Sacramento City Council Meeting – July 22, 2025: Summer at City Hall Student Presentations and Public Comments
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Sacramento City Council Meeting – July 22, 2025: Summer at City Hall Student Presentations and Public Comments
The Sacramento City Council met on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, at 5:01 PM in the City Hall Council Chamber. The meeting focused primarily on presentations from the 2025 Summer at City Hall (S@CH) program, where nine student teams delivered multimedia proposals addressing critical youth and community issues. The council also heard public comments on matters not on the agenda. The meeting was adjourned at 7:41 PM.
Discussion Items
2025 Summer at City Hall (S@CH) Student Presentations (File ID: 2025-01352)
- Staff introduced the program, noting that students spent five weeks learning about local government, completed field trips, a community service day, and a 20-hour internship. They then presented nine team projects.
- Food Deserts (Dine Without Borders) – The team highlighted that 70% of survey respondents would rather walk than drive to a supermarket, and 82.1% often or occasionally buy junk food over produce. They proposed advocating for new supermarkets, expanding programs like Lunch at the Library, and creating community gardens.
- Project Phoenix – Sexual Assault Awareness (Jade Dragonz) – The group reported 1,100 rape cases in Sacramento from 2019–2023 and that 62.3% of youth surveyed agreed sexual assault is overlooked. They proposed using flyers, billboards, and an Instagram page to connect victims to existing resources like Weave Inc. and My Sister’s House.
- Project C.A.R.E. – Mental Health Isolation (Pink Starfish) – Citing that 71,800 youth in Sacramento (1 in 5) struggle with mental health, the team proposed a youth-led peer support group funded by Measure U funds. Their survey found 39.1% sometimes feel disconnected and 23.9% often feel disconnected.
- Streets of Silence: Breaking the Cycle of Violence (Voices Against Violence) – The team noted 87% of survey respondents see street violence as a concern, and 18% have experienced it. They proposed a grant program for youth-led anti-violence initiatives and cited Baltimore’s Group Violence Reduction Strategy which reduced shootings and homicides by over 30%.
- Environmental Pollution (Roar & Restore) – Stating that 45% of survey respondents were unaware of water pollution in Sacramento, they proposed more frequent river cleanups and partnerships with organizations like the River City Waterway Alliance.
- Intoxicated Driving (Students Against Intoxicated Driving – SAID) – The group reported Sacramento ranks second nationally in DUI case rates and that 72.2% of youth surveyed have consumed alcohol or been around others who have. They proposed social media campaigns and educational materials.
- Youth Empowerment & Independence (The Violet Voice) – Their survey found only 27% of youth feel confident about life after high school, 71% were unaware of free food programs, and 87% were unaware of the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA). They proposed a website and Instagram to aggregate resources.
- Youth for a Greener Tomorrow (Golden Grizzlies) – With 43% of Sacramento homes at risk of wildfire and 44% at flood risk, the team proposed youth-focused educational materials like sticker packs, crossword puzzles, and billboards to promote climate action.
- Parent Substance Abuse (The Black Bears) – Their survey found 17.4% of respondents have a parent/guardian struggling with substance abuse, and only 31.8% would know how to get help. They proposed a non-emergency hotline and partnerships with the Center for Fathers and Families.
Councilmembers praised each team, asked questions, and offered connections to city resources, community events, and further mentorship.
Public Comments
Eight speakers addressed the council on matters not on the agenda:
- Ashley Gregory (District 4 resident) urged the council to vote against extending the Sit/Lie ordinance on City Hall property, arguing it would harm unhoused people.
- Rebecca Sandoval requested a town hall meeting regarding a city-owned lot on Northgate Boulevard, expressing concern about planned apartments and lack of community engagement.
- Leah Schenk (advocate for missing persons) and family members of Lovid “LJ” Moore (missing since June 28) criticized the Sacramento Police Department for lack of urgency in the case. They demanded action and accountability, emphasizing that LJ is blind and disabled.
- Kristen Sanchez and Toshay Price (LJ’s mother) echoed the call for help, stating the family has received minimal support.
- Kyle Williams (not present) was not called; final speaker Kevin (a former S@CH participant) thanked the council for youth programs like Prime Time Team and bus transportation, stating they empowered his independence.
Key Outcomes
- Received and filed all nine student presentations from the 2025 Summer at City Hall program (unanimous consent, no objection noted).
- Public comments were heard and recorded; no direct council action was taken on the matters raised.
- Councilmember Jennings offered to connect the Black Bears team with his Center for Fathers and Families program.
- Several councilmembers invited student groups to table at upcoming district events and pledged to distribute their materials.
- No other votes or formal actions were taken.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. All right, we are gonna get this meeting started. All right. Um, welcome to Sacramento City Hall. We are looking forward to your presentations today. And clerk, please call the role. Thank you. Councilmember Kaplan. Councilmember Dickinson. Councilmember Pleckybaugh will be absent today. Councilmember Maple. Here. Mayor Pro Tem Getta will be absent today. Councilmember Jennings. Councilmember Vang. I'm here. And Vicemar Talamantes. I'm here. You have a quorum. 501, we started. We will do the land acknowledgement next. And I will just read it. Please rise for the opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's Indigenous People and Tribal Lands to the original people of this land. May we acknowledge and honor the Native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together today in the act of practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's Indigenous People's History Contributions and Lives. Thank you. Turn to the flag. Salute. Pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and America. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, invisible with liberty and justice for all. And Clerk is or city attorney, is there anything to report out from closed session? Mayor and council, uh councilman closed session to discuss one item of litigation. There's nothing to report out at this time. Okay. I would just like the record to reflect that I recused myself and I was not in closed session during that discussion. Thank you so much, Councilmember. And next step, we have our discussion calendar, which is our summer at City Hall student presentations. We can get staff to give us an overview of what we can expect today. Yes. They spent the last five weeks with city staff and three credential teachers here at City Hall learning all about local government, collaboration, advocacy, project development, and civic engagement. They've attended a variety of field trips, completed a community service day beautifying South Side Park, and also completing an individual in-person 20-hour internship with various city departments and partnering agencies, and many of those with you all. So just my sincerest appreciation for all the support from everyone up here as well as everyone else within the city that uh took on interns and believed in us. Um, I think it was really positive jump back into getting our interns in uh involved here at City Hall. Um, in addition to all these things, they've dedicated many hours to collaborately prepare the nine presentations that will be presented tonight. These link crews have worked together to create a multimedia presentation that are dynamic, informative, highlighting core issues that are affecting youth in the city of Sacramento. Um before we do that, I want to um let you know that their final day in the program is tomorrow. As I know I know you enjoy seeing most of these students, and then we are graduating them out here at City Hall. Um this graduation is not open to the public, but we are inviting our elected officials to officially attend, um, and we can provide you with more information after this. Um as far as when that goes in the timeline of that. So uh just a quick run of show note.
openpublica.com