OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Santa Rosa Public Safety Subcommittee Meeting – October 28, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, October 28, 2025
BodySanta Rosa, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, October 28, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:45:29
Transcript — Verbatim
0:12

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

0:18

For those just joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish is available, and members of the public or staff wishing to listen in Spanish can join the Spanish channel by clicking on the interpretation icon and the zoom toolbar.

0:30

It looks like a globe.

0:32

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.

0:39

Click done to activate and begin the interpretation.

0:42

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

1:45

Gracias.

1:46

Back to you.

1:49

All right.

1:50

Good morning.

1:50

We're going to call this meeting to order at 9 a.m.

1:53

Madam Secretary, can you call the roll?

1:58

Yes.

2:00

Committee member McDonald here.

2:02

Chair O'Kropkey?

2:03

Here.

2:03

And committee member Fleming is absent by prior arrangement.

2:07

Thank you very much.

2:09

We have no remote participation.

2:11

Any announcements?

2:13

Seeing none, we'll move on to approval of minutes.

2:16

Do you have anything to say about the minutes?

2:18

Alright, neither do I.

2:19

We will adopt those minutes as submitted.

2:22

We'll go to item five, public comment on non-agenda items.

2:25

Is anybody's opportunity to talk about anything under the purview of the public safety subcommittee that is not agendized?

2:34

Seeing nobody moving at all, we will close public comment on non-agenda items and we'll move on to new business.

2:39

Item 6.1 measure H implementation plan.

2:42

Chief Westrope, take it away.

2:44

Thank you.

2:45

Good morning, Chair OK and Councilmember McDonald.

2:47

Scott Westrope Fire Chief of the City of Santa Rosa.

2:50

Today just have a brief update on where we're at with implementation of Measure H.

2:57

Am I presenting.

3:02

Thank you.

3:04

So we've I've shown you this slide before and we've been through it.

3:07

There's just some background on what measure H is and how it was passed.

3:12

What I will brief you on that's new information is that to date with the three tax rolls we've received, the City of Santa Rosa's received 6.642 million dollars in sales tax revenue directly to the fire department through Measure H.

3:25

So we're seeing what we predicted to be for a total of the sales tax measure to be around 60 million dollars countywide.

3:32

Um, and then our 14.4% um roll of that, we're seeing that right on target.

3:38

So things are moving on exactly as we had predicted.

3:42

Um this slide, I've shown you this before.

3:45

This was the leader's intent for the team to put together the Measure H implementation plan, working with finance and working with the city manager's office.

3:55

Uh they did a fantastic job of putting together a plan that essentially what I would label it as it's aggressive to get resources on the street, but it's also um cautious and insulated to make sure that it's financially stable and that measure H remains financially insulated from any other of the of the other um funding streams that we have.

4:16

So the really good news is that um we're moving along very well.

4:20

We've actually, um, with the two fire inspectors, we've moved two of our limited-term fire inspectors that were um grant-funded positions.

4:28

We moved them to FTEs under measure H.

4:30

So we've retained those employees, and then Fire Marshal Loenthal's team has gone through and done interviews for uh backfilling the limited term positions that are grant funded that are um will be funded for the next couple years.

4:43

So we have some good candidates for that, and we're moving forward on backfilling those positions.

4:49

So we've increased our capacity in the fire prevention bureau by about 25 percent.

4:55

Um the other news is we are able to place Engine 9 in service on October 6th along with Battalion 2.

5:00

Um, this is really a catalyst moment for the city of Santa Rosa, in that some of the media was a little misleading.

5:10

It wasn't a new fire engine, it wasn't a physical piece of apparatus, it was an engine company that went into service, and so um engine nine has been on the docket as you know since 1998.

5:21

Um we've had property for uh station nine since 1998 and just never been able to get it across the finish line.

5:27

So we now have an engine nine, so instead of 10 engines on the road every day, we have 11 engines on the road every day.

5:34

So we've really increased our capacity there.

5:37

Um and then battalion two uh typically we only had one on duty supervisor 24 hours a day.

5:43

Now we have two.

5:45

And while they do split the call volume and they do help each other out on larger scale emergencies, and it really doubles our capacity on a day-to-day basis, where the really big impact is instead of having a 14 to 1 span of control or a 15 to 1 span of control, they now have a seven to one span of control.

6:02

So the training, the district familiarization, um, the secession planning, the crew interaction, the rumor control, is really amplified by getting that second uh manager on duty on a day-to-day basis.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Safety█████████████████████████████████████████████49%
Transportation Safety████████████████17%
Community Engagement███████8%
Fiscal Sustainability██████7%
Engineering And Infrastructure████4%
Active Transportation████4%
Procedural███3%
Environmental Protection██2%
Intergovernmental Relations██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Public Safety Subcommittee Meeting – October 28, 2025

The Public Safety Subcommittee of the Santa Rosa City Council met on October 28, 2025 at 9:00 AM. Chair O'Kropkey and Committee Member McDonald were present; Committee Member Fleming was absent by prior arrangement. The subcommittee received updates on Measure H implementation, wildland-urban interface (WUI) mapping, e‑bike safety concerns, and the police department's response to the independent auditor's recommendations, followed by department reports.

Consent Calendar

  • The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as submitted.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Non‑agenda items: No public comment was offered.
  • E‑bike concerns (Item 6.3):
    • Eris Weaver (Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition) spoke in favor of e‑bikes as a transportation tool but urged accurate labeling of non‑compliant vehicles and supported state‑level regulation over local ordinances.
    • Chris Cunther (Bikeable Santa Rosa) reinforced the value of e‑bikes for families and seniors, noted that many incidents involve cars, and supported education and potential speed limits on bike paths.

Discussion Items

6.1 Measure H Implementation Plan (Chief Westrope)

  • The City has received $6.642 million in sales tax revenue through Measure H, consistent with projections of a countywide $60 million total.
  • Two limited‑term fire inspector positions have been converted to full‑time equivalents; the fire prevention bureau capacity has increased by 25%.
  • Engine 9 and Battalion 2 were placed in service on October 6, 2025, increasing daily engine availability from 10 to 11 and adding a second on‑duty supervisor (reducing span of control from 14–15:1 to 7:1).
  • A heavy rescue unit is planned but delayed until revenue and expenditure patterns are confirmed over a full fiscal year.
  • A working group is developing the rescue deployment strategy; the search for a temporary and permanent Station 9 site is underway near Santa Rosa Avenue and Elsa Court.
  • The first Measure H Citizens Oversight Committee meeting has been held; future meetings will be Brown Act compliant.

6.2 Wildland Urban Interface Area Mapping (Fire Marshal Lowenthal)

  • Cal FIRE released updated State Responsibility Area maps in December 2022; the City adopted those maps in March/April 2025.
  • New high‑severity zones now extend into the fairgrounds, Montgomery High School, Creekside, and parts of Oakmont; some previously mapped areas (Rincon Valley, Bennett Valley) were removed.
  • The Fire Department recommends revising the local WUI boundaries to contract where risk has decreased and expand where the state has identified high/very high risk, while also incorporating areas already subject to state code requirements.
  • The recommendations will be brought to a community meeting and then to City Council for formal adoption.

6.3 Addressing Bike/E‑bike Concerns (Captain Marinzik)

  • E‑bike incidents have risen from 33 in 2023 to 80 so far in 2025; many complaints involve juveniles near schools and parks.
  • California law defines three e‑bike classes (Class 1: 20 mph, no throttle; Class 2: 20 mph, throttle; Class 3: 28 mph, age 16+). Vehicles not meeting these classes are motorized bicycles requiring a license and motorcycle endorsement.
  • The Police Department has conducted internal training, public education campaigns, school partnerships, and dedicated enforcement/education days.
  • AB 875 (effective October 1, 2025) allows impoundment of improperly operated e‑bikes for a minimum of 48 hours.
  • Additional local restrictions (e.g., age, helmet, sidewalk prohibitions) are under consideration; Marin County’s pilot program was noted as a precedent.

6.4 Response to OIR (Independent Police Auditor) Recommendations (Chief Cregan)

  • The OIR Group’s 2024 annual report made five recommendations, all focused on process and training rather than reacting to any single incident.
  • Recommendation 1: Enhance use‑of‑force review – being addressed through upgraded Axon Standards software and expanded supervisor evaluation questions.
  • Recommendation 2: Improve computerized force tracking – the department is migrating to Axon Standards, expected to launch by end of 2025, enabling data analytics.
  • Recommendation 3: Maximize training cadre influence – two full‑time training officers have been assigned to identify trends and develop proactive training.
  • Recommendation 4: Improve PIT (pursuit intervention technique) training – currently limited by funding; cost to establish an internal program is approximately $50,000/year; the department is exploring shared regional options.
  • Recommendation 5: Comprehensive review of vehicle pursuits – the department has conducted proactive internal investigations, canceled over 30% of pursuits, and uses Axon fleet video for analysis.
  • The department maintains daily contact with the auditor, who participates in interviews; complaint dashboards are available on the city and police websites.

Key Outcomes

  • Measure H: The subcommittee acknowledged the revenue and deployment progress; no formal vote was taken (information item).
  • WUI Mapping: Subcommittee members expressed support for the proposed local WUI adjustments, with a caution not to promise insurance impacts. The staff will return to City Council with a formal recommendation.
  • E‑bike Concerns: The subcommittee encouraged continued education, enforcement, and coordination with schools and transportation/public works on signage and design standards. No formal action was taken.
  • OIR Recommendations: The subcommittee commended the police department for its proactive approach and professionalism. No further action was required.
  • Department Reports: The subcommittee noted updates on fire station construction (Station 5 opening November 15, 2025; Station 8 groundbreaking; Station 11 planning), fleet challenges (rising costs and extended delivery times), and the new fire canine, Onyx.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to ask the interpreter currently on the Spanish channel to commence interpretation of the meeting. For those just joining the meeting, live interpretation in Spanish is available, and members of the public or staff wishing to listen in Spanish can 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 you can only hear the Spanish interpretation. Gracias. Back to you. All right. Good morning. We're going to call this meeting to order at 9 a.m. Madam Secretary, can you call the roll? Yes. Committee member McDonald here. Chair O'Kropkey? Here. And committee member Fleming is absent by prior arrangement. Thank you very much. We have no remote participation. Any announcements? Seeing none, we'll move on to approval of minutes. Do you have anything to say about the minutes? Alright, neither do I. We will adopt those minutes as submitted. We'll go to item five, public comment on non-agenda items. Is anybody's opportunity to talk about anything under the purview of the public safety subcommittee that is not agendized? Seeing nobody moving at all, we will close public comment on non-agenda items and we'll move on to new business. Item 6.1 measure H implementation plan. Chief Westrope, take it away. Thank you. Good morning, Chair OK and Councilmember McDonald. Scott Westrope Fire Chief of the City of Santa Rosa. Today just have a brief update on where we're at with implementation of Measure H. Am I presenting. Thank you. So we've I've shown you this slide before and we've been through it. There's just some background on what measure H is and how it was passed. What I will brief you on that's new information is that to date with the three tax rolls we've received, the City of Santa Rosa's received 6.642 million dollars in sales tax revenue directly to the fire department through Measure H. So we're seeing what we predicted to be for a total of the sales tax measure to be around 60 million dollars countywide. Um, and then our 14.4% um roll of that, we're seeing that right on target. So things are moving on exactly as we had predicted. Um this slide, I've shown you this before. This was the leader's intent for the team to put together the Measure H implementation plan, working with finance and working with the city manager's office. Uh they did a fantastic job of putting together a plan that essentially what I would label it as it's aggressive to get resources on the street, but it's also um cautious and insulated to make sure that it's financially stable and that measure H remains financially insulated from any other of the of the other um funding streams that we have. So the really good news is that um we're moving along very well. We've actually, um, with the two fire inspectors, we've moved two of our limited-term fire inspectors that were um grant-funded positions. We moved them to FTEs under measure H. So we've retained those employees, and then Fire Marshal Loenthal's team has gone through and done interviews for uh backfilling the limited term positions that are grant funded that are um will be funded for the next couple years. So we have some good candidates for that, and we're moving forward on backfilling those positions. So we've increased our capacity in the fire prevention bureau by about 25 percent.

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