Santa Rosa City Council Meeting Summary: October 22, 2024

The Santa Rosa City Council met on October 22, 2024, for a regular meeting beginning with a closed session at 12:00 PM and a study session on the General Fund budget at 2:00 PM, followed by the regular session at 4:00 PM. The Council addressed a significant structural budget deficit, awarded a $33 million contract for the Hearn Community Hub, amended council attendance rules, and acted on multiple consent items.

Consent Calendar

• Rejected all bids for the Low Impact Development at Municipal Services Center North (Motion, Contract No. C02391).
• Approved $150,000 in contingency funds for the Transit Mall Roadbed Rehabilitation Project, increasing the total contract amount to $1,356,160.25 (Motion, Contract No. C02395).
• Adopted a Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Samuel L. Jones Hall Homeless Shelter Phase 2 Improvements (Resolution RES-2024-163).
• Granted a police-generated vehicle tow franchise to Cream's Heavy Duty Towing & Storage (Resolution RES-2024-164).
• Approved the purchase of two rescue ambulances for a total not to exceed $491,728.07 utilizing an HGAC cooperative agreement (Resolution RES-2024-165).
• Approved a $430,002.22 amendment for additional parking garage security with Allied Universal Security Services, bringing the total contract to $3,712,452.13 (Resolution RES-2024-166).
• Extended the Proclamation of Local Homeless Emergency (Resolution RES-2024-167).

Public Comments & Testimony

Study Session (Item 4.1 - General Fund Budget):

• Duane De Witt thanked staff for the budget presentation and suggested the city pursue deeper community engagement, volunteer programs, and state/federal grants to supplement city funds. He expressed concern about the long-term impact of unfunded pension liabilities.
• Eric Fraser, campaigning against Measures EE and FF, expressed strong opposition to the city's fiscal management and what he called overspending driven by "special interests." He accused the city of illegal campaigning in support of the tax measures and expressed support for the idea of performance-based contracts.

Proclamations (Item 7.2 - World Polio Day):

• Eric Fraser expressed fondness for Rotary International and suggested they could provide a framework for youth programs.
• Duane De Witt spoke in favor of the Rotary Club's work, highlighting the Sister City relationship with Cherkasy, Ukraine.

Proclamations (Item 7.1 - Pomo & Wappo Month):

• Duane De Witt advocated for the creation of a Pomo interpretive village along Roseland Creek, stating the community has supported the idea for years but faced bureaucratic hurdles.
• Donna Legge (Progressive Tribal Alliance) spoke on the need to go beyond land acknowledgments and provide tangible resources and support for local tribal communities.

City Manager/City Attorney Reports (Item 9):

• No public comments were made.

Mayor/Council Reports (Item 11):

• Eric Fraser criticized council travel to conferences in Washington, D.C. and Long Beach as junkets, questioning the true cost to the city in staff time despite external funding.
• Duane De Witt advocated for progress on the Southwest Greenway along Roseland Creek.

Public Comment on Non-Agenda Matters (Item 14):

• Duane De Witt discussed historical development patterns, advocated for using Measure M funds to acquire parkland in Roseland, and suggested utilizing unused school modulars to address homelessness.
• Adina Flores raised concerns about a city-funded flyer in support of Measures EE and FF, questioning its approval process and the funding source. She also inquired about the abrupt resignation of legislative staffer Lon Peterson.
• Eric Fraser displayed a city mailer and accused the city of engaging in illegal campaigning for Measures EE and FF, stating the opposition campaign has identified five actionable violations.

Report Items (Item 15.2 - Hearn Community Hub):

• Duane De Witt expressed that Roseland has historically been neglected and urged the council to ensure the existing library branch on Sebastopol Road is not sacrificed for the new Hearn Avenue library.
• Ana Diaz (Roseland resident) expressed enthusiastic support for the Hearn Community Hub project and thanked the council for their investment in the neighborhood.

Final Public Comment on Non-Agenda Matters (Item 18):

• Peter addressed the council on a variety of topics including the Cherokee Nation, law enforcement, and related grievances.

Discussion Items

Study Session: General Fund Budget Reductions (Item 4.1) The council held a lengthy study session on the city's fiscal outlook. Chief Financial Officer Alan Alton, Deputy Finance Director Scott Wagner, and Budget Manager Veronica Conner presented a comprehensive status update.

• Deficit Status: The City realized a $3.1 million operational deficit in FY 2023-24. The adopted FY 2024-25 budget includes a projected $13.3 million structural deficit. Sales tax, the city's largest revenue source, is declining after pandemic-era peaks and is expected to see only 1-2% growth moving forward.
• Reserves: The Fiscal Stability Reserve, funded by the PG&E settlement, has dropped significantly from $27.3 million to $10.7 million. The 17% mandated reserve policy is straining available balances.
• Reduction Strategy: Staff outlined a multi-year, phased approach. Departments identified $6.2 million in ongoing cuts for the current year (mostly vacant positions and operating costs) and $1.4 million for FY 2025-26. Staff also recommended releasing $21.2 million in one-time PG&E settlement monies.
• Specific Proposed Cuts: Staff proposed eliminating vacant positions (firefighter paramedics, skilled maintenance workers, recreation staff), reducing services (softball teams, tiny tots program, Steele Lane Community Center hours, longer wait times for streetlight/pothole repair), and moving janitorial services in-house.
• Council Deliberation: Councilmembers discussed the risk of utilizing the 115 Pension Trust fund ($12M), with several members (MacDonald, Stapp, C. Rogers) expressing strong concern about short-term fixes. Councilmember O'Krepke requested a third-party organizational assessment. Councilmember MacDonald requested specific data on furlough impacts, ARPA funding, and enterprise fund deficits. The City Manager emphasized the focus on strategic cuts rather than targeting front-line workers, stating the goal is to minimize impact on quality of life and essential services. Vice Mayor Stapp noted that the city has 5% fewer staff than 15 years ago despite a 13% population increase, providing context on staff efficiency.

Amendment to Council Manual of Procedures - Absences (Item 15.1) City Attorney Teresa Stricker presented a resolution to amend the council's attendance rule.

• Issue: The existing rule (30 days of consecutive absence triggers a vacancy) was found to be unenforceable. It was adopted by resolution rather than an ordinance as required by the City Charter. Furthermore, since the council now meets twice a month instead of three times, a single absence could theoretically trigger the rule.
• Action: The Council adopted Resolution RES-2024-168 (7-0) to amend Rule I.F to reflect the state's default standard, a 60-day rule from Government Code Section 36513(a). If the council wants a stricter rule later, it must be adopted by ordinance.

Hearn Community Hub Phase 1 Contract Award (Item 15.2) Transportation and Public Works Director Dan Hennessey presented the project.

• Project: A collaboration with the Sonoma County Library to build a "Hub" at Hearn Avenue in the Roseland area, including a new fire station, a regional library branch, and space for future community amenities.
• Contract: The design-build contract was awarded to Swinerton Incorporated (Sacramento, CA) for $31,000,000 with a $2,000,000 (6.4%) contingency for a total not-to-exceed $33,000,000.
• Funding: The FY 2024-25 budget was amended to appropriate $3,000,000 from the Public Safety and Prevention (PSAP) Fire Fund Reserves. A cooperative funding agreement with the Sonoma County Library was approved.
• CEQA: The project was found to be within the scope of the previously certified 2016 Program EIR for the Roseland Area.

Request for Future Agenda Item (Item 11.2.1) Councilmember MacDonald requested an agenda item to discuss the 10% in-place transfer rent increase in City Code 6-66.050(B). Councilmember Alvarez concurred. The council voted 7-0 to add the item to a future agenda.

Closed Session Report & Proclamations The City Attorney reported the council voted unanimously to opt out of two class-action settlements (Tyco Fire Products LP and BASF Corporation) related to PFAS contamination. The council cited a desire to preserve the city's ability to pursue claims as technology evolves. Proclamations were issued declaring October 24, 2024 as World Polio Day and the month of October as Annual Pomo and Wappo People Honoring Month, accompanied by a dance performance.

Key Outcomes

• Budget Direction: The council directed staff to proceed with a multi-year budget reduction plan. Direction was given to hold back cuts to two skilled maintenance worker positions and a facilities maintenance worker pending the rollout of service-level dashboards. Staff was asked to return with a detailed mid-year budget adjustment, an analysis of furlough impacts, and a focus on preserving youth programs such as Tiny Tots.
• Council Attendance Rule: Resolution RES-2024-168 was adopted unanimously (7-0), amending the council attendance rule from a 30-day to a 60-day standard to align with state law.
• Hearn Community Hub: Resolution RES-2024-169 was adopted unanimously (7-0), awarding the $33 million design-build contract to Swinerton Incorporated, amending the budget by $3 million from public safety fire reserves, and approving the library cooperation agreement.
• Future Agenda Item: The council voted 7-0 to add a future discussion on the 10% in-place transfer rent increases in the city code to an upcoming agenda.
• Closed Session: The council voted unanimously to opt out of the class action PFAS settlements with Tyco Fire Products LP and BASF Corporation.