OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

South San Francisco City Council Meeting - May 27, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, May 27, 2026
BodySouth San Francisco, California
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, May 27, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:35:52
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

May the 27th and I'll ask that um if you're able if you would please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance tonight, have the pleasure of welcoming Richard with the local 104 sheet metal workers, and he's gonna step up and lead us in the pledge.

0:16

Hello, uh, how are you doing?

0:18

Uh okay, here we go.

0:21

I pledge allegiance to the flat.

0:25

The United States of America and to the Republic for which is standing, and liberty and justice and justice.

0:36

Thank you.

0:37

Nice job.

0:42

And uh thank you, uh Councilman uh Flores.

0:46

Um we're gonna do the roll call now, Councilmember Coleman.

0:50

Here, Councilmember Flores, present council member Nicholas, present, Vice Mayor Adiego.

0:56

I'm sorry, Vice Mayor Nagales.

0:58

Okay, we get next to the whole time.

1:00

Uh here.

1:01

Mayor Adiego.

1:03

Here.

1:03

Thank you.

1:04

We'll now skip to Levine Act Disclosures.

1:08

Does the council have any reporting?

1:10

No.

1:12

Recording.

1:12

We'll now move along to announcements from staff.

1:27

Hi, good evening.

1:29

I'm Megan Woolley Osdall, deputy city manager, and we are very excited to invite the council and the community to our citywide July 4th parade and picnic celebration.

1:41

This is a part of our year-long semi-quincentennial celebration.

1:46

Please join us on Saturday, July 4th from 10 p.m.

1:50

excuse me, 10 a.m.

1:51

to 2 p.m.

1:52

The celebration will kick off with a parade starting at Orange Memorial Park.

1:57

And the parade will make its way to City Hall, where we will have a program including the reading of the Declaration of Independence.

2:06

Afterwards on Grand Avenue, we will have free food, family-friendly activities, and music from the band Fast Times.

2:15

We hope you'll join us to celebrate with your neighbors, support local businesses, and enjoy the holiday.

2:22

Thank you.

2:22

Thank you, Megan.

2:23

Before you depart, before you depart, um, you are our main contact person for those in the community that might be interested in joining our rolling parade.

2:32

It's not a marching parade.

2:33

That's right.

2:34

Thank you.

2:34

Yes, we're having a rolling parade, which means um people need to be in vehicles.

2:39

Um and yes, um, myself and my team are the main contacts for the celebration.

2:44

So as an example, I was contacted by the women's club and they're interested in being in the parade.

2:49

And if a local union was interested in being in the parade and had a vehicle that they'd like to decorate, red, white, and blue, and roll in the parade, they would be welcome.

2:57

That's right.

2:58

We we do ask that if folks are interested that they let us know by June 15th, so that we can best plan for the parade and the number of vehicles that we'll have.

3:07

Okay, thank you, Megan.

3:08

Yeah, thank you.

3:16

That concludes the staff reports.

3:18

Okay.

3:20

We'll move along to presentations.

3:22

Item number one is a proclamation celebrating May as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

3:30

And I've asked uh Councilman James Coleman to do the presentation.

3:34

Thank you.

3:35

It's my honor to uh present this proclamation uh recognizing Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Air, Pacific Islander Heritage Month here in South San Francisco.

3:45

Uh the AAPI community is the fastest growing uh community, uh immigrant community in the United States, and it is uh especially large in South San Francisco.

3:54

Forty two percent of South City is proudly A and H PI, including four of our council members, uh Mark Nogales, uh Flor Nicholas, who are Filipino, myself who is half Taiwanese, and little known fact uh Eddie Flores is one-fourth Chinese as well.

4:13

And so we have uh if you count up all the the fractions, we're a little over a half.

4:18

Uh, Councilman, I'm still doing some research on my heritage.

4:22

So it could be more, it could be more.

4:24

Who knows, right?

4:25

Uh and the Bay Area definitely would not be what it is without our API community from the Chinese laborers who built the Transcontinental Railroad to the Filipino farm workers who marched along uh for the with the United Farm Workers Union to the Japanese American families who came home from unjust incarceration and rebuilt their lives, to the South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander families who continue to enrich every corner of this region.

4:51

This is a story of resilience of community and of the America that we are still working to live up to.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability████████████████████████24%
Miscellaneous██████████████████18%
Procedural████████████12%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████10%
Parks and Recreation████████8%
Legislative Platform███████7%
Workforce Development█████5%
Community Engagement████4%
Transportation Safety███3%
Summary of Proceedings

South San Francisco City Council Meeting - May 27, 2026

The South San Francisco City Council held a regular meeting on May 27, 2026, at 2:30 PM. The agenda included proclamations, public comments, a public hearing on the CDBG annual action plan, a study session on the FY 2026-27 operating budget and capital improvement program, and adoption of a legislative platform. The meeting also featured memorials for community members and discussion of a project labor agreement.

Proclamations

  • Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Presented by Councilmember Coleman to Stephen Yi, commissioner on the Equity and Public Safety Commission. Councilmember noted that 42% of South San Francisco's population is AANHPI.
  • National Bike Month: Presented by Vice Mayor Nogales to Carlos Moreno, vice chair of the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Moreno highlighted a community ride and the importance of biking for transportation.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Victor Santian (resident near South Line development) expressed concern about pedestrian wind hazards caused by a six-story development on Tan Fran Avenue. He requested an independent wind and pedestrian safety evaluation, noting an elderly resident fell due to wind. He stated no wind study was completed before project approval.
  • Tom Treyer (Sheet Metal Workers Local 104) urged the council to agendize a citywide Project Labor Agreement (PLA), noting that neighboring cities like San Mateo, Foster City, Daly City, and the county have adopted PLAs.
  • Andrew Avila (apprentice, Local 104) supported PLA, saying it would help apprentices find local jobs and allow him to stay in South City.
  • Andrew Marino (assistant training director, Sprinkler Fitters Local 483) spoke as a South City resident and emphasized PLA benefits for apprenticeship programs.
  • Mr. Benchilia (Building Trades Council) recounted discussions since July 2024 and urged council to direct staff to immediately agendize PLA negotiation, noting the capital improvement plan would benefit from PLA compliance.
  • Julie Lind (San Mateo Labor Council) asked council to direct staff to re-engage with building trades on terms and bring a proposed policy for consideration in July. She highlighted the connection between PLA and the capital improvement plan.
  • City Manager Laura Snydman responded that staff is working to bring a PLA to council prior to the end of July, with possible earlier presentation.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent calendar was approved unanimously (5-0). (No items were pulled for discussion.)

Public Hearing – CDBG Annual Action Plan FY 2026-2027

  • Staff presented the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME annual action plan, with a total anticipated budget of $707,397, including $459,847 in CDBG entitlement. Proposed allocations include rape trauma services, housing trust fund support for CORA, HIP Housing, Legal Aid Society, Life Moves, and Samaritan House; minor home repair via Rebuilding Together Peninsula; and fair housing activities via Project Sentinel.
  • The council adopted the resolution unanimously (5-0) after closing the public hearing.

Discussion Items

  • Operating Budget FY 2026-27 Study Session: Finance Director Christy Donnelly presented the proposed $156.9 million revenue budget against $162.4 million expenditures, resulting in a $5.5 million operating gap. The gap is attributed to the Vehicle License Fee (VLF) reduction. The budget uses available unassigned fund balance and Measure W funds for the Aquatic Center. The deficit is down from $12.2 million the prior year. Council discussed VLF uncertainty, use of reserves, and specific budget items. No action was taken; this was a study session.
  • Capital Improvement Program FY 2026-27: Principal Engineer Matt Rubel presented the proposed CIP, including 120 projects (30 requesting new funding for FY 26-27) totaling approximately $20 million. Key projects included Orange Memorial Park playground replacement ($3.8M), Centennial Trail improvements ($600K), common green rehabilitation study ($2M), street seal projects, signal battery backups, and multimodal connections. Funding sources are non-general fund. Council discussed common greens, EV charging, and safe routes to schools. No vote was taken.
  • Legislative Platform: Deputy City Manager Megan Woolley Osdall presented the proposed platform, organized around themes from council's priority action plan. Councilmember Flores requested additions including immigration protections, utility rate affordability, small business support, and opposition to unfunded mandates. Council adopted the platform with a motion and second, and staff will bring back a revised version later in the summer.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar: Approved 5-0.
  • CDBG Annual Action Plan Resolution: Adopted 5-0.
  • Legislative Platform: Adopted 5-0 with direction to staff to incorporate additional items and return with an updated version.
  • PLA: Staff committed to bringing a proposed PLA policy to council before the end of July 2026.
  • Budget and CIP: No formal votes; study session input will inform final adoption on June 10, 2026.
  • Memorials: The meeting was adjourned in memory of Betty Batalia, Nori Ventura, Geneva Estelle Rogero, and Edward Guidati.

Meeting Transcript

May the 27th and I'll ask that um if you're able if you would please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance tonight, have the pleasure of welcoming Richard with the local 104 sheet metal workers, and he's gonna step up and lead us in the pledge. Hello, uh, how are you doing? Uh okay, here we go. I pledge allegiance to the flat. The United States of America and to the Republic for which is standing, and liberty and justice and justice. Thank you. Nice job. And uh thank you, uh Councilman uh Flores. Um we're gonna do the roll call now, Councilmember Coleman. Here, Councilmember Flores, present council member Nicholas, present, Vice Mayor Adiego. I'm sorry, Vice Mayor Nagales. Okay, we get next to the whole time. Uh here. Mayor Adiego. Here. Thank you. We'll now skip to Levine Act Disclosures. Does the council have any reporting? No. Recording. We'll now move along to announcements from staff. Hi, good evening. I'm Megan Woolley Osdall, deputy city manager, and we are very excited to invite the council and the community to our citywide July 4th parade and picnic celebration. This is a part of our year-long semi-quincentennial celebration. Please join us on Saturday, July 4th from 10 p.m. excuse me, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The celebration will kick off with a parade starting at Orange Memorial Park. And the parade will make its way to City Hall, where we will have a program including the reading of the Declaration of Independence. Afterwards on Grand Avenue, we will have free food, family-friendly activities, and music from the band Fast Times. We hope you'll join us to celebrate with your neighbors, support local businesses, and enjoy the holiday. Thank you. Thank you, Megan. Before you depart, before you depart, um, you are our main contact person for those in the community that might be interested in joining our rolling parade. It's not a marching parade. That's right. Thank you. Yes, we're having a rolling parade, which means um people need to be in vehicles. Um and yes, um, myself and my team are the main contacts for the celebration. So as an example, I was contacted by the women's club and they're interested in being in the parade. And if a local union was interested in being in the parade and had a vehicle that they'd like to decorate, red, white, and blue, and roll in the parade, they would be welcome. That's right. We we do ask that if folks are interested that they let us know by June 15th, so that we can best plan for the parade and the number of vehicles that we'll have. Okay, thank you, Megan. Yeah, thank you. That concludes the staff reports. Okay. We'll move along to presentations. Item number one is a proclamation celebrating May as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. And I've asked uh Councilman James Coleman to do the presentation.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com