OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting - May 6, 2025: Budget Study Session and Golf Fee Increases

City Council — Tuesday, May 6, 2025
BodySanta Rosa, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, May 6, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 5:58:05

Transcript — Verbatim
0:39

Good afternoon.

0:40

I'd like to ask the interpreter currently on the Spanish channel to commence interpretation of the meeting.

0:45

For those of us joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish.

0:50

Is available a members of the public or staff wishing to listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in the Zoom toolbar.

0:59

It looks like a globe.

1:01

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.

1:07

Click done to activate and begin the interpretation.

1:10

Once you join the Spanish channel, we recommend you shut off the main audio so you only hear the Spanish interpretation.

1:17

Interpreter, will you please restate this in Spanish?

1:20

Yes.

2:25

Thank you very much.

2:26

Back to you.

4:10

Thank you, Mayor.

4:11

Councilmember Rogers.

4:12

Present.

4:12

Councilmember O'Krepke.

4:15

Here.

4:16

Councilmember McDonald.

4:18

Here.

4:19

Councilmember Fleming.

4:21

Councilmember Ben Wellows?

4:22

Here.

4:23

Vice Mayor Alvarez.

4:25

Mayor Step.

4:26

Here.

4:26

Let the record show that all council members are present.

4:29

Thank you very much.

4:38

Madam City Attorney.

4:48

And I will hand it off to the clerk because this is a new meeting from this morning so that she can facilitate the information we need from the council member.

5:00

And then as I am understanding, once we get beyond that, based on what I understand, the reason is for the remote participation.

5:20

So I'm going to hand it off to the clerk to facilitate having the council member explain and provide the disclosures that he's required to provide under the statute.

5:30

Thank you, City Attorney.

5:32

Uh Councilmember O'Krepke, can you please state the provision under AB 2449 of the Brown Act under which you are participating today, either just cause or emergency provisions?

5:45

Yeah, uh I will be attending this meeting remotely under AB 2449, applying the just cause uh provision uh because I have a contagious illness and cannot attend in person.

5:57

I will participate with both audio and video turned on throughout the meeting.

6:01

In this room, I'm accompanied by no one over the age of 18.

6:08

With that, Mayor, uh, we can proceed.

6:11

Thank you.

6:11

We have no closed session items uh for this session, or for or on this afternoon rather.

6:16

Uh, we'll move on to item 4.1, our review of fiscal year 2025 and 2026 operations and maintenance budget and capital improvement program budget.

6:25

Uh and with that, I'll turn it over to Madam City Manager.

6:28

Thank you, Mayor.

6:29

Uh good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council members.

6:32

Uh so today we will begin our um day one of budget presentation.

6:37

So you'll hear from various departments, uh, beginning from finance to just to discuss uh ongoing budget reductions.

6:46

Uh what is going to be important by the conclusion of this meeting is we would like clear direction on budget cuts uh that council would like to implement.

6:57

Um while several options have actually been presented to you.

7:02

Some of these options actually necessitate further uh conversations with uh labor uh to discuss some potential impacts.

7:11

So want to make it clear that if there is direction, there will still need to be some ongoing discussions with our labor representatives.

7:18

Uh today staff, we have staff from each department and some additional staff members in the chambers that are available to answer your questions.

7:27

Uh just like we've done in previous years, questions that um do not have immediate answers.

7:32

We will compile and send you um we'll put on the website and send you a council FYI to provide you some further information so that you're able to make um the best decision possible for this um for this budget.

7:46

I would like to express uh my appreciation to the staff and everyone involved in compiling the budget.

7:52

Uh I actually want to also express my appreciation to the labor unions who have reached out and continue to have ongoing discussions uh regarding some of the budget reductions.

8:03

We know this is uh not an easy challenge, and we appreciate the ongoing dialogue that um continues to happen.

8:11

So with that, I'm gonna turn it over to Veronica to start the presentations.

8:15

Thank you.

8:15

Actually, one other housekeeping note.

8:17

I'm gonna uh Ms.

8:18

McDonald, I believe, has a note on recusal before we begin.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Equity Analysis████████████████16%
Public Safety████████████12%
Procedural████████8%
Parks and Recreation███████7%
Homelessness██████6%
Fire Department Funding██████6%
Public Comment██████6%
Public Engagement██████6%
Technology and Innovation██████6%
Summary of Proceedings

Santa Rosa City Council Regular Meeting - May 6, 2025

The Santa Rosa City Council held a regular meeting on May 6, 2025, starting at 12:00 p.m. with a study session on the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Operations and Maintenance Budget and Capital Improvement Program, followed by a regular session at 4:00 p.m. The meeting was adjourned at 6:21 p.m. Council Members Mark Stapp, Eddie Alvarez, Caroline Bañuelos, Victoria Fleming, and Natalie Rogers were present; Dianna MacDonald and Jeff Okrepkie were absent (Okrepkie participated remotely for the study session but was absent for the regular session).

Consent Calendar

  • Contract Award – B Street and Third Street Right Hand Turn Pocket Improvements (Item 13.1): Approved a motion awarding Contract No. C02408 to Argonaut Constructors, Inc. for $738,076, plus a 15% contingency, totaling $848,787.40.
  • Purchase of Toyota Tacoma Pickups (Item 13.2): Adopted Resolution RES-2025-065 authorizing the purchase of ten Toyota Tacoma SR pickups for up to $383,209.20 from Freeway Toyota of Hanford, California.
  • Zero-Emission Bus Voucher Applications (Item 13.3): Adopted Resolution RES-2025-066 authorizing the Director of Transportation and Public Works to submit voucher applications for battery electric transit buses.
  • Declaration of Surplus Property – 0 Coffey Lane (Item 13.4): Adopted Resolution RES-2025-067 declaring the parcel surplus and authorizing compliance with the Surplus Land Act.
  • Violence Prevention Partnership MOU Extension (Item 13.5): Adopted Resolution RES-2025-068 approving a Memorandum of Understanding with the Sonoma County Probation Department to extend the Guiding People Successfully Program through June 30, 2028, with $480,000 in appropriations and a limited-term Community Outreach Specialist.
  • Sanitary Sewer Easement at 5107 Middlebrook Court (Item 13.6): Adopted Resolutions RES-2025-069 and RES-2025-070 accepting a 2,216-square-foot easement and vacating a 2,218-square-foot easement.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Proclamation – Affordable Housing Month: Omar Lopez (Generation Housing) expressed support for the proclamation and thanked the city for recognizing May as Affordable Housing Month.
  • Proclamation – Bike to Work Month: Calum Weeks and Janine spoke in support of the proclamation and bicycle access.
  • Public Comment on Non-Agenda Matters:
    • Janice Karmann spoke about the relocation of a marble sculpture in front of Santa Rosa Plaza.
    • Adina Flores spoke on the Potter Valley Dam decommissioning and its potential water supply impacts.
  • Public Hearing – Bennett Valley Golf Course Fees: Catherine Conrado and Janice Karmann both spoke in support of the fee increases.
  • Public Comment on Non-Agenda Matters (second session): No speakers.

Discussion Items

  • Study Session – FY 2025-26 Budget (Item 4.1): The council reviewed the proposed $517.7 million citywide budget, including a $6.7 million general fund deficit. Staff presented $13.1 million in proposed reductions, including elimination of 58.9 positions (25 sworn, 33.9 non-sworn), with 21 filled positions. Key options included blacking out or browning out a fire company, reducing police positions, and cutting homeless services. Council provided preliminary direction:
    • Additional Considerations (Personnel): Council supported most options except the elimination of the community engagement manager position; the city manager was directed to explore alternatives. The police lieutenant position was kept, with the city manager to discuss trade-offs with the chief.
    • Additional Considerations (Homeless Services): Council supported the proposed reductions ($1.46 million), with the caveat to preserve the warming center and drop-in center if possible. Council Member Rogers recused herself from the vote on Seasons of Sharing due to a conflict of interest.
    • Additional Considerations (Recreation and Parks): Council favored full cost recovery through fee increases rather than program closures, with a note to maintain subsidies for low-income participants.
  • Proclamation – Affordable Housing Month (Item 7.1): Council Member Fleming read the proclamation presented to Lauren Koenigshofer of Abode Services and Freebird Development Company.
  • Proclamation – Bike to Work Month and Day (Item 7.2): Council Member Bañuelos read the proclamation presented to Eris Weaver of the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition.
  • Community Empowerment Plan Update (Item 8.1): Ana Horta reported on upcoming community events, including Cinco de Mayo Festival, Kids to Park Day, and Pride Festival.
  • Chairperson Appointment – Design Review and Preservation Board (Item 11.2.1): Mayor Stapp initially nominated Adam Sharon, but after a substitute motion by Council Member Fleming, the council approved Melanie Jones-Carter as chair by a 5-0 vote.
  • Letter of Support for HR 2269 (Item 11.3.1): Council authorized the mayor to sign a letter supporting the WIPPES Act (wastewater infrastructure pollution prevention), approved 5-0.

Key Outcomes

  • Budget Direction: Council provided preliminary direction to staff on budget reductions, including preservation of the community engagement manager and exploration of attrition-based police cuts. The city manager will incorporate feedback and bring a final budget for adoption in June.
  • Bennett Valley Golf Course Fees: Adopted Resolution RES-2025-064 approving revised fees effective July 1, 2025, with increases of 2.5% to 5% for most categories, expected to generate approximately $150,000 in additional annual revenue.
  • Minutes Approval: Approved minutes from April 1 and April 15, 2025, regular meetings.
  • Legislative Update: The council received and filed information on support and opposition letters for several state bills (SB 454, AB 237, AB 60, AB 532, SB 601, AB 933).
  • Meeting Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 6:21 p.m., with the budget study session to continue on May 7, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. I'd like to ask the interpreter currently on the Spanish channel to commence interpretation of the meeting. For those of us joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish. Is available a members of the public or staff wishing to listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon in 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 you only hear the Spanish interpretation. Interpreter, will you please restate this in Spanish? Yes. Thank you very much. Back to you. Thank you, Mayor. Councilmember Rogers. Present. Councilmember O'Krepke. Here. Councilmember McDonald. Here. Councilmember Fleming. Councilmember Ben Wellows? Here. Vice Mayor Alvarez. Mayor Step. Here. Let the record show that all council members are present. Thank you very much. Madam City Attorney. And I will hand it off to the clerk because this is a new meeting from this morning so that she can facilitate the information we need from the council member. And then as I am understanding, once we get beyond that, based on what I understand, the reason is for the remote participation. So I'm going to hand it off to the clerk to facilitate having the council member explain and provide the disclosures that he's required to provide under the statute. Thank you, City Attorney. Uh Councilmember O'Krepke, can you please state the provision under AB 2449 of the Brown Act under which you are participating today, either just cause or emergency provisions? Yeah, uh I will be attending this meeting remotely under AB 2449, applying the just cause uh provision uh because I have a contagious illness and cannot attend in person. I will participate with both audio and video turned on throughout the meeting. In this room, I'm accompanied by no one over the age of 18. With that, Mayor, uh, we can proceed. Thank you. We have no closed session items uh for this session, or for or on this afternoon rather. Uh, we'll move on to item 4.1, our review of fiscal year 2025 and 2026 operations and maintenance budget and capital improvement program budget. Uh and with that, I'll turn it over to Madam City Manager. Thank you, Mayor. Uh good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council members. Uh so today we will begin our um day one of budget presentation. So you'll hear from various departments, uh, beginning from finance to just to discuss uh ongoing budget reductions. Uh what is going to be important by the conclusion of this meeting is we would like clear direction on budget cuts uh that council would like to implement. Um while several options have actually been presented to you. Some of these options actually necessitate further uh conversations with uh labor uh to discuss some potential impacts. So want to make it clear that if there is direction, there will still need to be some ongoing discussions with our labor representatives. Uh today staff, we have staff from each department and some additional staff members in the chambers that are available to answer your questions.

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