Walnut Creek and welcome to the Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 special meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council.

This special meeting is called for the purpose of interviewing commission candidates.

Under California law, public comments and special meetings are limited to subjects on the agenda only.

Therefore, public comments will be received at this time related to interviews of commission candidates.

After an opportunity for public comment, the city council will conduct the commission interviews.

Commission interviews will not be video recorded but can be viewed in person.

And I think that's it.

So we're going to adjourn now and go to our interviews.

Okay.

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 lectern, 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.

All right, good evening.

I'm Kevin Wilk, Mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, and welcome to the Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 regular meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council.

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

Pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and Judy Republic for which it stands.

Individual liberty and the justice for all.

And City Clerk Susie Martinez, would you please call the roll?

Councilmember Darling.

Here.

Councilmember DeVinny.

Here.

Councilmember Silva.

Here.

Mayor Protein Francois.

Here.

Mayor Welk.

Here.

All right.

For our first item, I would like to invite members of the African American Friends Club of Rossmoor, including Mary Taylor and Debbie Thomas, program manager with A3 Behavioral Health Crisis Services of Contra Costa Health, and come forward to accept the proclamation.

The proclamation for everybody here is going to be the Black History Month and African American Mental Health Awareness Week and the A3 Crisis Response Program update.

And I'm going to join you tonight.

So we have a proclamation here, and I'm so glad I'm going to extend here.

And uh so, whereas during Black History Month, we celebrate the many achievements and contributions made by Black Americans in our economic, cultural, spiritual, and political development.

Black History Month grew out of the 1926 establishment of Negro History Week by Carter Woodson and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

The observance of Black History Month calls our attention to the continued need to battle racism and build a society that lives up to its democratic ideals.

And the City of Walnut Creek is proud to honor and celebrate the contributions of black history black Americans in our community who have indelibly shaped our history.

And whereas, according to the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, some mental illnesses are more prevalent in the black American community as compared to other groups in the United States.

Mental health and substance use issues and the devastating impact of COVID-19 are among the leading causes of health challenges for Black Americans in our region.

And the City of Walnut Creek is committed to empowering black American residents by promoting the benefits of mental health services through education, advocacy, policy development, raising awareness, and decreasing the stigma surrounding mental health.

And whereas the City of Walnut Creek collaborates with local government agencies and community-based organizations to support the innovative A3 mobile crisis response housed in Contra Costa Health Services to expand resources enhancing mental health in the Black American American community, and the City of Walnut Creek supports and encourages the efforts made to create the Miles Hall Community Crisis Hub as an easily accessible regional contact center for people experiencing a mental health crisis.

The City of Walnut Creek supports efforts for local organization to honor those who are who are or have been suffering from mental illness and supports efforts to strengthen families and their role in sharing history and shaping the future of our black residents.

What I like to do is if you both have a few words that you would like to say, please do, and then we'll take a picture.