OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Walnut Creek City Council Special and Regular Meeting - February 3, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, February 3, 2026
BodyWalnut Creek, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, February 3, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:20:34
Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Good afternoon.

0:01

I'm Kevin Wilk, mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, and welcome to the Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 special meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council.

0:10

This special meeting is called for the purpose of holding a closed session related to the following conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation.

0:17

Under California law, public comments at special meetings are limited to subjects on the agenda only, and therefore public comments will be received at this time for the item previously mentioned.

0:27

After an opportunity for public comment, hold your horses there, the city council will reconvene for the closed session discussion.

0:34

And seeing no public comment or public, we'll adjourn for now and go to our closed session.

1:08

I'm Kevin Wilk, Mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, and welcome to the regular meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council.

1:15

The City Council is conducting this meeting from the City Council chamber.

1:19

This meeting is being video streamed and can be viewed live or later on the city's website.

1:26

As some attendees may be participating in their first Walnut Creek City Council meeting, I wanted to welcome everyone and talk briefly about the public comment process.

1:35

For each agenda item, there will be an opportunity for public comment on the item.

1:41

Thus, if you desire to speak to an item on the agenda this evening, please hold your comments until the city council considers that item.

1:48

Additionally, we have a section on the agenda titled Public Communications, which is for public comments for items not on the agenda.

1:56

Any comments during public communication should not relate to an item that is on the agenda this evening.

2:02

Consistent with section 9.5 of the city council handbook, 30 minutes will be initially allocated for public communications for items not on the agenda.

2:11

Additional time for public communications for items not on the agenda will be provided at the end of the open session portion of the meeting if necessary.

2:21

If you desire to provide a public comment, please complete a speaker identification card and line up behind the lectern at the appropriate time.

2:29

Wait your turn, and then when you approach the lector, please state your name and city of residence for the record.

2:35

You will have two minutes to address the city council.

2:38

Please keep in mind that this is a city business meeting.

2:42

The City Council has adopted rules of decorum to ensure that meetings are conducted efficiently and effectively, and that all members of the public have a full, fair, and equal opportunity to be heard.

2:54

The city council handbook outlines decorum expected in the council chamber and can be found on our website.

3:01

All remarks should be addressed to the city council.

3:04

Please do not use threatening, profane, or abusive language, which disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the council meeting.

3:14

Again, each speaker will have two minutes to make your remarks.

3:18

Written comments submitted and received up to two hours before the meeting have been posted to the city's website for public review and are included in the meeting record, but will not be separately read into the record.

3:33

I'm so happy we have that video, and I don't have to speak for 10 minutes in a row.

3:38

All right.

3:39

Well, well good evening.

3:40

I'm Kevin Wilk, Mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, and welcome to the Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 regular meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council.

3:48

And if you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

4:11

Council Member Darling.

4:12

I'm here.

4:13

Councilmember Devini.

4:14

Here.

4:14

Councilmember Silva.

4:15

Here.

4:15

Mayor Pro Tem Francois.

4:17

Here.

4:17

Mayor Welk.

4:18

Here.

4:19

Alright.

4:20

First item of business is a proclamation for American Heart Month.

4:25

And I invite Narissa Ichon with the American Heart Association to come forward and accept the proclamation.

4:33

You can just come to the desk.

4:34

Hi there.

4:34

I hear it's okay.

4:36

Perfect.

4:37

Alright, and uh so this is a pro as I mentioned, proclamation for American Heart Month.

4:41

And we know that the that whereas there's more than 350,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year, and about 70% happen at home.

4:51

Only about one in ten survive, and more than 23,000 children under the age of 18 experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year in the United States, and almost 40% of these are sports related.

4:59

And without going into all of the different details here, but like Kevin Wilk, the mayor of the city of Walnut Creek on behalf of the Walnut Creek City Council to hereby proclaim the month of February American Heart Month.

5:14

And I'm going to bring this up there, and then if you'd like to say a few words.

5:30

I'm from the American Heart Association Bay Areas team.

5:34

We're just really proud to accept this proclamation, especially in recognition of February as American Heart Month.

5:41

We're really proud to have supported the City of Walnut Creek's 2021 tobacco retail license ordinance and to have hosted our annual East Bay Heart Walk just across the street at Civit Park for multiple years.

5:54

In this second century of impact, we're continuing to expand our nation of lifesavers and spreading the powerful message that until first responders arrive, you are the first responder.

6:04

So as a Walnut Creek resident, we are really encouraging other fellow Walnut Creek residents to learn CPR and know to call 911 when uh in the event of a cardiac emergency.

6:17

So thank you again.

6:19

We gratefully accept this proclamation and thanks to the city of Walnut Creek for its continued support of our work.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████60%
Environmental Protection█████████12%
Fiscal Sustainability██████8%
Procedural████5%
Parks and Recreation████5%
Public Safety███4%
Personnel Matters██3%
Equity in Transportation██2%
Youth Programs█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Walnut Creek City Council Special and Regular Meeting - February 3, 2026

On February 3, 2026, the Walnut Creek City Council held a special meeting at 4:30 PM for closed session (no reportable actions) followed by a regular meeting at 6:00 PM. The regular meeting included a proclamation for American Heart Month, administration of oaths to two new commissioners, approval of the consent calendar, public communications on multiple topics, council and staff announcements, and selection of applicants for 2026 commission appointments.

Proclamation & Oath of Office

  • Mayor Kevin Wilk proclaimed February 2026 as American Heart Month, accepting the proclamation on behalf of the American Heart Association. Narissa Ichon highlighted that over 350,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside hospitals annually and encouraged CPR training.
  • The City Clerk administered the oath of office to two new commissioners: Trent Neuhausel as alternate on the Board of Appeals and Edward Guerrero as a Transportation Commissioner. Guerrero noted his 30 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and 23 years in fire service.

Consent Calendar

  • Items 2a–2e were approved unanimously (5-0) without discussion. Key items included:
    • Award of Contract 25-09 for the 2026 Slurry Seal project to American Pavement Systems Inc. for a contract price of $844,089 with a contingency not to exceed $127,000 (total authorized $971,089), plus a transfer of $118,048 from other roadway funds.
    • Acceptance of work for Contract 24-14 (2025 Slurry Seal) as complete and authorization to file a Notice of Completion.
    • Approval of appropriation and transfer of $1,250,000 from Recycle Smart Diversion Incentive Funds to the capital budget for various parks projects.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Ellen Osmondson (founder of Mount Diablo Village) described the nonprofit’s activities for seniors, including walking groups and a membership/volunteer drive on February 25, 2026 (4–6 PM at Unitarian Universalist Church). She emphasized reconnecting seniors with the community.
  • Elizabeth Silva, Jessica Lee, Jan Warren, Jessica Keltman, and Lucilla Ishu – all parents of Bancroft Elementary students in the two-way dual immersion program – spoke against the Mount Diablo Unified School District’s decision to phase out the program at Bancroft and move kindergarten to Woodside Elementary in Concord. They asserted the decision was made without meaningful parent engagement, violated California’s Local Control and Accountability Plan requirements, and would disrupt families. They requested the council urge the district to pause and engage transparently. Councilmembers expressed concern and directed city staff to gather background information from the district.
  • Donald Paul Shivel described personal injuries from a 2012 workplace incident and alleged fraud and mistreatment in his workers’ compensation case. The mayor directed him to meet with Police Captain Slater after the meeting.
  • Jan Warren (also) praised the $1,250,000 transfer for the disability park project and asked about reuse of removed materials.

Councilmember & Staff Announcements

  • City Manager Dan Buckshi reported:
    • Attended the Cal Cities Governance, Transparency and Labor Relations Policy Committee; upcoming Brown Act amendments (SB 770) effective July 1, 2026, may add translation requirements.
    • On January 21, Contra Costa County OES hosted a training with representatives from all 19 cities.
    • On January 20, the County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to consider placing a 0.625% sales tax with a five-year sunset on the June 3 primary ballot to backfill $200–300 million in federal funding reductions from H.R. 1; formal vote on February 17.
  • Councilmember Silva reported:
    • RecycleSmart rates for Walnut Creek will increase 6% starting March 1, 2026, but remain the lowest in Contra Costa County.
    • She serves on the League of California Cities Revenue and Taxation Policy Committee, which discussed declining sales tax as a share of personal income due to non-taxable spending.
    • Sister Cities youth delegations from Italy and Hungary arriving late March; welcome reception March 30; recruiting for 2026–27 class is underway.
    • Community Service Day registration opens February 17, event April 18.
  • Councilmember Darling reported:
    • Upcoming Chamber events: State of the City (Feb 25) and Women’s Conference (March 3).
    • MCE (community choice energy) is planning to reduce electric rates after three years of no increase, pending budget approval.
  • Mayor Pro Tem Francois reported:
    • Attended Rossmoor board meeting; provided update on council priorities (public safety, parks, sustainability, general plan); residents interested in police staffing and traffic enforcement.
    • RecycleSmart franchise agreements extended to multifamily services.
  • Mayor Wilk reported on Cal Cities mayors conference and U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C., focusing on housing, infrastructure, and AI.

Discussion Items

  • Selection of Applicants for 2026 Commission Appointments (Item 5a)
    • Nine openings existed: one each on Arts Commission, Iron Horse Corridor Advisory Committee, and Board of Appeals; two each on Design Review Commission, Park Recreation and Open Space Commission, and Transportation Commission. 47 qualified candidates applied.
    • City Clerk Susie Martinez explained the standard practice of interviewing three candidates per opening via balloting.
    • Council voted unanimously to:
      • Interview all five applicants for Iron Horse Corridor Advisory Committee.
      • Interview all four applicants for Board of Appeals.
      • Interview the one applicant for Design Review Commission (an architect) and reach out to extend a current commissioner’s term or reopen recruitment for a landscape architect.
    • For Arts Commission (one opening), council voted to interview four candidates after balloting (top four received 4–5 votes).
    • For Park Recreation and Open Space Commission (two openings), initial balloting produced four candidates with 3+ votes and six with two votes. Council then voted to add two more from those six, resulting in seven candidates to interview.
    • For Transportation Commission (two openings), balloting produced six candidates (those with highest votes), all to be interviewed.
    • Interviews are scheduled for the February 17, 2026 council meeting.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar approved 5-0.
  • Commission interviews set for February 17: 5 for Iron Horse, 4 for Board of Appeals, 1 for Design Review (with plan to extend term or recruit), 4 for Arts, 7 for Park/Rec/Open Space, and 6 for Transportation.
  • Staff directed to contact Mount Diablo Unified School District regarding the Bancroft dual immersion program phase-out and report back to council.
  • No reportable actions from closed session.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon. I'm Kevin Wilk, mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, and welcome to the Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 special meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council. This special meeting is called for the purpose of holding a closed session related to the following conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation. Under California law, public comments at special meetings are limited to subjects on the agenda only, and therefore public comments will be received at this time for the item previously mentioned. After an opportunity for public comment, hold your horses there, the city council will reconvene for the closed session discussion. And seeing no public comment or public, we'll adjourn for now and go to our closed session. I'm Kevin Wilk, Mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, and welcome to the regular meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council. The City Council is conducting this meeting from the City Council chamber. This meeting is being video streamed and can be viewed live or later on the city's website. As some attendees may be participating in their first Walnut Creek City Council meeting, I wanted to welcome everyone and talk briefly about the public comment process. For each agenda item, there will be an opportunity for public comment on the item. Thus, if you desire to speak to an item on the agenda this evening, please hold your comments until the city council considers that item. Additionally, we have a section on the agenda titled Public Communications, which is for public comments for items not on the agenda. Any comments during public communication should not relate to an item that is on the agenda this evening. Consistent with section 9.5 of the city council handbook, 30 minutes will be initially allocated for public communications for items not on the agenda. Additional time for public communications for items not on the agenda will be provided at the end of the open session portion of the meeting if necessary. If you desire to provide a public comment, please complete a speaker identification card and line up behind the lectern at the appropriate time. Wait your turn, and then when you approach the lector, please state your name and city of residence for the record. You will have two minutes to address the city council. Please keep in mind that this is a city business meeting. The City Council has adopted rules of decorum to ensure that meetings are conducted efficiently and effectively, and that all members of the public have a full, fair, and equal opportunity to be heard. The city council handbook outlines decorum expected in the council chamber and can be found on our website. All remarks should be addressed to the city council. Please do not use threatening, profane, or abusive language, which disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the council meeting. Again, each speaker will have two minutes to make your remarks. Written comments submitted and received up to two hours before the meeting have been posted to the city's website for public review and are included in the meeting record, but will not be separately read into the record. I'm so happy we have that video, and I don't have to speak for 10 minutes in a row. All right. Well, well good evening. I'm Kevin Wilk, Mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, and welcome to the Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 regular meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council. And if you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Darling. I'm here. Councilmember Devini. Here. Councilmember Silva. Here. Mayor Pro Tem Francois. Here. Mayor Welk. Here. Alright. First item of business is a proclamation for American Heart Month. And I invite Narissa Ichon with the American Heart Association to come forward and accept the proclamation. You can just come to the desk. Hi there. I hear it's okay. Perfect. Alright, and uh so this is a pro as I mentioned, proclamation for American Heart Month. And we know that the that whereas there's more than 350,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year, and about 70% happen at home.

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