The Redwood City Council held a regular meeting on March 10, 2025, at 6:00 PM. The meeting opened with a proclamation declaring March 9–15, 2025 as Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week, presented by Mayor Martinez Sabayos and accepted by community advocate Pamela Swint. The council then addressed the consent calendar, pulled two items for discussion (2024 Housing Element Annual Progress Report and the 2025 Legislative Platform), and later approved executive management compensation changes. The meeting concluded with a closed session on anticipated litigation; no reportable action was taken.
Councilmember Padilla was absent for all votes.
Good evening, everybody. It is six o'clock, so we'll go ahead and get started. Thank you for joining our regular city council meeting of March 10th, twenty twenty five. We continue to offer in-person and remote options for our city council meetings. The city welcomes public comments on topics within the city's subject matter jurisdiction, and members of the public may provide comments in person during the meeting or by email to public comment at redwood city dot org as outlined in the agenda. In-person speakers must turn in a speaker card to the city clerk. The day is to be recognized to speak. Please be sure to indicate the agenda item number which you wish to address. In-person speakers will be called in the order in which speaker cards were turned in. And comments that were received via email by five o'clock today may be read aloud, time permitting, and in any case will be made part of the final meeting record. 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. But in the event that that happens, please feel free to send your full comment to the city council at public comment at road city dot org. And I will now turn it over to the city clerk to call the roll. Moving on to presentations and acknowledgments. And raising awareness for MS is essential to fostering understanding and compassion within our communities. I'll now read a few of the whereas from tonight's proclamation. Whereas MS affects people of all ages, races, and backgrounds, and its exact cause remain remains unknown, with current research aiming to improve treatment options and find a cure for this debilitating disease. And whereas MS Awareness Week provides an opportunity to bring attention to the struggles faced by those living with MS and to promote research efforts and to increase public awareness about the disease and the need for accessible treatments and resources for those impacted. And whereas during MS Awareness Week, a key focus is on promoting early diagnosis of MS by educating people about the potential early symptoms, encouraging individuals to seek medical attention if they're experiencing concerning signs, and highlighting the importance of timely diagnosis to begin treatment for the best possible outcome. Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Elmer Martina Sabayos, Mayor of Redwood City, on behalf of the City Council and the people of the City of Redwood City do hereby proclaim proclaimed the week of March 9th through 15th, 2025 as multiple sclerosis awareness week in Redwood City, and urge all community members to stand in solidarity, collective action, and hope with those with MS to have greater access to the resources and support systems. I'd now like to welcome community advocate and member of the Redwood City Arts Commission, Pamela Swint to give some remarks. Thank you for being here, Pamela. Thank you to the thank you for this this proclamation recognizing MS Awareness Week. Thank you. And thank you, Vice Mayor Eakin, for reaching out to me about this. Also, thank you, Linda Glassle from the Northern California chapter of the MS Society for joining me today. My name is Pam, and I'm on Redwood City Arts Commission. I'm leading the effort to update the youth mural alley behind the Hotel Sequoia. Recently, a mural that I facilitated at Kennedy Middle School by Jose Castro had a lovely section with a vignette of downtown Redwood City. I really encourage you to check it out. It's fantastic. I think this proclamation is important for a couple of reasons. Awareness of this disease and its early symptoms will help others get diagnosed earlier and on effective treatment faster. This leads to a better outcome overall. This month marks my five-year anniversary of being diagnosed with MS. Looking back, I regret not taking my symptoms more seriously earlier on. Like so many others, I brushed them off thinking they were just stress, fatigue, or something related to my hernated discs. But I should have taken them been more proactive sooner. Perhaps things could have been different. Another reason is that symptoms of this disease are often invisible. Having this proclamation and war and wearing orange all week lets others living with MS in Redwood City know that they are not alone. Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner Swintz. And I have a proclamation here for you. So I know we have a not the full team here, but it'd be great if we could take a photo with the council members who are here. Thank you. Thank you again, Commissioner Swin, for being here. We'll move on to item number five, public comment on the consent calendar, matters of council interests and items not on the agenda. We'll now take public comment on the consent calendar, matters of council interest and items that are not on tonight's agenda. And I'll turn it over to the city clerk to facilitate public comment.