Recording in progress.

I'd like to call this regular meeting of the South San Francisco Council to order for this uh Wednesday, January the 28th, and we'll begin with our roll call.

Councilmember Coleman.

Here.

Councilmember Flores.

Present.

Councilmember Nicholas.

Present.

Vice Mayor Nogales.

Here.

Mayor Adiego.

Here.

And now for the uh Pledge of Allegiance, I'll call on the immediate former mayor, Eddie Flores to lead us in the pledge.

Please stand if you can and pledge after me.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

One nation under God.

And the next item is agenda review.

Is there any change to the agenda?

No change.

Okay.

Um Jasmine, I think you're on for the next.

We can move on to Libyan Act Disclosures.

Does the council have any reporting?

No reporting.

Can I move on to announcements from staff?

So are there any announcements from staff this evening?

Yes, Mayor.

We have several different announcements, and the folks will be coming up in the order that they're ready to present.

Okay, great.

In no particular order, just uh first one up.

Oh, there is okay.

There is, yes, there is an order.

Good evening, Mayor Adiego, Vice Mayor DeGallas, City Council members, and Library Director Valerie Summer, and I am very happy to invite everybody to the library's lunar new year event, featuring the Lion Dance Meet Troop once again.

This is the year of the horse up there.

The program takes place on Saturday, February 7th in the first floor banquet hall here in this building.

The program starts at 11 a.m., doors open at 10 30 a.m.

Directly after the lion dance library staff represent several family activities in the adjoining social hall, including a DIY lunar New York fish decoration, face painting, and more.

Special thanks to South San Francisco Friends of the Library for supporting this program.

Hope to see you there and thank you.

Can I ask a quick question about this?

We've done it at the hall, and it gets really, really crowded.

Is there if especially for the lion dancing portion?

Is it possible to maybe do the line dance performance outside where there's more room for people to kind of see and room to move around because once you're locked in that room, it gets really loud, especially with the drumming.

So that's just a suggestion.

So I look at Greg to see if that's possible.

I'll try.

I'll get it back to staff.

As you remember last year with a little spritzy outside.

It all depends on the way.

We're hoping to change maybe the the where the seats are.

We had a request to have the dance in the middle and the seats coming out on both ends, so you can see a little better.

But we'll we'll we'll see what we can do.

Thank you for your suggestion.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council members.

My name is Adam Elschultz.

I'm the assistant director for the library, and it is my pleasure to introduce to you to make this program announcement are the organizers of this event, um, three um bright young members of our community, uh Sonia, Amber, and Anna Lisa, and I'll allow them to tell you a little bit more about this program.

Good evening.

I'm Sonia Gulati.

I'm currently a youth commissioner at South San Francisco, and I currently go to El Comuna High School and Skyline Middle College.

Good evening.

My name is Annalisa Borja.

I'm a senior at South San Francisco High School.

Good evening.

My name is Amber Lee.

I hope everyone's having a great evening.

And I am currently a sophomore at El Comuna High School.

So as you might have heard, brain expirations is a program catered towards kids 7 to 12, where we host sessions in regards to neuroscience, mental health, and all about your body.

And for now, we are hosting events such as our toy drive in the past and right now our letters to cancer patients, which is a benefit towards the UCSF Children's Benioff hospital.

At this event, we will be writing warm letters of support and well-wishes to those undergoing cancer treatment at the UCSF Children's Bennyoff Hospital.

At this event, we will be hosting also other activities such as bracelet making, and we'll have face painting.

And this will be recommended to kids aged ages over the age of eight, and it will be from 11 a.m.

to 1 p.m.

at the first floor social hall this Saturday, January 31st.

Thank you.

That's uh that's certainly a noble undertaking.

So I applaud you for that.

And whose idea was it?

Who gets credit for the idea?

Me and my team get the credit for a lot.

Good answer, the team.

Okay, very good.

Um, okay.

Thank you for joining us tonight, and uh we look forward to the outcome from your efforts.

Thank you.

Good evening, mayor, uh, vice mayor, council members, and members of our South San Francisco community.

Uh my name is Sean Kermy.

I'm a police sergeant with the South San Francisco Police Department.

I'm also our president of our police association.

On behalf of the South San Francisco Police Association, we'd like to invite you to join us for our annual St.

Patrick's Day dinner on Sunday, March 1st at 4 p.m.

at the South San Francisco Conference Center.

Uh we'll once again be serving Pat Sullivan's world famous corn beef and cabbage.

Um, and more important and more importantly, excuse me, celebrating the strong partnership between our police association, our police department, and the community that we proudly serve.

Um we hope you'll all be able to join us uh for an evening of good food, good company, and great community spirit.

Now for tickets, uh please call our police department's record division at 650-877-890, or simply stop in, pay us a visit, and uh visit us in person.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Sean.

I have one question for you.

I do enjoy the corn beef, but is is the cabbage mandatory, or can you pass on it?

It is a buffet, so you can take as much or skip whatever you'd like.

Excellent.

Okay.

So I'm on again.

Um, it is really remarkable the amount of people that show up for this event.

I think I think you get into the 700 range or something, which is we are on our third venue, uh, the conference center.

We we filled that to almost about 700.

We hope to get uh max it out this year, and this is gonna be the 44th year that we're doing it.

Yes.

Well, some of us remember Pat Sullivan well, and it's uh it's a nice, nice thing to do in honor of the man that he was.

Thank you.

Hope to see you guys there.

Okay.

Good evening, Greg Vidiati for the Parks and Rec department with one quick announcement.

Um we invite all to join our cultural arts commission and staff uh for our upcoming art show titled What is Love, which will take place on Friday, February 6th from 6 p.m.

to 8 p.m.

and Saturday, uh February 7th from 10 a.m.

to 3 p.m.

Um in addition to our art exhibit what's which explores the artist's perspective of love, musicians um from the department's folk jam group will be performing Friday evening.

More information is available online on the cultural arts website.

Um, and we hope to see you all there.

Okay, thank you, Greg.

And Marie Pateo.

Good evening.

I'm Marie Patea from the city manager's office, and this is the last announcement for the evening.

I am honored to invite everyone to our vice mayor Nogales' Westboro neighborhood town hall.

It's coming up on Tuesday, February the 10th from 6:30 to 8 o'clock at the Alice Bullo Center in Westboro.

Hope to see you there.

Thank you.

Thank you, Marie.

And that's everyone.

Okay.

Yes.

We'll move along to presentations.

Item number one is a proclamation recognizing January as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

So we'd like to uh welcome from Justice at last, the uh founder and CEO has joined us this evening to receive the proclamation.

Rose McCarr is here in the audience, and she's going to step up shortly at the at the podium.

And I've asked uh Flora Nicholas to present the proclamation to her.

And then um and James has just signed it, so we're in good shape here.

And then after that, after that, you know, in South San Francisco, it's not just about a lot of words and pieces of paper being handed out and congratulatory message.

It's the work that we do.

So in this case, I'm incredibly proud of what our police department is doing when it comes to human trafficking.

They just recently finished a program with the hotel operators.

There's major sporting events, and with those sporting events, a lot of people uh come from outside the community from a long ways away.

Some of them have a good amount of money, and sometimes they don't behave properly.

So, anyway, um, we've asked Lieutenant Amy Serati to step up and share with the community our commitment to combating human trafficking.

So we'll start with um the presentation of the proclamation.

So in 2010, a presidential proclamation designated January as the national slavery and human trafficking prevention month.

Although human trafficking happens everywhere, and in every state of our nation, the FBI has identified that there is a high prevalence of human trafficking in California, specifically in the San Francisco area, San Francisco Bay Area.

Therefore, it's important for us to be highly aware of this crime that involves commercial sex and labor exploitation.

For two consecutive years, like the mayor has said, the South San Francisco Police Department has conducted training, and you will hear more from Amy later.

In addition to that, our hospitality partners, in addition to that, it is very important for all of us also to remain vigilant in order to identify and prevent this crime.

The City Council supports the efforts of the San Mateo Council Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Association and other governmental and non-governmental organizations that continue to address human trafficking within our country.

On behalf of our mayor, vice mayor, and my fellow council members who all signed this proclamation proclaiming January 2026 as human trafficking prevention month, I would like to call on the founder, executive director, and principal attorney of Justice at last, Rose McCart, to accept this proclamation signed by all members of the city council.

And we also would like to hear a few words from her to tell us more about Justice at Last Mission and Vision.

Good evening, Rose.

It's nice to have you with us again.

Good evening.

Thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and City Council members.

Grateful to all of you for making this proclamation.

It's so critical.

Do you want me to talk now?

Sorry.

You take a quick photo.

Okay, sure.

Yeah, photos first.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

So I'm Rose McCarr, and I'm the founder and executive director of Justice at Last.

And we exclusively work with survivors of human trafficking, providing free legal services and other supportive services as well.

We've been doing the work for over a decade, founded here in San Mateo County, and we have served over 2,000 survivors of trafficking throughout the entire Bay Area.

In particular in San Mateo County, we over those 10 years we've uh represented 82 survivors, and unfortunately, some of those survivors were actually trafficked right here in South San Francisco.

So I'm grateful for all of you for coming together today and making the statement.

It is so important.

Let me just quickly read uh just so you're aware, we provide free legal services to all survivors of human trafficking, regardless of their age.

The youngest client we've ever represented was age seven.

We currently have clients in their 70s, uh, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity identity, their abilities or equity needs, their nationality or their type of trafficking, sex and or labor trafficking.

We emphasize a trauma-informed approach that empowers survivors to seek justice on their own terms.

It's really important to understand we absolutely need law enforcement.

We we need the accountability for when trafficking occurs, but what happens to survivors once they've been identified?

How do we support them?

What one of their major needs is housing, mental health, and legal services.

We have found on average over the course of the 10 years we've been doing the work that survivors have at least two, if not more, legal needs when they've been identified and they're no longer being trafficked.

So on behalf of Justice at Last, I'm honored here today to bear witness of this proclamation.

And like I mentioned, human trafficking is not a distant issue, it's happening right here.

And as a law firm, we are committed to using the law to support survivors to hold those responsible accountable and help create pathways of safety, dignity, and justice.

And we know we cannot do this work alone.

Real progress requires collaboration.

And it's it's from community leaders like yourself that stand up, not only make these proclamations, but stand behind them.

So thank you.

I am grateful to all of you that you are recognizing January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month, but you're also going to be doing that on a regular basis every month this year.

Thank you.

Thank you, Rose.

And now I'd like to invite Lieutenant Amy Serati up to um share with the community the good work that our local police police department is involved with.

And you know, it uh the the scope of uh human trafficking uh really the equivalent of uh slavery in a lot of respects, whether it is of a sexual nature or whether it is um domestic servitude, um uh I'm I'm told I understand that more people are under slavery in the world today than they were when there was actually slavery, and that's kind of something to really reflect on.

Anyway, Amy, it's all yours.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

The South San Francisco Police Department is the leader in San Mateo County on human trafficking enforcement and awareness.

Since 2013, the San Mateo County Human Trafficking Initiative partnered with South San Francisco Police Department, and it resulted in the recovery of numerous survivors and apprehension of traffickers who exploit vulnerable individuals.

Currently, our department is partnering in a regional task force, no traffic ahead with the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office, focusing on human trafficking enforcement efforts to recover survivors, apprehend traffickers, and locate missing and exploited children during the upcoming Super Bowl and the FIFA World Cup this summer.

While our police department has always addressed human trafficking, we recently strengthened our efforts and commitment by creating an internal specialized unit, the human enforcement and apprehension team, also known as HEAT.

HEAT focuses on human trafficking enforcement, victim services, and child predators.

Our unit is comprised of detectives and patrol officers who are specially trained in human trafficking investigations, and we take a victim-centered approach with trauma-informed interview styles.

We also collaborate regionally with advocacy groups such as Rape Trauma Services, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office and their victim services division, and other non-governmental organizations.

Since the inception of HEAT in October, we've requ recovered 12 survivors, arrested six traffickers, and removed two loaded firearms from our streets.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor and Counsel for this proclamation and recognizing January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month and for supporting our initiatives in South San Francisco.

We really appreciate it.

Thank you, Lieutenant Serati.

And does any council person wish to make comment?

Um really briefly, I just want to publicly recognize you, Lieutenant Serrati, for the work that you personally are putting into this in the various spaces regarding this topic that I have been meeting, webinars, etc.

Your name often comes up, and I know it's not just your work, but the work of the entire department.

So kudos to you, your team, your colleagues, the chief, uh, because you are really putting a strong lens on this, and and it shows, and I appreciate that because every time I see a report, and every time we know that it's been happening, whether it's a youth or someone else from another city, you know, after I ask questions, your name is also connected.

So I really, really appreciate the work, and I applaud you for it.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Um, anyone else have uh any comments?

Okay, he did say it well, didn't he?

Um so we are very proud of our South San Francisco PT to a one on this and many other items.

So thank you for joining us tonight and go do more good work.

Thank you.

We appreciate you all.

Thank you.

And that is our presentation for this evening, so we'll go ahead to the next item.

We'll move along to council comments and request.

Okay, so it's uh turn for a member of the council to share what's on their minds.

We'll start with the vice chair tonight.

I'll start.

Thank you.

Um Saturday, we had um a council retreat, and I want to say thank you to my colleagues and the staff, and really those who who were witnesses there.

I think we came out of there really united, and I'm gonna use the word roadmap, a roadmap in terms of success for this year.

And I what I really appreciate was that I we're I think on the same page in terms of what's what we're trying to do best for the city.

And uh there were a lot of great ideas being thrown around, and so um I'm excited about this year.

I want to thank the mayor for his leadership, and I want to thank our city manager um for kind of leading this.

Um, but I I just I'm just really excited about the opportunity that we're gonna be doing for our residents this year, and so um thank you to everyone involved there.

Um, and then I was very fortunate that I was asked by for those who have ever attended the the Bury Bury Philam Senior Association, which is a very large group of uh of seniors who love to dance.

And if you if you've ever uh tried to come to LP and R when there's a uh a dance going on, it is very hard to find parking.

But uh I was very fortunate to swear their new board members um that uh I think it was uh Sunday, but I would really appreciate it for the invite.

Um as you saw, there I'm hosting a town hall.

I do this every year um for a town hall.

I invite the community to come ask questions, learn about what we accomplished uh last year and what we're gonna be looking to do this year.

And uh it's not just to Westboro residents.

I'm happy uh any resident from South San Francisco to come and attend.

Lastly, uh Mr.

Mayor, I wanted to I kind of wanted to take a moment to speak about uh events that have been happening that's really shaking communities across the country.

Um I mourn the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pready, both who lost their lives during federal immigration enforcement actions.

Renee Good was a mother, a community member, and someone deeply loved by her family.

Alex Brady was a VA nurse who dedicated his life to care for our veterans.

Their deaths are devastating and really raise some serious and troubling questions about accountability in these federal actions.

Communities are not just mourning, Mr.

Mayor colleagues.

They're really unsettled.

Parents are afraid, neighbors are anxious, people are questioning whether they can feel safe in their own homes, their own streets and their own cities.

That kind of fear ripples far beyond the immediate scene of violence and lingers for a really long time.

When communities, communities experience this level of trauma, it erodes confidence and deepens division.

I will not accept a reality where fear and violence becomes normalized.

I wanna be very clear.

We believe in dignity, compassion, and respect for all people, that our immigrant communities are essential, valued part of who we are as a city.

We reject actions that tear families apart that create fear in our communities, or that undermine the basic principles of human rights and due process.

I know there will be those who demand that the law be followed while in the same breath, demean, dehumanize, and spread fear about our neighbors.

That's not the respect for law.

That's the best use of it.

This doesn't excuse a person to speak target immigrants to stoke fear or treat communities are less worthy.

I'm gonna honor the memories of Renee Good and Alex Pready by reaffirming our values by saying clearly, clearly that South San Francisco will continue to be a place where people are welcome, protected, and treated with humanity.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Mark, thank you for those words.

And next I'd uh like to have um Councilwoman Nicholas.

Yes.

Thank you.

As an immigrant myself, I share the emotions that you have expressed.

Um I would like to give a shout out to the public library, especially to the staff, the director um Valerie Summers, for securing the rights to the musical Hamilton, which was screened here at the council chambers last February 17th.

I have seen the musical twice, but this time it truly moved me to tears.

Many love this the closed caption, and so uh I heard from some people that they would like to have it uh shown again, so perhaps maybe we can work it out.

Um thanks to all of you.

The South San Francisco Chamber mixer also was held at the Tai Sate that was quite well attended.

The mayor was there, who presented a certificate to Boon, the owner of Thai City, because the event was also coincidental with the Tai City's 20th anniversary celebration.

The mayor, council member Flores, and the city manager and I attended the Kiwani's uh Club Crub feed last Friday that was sold out.

The sense of community of the Elk Sludge was palpable.

Uh, congratulations to Linda Parenti and all of the Kiwani's club officers and members.

And I would like to request that our meeting today be adjoined in memory of Roman Macaping Lacreyas, the older brother of St.

Augustine Pastor Father Reyes.

Thank you.

Thank you, Flor.

And uh now to my uh left here is uh Councilman Coleman, you'd like to go next?

Sure.

Thank you.

Um I appreciate the the Vice Mayor's comments, and I um want to begin by asking for a moment of silence for the nine individuals killed thus far in 2026 by ICE.

We've heard about Alex Predi and Renee Good, but other names that aren't mentioned as often include Keith Porter, Heber Sanchez Dominguez, Victor Manuel Diaz, Pyro Dela, Luis Beltran, Yanez Cruz, Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, and Geraldo Lunas Campos.

Thank you.

I first want to call attention to what our community has done together.

Um city has done many things to our to defend our immigrant community.

There are a multitude of organizations and nonprofits throughout our county that has been working very hard, very tirelessly over the past few months.

Um this past Monday I had a meeting with um many leaders in the county, which included a presentation from Faith in Action, who manages the Rapid Response Network, and they talked about the work that they've done, connecting immigrants with legal resources.

They talked about a story about how the father had been detained months months ago and just recently was returned to his family in time for the birth of his fourth child.

That is what we're fighting for here.

Keeping families together as they should be.

As a city, we've done a lot.

We have hosted multiple know your rights trainings.

We have sent out information through the mail to many households.

We continue to reiterate our non-cooperation policy with ICE.

And based on what we have done, other cities are looking to us.

Various council members and mayors have reached out to me and others on this council about what we are doing and what more we can do.

And looking around what has been happening around the Bay Area and California and across the country, we can take action as a city.

We can join numerous local jurisdictions in exercising our power of land use by creating ice-free zones and barring federal agents from using city property for staging.

Right now we're at an inflection point in this country.

We are faced with a reality of an unhinged federal agency violating due process, kidnapping people off our streets, and killing civilians.

We can keep our heads down and stay quiet, or we can stand with our community that has been working so hard and stand up against an authoritarian administration.

Throughout the past few days, following the most recent killing in uh in Minneapolis on Saturday, numerous neighbors have reached out to me asking what they can do, but also what we can do.

And right now we can use our words and condemned events happening across the country, but I believe that we can continue to do more and take action to protect our community in anticipation of increase in immigration enforcement activity.

I have been talking with staff, and I hope that our council can consider agendizing an item uh for our next meeting on February 4th, restricting ICE uh from using any city owned property for surveilling or staging.

Thank you.

Okay.

Thank you, Councilman.

And uh next is Councilman Flores.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

I equally want to join my colleagues in thanking city staff and our new uh city manager and the mayor for uh planning and and delivering a very uh well thought-out and engaging uh workshop, um, community setting our our goal setting for the year.

Uh this was a very important meeting because we really dialogued and understood the needs and also uh the wants and as well as the priorities for uh this city, um, being able to articulate, being able to see, um, and I encourage um all of you to uh participate and stay engaged in these type of dialogues when they present themselves.

So I want to thank this council for being um amenable and open to that uh dialogue and discussion and all the staff and department heads that were present as well.

Uh tonight is different.

Tonight is different.

You know, we um in on this dais, and even on Saturday, I thought about the privilege that we have, each one of us in our own right.

We were you know in a in a very nice building in a conference room, uh, seat seated around with some um refreshments, the weather was nice, and we were thinking about the work that we have been elected to do.

Some unfortunately were not able or had that experience on Saturday.

Um, as I was uh looking at my phone during breaks, I I realized the breaking news that was happening out of Minneapolis.

And these are individuals and residents, uh, United States citizens that under very harsh uh weather conditions and snow are um exercising their first amendment and also exercising their right to assemble peacefully.

That, as I got uh home that afternoon, it was heavy.

And as people started texting and sharing the news and the videos went viral, uh it really uh does uh take a toll.

And I always turn it back to our community and the community that I represent that we represent on this council.

Um it was very upsetting.

My heart was definitely um unsettled.

Uh, what happened in Minneapolis, and and I will say it was the murder.

It was the killings, it's not just the deaths of American citizens.

And I might like my council member said, we have to continue mentioning and saying their names.

Alex Predi, Renee Good killed, murdered by ICE agents.

That is horrifying.

And it is not just in Minneapolis, it is across this country.

We've seen ice rates tearing apart families, warrantless home invasions, and children used as bait.

This is wrong, this is immoral, and I truly denounce it, and I know that this council also stands with me on that.

And we will not remain silent, because why should we?

We have been elected in positions of privilege, and this is why we need to continue calling it out.

As an immigrant myself, and it's interesting to note the composition of this council.

Many of us come from Filipino, Irish, Italian, Salvadorian backgrounds.

Um, I feel this is deeply personal for us.

I know I'm not alone.

Many of us in this room in this chamber are immigrants yourselves.

South San Francisco is a city of immigrants.

We know what it means to fight for dignity, for safety, for family.

That's why this moment matters.

That's why we're speaking up.

That's why we're taking time.

I recall in 2018, when I was also on the school board, that's the the school board trustees at that time also took action to put a resolution together to protect your kids, your grandkids, your sons and daughters, our scholars or students that attend South San Francisco Unified School District schools.

32 lives lost in ICE custody this past year.

Thousands of children have been separated from their parents and placed in quote unquote tender age facilities.

These are not statistics, folks.

This is not just stuff that we see on social media.

They are human beings.

They are our neighbors.

So what else are we going to do?

Well, this is what we need to do, we should do.

We need to stand together.

We need to continue to speak out and support the networks and protect our communities.

Like my colleague said, legal aid, sanctuary spaces, rapid response teams.

We need to make sure that South San Francisco continues to be a seat of a city that's inclusive, that shows up for its people.

It's not just about having cultural celebrations or celebrating cultural holidays.

It's about really speaking up when we need to.

To come up with relevant policy that makes sense for our neighbors and our neighborhoods here in South San Francisco.

We will continue to persist, and we will continue to resist, and we will continue the march toward justice and the multiracial democracy.

We really all yearn for, and we really all want.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you, Councilman.

I uh certainly will um meet your expectations.

Um council and um if the city um uh staff is ready for a February 4th meeting that includes um this issue and how we might respond to it.

Um, you know, when I when I saw what happened in Minneapolis to Renee Good, I was thinking about um how police work is conducted in South San Francisco.

Some people find it frustrating that we no longer chase every criminal through the community and onto the freeways and into other counties.

And the reason we don't is because it's a dangerous situation for the whole community.

And and quite often when we let someone go at that moment in time, um, we have their license number.

They may be known to us because they're uh a community member that has interface with the police, and that could easily have happened in Minneapolis.

Um they had her license, she'd been to many protests.

I'm sure she was well known in the community, and she wasn't going anywhere but home.

Um that did not have to happen.

That's not good police work, and and I applaud what we've become as a police department where we look at the whole picture, not just that moment when you're being challenged as a police officer, because there's always a better way uh than to take a life.

So I just wanted to give the rest of my time.

I guess um this is a good segue, into um recently in South San Francisco, um, our police department was involved in the apprehension of a gentleman who was involved in that takeover robbery burglary in San Ramon that um involved the jewelry store and the older gentleman that owned that who was pushed to the ground.

And you know, across the Bay Area, everybody watched that video when those dozen people or so came in and smashed everything and and it just the lawlessness, the anarchy bothered people.

Uh you didn't have to live in the East Bay to um be affected by that.

Um so I've asked uh Captain Pennell um and he is at the meeting to kind of um give us a little background on that wonderful moment when we were able to uh take somebody of that order off the street.

Captain.

Thank you, Mr.

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

My name is Tony Pennell.

I'm a captain with the police department.

So the incident the mayor is uh alluding to or is referring to is that jewelry store robbery in San Ramone.

It occurred last September.

And during that robbery, just to give a little more context, uh, it was about 20 to 25 people who stormed into this jewelry store, high-end jewelry store, and to get into the store, which was locked during the day for security, they actually shot one round through the front door and busted the glass and then made entry into the store.

And the store was full of employees.

Multiple suspects had firearms in that case, and they pointed the firearms at the employees, and well, the rest of the 25 people smashed all the display cases and stole between one and a half and two million dollars worth in jewelry.

Now, if the mayor also uh talked about earlier pursuits, so the suspects fled the scene in about five vehicles, and the police at the time did engage in pursuits, but they they called it off due to the safety risk to the public at the time.

So this was a definitely a uh difficult investigation for the San Ramon police department.

Happy to say multiple people have been arrested up until this date.

And on the 22nd of this month, our department received information that someone who was a Pacifica resident but had multiple contacts in our jurisdiction had an outstanding no-bail warrant in this San Ramon case for their involvement in that armed robbery.

Once we received that information, we alerted our patrol officers to be on the lookout for that suspect and their vehicle.

And within several hours, our graveyard patrol located the vehicle in the area of Junipro Sarah Boulevard.

They subsequently conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle, and the suspect pulled over, but he was initially uncooperative.

At that point, one of our canine unit members and their canine partner ordered the suspect to surrender.

And once the suspect saw the canine and heard the dog barking, he immediately complied, and we took him into to custody safely.

And I'm proud to say that he was ultimately booked into jail on that warrant.

Okay, Captain, thank you.

I mean, it was a shiny moment for South San Francisco.

The K-9 power is Moose, and he looks a little bit like a moose.

Yes.

Um so you you you wouldn't want to go up against him.

Um and that's just that's um it's the kind of police work that we're proud of, and um it's the kind of police work that we encourage other communities to involve themselves with.

So it's quite a quite a bright star you're wearing on your uniform tonight, Captain.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Thank you, Council.

Thank you.

Next item.

We'll move along to public comments.

Our first speaker is Sam Chicuti.

Good evening, Mr.

Mayor, Council members.

My name is Sam Kitkuti.

I hadn't um planned on talking tonight, but the loss of any life is unfortunate.

But you, Mr.

Coleman, you mentioned all of these people that were killed, but what about all the people, the American citizens who were killed by illegal aliens?

Please respond.

I don't think you can, because it's hypocritical of you to uh you know to have one group, you know, put one group above another.

Wait a second, where's the equity?

What happened?

And you, Mr.

Flores, my parents put in paperwork to move here from Canada in 1960.

I was all of six years old.

I they got that paperwork in 1967 when I was 13.

I had no desire to move, but what's a 13-year-old going to do?

But last year, perhaps, yes, last year, sixty minutes showed people from all over the globe just trotting across the uh southern border uh in California.

Uh let's see, are they immigrants or are they illegal?

Please, you know, uh, there has to be a midway point.

These people, yes, there's a proper way to do it and uh an unproper way to do it.

Why is it that many Hispanics who have come here legally vote against or vote for the GOP who want to uh uphold the law, whereas the Democrats do not?

You know, it let's bring in all these people wherever they may be from, and we'll um let's see.

People are leaving the Democratic Party, so we'll have these others to replace.

Anyway, I think before anything is said, you know, there has to be a balance.

What I heard tonight here from Mr.

Nogales, Mr.

Flores, Mr.

Coleman was not balanced.

And that in and of itself is a travesty.

Thank you.

Our next speaker is Dolores Piper.

Ms.

Piper, how are you?

Hi, Dolores Piper, Mayor, Vice Mayor and Council.

Um, on Friday the 23rd, I was invited to attend a special art remembrance at Fort Mason.

It will be there until the 14th of February.

And it is a nationwide art project remembering those killed by cops.

And my Derek, my nephew Derek was part of that.

And just prior to that Friday night, uh, I regret to say that I was not aware that this gentleman here, Mr.

Luis Monzo, was shot with six bullets in South San Francisco.

Fortunately, he did not die.

But friends of mine contacted me and told me to join them here at the police station where there was a press conference, a very small press conference hill.

I was so disturbed that this news I had not known about it.

And then I looked at some of the minutes here.

I did not attend the December 13th meeting, but our new mental health person was introduced at that meeting.

That was the 13th of December.

And on the 8th, this man was shot.

I don't have all the facts, so I don't want to speak.

And then where was our mental health person?

I understand there's a contract here that was signed September to June 30th, 2026.

Where was that person?

Why weren't they on this call?

I hope that they people don't have to have their uh mental crises only when people, the mental health person's on duty.

Um I would like, I'm still waiting for a report on the shooting at Oyster Point.

I hope we're gonna have that pretty soon.

But when we get the the gist of what happened here, I would like to know what the police do when they know they're going to a situation that may be dangerous for everybody.

What kind of a plan do they make before they drive up to that place?

And how do they make themselves less aggressive so that that the person in the crisis doesn't look at them as most of us would if we saw these armed guys coming to our door?

Um I can just see uh Steve Wagstaff, our DA, saying now, this was justified, and the law was not broken, but it wasn't good policing.

Thank you, Delars.

Our next speaker is Cynthia Markopolis.

Good evening.

We have this building that cost the taxpayers 82 million dollars with a 5.5 million dollar yearly debt service.

That's interest yearly.

And last year, then Mayor Flores held his special council meeting here in the big social room.

The year before, then Mayor Coleman held it in the police conference room right across the street, and the station has a debt service of 2.8 million dollars yearly in interest that we're paying.

This year it was held again at an inconvenient inconvenient location just a few months ago.

Residents could not locate.

Why?

Mayor Adiago said that the biotech lets them use the room for free.

Councilman Flores, yes, we do want to attend.

When you discuss the budget and finances, we strongly urge you to hold such meetings at city-owned buildings.

Why is it held at a venue with no video and malfunctioning microphones and recording equipment at the Dominic's restaurant Oyster Point special meeting in 2016, where counsel never disclosed to the public that they had quote just decided, and that was disclosed in an email received from former city manager Marion Lee not to upgrade the MSB that was without resident knowledge, even though then fire captain Matt Sampson applied for a $2.25 million dollar FEMA grant for the MSB that no city staff were aware of, and when learned, Vice Mayor Adiago declared it was political suicide.

We still have not received the receipts, inspection reports, and certificate of occupancy for the FEMA 2.25 million dollar grant.

And the independent assessment by Biggs Cardoza indicated it would only cost 2.5 million dollars to upgrade the entire MSB building.

You deceived the public by holding financial and budgetary meetings at locations inaccessible to the majority of the taxpayers who will then be stuck with your inane pie-in-the-sky ideas.

For years you have had no oversight, but those days are over.

So I received your letter dated December 17, 2025, when I got home that yes, the day before.

Actually, I was notified that I had not been selected for any of the following boards and commissions to which I had applied Conference Center Authority, Equity and Public Safety Commission, Housing Authority Commission, Library Board, Measure W Citizens Oversight Committee.

Three of these boards and commissions listed above had multiple applicants for the position.

Well, two of these, actually, the conference center authority and the Measure W Citizens Oversight Committee did not have any applicants other than myself, and um, so I was really surprised that you know I was not selected.

Why?

I had many years of experience in the finance, you know, industry, hospitality industry, as well as higher education and industry.

I had graduate degree level, and you know, I had global, you know, like leadership skills working overseas in three five different countries.

I speak five languages, we five different languages as well, and so I don't know why I don't qualify, and you rather leave those positions open.

So my only conclusion is maybe I'm not part of the inner circle, and maybe I have spoken at prior meetings, rubbing certain council members the wrong way, but I have to say, everything I say is speaking out because there's something that I do not like, and I want to share with you.

As council members, I appreciate all of you to really just look at people and not just select people in your inner circle to board and commissions, because if you talk about diversity inclusion, I know all those words.

I used to work for big corporate America, and I I was a leader.

So I know what it means to be diversity and inclusion.

So you don't just select people that are your friends, people who may be, you know, beneficial to you, could pay back political favors.

I would definitely look for people who could be different, who may have a different perspective, and that's how I used to choose my team.

And I like my team to challenge me, and I always tell them just because I'm your leader doesn't mean I'm always right.

So I hope council members, those of you, I know at least three of you must have said no to my application, that therefore I got the denial, and two open seats are still there.

But I hope you will consider.

Maybe I do speak out, but I mean well, and I always speak out just because there's something that's not right.

So, like Mr.

Floreset, I will continue speaking out to your same same voice.

Thank you.

Thank you, Annie.

Was that the final speaker, Josmine?

I would like to speak.

Go ahead.

Certainly.

Good evening, everyone.

Almost nowhere.

In human affairs, do you find people equally represented?

But look no further.

Then South South San Francisco's public officials.

To see only people who lie for a living, it's immoral.

What you do is wrong.

I wonder, do you inherently know that?

Or is there something wrong with each of you?

When all you know and do is deception.

We need change around here.

We need people who are driven by moral ambition.

And the proof is in the public documents of what you've been doing and what you continue to do.

And that you are not inclusive, in fact, you're very exclusive.

You choose and select people for your inner circle.

Instead of those who are skilled, experienced, and driven by moral ambition to do good for the community, for the taxpayers.

Who own these buildings?

Who pay for them?

Who pay for your $30 breakfasts at Antigua?

Who pay for your luxurious dinners and lunches and hotel rooms?

We the people can do better than you.

Thank you very much.

Okay, any other uh speakers.

That concludes our speakers are here.

No one else in the hall.

So I don't normally respond to public comments, but because the location that was selected for the retreat uh was my idea and my idea alone, I wanted to explain why we um picked that location, and I also wanted to share that it's really hard for me to believe that the address that we gave, the map we provided, um airport boulevard is a major thoroughfare.

Tower Road is right off of Airport Boulevard.

The building we were in is an iconic building that you can see for um, you know, a couple of miles up and down the 101 freeway.

So far from being hidden, it was up front, easy to find, but the most important part was when you were in that hall, it had a more intimate setting.

And why that was important is because the retreat is a moment, a time once a year when we turn to each other and we explore issues.

So I'm seated directly across from my colleagues, not like tonight, where I have to lean forward to see my colleagues to see how they're responding to things.

So it was for me, it was a wonderful opportunity to really understand um Councilman Coleman when he spoke on the issues that were important to him.

Councilwoman Nicholas, when she spoke at the at that particular meeting.

So it was really all about bringing this council together.

It was long overdue that we spend some time like that.

My experience on City Council goes back a very long ways when retreats were out of town and there weren't a lot of public that showed up out of town.

But it was all about spending time with the staff, especially new staff, and getting to know each other better so we work as a more cohesive group, and I was proud of my decision, and I think it was a good call.

So let's um let's move on to um the next item.

We'll move along to the consent calendar.

Item number two is a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting of January 14th, 2026.

Item number three is a motion to accept the construction improvements of the Juniper O'Sarah Boulevard Buffered Bike Lane Enhancement Project as completed in accordance with plans and specifications as a total construction cost of three hundred and seventy-two thousand nine hundred and forty nine dollars and fifty cents.

Item number four is a report regarding acceptance of grant funding from the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, recycled three transportation demand management program, projects and creation of two capital improvement projects and associated budget amendment number 26.045.

Item number four A is a resolution.

Item number five is a report regarding a resolution approving the annual comprehensive financial report and other related miscellaneous miscellaneous reports for fiscal year 2024 to 25.

Item number 5A is the resolution.

Item number six is a report regarding a resolution authorizing the acceptance of $8,460 at 72 cents in funding from San Mateo County Registration and Elections Division to support an early vote center at the main library, Library Parks and Recreation Center for the June 2nd, 2026 statewide direct primary election and amending the library's department's fiscal year 2025 to 26 operating budget via budget amendment number 26.049.

Item number six A is the resolution.

Item number seven is a report regarding a resolution accepting $5,250 from the South San Francisco Friends of the Library to support library collections programs and services, amending the library department's fiscal year 2025 to 26, operating budget and approving budget amendment number 26.053.

Item number 7A is the resolution.

Item number eight is a report regarding a resolution authorizing the acceptance of $20,000 in grant funding from the Woodlawn Foundation to support Project Reads Learning's Wheels Family Literacy Program, Learning Wheels, the Mobile Community Steam Classroom, and amending the Library Department's fiscal year 2025 to 26 operating budget and approving budget amendment number 26.054.

Item number eight A is the resolution.

Thank you, Jasmine.

Is there a member of council that would like to remove any of the items on consent?

There being none, no, we're not going to move ahead that quickly.

So what I've asked tonight, anticipating this and knowing that we would have some time.

A lot of a lot of uh years go by and these items come up and and we just accept the monies.

But really, when you look at the good work that the library is doing with all of these, I call extracurricular, it's more than just handing out books.

I thought it might be a great opportunity for the director to share with the community at large um uh these specific programs and what they have meant over the years.

And I think she's joined by her assistant tonight, and we don't often see Adam, but Adam uh welcome to the council meeting.

Mayor, if I may, we do have a member of the public who missed the opportunity for public comment and is requesting to speak.

Sure.

Yeah, we can take a moment.

We can keep um keep Valerie in the on-deck circle there.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Hello, good afternoon.

Um sorry, I'm really nervous.

I took a lot encouraged to come up here, but um I'm here also as well for the Luis Montlou um situation.

Um I have been friends with him for many years.

Um I know his family, I know his mom.

I'm actually speaking on behalf of his mom as well.

Um I just have one question.

Um I would love to know why when this happened, why did the S South San Francisco police department take it upon themselves to shoot him?

Um I feel like his mom called, let them know what was going on, let them know that he was that he was mentioning that he wanted to, you know, kill himself, that he wasn't ready to, he didn't want to be here.

And when he called, when the mom called, she specifically told them he's in distress, you know, we need help, you know, and when South Summers School Police, because I did see the video, um, I feel like why didn't they call the behavioral mental um health um department, you know, to to try to help the situation instead of you know taking it upon themselves?

Um, you know, he's mom's seen everything.

She's not here because she's traumatized.

She's traumatized with the South City Police Department.

I just want to know why.

You know, I actually have an 18-year-old son myself, who sometimes, you know, he has depression.

Um, he sometimes has anxiety.

Like, if I were to call, is that gonna happen too?

You know, like uh, you know, I'm here for my community, I love everybody.

Um, and I just want to know why.

Why, why why couldn't South San Francisco Police Department do better?

You know, umbody should have to go through this.

He just had a baby.

His baby's, I wanna say five months old, really small.

And I'm just here to just, why?

Why did that happen?

You know, like they should have got the proper help.

They should have got the, if the mom called and um, like she mentioned before as well, a couple days prior, they also called for something very similar.

Um, and you know, it took what a couple days later to call, and he could have lost his life.

That baby could have ended up with no dad.

You know, it's this situation should have been handled differently, not the way that it was handled.

And I hope that we can get answers.

And I hope that there will be justice for Monzo.

Thank you so much for listening.

Thank you for showing the braveness and uh and sharing the family perspective.

Thank you.

I appreciate you.

We all we all did watch, um, I believe.

We all watch the video, and it is very difficult to watch.

Especially because he was a disaddress.

You know, he he was just going through a lot.

You know, he just think nobody should have to go through that, you know.

And as a mother to mother, I'm a mom, and I just hope to God that that would never happen to my son.

Thank you.

And when you think one bullet could bring him down, and this man had six bullet seven bullets.

You did not watch the video, Dillers.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, um, Valerie, tell us what's happening at the library.

Thank you, Mayor Adiego for pulling our library um staff reports.

I'll take on number six and eight and uh handing it over to Adam to do number seven, which is Friends of the Library.

Perfect.

Um I'm also happy to present this staff report to um ask council to approve $8,460.72 cents in funding from San Mateo County Registration and Elections Division to support an early vote center at the main library here in this building in the second floor community room.

This is for the statewide direct primary election scheduled for June 2nd, 2026.

The early vote center will be open from Monday, May 4th through election day, Tuesday, June 2nd, weekdays until the last two weekends before the election, when the vote center will be open both Saturday and Sunday, including the full Memorial Day weekend plus Memorial Day.

Um, my big thing at this presentation is we are always so proud to be part of the democratic process, and especially in this year, the America 250 year, as we celebrate many of our rights, including the right to vote.

So I I always feel full when we have a void center, um, giving everyone the opportunity to vote during whenever they can in that in that 30-day vote period um at their convenience.

If they don't have their ballot right, they can come in and speak to the election staff.

So it's it's a team effort between library and parks and recreation staff for our election vote center.

Um we're also in partnership with the city clerk on this as well.

All the early vote centers are open for an extended time to make it easier for people to vote early and to receive expanded services when assistance is needed, such as including voter registration or assistance in different languages for people who just want to drop their ballot off.

There is a ballot box here in the parking lot, plus a secured ballot ballot box in the vote center.

Some people prefer to come into the building and put it into the ballot box when there are vote center staff available.

I highly recommend early voting, those who wait until the last day may have to wait online.

And last June special election, although the polls close at 8 p.m.

And anyone online at 8 can complete their voting.

It was so busy that the last person online voted at 10 p.m.

two hours after the the polling station closed.

In South San Francisco, people have additional options.

There is a ballot box in the city hall parking lot as well as in front of City Hall, and there are two four-day vote centers in parks and recreation buildings.

The Roberta Tellia Center and the Alice Bullo Center.

These four day centers are open from the Saturday before election day through election day.

And when lines are long in here, we try to encourage people to visit the other South San Francisco locations.

Although sometimes once they get a parking space, they're here to stay.

So again, I'm I'm really happy.

This is going to be a huge primary election in June.

We have a lot of things on the ballot, a lot of people on the ballot, many of whom you've heard of before, including um, including our representative in Sacramento as well as as in um in United States.

Yeah, and I think it seems every other Democrat is on the ballot to be governor, so it's quite a crowded field.

It's quite a crowd.

Um Valerie, are we are one of the few um uh public libraries that have a vote center, right?

It's not every community.

It's not every community, and some are some most of them don't do the 30 day or the 29-day um, but so thanking you for welcoming uh that activity into your operation.

I love it.

Yeah, just uh to celebrate what democracy is all about.

The first time I met James Coleman was I was driving by um the uh orange uh library, and it was election day, and he was out front.

Um, but he was away, a hundred feet away.

I measured it.

No, he measured it, and I I checked, he was okay, so um, but but you know, it adds to the excitement of the day.

It's it reminded me of uh years past when people really did flock to to precincts, and there were campaigns, you know, on a lot of streets leading right up to the precinct.

It was just more activity and stronger democracy.

So thank you, Valerie for that.

Thank you very much.

And then you're gonna speak on number of uh no, I'll I'll have Adam do number seven.

Let's do it.

Okay.

We're librarians, it has to come in order.

Follow the numbers, stay within the law.

Um, so good evening, Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council members.

My name is Adam Elshold's assistant director of the library.

I have the pleasure tonight to recommend to council, and uh thank you, Mr.

Mayor, for the opportunity to also speak about this item.

I have um uh the friends of the library um item each quarter.

They provide the opportunity for library staff to apply for funding.

This quarter, we received a record five thousand two hundred and fifty dollars for programs for kids and adults at both our locations LPR, Grand Avenue Library.

Uh we will use the funds to provide opportunities for people to learn and also to socialize at the library.

Um, and uh a few occasions, notably they were sponsoring free comic book day.

For example, that will be Saturday, May 2nd this year.

Free comic books at the library, so please mark your calendar.

The friends have also sponsored additions to our Discovery Center.

Uh, this is a library space where people of all ages learn about science and technology using a variety of toys, tools, and equipment.

And it is the Friends of the Library that help us with that for those resources, and this quarter they are enhancing our green room.

Um, the Friends of the Library.

If I could just take a few more seconds to tell you about them.

Thank you.

Uh, the Friends of the Library are a fun, hardworking group of volunteers.

They are accepting new members.

Uh, if you would like to be a part of a community and give back to your neighbors for the general public uh watching tonight, uh, please consider joining Friends of the Library.

They fundraise for library programs and services by operating the lobby book sale as well as larger weekend long book sales, two or three times a year.

They also have quarterly meetings, and their next meeting is Tuesday, April 14th at 6 p.m., here in this building in the community room on the second floor.

And that's a public meeting, Adam?

That is a public meeting.

Everyone is welcome to join.

You don't need to be a member to join the meeting.

Um, and then interested, I could attend the meeting and see if that's the kind of group that I'd like to participate in.

Absolutely.

I think if you if you love books, then these are the friends for you.

Um, sorry, to join the friends of the library.

Please visit our website at SSFCA.gov slash library.

And uh Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council, I thank you for your time.

I would be happy happy to answer any questions.

Okay, Adam, thank you.

Any questions from council?

All right, okay.

Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Back to Valerie.

And number eight.

Thank you.

This is our final staff report, and it's it is to accept a grant from the Woodlawn Foundation in the amount of $20,000.

For almost 22 years, the library department has received very generous support from the Woodlawn Foundation to support Project Read programs, including family literacy services via the Learning Wheels Fan and the Gene Mullen Community Learning Center, homework and summer programs.

Today's acceptance is $20,000 to support a program that Jasmine already called the Mobile Community Steam Classroom for Learning Wheels.

We provide story times, literacy, and steam-based activities and materials, and free books to build home libraries for home families in South San Francisco and our neighboring North County service area communities.

Each month, Learning Wheels serves over 100 families visiting preschools, social service agencies, health clinics, and community events.

Early childhood literacy is the number one priority of our family literacy programs.

Woodlawn's continuous support for helping families in our communities build home libraries and support lifelong reading, learning, and school success has been greatly appreciated through the years.

And I know that um the mayor is also aware of the good deeds of the Woodlawn Foundation.

So in conclusion, we're asking you to accept this um wonderful grant in the amount of $20,000.

I can't imagine that we wouldn't.

Okay, thank you.

I just wanted to share the Woodlawn Foundation uh got its beginning when the Masonic Order that was operating the Woodlawn Cemetery decided to sell to a um international corporation, and they took the proceeds and created the foundation.

At the time it was a little over 20 million dollars, and they now are managing um uh 55 million dollars in their portfolio.

So it's a well-heeled group.

Um, maybe, you know, maybe they could go beyond the 20,000 someday, uh, given the right motivation.

So um I think that um it's uh it's wonderful that we are making uh those relationships with these different community members and enhancing what's available to the public.

So thank you for your efforts, Valerie.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

And now, would any member of the council like to make a motion on the consent calendar?

So moved.

Second, the motion is second, and roll call.

Mayor Diego.

Yes.

Vice Mayor Nogales.

Yes, Councilmember Nicholas.

Aye, Councilmember Flores.

Aye.

Councilmember Coleman.

Yes, wonderful.

We'll move along to the next item, administrative business.

Item number nine is a report regarding awarding a construction contract to W.

Bradley Electric, LLC of Navato, California for the signalized intersection battery backup citywide project and an amount not to exceed 1,251,407, authorizing a total construction contract authority budget of 1,501,4007 and execution of the agreement.

Item number nine A is the resolution.

Mr.

Wilson, how are you this evening?

I am doing uh doing great.

Thank you, Mayor.

Very good.

Uh good evening, honorable members of council.

My name is Johnny Wilson, and I'm it's my pleasure to come before you tonight to request the award of a construction contract and uh approval of construction authority budget.

Um I'm gonna be talking this is for the signalized intersection battery backup citywide project.

This project uh improves citywide traffic signal reliability during power outages.

It does that by equipping the signalized intersections with battery backup systems so the signals continue operating when PGE power is lost.

The goal of the project is to improve public safety, emergency response access, and traffic operations during outages.

So I know there's a lot on this slide, but I'm just gonna walk you through it.

So uh the data that we have from PGE shows that longer outages are not rare, especially in recent years.

And so our strategy is to provide six hours of battery backup at every signalized intersection to cover most outages, and 12 hours of battery backup at our busiest and most critical intersections.

This approach matches real world outage conditions, it reduces our resilience on um police forces and use of portable generators uh when the signals do go dark, and it improves the safety during emergencies and severe weather events.

So what is a battery backup exactly?

You might see this stuff on the side of the road, um, and I'll kind of walk you through it.

So essentially we have two systems.

Uh, one system is where we have a cabinet that's separate from the brains of the signal, and that would be like the left picture.

You've got the cabinet on the left is where the controller is that's deciding which light is green, and um the cabinet on the right is where right now there'd be um lead acid batteries like the kind you have in your car, which is the older technology.

Um, and the what this the situation you see on the right is we call that a piggyback battery, a piggyback cabinet, because it's essentially a smaller cabinet that's bolted to the side of the traffic signal controller cabinet.

And um, but you know, that could block sidewalks, and so you have to be considerate of that and um you know look at available sidewalk and right-of-way space to make sure you're minimizing impacts to pedestrians and the surrounding uses.

So it's important to know that both are acceptable and uh will provide continuous signal operation during outages.

Uh this map shows um all of the signalized intersections that are included in the project.

You might notice that not all of our signals are on this map, and that's because the newer signals uh we normally outfit them with batteries and we put them in.

Um but some of the older ones um, well, they they didn't have batteries in when they were originally constructed.

Um so our um locations were really prior.

The I'd mentioned earlier that some locations we are providing an extended kind of runtime up to 12 hours, and um our initial thoughts are to prioritize that based on uh traffic volumes and primary emergency routes and access to hospitals, fire stations, and major arterials.

So let's get into the bid results.

So we got six bids, and it was this was advertised through a competitive bidding process.

And W.

Bradley Electric LLC submitted the lowest responsive responsive and responsible bid at 1.25 million.

Now this you may notice that the bid is about 8.5% over the engineers' estimate.

We try our best, but market conditions, uh electrical equipment pricing, and long lead materials have resulted in a little bit of variability with our estimates.

Um however, the bids submitted we found to be responsive and responsible, which is important.

And uh again, this was just a competitive bidding process.

That's what this slide is showing.

This is summary of a construction budget.

I'm requesting a 20% construction and contingency and a total construction contract authority of a little over 1.5 million dollars.

The project is planned in two stages.

Material procurement, I mentioned earlier is uh a big issue.

These um batteries uh have longer lead times, and we're expecting to get them completed in October.

However, they'll come on our rolling basis, so some signals will get battery backups uh as the batteries are coming in.

Um but we expect to have everything finished by uh March of next year.

Our construction's happening uh, you know, typically it's on the side of the road by the sidewalk, but we're not anticipating any closures to traffic lanes, and we'll be able to keep the signals in in almost all cases keep the signals operating and running while we're doing the work so uh it can minimize impacts to the public.

And and finally, I just want to say that this uh project is I'm really excited about it.

It is a proactive investment in safety and resilience.

Um, the folks that operate the signals love it, the folks that use the um that are trying to get to their employments like it when the signals are working, even when the power goes out, and uh we've seen recent cases of extended power outages, and this is a good way that we are kind of preparing ourselves for those extended outages.

I uh be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Yeah, let's see, John.

Thank you for the presentation.

And I just wanted to mention that it is so refreshing to see a number of firms bid and you know getting uh competitive situation because that hasn't been our experience in so many areas.

Any questions from the council on um on this uh item?

No question.

I I just want to know if the 41 that we're making that completes the whole thing that we have right now, is that correct?

Yes, that's absolutely correct.

And then the new ones will have their own backups, so we don't have to worry about the newest um signal light that we had at along abalong, right?

Oh, yeah, that one's got a battery.

Oh, yeah, great.

We ordered it, we ordered it with a battery.

Thank you.

And you're you're absolutely correct.

All of the after this project is completed, every one of our traffic signals will be able to keep running when the power goes out.

Thanks.

That's that's um that's great news for those that are in district one and district three when it comes to Hillside, Boulevard, Chestnut Avenue.

They're perpetually out, and there's a succession of three, so it can really back up the traffic uh horrendously.

So thank you, John.

Oh, thank you very much.

I think it's gonna be a positive outcome tonight.

Uh um, I believe it will.

Okay.

Well, let's see.

Uh, a motion on the floor.

So moved.

Second and a second, and roll call.

Vice Mayor Nogales.

Yes.

Council Member Flores?

Yes, Mayor Adiego.

Yes.

Council Member Coleman.

Yes.

Councilmember Nicholas.

Aye.

Thank you.

We'll move along to item number 10 is a report regarding a resolution approving budget amendment number 26.050, and authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract for a professional services agreement and the amount of 206,500 with Halo Housing to continue administering an accessory dwelling unit technical services program.

Item number 10A is the resolution.

Good evening, Adina.

Good evening, Mayor and Vice Mayor and Council members.

Um my name's Adina Friedman.

I'm the chief planner.

And I also have with me joining us on Zoom, Jennifer Duffy from Hello Housing as well.

The item in front of you tonight is a contract to provide accessory dwelling unit or ADU technical services and assistance to residents of South San Francisco to help them navigate the ADU construction and permitting process, basically to help streamline it and make it easier to walk through that process.

This project, the Hello Housing ADU project started as a pilot project to provide ADU technical assistance, and when it's established in as part of the development agreement with Genentech that was approved at the end of 2020.

And the development agreement funded the pilot project for the startup and the first several years of operation.

I'm gonna give a little bit of high-level ADU background.

ADU restrictions at the state level and locally have changed and loosened significantly over the past five to eight years, I would say, and still continue to evolve and change.

As ADUs are now by-right projects, meaning they're ministerial, no planning entitlements or discretionary review is required, and there are flexible development standards in order to encourage their development.

South San Francisco continues to see growth in ADU applications and constructions, as this is a fairly streamlined way to develop additional units and give homeowners flexibility to expand their current living spaces.

However, even with streamlining, the development process can be complicated and expensive, as anybody who's ever attempted a remodel or anything of the type knows.

So this is where the Hello Housing Technical Assistance Program comes in.

So as I mentioned, the Genentech DA funded one million dollars for project startup, and the first several years of the project to provide comprehensive ADU support services, really from the very beginning of the process through leasing a unit.

So that includes educational services to learn about ADUs, Hello Housing offers a helpline, webinars, and initial consultations where there might be questions about what even is an ADU, is an ADU permitted in my zoning district, I want to have my you know parents move in with me, what are the solutions, that type of thing.

They also offer design and permitting assistance and coordination, construction administration, assistance with applying for state grants that are available for ADU construction and all the way through leasing.

Hello Housing provided a report showing background data about the programs.

An attached ADU or conversion of living space or a junior ADU.

Additionally, they provided interesting information about the reasons that homeowners are building ADUs.

It's about an equal split between multi-generational living and an affordable rental, with about another 12% who desire to age in place, meaning they either want to have a caregiver move into the ADU or they may want to move into the ADU so family members can move in to the main unit and help keep them in their home.

The next slides, just gonna go through quickly, show all of the ADU projects that have been part of the Hello Housing Program since it started with status, and many as you can see are in lease up and are occupied.

And while not required to be deed restriction, ADUs are to be considered affordable deed restricted units.

ADUs are considered to be affordable by design, and I wanted to mention that they do count towards our arena goals, and they are split over several income categories.

So basically, they're split over the very low, low, moderate, and above moderate categories so we can get credit for very low, low, and uh moderate units in our arena through ADU production.

And in terms of actual rents, this is just some background on ADUs, not necessarily about the project, but just provide some nice context.

In terms of actual rents based on county income levels, a unit affordable to a low-income household would rent for approximately $3,000.

So Hello Housing Services provide a seamless option for residents to move from learning about ADUs all the way through construction and leasing if that's the path they desire.

Staff is requesting approval of a 206,500 contract, which will allow Hello Housing to continue providing ADU services through 2026.

There's no fiscal impact to the general fund.

If council approves the budget amendment and contract authority, this would appropriate funds from the commercial linkage fee fund.

Providing ADU technical services to residents is also consistent with and serves to implement the general plan as well as several programs within our housing element.

With that, I will conclude my staff report and I'd like to introduce Jennifer Duffy, who is on Zoom to join us and give us a little introduction to the program.

Okay.

Is she on mute?

She on.

There we go.

Okay, great.

Good evening.

Uh it's a it's an absolute pleasure to be joining you this evening.

Um, although it's virtual, I really appreciate that option as a single mom.

It goes a long way to help me be all the places I need to be.

Um, my name's Jennifer Duffy.

I'm the president of Hello Housing.

We are a nonprofit housing organization that has been working throughout the Bay Area with local government partners to create new and innovative housing solutions that help make our communities more affordable.

And over the years, I've had the pleasure of working with the housing department, more most recently as a BMR below market rate housing consultant, and I've also had the immense pleasure over the past years working with the building and planning department on rolling out and supporting and running the Hello ADU technical assistance program.

As Adina shared, this program is designed to support homeowners in all phases of the journey in trying to build an ADU.

And while we've had incredible progress with all of the different legal different changes that have happened specifically starting in 2020, the process can be really daunting for homeowners, and it's a it's a big investment, and making mistakes and getting it wrong can be really daunting and really problematic.

And so we really have focused on education as one of our like primary tools to really arm homeowners with information that they need in order to be able to make the right decisions for their projects.

So we have five different stages as Adina went through, where we really focus on feasibility that's specific to the site conditions and how those site conditions kind of drive the overall project budget.

We spend a great deal of time talking about different strategies by which different homeowners can explore ADUs on their properties.

We spend a time working with homeowners on understanding the financial options that are available to them, what lenders are offering those financial solutions, and how those solutions work within their personal budgets.

We work really hard to vet a number of design professionals and general contractors so that we can introduce homeowners and their projects to well-vetted professionals who are very familiar with the South Cities, building codes and zoning codes, as well as you know, have incredible track records working within the community.

We spend time reviewing these contracts with homeowners that they understand what they're signing, and we make sure those contracts meet the intent of the project.

We support permitting all the way through.

We take the, as I mentioned, we take the projects out to bid to different professionals for their services.

And then we support construction administration.

So we are there to make sure that the homeowner has the support they need to see the project all the way through fruition.

And then we work with homeowners on how to support lease up activities.

Sometimes that's education on landlord tenant laws, sometimes it's connecting to different community groups who are seeking housing opportunities for their community uh residents, and other times it's looking at leases in general to make sure that they are comfortable with the tools that they need in order to move forward since our contract began in 2021 we've provided a variety of ADU webinars and we have met with over 325 homeowners seeking to build ADUs over the last two years as Adina mentioned we started an ADU helpline and we have been we've supported over 185 South City residents to date with questions that they have no matter where they are in their ADU journey they're able to schedule time to meet with myself schedule time to meet with our construction management team and be able to ask questions that are driving different decisions that they're trying to make around their projects or projects that they may want to try and start.

So it's been an absolute honor to support this program and to be part of the South City team and trying to promote more housing production and I am excited about the possibility of continuing to deliver these services in partnership with the city and with that I will hand it back to Dean.

Okay thank you for your presentation.

Thank you very much Jennifer so that concludes the staff report and with that staff recommends that the city council adopt a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a contract with Hello Housing and approve the associated budget amendment and of course Jennifer and I are available to answer any questions you may have okay well let's start with the louder let's see if there are any questions on thank you.

I do have a question so I think we have over 300 applicants to the program however um hello housing is this is 38 separate projects so what is the what are what are some of the top reasons why someone would apply and then drop out of the process or a lot of times it's going to come down to the costs.

Other circumstances might be just basic feasibility.

One of the things that we have run across that's common in South City is utility easements and that really can impact what a homeowner is able to do on their property in ways that they may never have understood.

Sometimes it's circumstances have changed and they may have decided that with the information that they have they might not be ready to start the project now but might want to reach out later should we still be in operation to be able to you know bring the projects forward but I'm gonna say one of the most dominant reasons tends to be the budget and understanding really what the true costs are for building and how that budget can affect their personal finances and their ability to move forward.

And so I think you know like income is is one reasons why someone may pursue an ADU and maybe they don't have that front capital now but are there programs that exist that could potentially provide a loan for folks to to pursue it.

You know we were really fortunate to have the state come to the table with a pre-development grant to the tune of 4000 per homeowner and that has was a really successful oversubscribed program.

We were able to become a preferred lender through Calachai so that we could raise about I think it was about 2400 for participants in South City other programs that provide loans there's definitely you know your credit unions have varying types of products that are very specifically designed for ADU development but being able to look broadly for more program supports we're hoping that the state would be willing to come to the table with some additional funding because it was so heavily desired but there's not enough loan programs that are supporting low-income homeowners with the build of ADUs.

We hope to see that continue to evolve in time especially as we're working in our next cycle on the housing elements.

And typically if if a resident decides to build an ADU will how how long does it take for it to pay for itself?

Or does it it?

It it varies.

It depends on what, you know, a lot of homeowners, as you may have seen in some of the data, are building for for multi-generational living.

So in those circumstances, it is not really about you know the return on investment for that particular homeowner.

And it also depends how much they're having to finance versus how much they're they're coming out of pockets.

So it's it's hard to really give that a perfect number.

It is an analysis that we'll do with homeowners based on what they're trying to rent the unit for, whether or not that's an affordable rent within their community, and what that would look like against the type of cost and the type of ADU that they're building, so they can get a sense of what will it look like to be able to pay back this loan that they might be utilizing to build the ADU and what does the ROI look like.

Another analysis that we'll take a look at with homeowners should they desire is just what kind of value does adding income producing property and more habitable square footage to your property bring as far as property values.

Um that's oftentimes a running question that homeowners have is they're thinking about you know um all the decisions they're trying to make, whether it's uh to do it now or what does it look like in the future should they build an ADU?

And uh I know there's a recent state law that says that you could actually split your parcel and then I think sell your ADU.

Are you seeing that more common now since that state law has passed?

We are certainly seeing a lot of interest in SB9, which is the lot split uh legislation.

I think there's another one just for for just for ADUs.

ADUs, yes, for ADUs, there's AB 1033, which is about selling your ADU.

Jurisdictions need to opt into that.

Um so it's it's available, but it's still at the discretion of different jurisdictions if they are willing to opt into that.

And in that circumstance, you don't necessarily have to go through a lot split.

Um, it's more of a condoization kind of strategy, uh, that allows for the common uh features of the property to be shared like an HOA with the two units being able to be lived in separately and sold separately.

This is intriguing.

I didn't know it was an opt-in.

Uh have you seen other cities do this?

Yeah, the conversation.

I believe that San Jose is one jurisdiction that is exploring the um ability to uh sell the ADU through Assembly Bill 1033, and I also believe that Sonoma may also be another jurisdiction that is is either past it or is is really heavily considering it.

It's a slow adoption.

I think there is you know a lot to take in and think about what does this mean for our city?

What is the process look like?

Um, you know, I also know that what we get really excited about when we think about that as an option is it starts to bring back the starter home, which we haven't had in California for at least over a decade, and um it gives some real avenues for um ownership affordability.

And mayor, just we are at South San Francisco is in the process of going through that opt-in.

And I'm sure we can provide more information if you would like that.

That's good to hear.

I I look forward to uh learning learning more about this, and um just to round off, I ADUs are great, we need it, right?

Uh housing is good.

Um and it's not any.

And I do have one last question, sorry.

Uh so when we when an ADU is built, how and it you know feeds into arena.

How do we determine what income level in READA that that ADU represents?

So, we have a split.

Um, so the split is 30 30 30 10.

So it's very low income is 30%, low income is 30%, moderate incomes 30%, and above moderate is the last 10%.

So that's how the ADUs.

So if we have a hundred ADUs in a year, that's how they would get distributed in our arena with that 30%.

Not based on a bigger ADU versus a smaller one, it's just that's just how it splits.

Yeah, it's just a general split, and then they're they're not actually assigned per unit, you know what I mean?

We look at the pool.

Thank you.

That's all, Mr.

Mayor.

Oh, sorry, guys.

I um for individuals that want to start in the process early, for example, permitting and all of that.

Um I'm thinking about barriers to to entry or barriers to ah, forget it, let's not do it.

Um, are the grants or or funding are is that also available to be used for for permitting costs and stuff like that?

Or is it only for building?

So the state grant, uh, which has been the most dominant uh funding source that has been made available to support the development of ADUs was for pre-development.

So it included permitting design, um, and all the lot of the due diligence that's involved and in being prepared to go through the permitting process.

It did it covered everything but the hard cost, which is just construction.

Gotcha.

The other thing that I would like to see and perhaps even recommend is to see if we could create or capture um a survey of sorts so that we could um attain either those that went through the entire process and how their experience was, and those that decided not to move forward and what was that barrier so that we could learn as a council and understand where we need to focus on rather than just saying, yes, it's great.

I mean, it's already amazing that we have this as a resource, but I'd like to hear it from the end user and seeing ways that we can improve or even tailor it more niche uh to those needs.

Um perhaps there is something that we haven't looked at or we haven't realized that continues to pop up.

So maybe we can incorporate that in this next round.

Thank you.

Gathering that information could be very valuable to you know as we navigate how to continue to make this happen.

Um the vice mayor's next.

Thank you, Mr.

Mayor.

Um just to back up in terms of where we are.

I I know that the housing subcommittee plan, we had a conversation about opting in.

I think the council at some point had a conversation about this about opting in.

So it's it's gonna come back, it sounds like correct.

Yes.

Um, so we met, I believe it was in November with the housing standing committee, provided background on uh uh AB 1033 and got feedback that we should move forward with looking with opting in, and we are currently working on that.

We are um we are gonna get support from 21 elements as well to get to have some model ordinances, um so we will be bringing that back to the council for consideration.

That's what I remember.

21 elements was part of this conversation.

Exactly.

So colleagues, uh, I keep a for myself a running list of accomplishments that we've done.

And I still have my notes from back from 2020, believe it or not, because that's how I am.

So good.

But one of the things I was really proud of is this hello housing.

We can kind of just back it up a little bit.

So in 2020, we had a development agreement with Genentech, about 30 million, and we were able to convince Genentech to give us an additional million dollars for hello housing.

And look where we are now in terms of providing affordable housing.

Again, we forward thinking and doing things that other cities wish they can do in terms of just building affordable housing.

I'm just really proud of our colleagues, my colleagues here, where we were in 2020 and where we are now, um, it's just really really amazing.

Uh so I just wanted to comment that, and uh just really exciting kind of seeing where we first started to where we are now.

Council Woman?

Any comments or anything?

Okay, yeah, I I uh Mark, I think that um, you know, we are fortunate because um we have uh corporations that are part of the community are uh and they are enlightened in their approach to the problems that they help create.

Um so this um uh over the last couple years these 38 projects that have come to fruition, um shared upwards of a quarter million dollars in grants, but I'm sure it wasn't every project, it wasn't equal to every project.

So tell me a little bit more how that works.

Um, what's what's the average or maybe Jennifer?

Um the way that the grant worked was going to be based on income level and applications.

So we hosted a webinar uh to make sure that the community was informed of what the grant was available to do and how to apply for it, which they did through us.

Um, and then we did the income vetting and made an application to Cal Chifay for those funds.

It was highly competitive.

They were gone in like the second the second round of those funds, were gone within four hours of the application openings.

So those funds were quickly reserved, and um, so it was it was a pretty fast process.

So we absolutely moved as fast as we could to try and get as many applicants who were in the stage of pre-development who also met the income qualification standards for the grant through the application process and submitted.

Okay.

So the the Gen Inteck dollars got us through the first few years, and now we're looking at this is an annual contract.

Um this contract would be through the end of this year, and if the council desires to continue it, we can do it as an annual contract.

So it's it's through the end of the year and pretty much the year.

Um how do we come up with this number?

Um, you know, we've we've had 38 projects to date and a lot of outreach and education, which is part of the thing.

Not everybody's going to be part of the program, but they they want to find out, and then maybe in years and years coming up, they'll they'll dive in.

Um how do we know that uh 2065 is the right number and and and what could that potentially give us as far as um uh additional ADUs coming to fruition, I guess is my question.

Sure.

Oh I think I'd ask Jennifer to um maybe give a little bit of background on the budget.

Okay, yeah.

So we came up with that number largely by looking at what is still remaining in the projects that have not completed that we need to perform that we'd like to be able to perform and support the homeowner all the way through the LISA process.

Um we are out of contract funds, and so that was the first place we started was how can we continue to support those who've entered the program, get all the way through the completion of their projects.

We then also wanted to see if we could increase the number of folks supported not only through the ADU helpline but also through ongoing feasibility assessments and project management support.

Um I believe we're gonna try and explore 11 additional projects, um and that's how we kind of looked at this this last remaining year of a contract extension and that budget.

Um we would love it to be more, but we also recognize that our first um initiative is to make sure that those who are entered in the program are fully supported all the way through the program and that we can add additional families over the next six months.

So so part of this is to bring some of those 38 to fruition, correct?

And perhaps 11 more correct.

And so is there a is there an average number?

Um I'm trying to break down the 2065 and see you know how many if we were starting fresh, how many projects could that basically bring forth?

Because I'm just wondering if there's ever a um surge in in people interested.

Um, you know, it'll take a lot more than that to keep you um very busy.

Sure.

What's the average?

What's the average um so the average cost per household that opts into work with us on project management is roughly about 20 to 25,000 in total cost.

Um, so we look at you know, how can we leverage the the city's money uh uh against housing production goals and trying to leverage their borrowing power and land use against project management services has been a pretty affordable way to do so, but that's looking at um kind of just breaking down all of the the support costs across one particular project.

So if we take them all the way from feasibility through LISA, that's about the average cost.

Okay, thank you, Jennifer.

Ms.

Freeman.

Um I just um uh I think I need to be refreshed on um where does this money come from?

The 2065.

Sure, this is the commercial linkage fund.

Okay, and that's a pretty deep fund right now.

We have about 7 million dollars, seven and a half million dollars.

But don't tell Jennifer, but no, we have exactly 206,500.

No, I'm just kidding, about seven million dollars.

Thank you, Dean.

Okay, so um I guess if there's no questions or comments, we're looking for a motion.

I'd be happy to make that motion.

Well, you should be the one.

I'll second.

And a second from the other housing advocate, uh roll call vote.

Mayor Adiego.

Yes, Councilmember Nicholas.

Aye, Councilmember Flores?

Yes, Vice Mayor Nogales.

Yes, Councilmember Coleman.

Yes.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next item.

We'll move along to items from council, committee reports, and announcements.

Anyone?

No.

No on the left.

It's not a kidney assignment, but something I just wanted to let my colleagues aware.

But the BART board of directors will be discussing their alternative budget on March 12th.

And one of the things they're going to be talking about is potentially stations being closed.

And that is something that we need to pay attention to, because I think the initial they'll have 10 initial stations that could be named being closed.

That's phase one, phase two could be another 20 stations.

And obviously, if our station is closed, that is going to dramatically affect our community.

So I I think if staff can pay attention to that and let my colleagues know kind of what the board has decided because I can tell you the other transit agencies are pivoting off what BART decides to do in terms of their board of directors meeting.

So I wanted to keep my colleagues informed about that.

Okay.

But they would close if um if the proposition, let me re reemphasize if if the measure 63 transportation regional measure fails in November, then it will dramatically affect the entire region.

But BART has decided to move forward with an alternative plan so they can be prepared if the regional measure does not pass.

Thank you for helping me clarify that.

Okay, thank you.

Okay.

I wanted to share with council I received um a couple of phone calls this morning and a couple of emails based on a sudden awareness of um, you know, Black History Month is uh is coming up and uh there is a uh event at the library that has generated some um uh discontent, and I wanted to share that with the council and um and um you know look for um well just the awareness so on February the second um there is something called the DIY do it yourself uh issue during the Black Panther movement.

It's a revolutionary uh screen printing and button-making operation in the maker space.

So people are going to gather um to um uh do um screen pick screen print uh a kind of iconographic and um and button making um from the historic period of the black panther movement of the sixties and seventies.

Um not everyone was um uh aware of the Black Panther movement in the 60s and 70s, and the people that are calling are more of my age.

Um the Black Panther movement at that time was um very divisive.

Um Martin Luther King did not support the tactics of the Black Panther Party.

Um it certainly is a different party today, but I'm I'm kind of wondering what we're trying to accomplish here.

Uh a little concerned that this actually the Black Panther Party um many people believe pushed um the civil rights effort backwards.

Um there were some uh and and things from the internet were shared with me.

There were I'm reminded of a um a particular um violent act that occurred in 1970, where the Black Panther Party um entered the courtroom of Judge Harold Haley in Murray County and um to free one of their colleagues that was standing trial for some criminal offense, and before they were done, they had um taken the judge, uh, two jurors, and one of the county prosecutors out as hostages.

Um they had tied a uh or taped a shotgun to the neck of Judge Harold Haley, and um after that day he rests at the Mount Holadette Cemetery in San Rafael, where I was aware of his existence, and there are still people that um visit his crypt because they remember that day.

There's a lot of pain that time.

There was a lot of pain for the black community, and there was a lot of pain and consternation for the for the entire country at those times.

So I um I just I just like to have a full I'm hoping the library will have a full and vibrant discussion.

It's great to make buttons and do screen printing.

But uh really who have those old memories need to reread Eldridge Cleaver's soul on ice if you want to understand the black experience in America in that perspective.

Um, and um, and and recognize that even the new Black Panther Party, according to some of the information uh I received, is and this is this is from the internet, so you know it's a little you never know.

Um but the new Black Panther Party is widely considered an anti-Semitic hate group by the Anti-F Defamation League, but also the Southern Poverty Law Center.

I there's a real concerns with um highlighting the Black Panther Party.

I uh have no problem with it.

I'm sorry that it's the first um activity of Black History Month, and um but um I'm hoping there's a balance through the month where we really do educate people on on that time frame and what it meant.

So um, so that's my challenge to Valerie.

We had a couple of conversations already, and um, and I wanted to uh share with the council that um uh five years ago when I was mayor, I think was the first time we actually raised a black lives matter flag, and it was I received comments similar to what I'm receiving today.

Um but uh the black uh lives matter group is not a terrorist organization.

Um they certainly are are not um uh they have never exhibited the violence that the Black Panther Party originally did, and so I will proudly right now the the hope is early early in the month, maybe a proclamation on the next council meeting, February the fourth, and then perhaps the Friday after we could raise the flag uh together, and uh not a lot of speeches or anything, but just proudly raised that flag that we're committed to um our black brothers.

Just wanted to share all that.

There's there's so much history on this topic, and there's so many raw feelings still after after, I don't know, what is it, fifty five years?

It's remarkable.

Yeah, okay.

Well, thank you for your indulgence.

And uh with that, we'll go ahead and uh adjourn to uh closed session, and Jasmine will read the items.

Closed session item number eleven, conference with legal counsel existing litigation, name of case Carlino Ronald versus City of South San Francisco.

Name of case that'll Timothy versus City of South San Francisco.

Thank you, Jasmine.

On to closed s