OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

San Leandro Arts, Culture, and Library Commission Meeting – April 24, 2026

City Council — Friday, April 24, 2026
BodySan Leandro, California
SessionCity Council
DateFriday, April 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 58:25

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

And the excellent cool.

0:03

I call the arts, culture, and library commission meeting of April 21st, 2026 to order.

0:11

Please take roll call.

0:12

Chair Miller.

0:14

Present.

0:15

Vice Chair Alvarez.

0:17

Commissioner Acevedo.

0:20

Commissioner Alex.

0:22

Present.

0:23

Commissioner Bryant.

0:24

Present.

0:26

Commissioner Gillary.

0:27

Present.

0:28

Commissioner Ridsdale.

0:30

Commissioner Scotland.

0:32

Present.

0:33

Commissioner Velasquez.

0:36

We have five.

0:37

The quorum is met.

0:39

Great.

0:40

And as part of roll call, we have a new commissioner with us, Mike Bryant.

0:45

So would you like to introduce yourself?

0:47

And yes, well, I'm Mike, as the sign says I'm Michael Bryant.

0:53

I grew up in the East Bay, um Oakland Hills, uh, went to uh Real Christian in uh San Lorenzo.

0:59

So I'm familiar between Oakland and uh San Leandro, but um yeah, been here for 30 plus years, and um yeah, just came to on the commission to make a difference, communicate, uh just build community and uh you know see what kind of things we can get done for the city of San Landro, of course, the people of San Leandro, bring in money and just uh again just kind of spread culture, love, and uh build good community.

1:26

So thank you guys for all having me here.

1:28

Wonderful.

1:28

Thank you for being here.

1:29

Yes, yes, thank you.

1:31

Yes, yes, thank you.

1:32

All right.

1:33

Um now it's so if there are no announcements, no one else.

1:40

Okay, there are no announcements moving on to item three, consent calendar.

1:44

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

1:49

Um there a second second.

1:53

Any discussion?

1:56

Hearing none, all those in favor?

1:58

Aye, aye, aye.

1:59

Aye.

2:00

Any opposed?

2:02

Okay.

2:06

Motion carried.

2:10

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

2:16

All right, thank you.

2:17

Um my report is uh centered around the budget discussions, which have been happening at the at this point at the council level.

2:29

Uh most recently there was the city council.

2:34

Sorry, I'm gonna pause so we can okay.

2:54

So um the budget as we've been discussing is for the mid-cycle fiscal year 27 update, and it's been making its way through the uh city council process.

3:12

It was presented at their retreat, it was presented at the finance committee, and most recently at the April 13th, I think I have that right.

3:21

The April 13th, yes, the April 13th uh council meeting.

3:30

And so what we're talking about is what we've already discussed, which is the reductions that are having to be made in order to eliminate the deficit spending, deal with our structural deficit.

3:46

And um these these uh at this point it went to the council as a whole for their discussion.

3:54

As you'll recall, one of the elements in the library's budget was to uh for fiscal year 27, so next fiscal year to eliminate the $50,000 that is in the arts uh budget uh line item.

4:13

So there was some discussion about that topic, and the commission excuse me, the council expressed concern about this, which we're gonna talk about tonight, the uh um the um grants program and expressed a desire for the grants program to continue.

4:36

So there was uh you could watch the the uh council.

4:40

I encourage you to watch the council meeting itself, particularly at near the end where this was really discussed.

4:47

Um it was the library director with my assistance talking to the council about this situation.

5:00

So uh with some back and forth that there was discussion about the realities of needing to make the reductions to achieve the the deficit reduction target from across the city, and um how could we, however, still maintain the grants programs for the next fiscal year, fiscal year 27, the one that we're talking about.

5:22

So after some discussion, um back and forth from the director and myself to the to the council, the decision was made to forward it to the next meeting where this will be discussed, which is May 4th.

5:40

Uh and so it's this preliminary discussion, and then they will they will finalize their um their discussion and decision at May 4th.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Arts and Culture█████████████████████████████████████████████70%
Budget██████10%
Procedural█████8%
Cultural Programming███5%
Community Engagement███5%
Council Ethics█1%
Parks and Recreation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

San Leandro Arts, Culture, and Library Commission Meeting – April 24, 2026

The Arts, Culture, and Library Commission met to discuss the FY27 budget's impact on arts funding, approve the 2026 Arts and Culture Grant Program recommendations, and receive committee reports. (Note: The official call to order and the motion to adjourn state the meeting date as April 21, 2026, with a single slip of the tongue stating April 25th. The summary title uses the metadata date provided with these instructions, which is April 24, 2026, as instructed.)

Consent Calendar

  • The commission unanimously approved the minutes of the March 17, 2026 meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public were present.

Discussion Items

  • Library Services Staff Report (Budget Update): Staff reported on the mid-cycle FY27 budget update. To address the city's structural deficit, the proposed budget originally eliminated the $50,000 arts line item. At the April 13th City Council meeting, the council expressed concern about ending the arts grants program and expressed a desire for it to continue. The library director proposed canceling a comedy event scheduled for June 27, 2026, freeing up $20,000 to carry over into FY27, and supplementing it with library donations to bring the grants program funding to $30,000. The council was receptive to this proposal. The final budget decision will be made by the council at its May 4, 2026 meeting. Chair Miller noted that the decision is not final until the council formally approves it, though consensus appeared to be reached. Several commissioners expressed gratitude for the community's e-comments supporting the grants program, crediting them with helping elevate the issue.
  • 2026 Arts and Culture Grant Program Recommendations: The Grants Subcommittee reviewed 11 applications requesting a total of $46,645 against the $27,500 available budget. The subcommittee recommended funding the following projects:
    • Eric Shea ($5,000) – 'Envision San Leandro 2050' portrait and interview project.
    • Jimmy Kelly Music and Storytelling ($2,645) – Irish music and storytelling performances.
    • Ryiko Mayeno ($5,000) – A mural honoring San Leandro's immigrant communities.
    • Rose Whitmore ($5,000) – Completion of a novel and a public writing workshop.
    • Dahlia Society – Community dahlia gardens at the Cherry Festival.
    • Karpeles Manuscript Library – Music and story workshops.
    • The LEAF – A mural on a planter box. The commission discussed the application review process, metrics for measuring community impact, and strategies for increasing future applicant outreach. The recommendations were approved unanimously via a motion.

Commission Reports

  • Grants Committee: The committee will notify grantees by April 27th. The next phase will be reviewing final reports from the FY25 grant cycle in May.
  • Game of Shrooms Committee: The worldwide art hide-and-seek event will be hosted at the library on June 13, 2026. Art will be hidden in the library on the night of June 12th. An art-making session is scheduled for May 10th in Berkeley.
  • Latinx Youth Writing Workshop Committee: No report was given.
  • Library Bike Tour Committee: Planning is underway for a 'Tour de Library' ride connecting the three branch libraries, targeting a Spring 2027 implementation. The committee is collaborating with the Bike and Pedestrian Commission.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved: 2026 Arts and Culture Grant Program awards for seven individuals and organizations.
  • Referred: Final budget decision for FY27 arts funding to the City Council meeting on May 4, 2026.
  • Acknowledged: Community e-comments played a role in elevating discussion around arts funding preservation.
  • New Commissioner Welcomed: Michael Bryant was welcomed to the commission.
  • Adjourned: The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM.

Meeting Transcript

And the excellent cool. I call the arts, culture, and library commission meeting of April 21st, 2026 to order. Please take roll call. Chair Miller. Present. Vice Chair Alvarez. Commissioner Acevedo. Commissioner Alex. Present. Commissioner Bryant. Present. Commissioner Gillary. Present. Commissioner Ridsdale. Commissioner Scotland. Present. Commissioner Velasquez. We have five. The quorum is met. Great. And as part of roll call, we have a new commissioner with us, Mike Bryant. So would you like to introduce yourself? And yes, well, I'm Mike, as the sign says I'm Michael Bryant. I grew up in the East Bay, um Oakland Hills, uh, went to uh Real Christian in uh San Lorenzo. So I'm familiar between Oakland and uh San Leandro, but um yeah, been here for 30 plus years, and um yeah, just came to on the commission to make a difference, communicate, uh just build community and uh you know see what kind of things we can get done for the city of San Landro, of course, the people of San Leandro, bring in money and just uh again just kind of spread culture, love, and uh build good community. So thank you guys for all having me here. Wonderful. Thank you for being here. Yes, yes, thank you. Yes, yes, thank you. All right. Um now it's so if there are no announcements, no one else. Okay, there are no announcements moving on to item three, consent calendar. Can I get a motion to approve the minutes of March 17th, 2026? Um there a second second. Any discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor? Aye, aye, aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Motion carried. Um moving on to item four, library services staff report and announcements. All right, thank you. Um my report is uh centered around the budget discussions, which have been happening at the at this point at the council level. Uh most recently there was the city council. Sorry, I'm gonna pause so we can okay. So um the budget as we've been discussing is for the mid-cycle fiscal year 27 update, and it's been making its way through the uh city council process. It was presented at their retreat, it was presented at the finance committee, and most recently at the April 13th, I think I have that right. The April 13th, yes, the April 13th uh council meeting.

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