Sand City Council Meeting — November 2, 2026

The Sand City Council met with all members present, conducted via Zoom and phone, and took up a multi-use trail design contract, a street maintenance construction contract, and the 2050 General Plan guiding principles. The transcript identifies the session as the October 20th, 2026 meeting; this summary uses the provided date of November 2, 2026. The meeting included staff updates, public comment, three action items, and council reports.

Announcements and Staff Updates

• The Mayor reported an Indigenous People's Day celebration and a Board of Supervisors resolution honoring Sand City's event.
• The City Manager reported a new Public Works employee, Mattu, started at the end of September; a $195,456 sea-level-rise study grant with Seaside, with funds administered by Seaside and an MOU to come; an RFP issued for the Salinas/Contra Costa stormwater project; sign permits for Takaria and Boot Barn in the Santa Fe shopping center; a portion of Edgewater shopping center purchased by a venture capital firm; an MST Surf Bus overnight lane closure on October 22 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.; mural scheduling for the week of November 16-24 with a local artists' battle on November 22; and the DCL facility back online October 4.
• Former Councilmember Jerry Blackwelder passed away; a celebration of life was announced for Thursday, October 29, at 5 p.m. at Shaw Line Church. Public commenter Brian Clark, a longtime neighbor, asked for and received a moment of silence.
• City Attorney Adam said the trail project and King Ventures remain priorities.

Consent Calendar

• Item 5D was pulled for the 500-foot rule; Councilmember Diaz abstained, and the item was approved by the remaining council.
• Consent items 5A, 5B, 5C, 5E, 5F, and 5G were approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Brian Clark asked for a moment of silence for Jerry Blackwelder and later criticized the trail and street contracts as overpriced, arguing that much of the design work is already mandated or publicly available; he said the city was being 'fleeced.'
• Luke Philpatrick, a city resident, strongly supported the multi-use trail contract and the street project, called the trail a vital long-planned connection, asked for more detail on the remaining $8.9 million construction funding gap, and praised the added parking in the street project.
• Justin Rums asked about trail contingency, schedule, and the selection panel; he later said the General Plan survey response was too low and called for broader outreach, while praising the draft guiding principles.
• Brian Clark criticized the General Plan process as based on only seven or nine survey responses and questioned the $750,000 cost, saying the city had not changed since 2000 and citing business bankruptcies and bank redlining.

Discussion Items

• 9A — Multi-Use Trail Final Design Contract. Staff reported that the project would close a one-mile gap in the 18-mile Class 1 trail from Castroville to Pacific Grove. The 30% design was completed and approved in July 2025; estimated construction cost is $9.9 million. Three grants have been awarded, including a $1.96 million AMBAG Carbon Reduction Program grant administered through Caltrans Local Assistance District 5. Four firms submitted proposals; a four-person panel scored and interviewed them, and Whitson/Woodson Engineers ranked highest. The proposed contract was not to exceed $920,899.34, included optional tasks for SR 218 intersection improvements and right-of-way/utilities, and staff said it was fully grant-funded and came in below the city's independent cost estimate. Public comment was supportive except for Brian Clark's cost criticism.
• 9B — FY2025-26 Street Maintenance and Rehabilitation Contract. The city engineer reported that the project followed the council's April 7, 2026 approval of 70% design. The base bid covers Holly Street from California Avenue to Ortiz Avenue, Contra Costa Street from the north end of State Route 1 to Redwood Avenue, and the City Hall parking lot including sewer-line replacement. Additive alternates for Playa Avenue and northern California Avenue were not awarded. Six bids were received; Monterey Peninsula Engineering was the lowest responsive and responsible bidder at $1,081,285, compared with an engineer's estimate of $1,200,319. The project adds five parking spaces on Holly and two on Contra Costa, converts part of Holly to one-way for diagonal parking, and adds ADA ramps, sidewalks, curb returns, and high-visibility crosswalks. Staff anticipated a late-November/early-December start and a 90-day contract period, with weather delays added. Council members supported the walkability and parking improvements; Brian Clark criticized the cost.
• 9C — Sand City 2050 General Plan Guiding Principles. Staff said the 10 guiding principles were built on outreach from four prior plans, an August workshop, and a community survey. Coastal protection and public access ranked first; staff said six of seven respondents felt the principles reflected their vision very well or somewhat well, and later clarified there were eight responses including one paper survey. Staff said postcards went to every address and surveys remain available online and at City Hall. Council members and the city attorney supported the principles as a broad legal foundation for the General Plan; several speakers urged more creative and broader outreach. The council adopted the principles unanimously.

Key Outcomes

• Approved the consent calendar, with item 5D approved subject to Councilmember Diaz's abstention and the remaining consent items approved unanimously.
• Approved the architectural and engineering agreement with Whitson/Woodson Engineers for final design of the Sand City Multi-Use Trail, including optional tasks 5 and 8, in an amount not to exceed $920,899.34; authorized the city manager to execute it.
• Approved the public works construction contract with Monterey Peninsula Engineering Inc. for the FY2025-26 Street Maintenance and Rehabilitation Project in an amount not to exceed $1,081,285; authorized the city manager to execute it.
• Adopted the Sand City 2050 General Plan update guiding principles, incorporating the workshop redlines and refinements.
• Directed continued outreach on the General Plan and asked staff to track compliance with state-mandated finance training.

Council Reports

• One council member reported on the League of California Cities conference in Anaheim, including sessions on e-bikes, disaster preparedness, ethics, harassment prevention, transitional housing, and the General Assembly.
• Another council member reported on an emergency preparedness fair, PG&E generator/backup battery rebates, the NAACP education forum with remaining sessions on November 19 and December 17, CERT training of 24 hours over three Saturdays with seven Sand City CERT members, and the Epic Calabasas emergency preparedness app.
• The Mayor reported that the San Francisco Chronicle was interested in the Coastal Commission-approved cleanup/collection project, attended AB 1234 ethics training and a CSUMB District 4 roundtable with Supervisor Caskew, noted a canceled trunk-or-treat event, and mentioned upcoming Christmas tree lighting, employee awards, and Monterey Fire kids' Christmas events.
• The Mayor also reported from the TAMC Bike Committee on e-bike safety concerns and discussed a South County sidewalk-art pathway idea as a possible model for Sand City.