Good evening, everyone.

Thank you for joining us.

I'd like to call to order the regular meeting of the South San Francisco City Council for this Wednesday, November 12th.

Uh, can I please have roll call?

Councilmember Coleman.

Here.

Councilmember Nogales.

Here.

Councilmember Nicholas.

Present.

Vice Mayor Adiego.

Here.

Mayor Flores.

Present.

Tonight.

Sorry, next item.

Move along to the Pledge of Allegiance.

Thank you now.

Tonight, leading us on the Pledge of Allegiance is South San Francisco District One resident and member of our South San Francisco Anti-Displacement Citizen Advisory Committee, which we will be hearing on later tonight.

Please welcome to the podium, Michelle Alvarez.

And if you are able, please stand and place your right hand over your heart and after you, Miss Alvarez.

Thank you.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.

One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

You may be seated.

Next item, please.

Agenda review.

Thank you very much.

Duly noted.

Next item.

Levine act disclosures.

Does the council have any reporting?

No reporting.

So we can move along to announcements from staff.

Great.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council members.

My name is Devin Stenhouse.

I am the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer for the City of South San Francisco.

This evening I have three announcements.

Just so that we can pay proper homage to one of the youngest pioneers in the American civil rights movement, Ruby Bridges, who was among the first to break the Jim Crow barriers in the state of Louisiana in 1960, a brief 65 years ago.

I believe you may have more to hear about this particular topic later on this evening, but for now I just wanted to invite uh council members, the community, and all schools and students uh throughout South San Francisco to join us uh at Ruby Bridges' Walk to School Day.

Additionally, according to the Federal Trade Commission, among the millions of Americans who lost money to scammers in 2024, older adults lost the most.

Join Councilmember Mark Nogales and the South San Francisco Police Department for a free seminar where you can learn how to protect yourself from fraud on Tuesday, November 18th at 6 30 p.m.

until 8 o'clock, right here in the Library Parks and Recreation uh Center and in the social hall.

Please scan the QR to learn more and to register for this free seminar.

And finally, I would like to just notify the public that city facilities will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 27th and 28th, with the exception of our wallet control plant and our police and fire departments.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Any others?

That's one more.

Okay.

Excellent.

Welcome.

Yes, good evening.

Mayor Flores, Vice Mayor Adiego, City Council members.

I'm Library Director Valerie Summer, and I'm pleased to invite our community to two upcoming library programs.

This Friday and Saturday, November 14th and 15th, the South San Francisco Friends of the Library is holding its fall book sale.

Come find books, DVDs, and CDs for your home libraries as well as for holiday gift giving.

All proceeds fund children's and adult programs and special library collections.

The sale is held here in this building on the second floor in the community room and is scheduled from 10 a.m.

to 4 p.m.

on both days.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And second, I'm also happy to announce a special program here in the City Council Chambers tomorrow night.

Amgen scientist Itis will speak on the fascinating topics of human genetics, the 3D GNM CRISPR, and the battle against disease.

The program starts here in the count in the chambers at 6 30 p.m.

tomorrow night, so I hope to see you all here.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Good evening, Greg Mediati, Director of Parks and Rec.

All are invited to join us on November 22nd for our 52nd annual Thanksgiving 5K fun run at Oyster Point Shoreline Park.

The run will begin at 9 a.m.

sharp.

Participants will be awarded prizes for top finishers in each grade age group and be entered into drawings for prizes at the end of the race.

The last day to register is November 15th.

And next slide.

All are welcome to join us for our annual Santa Comes to Town event.

The event takes place Saturday, December 6th from 10 a.m.

to 2 p.m.

at City Hall.

Uh Santa will be joining us aboard one of our own fire trucks.

New for this year to cut down on wait times.

Upon arrival, participants will receive a ticket with a designated return time to come back and take their picture of Santa.

The event is rain or shine.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Very apropos.

So the audience, I see some scholars here.

Remind your parents.

10 a.m.

on December 6th.

Good evening, Mayor.

And Council members Matt Sampson, your Fire Chief.

I'm here to remind everybody that after they've had a chance to recover from the fun run on the 22nd.

We're inviting them to Fire Station 61 for an afternoon with Santa and one of our fire engines.

It's an opportunity for the public to come take family pictures with Santa on a fire engine.

He'll be there from one to three.

Um and the events is open to the public and it is free.

This is a great opportunity for those looking for an additional photograph for their holiday card coming up.

We could have an opportunity for you to get one.

And like I said, the event's free, but we are asking families that are able to to please bring diapers to donate to support the city's toy, excuse me, the diaper drive.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Thank you to all staff and uh lots of great announcements and lots of good events coming up in the next few weeks.

Thank you very much for that.

Next item, please.

We'll move along to presentations.

Item number one is a certificate recognizing physique magnifique on their 28th anniversary and regrand opening.

Thank you.

Tonight it is really my honor to recognize a true pillar of our South San Francisco community, physique magnifique.

Um it is a local business gym here, uh, all about celebrating about body and wellness as they celebrate an incredible 28 years of service of strength and wellness here in South San Francisco.

Since opening their doors in 1997, Jim Futaba and the entire Jihad team at Physique Magnifique have built more than just your regular gym.

They've built really a community around the downtown Grand Avenue area, a place where all people of all ages, of all backgrounds, and yes, even all fitness levels are indeed welcome, are supported and empowered to become the best version of themselves.

We're very proud to have Fasig Magnifique here as one of our local gyms.

And whether it's through personal training or group classes or simply the warm encouragement that greets you at the door, Fasik Magnifique has helped countless residents lead healthier, more confident lives.

And after nearly three decades in our community, they continue to evolve and to inspire.

On October 11th, uh they hosted a fantastic re-grand opening, breathing new life into their space and reaffirming the commitment to serving South San Francisco for many more years to come.

It really was a celebration of resilience, of renewal, of community spirit, the values that really reflect here in South San Francisco.

So tonight, on behalf of this city council, I am proud to present the certificate of recognition on their grand opening and celebration anniversary to Phasique Magnifique.

Congratulations and thank you all for what you continue to do here to keep South City strong in mind, in body, and in community.

Please help me welcome Jim and Futaba to the podium to accept the certificate.

We'll take a picture here.

This way?

Either way.

Well, thank you so much.

We appreciate it.

We truly appreciate this.

Um especially because we really didn't, you know, really thinking that we were getting anything like this.

So we truly appreciate your support.

Um I'd like to so you know say thank you to all the people in South San Francisco that have really supported us throughout the 28 years, including during the pandemic, when a lot of people, you know, we were closed for over a little bit over a year, and even then people said, Well, we're not gonna cancel our membership because we want you to stay in business, you know, when when everything opens up again.

So we really have wonderful people, like you said, a community, and a community that um that really supports us.

So we're very, very grateful.

Um, and yes, like you said, you know, we completely redid our uh downstairs and um uh now we have more things to offer, and um, yes, we want to be here for a long, long time as long as you know we're able to, able-bodied too.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

I'd just like to say uh thank you to the city of South San Francisco for allowing us to uh operate our business in this community uh as an Asian and African American male.

Uh it is uh it is uh uh quite a move for us to uh be in South San Francisco for 28 years.

We came here from uh a mom and pop business uh from a garage.

Uh and we started here 28 years ago, and uh now we look up and uh hope to be here uh another 28 years if we if we can uh make it that long.

So thank you all for allowing us to again own and operate our business uh in a predominantly Spanish-speaking community, and um uh thank you.

Thank you so much for allowing us to be here.

We really appreciate that.

Thank you.

Thank you again.

Congratulations.

Thank you again.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you both.

Congratulations again.

Next item, please.

Item number two is a proclamation recognizing November 14, 2025 as Ruby Bridges Day.

Tonight is also a very, very special night.

Um, love when the energy is here.

So, um, if you are a Martin meteor, make some noise in this tonight.

Come on, let me hear you.

So it's not just for our city, and I think uh the scholars in this room uh know this story, but for the rest of the audience members and those watching at home, it's really uh for our entire country, because we're recognizing a movement that started right here in South San Francisco in a fifth grade classroom at Martin Elementary School and has now grown into a nationwide celebration of courage, of justice, and of hope.

The Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day, yes, was started by a group of fifth graders and by a student named Madeline, we call her Maddie uh Popiolac, who actually is now completing her freshman year at California Lutheran University in Southern California.

The movement began in 2017, 2018, that school year, after Maddie asked her teacher, uh Mrs.

Deborah uh Carlino at that time if there was a day to really honor Ruby Bridges.

And when the class and she found out that there wasn't any, the class launched a full on campaign and started mobilizing.

The students quickly collected over a thousand signatures and successfully petition the South San Francisco School Board, South San Francisco Unified School District, uh to designate November 14th as Ruby Bridges Day.

But they didn't stop just there.

Many probably would have.

So you all have to go to sleep early on Thursday evening to show up with support of uh this powerful walk in the steps of City Hall.

But I want to tell you what this really is all about.

It's it's really a moment to celebrate and recognize Miss Ruby Bridges, who I had the pleasure of meeting uh right before the pandemic in January of 2020.

In 1960, at just six years old, Ruby became the first black child to integrate in an all-white elementary school in New Orleans.

She was met with angry crowds, escorted by federal marshals, and spent her first day in the principal's office.

No, not because she did something wrong, but because she did something right.

She was making history.

And Ruby's bravery was captured in a famous uh painting, the problem we all live with.

But more importantly, her courage sparked change throughout the country.

And she never stopped walking forward.

She graduated, she became an advocate, and she founded the Ruby Bridges Foundation to promote tolerance, to promote respect and appreciation of all differences.

And now, thanks to the incredible scholars back then at uh Miss Deborah Carlino's fifth grade class, what started as a class project became a county and then a statewide resolution.

And now schools all across the country.

You could go into social media, you could look at high schools, you could look all over, and they now hold and participate on a Ruby Bridges walk to school day.

That's the power of our young people.

That's the power of our leaders, that's the power of their voices.

As a former educator and as a former school board president myself, this moment means so much.

It's full circle times because it reminds us how we need to continue to preserve history and stand up for what's right and to protest in safe, peaceful and powerful ways.

And it reminds all students, yes, all students, including fifth graders, can lead movements, can mobilize and organize to change this world.

So tonight, on behalf of this city council, I'm proud to present this proclamation to the fifth graders of Martin Elementary School who are here with us under the leadership of Principal Jonathan Cavacha and in partnership with the South San Francisco Unified School uh District Board of Trustees or Superintendent Dr.

Shanterra Moore and teachers and staff at that school.

So let me read it into the record.

Now, therefore, it is resolved that the city council of the city of South San Francisco does hereby proclaim November 14th, 2025 as Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day in South San Francisco and commends all students, families, and educators for participating in this significant day to honor the Civil Rights activists.

The students here tonight, they remind us of so much.

And as you see their Green Martin um uh uniforms, is because they're also part of a safety patrol group that really uh helps and supports uh their fellow peers in morning drop off and afternoon pickup.

When I was on school board, I mentioned that, and I was so moved that there was schools still moving um with safety patrols.

Uh this was in 2018, almost seven years ago.

And at that point in time, I was so excited that guess what happened at that time.

The whole class decided to gift me right there and then on the dais, one of their hats, and I've kept it ever since.

So to the students here tonight, thank you for reminding me what it means to be leaders.

Thank you for keeping this legacy alive, and we are so proud of every advocacy effort that you are doing.

So without further ado, please put your hands together and welcome the fifth graders from Martin Elementary School up to the front to accept this proclamation.

Good evening.

My name is Allie Mae, and on behalf of Martin Elementary, we are very thankful for this opportunity to be here with you to show our continued effort to spread the courage and resiliency of Miss Ruby Bridges.

Before my friends start with the proclamation, I want to invite you to Martin's Ruby Bridges celebration.

After our morning's gathering at City Hall, we will walk to our school.

At Martin, we will have our school assembly to present what each grade level will be working on to honor Ruby Bridges Day through our day of dialogue commitment.

We will start our assembly at 8:45, and we hope to see you there.

Whereas Ruby Ruby Bridges' first day of school experience as the resource of the court or the George the Judge J.

Skelly Wright, U.S.

Circuit Judge of the U.S.

Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Circuit was commemorated by Norman Rockwell in his painting The Problem We All Live With and Whereas Ruby Bridges preserved attending integrated schools through high school graduation and becoming an uh advocate for equal rights for all students and whereas Ruby Bridges found the Ruby Bridges Foundation in 1999 to promote the value of tolerance, respect, and uh appreciation of all difference and whereas the scholars of Deborah Carlino's fifth grade class in 2017-2018 from Martin Elementary School in the South San Francisco Unified School District learned about the life of Ruby Bridges and as a way to honor the Solar Activist.

Proudly founded Ruby Bridges walked to school in.

Whereas at the request of Moran Elementary School of the South San Francisco Unified School District, the San Mateo County Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools adopted a resolution number 1852 on October 17th, 2018, creating Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day in San Mateo County to be honored annually on November 14th.

Now there are four beers of that the City Council of the City of South San Francisco.

Do you hear about proclaimed November 14, 2025 as you be bridges walk to school day in South San Francisco?

South San Francisco and commend all students, families, and educators for participating in this significant day to under the civil rights activist.

Let's give them all a warm round of applause.

Good job, you guys did great.

If I could have all the students come back up, we're gonna take a picture.

We're gonna take a full photo.

So all the students from Arn, come on up.

And if I I would like my counsel to join us right here on the platform in the back, so we could take a full group picture, please.

Yes, sir.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

So this is as far as it's gonna be.

Oh, that way.

Thank you all.

Great job.

Next item, please.

Item number three is a proclamation recognizing November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

Thank you.

And I've asked my colleague, Councilmember Floor Nicholas to present this proclamation tonight.

Thank you, Mayor.

Every November, we observe lung cancer awareness month.

Lung cancer is currently considered the deadliest cancer in the United States and the world.

Two in my close circle of friends have succumbed to lung cancer in the last few years.

So personally, I deeply appreciate this proclamation and the work being done by the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative.

A team of over 200 doctors and work and students working to raise awareness for lung cancer and lung cancer screening.

Professionally, I am very familiar with the plight of lung cancer patients, especially because one of the targeted therapies I have worked on is a non-small cell lung cancer.

Um is for non-small cell lung cancer, harboring epidemic epidermal growth factor receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 ex and 20 mutations.

Thus far, our product is still being worked on in clinical trials and has demonstrated superior anti-proliferation and anti-tumor effects in relevant tumor models in vitro and in vivo with any cancer early detection is key, as early diagnosis significantly improves survival rates.

Anyone with lungs should get can get lung cancer, regardless of your age, gender, or smoking history.

Both of the friends I lost were non-smokers.

For high-risk individuals, you could be eligible for a yearly low dose computed tomography screening.

And I'm delighted today to present our our on behalf of the entire city council, the proclamation recognizing November as Lung Cancer Awareness Month, the Benjamin Joe and Hannah Papoy.

Hannah is an education and publicity chair of the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative of the UC Berkeley chapter, and is a fourth year student majoring in molecular and cell biology and pharmacology pharmacology.

May Colin Benjamin and Hannah to the podium, please.

Let's welcome them tonight.

Oh, great.

Thank you so much.

I know, it's perfect.

Thank you so much.

Nice to meet you all.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Hello, my name is Hannah Popoy.

And I'm Benjamin Joe.

And we are members of the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative, which is commonly abbreviated to LC.

Al C is a national nonprofit that's composed of students and physicians working together to raise awareness on lung cancer and lung cancer screening.

On behalf of the LC team, we would like to thank the South South San Francisco Council for recognizing Lung Cancer Awareness Month this November 2025.

It's an honor to be here today.

Lung cancer is now the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide.

It's the second most common cancer in the US with an estimate of over 230,000 diagnoses and over 127,000 deaths this year alone.

Anyone can get lung cancer, claiming more lives than breast, prostate, and colon cancers combined, lung cancer has become the deadliest cancer in the US.

However, it doesn't have to be.

Early detection through lung cancer screening can catch lung cancer early when it is easier to treat and survival rates are higher.

Unfortunately, the national screening rate is as low as 18%, and only 16% of high-risk Californians are being screened.

We strongly encourage all individuals aged 50 to 680 with a smoking history to ask their doctor about lung cancer screening.

It is also important to spread the word to anyone who may benefit from screening.

By advocating together, we can help bring awareness to lung cancer and remove the stigma surrounding it.

By disseminating together, we can increase screening rates and decrease lung cancer mortality.

Together, we can help save lives.

Thank you.

Thank you very much to both of you.

Appreciate it.

Thank you for your advocacy and go bears.

Next item, please.

Item number four, state of the city preview.

So this is a special night for many multiple reasons, and this also uh speaks to the heart of why it's so important to be able to have our scholars, our young generation here.

But we're also testing something different here, which we're looking into to moving forward next year.

And that's uh simultaneous interpretation, language interpretation.

We have a few members of our Spanish speaking monolingual community here that are going to hear this uh state of the city in uh in Spanish, so I will try to be slow for the interpreters.

I've learned that lesson in working with you all.

But I really want to welcome you all this evening for this section of tonight's meeting, and that's really to honor and to really stand before you and showcase what South San Francisco truly is, what we have become, and reflect on this wonderful state of our great city and reminisce and be able to share with each one of you our progress, our challenges, and most importantly, our people, our community and our staff.

So we gather today, tonight as South City, which is really a diverse uh community in culture, in experiences, but united in purpose.

The theme of this year's State of the City address is simple.

It's unity, it's resilience and innovation, because our strength as a city has always been and has been found in our people.

But before I move on in this presentation, let me tell you a little bit about what you can expect.

We will showcase some of the different departments and initiatives and programs that we're very proud to have been working on and achieve great milestones throughout uh the course of this year.

Uh, this is a very important piece of our city to be able to report back to the community and showcase the state of our wonderful city.

That being said, let's move on to one of the first topics.

Um, everyone say it with me.

It's adelanted, it's in Spanish.

Say it with me, adelante.

And that really means uh moving forward, we're moving forward, moving adelanted, and that will be the theme for tonight.

We're united in our diversity.

Over the past year, South San Francisco has faced challenges, but we've responded with creativity and with compassion.

We built new partnerships, we've strengthened our neighborhoods and continue to invest in the well-being of every single resident, every resident.

Together, we're building a city where innovation really meets also community, where opportunity is accessible to all and every single one, where every voice really has a place in our community, and it's helping to shape our future.

As a city's first Salvadorian immigrant mayor, it has been my duty, it has been my honor to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in navigating these very interesting times, to say the least, but also helping to preserve everything and anything that makes South City the place we're all proud to call home.

This past year, we've reaffirmed what makes South City so special: our diversity and our ability to come together for one another.

Through our promotoras program, our community navigators program, we've reached more than a hundred and twenty residents with multilingual assistance, connecting neighbors to housing, to resources, to health care, and to legal resources in English, in Spanish, in Tagalo, in Mandarin, in Cantonese, and through partnerships such as amazing organizations like Cora and the YMCA Community Resource Center.

We've supported families and with rental assistance, with domestic violence prevention, with food and diaper distributions, and these programs, they remind us all that when we uplift each other, when we strengthen each other, we strengthen our entire community.

Because really, folks, strengthening our community, it really helps all of us feel seen and heard in the types of events that we also have hosted.

This year we hosted our first lunar new year night market, raised the pride flag proudly, among many other flags that celebrate our various cultures.

We hosted story times and film showings like we just did for Filipino American History Month, and we held a cultural gathering recognizing the Hindu festival of Holy.

And of course, we continue to support long-standing traditions like Festa Italiana and Mexican Independence Day.

Each event showcases the vibrant cultures that make South San Francisco stronger, more compassionate, and more connected.

That spirit was also in full display at this year's first inaugural Cultura Fest that I helped champion along with some amazing community partners.

Together, we transformed Grand Avenue for the first time, the largest outdoor event that we had outside of City Hall, where we had a lively parade of all cultures, not just Hispanic or Latino cultures, local vendors, cultural performances.

We had great food and art, and we had a full display of what our community could be.

It was really a great privilege to be able to hang out and get to know the community and walk around the streets.

And it was also a privilege to be able to share a little piece of my homeland with you all and to celebrate all the other cultures that make South City such a beautiful and remarkable place.

We're a city, though, for all generations, from early learners to lifelong volunteers, South City continues to invest in programs that help residents learn and grow and thrive.

Our Youth and Government Day, our summer internship program, gave our youth and our students an experience in civic leadership.

While we expanded child care programs that have created 120 new after-school spaces at no cost to families through our expanded learning opportunities program in partnership with our school district.

Also in partnership, talking about our school district, this year we also helped distribute bicycles.

That's right, 200 of our students through our award-winning program, Every Kid Deserves a Bike.

Since it first started in 2022, we've equipped over 1,400 students from low income families with a free bicycle, free helmet, free safety gear, and training in how to do and how to ride a bike.

Imagine the life scale when we're teaching someone how to ride a bike for the rest of their lives.

At the other age of the spectrum, the city has adopted its first age friendly action plan, a roadmap, to outlining clear goals to improve livability for older adults across nine key areas.

And the council was able to receive a full report of that uh plan, which includes housing, includes transportation, social participation, and what really means a lot to our community.

Our seniors have enjoyed and expanded services with extended hours at our Teglia Senior Center, new programs at the Ales Peñabulos Community Center up in Westboro.

And we've continued to demand and continue to grow and continue to take feedback and ideas to increase programming, including our congregate nutrition program.

Imagine that.

There's seniors that every week depend on that.

We've served over 800, sorry, 8,000 meals this year.

Together, these uh efforts really reflect that here in South San Francisco.

We're a city where cultures are important.

We're also a city where we come together to create something uniquely inclusive and connected community goals and whatnot.

Our parks and rec also are in our libraries, continue to be here in South City, and they continue to connect our community.

At the Library and Parks and Rec Center, where we're all at, the city's largest community hub, bringing two departments under one roof.

We've seen just how much our residents value these shared spaces.

This past year alone, we've welcomed more than 277,000 folks, visits from 65,000 unique visitors.

There's people that actually come here and study and say, I want to go work out of your library, your center.

Our library continues to be a cornerstone of learning of creativity and connection with more than 2,000 programs reaching 51,000 attendees.

These programs include our STEM workshops, our many, which are sponsored by some of our community leaders and biotech leaders here in Oyster Point, comic art festivals, very well known, as well as story times.

Our summer learning program has more than 10,000 books placed right here into the hands of young readers, helping kids build a lifelong love for reading.

But here's the exciting part.

Construction is well underway, let me tell you, for the Orange Memorial Park Aquatic Center, which we will be doing a grand ribbon cutting next year.

The design has moved forward also on our Westboro Preschool, the new park at Linden and Pine, the Dundee Park renovation.

We're also designing Centennial Way Park North to start to address the park deficit around our communities, including in Sunshine Gardens neighborhood.

And we've added new pickleball courts to Orange Memorial Park, so lots to get excited about when it comes to outdoor activity.

As part of our cultural arts program, we're expanding South City's public art collection, integrating art installations into new parks and facilities, so creativity and community pride are woven into every day of our spaces.

Our parks continue to be more uh than just buildings or spaces.

They continue to be an investment here in South San Francisco.

The Orange Memorial Park Sports Field, which I I hear so many families participating in so many families coming in practice and joining their soccer clubs and leagues.

A quarter of a million visitors just this past year alone.

The new Centennial Way Park South saw 50,000 visitors in the recently open phase two of Oyster Point Shoreline Park has seen a hundred thousand new visitors.

And of course, like I said, we celebrated in community this past September in concert in the park, where nearly 7,000 people came together to enjoy Gramming Award-winning band, Ozomatli, community performances, vendors, and family activities.

This is what we're about in our park and recreation department.

But you know, we're also thinking for the future in those times that perhaps might not be so strong.

When it comes to public safety, both our fire and our police departments continue to really set the standard of service, of safety, and innovation throughout our city.

This year, the team completed a $2 million upgrade to the fire training tower, replacing aging systems, adding critical safety features, and installing a new technical and realistic saving life training.

Our emergency operations center received a 350,000 upgrade to its audio visual to support enhancing.

So whenever a disaster strikes, we're ready.

We're ready to address it.

They've also placed into service a new 34-foot fire boat, which we were able to christen earlier this year, delivering more than 200 gallons of water per minute and transporting personnel and supplies throughout the bay during regional disasters.

Knock on wood, should not a plane ever go down around this area.

Guess who would respond first?

Our fire department, our team, our crews, and this fire boat is essential to making sure that lives get saved.

Another major step forward, the department launched its drone program with three certified operators now providing real-time support during emergencies to be able to identify and analyze the extent of a fire.

All together, our firefighters have responded to more than 8,400 emergency incidents, while our three ambulances have transported more than 5,000 patients to care.

Our crews have also answered the call to assist major, major wildfires throughout the state.

And I'm so humbled and so proud when I get those emails saying that our crew has been launched to assist our neighbors in the north and the south of the state throughout the wildfires that have spread throughout California since the beginning of January, including the Palisades fire in LA County earlier this year.

Looking ahead, our new fire engines are under construction, and a new fire station is also moving forward here in South San Francisco.

The department is really implementing also new records, being more efficient and being uh really uh with an eye on on promoting equipment that will be ready for the challenges of tomorrow.

But we're also very proud and excited of our police department.

Our police department continues to lead with innovation, with conviction, with compassion.

But most of all, when I see them out on the street, it's with community partnership.

You know, this year alone, and I'm gonna repeat it so that it people can hear it because sometimes it's startling to understand that concept.

But this year, crime in South San Francisco has dropped significantly across the board in every single category.

Uh crimes against persons, uh individuals or persons are down 27%.

Property crimes are down 31%, crimes against society, individuals and groups are down nearly 30% compared to last year.

In addition to our improved technology and our successful flock cameras or our license plate readers, we've now really reached strong collaboration between our officers and the community they serve.

We have more officers that have grown up here in the community that have attended our local high schools and middle schools, and that's not by just coincidence.

The department continues to embrace new technology and modern approaches to public safety.

And this is where we really matters and we move forward.

What I'm most excited to that it's now become a practice in our police department, is we've now, the city has hired a full-time mental health clinician to support officers and go out there in many of the calls for behavior behavioral-related calls, ensuring that residents, when they are in crisis, they have someone that can receive appropriate attention and can listen to them and dialogue with them with compassionate care.

This includes and gives our residents um direct access to to be able to have the opportunity to uh get the resources that they need as well.

Finally, the department has welcomed 15 new officers and six new professional staff members, and it's already looking ahead to new recruitment efforts early in 2026.

Our police and fire department will soon co-host as well, expanding the blue and red.

It's gonna be a recruitment event, encouraging more women as well and people of color to join our public safety careers here in South San Francisco.

We're investing in our infrastructure.

We realize that the city is growing, and for that uh effort, our public works and our engineering teams continue to strengthen the foundation of our city, keeping South City safe, keeping South City resilient and ready for the future.

This past year we've invested five million through our pavement management program.

So you've seen it across your neighborhoods and your streets and around town, improving streets across the city, making our daily commutes smoother for everyone.

We've added two miles of protected bike lanes along Juniper Serra Boulevard.

We've installed 15 mile per hour school zones right here, including at Martin Elementary across 13 schools in South San Francisco, upgraded 220 LED streetlights along Grand Avenue.

No more is Grand Avenue gonna be dark and scary.

Now, Grand Avenue and Linden Avenues, as you can see, uh, will be lit, will be bright, we'll be welcoming.

We've built 80 new ADA curb ramps, including a new accessible path at Cyprus and Pine Park.

We continue to build on resilience against climate change as well.

We understand that climate change is real and we're leading the way in resilience and sustainability.

Our award-winning water uh quality control plant has installed advanced sludge uh dewatering technology, saving more than 100,000 dollars annually in hauling and chemical costs, and we began to design a flood wall project to protect the plant from sea level rise with 11.5 million dollars in federal funding expected through the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers.

We've also continued to expand our electric vehicle fleet, reduce organic waste through the free compost pilot program, and we've engaged our residents in sustainability education through our South San Francisco partnership with our scavengers.

What I'm most excited about, and I know this council as well, and many of our community members is our South San Francisco free shuttle.

That's right.

We have a free shuttle here in South City.

It's helping lead the charge on our sustainability efforts.

What began as a single route, and I gotta give kudos to former mayor Carol Matsumoto on leading this charge back in 2014 and the entire council at that time, it route it really has grown now into three full routes serving every part of our city.

In the past year alone, the shuttle carried more than 80,000 passengers.

That's thousands of trips that might otherwise have been made by car.

So we're helping reduce traffic, cutting emissions, and keeping our air cleaner.

The shuttles are free, folks.

You can welcome anyone.

They're ADA accessible and they're open to everyone.

With the South City Shuttle app, you can actually check in and see when the next ride is gonna happen.

And we thank the San Mateo County Transportation Authority who awarded us over a million dollars to fund this continued uh extra lines and operations of our free shuttle program.

South San Francisco, we're not waiting for the future.

You know, many of our colleagues and local mayors, they always ask, how did you guys do that shuttle?

It's the envy of folks around town.

In the last year alone, our public works department has also completed many of the requests from the community with an average response time of two to three days.

And let me tell you, as you probably will see, everything from repairing potholes.

Yes, we're repairing potholes up and down the streets.

We're clearing up street lights, we're cleaning up illegal dumping, we're going out to the streets in our neighborhoods to try to combat and attack any form of blythe.

We're keeping our neighborhoods safe.

We're working together to make sure that our streets run smooth and our amazing public works team has done it.

Through our engage SSF app, you snap a picture of a sofa or a refrigerator, whatever it may be, that's been left outside of a corner.

In fact, I got an email from a resident up in uh this area of town saying there's a large TV screen, and then immediately within an hour, she said, never mind, it's gone.

Public works came and picked it up.

And that's the dedication of our staff of our committed, who know that it's important to keep our city clean and beautify it.

Earlier this summer, South San Francisco also we took action to improve safety and access to Oyster Point with the removal of abandoned and blighted vessels, old ships, all old vote boats that were just left abandoned.

This progress follows the city council's approval of a new uh mooring ordinance.

And I want to thank and give kudos to Vice Mayor Mark Gariego, who uh championed this effort.

We gave uh and provided uh direction to staff uh to really address the derelict boats in the city's navigable waterways because previous vessels, believe it or not, could remain idle out in the water for months, months on out.

And our guests in our hoteliers and our hotels were saying, what's going on there on the waterfront?

So now the city can now issue a notice and proceed with removal within 10 days of these vessels uh to be able to remove them on uh and this ordinance represents really a critical step in moving forward, thinking outside the box, not waiting for what else is someone else gonna do, but revitalizing San South uh San Francisco's waterfront and ensuring that our oyster point remains a resource for all to enjoy.

I want to talk a little bit about what's happening around town in terms of our innovation, our economic uh vitality.

Our economic uh vitality and our in our area of businesses continues to evolve, blending our historical uh roots with cutting edge life sciences and small business innovation.

Want to congratulate and thank the South San Francisco Chamber of Commerce for being a support for our small businesses and our local businesses here.

Our economic advancement center, if you haven't visited on Grand Avenue, make sure you take a look and go visit.

It has supported more than two thousand people with workforce training.

Small business development as well as entrepreneurial support delivered in partnership with our local nonprofits.

We develop a new program as well.

We didn't just want to keep old storefronts or vacant properties.

We created the city's launch local program, which activates vacant storefronts with pop-up businesses, new businesses.

While the proposed downtown improvement uh district continues to evolve, and we're hopeful to continue to have conversations on that.

And because of this great program, South City will now have its first bike shop.

Believe it or not, a city this big, and we don't have a bike shop.

Well, folks, thankful to this council and staff support through our launch local program that will be coming soon.

Um we hosted, as I mentioned earlier, a lunar new year night market, drawing nearly a thousand attendees from all cities and neighboring cities who took uh and came in right here to South San Francisco.

We're continuing to expand our efforts, um, and as the birthplace of biotech.

I have to tell you, South San Francisco remains a global leader in science and in innovation.

Many folks didn't know what is happening on the east of 101.

So thanks to the leadership of our city manager two years ago, we created a speaker series.

What's happening east of 101, where folks like yourselves and myself can go and visit and hear what these amazing cutting edge uh life science and biotech companies are doing to find the next cure for cancer, as uh my colleagues said earlier for lung cancer and other illnesses and diseases too.

We're very happy to partner with new innovative companies that have chosen South San Francisco to come in.

Uh meanwhile, also our small businesses continue to be supported and thrive.

Along Grand Avenue in Spruce, we continue to welcome, I can't tell you how many ribbon cuttings I've attended, uh, just alone this year.

We welcome new restaurants, new coffee shops, new bakeries, wildflower bakery, for example, at the Karomatsumoto Kyle Train Plaza, which is now kind of a center hub where people can not only get a bite to eat, but also uh coffee in the morning and and and a beer in the afternoon.

Our small businesses continue to thrive to feel supported and choose South San Francisco, including Brucha, which has gone viral all over social media and TikTok as a place to be to come get your boba or sourdough and company.

They could pick any city in the peninsula, but they choose to come to South San Francisco for what's happening here in the community and in our neighborhoods.

And here you are.

If you are wondering or still wondering what is happening in the intersection of Spruce at El Camino Real, well, let me be the first to remind you or probably uh reshare the news that we have a brand new safeway currently under construction on Spruce and El Camino, and they're making great progress.

I'm I'm sure some of you have driven by.

Uh it's developed by Steelwave, and this 68,000 square foot store will anchor a new retail, new dining center, and it's complete, hopefully completed early next year.

So we're looking forward to even more new uh innovation and new businesses coming to South San Francisco.

But with businesses, with retail, with um uh having a great community, we also need to address some of the challenges.

And some of the challenges is housing, and where is housing leading?

We remain steadfast in our mission to keep families housed and to build new opportunities for residents at all levels of income.

This year alone, the city accepted $890,000 from the state's pro housing incentive program to support affordable housing initiatives.

We've also increased financial support to developments, new developments that are coming, like Rotary Gardens on Linden Avenue, the bridge housing at the PUC site on Mission Road back here, totaling totaling nearly 6.3 million in city funding alone.

We've made progress on other uh developments on Linden Avenue, including an approved affordable housing project by San Mateo County and advanced planning for 500 Railroad Avenue, which will bring home ownership, not just rented or lease, home ownership opportunities to Lyndonville uh area here in South San Francisco through YMCA, our social services core agency here in the county.

We provided rental assistance and community partnerships.

We've helped 37 uh above households representing 81 individuals stay in their homes, preventing displacement, which we know can lead to homelessness.

And you will hear more about that later tonight.

But we're not stopping there.

Our work continues to identify and continue to support affordable homeowner projects that will help families plant roots and thrive here in South City.

We're connected on our planning division to ensure that we're thoughtful in the sustainable growth of South City.

We've streamlined development review process and our permitting uh standards and updated our building codes as well to align with state standards as well.

And we're kicking off the El Camino uh Real Mobility Plan, which we will reimagine what El Camino Real will look like in our city's most important corridor, up and down, making it safer, make it walkable, and transit while in terms of transit as well, so that we could reflect on what really is happening in our vision continues.

You probably you could still weigh in on what the comments and provide feedback on this uh great plan.

So I encourage you to scan that QR and be able to uh participate in that project.

Investing in our parks and in our spaces is important.

Uh construction is underway, like I mentioned in our new park on Linden Avenue and Pine Avenue, or soon to be underway.

We're moving forward on upgrades to Dundee Park and the new Westboro Preschool.

Thanks again for the strong advocacy of my colleague, Councilmember Mark Nogales.

Uh, but most of you have already seen it around town.

One of our most anticipated projects is the Orange Memorial Park Aquatic Center.

That's right.

It features two folks, count them, two.

New all electric swimming pools, one indoor and one outdoor.

It's the first of its kind in the peninsula, and also we're scheduled to open it next year.

We continue to expand our urban tree canopy program.

Uh many cities have asked how do you increase trees around?

Well, in partnership with a nonprofit Rise South City, we're giving out free trees to beautify our neighborhoods to strengthen that while reducing our carbon emissions.

This is all in part of our park and rec master plan to continue to make South San Francisco greener.

Our innovation and technology and communication remain strong here within the city.

Uh, if you probably have typed in the city website or whatnot, we're no longer SSF.net, but we've now merged and transferred over to SSF.ca.gov.

Um, so that is a really exciting uh opportunity to be able to uh engage with our uh constituencies and our communities.

And we've expanded our fiber optic cable project in Westboro to be able to continue to provide IT and all of this.

And all of this that we do, we continue as our city remains strong and we continue to be transparent about our financial footing.

Thanks thanks to the helpful planning and responsible stewardship of our public funds.

This year, our finance department as well once again received national recognition, earning both the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award and the Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association.

We've implemented uh several uh the 2024 Measure W.

We've modernized our business license tax to ensure that there's fairness, that there's long-term stability, and that we continue to invest in vital community services.

Looking ahead, we're looking forward to implementing new uh programs and internal platforms within the city to be more efficient, to be more conditioned for efficiency in our city processes.

We're building a stronger future.

And this is where I want to end with uh this uh state of the city across every single department.

Our city is defined by collaboration, by innovation, and a shared commitment to progress.

We've secured millions of dollars in grants.

We continue to write these grants, we've strengthened our infrastructure, we've invested in programs that connect families and opportunity.

We've listened to the call and the request of our community and our residents, our parents and our youth when they say we want an outdoor festival, we want an outdoor activity, we want more programming.

We've implemented technologies that make the city feel safer and faster and more transparent.

But above all, let me tell you, this is not just me saying we did it.

This is not just the city council.

We've done it all together as a community, as a community that listens, that adapts, that leads, and does it with purpose and with heart.

As we look into the future, we'll continue to prioritize what matters most, and that's the well-being of our people, the safety of our community, the sustainability of our neighborhoods, and the unity that makes South City unlike anywhere else this year alone.

We've headed and we've raised some challenges, but we've also braced and encountered a lot of opportunity.

We'll continue working to ensure that every single resident, that you feel seen, that you feel heard, and that you feel also supported, that every neighborhood has safe streets and accessible transit, that every youth and child has a place to play and learn, and that every family can afford to call South City home.

It's by unity, it's by resilience, it's by innovation.

These aren't just words on a paper or things that I like to say on a mic, they're the foundation of who we are and why we are in this business of public service.

From our frontline workers to our entrepreneurs, from our teachers to our seniors, from our volunteers to our youth, from our immigrants, South San Francisco thrives because of you.

We've proven time and time again that there is no challenge that is too great when we face it together, whether it's responding to emergency, being adaptable and modified, reimagining our streets, building homes or expanding opportunity.

Our strength is and will always be working together in collaboration and in unity, bringing together ideas that move us forward, not complaints, not ideas that set us back, but as we move forward, we move forward with resilience.

And as we do enter this new next chapter in South City's story, let's hold fast to what defines us.

Again, it's our unity, folks.

It's our resilience.

Many people throughout the peninsula, and when we go to conferences, say, but there's just something about South City.

There's a uniqueness.

Besides being a city that's truly blessed time and time again, I will tell you that we have a commitment to each other.

I want to end by thanking our powerful, amazing staff.

By thanking also the four individuals that stand behind me, our city council, who I can unequivocally say have passion, have love, and have purpose for this community.

Our community partners who have stood with us when we've reached out, and at every resident I speak to you tonight, young and old, new that just came in maybe a week ago, or those of you that have lived here over 60 or 70 years, you are what makes South San Francisco shine every single day.

South San Francisco will continue to grow not just as a city of industry or as a city as the industrial city, but as a city of innovation, as a city with compassion, as a city with connection, as a city with possibility.

And most of all, remember this word as a city of kindness, kindness.

Reimagine the word kinds to each other and to your neighbor.

Folks, it has been the greatest honor to be able to lead this council and be able to lead this city.

As an immigrant and the majority of this council, also immigrants, we're very proud to stand with our immigrant community.

A city built by immigrants, a city that continues to run because of immigrants, and we're inclusive and appreciative of the ideas and the resilience that that brings.

It's my honor to serve as your mayor and to share this state of the city with you tonight.

South San Francisco and the state of this city is strong.

Thank you.

Thank you, South San Francisco, and let's keep moving forward.

Gracias.

And with that, to reposition our chambers here, we're gonna take a five-minute recess, Madam City Clerk, and we'll reconvene in five minutes.

Thank you.

Agenda item, please.

We'll move along to council comments and requests.

Great, thank you.

Who would like to uh start us off tonight from my colleagues here?

I'll go.

Thank you, Vice Mayor.

Mr.

Mayor, I just wanted to report out on one event that I attended last month.

It was the one hundredth anniversary luncheon celebration for the ICF, which an acronym you might not know is the Italian Catholic Federation, which was a very big deal in South San Francisco in the thirties and forties, and it did begin uh in this town in 1925.

Um, I think it started in San Francisco in nineteen twenty-four, branch one, and in South San Francisco, it's branch number seven, so it was pretty early uh in the creation of those fraternal organizations, and just as you know, we we can see what is happening to immigrants and not always being welcomed in other communities.

It was the same for um people back in the twenties and the thirties, and so they banded together to be able to take good care of their respective communities.

It's a much um older club now.

Um I think uh I am uh one of the younger members of the club.

I was just with them for dinner tonight at the Santa Cristo Hall.

And uh, the event was uh well attended.

I think the membership is down to about thirty, like so many service organizations in any community.

Um, and yet at that um luncheon, there was over a hundred and twenty-five people to celebrate, and they came from many other communities, and some were multiple generations of Italian Catholic Federation members.

Um, the real sad part of the story is uh not that they're down to thirty members because they still enjoy each other's company uh for dinner, like they were tonight at the Santa Crystal Hall, which was uh recently made available to them because for one hundred years, the ICF was at all Souls Catholic Church.

And in recent times, two successive priests have decided that they don't have room for them anymore.

And these are people that for decades did the work on behalf of the church, raising money at the festival, scholarships for the young people in their schools, and today there's no room for those 30 older people in the Catholic Church.

I've been a Catholic all my life.

It's not the first time I've been disappointed in the Catholic Church, but this time I'm a little angry.

Oh, just something a little brighter.

I had a brief conversation with the chief of police because every day we get a watch report, um, about what's occurring in South San Francisco.

And recently there was, and these are confidential reports because they include names and addresses that can't be in the public.

But recently there was an event, an incident that started out on Grand Avenue, but I'm gonna let the chief tell the story because it's just a marvelous uh example of how our technology is really changing the face of police work in South San Francisco.

So I'll give it to Chief Campbell.

Thank you.

Thank you, Vice Mayor Adiego, and good evening, uh Mayor Eddy, Council members, Scott Kamer, Chief of Police.

Let me just uh I am I'm proud.

I'm proud of our community, I'm proud of our department, and I'm um proud of all of you for supporting modern 21st century policing as it relates to technology over the weekend.

Uh our officers received a report of a hit and run involving a vehicle, and shortly after that, uh hit and run involving a pedestrian.

Our newly launched, it's we did a soft launch of our uh drone as first responder program.

Our drone got there within 30 seconds, was able to identify the vehicle responsible.

Our officers were able to follow and track that to where the suspect vehicle was located.

We deployed a star chase tracking device on the vehicle, which were able to track that vehicle via computer instead of getting into a high speed pursuit and uh creating danger to our to our community.

They're able to follow that vehicle to uh Home Depot in Coma, where they boxed the vehicle in and safely took the suspect responsible uh into custody.

He was a parole at large, he had narcotics in his possession and was under the influence at the time.

So a win-win for South City and a win-win for our police department.

Thank you.

Thank you, thank you.

Appreciate it.

Great job.

And I think that if the chief could turn that into a script, he probably could sell it to any number of police programs.

Thank you, Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Chief.

Uh, who would like to go next?

Councilmember Coleman.

Uh sure, I'll go next.

Uh, so I'll start with today and then I'll go backwards in time.

Uh so I had the opportunity to um tour our South San Francisco BART station with the mayor and uh I saw him in the audience with BART director Victor Flores, no relation, um, but is how do I say, like, we don't have a BART board representative in San Mateo County, and we should, and maybe we can work towards that.

But for the meantime, uh, Victor Flores, our BARC director is adopting the South San Francisco station, and we had the opportunity to tour the station and just think about ways where we can uh improve uh the area there, better cleanliness, better vegetation, um, and and so on, better service and so on.

Um, after that, I drove all the way down to Redwood City uh to uh see the swearing in of our new San Mateo County Sheriff, Ken Bender.

Uh we got a new sheriff in town, as I say.

Um, and hopefully this is closing a chapter um of our sheriff's department and starting a new chapter, uh, one of accountability and um and public safety and success, and I wish the San Mateo County Sheriff's Department um a lot of success in the future.

Um, going back in time, uh I was able to attend last week the Boys and Girls Club groundbreaking, as uh you all may know.

Uh we have a boys and girls club clubhouse on in uh right beside Orange Memorial Park, and they will be doing a complete rebuild, almost a complete rebuild, um, doubling the amount of space from 20,000 to 40,000 square feet accommodating almost twice the amount of students, including high school student programming for the first time.

So we're very excited about that.

And then lastly, I wanted to give a big shout out to our city staff who were able to, you know, in the midst of the government shutdown, um, get together a program to purchase uh hundreds of gift cards to give to those who may not have received their SNAP benefits in time.

And what I learned throughout this process is there were other council members from other cities who reached out to me and asked how we did this, because their city staff were very, very reluctant to act quickly.

And I compare the reactions of staff from other cities to the reaction of staff here and how fast they worked and how they made it possible, and also the enthusiasm that they had to help the community in South City, especially those who needed to help the most.

And I just want to give a big round of applause to our city staff for making it happen.

And I would be remiss to not um also give a big shout out to YMCA, the Community Resource Center, who also was able to support and collaborate with our city in making it possible.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Councilmember Nicholas.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, I would just like to say thank you to our fire marshal Ian Hardage and the Deputy Fire Marshal Nelson Aranda and the entire fire department for treating our fire prevention poster winners and their families to a sumptuous lunch from Antigua last October 23rd.

All of the winners also received individual custom plaques that made them all feel special.

Thank you to Sharon Marie, Rich and Ernesto for the assistance on the Council of Cities held at the Fairwinds at Kilroy Face Two.

Everyone who attended seemed to have a great evening.

It seemed like a distant memory, but I am grateful to the library staff, especially to Stacey, for the conclusion of the Filipino American History Month activities.

The documentary uh film, Song of the Fireflies, was well received by the community.

Council Member Negales was there for the 11 a.m.

screening and shared our Pinot Pride.

Shout out to uh the new graduates of our Citizens Academy, Michelle there.

Um, kudos to Devin Stenhouse and all of our departments.

I still hear a lot of great things from all of the graduates whenever I meet them and their willingness to remain engaged.

Another great senior holiday fair is in the books.

Congratulations to our Parks and Rec who toiled hard, but with the great review, it was well worth your efforts.

Uh, like council member um Coleman, we attended the Orange Memorial Park.

Uh, I mean the Boys and Girls Club by the Orange Memorial Park groundbreaking, and it was really a wonderful event.

We look forward to the ribbon cutting and the new buildings that will serve our young residents here.

Congratulations to the South San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the winners of the Taste of South San Francisco.

As usual, we saw the best in what our city has to offer.

And thank you to all who participated.

Our congratulations to the dream team and the educated guesses headed by Council Member Negales and Mayor Flores who made it to the second round of the project re-trivia contest.

It was truly a fun event with proceeds going to a really worthy cause.

Earlier today, I joined our dedicated Parks and Rec team, which included um Laura Armanino, Angela Del Dulao, Casey Joe Kelly at the age-friendly workshop in Brisbane.

Casey Joe gave a great presentation of our adult daycare.

Age friendly task force member Lydia Pomposo and Parks and Rec Commissioner Bill Lock were also there to support.

And I would like to request uh our meeting today to be adjoined in memory of the following.

We have lost so many.

First is Theresa Ann Kutahar, mother of our parts supervisor Brandon Kutahar.

Uh Teresa was a longtime South San Francisco Maltese American social club member and a San Bruno native, but a resident of our Brentwood neighborhood here in South City.

She was also the beloved wife of Joseph, her husband of 51 years, and they had another son named Ryan, and she was also the grandmother to Blake and Skylar.

Leonila Alfrasia, a really close friend and a longtime resident of South City.

She had lived in the same area up in North Spruce for around 50 years.

Polycarpia Valero, who died at 102, she used to be a resident of the Westboro Real for some time.

And she used to be the official caterer of the Marcuses in the Philippines.

Alfred Anthony Delpin Delphine, who lost his long battle with cancer at 54.

Piso Quejado Bautista, who also succumbed to cancer.

May all their souls rest in peace.

Thank you, Mayor.

Indeed.

Thank you very much, Councilmember, for providing that list.

We'll make sure to send our condolences to those families.

Council Member Nogales.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Let me first start off with uh some thanks.

Um I want to thank public works.

There's a stretch of King Drive that's kind of shared by South San Francisco and Daily City.

And there's been trash been piling up on kind of the under the overpass, and that's kind of the Daily City side.

But it's encroaching to the Westboro side of my district, and I got it really tired of seeing it.

I want to thank Public Works.

They've gone out there numerous times to clean up the trash, even though it's not in our area, our district, our city, but they've gone out there and clean it up.

And I want to say thank you for doing that.

It really has made a difference in the community there.

And I know that our staff has reached out to the Daily City staff to ensure that they keep an eye on that area.

So thank you to Public Works, thank you to Assistant City Manager and City Manager for making sure that Daily City actually does its job in terms of cleaning up the streets.

We all went to what's called a Council of Cities event, and we recently just hosted that event.

Um, and basically it's where city council members, staff, uh come and visit different cities in the San Mateo County and learn what's happening.

And I want to give a shout out to staff, Ernesto and Rich, and who else who was presenting?

I'm trying to think.

It was that and Sharon.

I was sitting with several council members around me, and they were basically kind of giving an update of what's happening in South San Francisco.

And all I could hear from the council members was wow.

Wow.

South City is doing it right, wow.

I wish we can do that.

And that is a testament, I think, to to all of us here and also the staff of the amazing work that we're doing here in South San Francisco.

Because when other council members are jealous of the work that we're doing, that speaks volumes to the work that we're doing here in South City.

So I wanted to also congratulate the mayor for hosting a great event because afterwards people were just like, How can we do that?

You know, so um, way to go staff.

Uh Citizens Academy enjoyed it.

It's always great to kind of see all these residents kind of learn about more about the city, how they can get involved.

And it's just like just another step for people to learn about the different departments from the police, the public works, the city council, in a lot of ways, a lot of those individuals who graduated from the Citizen Academy end up applying to various commissions, and I think that's great because they want to continue to be involved in the city.

And uh as um Councilmember Nicholas said, Um, I I attended the Song of the Fireflies, which was an amazing, amazing movie that was played during Filipino History Month, which was about a true story of this um choir group in the Philippines that's become world famous, and it was kind of like their origin story, and so I I learned a lot in terms of uh my country uh and this amazing group of of singers.

Um went to the taste of South San Francisco, always a great event.

Thank you to the Chamber of Commerce uh for putting together another successful event.

The Boys and Girls Club.

If you haven't seen the design of what it's gonna look like, it is night and day compared with what we have right now, and I'm telling you, it's gonna be an envy for people are just gonna want to flock to the new boys and girls club when it opens.

And I was I for uh I forget who was talking to, but they were saying that when they opened the East Palo Alto site, they were able to get Will I Am a Celebrity from Black IPs.

So I I challenge them now.

Now you gotta bring someone when we open uh in 27.

So I'm gonna keep them to that.

And then um again to the project read trivia.

Um, I was joined by our youth commissioner, Sonia Gelati, and uh our own director of Capital Project, Jacob Gilcrest.

Uh I was on the team called the Dream Team, and the goal is always get past the first round.

We're not gonna talk about the second round, you know, because that doesn't really count, but it's the first round that really matters because when you when you make it past the first round, and I I just wanted to, if we can show the scores.

Oh, wait, no, I'm sorry, I don't want to embarrass the mayor on that one.

No, but you know, it's I want to thank uh the mayor's team, um the uh the educated guessers, that right, that's great.

I also want to thank uh the Sherlock homies, which is a police officers who participated, and then also uh, and Scott, you should be proud.

Your your your Railroad Public Law also made it past the first round.

So this city really knows a lot of fun, and then actually we also raised money for an important, important cause.

And lastly, um, as a South City graduate, uh, I had to go to the Bell game.

Um, and so uh congratulate to all, as my colleagues, the El Camino graduate.

Uh congratulations to all the the players out there.

It's great um watching those kids play.

Um I will say, and I'm probably excluding all my El Camino residents now.

Uh, but South City did win both the JV and the varsity game.

So that's all I had, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you very much.

Thank you for the updates, appreciate that.

Um, but educated guessers did really, really, really well.

Um, in any case, I I also wanted to start off by thanking uh our city staff.

Um here to this event, uh, sorry, to this venue, and we automatically see it arranged for a certain ceremony or a private event or whatnot on the two event spaces right behind us.

But it takes a lot of work, especially our park and rec and our library staff in all the spaces that we hold for community events, turning them around, getting them set up.

Many times as I'm walking in or walking out, I see them um, you know, cleaning, putting chairs out, um, again, uh pushing out for an a new event.

So I want to acknowledge uh all these events, many of them happening here.

Um it's because of the great job that our staff and and we're very proud and and very honored.

And and even on in council meeting nights, they stay till 11 or midnight, however late we stay and walk us out and make sure that uh we are ushered out as well.

So also um uh thank you, thank you for all of that.

Um, you know, it's exciting.

Um I shared a little bit earlier of what's happening, and and you can hear it.

I don't have to um even share it myself because it's been resonating from my colleagues here.

Um I don't like to use the word envy, I like to use the word of being in partnership with our colleagues throughout the city, but I do want to call out that the initiative that this council helped move forward to support our communities that are affected by the federal shutdown and the snap delay and snap benefits, it not only did it motivate other elected, and I also did get calls and um from other um statewide electeds of how did South City do it and how did could we replicate or partner on that?

But what most touched me was that I got emails from many of you, the residents, saying, How can I help?

How can I volunteer?

Where can I donate?

I want to roll up my sleeves.

How can I start a food bank?

Where can I help?

And that really spoke to what I just mentioned.

It's the unity.

It's not saying, hey, how can I get a free thing?

It was, hey, I have experience as a social worker.

Can I volunteer at the YMCA and help them distribute something?

So it was it was a call that we didn't even put the call to action, but the community responded in so many beautiful ways.

And I I do want to thank staff under the leadership, of course, of our city manager and our city manager team, but also to Nell Sealander for being creative.

As I walked through the city uh through the halls and city hall, she was like, This is something that we're excited about and we're passionate about.

And that's how every single member of this staff, our employees, they care about our community, they care about our residents.

So kudos to all of you.

Uh putting on events like Project uh Trivia and I Project Reed to be able to support.

Thank you to the library staff.

Over 300 um attendees on Friday night, supporting the efforts of our library efforts that we move forward.

City of Brisbane, City of Colma, or town of Colma, City of San Bruno, moving forward.

The Taste of South City also.

We had several other mayors, San Bruno, Burlingame came over to Taste of South City.

And I said, this is great.

Maybe we can hold it, you know, at some point in time in Burlingame.

He looks to me and says, No, you keep it here, and I will keep coming.

Mayor Burlingame, right?

Great friend and colleague.

So a lot of activity, a lot of um shared partnership with all of this that that continues to happen.

Um, and and I don't want to talk a little bit more.

I think many of my colleagues touched on all the events that I also joined them, and I wanna be uh sensitive to timing, but I also grateful to the invitations to the those uh events that happened.

Um lastly, I wanna take a moment of of course of privilege and honor because this is also about our community, and I love the history of South City and how it played important in the different aspects, and that's to our uh our veterans.

Uh yesterday we celebrated Veterans Day, you know, a day that reminds us of the extraordinary courage of the extraordinary sacrifice and the love for our country shown by men and women who have served in our armed forces throughout.

Many are in our own um public safety teams here in our city.

Many are probably within your own families, many are neighbors, many our uncles, many are grandparents or parents, and I know that I wouldn't be sitting in this chair today, and none of us would be enjoying the freedoms that we do without the efforts of those who stood up to protect them.

And we owe our veterans not just our gratitude, our gratitude and not just taking a day off for a holiday, but really our continued commitment to remembering their service.

Um, with this federal shutdown, as you know, we have uh a national cemetery here in um in San Bruno, the mayor of of San Bruno, you know, put something together to celebrate because of the federal shutdown, the cemetery and the ceremony that happens every year was not able to happen.

However, he was resilient, and a group of veterans came together and celebrated at his local community center there yesterday.

So I wanna recognize and applaud uh to every veteran, past and present.

We thank you, we honor you, and we will never forget your service.

And with that, let's move on to the next item.

Madam City Clerk.

Thank you, Mayor.

We'll move along to public comments.

At this time, we have a total of 16 signed up to speak for general public comments.

Okay, we're gonna move that to two minutes, please.

Uh, we have to get to the agenda before we proceed with public comments.

I wanna uh state that the city acknowledges that members of the public have the right to be heard, but the city also wants to emphasize clearly and sharply that we have a zero tolerance policy for discriminatory and for harassing conduct.

The city denounces any hate speech that may be vocalized during public comments, and speakers making public comments are not, I repeat, are not expressing the views of the city council or of the city.

Let's proceed.

Thank you, Mayor.

I do also want to note that there was one e-comment submitted for public comments, which has been made available to you guys.

We'll go ahead and proceed with Eric Collado.

And then following Eric, we'll have Tom Trier.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council, and city staff.

My name is Eric Collado, and I'm a journeyman carpenter out of local 217.

I do wood framing, concrete form work, finish work, and many other facets of the construction and building process.

I've been part of the community, worked locally, and contributed to the local economy for about eight years now.

And I'm here tonight to touch base on the CWA that San Mateo County recently adopted, which does not cover me nor my craft.

How is it that language like the CWA can be considered a good thing for the city when thousands of union workers and their families are not represented?

I urge this panel of leaders to consider their carpenters' pre-qualification language, which not only covers carpenter crafts, but all contractors.

It is a flexible tool that provides opportunities to all contractors bidding for work in the city.

It keeps them responsible and accountable to our area standards and keeps many local workers busy close to home.

The carpenters' pre-qualification language will create more job opportunities for all to benefit from.

Please consider the carpenter's pre-qualification language.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, Council members, staff.

Thank you for allowing me to speak to you tonight.

Um, I'd also like to point out the lovely building that we're speaking in, was built by the proud members of sheet metal workers local 104 that I myself am a proud member of under a project labor agreement.

So, sheet metal workers local 104 was started in 1903 in San Francisco.

However, we proudly call South San Francisco our home in the former historic and world-famous Catelli Speed Shop just up the street.

Project labor agreements are one of the best avenues for apprentices to come into a good healthy middle class job.

I was actually just speaking at the College of San Mateo to a group of 30 young people who are interested in getting into all kinds of different trades.

And I actually mentioned this council meeting tonight and about how this council was anxious to find ways to bring people into that middle class.

Those students are really excited to know about the opportunities that these project delivery agreements could actually offer.

As much as I'd like to see apprentices come in and give them the same opportunities that I had in the trades, it's also important to take into account safety.

We mentioned the safe way up the street here just the other day, and I have to be honest, um, I've actually had to file several OSHA complaints on that job.

Just recently, I was getting my amazing torta at La Cruz Azuleta, best torta in town.

If you guys want to go check it out, right up by the Smart and Final.

When I saw members working on that job site unsafely hanging off a second-story building with no safety tie-offs in the rain and no railings.

Project labor agreements have 31% less recorded safety indices to the jobs without project labor agreements.

So as much as I want to see the community working on these jobs, I want to see them getting home with their families as well.

So please consider a project labor agreement as a great avenue to bring apprentices into this people into these trades to good, healthy middle class jobs, allow them to live and work in the communities that they want to.

Thank you, Predator.

Thank you.

Next speakers are Marcus Alvarez and Cynthia Markopolis.

My name is Marcus Alvarez.

I'm the organizer with the Elevator Constructors Union.

I'm here today to share why project labor agreements is one of the smartest, most responsible steps South San Francisco can take for public projects.

PLAs protect taxpayers.

With no strike and no local preventions, PLAs prevent costly delays and keep projects on track.

Peer reviewed research, including UC Berkeley Studies, showed that PLAs do not raise cost.

In fact, California PLA projects finish 15 to 19% faster than those without them.

Faster delivery means fewer change orders, fewer disputes, and better use of public dollars.

Also, strength is our PLA's also strengthening accountability.

They include built-in compliance to ensure prevailing wage and training requirements requirements are followed in real time.

And because PLAs guarantee highly skilled local workforce, they reduce errors, reworks, and hidden costs.

Most importantly, PLAs invest in our community.

They open doors to long-term careers by requiring participation in state certified apprenticeship programs.

These produce nearly 80% of California's apprentices, including large numbers of women and workers of color.

Right here in our region, TIPSA Mateo has prepared more than 300 local residents for union construction careers in 2000 since 2014.

This is a real example of how PLAs help uplift local families.

Also, PLA's create a pathway for veterans, women, and unrepresented workers while ensuring safer job sites and reduces the injury rate to lower lowers injury rates by 31%.

Finally, adopting a PLA position in South San Francisco will make us leaders.

It protects taxpayers' investments, equity goals, strengthens local workforce pipeline, and ensures uh infrastructure is built efficiently and responsibly.

Thank you so much for your time.

In 2010, FEMA did grant the money to conduct seismic repairs identified by Biggs Cardoza in a 2009 report, but the 2015 MSB facility report verifies these still need to be done.

Five years after receiving FEMA funds, the repairs in the Biggs Cardoza 2009 report that Fire Chief Samson claimed would be done still are not done.

What did the city do with millions in FEMA funds?

What did the city buy with millions in FEMA funds?

Were FEMA funds knowingly solicited by Mr.

Sampson for a purpose other than which he stated to FEMA since he said at the special city council meeting on October 29th, he always knew the MSB was a temporary fire department location?

Is this the political suicide?

Vice Mayor Adiago and Councilwoman Matsumoto referred to in that crucial council meeting on August 24th, 2011, accepting the FEMA grant solicited by a rogue fire captain that no city staff knew about.

Is the reward of construction contracts ongoing in exchange for political favors to donors?

Where are the permits for the per the work allegedly performed with the FEMA millions?

Where are the inspection reports for the work allegedly performed with the FEMA millions?

Since December 2022, we have been requesting all reports concerning the MSB, and no wonder the 2009 Biggs Cardozo report I'm holding was not forthcoming.

And it says, quote, the estimated probable cost to strengthen the existing building.

That's the entire building, based on the preliminary evaluation is $2,500,000.

And quote, in general, the building was observed to be in a relatively good condition with minor signs of distress or damage.

The condition of the building indicates that it has been maintained over the years.

David Alas, Scott Rathjan, Nels Delander.

I'm David Alas.

I am a junior man carpenter for 35 years in the trade.

I like working alongside my brothers and sisters.

I'm here tonight to talk about the prequalifying language, standard, wages, health care, apprenticeship, and why I believe the CWA slash PLAs are no longer the best forward wage for our city.

First, let's be me be clear.

I believe in high standards for wage training and safety.

Every worker on a public project deserves fair pay, good benefits, and a safe job site.

I spent my career earning my journey main card, monitoring apprentices, and helping young workers learn the trade.

That's what makes our industry strong.

But the CWA, PLA don't reflect today's workforce or economy.

They do not cover me.

That doesn't serve South San Francisco taxpayers where the next generation of carpenters were trying to bring in.

Instead of a qualifying a CWAPOA, the City Council should adopt a fair, pre-qualified language that makes sure every contractor meets the same high bar.

Pay standard wages, provide health care, use certified apprenticeship programs that give young people a path to a real career.

Commit to safety and training standards we can all be proud of.

Those are the things that matter.

We can protect workers, support apprenticeship, and build responsibly.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Good evening.

My name is Scott Rothchin.

Hello, Mayor, Council people, and thank you for this opportunity.

My wife and I have lived in Cemetery County all of our lives.

I have two children, and my wife, my children are now 18 and 16, and my wife was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years, the first decade of their lives.

That was only possible because of the Carpenter's Union.

So what I am asking is that you guys please consider our language and the bidding process because it does ensure that contractors stay honest and it keeps the bad actors out and keeps my job secure.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speakers will be Annie Lowe, Patricia Alhas, and Bart Bandoha.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council, and City Staff.

For those who don't know me, my name is Nels DeLander.

I'm a field representative of Carpers Local 217, and more importantly, I'm a law of law resident of South San Francisco.

The city is where I live, is who I am.

My dad graduated from El Camino High School in 1967.

My mom from South City High School in 1970.

My grandma worked here for the city of South San Francisco her whole career.

I grew up here, went through a schools, build my life here, proud to be a South San Francisco resident.

That's why I care so deeply about what happens to this community.

I want to start by thanking you for your leadership, protecting labor, pushing for affordable housing, and working to make sure that South San Francisco is a better place for us all.

But tonight I want to share something critical.

When it comes to construction, the carpenter's 11 crafts make up 70% of the work on any project.

Yet the community workforce agreement, the CWA, also known as the PLA, that the San Mateo County pass does not cover carpenter crafts.

Thousands of brothers and sisters, hardworking men and women who build these projects are left out.

That's why pre-qualification language matters.

It doesn't just cover 30% of workers, it covers 100% of all trades.

It ensures contractors provide health coverage, participate in state approved apprenticeship programs, and hire at least 25% of local residents.

These are basic standards to protect workers and strengthen our community.

If the contractor can meet these standards, they shouldn't be bidding on our public projects.

We have seen waste theps, tax fraud, and misclassification of workers all over San Mateo County.

We are not, that's not who we are.

South San Francisco deserves better.

Our workers deserve better.

Let's pass language that protects every single worker, not just a fraction.

Let's make sure public projects reflect our values, fairness, integrity, and opportunity for local families to thrive in our city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

What are the lies filling the air?

It is 357 Oyster Point.

It is women of the year, trash on the streets, MSB.

What the heck is going on in our city?

We deserve to know the truth.

So stop lying and start telling us the truth.

Do your job or pack your bags and go.

This was exactly how I felt at the last council meeting on October 22nd.

I applaud Vice Mayor A Diego for calling our city manager for blatantly lying to us that many people found a meeting when, in fact, no members of the public were present at that special council meeting on October 4th.

Mr.

Flores, during your say of the city address, I listened to you earlier.

You mentioned that you want all of our voices to be heard, and that the El Camino Riel re envisioning project, we still have a chance to weigh in on that.

I hope that is the case.

I hope this is not going to be another women of year event where we were told to put your nominations in, and I'll look at it and I'll put someone, you know, I'll put forward the awardee.

But in fact, you did not like most of the 44 nominations, and decided to put in three mil women in your inner circle as the awardees.

So I hope this El Camino Real project is not just another fake democracy facade of soliciting public's input, but in reality, you and the rest of the council, as well as you're in the circle, have already decided on the changes that you want to make.

So thank you.

Evening, uh mayor, council members, staff, Bart Pantoha.

I'm here on behalf of the 10,000 men and women in construction in the Building Trades Council who live and work in San Mateo County, including many who reside here in South San Francisco.

So we've been having conversations with the city and staff for more than a month now, and had hope to see our request, uh see the request by council for a PLA to be an item on the agenda in previous meetings.

So it seems there was a bit of a breakdown, a recurring breakdown in communication.

Uh but there's some hope because I did receive an email while out of the office traveling for the holiday weekend from staff, and I'm looking forward to meeting with staff to address the concerns and discuss how we can move forward with the PLA.

It's just as we all know, it's much easier to do things in discussion face to face than via email.

The constituents who work in construction and the families that they support are resolute to see an agreement come before the city council.

Some recent public uh PLAs, as some have mentioned, the County of San Mateo, SFO, Sam Trans District, and Daily City.

Some standing PLAs that have existed for a long time and have been renewed are uh SFO since 1996.

We've renewed PLAs with SFO for all their infrastructure work.

The college district under several bonds now, San Mateo Union High School District, the Hetchet uh Water District, and as it was mentioned, this building was built under a project labor agreement.

And it sounds like my brothers and sisters also worked on this building under a project labor agreement.

Um, my uh colleagues and brothers mentioned uh a lot of the benefits, so I'll just end with this.

Um, no one's excluded, everybody's invited.

Some people just don't want to participate.

It's up to them.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Patricia Althouse.

Uh, good evening, Mayor Flores, City Council Member, City Manager, and community members.

Uh, first, I want to thank the city council, uh, employees, and my neighbors for creating a city of inclusivity where all people feel welcome.

We are a diverse community, and that not only makes us special and makes us strong.

In the coming months, we may be facing more forces coming in to remove members of our community.

We know federal agents have been given permission to racially profile citizens.

Our neighbors could be detained and deported based on the language they speak or the color of their skin.

Some federal agents have been known to ignore our Constitution and our Bill of Rights.

There are ways we can help protect our neighbors.

Everyone should come who um, everyone should have the San Mateo rapid response phone number in their phone.

It's 2038 666 4472.

If you see something that may be an ICE action, you can call that number and uh verify also come out and check.

Um this information can alleviate worries for our neighbors if the information is false and also protect our neighbors if it is not.

Additionally, I have some ideas for you as a city council.

Uh let's uh not be reactive but proactive.

Adelante, like San Jose has just done, you can pass an ordinance that's stating that ICE agents must show their faces and must show identification.

Um they also passed an order ordinance saying that ice is banned from certain public facilities.

Like Chicago, we can pass an organis uh ordinance that allows our police department to arrest ICE agents when they are working outside the law.

Finally, maybe if it's even possible to pass an ordinance that states that ice cannot be within certain distances of schools or places of worship or even public buildings.

I don't know.

These are just some ideas that maybe our city could take to help protect our neighbors.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ryan Joseph Lopez and Pianola.

Good evening, Mayor, Council members, and staff.

My name is Ryan Montgomery.

I represent Sprinkler Fitters Local 483, and I'm with the building trades.

Uh PLAs promote predictive predictability, coordination, and effective efficiency on infrastructure projects.

PLAs will also strike, uh, will avoid strikes and lockouts to ensure an uninterrupted supply of quality labor, and PLAs will provide construction management tools for planning projects, controlling costs, and ensuring workforce sustainability.

PLAs are a value add to the city, the taxpayers, and the local workforce.

Thank you.

Good evening, mayor, council members and staff.

My name is Joseph Lopez, and I'm a field representative of local 217.

I'd just like to say thank you for being proactive supporting pro-labor and policies and pro housing.

As you heard from your residents, language that does not cover 70% of the working class is a red flag.

Those trades not covered are pile driving, carpenters, drywall lath, acoustical ceilings, mill right, mill cab, modular install, scaffolding, insulation, hardware floor laying, and shinglers.

From start to finish of a project, that's our 70%.

Yes, the carpenters are no longer affiliated or associated with the building trades, and they do not have the authority to speak for or negotiate on our behalf.

The Carpenters Union has put together pre-qualification language that benefits all contractors.

It keeps the plane field level, it provides opportunities for anyone to have a better life right here in South City and San Mateo County.

Please look at our carpenters' pre uh pre qualification language.

We submitted to you.

Our goal is to raise everybody up and to see our residents build housing, commercial buildings, and infrastructure in our own backyard.

Because there is no shortage in uh construction workers.

There's a shortage in construction job opportunity.

So please consider our preval pre-qualification language, which covers 100% of all construction workers, not just 30% scope of work that can't start until we start.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And for the record, Mr.

Flores, Bill Gates has already debunked climate change or global warming, call it what you want.

Okay.

In 2007, we had the South City Fire Chief running a three million dollar a week illegal gambling racket on the clock on taxpayer equipment.

You remember you were there, Mr.

Sampson, and so was your deputy fire chief Devin Flannery, who suddenly had temporary memory loss, unable to give evidence to the prosecution against suspects threatening to throw you from the top of the building and kill you if you didn't pay your 40,000 dollar gambling debt.

And just like P in a public pool, you just can't get away from South San Francisco public officials committing serious felony offenses on the clock at taxpayers' expense continues.

Uh, but that MSB FEMA fraud thing, it's everywhere you look across the country.

A rash of embezzlement, fraudulent applications, lying by omission for FEMA funds, and particularly in California.

It's stunning.

From south of Los Angeles to Northern California.

Here is a snapshot of the headlines and the prosecutions that have followed.

Now, under Fire Chief Matt Sampson, South San Francisco Fire Department is running an illegal motel six in taxpayer-funded fire stations to house out-of-area South San Francisco fire department personnel in illegal bedrooms built in the vicinity of Mr.

Sampson's office.

Do you have permits and inspections and certificate of occupancy for those, Mr.

Sampson?

Or is that just another wink and a nod with the permits that don't exist for the MSB?

Now let's be clear.

How some of the PD and fire department personnel sleep at night.

Thank you.

You cut me off.

I will add to this next time.

Moises Vieira, Alfonso Vieira, and Rami A.

Good evening.

Uh good evening, Mayor Flores and City Council.

My name is Morse Villa, field representative of Copper's Union.

Uh I wanna get my brains straight.

Let's see.

Uh Mayor uh Mayor Flores, I want to say I agree with you.

You también soy immigrant.

I do know what it is to migrate to this country seeking a better life.

I was I also worked, exploited, underpaid, hurt, and paid out of pocket while unrepresented.

Then I was introduced to the union.

That's what my life changed.

I agree with you.

Adelante.

Let's move these forward.

Let's not stay in the past.

Let's not work with outdated mechanisms from decades ago, but also invite non-responsible contractors to participate in project labor agreements, taxpayers' funds.

All they gotta do is sign a letter of assignment and they get awarded a project.

Then once the project's done, they go back to their bad practices.

Why should they be awarded that?

It makes no sense to me.

I agree.

Let's move it forward.

Let's empower everybody, not just a select few, not just a small group, 25%.

We the corporate unit, we would like to elevate everybody.

My colleagues said yes, there is there isn't a shortage of workforce, a shortage of opportunity.

Only when we adapt pre-qualification language and invite other workers, I'm sorry, other contractors to do what's right when they come into our city.

If you're gonna come to our city, you're gonna do what's right.

You're gonna pay proper wages, livable wages, access to medical coverage, and you will do local hire.

Let's unite and elevate all together.

I want to say, I want to ask.

Mayor Freud is respectfully.

Will you be my champion?

Will you be the champion of the people?

Body, will you be the champion of the people of South San Francisco?

Will you lead the way?

Show Samateo County how it's done, not through a PLA, but through pre-qualification language.

Just like you wouldn't let me pull your teeth out with the pliers because I'm not a dentist.

You were pre-qualified.

Pre-qualified dentist to do it right.

Let's move forward into the future.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor Council.

Um, my name's Alfonso Vieira.

I'm a proud member of the Carpenters Union Local 217.

I'm a local resident of South San Francisco.

And just like our young scholars that we had here, I was once a young scholar.

I went to Spruce School Elementary, Parkway Heights Middle School.

And just like Mark, I'm a South City alumni as well.

Right?

Let's go warriors.

Um, so I stand here before you in front of my union brothers and sisters.

That you guys review and consider our pre-qualified language, and you know, we get this moving forward, and um that's all I got.

Thank you for your time.

Good evening, City Council.

Uh, just want to start off by shouting out the union folks.

Right on to you all.

City council.

Uh last May you stood with your constituents and passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Um, since since that day, your Palestinian community has been actively and obsessively trying to further the struggle for justice and peace.

Uh, and I'm just here to express my appreciation for that work that that you guys put in last year.

Um, in the time that followed that resolution, a very fragile ceasefire was announced.

I'm sure you're all aware.

Um, and yet missiles still rain on the civilians in Gaza.

Um, and in the West Bank for that matter.

Your Palestinian constituents have lost seemingly countless family members to the bombing, famine, and starvation and the genocide.

Uh, there's an astounding level of grief, and yet, despite the tremendous crimes against humanity, a strong sense of steadfastness in our community as we seek to rebuild our lives, heal ourselves, heal our land that we are indigenous to, uh, and most importantly, heal our children in Gaza.

Uh, your actions aided us in that steadfastness.

Uh, I remember in those discussions there was a point of contention in discussing that resolution because there was doubt in the level of impact it would have.

And while it alone did not force the G the ceasefire in Gaza, I do believe that it plays an essential role in the collective and global effort to achieve justice.

It was a net positive for us as a community in South City and holds us accountable as leaders of the community.

Um, I extend my appreciation for the diligence and humanity as you engaged us in difficult yet candid and production productive conversations, and ultimately made a historic vote.

Your Palestinian constituents will remember it and feel that connection to you as we continue our struggle for liberation and collective healing.

Thank you all.

Thank you.

Mayor, I believe that concludes our public comments.

Great.

Uh, let's move on to next item, please.

We'll move along to our consent calendar.

Item number five is a motion to approve the minutes of the meetings of October 18th, October 22nd, October 28th, October 29, and November 3rd, 2025.

Item number six is a motion to cancel the regular city council meetings of November 26, 2025, and December 24th, 2025.

Item number seven is a motion to accept the construction improvements of the community development block grant ramps and paths project as complete in accordance with plans and specifications.

Item number eight is a report regarding a resolution accepting $5,263 with 11 cents from the South San Francisco Friends of the Library to support library collections programs and services, amending the library department's fiscal year 25 to 26 operating budget and approving budget number um budget amendment number 26.032.

Item number eight A is the resolution.

Item number nine is a report regarding a resolution approving the grant of a utility easement on City of South San Francisco property located at 201 West Orange Avenue for the broadband expansion project to Intermountain Infrastructure Group for conduit and fiber optic lines and authorizing the city manager to execute a utility easement deed.

Item number nine A is the resolution.

Item number 10 is a report regarding a resolution authorizing the submittable grant application for Caltrans sustainable communities grant multimodal transportation action action plan.

Item number 10A is a resolution.

Item number 11 is a report regarding a resolution accepting 10,000 grant from genentec for the 2026 South San Francisco Lunar New Year Night Market and approving budget amendment number 26.033.

Item number 11A is the resolution.

Item number 12 is a report regarding a resolution amending an existing shuttle services agreement with the parking company of America LLC by two by two million five hundred and fifteen thousand four hundred dollars for a total not to exceed an amount of four million eight hundred and eighty-seven thousand seven hundred and five dollars for the operations of the free South City shuttle program.

Item number twelve A is a resolution.

Item number thirteen is a report regarding a resolution report regarding awarding of a construction contract to express plumbing inc for the Escanio Drive Sewer Main Line Repair at an amount not to exceed 168,385, authorizing a total construction contract authority budget of 193,650.

Item number 13A is a resolution.

Item number 14 is a report regarding a resolution approving a first amendment to construction contract with HP Communications Inc.

for the installation of conduit and fiber optic cables in a second amendment to a services agreement with Kimley Horn and Associates Inc.

for fiber optic infrastructure design authorizing the city manager to execute both amendments and approving budget amendment number 26.034.

Item number 14A is the resolution.

Great, thank you very much.

Are there any items that members would like to pull from the consent agenda?

All right.

If there aren't none, can I please have a motion to approve the consent calendar?

I move for the approval of items five to fourteen.

I have a first, can I have a second?

I'll second.

I have a first and a second.

Can I have a roll call, please?

Mayor Flores.

Yes.

Vice Mayor Adiego?

Yes.

Councilmember Nicholas.

Councilmember Nogales?

Yes.

Council Member Coleman.

Yes.

Thank you.

Great.

We'll move along to administrative business.

Item number 16 is a report on acceptance of the anti-displacement roadmap.

Welcome, Mr.

Ozzy.

Well, good evening.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council.

Tony Rosley with your ECD department.

Hoping this works.

Fabulous.

I'm here tonight representing the anti-displacement roadmap.

We're going to talk you through what that process looked like over the last year.

And recommendations from our community advisory committee.

Who are joining us tonight?

I want to point out that this is a special sort of translation experiment we're using tonight.

We have simultaneous translation.

So if anyone needs.

And speak slowly.

Here's what we're going to cover tonight.

I'm going to introduce you to what displacement is.

Also, what this council has been doing for the last several years to try and manage residential and commercial displacement.

We're going to talk about the way we've engaged with our community over the last year as we studied this issue.

And then present to you some facts and findings about what South City faces on both residential and commercial displacement before we highlight some strategies to combat that.

In 2024, City Council gave guidance to study this issue of displacement.

We had heard it through both the general plan outreach through our housing element adoption process, by advocates who essentially said this is happening in your community, in our community.

What are you going to do about it?

And the city hired HRNA, they're a national firm.

They specialize in these kinds of studies and economic analysis, and they also brought in a partner, Kearns and West to lead the community engagement and the facilitation pieces of this effort.

So what is displacement?

You know, at its simplest, it is defined as an involuntary relocation of a resident or a business.

There are permutations, it can be forced, it can be pressured, it can be fear-based, but it has the same result.

Someone or someone's lifelong business leaves your community.

As I mentioned before, though, this is not something that the council has ignored.

This is not something that the city staff has ignored.

And I want to highlight some of the efforts that have been done over the last several years.

We already have in place.

There's a substandard housing displacement ordinance.

We've also referred to it as a red tag ordinance and discussing it with council.

But what that does is make sure that there is tenant relocation that is required if a building or a unit is deemed inhabitable due to co-enforcement issues.

This was adopted just before the pandemic, but obviously became a very critical tool in combating the massive spike in unemployment just after the pandemic was struck the Bay Area and the United States as a whole.

The council was able to use and leverage federal funds to keep people in their homes and not displaced while they were now working.

There's also a live work preference for affordable units.

This is now on our books and a policy whenever an affordable unit is raffled, there is preference to someone who lives in the city, used to live in the city, or works in the city.

And then finally, there was a recently adopted SRO, single room occupancy hotel, and a mobile home park conversion ordinance.

We did them separately, but they really act the same, which is mandating very early notification and relocation assistance for folks in these types of units, which are particularly vulnerable to displacement.

On the commercial side, our economic development team has led the way by negotiating for commercial space in community benefit agreements for some of our new life science businesses, creating new space for commercial businesses either displaced or interested in expanding.

What that does is preserve some industrial space in Lindenville for creative uses.

And then finally, and most recently, launch local has started, and that's leveraging city assets, city commercial assets for below market rate rents with some tenant improvement funding to give a business a chance to test their brick and mortar concept.

So with the roadmap, there are three critical elements.

A community advisory committee, interviews with experts and business operators, and then pop-up events where we can engage with the community and find out their feelings and thoughts.

At this moment, I want to invite anyone who is on our community advisory committee to just stand up for a second.

Want you to be appreciated.

Broadly, this process really was guided by these folks.

They've been studying the issue for over a year, and they represent a very diverse group of input for the council.

These are lifelong residents of South City.

Some are recent arrivals.

We do have one non-resident who is also a representative of the real estate interests.

They're a mix of homeowners and tenants.

They are real estate specialists, small business owners, individuals that work with small businesses.

They have commercial landlord experience, and they're also of many different life stages.

Some have young families, some are single, older adults, some are caretakers.

And we had Spanish and English speakers on the community advisory committee.

Wow.

Thank you guys, yeah, for being here.

Let's give them my hand.

Yes.

Thank you guys for being here.

Thank you.

So this slide's a lot of information.

It's just showing this is what they've been up to for the last year.

They've become fluent, semi-experts in a lot of topics related to displacement, understanding terminology, understanding the economic forces and pressures facing the Bay Area as a whole.

These are just snapshots of some of the things we've been studying the first Monday of nearly every month for about a year.

They studied these issues, and it makes sense because this is how you get a roadmap of policies that are appropriate for South San Francisco that are not cookie cutter.

Just an image of some of the pop-up events.

We were at Lunar New Year.

We went to Martin Elementary for an open open house.

And here's just a snapshot of some of the things we heard.

You know, priorities from the community included preservation and construction of affordable housing, keeping commercial businesses in South City, and supporting our commercial core downtown.

Okay.

That's the background on engagement, why we're doing this.

I want to show you just a few slides on what our consultant and our CNC found out and discovered together.

Thank you.

There's big forces at work causing displacement.

This is not an isolated issue for South San Francisco.

But the local transformation has been quite dramatic here locally, particularly over the last decade, and a lot of the data you're gonna see here tonight and in the roadmap are really looking at the last decade.

And that's where we had the most valuable data from various sources.

I don't think it's a surprise we've seen a shift in our commercial base and our industries over the last decade.

We have seen a ton of industrial space transform into life science.

This is supercharged rents, it's also created much higher higher paying jobs than were typical of industrial businesses, and there's a mismatch.

Those jobs being created aren't necessarily always connecting or going to local residents.

A lot of them go to non-resident commuters.

On the housing side, obviously, everywhere demand has outpaced supply.

It's a local pressure compounded by a regional issue.

The takeaway though is higher income earners are able to move into South San Francisco, and many of our middle and lower income earners are no longer able to afford to live in South City.

The city's become unaffordable both to renters and aspiring homeowners, and that's really what this slide is saying.

At the same time, we've had a changing demographic.

Folks making less than $150,000 are leaving for more affordable locations.

Those who are making more than $150,000 represent the large portion of new residents coming into South San Francisco.

There's a big slide.

There's a lot of stuff going on here.

But it's really helpful because what the dark blue is showing you is demand.

The light blue is showing supply.

And for a big swath of folks in the moderate and lower income areas, the demand far outpaces the amount of housing we've been able to produce over the last decade.

A lot of the housing that has been built actually exceeds demand because it is market rate, it is more expensive.

And this slide's showing where we've seen the biggest and most dramatic change in population and demographics.

So almost a 40% reduction in Latinos in the old town district.

Yeah, on the commercial side, there's probably three critical elements that have been driving the changes we've been seeing.

Redevelopment of industrial into life science, primarily, lower rents in the East Bay that represent an opportunity for businesses to relocate and lower their costs, as well as perhaps be closer to a number of their employees who are commuting.

And then the other one, which was new, I think to everyone on the committee advisory and to staff is the retirement of business owners either through the sell the sale of their business or their building, representing an opportunity to exit, but also the loss of a business that may have been here for 30, 40, 50 years.

So you see the big numbers here.

We've added six almost seven million square feet of RD and office space.

We've lost over a million and a half square feet of industrial space.

Local workers are represented in a number of those industrial jobs, and far less in the office and RD jobs.

So as I alluded to, almost all of the new jobs are going to commuters, and a lot of the jobs where our local workforce is well represented, that square footage is dwindling or being redeveloped, and that's the trend we've seen over the last decade.

One question.

What do you define as local workers?

Residents.

Of South San Francisco.

Of South San Francisco.

I'm sorry.

Speaking in platitudes a bit here.

That wasn't too painful, and we've gotten to the roadmap.

The strategies we're gonna present a few strategies.

The CAC's gonna come up in a minute and speak to them.

They were all evaluated based on a criteria matrix provided to us by our consultant.

This was a way to try and understand what made sense to adopt and could we afford it?

Would we need to find new funds?

Is staff available?

Would we need to staff up?

And then how quickly could this have an impact and slow the effects of displacement for residents, commercial business operators?

So that's the rubric we're trying to evaluate all the strategies that were brought forward to you.

I apologize, there's a lot on this slide, but what we try to do is highlight in bold the ones that the CAC thought made the most sense and that they thought were priorities to present or to uh flag for council's consideration.

So we're gonna touch on a few of them tonight, but broadly, there's a big gap in education and and information.

There's a lot we can do for technical assistance.

Uh there are opportunities to produce new housing, but also protect and preserve the housing we have, and then there are some strategies on the commercial side that could be fairly effective.

So with that, I want to invite Michelle Alvarez and Marjorie Blende to come up and speak to you on a couple items, and we'll go through.

Thank you.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Thanks, Mayor Flores, Vice Mayor Adiago, and council members for allowing us the opportunity to come here and present.

Um my name is Michelle Alvarez.

I'm a lifelong resident of South City.

I'm gonna speak about the communication of the responsibilities and rights to landlords and renters.

Thank you.

Um, I'm gonna touch on the findings and the recommendations.

The CAC recognized that many renters and landlords are not familiar with the requirements regarding leases, repairs, and rent increase under state law.

Um, there are existing resources, but it's hard for people to access.

Given that our recommendations included informing tenants and landlords about their rights regarding affordability and housing quality, to empower community members to feel safe to engage with their property owner to make necessary repairs, to consider lease addendum outlining landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities, and then for the city to coordinate and possibly host quarterly know your rights workshops with Project Sentinel.

I'm excited to speak about this recommendation to provide landlords and tenants education on their rights and responsibilities because this resonates with me and would have been beneficial for me during the time that I was renting out my property.

During that time I had to independently seek out San Mateo County housing laws and to um network with real estate contacts in order to make sure that I was in compliance.

I believe that most landlords want to act in accordance with laws, but a lack of education on those laws can prevent that from happening.

In addition, when tenants are not educated with their rights, they may be resistant or even neglect communicating needed repairs in fear of retaliation.

It's important to provide this information to both parties, and it can be done possibly during the time that the new landlord license feed letters go out.

Um the ease of implementing this recommendation highlights its value and strength.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Marjorie Blenn and I'm here as a South San Francisco resident and as a parent who cares deeply about our public schools, our essential workers, and the stability of our community.

Tonight I'm asking the council to take serious lookup using city own land to build work for housing with initial priorities for teachers and future faces for other essential service providers like firefighters, EMT, and nurses.

South San Francisco's had become a high-cost city.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is now a little over 3100 a month.

Even with a decent salary, many of our teachers simply cannot afford to live anywhere near the school where they work.

And I want to share a personal example of what that looks like.

My son, Manny, who was in the eighth grade in South San Francisco High School last year, one of his teachers was commuting an hour and a half each way just to come and teach in this community.

That's three hours on the road every single day before grading, before lesson plans, before supporting students and family.

That kind of commute isn't sustainable.

We know that long commute leads to a chronic stress, sleep disruption, teaching fatigue, and those issues directly increase burnout turnover in the education profession.

Teacher fatigue isn't just staffing issue, it is an academic issue.

It impacts the quality of instruction, the stability of the classroom, and ultimately the success of our student.

High turnover also disrupt learning school-wide.

When a new teacher comes in every few months because the last one burnt out or moved away.

And it affects relationship and trust in an academic outcome.

If South San Francisco wants to attract younger innovative teachers, the kind who understand technology, who can relate to our student diverse background, who can prepare them for the current and future work for we have to give them a reason to choose this city.

Passion alone doesn't allow them to pay $3,100 in a rent or compete with Silicon Valley housing costs.

We already know that work for housing works in Daily City, Jefferson Unified School District built 122 units of educator housing at 705 ceremony.

It's fully occupied with a wait list.

Every education workforce housing project in California Coin has a wait list in the map extremely.

So tonight I'm asking the council to direct staff to identify a city-owned land that could support teachers and essential workers' housing.

Two, prioritize first phase focus on educators because stable schools are foundation for a stable neighborhood.

Three, coordinate with South San Francisco Unified School, Tamateo County, an experienced affordable housing developer to bring forward financial feasible plan.

Number four, ensure units offer a below market rent to make living in our community realistic for people who serve it.

When our teachers fire fire and tea nurses can live near their job, they have more time, more energy, more connection to the community.

They spend less time in traffic, more time supporting students responding to emergency or caring for patients.

They stay longer, they build a relationship, and they strengthen our city.

This is not just about housing, it's about protecting the quality of education, reducing burnout, and creating cities where essential workers can truly belong.

South San Francisco has the opportunity to lead to take a concrete action instead of waiting for a crisis.

Dedicating city landowned for work for housing is one of the most immediate impactful steps steps we can take to support our educators, protect our students, and ensure our community stays strong.

Thank you for your time, and I hope you're willing to make educators essential worker housing a priority.

Thank you.

Should we wait for that in the presentation for questions or do you want to use two staff or to the staff?

But I can wait.

I just let's let's put away a couple more slides on to some QA.

I'm gonna invite Bertha Benton and Jennifer Siegel to be our next two CAC speakers.

Good evening, City Council members and staff.

My name is Bertha Benton, and um I want to discuss about the rental inspections, and I think it's very needed here, especially in South San Francisco.

The city of South San Francisco does have some affordability, but we want to ensure the units do not fall in disrepair.

This is why rental inspections is so important.

A rental inspection program in collaboration with tenants and landlords could prevent displacement.

Or partner agency, for instance, like they have a program affordability of Section 8 that does inspections also as well, but the landlords also need their own inspections as well as affordability of any other program.

Any rental inspections program adopted could have a few simple requirements to ensure a habitability and safety without being a burden.

So interestingly, that I just recently moved to affordable housing, but my old landlord, he had accidentally text me.

It was a tenant that lived downstairs, kind of like similar to my name.

And this is why it's so important about inspections.

So, this is what the old landlord said.

Hi.

Thanks for letting the housing fire inspector come and check the water heater to the other day.

They do they did have some things that needed to be changed for fire safety.

All need you to get rid of the tires, the back of the put and put them in the garage this week.

Can you send me a picture once the tires are gone so I can provide to the housing authority?

Could you also make sure not to put anything at all in the closets with the water heater?

Please send me a picture as well showing empty, and need to be checking that.

Also, like he said, I'll need to be checking that annually moving ahead.

So this is why it's really important for the inspection, because if he had inspected it prior, it wouldn't be a probably a fire department or fire safety people coming out to just really check certain items that can cause fire safety or fire hazardous.

And interestingly, he has said annually that he will be checking it annually, and so this is what's a private owner.

So I know there's new developments are coming up that needs to be more of inspections, so we can uh the tenants can live in a safe, not in being a displaced area, like in case something does happen, and the landlord is really overburdened for the tenants is putting things there without their knowledge.

So this is what uh we represent as a community to want to present this to the city council about the inspections is very important, if especially if you put new developments in, and also to uh Eddie uh Mayor Eddie had explained a little bit of this and he touched a little bit about this about more of the affordability, and especially with bridge housing.

I was one of bridge housing tenants, and they made sure there was one side was for the uh affordability, and the other side was none.

At this point, all tenants had to sign a lease, that they were had to have proper inspections, and that means that not only if the affordability people had their own inspection, but the apartments also had their own inspection, so some get it twice a year with the affordability of the home from the program, and then there were some that had others as well.

It's just the apartment owners that did it themselves.

So at this point, um, I really like to thank Nell Slander, Tony Rossi, even Mayor Eddie for putting me on this committee also as well.

Uh elected me also as well, and Anna, she did a really great job of listening to all of our input because it's really important that that was really um was heard, and so we wanted to present it to the staff and also to the council members, that this will also help the tenants to live in affordable, and just like what Tony just said, that there's a lot of people are leaving, and so we want to have this the input and have them to stay instead of you know the rent rising up, and if we all all know that this is global, it's not just here, but in case we can all do as a community in South San Francisco, if we see something that is really important to help the tenants and help the landlord, it need to be addressed, and hopefully, that you guys take that on consideration.

I also want to thank the committee who is part of what we do also that we all have to have ideas and putting up with one another also as well so I thank all my committees also as well so hopefully that this will work.

Thank you Ms.

Good evening council members and mayor Flores my name is Jennifer Siegel and as a newer resident of South San Francisco I was really honored to have this opportunity to participate in this committee and to help shape these uh strategies that support small businesses and uh and the neighborhoods of South San Francisco so thank you for uh allowing me to be part of this committee I'd like to share two ideas that were recommended by the committee and these are strategies that can strengthen South City's small businesses the small business ecosystems and activate underutilized commercial spaces um mayor uh eddy had uh touched on the launch local program in this the his his address earlier today uh as you know the this program has already shown uh success in activating city owned sites uh city owned properties and and we recommend offering this program for long long vacant uh privately owned commercial spaces so here's the vision um if property owners are willing to adopt the launch local guidelines such as offering reduced rent and tenant improvement credits the city staff could take the lead in promoting um this program and man managing the process of of identifying potential tenants for for those locations this could create a streamlined pathway to fill empty spaces with vibrant community serving businesses and frankly we are really excited that some of those the real estate experts that are part of the committee were strongly supported this idea as well um they really they recognize that staff the city staff could play a pivotal role as a connector um connecting and bridging that gap between property owners and these entrepreneurs who are really ready to bring their small businesses to the community secondly the the committee really supports the creation of a small business anti-displacement emergency fund so we've seen firsthand how the city stepped up in in times of need of to provide critical support to small businesses such as uh you know funding for facade facade improvements recovery from vandalism and even helping uh businesses navigate ADA lawsuits uh lawsuit threats but we know those challenges don't necessarily come with a warning they can be very sudden for small businesses and that's why a permanent emergency fund is extremely important this would allow a rapid response to unforeseen shocks it could be a natural disaster uh economic disruptions as as we've seen in the past few years or other crises and this could prevent small business uh closures and and the resulting resulting displacement before they actually occur um I have previous experience as a uh lender for a small business loan fund um we provided mic micro loans some as small as 500 and up to four thousand dollars sometimes a really small amount even as small as a thousand dollars could be enough to meet an immediate need and provide a a lifeline to a small business um in at a critical period um to make this uh emergency fund a reality the city should set aside resources right now but would would also need to identify sustainable funding sources for the future and obviously that would be the greatest challenge but we know when our small business can can survive and to thrive the the whole community will thrive.

We believe these I this these ideas are really practical and align with the goals of the city to build build a resilient and inclusive and a virtue community so thank you to staff and thank you to uh to the the council members here for your time and leadership, and really we're excited to see more businesses grow and thrive here in South San Francisco.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, to keep it exciting, we have one last speaker coming to you by video.

Couldn't join us tonight because he's at a taping of wheel of Fortune.

Hello, Lee Ginsburg here.

How are you?

Thank you for the opportunity to be on the community advisory committee.

The committee was very diverse group of people, had business people, real estate people, property owners, tenants.

It was just great.

Often the discussions were a wake-up call for others.

We reached full consensus that overall tenants and landlords are good people.

They need to communicate and understand the law and their obligations a little better.

It was an overwhelming decision to support education for both parties and to give access to additional support if necessary.

We thought it would be great to have Project Sentinel and legal aid of San Mateo County to meet here locally once in a while.

We do not support free legal counsel.

The communication between landlord and tenant must improve.

Group sessions may help that.

On the commercial side, education, something education was also something uh agreed upon.

Grow the business coaching program at a minimum cost through retired business people and students at San Francisco State and Skyline College.

We all agree to support and continue to grow launch local and business uh ducks local.

We all support inspections of rental properties.

Self-certification was brought up, and I think will work the best, and least costly.

Both the tenant and landlord can complete it.

But it has to be kept very basic: hot and cold water, no mold, no rodents, insulation, heating work, very simple.

And probably done every two years, every three years.

No, whatever.

All of our discussions were reality based.

Here, how we are going to pay for this new program.

We tried hard to keep costs down.

We realize if property owners face higher costs, those costs are gonna be passed on to the tenants and only increase the rent.

So once again, I got a lot out of it.

I hope everyone else did.

The group was just a phenomenal group, everyone got along very well, respected, and so diverse, so we really heard some real life stories from everyone involved.

Thanks and have a great day.

Okay.

I want to thank the council for your for your time and uh ability to give our CAC a moment to speak on this effort over the last year.

Staff's here for questions.

We have our CAC members.

We also have Anna from HRA, who can be available for questions as well.

So happy to have a conversation.

Great.

Thank you, Tony, for the presentation.

Thank you to all the members for speaking up.

I know sometimes it's a challenge speaking in public, so I appreciate everyone that that came up to the podium and delivered your presentation as well.

I'll open it up for uh comments or questions from my colleagues.

Mr.

Mayor, please.

Um my colleagues know I I work for Project Sentinel, and I just want to check with our city attorney that I'm okay to kind of talk about them.

It's been two years since I've left.

Yes, uh, under the political reform act and FPC regulations, um, as long as you have not received income from them within 12 months.

You you're you're free to then talk about um uh the possibility of them participating in city programs.

Okay.

So when I work for Project Sentinel, I was in charge of San Mateo County outreach.

I couldn't do South San Francisco because obviously I worked on the city council.

Well what I can tell my colleagues and every and uh and what the folks here is education is the number one thing that I would always hear about from tenants and landlords.

They wanted to know what their basic rights and responsibilities were, and it's just a simple question of like, I have mold, what do I do?

Well, I would first ask, have you spoken to your landlord?

If you have, has your landlord done anything?

If not, there's all these other steps you can do in terms of trying to fix that situation, like maybe speaking to a code inspector, and then the code inspector would go down and look at the situation to see if it's habitable.

And if it's not, that code inspector would then have a conversation with the landlord and try to fix that situation.

Education is so important in terms of understanding just the basic rights that you have as a tenant and your responsibility as a landlord, the difference between at fault and no fault evictions, what the new state laws are.

For example, there's a new state law that says now you just have to pay one month's uh rent for uh a security deposit before it used to be two or three months, AB 1482.

It provided a guideline in terms of what your rights are as a tenant, but not everyone knows that.

And I think there's an opportunity here, and I'm really glad you brought this up, where I think an organization like Project Sentinel could come here and really provide education to our tenants and landlords.

When I left Project Sentinel, I had started a conversation with Redwood City, where they were partnering with Project Sentinel on basically what you're asking for workshops, um uh mediation, those are things that Project Sentinel on the tenant landlord side offers, plus um, there's another side of it that they work on fair housing.

Tony, did you reach out to Redwood City to see where they are or how successful it is in terms of the Project Sentinel kind of collaboration with Redwood City?

We did, and the fun part of this story is that it was one of our CEC members who came with a flyer from a recent Redwood City Project Sentinel outreach and said, Why are we doing this?

Can we do this?

Should we do this?

Jump started this conversation.

So here's here's my suggestion.

I think we can one of the wins we can do right away is to jump on this workshop opportunity and to really work with Project Sentinel.

Because honestly, I think after I left, I don't know how much they're doing in terms of South San Francisco.

But I can tell you right now, by just doing that on a weekly basis and having a site, I don't know, like the CAC, where you have someone that can come in for a couple hours where a tenant can come in or a landlord can come in and say, I have these questions.

Can you help me out?

That will resolve a lot of issues right off the bat in terms of education, and then providing workshops, which they're supposed to be doing because they get grant money, and they're supposed to do a certain number of workshops, and especially since they have uh CDBG money from us, I think on the on the fair housing side, I want to see them do more in terms of the tenant landlord side of things.

So they I think we should reach out to them and find out a way to partner with them to say we have this opportunity to do something similar in Redwood City.

So that's the I think that's the first step we need to do in terms of legal advice.

The other question I would get is can you provide me legal advice?

I can't do that, I can only tell you what your rights and responsibilities are, but I would refer countless residents to the legal aid society, because they would provide free legal advice.

The problem is if you wanted to meet with them, you would have to go to their monthly kind of clinic, and it was always full, always now.

If we can probably do the same thing in terms of legal aid society and give them a space, that also would help our tenants and landlords in terms of okay, what is my legal responsibility to do these things?

Or as a tenant, I've done all these things in terms of trying to resolve it, try to do mediation, what are my legal rights?

I think those are things we can do immediately to try to solve, or at least help with this issue.

And I think it's a short-term problem that we can do right away.

So I hope that we can have a my colleagues would agree that's something that we can do like that.

The other thing that I wanted to talk about, and I'll stop here because there's other there's so much issues we can talk about, is is affordable housing.

I've been watching the school district kind of sit on property on the Sarah Vista property and a Foxridge property, and for at least for 10 years, the decades.

I don't know.

Kind of been following this.

I know Councilman Nicholas, when we were on this, we were kind of watching this.

They've been sitting on property that they own, and they still don't have a timeline of what they're going to do.

Now they have said they want to do certain things with the bond money uh with schools, which is important, absolutely important.

But you're absolutely right as well.

So we have a teacher shortage, and we have to build more affordable housing and the daily city model, and also the city, the the community college district also has a model in terms of building affordable housing.

So my colleagues who sit on the school liaison, I think one of the one of the next things you should guys talk about is telling the city council what is your timeline to build housing on those sites, because I'm tired of waiting.

Because guess what?

There needs to be a partnership because at some point when they have to build affordable housing, it has to come to us to rezone, right?

So I'm tired of the excuses, I want to see them step up and build housing for the teachers there for our community.

In terms of property, yes, we need to we need to look at building affordable housing on our property.

I know we're we've talked about the MSB and there's some other sites, but I'm gonna continue to talk about those sites because affordable housing is absolutely important, and we have the opportunity to kind of dictate the terms of building affordable housing.

The fact that we own the property, we potentially could build a hundred percent affordable units, and that's something we can do, and so I'll just leave with that.

Thank you, Councilmember, for your question.

So I will say, as um, and the and the American corroborates is uh you know we both sit on the school and city liaison subcommittee, and we have tried to bring up the issue of the vacant properties, um, and even with the Foxrich parcel, which they are um which they initially had planned to build teacher housing, they have deprioritized it.

They have deprioritized it.

I forget what the it was your A B C D and it's on the bottom, it's at the very bottom.

They won't even consider it until 2028.

And I will say, and I'm very thankful for staff for being for making sure that we are well prepared when we present at these liaison meetings.

I would like to see the same uh respect uh when we attend as well from the other side, Councilmember Nicholas.

Thank you.

Thank you for the service of our committee and everybody who had worked on this.

I just have a few questions in the um report, Tony.

It says here under the residential housing displacement, it says here higher income Asian households are moving into South San Francisco, Latino and Black households are leaving the city, and specifically district five.

I would like to suggest that we don't use um groups of people pitting against people.

And this is one of the issues that Asian Americans had been fighting for.

We have always been looked at as the model minority and higher income people, but it's not a monolith.

There are people, they're Asians who also need services like this, because some of them are not in the higher income level.

So I would like to revise this and take out those Asian households moving and displacing Latino and Black households.

I would say that's a little disrespectful when I looked at it.

So on the second one, on the same page, under the commercial business displacement, industrial rents across the city may have more than doubled over the last decade.

Pricing up legacy businesses who have opted to the East Bay where rents are lower and a larger workforce is available.

Now, and the next one, it was talking about our educational attainment here in the city, that we need more people who are um four year, at least a four-year degree holder.

So if this people why why is the larger workforce available in East Bay when I'm sure it's also available here?

I mean, that should not be one of the reasons.

It could be just the lower uh price rent, right?

Because if we have people who are not as educated, which is one of the reasons why you know uh people are out or displaced, why would so the larger workforce that's available who are not very educated, they're available to work, right?

I would assume that that's happy to answer that.

Uh to your first point, we'll go back and take a look at the wording.

I apologize for that sort of inappropriate lumping of trend definition.

Uh on the second question, there's there's two there's two pieces at play.

Do we have an employee base that meets many of the industrial job demands?

Absolutely.

Does the East Bay have many folks who also meet the demand of industrial jobs?

Yes, they do.

There's an affordability of housing that comes into where your workforce moves around.

Affordability for housing has as much to do with when you started working as the price today.

So folks that have been working industrial jobs in South San Francisco since 1990 have been able to remain here in a way that someone who is started in that job in 2020 just cannot, and so they look for lower cost housing further out, East Bay, South Bay, and that's part, it's not the only explanation, but it is part of the reason we've seen major industrial businesses relocate to the East Bay for price of land and availability of a workforce that is stable and living out there already.

It's not the only reason though.

So if we have only 39% of our residents having at least a four-year degree, I noticed that one of you know the steps that you think we can help the prevent displacement.

Why don't we have a four-year or a scholarship, an endowment program as one of the things that we can also do?

Uh it's for those who are not who don't want to get a college degree.

We can also offer scholarships for them to get skills or trades or get into trade.

Uh I didn't see that as one of the recommendations.

Perhaps, I mean, with all the other resources we have, we can have an endowment program for scholarships, and so we can help the people who are here who can who would like to stay here and work in the industry sets around here to uplift economic, you know, their economic mobility.

Absolutely agree.

Uh I think that's all I have.

Great.

Thank you for thank you.

Councilmember.

Uh sure.

Sure.

Um, all right.

Uh first I want to ground us a bit in what we're we're looking for now.

Um, and kind of the trend that we're seeing, and I say this a lot, I'm gonna say it again.

The San Mateo County um, well, San Mateo County released a report about a year and a half ago that stated that the fastest growing homeless population in our county is unhoused seniors.

It's not unique to San Mateo County, is some is a trend that we are seeing throughout California and the country.

But it's not just seniors, it is our youth who go through K-12 school and are looking for uh places to to move out and grow their family.

Uh far too often I see members in my generation, my classmates that I went to school with, have to move out and sprawl into Stockton and outside Sacramento into the Central Valley, where housing is still expensive, but much more affordable than it is here.

It's about ensuring that our families and our workers have a place to live, our teachers, our nurses, our firefighters, our public safety officials, everyone.

Because if our if the workers that make South City run are unable to afford to live in South City, everyone suffers.

That is a fact.

And that is not even to mention the homelessness crisis that we're experiencing here in the Bay Area.

I had the opportunity to attend Housing Leadership Day, hosted by the Housing Leadership Council, it was in the South San Francisco Conference Center.

And they unveiled some data that showed that in the Bay Area, we are making a lot of progress with reducing homelessness.

Last year, about 20,000 people moved off the streets and into permanent housing in the Bay Area.

But at the same time, about 40,000 entered homelessness last year.

So we are making progress, but the number of people being pushed into homelessness is outpacing the number of people who move back into housing from homelessness every year.

If we want to address this issue, we have to prevent homelessness in the first place.

That is key.

And if we are not addressing displacement, then we are not treating this crisis seriously that as seriously as this moment in time warrants.

I think education here is so critically important.

And first, let me back up a bit and just say I'm I'm so thankful for staff and for the committee, because oftentimes these conversations can be very contentious.

And what we have shown is that we can have these conversations and we can respect each other and we can agree on a balanced plan.

I think that this roadmap here is incredible.

Especially with so many of the actionable steps that I hope our council will undertake in the coming years.

And so education is critically important.

I agree with my councilmember and Mark McGallis.

Um tenant landlord law is extremely complex and it changes year to year.

And this information education and informing our community goes both ways.

This means ensuring that our landlords understand the law as well as our tenants understand the law, and they both should benefit from our programs.

Last year we passed a business license tax that included uh rental properties, and so now we have this handy dandy list of all the rentals in our city, and we should be we should be using that.

And I'll be honest, when I proposed last year to include rentals in the BLT, this was what I had in mind.

Is that now that we have this registr this de facto registry of rentals, now we have the ability to do targeted outreach and ensure that our uh entire community, whether they be owners or renters, have the information necessary uh to truly thrive and ensure all of our rules and regulations are being followed.

I would propose that we send an annual mailer to these households with general rights of both renters and landlords, as well as changes in state law.

I would propose that we include contact information for legal services if needed, and that we have this information available in Spanish as well as Chinese.

I saw in the presentation, and this is a question I have as well, is uh adding a lease addendum with rights.

Uh, is that the disclosure of rights at the time of lease, whenever the lease agreement would be signed?

Yeah, I think the vision from the CAC is that a one pager that is, you know, accurate to that year goes out with that sort of targeted list that we now have.

And it would go out at the beginning of each lease.

The idea is that the easiest process would be to send it out on the annual tax mailer, so that would be once a year, and it would really be going to the property owners at that point.

Tenants, we have to find a different path to get our information to.

It will probably have to be through mail, I would assume.

And I'm just thinking that not everyone is online, right?

Um not everyone knows how to scan a QR code, maybe they don't have a phone, especially if they are struggling with potentially being able to pay rent, chances are they might not have the technology.

And so just ensuring that this information gets to households through physical copies uh that you can hold in your hand.

I think it's very necessary.

Um next, I also want to just support Council Murder Nogales' um idea of I believe what would be a version of office hours in South City, um, and I believe they host this in other parts of the county, but just having there be some professionals, um, probably Project Sentinel, maybe uh legal aid society or version of CLESPA, um, that's able to be there maybe once every week or so, and just be able to provide that sort of direction and and legal advice um if needed.

Um, and this both this goes both ways, of course, right?

Both for renters as well as owners that they have that legal advice available to them.

Um, I also want to highlight that proactive inspection program is going to be very important, and if we allow for potential code violations to go on longer, that could pose, you know, if we allow these problems faster, they could become worse, right?

And we want to ensure that we are keeping all of our homes as safe as possible uh for the community that lives there.

Um I also would just want to say one last thing, which is uh we need to move also on the production of affordable housing.

Um we as a city do have public land that can accommodate mixed income, uh affordable housing.

Our school district also has land, and I believe it may be time to engage the community in those discussions to see what uh we find is appropriate for our city.

Thank you.

Great, thank you.

Vice Mayor and comments, um, so I appreciate the comments and uh mostly in agreement, especially with Councilman Nogalis, because obviously he's lived it through his time at Sentinel.

There's an element of deja vu here though, because this committee has been doing some um uh fantastic work, but it seems that we've covered some of this prior to the committee coming into existence, and um and I was disappointed actually greatly disappointed by the last comment by Mr.

Ginsberg that um we do not support free legal assistance now.

What I'm reading and understanding is that um displacement, which is many times homelessness, might be between landlord and tenant dispute.

The person may have had trouble with an employer and they were let go illegally inappropriately without being able to exercise their rights.

Um if you want to if you want to change that, I mean you can send mailers and you can educate the masses, but you've got to be able to rescue people, and the way you're gonna rescue them is with the legal system.

So I'm not willing to walk away from the idea of no support for free legal assistance.

I mean, it's great to invite them here, but they might need a little bit more support to do something meaningful for our citizens.

I sorry, I know I spoke, but I also want to add that um that comment did also take me off guard because it was included in the plan.

It was included there as a long-term plan, and so I believe we will pursue it.

All right, and I also want to say sorry, and I also want to say that legal services have been implemented in other cities and in other states, and what they find with the data is that when tenants are represented during evictions proceedings, anywhere between 70 and 90 percent of those cases, tenants stay in their homes.

It is necessary.

All right, thank you.

Thank you all for um your comments.

I want to start off again, thanking staff.

Uh, this didn't just happen last night.

Um, each one of you on a Monday night devoted your time, um, each one of your households, each one of your residents, um, for coming.

Um, many of you brought your kids to City Hall and had dinner with with us with them as part of this committee.

Uh, that takes a lot of courage, that takes a lot of boldness because you all care about South San Francisco, and you want the best for your fellow residents and and neighbors, and that I want to call that out.

That I saw at every point in turn.

Um, and I want to acknowledge the work.

I also want to acknowledge the work of staff and our consultants.

I mean, being able to select individuals that were truly representative and inclusive of what South San Francisco is.

It wasn't just a monolith, but it was diverse voices with different opinions and uh different experiences, and I want to uh appreciate and uplift that as well.

I also want to call out that this really started because folks had this idea that all this building, uh, housing, uh, biotech, etc.

We were taking care of our neighbors, our long legacy neighbors and communities and families and businesses.

Uh the word gentrification was tossed around without really any concrete evidence.

And this provided the technical data points for us to really understand what is happening with our business owners that we've had here for decades, and why do they not want to continue in South San Francisco?

It wasn't simply because a new housing development on Cyprus or airport is kicking out X, Y, or C business.

But we were able to understand through data that many of those legacy uh business owners wanted to pass down their businesses to their family members, or sometimes their own uh sons and daughters, and and the family members said, no, we're not interested in continuing this business model.

And we're interested in e-commerce or in some other investment uh that our family can continue.

These were lighting uh or share shedding light on myths that have gone around our community saying it's because of X, it's because of Y, it's because of Z.

Um, I also want to bring forth the idea.

So now we have a roadmap.

What this roadmap looks like is we have lower tier, middle tier, and higher cost here.

We can't move things forward, obviously, additional monetary resources.

And I appreciated the fact that we were able to grab quote unquote the low-hanging fruit, the policymaking aspect of this body, too, as well as new ideas that we could further explore, like my colleagues to my right have um so brought it forth.

So I think this is the start, this is not the conclusion.

I don't like to say this is the end.

This is a living document.

We could refer back to additional ideas when we have additional resources or funds or grants, we could look back at this and implement this.

This is one part of our big portfolio to continue the dialogue, to continue the conversation.

Appreciate everyone's input on this.

Within that, I want to go to our city clerk to see if we have any public comments on this.

No public comments, mayor, but there was one e-comment submitted.

Okay, thank you very much.

Again, I want to thank the members of uh the CAC.

I want to thank staff.

This isn't a report only, so we do accept the report findings and with the um additions and recommendations of uh uh that were provided by my colleagues here on council.

So thank you very much again for your efforts and for your time in serving South San Francisco on this uh project.

Um, next agenda item, please.

Item number 17 is a report regarding a resolution approving a reimbursement agreement with In N Out Burger Restaurant for a new signalized intersection at El Camino Real and Southwood Drive First Street in connection with the new restaurant project at 932 and 972 El Camino.

Item number 17A is the resolution.

Welcome now.

Sorry, let me find the beginning of my presentation.

Um, good evening, mayor, vice mayor, council members, Nell Sealander here, Economic and community development Director, and Stephanie Skangis, who is one of our senior planners, is very sorry not to be here this evening.

She is under the weather, but she shepherded this project through the Planning Commission approval and got us to this point this evening.

So I do want to acknowledge all her hard work on this.

So tonight it's sort of an oddity.

We're discussing an already approved project.

The Planning Commission had the authority granted by the city council to approve a project like this.

But what's coming forward to you this evening is a reimbursement agreement.

Since it has to do with utilizing city funds, it comes to city council for approval, that reimbursement agreement document.

But we did want to give the council the benefit of a brief presentation about the project and also for the community because we know there are concerns about traffic and queuing with a project of this magnitude.

So as I mentioned, the project was approved by Planning Commission on July 17th of this year.

And I'm gonna give a very very brief presentation, but Bridget Williams with In N Out will have a more thorough discussion of the project design.

And then, of course, Matt Rubel, our principal engineer in public works, is here to help us out as well with QA.

So the project is located at 932 972 El Camino, where the two stars are.

It's walkable to here, which is pretty exciting for all of us that have late night meetings, and centennial way just to the east.

So the approved project is for a new nearly 4,000 square foot building with quite a bit of indoor seating as well as outdoor seating, and drive-through queuing for 39 cars.

Bridget is gonna walk us through this.

Notable here is that all the buildings on the property will be demolished as part of this once in and out has site control and a demo permit in hand.

The approved project also includes some circulation amenities, most notably a new traffic signal at El Camino Real and Southwood First Drive, and that is what is the subject of this reimbursement agreement.

Um there is also a pedestrian pathway built from just on their project site from El Camino up to a gate that will be accessible to the sort of Bart right of way where we have Centennial Trail.

So if the city wanted to complete that connection to Centennial Trail, there would be a nice easy access from El Camino over or through the In and Out site to up to Centennial Trail.

And once the In and Out Burger restaurant is built, but before the traffic signal is installed, there will be interim traffic control measures, namely no U-turn signage for folks traveling southbound on El Camino Rail, trying to loop around northbound to access the site.

But In and Out did really a great and lengthy job of engaging the community.

They had a large community meeting on January 13th.

I believe a number of you were in attendance, followed up with attendees with sort of a report of how the meeting went, invited them to the planning commission, and then had more targeted meetings throughout the approval process with the media neighbors.

And you really saw that at the planning commission hearing.

There was public comment, but it wasn't nearly to the extent of that original community meeting where some big issues were raised that in and out really incorporated into the design.

So the subject of this meeting and this action by council is the traffic signal reimbursement.

And why this traffic signal is important and particularly important with this development of the In and Out burger is that this there's already warrants for a signalized intersection at El Camino Real in Southwood first.

But what In N Out would add is a differ additional traffic volumes, absolutely, but most notably a U-turn.

Folks are going to be traveling southbound, they're gonna want to hang a U-turn and come into that site, and having that protected by a signal is so important for the safety of not just vehicles but pedestrians and bicyclists.

Um staff and sort of right at the outset of this project started talking to In N Out about how important a signal would be here and how could we partner to get it done.

There is a lot of fine print on this page.

It is the subject of the agreement, but essentially what we've negotiated over the past many, many months is um uh an agreement where In N Out takes on all of the responsibility for designing and building installing that signal.

Um, the city's financial exposure is limited to $600,000, which does sound like a lot of money.

It's from our transportation impact fee, and the city can there's a schedule laid out in the agreement to repay in and out as we receive transportation impact fees so that it's not an all-at-once payment, and it limits the city's cost exposure on the signal improvements as contemplated in a conceptual plan that our public works engineering division worked out with In N Out.

And right now, In N Out is estimating this signal will cost about 1.2 million dollars, and so In N Out is responsible financially for that additional 600,000, and then any cost overruns to implement that conceptual design.

So we've sort of agreed to a concept design.

On right now, today, it sounds like we will be splitting costs.

The nice part about this agreement, why we think this is you know, staff recommends it is that it does limit the city's cost to 600,000.

We've also worked out provisions.

This is a Caltrans corridor, so it requires a Caltrans permit.

That is a lengthy process.

If council has questions about it, I'm gonna ask Matt Ruble to come talk about that.

Um, but um, we are sort of at their mercy.

So we anticipate that we will get an approval and there will be a permit for this intersection, but there are um there is a process in the agreement of what happens if we can't reach agreement with Caltrans, and they issue that permit.

And so that includes um working together on design for a period of time, and then a payment of an in loo fee if they if the if Caltrans for whatever reason would never issue that permit.

We don't think that is likely.

Um, again, Matt can speak to that, but we wanted to note it is this there this is a uh process that we have to go through with Caltrans.

Um, so as I mentioned earlier, um Bridget Williams is here to give a more detailed um presentation on the queuing and sort of the traffic flow of this project.

Um, Matt Rubel is here to help answer questions.

I don't know if we want to move right into Bridget's presentation and then we'll come back for a QA.

Thank you now.

Good evening, Mayor Flores, Council members and staff.

My name is Bridget Williams.

I'm the development manager representing In N Out Burger tonight.

Thank you for having us this evening.

First, we'd like to start by thanking staff for working with us on this project.

We really appreciate all the efforts to get us here today.

In N Out was founded in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder in Baldwin Park, California.

More than 77 years after opening that very first location.

We have over 400 stores operating in nine states, and we're still a family-owned business.

Every location is privately owned and operated.

We do not franchise.

Harry and Esther's granddaughter Lindsay Snyder is the owner and president of In N Out, and she continues the legacy and core values of quality service and community.

In N Out Burger operates from a three-pronged mission statement.

It is our guiding principle that shapes everything we do.

It governs all our operations, hiring practices, company culture, and ensures that we stay grounded to our founding principles and values.

Our motto is quality you can taste.

All our food is made to order.

There isn't a single heat lamp, microwave, or freezer in our kitchens.

We are committed to only the freshest ingredients that are delivered fresh, never frozen to each of our stores.

In addition to a quality product, we are renowned for our emphasis on customer service.

At In N Out, every customer receives service with our signature smile.

Our associates are the cornerstone of our success.

We foster team-oriented atmosphere that encourages growth, provides extensive training, and ensures that every associate feels valued and supported.

This commitment translates into a positive environment that benefits not only our team, but the service we provide every customer.

In 2025, Glassdoor named In N Out the number three best place to work, and it was the only restaurant in the top 100.

In N Out Burger is proud to contribute to the economic vitality of the communities where we operate.

Our new location in South San Francisco will create numerous local job opportunities, including over 45 store associate positions, plus additional support opportunities such as maintenance and landscaping.

It will also provide competitive wages and comprehensive benefits that support career growth and stability.

Beyond employment, our operations simulate local economic activity by encouraging spending and supporting nearby businesses.

The economic benefits extend further as the revenue generated by our business helps support public services, infrastructure improvements, and community programs.

This positive ripple effect reinforces our dedication to not just being a place where people come to dine, but a business that plays an active role in bolstering the economic health of South San Francisco.

Our investment in the city translates to sustained growth and prosperity for its residents and community.

Community is what has shaped In N Out.

As part of our mission statement, we are committed to assist all communities in our marketplace to become stronger, safer, and better places to live.

We work with a variety of organizations seeking support with their fundraising efforts, including nonprofits, schools, youth sports, and more.

In 2024, In N Out gave over $30,000 worth of valued guest cards, youth recognition awards, and in-kind donations in San Mateo County alone.

Additionally, the company operates three foundations.

In N Out Burger underwrites the administrative costs of all of these foundations so that 100% of the money raised is given back to our communities.

These foundations donate to multiple nonprofits in San Mateo County.

We consider ourselves members of every community we operate in, and we are proud to give back in the ways that we can.

As part of our development process of this project, we met with stakeholders throughout the community and listened to their concerns.

We spoke with local merchants who are supportive or neutral on the project.

We met with the community director of the 988 apartments, created a special rendering showing the views from their apartment building, and we had one resident attend the community meeting who expressed a concern with traffic.

We met with members of the leadership team of the Maltese American Social Club on multiple occasions since November of 2024, including providing a tour of the site and copies of plans.

We've met with board and committee members and discussed the clubs concerned with the project, which we have addressed and continues to address as new concerns arise.

We held a community meeting in January of 2025.

Approximately 70 community members attended the meeting.

We displayed poster boards that included project facts, design details, building elevations, both current and proposed site plans.

Participants received fact sheets and frequently asked questions documents.

They were invited to fill out comment cards.

One comment card was received.

We sent a follow-up email and letter to meeting attendees with a meeting summary.

And additionally, we sent direct mail to neighbors announcing updates to the project prior to the planning commission hearing.

The neighborhood had a few concerns.

Specifically, the largest and most important concern we received was regarding the traffic at the intersection of El Camino Real and Southwood and First Street.

The request to connect the site to Centennial Trail that were presented at both design review and the neighborhood meeting.

And the other concern was drive-thru queuing and management of traffic.

We listened to our neighbors and community groups and have addressed the issues in the following ways.

Traffic and traffic safety was the highest priority concern that was expressed at the neighborhood meeting.

We've worked closely with staff to address and solve these issues.

In N Out has agreed to construct and install a traffic signal with crosswalks at the intersection of El Comino Real and First Street Southwood.

This signal is not a mitigation measure required by CEQA.

The installation of the signal is a benefit to the community that In N Out and the City work together to bring to the neighborhood.

The city has provided this conceptual design for the intersection that includes a four-way traffic signal, pedestrian crossings, pedestrian push buttons, improved medians, and improved ramps in nearby sidewalk at each corner.

The signal will be interconnected to the neighboring signals for improved traffic control, and the signal will include features such as video detection, emergency vehicle preemption, and signal controllers.

The design will be finalized by Caltrans as it's in the Caltrans right of way.

For improved pedestrian access, the site added a pedestrian gate at the northeast corner of the property to allow pedestrians to walk to our site and onto El Camino Real.

This was requested by both the neighbors and the design review board.

The site has 51 dedicated parking stalls, which exceeds the city's maximum requirement of 27 spaces.

This parking lot is designed with optimal circulation with no dead-end parking aisles.

This additional parking allows associates and customers to park on site, minimizing impacts to the neighborhood.

This site plan has an on site dedicated drive-thru queue of 39 cars.

For comparison, the store in Millbrae has a 10-car dedicated queue, and the two stores in Daily City have a 10-car and 17-car dedicated queue.

This proposed store is on a significantly larger site with longer dedicated queue than any of the nearby stores.

Our traffic study surveyed eight existing stores in Northern California, including the store on Gellert and Daily City.

On average, the peak queues observed were 18 vehicles during weekday evenings and 25 vehicles during the Saturday midday peak period.

This data shows that a minimum storage capacity of 25 cars is sufficient for this site.

Of those stores surveyed, the maximum queue length observed was 33 cars.

The site provides more than sufficient queuing.

Also, the dedicated queue begins towards the rear of the site.

The site can hold approximately eight cars between the dedicated drive-through lane and the south entrance on El Camino Real, bringing the on-site queuing capacity to nearly 50 cars.

At this stage, associates are deployed with handheld devices to take orders outside.

Awareness of the queue reaching the 10th car is enhanced with outdoor cameras and indoor monitors.

These cameras display on multiple monitors located inside the restaurant, including at the manager's office, above the grills, and above both the pay and pickup windows.

If the queue were to extend past the dedicated queue length, additional associates are deployed to manage the queue and traffic on site.

This restaurant will be equipped with three burger grills, two grills will operate at all times.

Activation of the third grill will be done in response to high dine-in or more typically high drive-thru queue demand.

As activating the third grill significantly increases the speed at which drive-thru orders are delivered to customer vehicles.

With these practices and the site design, we were intentional about minimizing impacts in the neighborhood and getting customers onto our site as efficiently as possible.

The mission of Statement of South San Francisco is to provide a safe, attractive, and well-maintained city through excellent customer service and superior programs, and to have a work ethic that will enhance the community's quality of life.

At In N Out, we share in this vision of South San Francisco, and our project will support these goals.

We provide safe, attractive, and family friendly restaurants with high quality ingredients, excellent customer service, meticulous attention to cleanliness.

We create an inviting space where family and friends can gather for a meal.

We are thrilled to be part of this community.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

And questions?

Okay, great.

Um thank you.

Thank you for that.

Um I'll go to my colleagues here for any additional questions or comments.

Ms.

Mayor.

Um, I felt it was only appropriate that I test out the cues uh and go to the house, just uh no, but um in all seriousness though, the um I had a question about the stoplight.

So it's two years, right?

That's what I'm understanding.

And the they can also deny the permit, but we still can build it even if they deny it.

I'm trying to understand because you're saying you in the staff report that you can you're gonna work something out with in and out in terms of next steps in terms of the of the light.

Yeah, Caltra, sorry.

Matt Ruble, principal engineer.

So we work closely with In N Out on the reimbursement agreement, recognizing that we are not the only parties that are in control of whether this signal gets built and what the timeline is.

It's a Caltrans right-of-way.

We understand from city led projects how long that process can take.

So we just put provisions in there that if Caltrans were to deny the signal that we would meet and work with the applicant in and out to find a way to mitigate for their concerns.

That said, we don't anticipate Caltrans saying no to this.

Caltrans will have the requirements, they'll have things that they want included in the design and how they want it built.

But the cities wanted a signal there for a while.

It's been uh based on current traffic volumes, based on we have current bus stops on either side of El Camino at that location that do not have a safe pedestrian crossing.

So this has been part of the city's vision for a while, and now partnering with uh In and Out, we have a chance to bring it to the community.

Yeah, I think it's just unfortunate we have to wait potentially two years.

Hopefully, it's not gonna take two years because you're saying you're putting temporary no U-turn signs there.

Is that quite I mean, we're not gonna have PD out there the whole time looking at you know, so it's not U-turn, but I think it's important to recognize currently U-turns are allowed there right now.

Yes, not a problem given the current volumes, yeah.

It warrants a signal, but it's not a particular hazard at this time as a mitigation to recognize the increased volumes once they open, we are having them put in a no U-turn at this time, and it'll be continually monitored by PD and public works, and if it becomes an issue during that design and construction phase, we have agreed to we'll meet with In and Out and we'll figure out other reasonable steps that can be taken.

Um, to in and out's credit, they've already engaged Caltrans, they've submitted plans at their own risk and are going through the process to do everything possible on their end to accelerate that, but um, we're just trying to be as transparent as we can that we can't control how fast the state uh provides that permit.

So one of the things I've uh thank you, Matt.

Uh that I speak to In and Out now, in terms of just general upkeep now for the site, um, what are you doing in terms of making sure that you're clearing out any vegetation and debris there?

Because right now it's you know it's fenced off and it could be considered a blight.

So what are you doing to maintain that site?

So at this time, In and Out does not uh have control of the properties, but when we get notice, we are our understanding is the property owners are working with uh the code enforcement to do site cleanups.

There was a cleanup that went out last Saturday.

There was a cleanup that went out a couple weeks before.

If we hear about it, we engage and let the appropriate parties know.

Okay, thank you.

Uh thank you.

Um, go ahead.

Yeah, oh um, Bridget, please come back to the podium.

Um, Sealander, you mentioned you use the same term.

You said once there's site control, so um I'm gonna interpret that as you don't own the property.

Correct.

So you got approval on July the 25th.

How long does it usually take you to finalize a deal for land acquisition?

I mean, this is a family owned operation, right?

So there's not a massive corporation, there's actually people that can make decisions, right?

How long does it take?

I do not know the answer to that question.

I'm sorry that you didn't come with an answer for that because I'm not really interested in much else except the blight that that site has become.

And it's not the only one on that strip of El Camino Real.

There's another one that bothers me because it's been 10 years.

But I don't want you to put your toe in the water and then splash around a little bit and not make a commitment.

I don't understand why you haven't bought the property.

And I'm not really interested, and I'm not going to vote on the reimbursement.

Are we expected to vote tonight on the reimbursement agreement?

Because I'm losing interest rapidly.

No delay.

I suspect that or suggest that there be no delay in acquiring the property and raising that building.

And then I'll be interested what you want to bring to South City.

Thank you.

Yeah, I just want a clarification from Matt.

Matt said you have In N Out has submitted the designs at risk to Caltrans, right?

And so for Caltrans, usually what is their usual length of time to look into this in the past.

Have we done something like this before with Caltrans?

Yeah, we've done extensive work on Caltrans Runaway.

And so the most uh a very simple project, which I would consider a signal signal to be, could be anywhere from 12 months to get a review and approval through their uh process, and then so the two-year timeline would recognize it would be about a year construction once they get the approval to procure the materials and do the site work.

Okay, thank you.

Councilmember Coleman?

Yes, so Councilmember Audigo, you're you're or sorry, Vice Mayor Audiego.

Your your line of question intrigued me.

So when is construction expected to start on the In and Out?

We are in permitting right now and in plan reviews.

So at this point in time we don't have any permits.

We hope to have them in December.

We have no interest in delaying construction, but we do need permits in hand before we can get going.

Okay, so this December.

We are yes.

And how long do you estimate this project will take until completion?

Typically, our projects take about eight months.

About eight months.

Okay, so we're looking at the starts.

All right.

So we're looking for a lovely ribbon cutting uh late 2026.

Um, and the intersection is gonna take two years.

So that's what the agreement allows for, two years.

Uh, that point in time, we're already on permitting with the city of South San Francisco.

The Caltrans design uh was a little bit longer than we were able to get plans in.

That timeline includes the fact that we cannot control Caltrans and they tend to move slower than city reviews.

So that includes their plan check process and construction of the signal.

Right, because my worry is you know we know it believe me, our council gets a lot of emails and and social media comments, and and there are there is a lot of concern about the traffic, and my worry is we open at that in and out, and the traffic signal is not there yet, and people see people say, Well, look, they didn't fulfill their promise that and they get all upset in addition to who knows how many months of there being worsened traffic at at that.

So, what can we do to ensure that the construction of intersection is timed well to where it is open by the time the in and out is complete?

We are doing everything in our power that we can.

We started talking with Caltrans in March of 2025, so well before we had even established that we were going to uh be working on this traffic signal.

We started an initial conversations with them.

We've launched design already at risk to start the plans of this traffic signal, and we're submitting into Caltrans.

So we are getting this moved as quickly as possible, um, and we are trying to escalate and get as quick reviews as we can by Caltrans.

Unfortunately, they just move slowly, all right.

Maybe this is a question to staff.

Is there anything that we can do better?

Um to ensure that it's actually gets constructed in in time.

And if I could just jump in before I had provided thoughts, I believe it was Nell or someone.

And I encourage staff as well as I was willing to put a letter forth to Caltrans as well as uh utilize our state legislators to be able to expedite this and make it a top priority being ECRs is such a commuted and high desirable uh street area.

So wanted to see if that's moved anywhere, if that has been consideration, if either um in and out has had um it just saying it's we can't do anything because Caltrans is Caltrans, we can't.

I I that's not something that we could just accept, I guess.

No, we agree to that.

As a staff perspective, we write the agreements to recognize what we can and can't control.

However, as a staff level, we are engaged with Caltrans and in and out in conversations with the state at various levels.

We're leveraging existing city relationships with our counterparts at the state in order to streamline the process where possible and help move through the process.

So we're not passively just waiting for Caltrans, we're working in partnership to uh see this come to fruition as fast as possible.

Great.

Um, this question is.

So last council meeting we received a report.

Um was it from Caltrans?

I think it was from Caltrans on their potentially going to have like a bus lane, maybe a bike lane.

Um, oh Megan's still here, mobility, yeah.

And well, this is a question to in and out actually, but but up the street we're gonna get a new bike shop, and so the idea is there's probably gonna be more bikers, more cyclists going up and down El Comuni Real, and I do not see bike parking on the in and outside.

Is that something that we you can commit to?

Uh, we have short-term and long-term term bike parking on our site.

Right, you do.

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

That's my questions.

Okay.

Anyone else?

All right.

Um, do we have any public comments on this?

No public comments, Mayor.

All right.

We are uh looking for an this is an action item.

This is uh to approve the resolution.

Uh so I'll open it up.

Uh is there a motion?

Is there a motion to move the resolution forward?

Okay, I I admit it admittedly, I did a little grandstanding there because I wanted to make a point.

The reality is we've approved the project, so whether whether or not we get a signalized intersection is really all on this agreement.

But I'm really not happy with the fact that that building is still standing, but I'm not going to shoot myself in the foot on the reimbursement agreement.

So I'll make the motion.

Second.

Have a first and a second.

Can I please have roll call?

Mayor Flores.

Yes, Councilmember Nicholas.

Aye.

Council Member Nogales.

I Vice Mayor Adiego.

A bidder, yes.

Councilmember Coleman.

Yes, motion passes.

Thank you.

Thank you to staff on this project.

Could I could I have uh item 15 come up now?

Um before we do the last final item.

If that's okay, madam city manager, and now.

Uh certainly.

Sorry, it's just a short um explanation of uh errata sheet that we've prepared.

Could you read the item, please?

Thank you.

Item number 15 is a report regarding a resolution approving budget amendment number 26.035 appropriating a hundred and seventy thousand dollars for emerging emergency food assistance for South San Francisco supplemental nutrition assistance program recipients.

Item number 15A is the resolution.

Thank you.

Um at a special meeting, uh, sorry, Nell C.

Lander, economic and community development director.

Um, sorry, it's leave.

Um, on October 29th, city council authorized staff to move ahead with an emergency food assistance program for SNAP recipients that were not um getting their usual SNAP benefits for November.

Um, city staff worked closely with YMCA on some program guidelines and held a distribution event on Friday, November 7th, serving 269 households with 100 in gift cards.

The YMCA currently has $3,100 on hand in gift cards.

That's from that first allotment that we delivered.

And late last week, it was still very unclear whether or not those November payments were going to come in in full.

There was some feeling that maybe recipients would get a partial payment, and so we made a decision to move ahead with buying another tranche of those gift cards so that we would be ready for a distribution event today.

Well, as you all may have received a ding on your phone during this meeting, the House voted to approve the Senate funding package, and the president signed it.

So one of the great I mean one of the good things enshrined in that is that there is a new funding cliff at the end of January, but it does not apply to SNAP benefits.

So there are some carve outs for very specific programs to not be impacted by another shutdown like this.

So right now we don't see an immediate need for those cards which are non-refundable.

So we want to with this council action take a couple make a couple tweaks to the language.

Originally, the appropriation had been set up to appropriate that full 170,000 that council had authorized at the October 29th meeting.

We recommend reducing that to 85,000.

So that would cover 80,000 and the direct costs for those gift cards, and then 5,000 for reasonable administrative expenses incurred by the YMCA.

They took about 11 staff members offline for most of a week to prepare for this program and then actually deliver it to the public.

So that is what we recommend is just to change the number in the resolution from 170,000 to 85,000.

There are a couple of things happening at the county level with the um food distributions that normally occur.

The county has committed a good amount of funds to emergency food relief, food assistance, and so my understanding in speaking with staff at the YMCA is that the county will come through and provide those the protein in the November Thanksgiving and December sort of Christmas, New Year's food distributions, but it is not clear what is going to happen into the new year.

Staff would recommend that we allow them to use that to um fill their emergency pantry through the month of January.

So sort of using those funds as they need to make sure that they always have a certain number of staples on hand, which is something that occasionally Second Harvest or the County will provide, and that's usually about a thousand dollars a month.

And that that is the staff recommendation.

Thank you.

Um let's hear from everyone on this topic.

Um I have some thoughts, but I'd like to hear everyone else.

Yeah, I'm ready.

Um I wanted to just um I wanted to roll back to the 29th.

You know, the 29th, I uh recognized the emergency situation and that the mayor wanted to get out in front of this, and it was ultimately a good move, although unbeknownst to any of us, not necessary.

Um, but when emergency action is needed, um my understanding is that the city manager has some availability, and I think we give you a maximum amount of dollars that you can expend in a direction given an emergency.

So what is that number?

I believe I could spend up to 150,000.

Yeah that's what I thought.

So I mean that would have been one way to go quite honestly I was a little unappreciative of the way it went down because I'm sitting up here flat footed not knowing how to respond but maybe we'll have a conversation another day.

As far as the the money that was um expended um a little less than 30 thousand dollars um is that what the $5,000 covers the their their cost for giving away 269 cards so that correct?

Yes.

So that's about $10 a card so that $10 on a $50 card to give away money is my math correct 100% so it's the what YMCA has requested is 18% which is what we provide to them as an administrative fee when they run our other programs.

Yeah and and I think I had this problem before with something at the Y where it was in that range maybe it was exactly that 18% I can't believe there's not a better way to do that.

And these emergencies can happen at any time and we have to be able to move quickly but you know giving up eight eighteen percent of the funds to get some food in people's hands and now you want to take $3100 and give it to them for their pantry but they've got to use a a safely card at retail prices in a safe way that's that's how we're gonna fill their pantry it this Macy mod that is how second harvest and the county our currently they go to a retail establishment to buy food.

So the second harvest the large deliveries that come those are all bulk prices that's my understanding those are all negotiated bulk prices.

So like when they buy protein for all the core service agencies but when they're buying very specific items for their pantry and there that are just emergency items so this isn't intended to feed a family for a week this is intended to if somebody comes in without diapers right we have the diaper program they can have diapers if somebody comes in and they don't have formula it's just emergencies.

When you are um approached by um nonprofits to donate money for a good cause and you like that good cause one of the smart things to do is to go online and see how much administrative costs there are and quite frankly if I'm gonna give a hundred dollars I don't want eighteen dollars of it for administrative fees for those fees I won't give the money to an organization like that.

I think we need to find a better way and and I was having a brief conversation with the um city manager at our weekly meeting we could have had a disaster there we had two hundred and sixty nine families show up I guess on that one day now unfortunately if you have a job between eight and four you couldn't get in line to get assistance because it was shut down at four o'clock.

I mean that's again I'm just saying there are some clumsy things in this that we maybe moved to fast the spirit was right but it was clumsy imagine imagine the other scenario where you really got the information out to everybody that needed a hundred bucks and all seventeen hundred were on that corner the PD would have had a a tremendous problem with that situation.

So there's some lessons to be learned here moving ahead where I think we have to take things um I think we have to take things into um in our own hands because um this could have gone sideways in a real bad way.

So I'm not I appreciate how fast you acted and I know that other communities are envious of what we were able to and so that's thanks to you now and thanks to the why but ultimately there has to be a better way.

I agree um right or left yeah I I agree, eighteen percent is way I mean it's it's not a it's a program where you're checking address and I don't think that's eight, I don't think that warrants for eighteen percent.

And um I mean there's a reason why we asked to donate to Second harvest directly and not necessarily I mean th there are we there are a lot of advocates out there that say you should don't donate to second harvest, don't just bring whatever's in your pantry to the to um wherever, because they have bulk pricing, and we want our dollar to have the biggest impact, and so as much as we can ensure that that bulk pricing is used, that means more mouths can can be fed.

And so I would um appreciate if we could if we could use those excess funds in that way.

I concur with both of my colleagues from my right and left.

I I'm I don't I mean, I I believe that there was probably a need, but pulling in 11, I guess, staffers from whatever they were doing in 18%, that I would not have moved forward.

Let's just put it that way.

With that is that an agreement that we have with them, isn't it?

It was a request, they would do it either way, and they did.

They completed that task.

So no commitment was made, it was a request, which I've conveyed to council.

Um the reason why I think it is reasonable is typically so for sort of background that I think help might help frame that request is um the as the C D BG subcommittee knows about to say that right.

The YMCA has come to the city in the past for larger operational support to sort of steal them for things like this, so that they're not asking for that administrative fee on individual programs, but can be a more meaningful partner and staffed to be more nimble, which they're not right now.

So that's like the background to this is that there is a there has been a larger ask in the past, and so in the programs that we are running through the YMCA, which are very staff intensive, um, it I don't have a problem recommending that as a reasonable expense related to the program we're asking them to run.

Um they can even go.

I have I have to interject.

Um, we're talking about 11 people and it's five thousand dollars.

What they get paid, would their staffers get paid for that day?

Nothing near five hundred dollars.

If I could just interject.

So I think one of the lessons learned is that uh we did act very quickly and without as much um consideration as actually staff wanted to provide.

The direction was just do it, and we did it.

Um and so with respect to lessons learned, uh, I think if we don't want to continue to pay the 18% uh administrative fee to YMCA, we don't have to spend the other 50,000 through the YMCA.

Um, and so that's why we're recommending a pause.

We'll see what happens with the rest of the program, and we can give you some options in a more thoughtful sort of way.

And and I think I'd also say I think there was more for the YMCA than just you know, handing out cards.

They had to develop um a tracking system, and how are we gonna keep track of these cards?

And the document had to be visible to all of us because the city wanted we wanted fiscal control.

We wanted to make sure that none of those cards were gonna be put in somebody's pocket.

Um, so I mean that there's a fair amount of logistics behind the scenes that I'm not aware of all of it because um Nell and the YMCA worked that out, but I I think one of the lessons learned again is certainly given a little more time to be thoughtful.

Uh we could certainly be more efficient.

I I don't want to downplay what staff did.

Like I think we're very thankful that it happened, and I think I mean it's just lessons learned, right?

Like next time something happens, and hopefully it doesn't, but next I mean who knows what the federal administration right like we will know better.

And and I also just want to say like um there there were comments from the community about this being open from 8 a.m.

to 4 p.m.

and then I think I sent you a text, and then the next week's times were again on a weekday from 8 a.m.

to 4 p.m.

I'm I mean, we I think just moving forward, like we just have to be cognizant of that.

Um you've heard what you we need, what you need.

Yeah.

So you need a motion.

Oh, there is a response.

We'd always intended to have this resolution come at this meeting to formalize what the council direction was on October 29th, which was to make set these monies aside for this purpose.

So the amended resolution would be to decrease that.

So if you want to decrease it to just the city's direct costs of $80,000, if you want to decrease that to $85,000 to account for some administrative fees, that that's really at council's discretion.

But it I would recommend that you do decrease the amount of the appropriation to what we've actually spent, to what we know we need to spend.

And that is again, $80,000.

$85 if you would like to include the administrative fees.

All right.

So we're going to move the resolution with an amended uh cost, not the 170.

Uh to move it to 85,000 as recommended by staff.

Is there a motion to approve this?

I think that um I think again we've probably sent a message.

I think there most likely was given on past performance.

There was probably an expectation.

And um, and we have to keep a good working relationship between our staff that worked so efficiently and the why who was able to carry out something at a moment's notice.

But um it's it's it's much too expensive for a food giveaway.

And actually the retail, you know, buying retail.

It just it doesn't anyway, it wasn't the most efficient.

Yeah, but I I can assort the 85.

Like you said, it's always uh the spirit was good, and so yeah.

All right.

So there's a is there a motion?

Yes.

Mike Mike moved.

Well I thought I could support it.

Somebody else could make the motion.

Okay, okay.

I have a first from council member Nogales, second from you want to make this again.

Yes, yes, I'll go second.

Okay.

Did you make it?

No, I did not.

Perhaps you have a first from council member Nicholas.

Okay, yes.

Again, this is like getting pregnant.

Wow.

Are we going for a second?

Okay, uh first from council member uh Nicholas.

Is there a second?

I I can second this.

I have a first and a second.

I can I have roll call, please.

Councilmember Nogales?

Yes.

Councilmember Nicholas.

Aye, Vice Mayor Adiego.

Yes.

Councilmember Coleman?

Yes.

Mayor Flores.

Yes.

Thank you now.

And staff.

Uh next item, please.

Item number 18 is a report regarding a resolution approving an employment agreement between the city of South San Francisco and Lord Laura Snidman for service as city manager and amending the fiscal year 25 to 26 salary schedule to reflect changes and the salary for the city manager position.

Item number 18A is the resolution.

Good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor and City Council.

Uh as you know, earlier this year, uh City Manager Sharon Randalls announced her intention to retire.

Um after more than 40 years of service to the city.

Uh her last day of active service as city manager will be December 30th, um, which will also be her last day of employment with the city.

Uh upon Ms.

Randall's announcement, city council initiated a recruitment for a new city manager, and that process started in July and included um retention of a professional um executive recruiting firm.

The city received over 60 applications for the position.

Uh there was an initial screening and interviews with the recruiter, um, and review by the city council.

Uh a short list of candidates was prepared for interviews with the full city council.

And following that interview process, uh council identified Laura Snydman as the top candidate.

An active an ad hoc committee of Vice Mayor Adiego and Councilmember Nogales uh began the process of offering Ms.

Snidman the position and negotiating the terms of employment, conditioned on a background and reference check and final approval by the full council, which is before you tonight.

Um, Snidman has previously served as the city manager of the cities of Calistoga, Richmond, and Half Moon Bay, and has held um positions with other cities as well.

Um, just going through the proposed terms of the employment agreement, um her first day of employment would be January 5th, 2026.

Uh the base salary that's proposed um is three hundred and eighty thousand, four hundred dollars.

This amount is in line with that of other city managers within San Mateo County and the surrounding area with consideration given to the size of the city, uh the incumbents' tenure, and private experience and prior experience.

Uh benefits would be the same as for other um employees who are part of the executive management unit as provided for in the executive management compensation plan.

The agreement allows Miss Snydman to begin employment with um leave banks of 80 hours of vacation and 40 hours of sick leave.

She would accrue vacation at four weeks annually.

She will not receive a car allowance, but will receive mileage reimbursement for use of a personal vehicle at the standard IRS rate.

The agreement is initially for one year, with the ability to extend it for up to three years.

Thank you, Mr.

City Attorney.

Appreciate that.

Would um members of the ad hoc subcommittee like to provide comment?

Well, I would um I'd like to point out that um Snyderman is in the audience tonight, and um she sat through most of this meeting and she didn't um run away, so she already passed the first test, and I'm not usually like this.

I'm usually a lot more quiet.

So I don't know, I don't know what happened tonight, but this is not always me.

Um I um I've done this um uh done these searches uh four times and um uh they're never easy.

Um there's always people that criticize your choice.

Um we've had uh in the past, we've had a uh an occasion when there was so much criticism that the council caved and gave up a very good applicant.

Um this is way in the past, and um so I think that uh I'm looking forward uh to the change at City Hall.

Um I am excited about uh her background, her depth of experience, and um I will be working with her for uh one year, but I expect it will be a very productive and gratifying year for both of us.

Thank you, Mr.

Vice Mayor.

Councilmember Nicolas.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

First, um, let me thank Sharon though um for her 45 years of service to the city.

Um, I want to say thank you.

I'll have more words at the reord, but I wanted to recognize you and say thank you for your amazing work.

And I know that your staff loves you and adores you, and people in this community adore you as well.

So uh to Laura, uh, you know, um I what I really appreciated was kind of the one-on-one conversations I had with her, uh just trying to get to know her better and kind of understand um kind of her thinking, and what I got from it is that she is an extremely hard worker, and that she is going to um make herself available to staff and to work with everyone here to really continue the progress that we're doing here in South San Francisco because as I said earlier, we are pretty envious of people are envious of us in terms of the things we've done.

And I've made sure that Laura understands that that this is a team, and that you're only as good as your team, and we have amazing people here, and so um I look forward to working with her.

I know the mayor will guide her.

Uh, and I know all of us will work with you and provide direction, and so um, you have some big shoes to fill, but um I look forward to working with you.

Thank you.

Uh let's go to this side, Councilmember Nicholas.

Yeah, you know, Sharon, how I feel about you.

Um, it was during my tenure as mayor, or even right after uh Mike Petrell announced that he was going somewhere else.

I walked with you through that fun run, and we had fun.

Um so you know, thank you very much.

During the inter initial interview process of the finalist, I post a question that I would like to see introspection.

So I ask, I propose to ask, what keeps you up at night on the decisions that you have made, and what lessons have you heard have you learned?

And what would you do differently?

So all of the finalists asked uh answer that question.

During the second interview, Laura, one of Laura's question was, how would I measure success?

And I know distinctly that I told you that I would like to see employee retention because as we all know, our employees here is the lifeblood.

We can't do anything here without our employees.

Success for you would mean we will have a high retention rate.

I understand and have read many things.

You know, internet is information is all over the place.

But during my own career, I had hired many team members and had experienced wins and losses.

I believe that we all evolve.

I am not the same person I was 10 years ago or even just a couple of years ago.

Laura seemed to have the technical skills required for the job during our interview that's based on my evaluation.

My pervent hope is for you to apply those skills that I have observed while making sure that it's also a good fit upholding our values and norms.

It is not just how much and what you have done, but also how it was done.

Communication, appreciation of leadership, and in sure teamwork.

This is a very small, even though we're a city of six six people, this is a very still a small community.

We all know what's going on, everybody talks.

And you know, it's really hard not to know.

So I hope that employees should still remain engaged, productive, and have high set job satisfaction.

So I'm just really have high hopes that this will work, hopefully.

Councilmember Coleman.

So first I want to thank Sharon for her 45 years of service to the South City community.

Um, it's it's very sad to see you go by no past this.

You'll be very active in the community.

Maybe you'll be giving public comment like everyone else, I'm hoping.

Um but really you have big shoes to fill.

And um, in many of my conversations with you, I've really uh loved the institutional knowledge that you bring and the history that you bring um to the leadership of the city.

And um, honestly, I fear for after next year because we're losing you, and we're losing Mark, and who's gonna be the historian on our city council?

I don't know.

Um, it'll be Mark Nicholas and Floor Nicholas.

Um but moving looking forward, um, I'm very optimistic.

I know that there is um, I'll be remiss it to mention that there is some anxiety among staff and among the community, and I think that's natural, right?

Whenever you see a new leader in your organization, um, it's natural to feel that way.

Um, but I will say that during the multiple interviews that we've had with our candidates with Laura, uh, I had a one-on-one phone call with Laura as well.

Um, and many of the concerns that we once had were addressed.

And um, I believe that we will have a very productive year next year.

I urge everyone to give Laura a chance.

I know Laura comes with a lot of experience with much talent, many skills, and with a lot of love for South City as well, and for the community that we have built here.

And I'm very much looking forward to the next year and hopefully many more years to come in the city of South San Francisco.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I want to start also with thank yous uh obviously to Sharon.

For her many years, um, you know, she started very um junior in her career here in South San Francisco, and I think that speaks to what the culture of South San Francisco has been with employees.

Many of our employees that have been here for decades started junior in their career, perhaps right out of college or as interns.

And I've seen during the time that I've been um uh here um in relation to parks and rec and all other departments, see that evolution and growth and that maturity level and that expertise level and that level of of context context and provide framing and being able to care about our communities and being able to respond and act quickly when we know that there is uh an important request to public works or to fire or or or parks and rec and so on and so forth.

We're a city of opportunities, and I want to thank uh Sharon on her tenure.

I want to thank all the numerous little Sharons that she will leave behind also because you your legacy will continue even though we don't see you every day.

Um her trainings, her jokes, her mannerisms, her ability to be able to uh love this city as much as she has loved it for so many years.

I want to thank Sky.

I want to thank Leah, I want to thank the recruiting uh team that have been able to move this forward and so instrumental with such uh caution and maturity and understanding that this is a sensitive issue.

Um I wanna thank also the members of the um ad hoc committee here.

They did a lot of the heavy lifting from pulling questions to bringing down 60 candidates to to now the the finalists that we have before us.

Um I also wanna say uh South City is South City.

As you heard from me before, uh as I stated earlier this evening, we are an inclusive city, we are a city of opportunities, not one, but even two opportunities.

We're not a city that dives into council culture.

We don't counsel people immediately without knowing them.

We give them an opportunity, we give them a chance.

Um we're not any of the other cities that perhaps could have been mentioned or looked up on a on a Google link or whatnot.

You see the five of us, we care, we love, you see all of our staff and our team who love and care also.

Um, and that is uh what has driven at the center of this election process with trust and also thinking about our community members and thinking about our staff that have been here for decades, longer than many of us perhaps have been here as well.

Uh so I want to appreciate all of those efforts.

I want to appreciate the time uh recently have gone through, you know, this past year selection of a chancellor in the community college district, selection of a uh a president at College of San Mateo, selection of another president at Skyline College.

I've seen this process, I've seen hiring committees, I've gone through and been experiencing and how change has, you know, like Council Member Coleman said, brought anxiousness.

Um change can also be good.

And I um challenge each and everyone to not only give an opportunity but allow yourselves to learn and all of us to be able to be humble in this new chapter that South San Francisco enters.

And I again I couldn't be more appreciative of this council for the support.

And uh with that, um uh is there any public comments on there?

No public comments, Mayor, but we did receive seven e-comments.

Okay, noted, thank you very much.

Um I would like to move forward and and and make a motion uh to approve uh item 18A uh stated in the resolution.

Uh is there a second?

I'll second that motion.

Thank you.

I have a first and a second.

Can I have a uh roll call, please?

Councilmember Nicholas.

Aye, Vice Mayor Adiego.

Yes, Councilmember Coleman.

Yes, Councilmember Nicolas?

Yes, Mayor Flores.

Yes.

Uh thank you, Skye.

And uh congratulations, Ms.

Ninemen.

Welcome to the team.

Thank you.

All righty.

Moving on and wrapping up the next item.

Items from council, committee reports and announcements.

Any uh committee reports, go ahead.

Not really committee report, but just a little FYI.

Um, I am leaving um to Asia tomorrow.

Uh and and coming back on December.

You're traveling.

I'm traveling I'm leaving to uh Taiwan to visit the homeland, right?

Because that's where my mother's side is from.

Um and then to Japan.

Um and then I will be back December 9th.

In time for the reorg, right?

Uh timed it perfectly, I hope.

Um so if you're mad at me, contact the mayor, or the soon-to-be mayor.

I also wanted to report out that the Harbor uh district uh liaison committee by council member, uh sorry, uh Coleman and myself, we met.

Uh standard procedure of being able to present before us the report, the work that they're doing in our oyster point marina, um, the harbor district.

We have a liaison committee meets quarterly.

Uh so that uh continues to exist.

Um any other reports from my colleagues?

If not, we'll move on to the next item.

We'll move along to closed session.

Item number 19 conference with legal counsel, anticipated litigation.

Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to government code section 54956.9d2, one potential case.

Thank you.

Um happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

This is the only meeting here in November.

We will see each other back in December for a regular city council meeting.

We are now adjourned to closed session.

Thank you, everyone.

Have a good night.