I call Arts Culture and Library Commission meeting of March 17th, 2026 to order at 632 p.m.

So excited.

Please take the roll call bill.

Chair of Scotland.

Present.

Vice Chair Miller.

Present.

Commissioner Acevedo.

Present.

Commissioner Aylix.

Alex.

Alex.

President.

Thank you.

Commissioner Alvarez.

Commissioner Gillary.

Here.

Commissioner Ridsdale.

Present.

Commissioner Velazquez.

We have six, so the quorum is met.

All right.

So before we move on to item two announcements, we have a new commissioner.

Commissioner Alex, do you want to take a couple sentences and tell us about yourself and why you're here?

Yeah, sure.

Thank you all for letting me be a part of the commission and being here.

And I am I'm a little bit new to San Leandra.

I've been here for like a few years.

Moved here right before the pandemic.

But the reason why I'm here is because it's I really like to get involved in the community again.

Really, what drove the um interest is just kind of seeing what's happening politically around the arts and culture and especially funding and things like that in our country right now.

So I figured, all right, I gotta do something.

Maybe I could do something locally, and so I thought I'd apply and wait for an opportunity to join.

So I'm really honored to be here with all of you.

Thank you so much.

Yeah, right.

All right, item two, announcements.

There are no announcements.

Item three, a minutes of the February 17, 2026 meeting.

Can I get a motion to approve the minutes of February 17, 2026?

Somebody I moved to thank you.

Is there a second?

I second.

Any discussion?

All right.

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

All right.

That motion carries.

Moving on to item four, library services staff report and announcements.

I do have a report.

Um happy report.

So you may recall that we had some serious discussions about the city's budget.

Um around the spring of uh last year.

Um we had to uh make some pretty significant cuts.

And the library um, well, back up.

The city um was you know, we're looking at a structural deficit, i.e.

it's pretty simple.

We're spending more than we're taking in.

And um it's quite significant, and at the time the there was we were dealing with it, and then they really had to make some choices, made some difficult cuts, which we talked about here in the commission, and uh most of those cuts fell in the current fiscal year because uh the normity the challenge is such that it wasn't something that staff could really thoughtfully take on for two fiscal years.

Normally we budget for two fiscal years, but we really budgeted we budgeted for two fiscal years, but the the heavy lifting on the cuts was done for 26 and knowing that there'd be more to come.

So uh we started working on that in late summer, uh early fall, and the library was tasked with cutting for this is true for all departments.

Uh we got our um targets to cut over the next three fiscal years, so that's 27, 28, and 29.

So the library's target was eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which to put it in perspective.

Um the way the budget is structured.

Uh uh, and this is true for all departments, but but uh there are funds that uh we have discretion over.

There are funds that we cannot touch or prefer not to touch.

So for example, um the funds that we can't touch are the funds that are in our budget, but technically are controlled by another department.

For example, public works, where there's a over a million dollars in our budget, which looks like it's ours to spend, but it really pays public works for the maintenance of our facilities.

Same thing with IT.

There's a big line item over a million dollars in our budget.

We cannot touch it because that's what pays IT to maintain our infrastructure.

Staffing is another one that you know we prefer not to touch because nothing occurs in the city without staff to take care of it, and we're very have service heavy.

So the remaining amount of money that we have that taking all those out that we have to work with as far as that's library's annual budget, believe it or not, is around $650 to $700,000 annually, and we're tasked with cutting $850,000.

So the way that we are approaching this, and I'm I'm I'm talking to you about this because we were tasked with developing this for the consideration of the city council because they're the decision makers, they're the ones that have to make these choices.

So there was a retreat that the city council had on uh March 6th, Friday, March 6th, in which the each department had to talk to the city council about what we're proposing for cutting.

And so we have in our presentation, we have met these targets.

One of the ways we were able to do it was that I mentioned not wanting to touch personnel, but we have vacant positions, and we had planned positions that were to staff the new Mulford when it opens that we simply are not going to hire.

So we're not filling vacant positions that existed to staff you know, Maine and Manor.

We're also not filling the positions that we had planned to staff Mulford.

So we have a real staffing challenge because we're gonna have to open up Mulford, and it's planned to open up later this calendar year with the current staff that stretch fairly thin to cover both Maine and Manor.

So that's going to be a challenge, but we've we have a plan.

We'll see if we can you know we'll see what city council has to say about our plan.

They have they heard it, so um there it's under consideration.

Uh so uh where that leaves us is the a lot of the proposed reductions to meet that $850,000 target comes from not filling those vacant positions, but that still left us hundreds of thousands of dollars to cut.

Every item in the library, every line item which covers uh programs, um collections, everything is being cut.

Um, and that includes a proposed cut to the public art line item, and unfortunately, we're recommending that the entire 50,000 be cut.

Um it's just the enormity of the required cuts is so big that that's the that's the recommendation that we've made.

Now we will see what council has to say.

We we we presented this at the retreat.

There was some concern about completely eliminating it, particularly because they were interested, some of the uh council members, and it's the you know it's it's up on the uh city's website as far as the agenda, which you can see the entire presentation of what the city's having to cut, and then there should be a recording of it.

Um it's a long recording because the the retreat was about six hours long as I recall, but anyway, there was some some thought about not eliminating the grants program specifically.

Uh so you know we'll see where that goes.

It's the council has to make the choices.

They're the decision makers, that's what they're elected to do.

We are proposing, just like every other department, um they have to consider this and then make their decisions.

We will again speak to the council, but just the finance committee on March 25th to talk further about these proposed cuts, get more guidance from the council, and ultimately they'll adopt the fiscal year 27 budget.

And ultimately they'll adopt the fiscal year 27 budget.

So like I said, nothing I wanted to have to present, but it's where we're at.

And you know, one of the things that we've still in development.

I haven't had a report on it recently, but uh as far as potential for sustained funding for the for the arts is the one percent for art.

Now that is still in development.

Like I said, there was I think I talked about that at one of our fall meetings.

Um that community development was working on that because it's a part of a broader package of uh fees that the city charges for you know developers, um, and this one percent for art would be would fall on the developers, you know, who are um developing projects here at the here in the city.

Um but I haven't had a recent report, but that's that's something that you know depends on how it's structured, and you know, could depends on business development here in the city, but could be something that would actually generate the revenue you know, separate apart from the general fund budget, which is where the funding comes from now, and it could be more sustainable and and also give us depending on the size of any development any one year could give us funding that would make you know uh 50,000 seem like a much small smaller amount.

So anyway, so that's my report on that.

Um just wanted to open it up to questions or concerns besides the office, right?

Anybody would that mean we wouldn't award grants for the cycle we're going through right now?

We're the cycle we're now is fine, it's fiscal year 26.

So we have the money.

We've we wouldn't have gone through all this with money, it would be the next year.

Um yeah, sorry, Sicky.

Were there um what were the solutions to try to generate revenue?

You said there's a one percent so the develop like charging developers, yeah.

So there's a um mechanism that uh a number of cities have which uh it's structured in different ways, but basically when a someone comes in to develop something, say it could be a redevelopment or it could be uh uh something that's from the ground up, uh cities will charge fees in order to uh mitigate the impact or even improve the quality of life for the residents of that community.

So there could be fees that would help build the infrastructure around, say the building a new warehouse or facility, you will that could impact roads, traffic, things like that.

There could be funds made available to uh create a green space, right?

And so the city currently does not have that kind of development fee for art, but you look around the Bay Area, several communities do have a one percent for art.

So the thought was if those cities have it, why not us?

So it was presented to the council from the perspective of an update of the fee schedule overall for these development fees back last in in 2025 with the with the ask to the council should we develop a proposal for your consideration?

And the answer was yes.

So that is in development right now.

So and that's something that you know I like I said, I haven't seen it, but it's something that the commission, you know, you're all appointed by a council member, you can certainly weigh in on the value of that, you know, having something like that implemented.

Were there other options also considered?

Other options also consider it.

That's the primary consideration, yeah.

Is there room to if an idea came up later to bring it forward or just kind of just like the last chance to well as you've talked about all other ways of funding our city?

I think that it would be open to any idea.

Yeah, there's no timing or anything.

No, that it you know if there were something that was brought up at the commission, the commission could develop that and then take it to the council as a recommendation.

That would be the pathway.

But I think any and all ideas are welcome.

So well, and to be clear, we've had some discussion in the past about a sort of Friends of San Leandro art nonprofit that could then fundraise more effectively than we could as a body owned by the city.

So that's a potential option also, but that requires legal things and LLCs and you know lawyers and whatnot and people to be on the board.

Right.

Um and then the other thing that sounds like uh all the questions at this point, but the only other thing that I was going to mention in my report is uh we do have a planned comedy show uh this year.

Uh February.

Um June's right, June 27th.

I'll get this right.

Blinded by it.

But Saturday, June 27th, uh from seven to nine at the ball theater.

We're gonna have just one show this year, that's what we can afford.

And we now currently have a request for proposal out for a producer to um to make to make that show happen.

So that's that was just made live today.

So we've got we're giving the potential producers to give us a bid uh over the next two weeks, and then we'll see what we get and make a choice.

With only one show, is this body now the primary funder of that comedy festival?

Back to being, yes, yeah, yeah.

And one thing I should add to that point is that um in the planning of you know the reduction that I talked about, uh we've been looking forward to 2027 as and we've had a couple of uh donations to the library that uh we believe will fund the comedy show for next year for 27 because it it has come up over and over again as a as a fairly popular event.

Um so if this plan if this works out the way we've been we proposed, like I said, there wouldn't be any funding for the public art uh line item that is associated with the commission for next fiscal year, but the library is thinking about these um donations that we receive uh to fund it next year to come from another part of the library's budget.

Curious, um what I mean.

I like I went to the Bell Theater last June for the performance, but what how is it chosen as the primary venue for this year?

It was really a a matter of what we could get for the dollars.

Um when you looked at some of the the other shows, there was one the in the festival that we had last year, there was one in the parking lot, and then one at the um field works or 21st amendment 21st Amendment.

Oh we paid as much for just renting a stage and uh uh equipment, the sound equipment at those two venues individually as we're going to pay for the ball theater.

So it's a it's a good deal.

Yeah, and that and the city has a uh relationship with a ball.

Um you know, it's owned by an individual, but the city has an interest in keeping that landmark alive, and so uh it it is a good idea for us to occasionally give them business to help help that uh happen.

So but it's it's dollars and cents we got a great deal to have hosted there.

It's ready-made, it's easy.

Um and it's a theater that can hold I think around 700 people, and last year when we had the comedy festival, I think we had about 250, so you know once we get the producer in place, then we can do a lot of promotion, hopefully get a good turnout.

Um, just to confirm for this year, we've allocated 20,000 for the comedy closet and the other 30 for the grants.

And then for next fiscal year, we're anticipating to have neither.

Zero.

Okay.

Yeah.

Sorry.

Well, well, yeah, not your own.

Well, thank you for your sad but necessary report.

This concludes item four.

Moving on to item five, public comments.

We have no public.

Moving on to item sixa presentation on the presentation.

Wait, no.

Can I leave it in?

Yes.

Sorry, no presentation.

Okay.

Moving on to item seven, action items.

7A, election of chair and vice chair.

It is that time of year once again.

And I just want to set the scene for you, as it were.

I have been doing this job for two years now.

I serve at your pleasure.

However, I think we need to establish bench strength.

We need to have someone who is not me do this job for a while.

So how this thing works is someone will say, I nominate so and so to be chair, and then that person says I accept.

And then if anyone else wants to be nominated, same thing, and then we'll go through it and do it for the vice chair.

That being said, I would like to nominate Alana Miller, current vice chair as chair of the commission.

Do you accept?

I accept.

Do I hear any other nominations for chair?

I would also note that an individual can nominate themselves.

Oh, yeah.

So you can nominate somebody else, or you can nominate yourself for clarity's sake.

Yes.

With that clarification, do I hear any other nominations for chair?

All right.

Well, let's vote on Alana.

Everyone in chair in favor of Olana, say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

All right.

Well, congratulations.

Thank you.

I would I would give you a light up Tiara, but the last chair absconded with it when she quit.

I'm not gonna make a new one.

Did I did I hear a unanimous vote?

Yes, that was a unanimous vote before a lot more to serve out of the next year as chair.

All right.

What would normally happen is that I would immediately flee this seat and hand you the gavel.

But we have some stuff to do, so do you mind if I do allow it?

Yes.

Thank you.

I love that.

So now, vice chair.

Do I hear any nominations for vice chair?

Anyone want to step up, start doing some stuff?

I want to nominate uh Commissioner Alvarez for vice chair.

Do you accept yes?

I accept.

All right.

Do I hear any other nominations for vice chair?

Going once.

All right.

Well, all in favor of Commissioner Alvarez as vice chair, say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

All right.

Well, congratulations.

Vice Chair Allah.

Thank you.

Bench straight.

Do it.

Question.

Or does that leave you buried?

Not having to run the meeting, sitting in a chair.

The mayor will still probably call me with random art questions because my job.

But no, that just means I'm I'm one of you guys now.

It's awesome.

Okay.

So I'll still be here.

Yeah.

Even with the budget.

Yeah.

Okay.

So now that we've got that taken care of, let's move on to item 7B, Arts Culture and Library Commission project priorities and committees.

So this is our meety item.

And so if you folks look in your packet of trees you received, you will see this list of four priorities that we have chosen at a prior meeting.

Commissioner Alex, this will be new to you.

So what we did is we went through our priorities and we chose four, and we chose some folks to be on a subcommittee for that.

And Commissioner Alex, if you wish to be on the subcommittee for either of these four, you might want to take a look and just you know we don't have to answer right now, but if you want to join any of them, please let me know.

Okay.

So we need you folks that chose to be on subcommittees to meet in the next month.

Which means that someone in each of these groups needs to step up and be the person who will say, I will email the other people.

I will put together a schedule, and we will actually meet either in Zoom or via email or you're in the library or in a place of your choosing.

So why don't we go down through each of these and identify who is going to be the person for each of these groups?

Let's um if I may make sure that what was captured in this document as far as the people who volunteered to serve on these committees, if that's accurate, we can adjust as necessary.

Does this look wrong or frightening to anyone?

Each one, I guess.

Okay, so library bike tour has currently committee members, Miller, Scotland, and Velasquez.

I can be the ringleader of sense.

It is your idea.

Perfect.

And so for each of these, it would be great if you came back next month with a completed project plan.

That document that we've sent out and that we worked on a little bit beforehand.

That will be your group's group project for the next month.

And if you can bring that back at the next meeting so we can move it forward, that would be fantastic.

Great.

So we have a library bike tour.

Commissioner Chair Miller is uh in charge of that one.

And then we have the poetry convest.

I have currently Ridsdale and Ace Vito.

I can organize that.

Okay.

Great, thank you.

We will see your project plan next month.

Theme of shrooms, that's mine.

Does anyone else want to be on it with me?

But you kind of don't have to because it's just me talking to Bill mostly.

I'll do it.

Okay.

Yeah.

Um I will be the ringleader for that one, which means I will email you.

Okay.

And we'll do the thing.

And that's coming up soon.

So we'll have an official subcommittee or committee for this too.

Yes.

Great.

And then the writing workshop for Latinx youth.

I have Velasquez, Savedo and Miller on that one.

Who is going to be the point team?

Okay.

Fantastic.

Thank you so much.

Do we need to talk any more about this?

Um things.

Yeah, I think well, I know that we had asked that they develop their plan over the next month.

I think that will work.

We've got April will be the time we're presenting the grant recommendations.

But there should be enough time for to.

Yeah, so basically what we'll do is we'll add these committees to the agenda for the starting effective next month, and then the project plan that'll develop and bring forward to that meeting.

Great.

All right.

Yeah, so in the project plan, you guys will think through you know, timing impacts, all the stuff.

So you'll have a better idea of what it will look like to do this project by next month.

So we may or may not need to talk a lot about it depending on the timing.

But it it will have a shape rather than just being a nebulous entity floating in the distance.

And I I would suggest just from experience of doing a lot of programs that the document that we provided, I think we mentioned that it's something that the libraries developed to cover their programs, and we find an incredibly useful planning tool because when you start doing like you know, the bike tour, for example, there's so many moving pieces to that, and you've got to get those details down, and you gotta get them right.

Um, but if there's something else that you know someone brings to the table, maybe there's a project planner around the table that would help you facilitate that you know, use it.

It's not limited to that tool, it's just something that we found to be quite effective because it tries to hit all the sort of things that you have to deal with when planning a program.

And I was gonna add that as far as my role, you know, as a secretary, I uh staff the commission and I've helped a lot with the grant program, primarily because of the fiduciary responsibility that comes with that.

Uh it's just not something that we would expect that when it comes down to um you know all the implementation that's required with respect to saying you've got to you've got to submit all these documents and then we're gonna write a check to you for your grant and then administer that.

That the committee's very involved with all of that, but when it comes to making sure that we're following the city's financial procedures, that's me.

So I'm there, you know, side by side.

These I simply cannot be available to this degree.

However, when the plan starts to develop and you start to see that there are things that you would need from the city to make this work.

For example, uh Commissioner now chair, uh Miller and I spoke about the the bike tour and potentially other departments that might be involved with that.

In fact, I think that was part of the original plan and the other commissions, so I can help facilitate that.

But you know, and once the plan is developed and there are things that come forward that it looks like you would need my help to you know navigate the city's bureaucracy.

Well, I can help with that.

So great.

Okay.

Rosie, you had question face earlier.

Just wanted to confirm it's the market document you gave us a couple meetings ago.

Yes.

Okay, there should be the PDF version attached to one of the emails from Yolanda from I think two months ago.

Maybe even again last month.

Yeah.

And if you ever need to reference documents that were distributed to the commission, besides the email, which is you know, depending on your email inbox, mine is just impossible.

But um at meeting central where the agendas are, you'll see it those attachments are there.

So it's there as well.

Okay, thank you.

And if you have anybody needs help navigating the meeting central, I can help with that.

Okay, thank you.

And to facilitate you all talking to each other, Bill will send out a roster with all our email addresses.

But we but BCC'd, but our email address isn't a separate thing, so we can't violate the Brown Act.

We'll figure it out.

Does anyone here have a problem with the other humans in this room knowing your email address?

Anyone in the witness protection program?

Cool.

And uh what of course uh former Scott is talking about is you know, for the the Brown Act purposes, uh, for example, we can't have any more than four people on these committees because once you get five in a room or communicating electronically, I don't care if it's Zoom or even email, that's why you all get VCC'd on these things.

That could officially be considered a meeting.

And with these meetings, we go to all this effort to make sure that the agenda and the attachments are published in advance, so if the public's interested, they can come and participate.

It's it's basically an effort not to have any decisions made at these kind of bodies or even discussions of items that aren't on the agenda and the public's not made aware of.

Uh so with the subcommittees, there will there's no problem with you communicating to each other because you're less than a quorum, and you're doing work on behalf of the commission, which you're gonna come back and report, so it's agendized.

But um, it's just trying to avoid that.

That's why all the um concern and care around making sure that you know we're not starting some sort of discussion amongst all commission members over email because that could be considered a meeting.

Um great.

Any other last questions about what we need to do before next month?

Group memberships, anything a question about given the uh the budgetary situation and like staffing resources, like is that something that we need to be extra sensitive to then in terms of these programs, like how much we can expect library staff to be involved or yes, okay, and and we would gut check that with you.

So I think the way to I think it's an excellent question, thank you for that.

I think that the sooner we start to put some meat on the bones of a plan, then I can look at that and start to have conversations with my colleagues in the in the you know, some I supervise directly, some I don't.

I mean, as assistant director, you know, I can do some directing, but I would like to make sure we engage staff to say, is this something you'd like to work on that interests you that you know is a passion for you.

So there's the literal ability for them to do what you know they already have on their plate, and having you know the fewer staff to do it is a challenge.

But then also I want to try to get it up, you know, soon enough that that like I said, I can I can see if there's uh interest in in helping as well.

So yeah.

That's good.

Okay.

All right.

Well, we don't have to make a motion for that.

We have moved nothing.

And moving on to item eight, commission report and announcements.

Grants committee.

Can we have a report from the grants committee building everything?

Uh just to you know uh let the full commission know that we have all the applications.

I'm getting them out to the committee to review.

Um we're trying a new process this year of trying to make it a little easier for everybody each with each iteration of this.

Uh, but we will be bringing the report back to the full commission in April.

So we'll review all the applications.

We've got a date on the calendar.

First of all, people are reviewing these, the grants committee is reviewing these individually, scoring them.

We'll come together for a meeting on the 30th of March, uh, make some decisions and then bring those recommendations to the to the uh full commission.

I can say we have 11 applications.

I'm doing this from memory, so four from non-profit organizations, seven from individuals.

So we'll see, you know, how that how they score.

So that's significantly down from last year when which three?

Okay.

So fewer people want money from us.

No idea why.

All right.

Um questions, comments about the grants committee thing.

Are there any more art committee or art recipient grant recipients from last year that have anything coming up this year, or have they all been presented?

Oh, all the the prior from the prior year.

You know, it's a great question, which reminds me that um Juniper Corner was supposed to have a dedication for the mural that the commission funded, but I haven't received any word on that.

So the could the mural was done by the deadline uh for the for the uh grants program.

Uh however, they wanted to open their facility and dedicate the the effectively dedicate the mural celebrate the mural at the same time.

And the executive director indicated she would let me know, but I have not heard.

So I will follow up on that.

And the other one that's uh was behind schedule, they got permission to extend the period of time.

You know, we have a grant period in which we're supposed to complete all these projects.

Uh, but they got an extension because they were behind in in implementing the mural, it's another mural.

It was the one that's in downtown on the garbage enclosure that was being done by San Leandro Improvement Association.

But they do great work, they did they did the bell planter, and so it was just weather and various things.

Um that's another one that I'm assuming will have a dedication once it's done.

So I will follow up on that too to see where they're at.

So we will also to that point, just to thank you for raising those questions.

Is in the April meeting, we will present uh the grants committee's recommendations for the current cycle of grantee grant applicants, and then at the May meeting, there'll be a presentation on the outcomes for the grant recipients for the prior year.

So you all get to hear how what the outcomes were from those grants.

So I can preview that it's it's been you know they've been really good results.

So yeah, great.

Okay.

Any other questions about the grants?

Um, since I'm new, I'm just trying to find places to insert, I guess.

Do is the committee feeling well supported?

Do you need another pair of hands or anything?

Well, I have just offering it up.

I don't know if it's too late to even consider that.

You know, there's a little more.

There is.

I mean, you don't have to.

I'm just kind of as I'm looking at this and thinking of you know, just different places to help.

Like, you know, if a thought is that um because there was some discussion at the retreat to preserve the funding specifically for the grants that if that is sustained, if that comes to fruition, um then and we have funding, then um you know that would be an ideal time for uh commissioner Alex or any other anybody else to join the grants committee possibility.

It's a possibility.

I mean like later, not now.

Yes.

Okay.

Yeah.

Because we're so much in leads right now, I think it would be hard to bring the cost.

Yeah, it seems like you guys are pretty far along in the process.

Yeah, we've already done the reviewing part, or we've already done the the application.

The application part.

And we and we spend a significant amount of time uh refining, we've got a set of guidelines and applications and the commission addressed that, but the committee really had their hands dirty and you know helped re improve the some of those documents and processes.

So it would be hard to step in at this point.

Oh yeah.

But the my goodness, it's it's it's the most work that the commission does.

Yeah, it sounds like it.

That's also assistance, and there's room because we have uh with committees, it's minimum of two, maximum of four.

So we probably have three.

Yeah.

Sounds good.

Yeah, so if you if you're still interested as we cycle into next year, totally that would make sense.

And there's funding.

Yeah, yeah.

If we have funding, or even like the interim, like after you go through your process now, I would love to just kind of also better understand from a funding perspective to help inspire, like if there are other ways to get funding, like understanding order of magnitude, getting your feedback as a commission, what projects had to be kind of cut, that might be an opportunity to say, like, oh well, if we had another 20,000, we could have done this, and then folding that all into a presentation to the council for a little bit more long-term strategic plan for that.

Yeah, I'm just sounds great.

But yeah, whatever.

Yeah, good.

Yeah, thank you.

Yeah, yeah.

All right.

Well, then let's move on to Commissioner Comments.

Do commissioners have any comments or reports or anything of anything that was not in the agenda?

Commissioner.

We have two weeks left of our production of the odd couple, the female version.

So tickets are available for next for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and then next Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

So if I have postcards if anybody's interested, it's very funny.

The audiences are having a great time and so thank you.

Thank you.

I think it's like a way of vocal.

We should just go around the table and say our names and where we live and how long we've been on the commission.

I'll start here, and I'll know.

Uh I live in the Assumption Parish uh neighborhood, which is District 2, which is council personless at this point.

So that means I can do whatever I want.

Um and I moved to San Leandro in three and a half years ago.

So I I think I applied for my library card and saw that the commission was reforming and applied, so I I was very green, so you're way less green than I am.

Um but yeah, I I work in IT at Kaiser, but I write and do art in my free time, and that's what brought me to the oh, and I have a background in library science, so I like the library and art side things.

I have that pass it to you.

Um I have been on the commission since 2023.

Um I live in kind of near downtown.

Um I'm an attorney, family law attorney during the day.

Um, and I love the library and love reading, and have a four-year-old who loves the library, so that's my connection.

Hi, um I live by Portuguese Pizza in the Manor.

Yeah, I think that's district four.

I was really trying to remember with district I mean, I was like, wait a minute.

Um this is my I think I'm completing this summer my second year with the commission.

I think and um what connected me is um uh becoming a parent liaison with um a good friend of mine who launched a pilot program through the city.

Um well, coincidentally, when her and I started talking about it, I was at the same time trying to get the commission position, it all kind of pulse hold.

And so um so that's connected to the library for me as well as one of the council members that nominated me, and then um I have a middle schooler who also comes to the library, so hi Andrew.

Um I live, I think I'm in district one about districts two, um, like right like Kitty Corner to the Safe Way here.

Um so I'm a theater teacher and uh middle school administrator.

Um so and I just moved here a couple years ago.

And I just want to get more involved with the city.

And I love the arts and I want to get more involved in the arts of the city.

Nice.

Hi.

I live in District 6.

I've been associated with the library and programs here for 30 years now.

And I run San Leander Players Theater Company.

We're in our 27th season.

So with the gracious uh help of the library.

Thank you.

And let's see.

I'm retired, sort of.

You'd be amazed when you get retired, you get busier than you thought you'd be.

But I was a commercial banker for 45 years.

It's a long time.

Oh god.

Anyway, so that's uh again, district six.

And I think I how long have I been on this commission?

I can't remember.

It's like five years maybe.

Well, we're we're talking about the Arts Cultural Library Commission.

Yeah.

Since its formation, our first meeting was April of 2023.

Okay.

Okay.

And you were on the arts commission.

On the Arts Arts Commission.

Prior.

Council.

The Arts Council prior.

Well, the Arts, yeah, there's the Arts Council, which you and I work together on.

Yeah.

Yeah.

But you were on the arts commission.

I don't know.

There was no one.

Oh, okay.

No.

It was just the Arts Council, which is kind of defunct.

Yeah.

So the commission.

What's that?

Yes, since 2017.

Who's that?

Who was on the chair?

What?

That's your office.

You were a member of the Arts Commission.

Oh, from 2017 to 2022.

I was.

And you live in District 3.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And you're in one.

Correctional.

Oh, okay.

Okay.

I got lucky.

I forgot to mention actually.

I just kind of walked in and was like, hi, I'm here.

This is how I got here.

Okay.

I'll just mention really quickly because I do want to hear Natalie's background as well, too.

But I live over in the marina.

Yeah, and then I mentioned earlier how I had we were during the pandemic, so it's like, oh yay, new place.

It's like, oh yay, you're in your place, like for a long time.

Indefinitely.

Um but anyway, I love it out there.

San Leandro's amazing.

I try to gatekeep a lot of things that happen around here, but I've been also not, you know, because we're all seeing all the viral things kind of popping up and it getting crowded, uh, which is great for the city.

Um I during the day I am a healthcare consultant.

I primarily work with Alameda County Health.

I've been in healthcare for over 25 years.

I also work with nonprofits in the US, Canada, and Mexico as well as abroad, doing a lot of financial strategy and budgeting uh support to them, helping them figure out how to raise funds and do stuff.

So that's why my ears just kind of perked up like okay, this is let's do this.

Right?

It's like it's it's sad news, but it's also an opportunity for us to kind of come together and get creative.

Um at night, I am a musician.

I have a band here as well as in the Philippines, and so uh that's where the art part of it can I teach music as well too.

Um so that's the little side thing.

Anyway, thanks for the screen.

My special city three hours of sleep.

So thank you for letting me share.

Thank you.

Yeah, I'm Natalie.

I think I'm in District 5.

I'm in the City of Estate, so not too far.

Um I've been on the commission, I think, for two years, and I moved here right basically a few months before the pandemic started.

So similar to you.

Um my background's in communication, so I like the the library side of things and the word side of things.

So I ended up on the poetry piece.

Yeah, it's getting great.

I'm Brody.

I uh have been on the commission since it was just the art commission.

I joined two months before the pandemic started, so I guess probably about six years now.

Um I work for Burning Man in the art department as a day job for 15 years now.

And in my free time, I'm a potter and a photographer and a leather worker and a woodworker and a line a cut artist and a gardener and a succulent enthusiast.

All of it.

Yeah, I do all the things.

And uh I'm in district two.

I live a couple blocks from Milana, but I am a mayoral appointee, so my district doesn't matter at large.

At large, yes.

All right, well, thank you.

That was a that was a good go-round.

Do any other commissioners have comments, questions, items?

All right, well, I'll just say I have enjoyed serving as your chair.

Thank you so much, and thank you to the new folks for setting up and doing the thing.

We need people to do the thing, so thank you for doing the thing.

oral appointee so my district doesn't matter at large at large yes all right well thank you that was a that was a good go round do any other commissioners have comments questions items all right well I'll just say I have enjoyed serving as your chair thank you so much and thank you to the new folks for setting up and doing the thing we need people to do the thing so thank you for doing the thing all right well then the most important agenda item I think oh what did someone say that is left okay item nine adjournment do I have a motion to adjourn the meeting of March 17 2026 aye so move do I hear a second second any discussion all right all those in favor aye aye any opposed all right motion carried the meeting of March 17 2026 is adjourned at 7 22 p.m