Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting Summary - April 15, 2025
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Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting Summary - April 15, 2025
On April 15, 2025, the Santa Rosa City Council held a regular meeting starting at 1:00 PM in the Council Chamber. The meeting included a study session on General Fund budget reductions, interviews for the Design Review and Preservation Board, proclamations, staff briefings, a public hearing, consent items, and other reports. Council members present: Mayor Mark Stapp, Council Members Caroline Bañuelos, Victoria Fleming, Dianna MacDonald, Jeff Okrepkie, and Natalie Rogers. Vice Mayor Eddie Alvarez was absent. Council Member Rogers briefly left the dais from 1:31 PM to 3:12 PM. The meeting was adjourned at 7:28 PM.
Consent Calendar
The Council approved the consent agenda (14.1 through 14.13) by a 5-0 vote (Alvarez and Okrepkie absent) with the following notable items:
- 14.1 Award of contract for Low Impact Development at Municipal Services Center North to Corcus Construction for $567,912 plus a 10% contingency, totaling $624,703.20.
- 14.2 Authorization to request $405,684 in Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP) funds for the Free Fares for Youth Program.
- 14.3 Approval of the SB1 State of Good Repair Project List and request for $30,072 in annual allocation.
- 14.4 Filing of an application for $12,530,000 in Transportation Development Act Article IV and State Transit Assistance funds.
- 14.5 Submission of three SB1 Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account projects: North Dutton Road Diet and Pedestrian Improvements ($2,118,300), Santa Rosa Creek Trail ($350,000), and Fire Related Street Repairs ($2,528,746).
- 14.6 Waiver of competitive bid to purchase K71 bollards from eNdoto Corp for up to $200,000 for quick-build bicycle facilities.
- 14.7 Request for $251,120 in TDA Article 3 funds for school active transportation improvements.
- 14.8 Blanket purchase order up to $450,000 for automotive parts from Smothers Parts International via Equalis Group cooperative.
- 14.9 Purchase of mitigation credits for California tiger salamander (up to $2,490,200) and seasonal wetland habitat (up to $60,000) from TRI Development Services for Lower Colgan Creek Restoration and Neighborhood Park projects.
- 14.10 Fourth amendment to the Axon Enterprise agreement, adding $81,607.44 for fleet cameras, total not to exceed $4,032,456.99.
- 14.11 Blanket purchase order up to $1,000,000 for office supplies from Staples via Sourcewell cooperative.
- 14.12 Second reading adoption of an ordinance amending water rate-setting authority (ORD-2025-007).
- 14.13 Second reading adoption of an ordinance retitling the Board of Community Services to the Board of Parks and Recreation (ORD-2025-008, amended and passed 5-0).
Public Comments & Testimony
On Budget Reductions (Item 4.1):
- Stephan Dal Porto (Santa Rosa Firefighters) spoke against cuts that would jeopardize public safety.
- Matt Tognozzi (IAFF L1401) requested no fire station closures, citing profound impacts on community safety.
- Cadance Hinkle Allinson (Downtown Action Organization) supported funding for the Downtown Enforcement Team.
- Danielle Nelson (Santa Rosa Plaza General Manager) supported maintaining downtown safety and SRPD funding.
- Ananda Sweet (Santa Rosa Metro Chamber) supported conserving core services, public safety, and economic development.
- Diana Mariscal, Sunny Noh, and Patrick McDonell (Legal Aid of Sonoma County) opposed cutting Legal Aid funding, emphasizing its role in preventing homelessness and serving 300–400 households annually.
- Matt Gloeckner (Fire Management Labor Group) supported maintaining Fire Department funding.
- Brian Fix and Christopher O'Neil (Police Officers Association) opposed proposed police reductions, citing impacts on response times and community safety.
- Jennielynn Holmes (Catholic Charities) supported continued funding for homeless services.
On USL Interest (Item 9.3):
- Adina Flores supported a youth-outreach focus.
- Justin Papadakis (USL) thanked the council and emphasized community-driven clubs with pathways for youth.
- Toni Gomez (California Business Development) expressed support.
On Non-Agenda Matters (Item 15):
- Adina Flores praised City Manager Maraskeshia Smith’s two-year wage freeze announcement.
- Michael Hilber warned about Oakland’s structural deficit and urged proactive cuts.
- George Parker requested a stabilization policy capping self-storage rent increases at 10% annually.
On Other Items: No public comments were made on proclamations, staff briefings, the public hearing, or consent items.
Discussion Items
General Fund Budget Reductions FY 2025-26 (Item 4.1) The study session presented a $19.9 million deficit for FY 2025-26, growing to $31.6 million by FY 2029-30. CFO Alan Alton, Budget Manager Veronica Conner, and Deputy Director Scott Wagner outlined a structural deficit driven by slowed sales tax growth (reduced budget by over $5 million), rising CalPERS pension costs, and expiration of ARPA funds. Proposed reductions totaling $13.1 million included:
- Administrative/operational cuts of $5 million (14 FTE positions eliminated).
- Police department reductions of $2.5 million (9 sworn, 3 non-sworn FTEs).
- Fire department options: brownout (station closure without layoffs) or blackout (permanent closure with layoffs) of a truck company, plus non-sworn positions.
- Mandatory 80-hour furloughs (estimated $1.4 million annual savings).
- Potential cuts to homeless services contracts (e.g., Legal Aid $111,000, safe parking $1 million) and other programs. Council discussed the need to define core services, prioritize people over things, and seek county funding for homeless services. Mayor Stapp proposed moving forward with the $13.1 million package as a baseline, and a straw poll showed 5-1 support (Rogers opposed? No, she voted yes? The transcript shows five thumbs up, and Councilmember Rogers later expressed support for cuts). The city manager was directed to start union conversations and bring back more details in May.
Interviews for Design Review and Preservation Board (Item 5.1) Council interviewed seven applicants for seven vacancies on the new combined board. Appointments were made later in the meeting (see Key Outcomes).
Proclamations (Items 8.1, 8.2)
- Proclamation of the Week of the Young Child (April 5-11, 2025) presented to Liz DePrimo (Child Care Planning Council).
- Proclamation of Fair Housing Month (April 2025) presented to Maria Callahan (Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California).
Staff Briefings
- Earth Day Event (Item 9.1): Santa Rosa Water announced the annual Earth Day festival on Saturday, April 26, 2025, from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Courthouse Square, featuring vendors, performances, and exhibits.
- Measure M Parks for All Update (Item 9.2): Recreation and Parks Director Donte Watson reported on expenditures: 50% CIP, 40% maintenance, 10% recreation. Key projects include Finley Aquatic Center renovations and fire recovery. The update highlighted a new condition assessment of parks.
- Economic Development Strategic Plan and USL Interest (Item 9.3): Chief Economic Development Officer Scott Adair reported on progress, including the launch of a business concierge program, a new downtown farmers market starting May 18, and the “Second Sundays” program. He then presented an update on the United Soccer League’s interest in establishing a professional soccer franchise in Santa Rosa. A letter of intent (LOI) has been executed for a 12-month exploration period. USL Deputy CEO Justin Papadakis expressed strong interest, citing Santa Rosa’s demographics and soccer passion. The potential project includes a multipurpose stadium (minimum 5,000 seats) with mixed-use development. A community forum is scheduled for June 4, 2025.
Public Hearing – FY 2025/2026 Action Plan (Item 17.1) The Council opened and closed the public hearing with no public comment. By a 5-0 vote (Alvarez and Okrepkie absent), they adopted Resolution RES-2025-052 authorizing submittal of the Action Plan to HUD, approving estimated allocations of $2,292,537 in CDBG, $702,853 in HOME, and $520,140 in HOPWA funds.
City Manager’s/City Attorney’s Reports (Item 10)
- City Manager Smith announced the 2025 Merit Awards nomination period (open through June 13) and an EPIC community clean-up on April 22 at 8:30 AM.
- City Attorney Stricker reported one settlement finalized in March: $300,000 total for two plaintiffs in a false arrest case (Gatlin and Singh v. City of Santa Rosa). Active litigation stands at 33 cases.
Council Member Reports & Appointments (Items 12 and 12.2) Council members reported on various community events and liaisons. Mayor Stapp appointed Clay Dalton to the Community Advisory Board.
Report Item – Regional Water Reuse System Budget (Item 16.1) Deputy Director Nick Harvey presented the preliminary FY 2025/26 budget: $53,419,287 for operations and maintenance, $12,000,000 for capital improvements, and $18,299,256 for debt service. The Council adopted Resolution RES-2025-063 by a 5-0 vote, authorizing allocation notifications to user agencies.
Key Outcomes
- Budget Reductions: Council directed staff to move forward with the proposed $13.1 million in budget reductions (straw poll 5-1), including administrative and operational cuts, public safety reductions, and furloughs. Staff will begin union negotiations and return with a detailed plan in May. A Budget Deficit Advisory Committee will be formed.
- Design Review and Preservation Board Appointments: By a 5-0 vote, the Council appointed:
- Terms ending December 31, 2028: Robert Weigel (Architect), Melanie Jones-Carter and Sher Ennis (At-Large), Ingrid Anderson (Archaeologist/Architectural Historian/Historian).
- Terms ending December 31, 2027: Mike Schwartz (Architect), Adam Sharron (Landscape Professional), Drew Fagent (At-Large).
- Public Hearing: Approved submission of the FY 2025/2026 Action Plan to HUD (Resolution RES-2025-052, 5-0).
- Regional Water Reuse System: Approved Preliminary FY 2025/26 Budget and Allocation of Costs (Resolution RES-2025-063, 5-0).
- Consent Items: Adopted all consent resolutions and ordinances (14.1-14.12) and amended 14.13 to rename the Board of Community Services to the Board of Parks and Recreation (both 5-0).
- Next Steps: The next regular meeting is scheduled for May 6, 2025. Budget study sessions will occur May 6-7, and budget adoption is set for May 17.
Meeting Transcript
Join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon and the zoom toolbar. It looks like a globe. If you're on your cell phone or tablet, locate the three dots, tap them lightly, and put a check mark on your preferred language. Click done to activate and begin the interpretation. Once you join the Spanish channel, we recommend you shut off the main audio so only you hear the Spanish interpretation. Interpreter, will you please restate this in Spanish? Yes. Thank you very much. Back to you. There we go. Welcome everyone. The time is one o'clock and we'll call this meeting to order. Madam City Clerk. Thank you, Mayor. Councilmember Rogers, present. Councilmember O'Krepke. Councilmember McDonald. Here. Councilmember Fleming. Here. Councilmember Ben Wellos? Here. Vice Mayor Alvarez. Mayor Stepp. Here. Let the record show that all council members are present with the exception of Vice Mayor Alvarez. Thank you very much. We'll begin with item 4.1, our study session on the budget reduction. Finance Director Alton. All right, while staff is making their way to the podium. Just want to say good evening to Mayor and Council members. So today's budget study session marks the next step in our journey to address the challenges of necessary budget reductions. The process before us began with directives to departments to meet targeted reductions while balancing essential services. During the first round, uh which we made adjustments to, I believe, uh early January, some departments proposed significant budget reductions, such as TPW. Afterwards, the departments that departments were asked again to initially focus on cutting additional, make additional reductions who did not meet their targeted reductions in round one. So how this process went is departments that initially focused on cutting staff from the lowest level of the city and cutting basic services had their budget proposals adjusted by the city manager. Those who did not achieve targeted reductions at the 8% were asked to revisit and identify additional cost savings measures that we will discuss today. So oftentimes our public safety departments are heavily penalized because it is what it is. Public safety professionals tend to be heavily weighed out in our our budget scenarios just like any other municipality. So what we don't want to do and what I don't want to do in this disbudget um discussion is make certain we're not playing one against one against the other. So just like all of our departments are public safety professionals are just um as important in this discussion as the other departments. But as we continue to navigate um these challenges, um, this actually gives us an opportunity to reimagine how we do our budget practices. Um we want to move away from what we continue to say is our baseline budgeting exercises to a more strategic approach. So our baseline program should be the norm, and that should focus on high level of customer service and how we're managing our how we're improving efficiency throughout the city. We want to adjust our revenue approaches for uncertain revenues because as we've seen, a two to three percent in the shift in sales taxes, make a great uh give us an undue burden on the organization. Uh it could be as little as one percent sales tax shift um that we receive that can cause an undue burden on the organization. So we want to make certain that we shift away from assuming predictability to making certain that we're managing for the uncertain. And also we want to shift away from the immediate immediacy of the budget cycle. We are on a one-year budget cycle, uh and I know we're making changes to improve that, but start focus on focusing on long-term thinking and how we're thinking five to ten years out. Uh so as we continue today's discussion, myself and the team, we're committed to offering full transparency.
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