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Record of Proceedings

Stockton City Council Special Study Session - October 6, 2025: NOFA Process and Safe Grounds 1-2-3 Model Discussion

City Council — Monday, October 6, 2025
BodyStockton, California
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, October 6, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:52:13

Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our special study session of the Stockton City Council on today, Monday, October 6th.

0:12

Let's go ahead and do roll call.

0:15

Councilmember Padilla?

0:16

Present.

0:17

Councilmember Ponce is absent.

0:20

Councilmember Blauer?

0:21

Present.

0:22

Councilmember Enriquez.

0:24

President.

0:26

Councilmember Via Pudua.

0:27

President.

0:28

Vice Mayor Lee.

0:30

President.

0:31

Mayor Fugazi.

0:32

Present.

0:33

We have a quorum.

0:35

Okay, moving on then to a public comment.

0:38

I think I know we have at least one card.

0:41

No?

0:41

No cards?

0:43

Wait, wait.

0:44

I'm waiting.

0:47

There it is.

0:49

There it is.

0:51

Four minutes.

0:56

Okay.

0:58

Mary Elizabeth.

1:00

So I uh thank uh the council for having uh this agenda in the special study session to consider this uh important matters.

1:12

And uh I just would like to uh congratulate everybody on uh having uh the lights in our community.

1:22

So those areas in our community that have gotten lights, you know, and you're driving around and you see the lights, you it makes it very noticeable when there are no lights.

1:34

And so uh we'll be uh working on that as Stockton, and thank you, uh Councilmember Padilla for encouraging people to use Ast Stockton to get those dark places lit up with the love of our community.

1:49

Thank you.

1:54

That's it.

1:56

Yes, Mayor.

1:57

Okay.

1:58

Moving on then.

1:59

So uh 3.1 notice of funding available process, otherwise known as NOFA.

2:07

Good afternoon, Ms.

2:08

McCarty.

2:09

Good afternoon.

2:12

Organized here.

2:17

Uh so first let me start.

2:19

Tina McCarty, uh, Director of Economic Development.

2:22

Um let me first start by thanking everyone for taking the time to come for this separate meeting.

2:28

Uh it is a very important topic, and it's one that I was pushing for to get the opportunity to speak with the full council about because over the course of the last six to seven months, we've brought forward economic development has brought forward different allocation recommendations to you as a council, and um comments have been made about not either understanding or not liking our NOFA process.

2:54

And so we are working hard to become very systematic in how we do our NOFA process.

3:01

And a lot of that I will um take the burden and um I I'll take the burden as to I'm the one that's pushing our department to get organized so that we are annually um we are moving in an annual direction, meaning we're or we are issuing a NOFA for the affordable housing annually, annually at the same time of the year, as well as um a secondary NOFA for the services that we need the community services when we're putting grant funding out.

3:32

And the reason that I'm pushing for that as far as being an annual and intentional one, I want it to be the same time of the year so that our community and um those that are interested in competing for these funds know when to expect and about what time this um these NOFAs should come out.

3:50

Secondarily, um, you know, we work very hard in the economic development department, as does everyone in the city, uh, and we're not necessarily um being successful financially at getting additional positions, and yet the workload continues.

4:05

And so if we aren't going to get more personnel to do more great work, meaning adding to our capacity, we need to do what we do more efficiently.

4:15

And so to issue NOFAs systematically once a year with intention, I think is the most efficient way that I have come up with to achieve the goals that this council has as far as being accessible and getting information out to the community, receiving good proposals, and doing the best possible work we can in the community.

4:36

So again, thank you for allowing us this time to talk today.

4:44

About this direction.

4:50

Okay, sorry.

5:03

So HUD is federal, HCD is state funding, we do it with intention, we do do it based on the plans that are developed, both five-year plans and annually, each annual action plan is where we set the goals and we break down of the amount of monies we're due to receive from state and federal funding where we're going to put the percentages and amounts of funding.

5:31

Sorry, we're do you want me to pause?

5:33

It looks like we're having problems with our granicus, right?

5:36

I can I can hold yeah, we can't none of us can get it over, just letting you know.

5:41

But luckily we have printed copies, yes you okay.

5:46

So just to talk about um the requirements and expectations, just briefly, the things that go into a NOFA from uh whether depending on which entity uh federal or state is it their funds are being put out, the kinds of things we're looking for, and they are pretty um consistent as far as organizational capacity.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████25%
Procurement Process████████████████████████24%
Homelessness████████████████████████24%
Public Engagement███████████11%
Affordable Housing██████6%
Procedural███3%
Community Engagement██2%
Nonprofit Capacity Building█1%
Transportation Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Stockton City Council Special Study Session - October 6, 2025

This special study session of the Stockton City Council was held on Monday, October 6, 2025, from 3:31 PM to 5:23 PM. The meeting focused on two informational items: the Notice of Funding Available (NOFA) process and a proposed Stockton Safe Grounds 1-2-3 Model for addressing homelessness. No formal votes or actions were taken; the session was intended for discussion and feedback.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Mary Elizabeth thanked the council for holding the study session, noted that community lighting issues have been addressed, and encouraged use of the Ask Stockton tool. She later suggested recording Community Development Committee meetings and posting materials 72 hours in advance, and proposed that eligible applicants give public presentations as part of scoring.
  • Pat Barrett advocated for recording workshops, suggested improvements to the reading room process (e.g., scheduling visits), and emphasized the need for deeper training on housing finance, including matching funds and tax credits. He also recommended allowing a brief grace period during technical review for missing documents.

Discussion Items

  • Item 3.1: NOFA Process – Director of Economic Development Tina McCarty presented an overview of the city's effort to systematize the NOFA process, including annual issuance, mandatory workshops, technical review, and objective scoring. Key topics included organizational capacity requirements (e.g., separation of duties), conflict of interest risks, financial readiness, and the challenge of monitoring compliance. Councilmembers discussed the need for clearer communication with applicants, the value of recording workshops, and the desire to improve the reading room access for council review. The scoring breakdown for housing projects was shared (e.g., 5% weight for financial readiness as a tiebreaker).
  • Item 3.2: Stockton Safe Grounds 1-2-3Model – Councilmember Michele Padilla presented a three-option model for unsheltered residents: (1) directing individuals to existing services (e.g., St. Mary's Shelter, Gospel Rescue Mission); (2) a low‑barrier safe sleeping/parking site run by a contracted operator; (3) voluntary relocation assistance for those from outside Stockton. She stressed the need for partnerships with nonprofits and community‑based organizations, and noted lessons learned from visits to San Diego and Modesto. Councilmembers expressed strong support but raised questions about police presence, site placement (not concentrating in one district), and coordination with county resources. The discussion included the importance of pet services and tough‑love enforcement.

Key Outcomes

  • The NOFA presentation resulted in council feedback but no action; a formal vote on the proposed NOFA process is scheduled for the November4 ,2025 city council meeting.
  • The Safe Grounds1-2-3model was received as informational; Councilmember Padilla will continue working with staff, United Way, and other stakeholders to refine the proposal and seek funding sources. No immediate actions were taken.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to our special study session of the Stockton City Council on today, Monday, October 6th. Let's go ahead and do roll call. Councilmember Padilla? Present. Councilmember Ponce is absent. Councilmember Blauer? Present. Councilmember Enriquez. President. Councilmember Via Pudua. President. Vice Mayor Lee. President. Mayor Fugazi. Present. We have a quorum. Okay, moving on then to a public comment. I think I know we have at least one card. No? No cards? Wait, wait. I'm waiting. There it is. There it is. Four minutes. Okay. Mary Elizabeth. So I uh thank uh the council for having uh this agenda in the special study session to consider this uh important matters. And uh I just would like to uh congratulate everybody on uh having uh the lights in our community. So those areas in our community that have gotten lights, you know, and you're driving around and you see the lights, you it makes it very noticeable when there are no lights. And so uh we'll be uh working on that as Stockton, and thank you, uh Councilmember Padilla for encouraging people to use Ast Stockton to get those dark places lit up with the love of our community. Thank you. That's it. Yes, Mayor. Okay. Moving on then. So uh 3.1 notice of funding available process, otherwise known as NOFA. Good afternoon, Ms. McCarty. Good afternoon. Organized here. Uh so first let me start. Tina McCarty, uh, Director of Economic Development. Um let me first start by thanking everyone for taking the time to come for this separate meeting. Uh it is a very important topic, and it's one that I was pushing for to get the opportunity to speak with the full council about because over the course of the last six to seven months, we've brought forward economic development has brought forward different allocation recommendations to you as a council, and um comments have been made about not either understanding or not liking our NOFA process. And so we are working hard to become very systematic in how we do our NOFA process. And a lot of that I will um take the burden and um I I'll take the burden as to I'm the one that's pushing our department to get organized so that we are annually um we are moving in an annual direction, meaning we're or we are issuing a NOFA for the affordable housing annually, annually at the same time of the year, as well as um a secondary NOFA for the services that we need the community services when we're putting grant funding out. And the reason that I'm pushing for that as far as being an annual and intentional one, I want it to be the same time of the year so that our community and um those that are interested in competing for these funds know when to expect and about what time this um these NOFAs should come out. Secondarily, um, you know, we work very hard in the economic development department, as does everyone in the city, uh, and we're not necessarily um being successful financially at getting additional positions, and yet the workload continues. And so if we aren't going to get more personnel to do more great work, meaning adding to our capacity, we need to do what we do more efficiently.

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