, and that's something I personally witnessed.

The THC products available today are far more potent than they used to be, which increases the risk of dependency and negatively impacts mental health, especially for young adults.

Access is also easier than many people think.

Fake IDs are common, and it's early access to medical medical cards makes it possible for underage individuals to obtain cannabis.

On top of that, there are older individuals who will sell cannabis to younger people for a profit.

Because of how normalized it is, there's a strong social pressure to participate, even for those who don't want to.

I also want to address the common argument that there are safer ways to use cannabis.

While people may say edibles are a better alternative to smoking, that doesn't eliminate the potential mental mental health risks that THC can have.

THC still has serious uh effects, especially for individuals with ex existing conditions like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, where it may worsen symptoms or trigger episodes.

Expanding dispensaries won't solve these issues.

Cannabis is already easily accessible through existing dispensaries and delivery services.

For example, services like Nice Guys Delivery delivered to Nevado and countless places throughout Marin County, making access even more even more widespread.

Instead of increasing access, I believe we should focus on education, prevention, and supporting young people who may feel pressured or are struggling.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Michelle Leopold Hi, thank you for having me.

Um talk doesn't line up any longer with what I'm handing out because I have all sorts of comments like recreational per cassette and recreational Xanax is like medical marijuana versus recreational marijuana.

It's exactly the same thing.

And I also wanted to mention in your comment fills the demand not currently available.

You talked about who has best practices.

The rest of Marin County has best practices.

They have no storefronts.

Today in the Pacific Sun, they released an editorial called Canundrum, why Marin has no pot shops, but Sonoma does.

It's in the Pacific Sun.

It says Marin chose caution, control, and minimal visibility.

I am here tonight as a mom and a volunteer.

Today I spoke to eighth graders, then seventh graders, then sixth graders at San Jose Middle School about the dangers of cannabis using my son as an example because it led him to experiment with prescription opioids.

It doesn't always cancel out.

It has been proven to be a pathway drug now.

And he did die from one fentanyl.

So I spoke to middle schoolers today about this topic.

Tomorrow morning, I am speaking at San Marin High School about the same topic.

I am not getting paid for my talks.

I am not here to get paid.

I will not get paid no matter what your decision is.

I am here for the health of our youth and the protection of our community.

I use Trevor's story to prevent other parents from having to bury their child.

Thank you, Miss Shell.

I'm sorry.

Thank you.

Brett, I think Goldman Toldman.

Sorry.

Welcome.

Thank you, Council and Mayor.

This is my third time in about a year here.

We have a large coalition.

I actually live in Sarafell.

And I just can't, I really can't believe you guys are doing this.

I assume somebody is on your staff is getting paid to do all this work over here.

I appreciated all your questions to our representative here to my right.

To me, this is a dollar and cents thing.

I do read a lot in the newspaper.

Every uh town is having uh budget problems, but it could backfire on you.

As we heard earlier, it's 250,000 for two children to get therapy for one month.

I don't know.

Do you want to be the Amsterdam Marin County?

Novato is a quaint town.

I have a lot of friends that live here.

Old my friend, you you know who he is.

He says he moved here because like Mayberry RFT in Novato.

Okay.

I don't know why you want to do this.

Do you want to um basically have a lawsuit from a San Marin child or Samaran High School, Novato High School that's collecting 14 vapes a day, which is not a lot, and they trace them back to your Novato cannabis dispensary.

If they find these vapes that were uh purchased at your sponsored uh dispensary, there's gonna be a problem there.

Um, I did a lot of work in Sarafell.

We had an illegal cannabis dispensary.

I'm very good friends with the California Cannabis Public Relations Director, David Hafner.

They confiscated 147,000 of illegal stuff.

What I'm trying to tell you is they could launder illegal products into a illegal dispensary.

Money laundering is very common.

Also the smash and grab that somebody talked about earlier.

It attracts crime.

So that's that's money that you will not have if you do this.

Um again, the police force is busy.

In San Rafael, I called the chief, the sergeant, the lieutenants, they didn't want to have anything to do with the illegal dispensary.

It was at Fourth and Lincoln.

I would highly recommend that you Google it.

Just Google illegal dispensary in San Rafael.

Thank you, Brent.

And um I really hope you guys forget this idea.

Thank you.

Uh Christine Miller.

Good evening, Council, and thank you for hearing this uh topic tonight.

I want to tell you a little bit about me.

Um my dad was transferred here, landed at Hamilton Field in 1965.

I am a San Marin High School alumnus.

Returned to this area in 22, glad to be back to Novato.

While I was living in Sonoma County, I became a customer of Mercy Wellness.

And I've been a customer of theirs for almost a decade.

What I can tell you about their operation.

They are completely professional.

This is not a frat house mentality.

You have to register to get in, show that ID each time you enter, and if you don't have it, you can't pick up your order, you can't enter the facility.

It's that simple.

No child is buying pot at a store front facility.

It just doesn't happen.

Mercy Wellness is one of the most responsible facilities I've been in, and I highly recommend them to Novato.

What I think that they can benefit Novato is by drawing people that would not come, increasing retail sales throughout the city, and the tax revenue that you would acquire from the cannabis sales.

Now, in conclusion, I have watched Novato from near and far, their travails, their all the positives, all the negatives.

And I believe Mercy Wellness would be a safe and secure business to operate Novato.

I believe it would generate retail sales and tax dollars for the city's coffers, and I urge the city to step into the 21st century by approving Mercy's Wellness application and open a cannabis store in Novato.

Thank you, Christine.

Thank you.

Uh Brandon Levine.

Welcome, Brandon.

Good evening, Mayor and Council, members of the community.

I am Brandon Levine, the CEO and founder of Mercy Wellness.

I've been operating under the legal framework in 2000 since 2010.

So I do have a lot of experience working with our city and multiple other jurisdictions as we go through this process.

I'm excited to see this back in front of you guys.

I was here with part of it in 2018.

So I think now is definitely the time to bring this back up, given there's been extensive work done in uh many other jurisdictions where we have kind of proven some of these stigmas wrong.

Um yeah, we have not had one break-in in our facility.

Uh we have had no police calls for anything other than the neighbors' businesses having disputes.

Um there's there's a lot of things that with time we've been able to curb the um stigma from the city's perspective.

When we started in Qatati, we were only 1,250 square feet.

They required us to be very small.

That was for a reason because the city wasn't sure about what they were going to see when we we were moved in.

They didn't have any idea, and we were able to prove a lot of that wrong.

Where there are no children coming in there.

We have an extensive check-in process.

We use a ID reader that reads every single ID worldwide.

That's kept up to date daily.

Um I was a big part of a lot of education programs, one of them being with this uh CHP.

If you see the drive high equals DUI up on the billboards on the freeway, that was us.

I worked directly with leadership in the highway patrol program to help create that and work with them to ed.

I actually educated the highway patrol on what legal cannabis is.

They educated our team and everybody that works with us about driving high equals DUI.

Thank you, Brandon.

I have a question for the speaker.

Is that okay?

Uh we typically do that, allow that, but it's up to the mayor.

Sure, go.

Um what if we decided to do this in the steps process of only allowing medical facilities for sale of uh marijuana?

Um I think that's what some cities do.

They start with medical um sales.

Um would you be interested in coming to Navato if if that was true?

Personally, I wouldn't take anything that um the city would allow because we're currently serving thousands of customers coming from Novato and Marin County been driving up to us for 16 years.

So anything that can benefit the community, I'm all for.

I do think that you you would be restricting a lot of your uh community's access by doing that.

So I'm not would never be opposed to that.

Okay, thank you.

Uh John Wright.

Uh good evening.

Um my name's John Wright.

I'm I've been a resident of Novato for nearly five years now.

My wife and I previously lived in San Anselmo where I was on the town council.

During my time on the council, we voted against allowing non-medical cannabis storefront sales, as has every other Marin jurisdiction.

I'm also a board member of Moran Healthy Youth Partnerships, an organization devoted to reduction of youth drug and alcohol use throughout the county.

I'm here tonight to urge you not to allow Novato to become the first city in Marin to put a permit non-medical cannabis sales in storefronts.

Yes, using cannabis is legal under state law.

Adults already have plenty of access to it in Novato through delivery services or traveling to neighboring towns.

So why not allow retail sales here?

My reason is a simple one.

By allowing this, the council sends a message, particularly to youth that using cannabis is normal, so access should be easy.

In fact, cannabis is a powerful and easily abused drug.

Rather than be seduced by speculative claims of increased tax revenues, you should be concerned about the public health impacts of easy retail access.

And you should not be swayed by the results of your online survey that has no statistical validity.

Neither my wife nor I ever directly receive that survey as Novado residents.

I also have a deep personal interest in this topic.

My youngest son is a drug addict after getting caught up in the epidemic of opiate overprescription and abuse over the last decade.

Ironically, he stayed away from cannabis as a teenager because it made him too anxious.

In fact, recent science shows that cannabis use can seriously and permanently impact adolescent brains and create psychotic reactions.

Please don't add to the already high levels of substance abuse problems in our community and the risk of youth access by making it easier to buy cannabis.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Melissa Wolstrom.

Is it okay to I wait till you have a great question?

All right.

Good evening.

My name is Melissa Walstrom.

I'm a lifelong Marine County resident who grew up right here in Novato.

I attended Novato public schools.

I dug out my good old uh school jersey.

And I still refer to this community as home.

I also work for Marin Health and Youth Partnerships.

I'd like to direct your attention to the two charts that you're seeing are being handed out to right now.

And the first one, it's the trends and prevalence of current past 30-day cannabis use amongst 11th graders.

Marin County's rate of past 30-day cannabis use is 3.6 times higher than the California state statewide rate, 22% versus 6%.

And while Marin County, the statewide trends showed meaningful declines after 2019, Marin County's rates still remain stubbornly elevated.

And most alarmingly, the Novato Union High School District reversed its downward trend between 2022 and 2023.

By contrast, if you look at California statewide and San Mateo County, which is our most comparable county, their rates continue to be falling, demonstrating that declining youth cannabis use is achievable, but so far not here in Marin.

On chart number two, we see the trends and prevalence of current past 30-day cannabis vaping among 11th graders.

Again, Marin County's cannabis vaping rate is 3.3 times higher than the statewide rate.

And again, Navado Union high school district's vaping rate has held flat, but still more than double the state average, so signs of improvement.

Proponents of this oh sorry, excuse me, I have two sh have two different versions.

These numbers are alarming on their own, but let me share a further study.

And a 2022 peer-reviewed study in Oregon found that 11th graders attending school within one mile of a cannabis retailer were 45% more likely to use edibles and 43% more likely to dab or smoke cannabis.

And for younger students, we're talking eighth graders, storefront advertising alone nearly doubled vaping prevalence.

A nearby retailer doesn't just increase access, it changes how kids perceive risk.

Thank you, Melissa.

All right, thank you so much.

Sarah Sormson.

Hello, City Council.

Excuse me.

Hello, City Council and staff and members of the community of Novato.

My name is Sarah Sorensen.

And I'd just like to talk about this issue because it's something that is important to me.

You know.

People deal with a lot of trauma in life, and marijuana is one of those things that can really help alleviate that.

The main thing I wanted to say tonight, though, is that we already we already we have alcohol.

We have, I mean, we allow you go into a store, you buy alcohol, but you can't buy marijuana is kind of like because the statistics on marijuana versus alcohol are very like alcohol is very obviously worse for you than marijuana and causes a lot worse outcomes.

Um the other part of that was that you know, we talk a lot about children using it, and the facts on that are just like if if a kid's gonna if a kid wants something, it's like they're gonna find a way to get it, right?

So like you say like the kids are gonna get it from the streets.

Okay, like they already are.

They already are getting marijuana off the streets, and the marijuana on the streets has is laced with fentanyl and other drugs.

Thank you.

So it would be much more safe to have a dispensary in Nevada so that everyone would be smoking weed that is not unsafe, but rather safe.

Thank you.

Don't Carney.

Don Carney, director of the Marin County Youth Court.

I have been working for 21 years with young people in drugs in Marin County.

Number one, I want to clarify there is no fentanyl-laced marijuana that is a myth.

That is a scare tactic.

Um, if I was in the marijuana industry, I'd zero in on Marine County big time because they'll make a fortune here.

Our kids are so addicted to this product because of the stress we put them under that this is a great market for them.

But they do not have our children's well-being in mind.

Every month I hold a training with adults and kids.

And I ask the kids, what's available on your campus?

And are you worried about anybody?

What's available universally on campus, first words out of their mouth is marijuana, nicotine, alcohol, and then the other drugs tail off minimally.

Our kids are addicted, a large percentage of them, to marijuana.

And if I was the marijuana industry, I'd want to garner them as customers for life.

But I think our role as adults is to keep the kids safe.

I don't think our role as adults is to make one industry that's ruining our kids' lives even more wealthy than they are.

I deplore you protect our children.

Don't protect an industry that doesn't care about children.

Thank you.

Um, our last speaker, Kate Roll.

Kate Ruley.

My name is Kate Ruey.

I'm a longtime Nevada resident, raising my three children here in Novato.

Tragically, my son Warren suffered from mental health challenges and died by suicide in 2019.

Since that time, I've made it my life's mission to advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

I'm here today to oppose the cannabis storefronts in Novato.

I'm deeply concerned about the dangers to our children these storefronts pose.

I also did not receive a survey and feel that it did not cover concerns for health impacts that I want to address now.

I want to remind you of the Talbot brothers.

I've spoken about them before.

And they both died by suicide, like my son.

I would like to read an excerpt from that now.

I mourn the loss of my boys every single day.

No parent should have to endure that kind of pain.

And I would never want any other family to experience what we have been through.

As you consider whether to allow a cannabis business to open in your community, I ask you that you weigh not only the potential economic benefits, but also the very real risks to public health, especially for children of Nevada.

I urge you to approach this decision with caution and compassion.

Policies that prioritize safeguards, especially for young people, are essential.

Please consider whether introducing another point of access aligns with the responsibility you have to protect the health and well-being of your community.

Please join us in protecting our children and vote no on the cannabis store fronts.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Well, that concludes public comment.

I'll bring it back to the council for comments or questions.

Councilmember O'Connor.

Thank you.

So tonight you're looking for just feedback in general direction, right?

There's no decision in front of council.

So I just wanted to share some comments and feedback with you so you could fold that in.

I'm mindful of normalizing consumption.

So as you're moving forward, I think location, store exterior design standards, and things like that are going to be very important to consider.

It's not a race, and I think everyone here would agree it's important to do it right.

One piece of feedback I'm ready to provide is in terms of Grant Avenue.

That would be a hard no for me to just so you know that up front.

And then similarly with on-site consumption, I just don't see that being something for Novato.

Um just two other points.

Then you're looking at the number of licenses that you would consider.

Um I think two or three licenses is the right number.

Um perhaps even starting with two and then holding off in a third for a year or two to evaluate what it looks like in Novato.

And then the other point I do do want to touch on is I I I appreciate the gravity of our role.

I do also want to point back to this went on a ballot, and 74% of people in Nevada said that they wanted to see it.

So I'm that's just what the number is.

I I I hear what you're saying as well, but I I just that is the fact.

Anyway, thank you.

Madam Mayor, um, I think before we start giving direction to staff, I think we need to have we're giving comments.

Well, I but giving comments to staff is also providing direction.

But then we're gonna give our comments and they're gonna write those.

But I think we need to have a fundamental discussion.

Should we go forward with um a um uh a marijuana store?

Or should we just stick with the medical provision or the medical um facilities that sell marijuana for only medical use?

I I I'm not sure that the community, even regardless of all the surveys that have been done, because I I'm not exactly sure that they're hitting um uh um a a lot of a lot of the people.

I think it's um uh I'm not sure how these are the these phone calls are being made or these surveys are going through.

But uh but I think that we need to ask the community do you really want to go forward?

And frankly, um you know I'm I'm concerned.

Uh I don't think that we should go forward with storefront medical.

Um, and that's the discussion that that unless it's medical.

So I that's the discussion I think we need to have first.

Is there three votes here for us to go forward with the storefront that will sell marijuana in Nevada?

Regardless of whether it's for medical use or for just regular use.

I I'm not sure.

I'm not sure I'm convinced.

Okay, so I think Mayor O'Connor.

Uh say council member O'Connor, you are on board with it.

I can share my opinion.

I the um I appreciate where you're trying to come from, but the reality of when it was just a prescription-based industry is it it wasn't hard for folks to get a prescription.

That's why honestly, I think a big portion of why the number was so high in the ballot, was because it was already effectively legal.

It just you needed to go and get a fake prescription from someone.

Um I think you either we either do it or we don't.

I I think a lot of the feedback we're hearing tonight is it's the visibility.

That's the access and it's the normalization.

And if it's just prescription or not just prescription, I think that's that's the same either way.

So my personal preference would be that we finish drafting what would it actually look like.

And once we have something firm and concrete, then we ask our community.

But I think right now there's so many unknowns and so many variables, it's kind of hard to ask the question in a meaningful way.

Because you're not giving them something concrete to evaluate.

But see, by conservatives, we have limited staff.

And we're using staff on a topic that I'm not sure that the community really wants us to go forward with.

And rather than spending staff time on this and having them draft something up that we're gonna eventually say no to, possibly, we're wasting staff time.

But we had that vote a year ago here.

You voted yes.

Well, but that's why we're having the discussion again tonight.

Do we want to go forward or not?

I'm not convinced that we do.

I don't want to spend any more staff time on something that we're not going to approve.

And um I am very concerned, uh and you you sort of just say, well, they have the youth get ha access to it anyway.

That's not necessarily true.

I didn't say that.

Well, youth do get access if you have a storefront.

Right.

You just saw a survey that said with the highest use already.

So I mean the correlation clearly isn't just tied to store presence.

Right.

But regardless of what the survey said, we'll have even more useing marijuana if we have a storefront that's not medically focused.

I haven't seen any data that supports that.

Well, and I don't see any data that it doesn't.

So, you know, I I'm really concerned about the direction of the council at this point.

Um and providing direction to staff on something that I'm not sure we want to spend the staff time to do.

Okay.

Do you have an answer to one of the questions?

I have a point of information according to Robert's rules of order.

Uh and medical marijuana dispensary allows 18-year-olds to get medical marijuana legally.

As long as they have a prescription, right?

On their 18th birthday, they call a quack and they say, please, I have a hangnail, please.

Here's my $35, please give me a medical marijuana card.

Fact.

I have two boys that did that on their 18th birthday.

So if you do medical, it will lower the age to 18, who can then sell it to people at their high school.

Well, but the issue before the council is do we want to do medical or anything?

You know, and I you know, so medical doesn't fix it.

I don't I I'm not I I'm not I wouldn't do medical.

Um so you would do it.

So I would do no.

I would vote no.

I don't think we should implement anything with cannabis storefronts.

Um, so that's the same thing.

My concern is this youth exposure and normalizing it, and then also I think there are a lot of unknowns because we will be the first one in Marin.

C NFL doesn't want to do it because they don't want to be the first one.

And and Mayor, I agree with you.

The only reason I was saying medical was because that was a step in the direction of what I thought our council member um was trying to give direction to the staff.

So but uh I agree.

I don't think Novato should even go there, period.

I can we hear from uh Mayor Potum Jacobs because he's been waiting patiently.

Thank you.

Um I am in favor of it.

Um and I'll go down my list maximum of three, I agree with.

Um as far as public benefit fee.

I did a lot of research, a lot of different cities.

Uh most of them are between three and five percent.

Uh San Francisco has a tiered system with two and a half percent under 1.5 million in sales and five percent over one over 1.5 million in sales.

I think 3% is the place to be.

Um I do want to see a map.

Um I also note that I was in Palm Springs and Palm Desert last week, and they have two cannabis shops in Palm Springs right on their main street.

Um they're spotless.

Door was wide open.

There was uh security inside, and um they had uh quite a bit of stuff in there.

So that's my thoughts and feelings.

Thank you.

So then we have a two-two.

Apparently, yeah.

So it staff doesn't spend any more time on this until we I guess have another council.

So, Gary, what would be the the procedure since we have four um council members here and it's a two-two?

Remind me the split on the two-two.

So if two are no, then it's a no.

No to everything.

I'm yeah, so there wouldn't be direction given this evening, then you're correct.

It would be two two, so no direction.

Okay.

So do we need to vote on that then?

Um up to the council.

If you're if it's already clear what the direction is, that can be sufficient.

If one of you think the vote would be helpful, you can do that too.

And so then or or alternatively continue this until you have a fifth council member here.

So then I'll I'll move that we not entertain any marijuana stores in Devado.

Well, the the motion is to do it.

So do we not wouldn't work?

Was it agendized in a way that we could shut it down like that?

There was no motion.

Yeah, it's only a study session and providing direction, so it it wouldn't be a motion for all further, right?

You this is the purpose of this is to provide information and provide direction to staff, but if there isn't a majority uh to provide the direction, it can wait or you can continue the item.

I mean, we could bring this up during our strategic planning session as well when we have a fifth, but um it needs to be um agendaized public meeting so that people know.

So may I suggest we could make a motion to t uh table the item for this evening.

We're gonna be in a study session on Friday.

We can have a broader conversation then with all five members.

I I don't think that that's proper.

I think it needs to be properly noticed so that people know.

And I think it needs to be in a council meeting like this.

The decision should not be in a um in a uh retreat that the council has.

I don't think that's appropriate at all.

No, I'm just saying in terms of providing I'm not disagreeing with you.

I'm saying in terms of providing additional direction, because that's what the strategic issue plan is.

But providing additional direction is making use of staff time.

Okay.

What what is it you would like to do?

But I also think that Sandeep is missing out on hearing all the public comment, the concerns.

Um I mean, I think it does change some perspective here.

You could watch the video.

Um I mean it's available.

Yeah.

Gary, what would your recommendation be in this instance?

Um I think that the council um should continue this until there's a fifth council member to vote on it.

And that could be at your strategic plan because it is something that could be in your strategic plan, or that could be at a future council meeting.

Okay.

I think we got what we just should do is um talk about it during the strategic planning session to see if we need this to be at a future council meeting with the additional um individual.

Um or uh my concern again too is that the purpose of our meeting is not necessarily to talk about this issue.

And this issue will take up a lot of time.

And I think that what we should do is um put this on the next regularly scheduled council meeting where we have five people, and this will be continued to that meeting so that it's a date certain so that the public knows.

Okay.

And that not for them to go for a strategic meeting where we're all sitting around and it's not a formalized thing and it's not televised.

I'll make a motion that this is continued until our next regularly scheduled council meeting.

And I'll second that motion.

Okay.

Councilmember Eklund?

Aye.

Councilmember Carkle is absent.

Councilmember O'Connor.

Aye.

Mayor Pertem Jacobs.

All right.

And Mayor Farak.

Aye.

All right.

So we'll be discussing that in the next meeting.

Um here late.

All right.

So now moving on to item J two, receive a presentation and discuss regular rapid flashing beacons and new crossrock locations.

I'm gonna call on our public works director, Chris, to come up and present.

Good evening, Mayor.

We can't hear you.

Council members.

Thank you.

Uh Chris Benini, your public works director.

I'm excited to be talking with you tonight about crosswalks and rapid flashing beacons across the city.

Just wanted to start off by saying thank you to council for agreeing to move this item forward.

The public works team is excited to showcase what we can do and really showcase what Measure M funding has actually done to enable us to make safety improvements to our roadways and crosswalks across the city.

When considering projects that accomplish the stated goals from Councilmember O'Connor's measure that was discussed on February 10 this year, we have a backlog of approximately over 90 projects.

And so we looked across them and we identified rapid the rectangular rapid flashing beacons as a high impact item.

So tonight wanted to talk about a background of okay, how do we come up with projects, how are they vetted, how do we bring them to the city?

Also talk about the actual devices themselves, and then talk about four separate locations.

So later on in the presentation, we're going to start on the northern side of Navado and work our way for the yellow dots from north to south and then wrap up with the green dot in the end.

So how we prioritize projects in the city.

Projects can originate from many sources.

They can come from residents complaining about a pothole.

It can come from large studies, they can come from council members.

They can uh come from different committees across the city.

The way we wrap them in public works is they go to our transportation engineer.

All projects are vetted, they're studied.

They're looked at from traffic safety, traffic demands, uh, and uh surface growth history to see what is the most important and how we prioritize things.

We also depend on guidance documents.

Uh what we have is anything from the City of Novato General Plan to the countywide uh transportation plan 2050.

And what we really do, we focus a lot on the big plans and we bring them to uh our committee uh focus in public works is the complete uh C SPOC um and it's the complete streets pathways oversight committee, C S P O C.

Um we take those projects and we prioritize them.

So the last time we made a huge endeavor in the city was 2023 when C Spock met and worked with uh members of the public, worked with members of public works to create a an ongoing list of projects that we really look to to prioritize what we're doing.

So of those 91 projects on the 2023 uh bike and ped, uh we've actually made progress since 2023.

So we've completed six rectangular rapid flashing beacon locations, uh and on the list we have five remaining.

Uh we intend and we will complete all five, but for this year's project, we focus, we're gonna focus on Ignacio Boulevard, Nevada Boulevard.

Uh we are not considering and we're recommending San Marin Drive at this point in time because we have information that uh Marin Water is coming forward with a large pipeway project, and that is going to be very disruptive and destructive to the infrastructure on San Marin Drive, so we can't in good conscience recommend doing safety improvements to something that might be ripped out of the road uh uh by the fall of 2027 or 2027-2028 is the construction timeline.

So with that in mind, uh staff would say the strategic move is to schedule those to be part of the Sandarin water project, or uh I'm sorry, the ARC project, or actually uh have it follow shortly afterwards so we have a better completed project following the the pipeline project if it happens.

Uh so dividing the tools, you know, there's two major items that we're talking about tonight.

There's enhanced crosswalks and rapid flashing uh rectangular rapid flashing beacons.

So when we talk about crosswalks, we have everything from basic to enhanced or specialty crosswalks.

Uh and so what we mean by enhanced crosswalks is anything beyond the simple two white bars or two yellow bars across the road.

Uh the picture on the right is a great showcase to say, okay, this isn't just your normal two you know rectangular lines across the road.

We have yield to pedestrian signage.

We have the triangles in the roadway, which is actually a yield ahead striping pattern, which mimics the shape of the sign.

And then you have a middle median, it's a pedestrian refuge island so that folks can get across, wait for traffic to break, get across the other side.

So there's ways to make a typical crosswalk more enhanced, and by utilizing a combination of enhancements, these crosswalks can have a safety benefit upwards of a 40% reduction in pedestrian related crashes.

Then rectangular rapid flashing beacons is another type of enhancement, but it's electronic.

And what it does is it's uh actuated, it's activated when somebody hits a button uh on the side of the crosswalk, and flashing alterated and yellow beacons light up, and it gives drivers an additional safety, something to catch your eyes as they're approaching crosswalks.

It's a great signal, it's a great way to go beyond just a simple enhancement to a crosswalk.

Uh and these are associated with a 40%, 47% reduction in pedestrian-related crashes.

So moving to the first project location, uh, if you remember the map, the first the northern northwesternmost location, uh, Nevada Boulevard at Thorsen Court.

Uh we had recently done enhanced crosswalk location improvements at this site.

However, the intent at the time uh is roughly between three to five years ago.

The intent at the time was to make this an R RFB installation, uh, but due to budget constraints, we could not do it.

Uh so this location is near Samaran High School, San Ramon Elementary School, it's near, it's between right almost snack dabb in the middle between O'Hare Park, O'Hare Park and Mi Walk Park.

It's just a great feature to you know create safety for a very busy road with very you know fast moving traffic.

Uh the picture on the left is towards Samarin High School.

It's looking at the crosswalk from the west.

And you can see there's a slight bend.

So as pedestrians might be gathering on the shoulder, they're not going to be seen from far.

And so having an activated beacon at that point would be a major safety enhancement for for folks crossing Nevada Boulevard.

The second project location, Nevada Boulevard at States Drive.

This is an improvement that is also near Miwok Park, but it's uh it's a school crossing uh serving Sinola Sinaloa Middle School, uh multiple private schools in the area, and what we have this picture is actually looking to the west.

Uh and it's looking at a slight uphill.

So if you picture somebody coming towards the face of the camera, this is a long downhill sloped road that's very open and very wide.

And these conditions support fast driving.

It is something where we don't have stop signs on Navado Blover here.

We don't have you know any signalization other than uh the crosswalk and uh some limited signage there, and so this is an appropriate place for an RRFB device and actually doing uh enhanced crosswalk updates.

So it would be more signage and uh striping improvements at this location.

The third location is on the south side of town, uh Ignacio Boulevard at Fairway Drive.

This is another very busy street.

Uh and this improvement would include uh RRFB installations, but also simply adding a crosswalk.

There's nothing here at this point, and this is a bus stop on both sides of the road, both the north and south sides of the road.

What this picture is depicting, we're facing west on uh Ignacio, uh, and then there's already a median area.

So the intent would be to uh take a crosswalk, reach to the middle median, and then uh have a crosswalk, have that uh pedestrian uh zone in the middle of the road so that they can take a break, wait for traffic, and then cross the rest of the way, but having the RRFB is important, and this would mirror similar installations to the west.

There's two other uh RRFB locations on uh Ignacio that this would actually match.

Uh fourth location.

This is actually an enhanced crosswalk.

What this is, and what you're looking at is a hedge pathway on the left picture.

Uh Novado High School has fields.

Uh these are baseball fields on the south side.

There's a gate access that students are able to get in and out of school.

Uh and there is a collection of cars that parallel park along the street at this location.

And uh it's busy and it's packed, and this picture doesn't really depict it that well because we didn't not do it during school hours.

However, it's a bend in the road.

So when you have a bend in the road and you have cars parallel parking and you have this pathway coming right out to the edge of the street, we have a situation where we have high schoolers popping out into the roadway, in between cars, on a bend, and it's all these different features of this location compound to make it a dangerous location.

Uh and so this has been of the four locations, this has been the the highest service request location.

Folks have reached out to us in public works multiple times about this, and uh is a high priority for us to get this uh safed up.

And so um daylighting is gonna be a very important part of this process.

So daylighting by means of painting the curb line red and having a no parking zone 20 feet on either side of this uh pop-out would prevent the parking from creating the blind spots for pedestrians.

So the fiscal impact uh of this is a $250,000 budget.

Uh our talented finance team has uh you know located set aside the this $250,000 of Measure M funding.

The way we got this number, uh we looked at two different sources for our pricing.

We looked at recent uh R RFB installations across the county, and then we also utilized uh previous uh uh expenditures that we have done on our previous projects, then then um inflated the cost over time to see what it is.

And the numbers matched up pretty pretty closely to each other, roughly 70 to 85,000 per RFP location, and then the crosswalk location is significantly lower.

And with that, Steph is available for questions.

Thank you for the presentation, and I want to thank my colleague for uh bringing this on the agenda.

Um do you have any questions?

Councilmember Eklund.

Yes, um so why uh at uh Ignacio Boulevard and Fairway, why isn't there also a uh beacon light or LED beacons?

Um because frankly, uh well, we just had another fatality on fairway.

And uh that isn't the only one we've had.

We've had, at least since I've been living there.

I think there's like three or four already.

Um over the past thirty years.

I I don't know.

We'd I'd have to go back and look, but I've saved the articles.

Um we have a lot of seniors too that are walking up and down Ignacio Boulevard that are crossing there at Fairway, and that's why the beacons really would be helpful.

Uh so I know it's more expensive, but um is there a way that we can put that into the budget for for this particular crossing?

So I think I might be be able to provide you good news.

Uh if I'm understanding correctly, you're asking whether it's not beacons in the planned.

I we want lights.

Okay.

So the intent is to install lights at that crossing.

So we're okay.

So I didn't see that.

I just saw enhanced crosswalks.

Okay.

And it didn't say um in the staff in the slides anyway, about apologies.

So the intent for Ignacio crossing at Fairway Drive is to have both the new crosswalk and our RFB beacons.

Okay, great.

Thank you.

That was easy.

Councilmember O'Connor.

Um thank you, Mary, and thank you for taking the time to work on this, Chris.

Um when we were out talking about Measure M, this is the kind of project the community was really excited to see, so I'm really thankful that you guys were able to pull it off.

Um I just had uh basically one question about two locations on behalf of Council Member Carkle who couldn't be here this evening.

Um one of the locations he was interested in understanding if there was the opportunity to uh address a crosswalk or enhance a crosswalk is that Elmido, it's at the Alamida del Prado loop heading into Pacheco Valley, but currently on that strip of road, there isn't any crosswalks.

Is that something that would be viable under this project?

That is something that at your direction staff can look into it.

Um the Almedo del Prado at Elmido do Prado.

That is a project that is in the um bike and ped safety plan.

It's one of those ninety-one projects, so it's been identified.

So it's been identified.

It's something we want to address.

And then I think you said Lanham Drive was the other.

Isn't TM doing a project with Alameda del Prado too?

They are.

If I can interject, I'm on Tamboard.

We're looking at a project in that area.

It'll be years off till it gets done.

Are you looking at a project in Pacheca Valley?

No, on uh Alamita del Prado.

Like that.

At the entrance to Pajaco.

Yeah.

Okay.

I'm I was referring to further down.

Oh, the neighborhood.

Where's the okay?

There isn't one.

That's that was the request.

So one of the pieces of feedback, Councilmember Carkell got was as you head into Pacheco Valley, that long stretch of road where the old IJ building is.

There's another company in there now.

But right there is about the only spot that you could have a crosswalk.

As you go further on, there are no crosswalks in the entire stretch of road.

Beyond the field.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Thank you.

And so do you have it's uh it's on the list of 90 plus projects you mentioned.

Does it rise to the level where we could include it in this or would it be premature to include it or I think staff would look for direction as far as which to fund out of these projects?

So we can do a cost estimate for that intersection and the improvements.

Um a full intersection like that, I believe is going to be uh quite a bit more expensive than an $80,000 improvement as it's uh two roads coming together.

Okay.

Would it be better suited for the maybe the pavement the pavement uh pavement project and the set budget that we're gonna be looking at in the next few weeks?

So as far as the uh CIP uh presentation that's going to be happening at the next council meeting.

Uh there are many opportunities where we can address this, but um we will not be bringing Alameda del Prado as uh a candidate road for the this next year's pavement projects.

And then the other location has to do with enhancing an existing crosswalk.

The location he shared was um at State Access Road and Lanham.

Um he expressed some concern of that he's heard from the community about traffic volume in that area.

Are you are you able to speak to that one?

We have received one request that I'm aware of, if not more.

Uh that crosswalk came to existence really nearly when all those uh condos and townhomes were constructed.

Uh so the crosswalk itself uh it was constructed you know between 2022-2024 time frame uh and the update to the C SPOC uh the bike and ped safety plan happened in 2023, so it was not considered.

So it's not part of the 91 projects.

But at this point in time, we would add it to our running list to take to C Spock the next time we update the bike and pedestrian safety plan.

When is that next update?

It's a running list.

So the it's at council's discretion.

If you want us to approach it soon, we can.

What we our approach in the past has been we get a list of projects.

We get it's bike improvements, new bike lanes, sidewalk out closures, crosswalk enhancements.

We check these projects off the list.

We try to whittle it down, and then C Spock, once we hit a certain point in time where we feel as though it's appropriate, we revisit it.

But there's not a set number of years.

Would it be possible to study that intersection before then?

So just get the basic traffic flow data, you know, volume of cars, speed of cars.

Yes.

Because I mean if it's if it's a low priority citywide, then waiting is perfectly fine.

But the schools and stuff there and it and that's a new one stuff.

We just haven't studied it yet, and it rises to the top.

I think that would be good information to have.

Um I think that um this needs to come back to council so that we can um identify other locations that some of us are interested in as well.

Well, that was the purpose of this item.

Well, it not that I understood.

I understood that we were per uh looking at once that the staff was recommending.

Right.

Right.

And so um I was not aware when I read that that there were additional locations that we could um propose.

When when we initially discussed the item, the direction came out of it was if you have other locations you'd like to staff to take a look at to provide them to staff, that's okay.

So then we can still provide to staff directly.

I mean you you can make a motion to that effect.

I'm gonna make a motion to approve this as presented tonight, though.

But I I I think it's important for us to be allowed to uh uh uh identify other locations as well.

I I hear you, but you had that opportunity.

Well, then why can't we have it again?

You certainly can.

Feel free, feel free to bring it forward at another point in time.

We still have the opportunity where we can identify locations.

You can certainly do that, but on this specific item I intend to move it tonight as presented, just so you know.

It's always a running list.

So if you say, hey, this is how I guess we could send like an email to our public restriction.

Or send it to Amy and then she can do it.

Well, I'll do both.

Yeah, I won't.

Um just send it to the Mayor Pertem Jacob.

Thank you.

Thank you for your report.

Um I think it's a wonderful use of Measure M funds.

I commend my colleague for putting this forward.

Uh the two areas in my district are wonderful.

They are really dangerous areas.

People speed through there quite a bit.

Um also I know on Ignacio Boulevard, that is like a racetrack sometimes.

So that would be very helpful there too.

Uh I'm all in favor of this.

Thank you.

And then I had a question.

So Center Road, cars go extremely fast.

There are not a lot of crosswalks, um, especially by Lou Sutton.

Um, I mean it kids everywhere at drop-off time.

Um have you looked into that and why wasn't this considered?

Because I think this that would be a top vulnerable area in Novato just due to the amount of kids and then the speed um of that.

So wholeheartedly agree with you.

And I have good news.

Um so the city does partner with Safe Pathways to School.

Uh the program uh this year has identified Center Road as uh a new project they're gonna do for safety studies.

And what they're doing specifically with that location, Center Road, Lou Sutton, uh they're gonna do an entire corridor study, which is not normal.

This is uh the safe where it's the school program typically focuses on a school and a very small perimeter around the school to make safety recommendations.

So we partnered with them and they've decided uh to do the entirety of uh center road from Nevada Boulevard to Wilson, I believe, is the best end of it.

Um that will be kicking off uh this summer with some VOX around with traffic engineers with our police department and uh the talented members at the TAM staff.

Uh we'll be doing walk audits and it will be followed by a lot of design and planning uh into the fall and winter.

So uh I believe our council member who sits on the cambo TAM board will be getting regular reports on that throughout the rest of the year, and we're excited to be partnering with them on that because it is a high priority for us too.

Yeah, it's a bet that unsafe area.

I think one of the most unsafest in Novato.

Um that was uh my question.

Um I'm gonna open public comment.

Derek Nell.

Good evening again.

I am Derek Nell, and I am speaking to you on behalf of another audified unified school district and the safer out to school representative.

And uh just have to say listening to um what's being said here, it's it's hard to decide what to do when you have 91 intersections.

But so what I would like to convey to you that well, first, thank you very much for designating a significant amount of money to address uh the issues that we have with safe route to schools here in Novato.

So thank you for designating the measure and funding.

And um just in that that's really important.

We we are uh are dealing with intersections that will have the largest amount of impact on a citywide basis, particularly from our perspective on safety and crossing the roads.

Uh the city's just grown to a certain point uh on both sides of Nevada Boulevard, where these areas are dangerous.

And any time you're gonna put a uh get this acronym right, a rectangular rapid flashing beak and crosswalk, you are going to inhibit speeders.

And it's going to help a great deal uh during uh during the times when our kids are moving back and forth.

And the general public in general.

So as much as we all wish we had uh five million dollars to spend on intersection uh repairs, and I hope maybe some some way we're gonna figure figure this out.

Uh these are the intersections that have been on the list for the longest time, and that I think in general, the people who have studied this for uh for a while have come to the conclusion are gonna have the greatest amount of impact right away.

So we really appreciate you came up with the funding and for the work that staff has done in conjunction with the community and making these determinations.

So uh the uh again, the the rapid flash and beaking things are working where they're been installed.

Uh the w we're very happy about Washington and Gardner because uh we all know we anything and everything we can do to remind young drivers.

Uh, you know, the rules of the road is important.

And we also know the the num the level of impact that we've had on that residential community behind the high school.

So we think this is a is a good choice as well.

Um the the safe the the analysis that's going to be done on uh center is going to be terrific.

And the fact that it's going to be part of a much larger analysis along uh that school a loose button is going to be great, so we look forward to to parting with with the transportation authority, uh, Marin as well on that.

Um when it comes to state access road, I heard that uh state access connects to our private street, which is C Street.

Uh we have commissioned a traffic engineering study and are considering closing off C Street at Main Gate Road because we we need help in uh containing the speeders.

Uh state access to C Street to Main Gate Ray Road is some has become some sort of a shortcut uh in our opinion, and so we're it's unsafe, so we just no longer feel like we can allow the public that kind of access.

So uh we're gonna we're thinking of turning that area more or less into a parking lot.

And depending on what the traffic engineers say, um, whether state access can handle the the volume in and out uh is forthcoming, so look forward to that as well.

So uh tonight just wanted to encourage you to support uh staff's recommendation to to uh improve these intersections.

Thank you.

Councilmember O'Connor, would you like to make the motion?

Oh, we finished it.

Sure, thank you.

Um I'd like to make a motion to approve the project scope and locations as presented by staff this evening.

And I'll second the motion.

Along with the beacon lights for the councilmember Eckland?

Aye.

Councilmember Carkle?

Is absent, sorry.

Councilmember O'Connor.

Mayor Pur Tem Jacobs.

And Mayor Frack.

Um, to receive information and provide direction on our fiscal year twenty six twenty-seven operating budget.

Yeah, we'll take a um five minute break.

Oh, we're going to have to get the first thing.

All right, we'll resume the meeting.

Um, so welcome our finance team.

So we have Jennifer and Carla presenting.

Mayor Fratt, Council members, I'm pleased to be here along with Jen Maldonado, our principal analyst to present the operating budget assumptions study session material.

Um this presentation is different than it has been in the last couple of uh fiscal years as we are not presenting the capital improvement program, the CIP draft budget.

That will be at the next council meeting, and as you heard public works director Chris Banini, he he uh mentioned that he will be presenting that item.

Um in the past they have been presented together, but splitting them up allows for more focus on each area.

Uh the first bullet, economic uncertainty, rising costs, and growing service demands.

First, the economic environment we're navigating is challenging.

We continue to see economic uncertainty, market volatility, and cost pressures that touch many lines in our budget.

Utility rates and insurance premiums continue to rise, and at the same time, service demands grow.

Residents expect reliable public safety, street and facility maintenance, safe parks, and responsive community programs.

We must plan with realistic assumptions to ensure financial stability and continue to provide quality service.

The headline here is pressures are real and persistent, and they require discipline choices and then flexibility because there are a lot of unknowns in the economy.

Community input guides our priorities, our second bullet.

Second, council priorities continue to be shaped by what we hear from the community through surveys, workshops, and ongoing dialogue.

Staff uses this input to align resources with the programs and outcomes residents value most.

That includes protecting core services, maintaining public assets, and pacing new initiatives in a way that supports long-term sustainability based on council's direction.

This also helps frame the trade-offs.

When resources are limited, we focus on areas residents identify as having the greatest impact.

We heard this clearly in the recent survey, including comments acknowledging that there are tough choices when there are limited amount of resources.

Tonight's focus, the third bullet point, is the general fund forecast assumptions and strategic alignment.

Tonight's presentation is designed to support council's budget direction.

We'll start with the general fund forecast tree to create a shared understanding of projected revenues, expenditures, and any potential gaps.

We'll walk through the operating budget assumptions, labor and benefit trends, contracted services, inflation factors, and expectations for major revenue sources, such as property tax, sales tax, transient occupancy tax, fees and permits.

We'll also note any one-time resources or one-time expenditure asks.

Finally, we'll identify areas where council policy direction is the most helpful as staff develops the proposed budget.

Tonight is less about the numbers themselves and more about how they connect to service delivery and community priorities.

And then finally, our shared goal is ultimately our goal remains consistent with council's long-standing direction, maintain fiscal responsibility while supporting core services and community priorities.

For us, responsible means maintaining prudent reserves, avoiding structural deficits, both of which Measure M has been instrumental in helping us do, and ensuring ongoing needs are supported by ongoing revenues, a balanced budget.

It also means a measured sustainable approach, phasing work where appropriate, right sizing programs, leveraging partnerships, and using one-time funds for one-time purposes.

This keeps Novato on stable footing even when the economic climate is uncertain.

The guiding principle is balancing today's needs with tomorrow's stability.

And certainly, if council wants to direct any other guiding principles, staff would be happy to take that direction.

With that context and council's priorities in mind, we'll turn to the community input and highlights and then walk through the general fund forecast.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members.

I'll be walking you through our community outreach efforts for the upcoming budget year, fiscal year 26-27, followed by a review of assumptions for the operating budget.

To start, this slide is an overview of the city's digital community outreach throughout Navado.

We use a wide wide range of communication tools so that residents can stay informed in whatever way works best for them.

Email outreach is one of our strongest channels with over 13,000 news release subscribers, as well as our newsletter with over 21,000 subscribers.

What we've gathered from recent surveys is shown on the next two slides.

The survey was open for a period of two weeks from March 9th to March 23rd and gave the city an opportunity to gather resident input.

What we learned is that Nevada residents have kept their top three priorities consistent year over year, being public safety and emergency response services, street and median maintenance, and business retention and attraction.

Additionally, we created an open forum question to gather additional information for themes that we may have missed.

And we created a word cloud to visualize any themes that may have emerged.

The open comment section remained consistent with the structured survey section, which helped reassure staff that we understand the community priorities.

The next slide shows all of staff's in-person outreach for budget development.

So in addition to the community surveys, staff has hosted an in-person budget workshop that was held on March 27th.

In addition, we met the residents where they are by holding two budget pop-up events.

The first one on April 2nd, and the set the second one was on April 4th.

And then, of course, we meet monthly here at Council and with the Finance Advisory Commission where we receive resident input through public comment.

And now I'll hand the presentation back over to Carla to go through the general fund forecast.

As you may recall, the general fund forecast was created last fiscal year by our consultant Andy Heath.

I worked with him earlier this fiscal year to update the forecast, and now I have it refreshed for mid year as well.

And mid-year was presented at the end of March to council.

We will work on getting an updated again as the numbers come together for the fiscal year 26-27 budget.

And the forecast includes a new slide for measure a forecast of Measure M.

And as Measure M is part of the general fund budget, all the areas we are discussing, of course, include Measure M.

Several major factors shape our fiscal position, broader economic conditions at the global, national, and regional levels, rising costs across utility labor, and a multitude of services, deferred maintenance needs, service demands from the community.

These are the same challenges being faced by all the cities in the budget development process now.

These pressures require careful planning and disciplined financial management, but also flexibility as there are unknowns in the economy that we need to keep in mind.

So this is the general fund forecast.

To start, I want to explain some of the basic forecast assumptions.

First, we revised this twice during the budget cycle, prior to mid-year, and then after mid-year.

There are very modest increases for revenues, flat to at or zero to two and a half percent, depending on the revenue stream.

As an example, sales tax is staying flat.

Um of the other revenues are increasing modestly in the out years.

Cost inflation factors are zero to two and a half percent, depending on the type of expense, except for staff time or labor, as that is based on the MOUs that we have in place.

But it should be noted that there are no increases in salaries after 2028, as that is when the current MOUs expire.

In this forecast, the the blue bars represent um projected general fund revenues, and the orange bars present projected expenditure.

The red line tracks the annual surplus or deficit over time.

In the years 21 through 22, and then 24 in fiscal year 22 through fiscal year 25, we see significant deficits ranging from about 1.2 million to 2.5 million.

These deficits reflect rising costs, deferred maintenance, and service demands that outpaced our revenue growth.

Beginning in 25-26, after Measure M takes effect, revenues and expenditures come into alignment.

The chart shows a balanced budget, which is why the red line is flat across those bars.

That's a zero surplus or deficit, and that is how we have the budget projected based on our forecast right now through 25-26 through 2930.

The balanced outlook demonstrates the stabilizing effect of Measure M.

Without it, we would continue to see structural deficits that would require service reductions or cuts.

The key takeaway here is that Measure M allows the city to maintain core services, address rising costs, and avoid further depletion of reserves by bringing the general fund back into balance.

And to demonstrate this, here's the general fund forecast if there weren't any Measure M, although this does include the salary increases through 2028 and our restored service level.

This slide shows what the city's general fund outlook looks like without Measure M and without a suppressed service level, and as I mentioned, the increased salaries.

Again, the blue bars represent the general fund revenues, orange are the expenditures, and the red line shows our annual surplus or deficit.

The line would drop pretty quickly into deficits and then grow to a negative $9 million, which is a pretty significant deficit.

The reason is that the expenditures would continue to rise with inflation and service demands, but without Measure M revenue, our general fund just could not keep pace as expenditures would continue to exceed revenues.

Deficits of this nature, of course, would require severe service reductions, staffing cuts, or identification of new revenues to balance the budget, but thanks to Measure M.

This is not where we are.

This is a new chart that we added to the financial forecast.

This slide shows how much funding Measure M is projected to provide over the next several years.

The blue box in the center lists the estimated annual available Measure M amounts after Measure M is used to fund operating needs.

This is the amount that can be used to fund capital projects, deferred maintenance, and other needs.

You will see in a slide that Jen presents the current staff recommended allocation of Measure M, but it is based on this forecast and the amount that is available.

What the colors on the bar chart represent are hatch green, is this a systemic deficit and added back staff resources, the striped vertical and striped horizontal, as well as the dots.

I did not pick these colors, they're not my colors.

I like as I'm going through this, I'm like, that's a lot.

The salary adjustments.

Up to the dotted portion are the salary adjustments based on the MOUs, and you can see the compounding effect of salaries.

So like the striped ones are the ones that like the salary increase that just came into effect, and then the next year and each year, the compounding effect.

So again, these are the increases from the most recently negotiated MOUs.

29 and 30 remain flat as there are no increases for salary built in.

The available amounts range from 2.1 million dollars in 24-25 to 1.3 million dollars by the end of the forecast period of 2930.

The yellow portion at the top of each bar represents the portion of Measure M that is available for other purposes, once baseline personnel cost and schedule salary and benefit adjustments are covered once the backfill to the operating is covered.

So beginning in 24-25, Measure M revenues were about $2.3 million, and that amount increases to $9.9 million in 2526.

That was our mid-year adjustment.

And even with these funds, you can see from the stack bars that most of Measure M revenue is needed to maintain a current staffing and service levels.

The remaining Measure M funds, again, the yellow segment represent what is left over.

And over time, the yellow portion stays relatively small, which shows that while Measure M is essential for keeping the budget balanced, it does leave limited funding for other needs.

Now Jen is going to walk through the operating budget assumption.

Thank you, Carla.

Now that city manager budget reviews with each department have concluded, staff has put together operating budget assumptions for fiscal year 27, which will help guide staff to the first budget proposal in May with direction from city council.

As Carla mentioned earlier, this budget cycle balances inflationary expense pressures with flat sales tax projections.

With the information we will present tonight and the direction that we'll receive from council, staff will be positioned to present the first draft of the operating budget at the May City Council meeting.

And with that, I'll begin a review of the general fund position over the last few years.

This slide shows a history of the city's budget position over the last five years with fiscal year 26 being the first time the city was able to balance its budget in many years, thanks to Measure M.

Based on the city's five-year forecast, the city is projected to balance its budget for fiscal year 27.

So now let's take a look at the proposed budget assumptions that'll help shape next year's operating budget.

Beginning with revenue, there are projected increases in property tax at 2.5%, TOT or hotel tax at 2%, and charges for services as departments anticipate increased activity.

Meanwhile, sales tax is projected to remain flat from the 2025-26 amended budget figures.

Property tax may be further refined as a city typically receives one more estimate from the county this month in April, and that'll be taken into account when finalizing the assumption.

Now let's move on to expense.

This slide shows an overview of ongoing expense assumptions that will be incorporated into the draft budget.

Utilities are shown on the left and have moderate increases between three to six percent, while certain departmental costs shown on the right have some moderate to substantial increases.

In addition to these to the increases identified on the slide, we've seen cost increases in our current IT contracts as well.

We're currently working with the IT department to determine if multi-year contracts could help lower costs and lock in some savings.

So once that analysis is done, this will be completed and presented as a recommendation.

So this slide as a whole outlines key ongoing expenditure assumptions, highlighting the inflationary pressures that the city is facing while balancing limited to flat growth across major revenue sources.

And aside from these ongoing expenses, there's some one-time proposed expenses for next fiscal year shown on the next slide.

So starting with the facilities assessment, a full facilities assessment with a set aside of 150,000 is being presented as an option.

This cost may change as contractual proposals get developed.

For background, the last facilities assessment that was developed was in 2013, and this full facilities assessment would create a comprehensive outline to better understand deferred maintenance needs for the city and give us a path forward.

Next, there are election related costs at approximately 75,000, which are proposed to be incorporated into the city clerk's budget.

And finally, there's a one-time cost in public works expense for a fire alarm panel replacement, which is beyond its useful life.

The next slide shows other expense categories that staff is looking to city council for strategic direction on.

Moving on to personnel expense.

Other personnel assumptions include an 8% increase in health, an 11.1% increase in our pension unfunded accrued liability, and a $650,000 vacancy salary savings assumption.

Additionally, we will be budgeting to incorporate this incorporate the savings of approximately $223,000 for prepaying or unfunded accrued CalPers liability up front in July rather than making monthly payments.

This slide shows how, thanks to the support of Measure M, the city's been able to stabilize its workforce.

At this time, there are no proposed positions for the next fiscal year, but this may change as we get further along in the budget process.

Now let's take a look at Measure M, beginning with a quick history on its use to date.

After years of depleting reserves to balance the budget, Measure M has allowed the city to pass its first balanced budget in many years in fiscal year 2025-26.

Additionally, Measure M has allowed the city to replenish reserves above policy levels.

Support it supported capital projects and increased efforts to maintain streets and roads along with weed abatement, aligning resources with community priorities.

And Measure M has made efforts to retain staff in order to continue delivering services to the community.

And now moving forward to next year, Measure M is position to support operations with a proposal on the following slide.

This $10 million proposal includes $150,000 for an investment in technology, which is being recommended as an ERP set aside.

$150,000 for reserves, specifically in the insurance reserve, in order to bring the reserve up to $3 million, which is taking into consideration current claims and process.

Next is our pension reserve.

We are recommending $220,000 being put into the pension reserve to address the city's financial liability.

And then $200,000 in economic development support with $100,000 dedicated to the tenant improvement grant program for local businesses, which is already in the current budget, and then $100,000 to implement the economic development strategic plan.

Then we have $1.35 million for streets and roads, 1.25 million specifically for capital improvement projects, and then $100,000 in maintenance efforts in public works split between parks and streets.

The operating costs also include the systemic deficit at $3.98 million and then $3.95 million to maintain additional resources approved in the last fiscal year.

And now I will hand the presentation back to Carla for some closing remarks.

Before we move into next steps and questions, I just want to tie this back to the key message we established at the beginning.

We are operating in a challenging fiscal environment.

Community priorities remain at the center, and our goal is sustainable, responsible budgeting.

This slide is really about what that looks like going forward, being good stewards of public funds.

Novado's long-term outlook requires continued discipline as we manage rising costs and service demands.

This echoes the earlier message, the pressures we're facing, rising costs, higher expectations for services, and economic uncertainty.

They don't go away after tonight.

And in the past, council has been clear that we need to stay disciplined as we navigate rising costs and service expectations, and staff will continue refining assumptions and pacing work in a way that aligns with council direction.

Community priorities remain central.

This is the through line from the opening slide.

Council has consistently grounded decisions and community priorities.

Measure M provides essential stability.

Council has highlighted the importance of Measure M in maintaining reliable services.

The chart that Jen showed of the actions taken to date reflects that.

It remains a key stabilizing tool in supporting services and long-term planning.

And then with council direction, staff will refine assumptions and prepare the proposed fiscal year 26-27 budget based on direction you provide tonight.

Staff will refine assumptions, continue development of the proposed budget that reflects any priorities discussed, and maintain our service stability.

And at the budget workshop, we will be bringing back the numbers.

So you'll see the bottom line.

And then the budget workshop in May.

And then in closing, this all comes back to the core message we started with responsible fiscal planning, grounded community priorities.

So Novado can remain strong and provide reliable services.

And with that, we're happy to answer questions.

Thank you for the presentation.

Do my colleagues have questions?

Councilmember Eklund.

Slide number 23.

Good go back to that.

So I'm assuming this slide is assuming that the current expenditures stay the same.

Correct?

That's correct.

We're maintaining base level services and well, this doesn't give us much room to provide some direction, actually.

One of the things that I think that the city has been not attuned to in the past, and I think that the current administration is aware of it, is that we're not maintaining our existing buildings.

And there I don't see anything in here about that.

And for example, um, we own a lot of buildings out of Hamilton that needs some work, and we haven't been able to do it.

And so and I'm sure that this building's gonna need some work and others, Margaret Todd and others.

And I don't see that in here at all.

So help me to understand where those funds are going to come from for us to work on those historic buildings that we have at Hamilton and our other buildings.

Absolutely.

So I'm hearing that you're wanting to have a path forward to address some of our maintenance needs, and we do have a full facilities assessment proposed in the budget starting with 150,000, so we can have a full fleshed out plan.

I saw that.

Okay.

So that's right.

But we had a facilities plan done several years ago.

City uh manager Cunningham would like to talk.

So that uh facility needs assessment that was from 2013, um, which was quite some time ago.

We have made progress in some areas, and in some areas we uh, because of the deferred maintenance in the city's financial position over the course of time, um, the needs are much greater than our stated in that 2013 study.

So we are at a place in time over 10 plus years later where we need to redo that so that we understand what the needs are because as you pointed out, we do have very limited resources still, even with Measure M.

Um, so we need to be really thoughtful about how we tackle all of those projects.

Right, and I totally support that.

Um, and that 2013 um report that we did was long overdue, um, but it was good at the time, and I think it provides a good baseline, but there's a lot of buildings that we didn't have in 2013 that we do have now.

But my concern is is that when we do that analysis, which is great, I supported 150%, but there isn't any room in slide number 23 for us to start immediately putting in some investment into maintaining the buildings.

So your CIP presentation will be at the next meeting, and we will talk about what we do have funding available for and what we've identified as our key priorities there in two weeks at that next council meeting.

One of the big things that we're looking at is we have several HVAC projects, um uh several HVAC systems, air conditioning systems, or air systems that need to be replaced.

One of the biggest ones is in our police department at our police station, and that one is going to be uh probably about three million dollars.

So again, we need to be really thoughtful about kind of the long-term planning because we don't have money to do everything all in one year.

Right.

So, but um again, I I guess my concern is that if we're in this slide number 23, identifying how the 10 million of proposed measure M allocation is going to be used.

We're we're not gonna you know, I I just before we can agree to this part of it.

I think we need to see the whole pie.

Yep.

Um so that'll come back to you.

Oh, okay.

Okay, I just yeah, I just it concerned me because it didn't reflect some of the other needs that I thought that we had.

Um so that's good.

So, but what about some of the streets too that need um work?

Um, I guess that's going to be discussed at the next meeting as well.

Yeah, um, one of the allocations that staff has recommended is an amount to streets and roads.

Um but as um Chris mentioned, the finance staff has worked with public works and the other restricted funding um sources to um you know develop uh recommended uh capital improvement um program that does include funding for streets, roads and facilities.

Right.

And then also too, are we going to be able to uh look at the staffing levels as well?

Um because that we may want to make some adjustments between the different departments, not necessarily increasing um the staffing, but uh possibly shifting it depending on the on the direction that we're gonna be going this next year.

Those are all things that we'll be um reviewing with you.

Our recommendations we'll be reviewing with you in May at the um next budget study session.

Okay, great.

Well, um I have other questions, but I'll go through them first while you get other council members.

Councilmember O'Connor.

Thank you, Marin.

Thank you both for the presentation.

Um and thank goodness for measure M.

That was terrifying.

Um my first question had to do with the reserve funding.

Are any of our reserves currently overfunded?

I would say that they're over the policy limit, yes.

Okay, and the reason I ask would it be possible to maybe reallocate the 148,000 that we're moving from M to the insurance reserve and maybe backfill out 148 with one of the overfunded other reserves?

Sure.

I I think the emergency reserve could shift 148,000 to the insurance reserve.

Thanks.

And I would say before we make final decisions, we'd really want to see what your strategic plan strategic plan looks like.

Just in case.

Yes, that is the one thing I didn't mention that wasn't included.

So no problem.

Um the question around economic development.

So it's obviously a key element in ensuring our financial position continues to improve, particularly if we want to grow Measure M, which I think we all do.

Um when we authorized an increased investment in this area, I think it was about this time last year.

Um one of the things we we expressed an interest in was the development of tangible objective economic development goals and metrics.

And I was just wondering, are those in development or is that some data that we should expect to see at some point in the near future?

Yeah, thank you for that question.

I know in the past um there have been questions among council and the community about how effective our economic development strategies have been.

Um the good news is is we have an amazing staff person.

I think all of you have um seen the public comments from the community, from the business community, from the chamber from the DMBA about how happy they are to have a dedicated economic development manager.

Um and with that, uh she is spearheading the economic development strategic plan.

And within that plan, there will be some data and other um kinds of initiatives that we can kind of track the progress that we're making in terms of economic development strategies.

Thanks.

That would be really helpful.

Um an anecdotally from the the different business groups and owners I've spoken to, it's been universally positive feedback.

So it'd be really exciting to see the correlation between the activity and the results.

And then my last question suggestions.

Actually, this is more of a question for council.

Um speaking to different business groups and residents, one of the things that comes up quite frequently is the vacancy rates in in areas around downtown, right?

And not just downtown across the city, so empty storefronts.

Um one of the ideas that was shared with me, I think was actually the DNBA meeting, so thank you, DNBA, was expanding the the business improvement grant that we have to cover initial tenant improvements.

So one of the biggest barriers for businesses to move in to and into storefronts in Nevada is the actual initial cost of just opening up your store or your business or whatever it is.

And so one of the suggestions they they made, and I think this is a really great idea is expanding the uses beyond the current just improvement to also expand it to initial tenant improvements to help businesses reduce the barrier to that initial entry and help businesses open up in Nevada.

I was just curious to see if council was supportive of that.

I think that's a great idea.

Because I know that when a business moves in, it's expensive to do tenant improvements.

And I think that's a great idea.

And I I even go for upping the amount to provide more money for that separate from the storefronts.

I'd be in support.

Um I think it needs to be citywide.

I think we've traditionally really focused downtown and um I I'd like it to be more holistically.

Um but I think yeah, I think that's a good idea.

I think up for costs are um it's hard for new businesses.

I think it's a good idea, and um but I'm not interested in expanding the amount of money that's going to it though, because I think we have a lot of other needs that are not getting any attention right now, for an example, our facilities.

For an example, our facilities.

We really need to start working on them.

ASAP, in my opinion.

And I agree with the mayor's that maybe even looking outside of just the downtown area.

Because there are other shopping centers and there's other storefronts that could possibly use that in order for someone to move in.

I agree.

I think the the idea was for it to be citywide.

I just didn't express that properly.

And keeping it at the current level is completely fine.

I think we could see what success looks like if it makes a difference and then next year in the budget cycle if it's been we can just revisit it if we need to.

Thank you.

I think to keeping track of if it is successful.

Are these programs being successful?

And if they are, let's invest more in them, right?

Exactly.

Thank you.

Those are all my questions.

Yeah, um, I had a question.

I don't know if this is to the council or more for staff.

So I know there's a lot of opportunities in you know obtaining grants and stuff like that, as well as leveraging technology and utilizing AI.

Um does this budget encompass like leveraging um you know grant?

So like Grant Watch is a program that is a subscription model where you can go and search for grants.

Um AI, I think a lot of jurisdictions are starting to use it, they're finding it effective.

Um is that in this budget?

So I would say that you've actually already added those resources into the budget for the current fiscal year.

Um with the staff augmentation, we have been successful in hiring most of the positions as you saw earlier tonight with the vacancy report.

Um we have another new staff person coming on uh in another week or so, which means that more people are shifting back to focus on their core duties.

Um and so we do have a number of analysts throughout the organization who have been able to focus more specifically on grants for their different programmatic areas.

Uh with that said, I would say that there are some areas where we definitely want to have grant experts, um, particularly in complex like public works projects or things like that where they have expertise to go and look for funding for uh big projects or things that are really technical or complex or something like that.

So what platform do they use today to search for grants?

There's several different platforms actually that they use, and there are a lot of them that um are free, um and some of them are combined with the county right now, the county or um more I would say more regionally that all the cities are accessing through the um it's not MCCMC through MMA and some other um regional organizations that we all have access to all of these different kinds of grant opportunities.

Okay.

So that's providing the correct amount of data.

Yeah, I there's definitely work to do, but we're we're improving.

I mean, they're not expensive, that like the most expensive one just if we did a subscription based is 2200, and if we get like a grant for five grand, it was worth it.

Um so I think that's something that I would like to see more of, or at least, and then also how are we leveraging AI and becoming more um efficient and what platforms are we using and in grading it in our work to perform better and yeah, do more with I guess, or do more with less time or more time we are we have been doing some uh AI related training and um staff are definitely using it a lot more, um, whether it's to um help us write things more clearly or be more succinct in our presentations or to write reports or to um analyze a perhaps like a large amount of community input um to give us a good start.

But we're while we are using AI more and more, we're also making sure that we have the human eyes on it that it's you know reflective of what our communities um goals, desires, and values are.

Okay, thank you.

I would also say technology efficiencies are something that um you have already approved in the current budget.

And as an example, I'll give you the finance example.

While we haven't moved towards a new ERP, we do have another system that uh houses our leases or software contracts or cash management tool now and will help us centralize contracts, and that system actually does have some AI in it, so when you scan in a contract, it like can read it now.

So when you scan in a contract, it like can read it now.

Where before we were inputting all of that data.

So we are looking at those tools to you know make our work uh more efficient.

Fantastic.

Um no other questions.

Oh, I do have other questions.

I think you're my hand is you didn't no, I did.

Oh okay.

It was Councilman Brackler.

Thank you.

Um page 13.

Um salary, are you assuming um any turnover at all?

Because I would assume that if we have turnover, then somebody comes at the uh lower step.

We budget at mid-range, so that's how we need for that.

We brought we budget personnel at mid-range, is that what you're at mid-range?

No, I'm asking whether you account or turnover.

The vacancy rate.

So yes, we have a six hundred and fifty thousand dollar vacancy assumption uh incorporated into the budget, and that is in line with our current vacancy assumption.

Right.

But then does um your salary numbers then go down because of the fact that they're theoretically at a lower level to work back up again.

Yes, it does lower the cost of personality.

Great.

Then on page um 19.

Uh you talk about uh the safe program.

Can you help me understand what that is again?

The SAFE program?

Help me understand what that is again, remind me.

That's the um organization that does the um uh mobile response when somebody calls.

Um, like you know, um if there's an unhoused person, somebody having a mental crisis, um, you know, that sort of thing.

Um the acronym does not come to me at the top of my head.

So this is primarily used for homeless people?

Um that is one of the uses, but it can be anybody that's in a mental um crisis, and that was the uh contract that we put in place with the I think it's Petaluma people services is the actual organization.

Yes.

Okay.

And then um, do we have statistics on how much of it we actually used?

Um I th my I want to say there they came and did a presentation and gave um statistics um to council.

I don't have those statistics myself, but when they did the presentation, they didn't um so they used all of their money for the no, they have not used all of the contract money that is um for this fiscal year, but they are not funded into the next um fiscal year.

So SAFE is specialized assistance for everyone.

That's the the mobile crisis response team.

So if you call 911 and somebody has is in mental uh mental health crisis or needs other kinds of social service assistance or has addiction issues or that sort of thing, um the safe team will go out in addition to or depending on the situation, rather than our police department.

Um our police department came in last month and provided a full report on the last year of what they've been doing, and we're happy to share that link to that information with you again if you'd like.

So how much money have they spent to date?

Do you know?

It's about it's just under a half a million dollars a year to provide this service.

So they intend to spend all of that then.

That's correct.

It's going to all be expended, and so we're looking for money to fund it for next year.

And then funding level for downtown grant program.

You said that that was a hundred thousand dollars for 2526.

That's correct.

That's correct.

And and all of that money has been used?

It's in process, but it is a very popular program.

So it is expected to be all the same.

And so that's the program that we're possibly gonna be using for okay, got it.

I think that's all the questions that I have.

All right, I'll open it for public comment.

I don't have any cards.

Oh it's it's all be roofed, but I think it's important for staff to hear that the community acknowledges the hard work that they put into this budget process.

I think for the wonks that follow bureaucratic governmental budgeting and finance, et cetera, I think it's important to acknowledge how much more things have improved uh since post-pandemic 2020, for example.

So just want to say that the community is grateful for the hard work that's been done.

And you are looking at a uh a budget that that was now gonna let you have confidence in setting expectations with the limits you have with the resource limited resources that you do have.

But essentially I just wanted to make sure that that the staff had an opportunity to hear that there are the community is grateful for the work that's been done here.

Thank you.

All right, and that concludes public comment.

Do I have discussion or motion?

Yeah, one more question of a staff.

Um on this full assessment of all of our facilities.

Um is the intent for us to have some discussion about that report um this uh fiscal year or the this upcoming fiscal year.

Yeah, so if council um makes the decision to fund that study, then we would go ahead and um likely have to go through an RFP process to identify a consultant to assist us with that.

Umce the study is complete, then we would um we would bring that to council for your consideration.

Great.

In the meantime, it would be several, it's gonna be several months just to be clear about that.

Right.

In the meantime, there are needs in the buildings, and they're not being addressed.

Um so do we need to set aside some additional funds to be able to have some of our buildings maintained?

So I think that's something that we can talk about in a couple weeks when we bring the capital program back.

Okay, great.

And if you could focus on that, that would be very helpful, especially some of the historic buildings.

I'm really concerned that they have not had any attention for years.

And they really do need some work.

Thank you.

Councilmember O'Connor.

Yeah, I just wanted to because you're getting some direction from us tonight.

I just wanted to add that the safe team is a critical partner for our police department.

Uh so I would be extremely supportive of ensuring we continue that contract.

Um based on the presentation we had here a couple of weeks ago.

I think that's probably true of all council members.

Thank you.

And I agree.

All right.

Um does everyone agree to keep the funding for the safe.

Yeah, I think I'm board with that.

And I think um the 100,000 dollars for keep that um and do we want to expand it citywide?

I think I'd like to see it expanded citywide, yes.

All right.

You have what you need then?

Thank you.

All right.

So now moving on to CCB appointments.

And Laura, this is you.

All right, thank you, Mayor Frack.

So this item is to review the results of the spring commission committee and board recruitment.

As a uh brief reminder, the city has 11 city created commissions, committees, and boards.

We hold a recruitment each spring and each fall, and applications are available at Novato.gov slash CCB, and we accept applications year-round.

So this spring recruitment was to fill seats on design review, housing and homeless, housing zoning, building codes appeals board, multicultural planning commission, police advisory and review board, and our recreation commission.

So for design review, city council was to vote for three members, and Michael, Tim, and Colm got majority votes for that.

Next, we have Housing Zoning Building Codes Appeals Board.

Um Council was to vote for two members, and Sarah Lopez and Rex McLean got majority votes for that.

Next is the Housing and Homeless Committee, Council was to vote for three members.

We had three two-year terms and one one-year term.

So for this one, um, all four applicants will be appointed.

Bryce will be appointed to the two um, sorry, Scott Evans will be appointed to the one-year term, and all the Bryce, Lucy, and Donald will be appointed to the two-year terms.

Next, we have multicultural advisory commission.

Council was to vote for four members.

Um Isha, Derek, Lawrence, and Carlos got majority votes for that commission.

Next, we had planning commission, council was to vote for two four members, and Justin, Kevin, Curtis, and Peter received majority votes for that commission.

Uh for police advisory and review board, council was to vote for four members.

And Bruce, Robert, Francis, and Carlos received majority votes for that one.

And then finally, for recreation, cultural and community services advisory commission, council was to vote for five members.

And uh Suzanne, Isha, Aaron, and Jerome and Dominique were appointed to that one.

And I just now realized that she got voted for two.

So I will turn it over to council to determine which one you would like her to serve on.

And um which one are um I think she would prefer um uh park and recoverage.

Okay.

So for Mac, I will then need counsel to select one member.

I'll move my vote to Wesley Fink.

To Wesley.

Okay.

Excuse me.

Yes, I did hear what uh Tibb said.

I said I'll I'll move my vote to Wesley Fink.

So you're gonna move your vote to Wesley.

So for multicultural, that would mean Derek, Wesley, Lawrence, and Carlos would be appointed.

Okay.

Um I'll open it for public comment.

Not seeing any public comment.

Do we have a motion?

I'll make a motion that we approve it as submitted with the change that uh was mentioned.

And I'll second.

All right.

Councilmember Eklund.

All right.

Councilmember Carkel is absent.

Councilmember O'Connor.

Aye.

Mayor Pertam Jacobs.

All right.

And Mayor Farak.

Aye.

That passes.

Congrats to all the new appointed individuals.

All right.

So adjournment.

Uh the next regular council meeting will be held on April 28th, 2026.

Um I wanted to start this off.

We had a tragic event that happened and wanted to uh end in memory of Nico Vargas.

Um he was one of the students um that died on the car crash on Simmons.

Um his aunt said he was such an amazing kid, one of those kids you see, and he brightens up your day.

Um I thought with his family.

Um, do I have anyone else that would like to do that?

I'd like to add somebody else to that.

Colonel Bill Cope passed away.

Um he gave 35 years of his life to an active service to the United States of America.

He was in the Strategic Air Command for 23 years, and he was also um worked for the Army Corps of Engineers as a senior ranger from 2002 to 2018.

He had an amazing life, and he was an amazing man here in town.

And then um Pat would summon as well.

Yes.

I would like to close this meeting in memory of my brother who passed away this morning.

Um he grew up in Terralinda and um moved up to the state of Washington.

Um he had a son and a wife that are gonna miss him very dearly, as well as all of us in the Eklund family down here in uh California.

His name is Steve Eklund, and he was Steve Eklund, and he was 72 years old.

Sorry, Pat.

All right, um, we will end the meeting in memory of Nico Vargas, Colonial Bill Cope, and Steve Eklund.