Redwood City Special City Council Meeting – April 15, 2024
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Redwood City Special City Council Meeting – April 15, 2024
The Redwood City City Council held a special meeting on April 15, 2024, starting at 6:00 PM. The meeting included recognition of community organizations and individuals, a public hearing on a proposed pedestrian mall, and staff reports on economic development, pension funding strategies, and police equipment. The council approved several items, including a two-year economic development plan, a pause on accelerated pension payments, and the purchase of new police equipment, with one dissenting vote on the latter.
Consent Calendar
- The council unanimously approved the consent calendar, which included routine items such as amendments to technology agreements, a fiber optic installation agreement, rejection of a liability claim, a contract for a creek wall repair project, sewer maintenance agreements, a wireless communication site license with Verizon, a grant application for energy efficiency, and approval of minutes and claims.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Consent Calendar and General Matters: Three in-person speakers addressed the council. Russell White and Me Sun Boyce spoke about the upcoming Pacific Power and Boat Show (May 16-19) and a new restaurant at West Point Harbor, respectively. Taylor Pope spoke in favor of item 6H (Verizon coverage improvements), noting poor cellular service downtown.
- Pedestrian Mall (Item 7): Three in-person speakers and two emailed comments were received. Taylor Pope, Dylan Finch, and Shishir Bat all expressed strong support for permanently closing Broadway between Main Street and Jefferson Avenue, citing safety, pedestrian enjoyment, and benefits for local businesses. Emailed comments included concerns from Kathy Oyster about liability and financial impacts on property owners, and support from Carvin DeSanayake for the closure and pedestrian safety improvements.
- Military Equipment (Item 8C): One in-person speaker (Ernie Schmidt) and 15 emailed comments were received. The majority expressed support for the proposed equipment, including drones, less-lethal launchers, a long-range hailing device, and a kinetic breaching tool. Commenters emphasized de-escalation, officer safety, and efficiency. Clara Jekyll raised privacy concerns regarding drones, recommending warrant requirements and oversight. One comment noted the need for equipment to meet industry standards.
Discussion Items
- Pedestrian Mall (Item 7): Christian Hammock presented the staff recommendation to continue the public hearing to May 6, 2024, to allow time to address concerns raised in a recent letter. The proposed permanent closure of Broadway between Main Street and Jefferson Avenue, including Redwood Creek, has been well-received since its temporary pandemic-era closure. Councilmembers discussed safety, aesthetics, trash management, and multimodal access. Councilmember Howard supported the project but raised concerns about liability, deliveries, and trash. Councilmember Sterkin advocated for maintaining bicycle and scooter access. Vice Mayor Espinoza Garnica supported pedestrian-first signals. The council voted to continue the item to May 6.
- Economic and Workforce Development Plan (Item 8A): Assistant City Manager Patrick Heisinger and Economic Development Manager Amanda Anthony presented a two-year plan focusing on customer service improvements, small business support, and economic mobility. The plan includes 52 outdoor business applications (6 approved, 4 close, 42 awaiting applicant action). Councilmembers discussed customer service, business retention, and workforce development. Councilmember Aguirre emphasized the need for proactive business retention. Councilmember Howard supported electronic billboard study but stressed content control. The council approved the plan unanimously.
- CalPERS Pension and OPEB Funding (Item 8B): Assistant City Manager Michelle Pouchet Flaherty presented a proposal to pause additional payments to pension and OPEB trusts while conducting a comprehensive assessment. The city’s unfunded liability had grown from $217.8 million in 2021 to $435.6 million in 2022 due to market volatility. The pause would save $628,000 in the next fiscal year. Councilmembers supported the pause, noting the need to address structural deficits. One emailed public comment from Todd Freeman urged consideration of alternative retirement plans. The council approved the staff recommendation unanimously.
- Military Equipment Use Report (Item 8C): Sergeant Jesse Castro presented the annual report and proposed purchase of new equipment: five 40mm four-shot less-lethal launchers ($9,500), one hyperspike long-range hailing device ($3,750), six drones ($87,000 including startup), and one kinetic breaching tool ($15,000). Total cost of $115,250 would be funded by the Citizens Option for Public Safety (COPS) grant. The department reported no policy violations or complaints during the reporting period. Councilmembers discussed transparency, data collection, privacy policies for drones, and training standards. Vice Mayor Espinoza Garnica questioned the need for older rifles and requested demographic data on SWAT deployments. The council approved the motion 6-1, with Vice Mayor Espinoza Garnica dissenting.
Key Outcomes
- Pedestrian Mall: Public hearing held; item continued to May 6, 2024, for further consideration.
- Economic Development Plan: Approved unanimously, including staff recommendations on electronic billboards (study up to three signs on 101 corridor, public and private land) and partnering with the county on labor standards.
- Pension Funding: Approved pause on accelerated payments to CalPERS and OPEB trusts while completing a comprehensive assessment by end of 2024.
- Military Equipment: Ordinance adopted and purchases authorized (6-1 vote). The police department will develop a drone policy before use, with data storage consistent with body camera footage (90-day retention for non-evidentiary material).
Meeting Transcript
Okay, good evening, everybody. Welcome to our April 15th City Council meeting here in Redwood City. Thank you for joining us. I would say happy X day, but it's tax day, so it's nothing happy about it, other than you have six hours left to file. So if you haven't filed, you still have six hours. So Jessica, okay. We'll let our technology kick in. Almost. Testing. Is there still an echo? All right, we're good. All right, thank you. Again, good evening and welcome to our April 15th, Redwood City City Council meeting. We're continuing to offer in-person and remote options for our city council meetings. However, due to continued disruptions during public comment at open meetings throughout our region and state, we've modified our public comment procedures until further notice. Also, as a reminder, all remarks should be addressed to the City Council as a body and not to any individual member, nor to staff or any other member of the public. Further, the City Council discourages profane remarks, personal attacks, or insults to any member of the council, staff, other attendees or speakers, or the general public. Our public comment procedures tonight for items on the agenda or within the city's subject matter jurisdiction are as follows. Public comment is taken in person during the meeting or in advance via email as outlined on the agenda. Comments that were received via email by 5 o'clock today will be made part of the final meeting record. In-person speakers must turn in a speaker card to the city clerk at the dais to be recognized to speak. Please be sure to indicate the agenda item number you wish to speak on. In-person speakers will be called in the order in which speaker cards were turned in. If there is a high volume of public comment this evening, we may decrease the time allotted for each comment or limit the total time for public comment. This is to ensure that the City Council can address agenda items in a timely manner and is allowed under the City Council's Guide to Communications and Business. In the event this occurs, please feel free to submit your full comments to the City Council at public comment at Redwood City.org so that we can see your comments and they will be part of the meeting record. I'll turn the meeting over to our city clerk who will now call the roll. Thank you, Mayor, and good evening, everyone. We'll start with Councilmember Aguirre. Here. Councilmember Aiken. Here. Councilmember Howard. Here. Councilmember Martinez Savayos. Here. Councilmember Sturkin. Here. Vice Mayor Espinosa Carnica, I believe, is on her way. And Mayor G. Present. Thank you. Thank you, Jessica. Now we'll turn to our Pledge of Allegiance. Councilmember Aiken, will you do the honors, please? Please join me in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Thank you, Councilmember Aiken. Our next section of our agenda is our presentations and acknowledgments. This is the fun part, the celebrator celebratory part of our agenda. Before we begin tonight in person, I want to take a moment to mention that April is Fair Housing Month, which highlights the anniversary of the enactment of the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale and rental of housing based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
openpublica.com