Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

today

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

today

Thank you.

No.

on the order of oh because he's not here

sit around

yes since you're on the who is it you are you again

all right now that most of the council members here are present

Councilmember Kerina Orozco is not here.

Call to order the November 19th meeting

of the City of West Sacramento, City Council, West Sacramento

Redevelopment Agency, and Finance Authority.

We will begin with the land acknowledgment.

We'd like to acknowledge that the land on which we live, work,

learn, and commune is the original homelands

of the indigenous people of West Sacramento,

who have stewarded this land throughout the generations.

We acknowledge and we thank the original inhabitants

who have occupied, maintained, and secured this place

and who still exist on this land.

We respect and celebrate the many diverse indigenous people

still connected to this land on which we gather.

Council met in closed session this evening.

Mr. City Attorney, can you present any updates?

The Council met in closed session for the three real estate

items listed on the agenda.

No reportable action was done.

Thank you.

And we would like to invite our guests

to join council and staff in the pledge.

And Ms. Victoria Cruz from your place,

can you please stand and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?

United States of America,

every college,

nation,

fiscal.

Thank you, Ms. Cruz.

As is noted on our agenda, City Council

is prohibited by state law from discussing or taking

any action on items that are brought up under item one

for public comment.

But it provides an important opportunity

for a public forum.

And the public is given an opportunity at this time

to address City Council and issues not listed on the agenda.

And if you have not done so yet and would like to speak

under this item, we request that all those interested in speaking

under item one, go to the request to speak cards

there at the corner and submit it to the clerk

if you would like to be called to speak under item one

on matters not on the agenda.

We accept the request to speak cards

up to the conclusion of the staff report

on any particular agenda item.

Once the staff report has been read

and we open the item up for public comment,

the clerk will announce your name for you

to walk to the podium to speak.

Now in front of the clerk, there is a timer

to ensure that everyone has a chance to be heard.

And we ask that all comments be limited to three minutes.

Also, in front of the clerk, an analog flip chart,

which indicates which agenda item the council

is currently considering.

We also recognize that for some, speaking in public

can cause anxiety.

So we request that there be no applause or boos, catcalls,

or other demonstrations.

Furthermore, so that we may maintain a civil discourse

here in the chambers, we ask that those in attendance

and those who address the city council abide by the code

of conduct posted and not speak in loud, threatening,

offensive, abusive, or otherwise disrespectful language

that disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes

the orderly conduct of the meeting.

So now this brings us to item one, presentations

by the public on matters not on the agenda

within the jurisdiction of the council.

Madam Clerk, are there any requests to speak?

Yes, ma'am.

Juan Gutierrez.

Mr. Gutierrez, can you please come up to the podium?

Is it too high for you?

Are you okay?

I can't hear you.

Is it too high for you?

Oh, probably.

Oh, there you go.

He's good.

Okay.

There you go.

That's even better.

All right.

Thank you.

Yeah.

All right.

Thank you.

yeah hi um thank you and good evening I wanted to speak a little bit about a

notice I received a couple of weeks ago from code enforcement it indicated to me

that the carport in front of my house was not permitted by the city code and I

reviewed the city code and sure enough structures most carports are not

allowed in the city of West Sacramento and I reviewed the code section title

17 specifically section 17 point 51 point zero two zero

and simply says that the structure any structure is any constructed or erected

anything constructed or erected which requires a location on the ground and

and there's anything in front of the house between the sidewalk and the house is prohibited.

You can't have a carport.

So I'm going to suggest to the council to add a sentence to that provision,

simply saying, for purposes of this code, a carport shall not be considered a structure.

And by definition, carports will be allowed.

And that's the end of my comments.

Good night.

Thank you.

Mark Campbell.

Honorable Mayor, members of the council,

thank you for letting me speak Aaron in a while my name is Mark Campbell I'm a

resident of the Rivers community I am currently a member of the HOA and on

their behalf I'm here speaking tonight as you may know the community of the

Rivers as originally developed had three core neighborhoods they differed in

terms of access to amenities and consequently with regard to their

assessments they included the homes on lighthouse the homes behind the gate and

the homes on watercolor watercourse there are 53 homes in the watercolor

watercourse community little niche neighborhood at the end of fifth as it

bends west into lighthouse. The streets inside the gate in watercolor and water

course are private streets and they do pay an assessment to maintain those

streets and the gates and some of the landscaping are pertinent to the gates.

At this time the HOA would like to consider the transfer of the private

streets watercolor and watercourse to the city. I'm here to ask the city

whether or not that's possible and what it would take to develop a proposal that

the HOA would put forward to the community for vote. In brief I think the

benefits to the city are of course the acquisition of private of the real

property and some portion of the HOA's reserve funds which are now dedicated to

the maintenance and repair of those streets and I think those funds could

help seed the city's long-term commitment. Secondly it would reduce the

fees for those 53 homes which are currently over $700 a year. Thirdly and

this to me is the most important it would support the HOA's effort to address

what I think is a structural disparity created by the original builders and

their foundation documents that has resulted in a few subsidizing the many

this situation is created a disunity within the community which only continues

grow. So I'm here to ask you to direct staff to work with the HOA board to

determine whether one this is possible and two what it would take to make this

mutually beneficial both the HOA and the city. With that I conclude. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Campbell. Guy Stevenson.

Mayor, city council members, I want to address this because it seems like it's a problem

and it could end up in court if I choose to do it.

I've repeatedly, repeatedly told you people not about VIA, it's about these food vendors

that are popping up everywhere.

I don't want them to get fined and it's not about race.

It's not that I'm trying to attack anybody based on their race.

It's about being compliant.

Having a license, having the health department check out their facility.

Because you cannot give people food and charge them when you can't keep the food at a certain temperature.

However, I've called environmental health out of Woodland.

They send it over here.

These people over here send it back.

So somebody has to be, you know, it has to be accountable.

Everybody that does business over here has to be compliant, licensed, checked out, especially when you're dealing with food.

Because food, you can get food poisoning and get really sick, and then you end up in a hospital with a bunch of medication.

And that's basically the reason why I'm here.

It's not that I want these people to get a ticket from code enforcement.

It has nothing to do with it.

It has to do with safety.

I don't want to see, because I saw some the other day when I was driving down the road.

They got igloos, but they have no way of keeping the temperature,

and food that's delivered to people has to be at a certain temperature.

Restaurants have to do it.

Why don't they?

I brought this up to Aaron.

I brought this up to other people and they just seemed that it's not that big of a deal.

It is when you get food poisoning and you end up in the ER.

And I checked when I was over at UC Davis the other day for treatment.

I asked him, how many people go through this ER with food poisoning?

And you'd be amazed on how many end up over there.

And it's partly because of food.

You know, food, bacteria grows rapidly when the food and the temperature of the food is not right.

I'm not trying to give anybody a hard time.

And like I said, it's not based on race or anything.

It's about being compliant.

And that's all I'm saying.

Thank you, ladies.

Have a good night.

We have no additional requests to speak on this item.

All right.

So next, we have presentations with the honored guests

who are here to receive them.

We will begin with the proclamation

recognizing recipients of the YOLO Community Foundation's 2025

YOLO Philanthropy Awards.

And today, we have Miss Victoria Cruz from West Sac Kids

Give Back and Patrice Griffith and her family here

for YOLO Food Bank.

And I'm going to read the proclamation

and also ask you if you can come on up

if you wanted to say a few remarks up here present.

And then just we'll go from there,

ask council members if they have a few remarks,

because we greatly appreciate all you're doing.

So we would like to have a few remarks.

And then I go down and take a photo.

So I will read the 2025 YOLO Philanthropy Award

recipients, whereas the mission of the YOLO Community Foundation

is to inspire and support giving and to provide

philanthropic leadership in the community,

connecting local residents, nonprofits, and donors

in service of the common good.

And whereas volunteers and donors

are essential to the success of nonprofits,

offering vital resources of money, expertise, and time

that make it possible for organizations

to achieve their missions.

And whereas these contributions directly

Advanced nonprofit sustainability and effectiveness,

ensuring essential services and opportunities

remain available to the community.

And whereas more than 15 years, the Yolo Community Foundation

has hosted the Yolo Philanthropy Awards

to celebrate and honor those whose generosity and service

have enriched countless lives and strengthened Yolo County.

And whereas in 2025, 38 local nonprofits

came together to recognize the extraordinary volunteers

donors who generously contribute their time skills and resources to improving

our community holding two recipients from West Sacramento and whereas the

Yolo County Children's Alliance recognized West Sac kids give back a

West Sacramento based nonprofit that hosts charitable donation drives and

encourages youth to learn the virtues of community service and whereas the Yolo

food bank has recognized West Sacramento resident Patrice Griffith for her

service on the food bank board of directors and her numerous contributions to food security in

yolo county including organizing the student farmers market at river city high school

now therefore be it proclaimed that the city of west sacramento city council congratulates west

sac kids give back and patrice griffith for their recognition at the yolo philanthropy awards and

and extends heartfelt appreciation for their work

in West Sacramento community.

So we applaud you and thank you so much

for all that you're doing.

And who would like to speak first?

Good evening, council members and community members.

My name is Carolina Valverde,

and I'm here on behalf of YOLO Community Foundation.

I wanted to express our deep gratitude

to the city of West Sacramento for this proclamation,

recognizing the West Sacramento residents who were recently honored at the Yolo Philanthropy Awards.

As you mentioned, the Philanthropy Awards celebrate the many ways residents across Yolo County work together for the greater good,

and West Sac consistently stands out for its culture of service and civic engagement.

We're proud to recognize the honorees from West Sac and that their example inspires others to get involved.

These honorees represent the best of West Sac, people who give generously of their time, talents, and resources to strengthen our community.

They remind us that philanthropy isn't just about giving money, it's about giving care and commitment.

Thank you again for shining a light on their contributions.

This recognition not only honors them, but strengthens the spirit of community that defines West Sacramento.

Thank you.

Good evening.

It's so awesome to be here with you guys.

It's been a while, but I have been busy.

And I just want to thank you guys for this acknowledgement.

It just goes above and beyond what was already done that evening as a recipient of that award.

And really, furthermore, I want to thank you for supporting along this food insecurity journey.

Because three, four years ago, when I heard about the high rate of food insecurity in West Sacramento

and that West Sacramento did have the highest rate of food insecurity in the state of California,

I felt that I had to do something and that was the student farmers market at River City and I had so

many partners in the community and in our city of West Sacramento want to join in and support that

and from there it grew exponentially and that that's actually how I ended up on the board

so for Yellow Food Bank but thank you so much for the acknowledgement and I thoroughly enjoy

everything that I do with each and every one of you and with our community as a whole.

I want to thank you guys too for the acknowledgement.

It's been an honor to do the West Sac Kids in the last 10 years.

We're taking a break this year, but we'll be back doing it again.

So just want to thank you.

And remarks from our council members?

Anybody like to start?

Go ahead.

I'll happily go.

Okay.

So, Council Member Rosecoe could not be here tonight.

So I am going to read her comments.

So you get a two for one this evening.

So, Council Member Orozco is terribly saddened that she could not be here tonight to personally

give comments on this matter.

However, she wanted me to relay the following message.

This is not doing service to Karina because she is so good speaking, and I am all over

the place right now, so I apologize.

Sorry, Karina.

Please forgive me.

Okay, let's start again.

Thank you, Yolo Community Foundation, for requesting this proclamation on behalf of Patrice Griffith and West Sac Kids Give Back.

With respect to West Sac Kids Give Back, this long-term effort began a little over 11 years ago after a routine trip to our city's beloved city donut in the heart of West Sacramento.

Me and my very young two little boys were excited, were exiting the shop when we encountered one of our unhoused residents sleeping in the streets in the cold morning.

My four-year-old boy wanted to help him, and I needed to find a positive and child-friendly manner in which to show him how to give back to our community and help others.

The following week, I approached his kindergarten classroom and asked some of the parents if they would be interested in participating.

Four women raised their hands.

That is how the effort West Sac Kids Give Back was born.

Together, the small group of local West Sac moms have spent countless hours on weekends helping children become inspired to find the goodness in their community.

They do so by creating the experience from school supply drives to feminine hygiene products to yarn collection events and our personal hygiene care package donations drop off at annual event.

This is all parent volunteer based.

We do it because we love our community and want our children to see service to their community as part of their lives.

After 10 years, the children are now teens and still find ways to serve others in even the smallest ways.

They, along with thousands of other children in the community over the years, have truly

made a difference in the lives of others.

This just goes to show that even our youngest members of our community can make the biggest

impact.

Tonight, one of the hardest working individuals on our team, Victoria Cruz, will be in attendance.

While I'm terribly saddened to not be here with you tonight, I wish to express my gratitude

to the YOLO Community Foundation for honoring both Patrice Griffith and West Sac Kids Give

Back for their commitment to this mighty little community.

West Sacramento is a wonderful place to live, work, and play

because of individuals like these who give their hearts and souls,

bring the magic to create a better West Sacramento.

Yes.

Did I?

You did.

You landed in the way.

Okay, I'll be very brief.

I just want to thank you so much for everything that you do.

And you said that philanthropy, you know,

give care and commitment but I thought of another word and it was hope so thank you

so um I remember my first kids give back event um it was it was actually many years ago um with my

son who was then a teenager and my young daughter um and the years following in which we brought

out our Girl Scouts. And there has just been such a positivity around allowing kids and teaching

kids the joy, the purpose of philanthropy and how important that is to give back to your community,

right? Because collectively that makes us strong when we're united. And so I can't say how much

I appreciate you all for doing that work. I know that sometimes it can probably feel, you know,

unappreciated, but I hope you know how much not only our kids have appreciated you, but also our

entire community and just being able to rally around that. I would also be remiss if I didn't

talk about the work of Yolo Food Bank, particularly in light of the recent government shutdown and how

much our food banks have had to, quite frankly, step in and step up as our government decided to

step out and step back. And the amount of pressure that that added to you all to these organizations,

and how much of our resources were drained during that time. It is not as if the government is going

to now say, okay, thank you so much for filling in the gap for giving those resources for giving

out those dollars to the community when they needed it when they needed food, those are gone.

and so thank you so much for the work that you guys do to ensure that our most

vulnerable are taken care of because you need to be able to meet your basic needs

and as a community we know that no one should go hungry and that no child should

go hungry in our community and so thank you so much

thank you council members WESAC kids give up give back has been such a

a tremendous momentum of kindness giving,

teaching our kids the important values that

is going to be giving us back for years to come.

What it is to be a kind and caring community,

and all the events that brought us together

have been just tremendous.

I have found it to be a community connectivity event,

seeing so many people so excited to do something kind

and to give back to our community.

And so thank you so much, Victoria, for being here.

I know Councilmember Orozco was really sad

about not being able to make it.

I was even going to try to call her up and you could speak.

We wanted her presence here because she's

been a major contributor to this.

And I think the community, for all those that

have been recipients of the little gift bags

and the contributions that everybody has given

are indebted to all of you.

So thank you so much for doing that.

And for YOLO Food Bank, to my colleague Patrice,

we have taken a look at an opportunity for a grant

together.

That was an inspiration.

You inspired me to both of us put the hours together,

the number of hours of drafting a grant request.

Not that I know for sure we'll get it.

But it's because a lot of the background

was what kind of work has been done.

And all of that is as a result of your work, Patrice,

and your family who have contributed that kind of put

us in a position to be able to elevate.

We have more work to do.

And the work will be to continue to increase enrollment

now that we have public charge, going

to scare many immigrant families who have not just

documented citizen children who are

going to feel discouraged.

And that education component that just working with Yola

Food Bank to apply for benefits.

CalFresh, as we know, is going to be cut significantly.

We're going to see seniors cut, children not

being able to access CalFresh benefits, adults.

A lot of those individuals who are receiving shelter

from the city are not going to be able to receive

CalFresh benefits.

So that starts as of this month, even though we

saw the shutdown.

The ongoing impact from HR1 as a result of the shutdown

bill getting approved is putting into place in motion.

The cutbacks now.

So that is a heavy impact.

Your work is going to triple.

our resources and support that we need to provide

to our community, we're going to, all of us here,

continue to push out requests for donations and support.

So just thank you so much.

That very unique program, I was able to go and participate

in the high school distribution and speaking

with the teachers after about the lack of food

in students' homes and how the children come to school

hungry, and they go home because they didn't get a chance.

They may have a meal during the day,

but they're going to go home hungry.

So you provided them with a little grocery bag

so they can cook along with the little recipes that

came with the grocery bag.

So that was a very warm touch.

And it was done in such a way that all the students

were having fun, not feeling stigmatized to receive

a grocery bag.

And it was beautifully displayed.

So thank you so much for your hard work.

We're going to just continue this work together,

no matter what happens to the grant requests.

I learned a lot in this process.

And you're right.

We are socioeconomically the poorest of the entire state.

And so the demand is here in West Sacramento,

especially in Brighton Broderick area,

where we know that people are going

to be in definite demand.

And we are seeing, from what we've

been able to tell at the food bank lines,

that people from Sacramento are coming here too.

And it's just tragic to see that there is hunger all around

when there is so much food available that people can access,

but they're not able to access it except through the food bank

and all the hard work you do.

So thank you so much.

And we're going to go down and take a photo at this point.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

next we will move on to our proclamation of the west sacramento city council recognizing the 75th

anniversary of yolo county housing and mr eon evans and company council member early will be

presenting proclamation come on down all right i'll start with the proclamation and then we'd

love to hear some words from you all right uh so the city of west sacramento recognizing the 75th

anniversary of Yolo County Housing, whereas the Housing Authority of the County of Yolo,

also known as Yolo County Housing, YCH, has provided 75 years of service delivering safe,

affordable housing and fostering community development for low-income families,

seniors, people with disabilities, and migrant agricultural workers.

And whereas during the 1980s, YCH added 431 affordable housing units at Riverbend in West

Sacramento and El Rio BS3 in winters, serving approximately 920 residents countywide.

And whereas following the Housing Act amendments that created the Section 23 Leased Housing Program,

YCH implemented the Section 8 program in 1974, which evolved into the Housing Choice Voucher program in the 1990s.

And whereas YCH is authorized to administer 2,005 vouchers serving about 3,000 participants throughout Yolo County, providing assistance that enables economically disadvantaged households to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing.

And whereas YCH operates three migrant centers with 232 seasonal housing units serving approximately 831 agricultural workers and their families.

And whereas YCH and New Hope Community Development Corporation jointly own, operate, and manage multiple affordable housing communities serving approximately 450 individuals in West Sacramento.

And whereas, YCH remains a vital resource for Yolo County residents, providing housing assistance and supportive services that promote stability and self-sufficiency.

And whereas, the dedication of past and present commissioners, executive directors, staff, and volunteers has been central to YCH's enduring success and its lasting impact on the community.

Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the West Sacramento City Council congratulates the Housing Authority of the County of Yolo on its 75th anniversary and extends heartfelt appreciation and best wishes for continued success, proclaimed this 19th day of November.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Mayor Guerrero, Councilmembers, Ian Evans, Executive Director for Yolo County Housing and President and CEO of New Hope Community Development Corporation.

I have our housing program manager with us, Anissa Vallejo, tonight.

Council Member Early serves on our board, so she knows brevity is not my strong suit.

I have one paragraph for each year we've been in operation.

Just kidding.

I do have a few words to say, if you'll bear with me.

So thank you, City Council and City staff.

Housing is foundational.

It's foundational to health, education, economic opportunity, and community well-being.

We currently have 620 vouchers leased in West Sacramento.

And with an average per unit cost of $1,100 a month, this means that not only we're ensuring 620 households have a roof over their head every single night,

it also means that we're supporting West Sacramento landlords to the tune of $680,000 monthly, which is funding going directly into the local economy.

We also have 139 public housing units in West Sacramento at our River Bend and Las Casitas properties,

and we own, operate, manage, or support an additional 102 units in West Sacramento,

meaning that total, we currently provide housing for more than 860 households in West Sacramento.

We're proud that we've been able to accomplish so much these last few years in the city.

Thanks to funding from Supervisor Vixie Sandy, we were able to add a new outdoor community gathering space

at our River Bend Manor public housing site, which includes a new gazebo, table and chairs,

walking path, and trees planted with the help of Tree Davis and Washington Middle College

high school students.

At the same complex, we just recently completed a $1.5 million roof and HVAC replacement project,

replacing roofs that were more than 30 years old and upgrading the HVAC system to more

energy efficient systems.

In the past five years in West Sacramento, we've seen more than 100 new project-based

voucher units get constructed through the 1801 West Capitol and the huddle

projects and we're incredibly excited to break ground next year on our 641 5th

Street project where New Hope Community Development Corporation in partnership

with the operative office and Brinshore development will be building 36 new

units of affordable multi-family housing with all rental units having project

based vouchers from Yolo County housing we're so grateful to the city of West

Sacramento for their ongoing support of that project which without the city's

support would not have been possible. We also have two programs, the Family

Self-Sufficiency Program and the Housing Choice Voucher Home Ownership Program

that help individuals and households create long-term success and economic

opportunity. The last two years we've been working hard to expand both of

these programs and I'm excited to share that last year we had an HCV West

Sacramento participant take advantage of the home ownership program and purchase

a home here in West Sacramento. So now their voucher payments are going to pay

their mortgage rather than their rent. This year we had another West Sacramento

individual graduate from our family self-sufficiency program and received

over $12,000 from the escrow account they had built up upon their graduation that

they hope to use towards home ownership in the future.

We're also working to install six EV charging stations between our River Bend

and Las Casitas properties with funding secured from PG&E that should be online

later this year or early in 2026. With this EV charger project investments in

our current properties like the roof and HVAC project mentioned and new affordable

housing developments like the 641 5th Street project come into fruition we're

preparing for our next 75 years I'd be remiss if I didn't take an opportunity

to honor our staff annually at our October Commission meeting we honor our

staff members who have been with Yolo County Housing for more than 10 years

and this year we honored 14 staff members with a combined 287 years of

experience without our staff none of what we do would be possible they've

They've helped us succeed for these past 75 years

and will ensure our success for the next 75.

On behalf of Yolo County Housing and our whole team,

thank you to the council and the city for this resolution,

for your support and your ongoing collaboration.

Thank you.

And did you want to say, okay.

All right, any thoughts?

Yep.

Councilman?

I'm just gonna say thank you again for doing this.

My mother would tell me stories of when she was growing up.

She was born in 1935.

And where they lived, families didn't get this type of help.

She would tell me that my grandfather,

even though he worked very hard, just couldn't afford a decent.

And there were seven in her family.

No electricity, no heating, not even insulation in the houses.

And they often got sick from exposure

either to really cold weather or just the heat.

and I think I think what really made it worse was just feeling desperate

sometimes but they were never gonna see anything better in their lives things of

course change that great but it took many years and I'd hate to think you know

she would often tell me that other children would maybe you know point that

that they were you know poor kids in the neighborhood and they weren't as

valuable as others.

So programs like this give people, it uplifts them.

It gives them the sense of purpose.

And what you're doing is much more than just providing

safe housing.

It really goes to the core of the spirit of elevating people.

So thank you again.

75 years, that's an incredible amount of time.

That's a diamond anniversary.

I don't have any diamonds for you, so I apologize.

I sit on the Executive Commission to Address Homelessness,

and we heard from Yelp County Housing on the strategic plan.

We had it again at council.

And I am so impressed with the organization

and the work that you do,

not only to provide housing but create community

and the work that staff does

to make sure that people's basic needs are met.

And your staff is loving and caring,

and it's just incredible what you do.

And it's wonderful when I get to hear stories

about how our staff connect,

and we are able to do things together

and move really fast, and projects come to council,

and we get them approved.

And, you know, I think West Sacramento

can be incredibly nimble,

but we always need partners that can be nimble too.

And you are absolutely an incredible partner.

And so thank you for the work you do.

It's wonderful when you can come and be recognized for this.

Because I know this is hard work.

It's emotional.

And there's still so much need.

There's so many people on a waiting list to get housed.

And I know everybody on your staff feels that daily.

And so thank you for all of the work that you do.

And thank you for being here tonight.

That was beautiful.

Yeah.

Um, so I want to make sure that I think the team and, and, and thank that as well. Um,

I had a chance to actually be part of the hiring committee for you a couple of years ago,

and it has just been so amazing to see what we've been able to get done as an organization

in such a short amount of time. I love getting stuff done, particularly when it comes to helping

people in need. Oftentimes, government moves slow for several reasons. And that's probably the most

frustrating thing for me sitting up here. It was the most frustrating thing as a government worker,

because while we're moving slow, there are people who are unhoused that are falling into desperate

situations. And we can do something about that. And so I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I appreciate

your innovation around getting creative around finding funding.

As we know, things have gotten tight at the federal level.

And so appreciate the partnership in finding grants and tagging us in as well for us to

be able to step up.

Housing, I think for West Sacramento, affordable housing is in particular important to us.

I know that at least for me and my colleagues, one of our values is that no matter where

you are in your development or in your journey. We want West Sacramento to be a place that you can

come back to. If you were raised here and you're coming back and you've graduated from college,

we want a place that you can afford to live. And the same thing goes for our seniors. And I think

that's what this offers. Many people know my story. I came here because we had affordable housing.

I had many places in Davis that my family stayed that were absolutely low income, and we needed that.

Obviously, similar to what Council Member Ocala said, I'm no longer at that point, but I have not forgotten the hardship.

And then the last thing I would say is just for our kids.

For housing, oftentimes it's hard for kids to be able to focus when they don't know where they're going to be able to go back to, where they're going to be able to rest their head or study for school.

And so this is so important.

I've had an opportunity to tour all of our affordable housing units in West Sacramento.

And I can say that they really are a place that we can be proud of and that families can have dignity, have stability.

And that's just so important to our community.

So thank you very much.

Well, Ian, you are sitting at a legacy of success.

And you've just described it really well, the history

and what has been accomplished, not only just here

in West Sacramento, but in Yolo County.

You know, I think Lisa Baker is a person who I've known well

over the years and has helped us weave together

are delicately funding sources together with Aaron,

who is an expert in this area.

So Aaron's expertise, not only just here in West Sacramento,

but in other cities.

And with our team, with Raul, Huerta, and others here

in the city who are priority as a result of this council,

who knows that affordable housing and access to the housing,

whether it be a shelter or supportive services,

is essential for the success.

But adding on top of what you've provided there,

just building personal wealth so you can have permanent,

you know, a home where you can permanently live

and call your own.

And so I applaud you and your team

for carrying this torch and this legacy, moving it forward.

Great hire, you know, Council Member Early.

I'm going to take you.

And to your entire team who continues to thrive

and make this, where I've been hearing from a lot of people,

we're very successful.

Making it a pro-housing designation

has been just the number of policy changes that

have happened since 2020.

And we're going to continue to do the work, which is just,

I have an idea of something I'm going to be touring this Friday.

It's the 3D home project.

So just to share with you, in case you wanted

to take a look at that, we're going

to continue to build and make it affordable so that we can

pass on that affordability onto our constituents.

So thank you so much for all your work.

And I'm going to go down and take the photo now.

Yeah.

You want to do?

Yep.

We'll do.

All right, we have Buena Vista Rancheria member here

that we can include.

Native American is Native American.

All right, we'll start out with our next proclamation is,

let's see, where is it on?

Presentation recognizing November 2025

as Native American Heritage Month.

Yes, now you get it.

Yes.

And if there are any other Native American members

here in our community, it could be anybody,

we would welcome you to share a few words

and receive the proclamation.

And Mayor Procham-Sopizio-Hul is

going to read the presentation.

Thank you.

So I just wanted to let everybody know

that representatives from the Yochodehe-Wintem Nation

were planning to attend tonight, but due to unanticipated

circumstances, they are unable.

So we'll read the proclamation.

and then if you'd like to share a few words,

and then we'll take a photo this evening.

So proclamation of the West Sacramento City Council

recognizing November 2025 as Native American Heritage

Month.

Whereas Native American Heritage Month

has been established at the national and state levels

with proclamations and celebrations

to recognize the diverse culture, traditions,

history, significant contributions,

and present day lives of Native Americans.

Whereas the city of West Sacramento

was established in 1987 within an area of California

that represented an unceded territory of indigenous people

known as the Patwin or Southern Wintom.

And whereas the earliest historic written records

of the Patwin began with the Spanish mission explorations

and the registers, and ethno-historic records

show that the Patwin inhabited land

from the hills of the eastern North Coast range

to the Sacramento River and from Princeton South

to the San Pablo and Sassoon Bays.

And whereas, like most indigenous people throughout the United States, the Patwin were forced from their ancestral lands onto reservations and rancherias during the early 1900s, where they currently reside as citizens of three sovereign, federally recognized tribal governments, today known as Yochodehe Wintom Nation, Pleistel Dehe Band of Wintom Indians, and the Kisil Dehem Band of Wintom Indians.

and whereas the city has a meaningful government to government relationship

with the Yochodehe Wintem Nation and works in partnership to address the needs of the community

and improve the lives of people who live within their respective jurisdictions today

and whereas the city was honored to collaborate with Yochodehe Wintem Nation

and local residents last year to rename two streets to replace the

offensive SQ term and whereas Native people have made and continue

to make distinct and significant contributions in many fields including

academics agriculture art business education ecology engineering environmentalism forestry

government language leadership literature mathematics medicine music politics poetry

science and traditional cultural practice and whereas the city discourages any and all forms

of racial slurs names or imagery that depict indigenous people as mascots or logos in

educational institutions sports teams or any other organization within the city and whereas

the city will encourage its citizens to acknowledge and celebrate november as native american history

month every year to foster education relationships and cooperation with native people while also

supporting social and economic opportunities for them within the city of west sacramento and yolo

county now therefore be proclaimed that the city council of the city of west sacramento does hereby

recognize the month of november 2025 as native american heritage month proclaim this 19th day of

of November 2025.

I would like to thank you for acknowledging

Native American Heritage Month.

I am very proud that I have my birthday

in Native American Heritage Month.

But for me, every day is Native American heritage.

Want to acknowledge the tribal peoples of this area.

I also want to acknowledge the river that connects all of our tribal peoples to this area.

So we have the Miwok that were here, because I grew up here.

We have, you know, you have Shingle Springs.

You have Wilton.

You have Ione.

You have Auburn, which are my cousins.

And so you have all these tribes that are surrounding us, which is so powerful.

And that river is what connects us all, which is amazing.

I look forward to seeing that museum.

I just want to also acknowledge during Native American Heritage

Month, while people celebrate Thanksgiving,

we celebrate something a little bit different.

We have missing and murdered indigenous peoples

that we're still looking for.

And so just taking a moment to send prayers out

for all those missing people.

that.

Just say some prayers for that.

Also want to acknowledge that while we were the First Peoples,

we were one of the last to get voting rights.

Not until 1924 did tribal people get the right to vote,

which is kind of crazy, right?

I mean, we're the First Peoples, but yeah,

we're the last to get.

Anyways, also want to just acknowledge

that you mentioned the termination periods.

Yes, terminations was awful for tribes

because what ended up happening is many of our tribes,

while we were recognized, then they decided

that we were unrecognized and they terminated our tribes,

which resulted in the loss of many of our lands.

And so the reservations that you see now

are just scattered pieces of what was much bigger

than what it is now.

So all those lands that have been lost.

And then the struggle for our native peoples

that fight for that recognition,

and then they fight for that recognition

and then end up only with either scattered pieces of land

or no land at all.

So there's some serious struggles with our tribes,

but I just want to acknowledge all of our surrounding tribes,

no disrespect to Yochidehi.

I very much respect them.

The ancestors of this place are definitely connected

to all the tribes that are here,

but I just wanted to acknowledge

the surrounding tribes that are also connected.

And many of our tribal people

all went to these schools.

Many members from Shingle Springs

and Wilton and Ione and Buena Vista

all went to these schools.

And so the cultural heritage here is so strong,

and I don't think a lot of people understand that.

And so, did you want to?

i don't want to hug it all up okay and and laurie here has very strong ties to uh shingle springs

as do i that's one of my you know my neighboring tribe you know we go and we dance there at their

res they come and dance on ours so uh yes thank you for that um and with that oh oh

any other comments among our colleagues here before we're gonna take a picture so don't go anywhere

I'll be real quick.

Rhonda and Lori, thank you for educating us also

on a lot of issues that are happening now

in the Native American community.

And I want to say a special thank you, Rhonda,

for everything that you've done.

I mean, you were the person who really got the right part

moving for us.

And I want to give a shout out also to Alfred Melbourne

with Three Sisters.

you know he provides so much food I think they were up to like 40,000 pounds

you know that they distribute throughout the community

yeah if I can just if I could chime in real quick you mentioned Alfred you

know you you have a Native American that's here doing really really good

work and so it's really important that we support that you know and it's

something we should embrace and be very proud of

Yeah, so with this proclamation, I think of Heritage Oak Park and the work that we did

with the tribes to bring art and education to West Sacramento.

When construction is finished there, we are going to have a very historically significant

space that the community can experience.

And I'm very proud of the council.

I want to thank the tribes for their work.

Thank you to the staff for all of the thoughts that the intentional thought that went into that design

That is going to be such a beautiful space for our community to experience this learn

Maybe one day we do a proclamation, you know at the park

But I think that's gonna be a physical

Manifestation of all of these conversations and I it's gonna be really special for our community. So thank you

I just wanted to say thank you. I know we sprung this on you

A little bit.

You did a great job.

Thanks.

I appreciate, similar to Council Member Ackler, you sharing not only the history, but where some of the issues still exist now.

I feel very fortunate to be able to be on a council that pauses and celebrates all of our communities.

And I also agree with you that I don't think people know how deep the roots are for indigenous people in West Sacramento from all different tribes.

Recently, for Washington Unified or for Yolo County Office of Education, we had actually a recognition and a celebration of indigenous students.

And West Sacramento had the most indigenous students.

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And so I think it's important that we really

lift up this community who has been marginalized, who has,

to your point, had rights taken away,

so that everyone knows how important welcome they are.

So thank you so much.

Rhonda, Laurie, thank you for being here tonight

for what I think is Bright Park, but also

for your tenacious advocacy on behalf

of the people of West Sacramento,

you know it's hard work.

And you're vocal.

You brought people together, not just yourselves, but others.

You know, it would be if there's a way

to establish some kind of historical context here

in City Hall, whether it be a quilt or some kind of artwork

in City Hall, recognizing, as Councilmember Early,

all the tribes.

So I just want to put that out there for you and others,

if there's a way to convene and plan something like that,

and have a presentation of recognizing all of our tribal

community members.

Because I think it'll bring that pride,

that historical meaning of where we came from.

And we know that it's an ongoing struggle for you still.

you're always going to be taken a look at with some vulnerability

to change or erase.

As you saw the street name, the SQ word,

we had to work on that.

There was some resistance to making it Tepty.

You know, I had to go out there and canvas

and explain to people what Tepty meant

and why that was a significant word.

And was the only respondent when there was outreach

to come up with a name that reflected the Native American.

And it's a beautiful name.

I know it's not my street, but I think it's a beautiful name.

So just grateful for all your contributions

and continue to see what we can do to work together,

not just here today, but here and ongoing every day,

as you mentioned.

So with that, we can go down and take a photo.

Oh.

Oh.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We conclude that part.

Oh, next is our consent agenda items 5 through 11.

I'm going to ask the council on which ones they would like to pull, but just to begin,

I'm going to pull 8, 9, and 10.

Are there any other requests to pull items?

No other requests?

Okay.

Starting off with 8.

And if there's any request to speak on this, Madam Clerk,

I just want to check in with you.

There is.

OK, so just prompt me if I kind of gloss over that.

We'll do this now.

Thank you.

Kate Smith, our Parks and Rec Director,

who's worked really hard on this.

Can you provide a little presentation about this agenda

item and why it's relevant in taking us

to the next step of having the Bright Park

renovation the whole park renovation including the pool what this all means

yes good evening madam mayor city council my name is Kate Smith director

of parks and recreation and I am here tonight to get your approval on our

purchase and sale agreement and priority use agreement for the Bright Park

property so the reason this is before you this evening we have been working on

the Bright Park master plan implementation project for the last two

years and part of our last two years of work included receiving a 15 million

dollar grant from the outdoor recreation legacy program which allowed us to

purchase the property from the Washington Unified School District so

we have been working closely with Washington Unified the last 12 months

months and we are at a place now where our city staff and our legal team have

approved the purchase and sale agreement which is again on the agenda tonight and

part of that is also a priority use agreement that was a request per

Washington Unified through their 7-eleven process that they went through

that it be a part of the purchase and sale agreement. Thank you for that very

helpful background there have been a number of questions from the public that

we received and one is why aren't we having the ground-breaking November

there seems to be an understanding that it was November can you describe what

exactly was happening November 2020 sure so we are still on time and before you

this evening again as we're looking for your approval on the purchase and sale

agreement we are planning as far as the construction timeline we will be going

out to bid actually tomorrow for construction management services and

then the contract will come to City Council we are targeting February 26 and

then we also will be releasing what's called an invitation to bid so that is

our process that we have to follow to bring on our contractor or our builder

and that contract will come to City Council hopefully March 26 between the

contract approval and working with the teams getting them on boarded we hope

to have a shovel actually in the ground May 26. May 26 for the shovel in the

ground. Correct. For a bid it could increase the cost and that's where you

come to us for approval and that does that include the loan that we were

anticipating to pay for this bid? Yes so in August this year we presented you

with the information that we have, which was approximately a $62 million project, including

the land acquisition.

And once we go out to bid, we will have the final construction numbers.

Separately from that, we are applying for a loan through the iBank program, and we are

working closely with iBank and our finance team and making sure that that dollar amount

that we do actually apply for does give us a little bit of wiggle room in case the bids do come in slightly higher.

Thank you. So that process is working together with this is to make sure we get the exact amount needed.

Correct.

Okay, and the other inquiry I received is, say May,

would that be around the time when we will have those

that are currently accessing the park for soccer or Little League,

for how long and what are our plans around that?

Because I get inquiries and I feel like people are receiving letters

that they won't have access to it next year.

Can you give a little more background on what access they will have around the city?

Yeah, so we are working closely with our organized sports leagues and being able to tell them now that we will have access to Bright Park,

specifically for girls softball and boys little league.

I know that we received a lot of questions about that for spring 26.

So our goal is to have the park available.

And then obviously the park will also be available for all of the residents surrounding Bright Park.

Once the fences go up May 26, the park will be offline.

We are working very closely with Washington Unified as well as some of our other community partners such as Holy Cross to find relocation field space.

So that our goal is that we are not having to cancel or decrease any sort of programming, both with our organized sports leagues as well as our recreation programming.

Okay.

Yes, you may ask a question.

I'm all done.

Okay, good.

I don't want to interrupt.

You're funny.

So I do have just a couple of clarifying questions.

I know the answers to them, but again, this is a public conversation, and we want to make

sure everyone also is privy to the same information that we're getting.

And I feel like maybe we skipped a couple of steps.

It's in the staff report, but just to be clear, do we currently own the land?

No, we do not.

Okay, I think that's really important that we level set because we jump to the next, all the phases of we're going to go out to bid and we're going to build and we're going to shovel ready and all the things.

But step one, right, is we need to complete the purchase.

And so we're here tonight for a couple of reasons.

One, to help then facilitate the next parts of that, right?

and so um if i won't i won't speak for my colleagues but but but if we approve this

can you walk me through the immediate next steps not not like six months from now yes so the item

on the agenda tonight is to get your approval on the purchase and sale agreement so the transactions

that are in there it's technically two parcels one transaction um the 24.62 acres is bright park

proper what the community knows and then there is 4.076 acres of adjacent roadway and that is just

because of how the parcel previously was cut so two parcels one transaction looking for your

approval on the purchase and sale agreement as a condition of the purchase and sale agreement there

is a priority use agreement that was a request from washington unified once if we do receive

your approval this evening Washington Unified still does need to give us their

final approval and their board does need to approve both documents as well so

tonight is the first step again towards finalizing that purchase okay I have a

couple follow-up questions thank you Kate for indulging me a little bit um

let's say this does go forward we approve it it then goes to I think

Washington Unified staff what happens if either Washington Unified school board

members either don't approve it or timing wise how quickly can we be

shovel ready for property that we don't know I'm just curious yes so if they do

not approve the purchase and sale agreement essentially allowing the city

to acquire the property we will not be eligible for the 15 million dollar grant

so that is part of that 15 million dollars and so it is critical that

obviously we can get to a place where we can acquire the land so that is one

piece if they if the process goes beyond what we are currently planning to bring

on these construction teams that I referenced we could possibly lose the

ability to reimburse for our expenses that we are paying to the construction

team because we do not actually own the land yet okay that that's helpful and so

I know we've been working really really well a staff has been working really

well with Washington Unified School District staff again as you heard me say

earlier I know government moves slowly for many many many different reasons I

actually think we've moved as as quickly as possible during our tenure here but

But it does sound like if this goes forward,

I'm going to hazard a guess of when this goes forward

from our perspective, that the next step will be

we will need our amazing partners of Washington Unified School

District and staff to be able to move just as quickly, just

as nimbly to get this moving forward,

if we are to stay on track for our timeline, right?

Yes, that's correct.

I'm excited.

I know they're excited.

I cannot wait.

I'm encouraging them.

Okay, and so then last question, assuming all of the things we move forward, Washington

Unified moves forward in a quick and timely fashion, the priority that you talked about,

because I know I had a question about this.

So Washington Unified will receive priority to be able to program some of that, but their

priority time will be at what point?

What are the boundaries around that?

Yeah, their priority time aligns with the school schedule.

so 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. during regular school days.

So they will not have priority use during the summer.

That allows the community to have summer camps,

utilize the park when school is not in session,

and also on the weekends.

So it's a good balance of meeting their need of, again,

serving some of their children that are there attending Riverbank.

That was kind of their biggest concern.

and then also being able for the community to utilize the park in the

evenings and weekends when it is heavily programmed. Thank you so much. Any

other questions among the council members? Okay we're gonna open it up for

public comment and then see if there's any other questions from public comment.

Thank you. Lori Gutierrez.

hello sorry little harsh hello um my name's laurie thank you for having me my concern is when we

went to riverbank elementary school to look at the plans why wasn't this told to us that it was

not the city of west sacramento's property why i didn't i mean i'm i used to go to the school

there and i literally thought the city owned the park i literally didn't know the school did

Half of it.

So why wasn't it addressed to us, the people, then we have to go through another process?

I mean, I'm a little confused because we were told we were going to break dirt in November.

That's what was told at the Riverbank Elementary School when we were going over the plants.

And then they made it seem so good.

so when I went back to us the people to explain

literally people started blowing up my phone

asking me what's going on in November and now this is like a slap in our face

so I'm just kind of confused on what's going on

when is it going to start

do we know if the school's on board already

and do we have to wait for them now

is this going to be guaranteed in March or May

or when you guys say it is.

Because our kids and our people on our side are suffering.

They're lacking a lot.

Lacking a lot.

So I'm just curious.

Is this going to be done 100%?

And now you're telling me,

because I was going to ask what happens in November,

now you're telling me what's happening,

so now we have to wait until next year.

so I just like to know if the school district is on board with us or are they

gonna say no so those are my questions I mean I'm here for all Brighton Broderick

and I've been here for a lot of years so I just want to know you know when is

this gonna get done for the community you know I'm tired of this month and this

and this there's a lot of stuff being built in West Sacramento but I know now

we're dealing with the school district that kind of like frustrates us people

because this wasn't told to us if it was told to us we wouldn't had hopes

literally from the time we went there to now people literally thought we were

breaking dirt and I'm sitting here all happy saying hey you know get your

families let's get ready we're gonna go out there we're gonna witness this and

now today I got told we have to wait on the school district that's all I have to say

RONDA POPE FLORES.

WAY TOO SHORT.

I THINK AS I GET OLDER I'M SHRINKING.

It's awful.

Yeah.

Okay.

So, see, that's what I was afraid of right there.

We made promises, and we were here.

We watched that screen.

We went to these meetings, and that's what I'm afraid of.

You know, I'm taking a crime and deviance class right now, and I'm learning so much.

Do you know that there is a direct correlation with crime for

uninvested communities?

You know we had a injunction issued against our project community we've been

stereotyped you know and it really got me thinking that this is just absolute

evidence of it just made me think of Bright Park and it made me

actually more compelled. I haven't been here as much because I'm in school and it's hard to be

here. But I share the same concerns and I know a little bit more. I know that we've been working

on, I've known that we didn't own the property or city didn't own it. No, we did. We own it

because, you know, we pay taxes. So it's ours. Anyways, oh gosh, we have to get it together.

and this doesn't take away from anything in any way of the work that you guys have put in because

I very much appreciate so please do not take my comments out of context this is not directed

towards the people that have worked so hard and I know they have and I just want to thank you

because I see your effort so I don't want to take that away from you but we really have to get this

together. We cannot keep disappointing our community members. This is not okay. And again,

this is why there's so much frustration because we're promised something, we're told something.

I sat in that room in the back upstairs and I looked at how long Bright Park has been on this

radar and this is just not acceptable. We have to get it together. We have to make this happen.

We have to coordinate better. We have to deliver for this community. It's been way too long.

So please make this happen. We can't have any more broken promises. We need to invest in this community.

There's got to stop being parks built and planned decades after Bright Park and built before Bright Park.

that is not acceptable anymore we cannot have this anymore stop starting parks

when you have the biggest park in West Sacramento that you have not done for

decades thank you

we have no additional requests to speak on this item thank you madam clerk

closing the public comment bringing it back to council for any questions yes

council member early so everyone has different talents on our council and one

of my talents that I've learned particularly over the past several years

is the gift of clarity I'm asking probative questions to things that you

know may seem obvious right to us and I realize that and I can understand the

frustration of thinking something was going to happen and and even if from our perspective we

thought right that it was clear that this was part of the process and you know as part of our

timeline I think it's important as much as possible that I often say actually to my team

that clarity is kindness it really is and so one of the questions and comments that we got

was hey is the school board is the Washington School District on board with

this and I would say all indications point to yes I would also look to my

colleagues who said on the two by two be able to provide us some feedback on that

but in order for us to get that 15 million dollar grant the school district

had to actually say yes we are interested willing partners in going into

this land deal with the city and so all indications would point to yes that this

is something they are 100% on board with I think what's going to be important is

not only that their energy and their willingness but also as you heard

earlier from my questions with Kate there is also a time factor and that is

going to be really important that our partners are able to move with us in

order to help get this done and so i have faith in our school board i have faith in washington

unified school district staff i do not say that um lightly i i truly do we've had i've had an

opportunity to work with the staff and and work with my colleagues on the school board and so i

know we're going to be able to get this done and what i can say confidently is that both our city

staff as well as this entire council has worked extremely hard and again i don't say that lightly

this entire council has worked extremely hard to move this as quickly as humanly possible

as you said despite the fact that it has been on our strategic plan for at least a decade or part

of our priorities in the short amount of time that this council has been together it has moved not

only from planning to implementation and that needs to be acknowledged because that was not an

easy at all and so we are working very hard and diligently i think that is obvious in our actions

and our priorities of pulling together 62 million dollars in order to make sure that our entire

community including the broader and bright community has the investment that they absolutely

deserve and again i truly believe that um and so that is that is my my commentary and i will i will

get off my soapbox off the soapbox and on to any other council members that

have any thoughts yeah just some comments I'm so um Mayor and I sit on

the city school district two by two and we meet every month and for the last

several meetings Bright Park has been on the agenda and I will agree with you

that the school district as is moving fast and there were a lot of moving

parts to get to this point a 7-eleven committee had to be put together that you

actual process of putting the committee the committee had to meet and so in

every two by two we've been looking at the deadline of what's our deadline to

have this land in our possession so that we can receive this grant and we've been

very clear in those two by two meetings and so I appreciate staff keeping us on

schedule and timeline you know why like cannot speak for the school board based

on our conversations in the two by two meeting all signs do point to yes we're

on the team this is gonna happen the purchase and sale agreement is gonna go

through and so while we are getting closer to that deadline I have a lot of

trust and staff right now and I appreciate how fast everybody's moving

right now and I have trust in our school district they've been great partners in

this is there have been a lot of moving parts and I actually think it's an

incredible thing the amount of parks that we've been able to move forward in

such a short period of time especially Bright Park being such a large project

you know I think one of the largest that the city has ever taken over and to be

able to break ground in May it's it's going to be a very exciting time for our

in your community who uses that space.

So that's just some thoughts on the two by two meeting

and our partners at the school district.

Council Member O'Connor.

Thank you.

I do not sit on the two by two,

nor have I spoken with anyone on the two by two,

but I have spoken with other trustees.

So this is gonna happen.

I know it sometimes it takes a little longer,

but it's going to happen.

today.

today.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

on the grant it's based on the grant really that we have to acquire this

property initially Lori is right we weren't looking at buying we were looking

at just taking a look at some pieces of Bright Park right correct when I first

came on board August 23 I was told at the time we didn't have the funding and

we may have to look at phasing we worked really hard and luckily there was a grant

that came out that had a different tool that was used that previous grants Bright Park was not

eligible for and this one it was and so we worked really hard to get this grant the 15 million

dollars which included the land acquisition and that kind of catapulted this project to a place

that was a little bit more feasible as far as construction and then when we came to council

provided a few different options of if now that we have the grant we have to

you know here's what it would be to build the entire park if we did not want

to pursue the grant and here would be the different options with phasing and so

this council did unanimously say to move forward with the grant the acquisition

and to build the entire park and just to just to chime in with the point of

clarity there to the grant that Kate's talking about it was a 15 million

dollar contribution to the project part of that is land acquisition but the

balance is going towards the construction of the project so right as

she said it further enabled us to be able to build the project all at once

versus having to go into a phasing approach the trade-off was yes we we had

to complete the purchase process of the park and as you know the district has a

process that it's required to go go through to get there I'm also want to

just kind of put this in perspective and when we were here in August that was

with the financing strategy we laid out the timing for construction and

acquisition November of 2025 was our acquisition target date so so we can't

control the the district's timing on when they'll act on the agreement we hope

it's very soon but in terms of this council's schedule and in our ability to

meet it we we are on track with what we committed to back then

Karen.

So that's been my understanding.

Initially, the phasing did not require purchasing.

But seeing how we wanted to have everything done at once,

being responsive to what the community wanted

was having everything done at once,

as in lieu of the phasing, I would say that you tracking down

this grant opportunity where the school district was supportive

based on a certain value of the property,

you then had to do your due diligence through the 7-11,

where I think I did communicate to some members

of the community to be involved and engaged

in working in the 7-11 process to encourage the members there

to be favorable, because the 7-11 process

is separate from the school board members that designated

the recommendation to the school board

give us this acquisition but still another phase is for the school board

where if that's where it rests now is the next phase and and do you have an

anticipated time for that meeting I do not I'm hoping they I believe they have

a school board meeting in December I meet with the school board on Monday

this coming week and I've been in close communication leading up to tonight

They're aware that we were coming this evening getting your approval.

And so the next step will be explaining to them that we now have your approval if you approve tonight.

And so it will be up to them to make that final approval.

And again, I just want to reiterate that the district all along this process, they have a process they have to go through.

It's not every day districts sell property.

That part's understandable.

They've been great partners thus far, as you know, as many of you stated.

and so we're only here at this stage thanks to that cooperation we hope and

expect that that will continue I will definitely keep the council updated as we

go through it but but the schedule is is on track and we we won't know exactly

when the construction date will be until the acquisition is completed but we're

here in November as we said we would be for land acquisition

Kate, thank you so much for all your hard work on this.

Trying to get as much out to the public about demystifying

all these nuances and repeating again where we're at

in order for the public to understand.

And I'm hoping that they do.

And if not, we may have to have some more conversations

with the public.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Right, the next item that I wanted to bring up

was item number nine.

I had a very basic question.

Who's on?

Rebecca Scott, is this your first time up here, Rebecca?

I don't think so.

Other than my introduction, yeah.

Other than your introduction.

Rebecca, this is great to have you here for your first time.

It's a roast.

It's a roast.

Bring it on.

you know this utility fee that we're taking a look at is it's related to what

the economic sorry the utility it was a commission there's a commission the

utilities Commission had reviewed correct so what's before you tonight is

actually not related to the EU Commission it's similar to the prop 218

process but it's actually separate and so the exhaustion procedure is a state

required mandate that cities now need to follow when considering new or increased

water or sewer utility fees or assessments and it's slightly different

than the prop 218 rate increase in which the protest hearing determines whether

the city may adopt the rates based on majority protest so in short the

exhaustion procedures are about preserving the right to sue for anyone

who wants to challenge the rates you know once they're adopted and then prop

218 is about approving the rate itself so what's before you tonight is not

related to the EU Commission but it is related to a new state requirement that

allows folks to just have a formal opportunity to review proposed fees

submit written objections and then they can get a written response from city

staff during the prop 218 process okay

so November 12th the EU Commission did a review an agenda item and so it's not

related to that particular agenda item so the exhaustion procedures once this

item comes to council on December 3rd when we bring the utility rates before

any legal challenge can be brought by someone, they have to, the city would need to give property

owners and rate payers the formal opportunity to review those proposed fees. So after December,

once we have direction from council on the proposed rate adjustments, the city would be sending out

its Prop 218 newsletter, and in tandem with that, that would be also the open comment period

where people could basically challenge you know the rate increase proposal and

so if they don't challenge it during that time then they cannot sue the city

later on as a result of the increased rates so it's a state process put in

place just to allow them to challenge them in the beginning stages of it and

then if they wanted to do a lawsuit later they could

Thank you.

It's a state law that passed AB 2287 in 2024.

2257 in 2024.

2257 in 2020.

Yes.

So it was active January 2025?

That I can...

It was active 2025.

Okay.

So with that, this is November.

We're just starting to...

We're starting this process.

So this wouldn't actually be to start the process.

THIS WOULD BE FOR THE COUNCIL TO ALLOW THE PROCESS TO HAPPEN FROM NOW ON.

AND SO BECAUSE THIS PROCESS ONLY OCCURS WHEN THERE'S A PROPOSED RATE INCREASE, WE FELT

IT PRUDENT TO BRING IT, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE'RE BRINGING THE RATES TO COUNCIL.

WE WOULDN'T HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ANYONE TO CHALLENGE PROPOSED RATES BEFORE NOW,

BECAUSE, AGAIN, WE WEREN'T LOOKING AT INCREASED RATES JUST YET.

OKAY.

THAT HELPS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I DO HAVE A QUESTION.

OH, YES.

COUNCILMEMOR RECOLA.

increase that you're posing how is that voted this is the council that would

approve this rate increase all right and then this process right here

this is just simply a process for them to to what is it appeal the decision

that we make it's slightly different than an appeal it's basically to give

the customers and ratepayers an opportunity to review the fees and submit

a written objection and then the city has the responsibility to provide a

written response at the prop 218 hearing or before that time and so they can ask

questions they can you know have comments and it's just another way for

them to be part of the rate setting process in addition to the 218 where

they would be adopted by by the council at that time absent a majority protest

from the rate pairs if I could yes one way to think about it is the prop 218

protest process is just that you can protest but it's not really an

opportunity to engage with the staff about why you have a problem sometimes a

protest is simply people don't want to pay an increase but sometimes the

protests are really generated by a concern that the rates weren't put

together the right way they weren't properly supported this process this

objection process provides a mechanism for folks to raise specific issues and

hopefully if it's an issue that warrants being addressed gives staff an

opportunity to fix it before it comes to the council for action so that we can

avoid litigation by having having people raise their issues ahead of time and

And more than just saying, I don't want to pay the increase, right?

They have an opportunity to actually articulate what their problem is with it.

And if it's a real problem, we have an opportunity to fix it.

And so, yes, it helps on the back end from our perspective, because if they haven't raised their objections, they would be barred from going to court.

but on the front end it's an opportunity for them to actually be able to

participate in the process by raising specific objections that we would have

to deal with

so they would do that before or after a vote

so the council will look at the proposed rates on December 3rd and direct staff

to send a prop 218 with a ceiling rate increase and so in mid-march the council

would relook at those rates in another public hearing

as part of the Prop 218 process

and could adjust rates up to that ceiling

that was in the Prop 218 newsletter.

And so this would be, the exhaustion procedures

will run at the same time as that Prop 218 process

of commenting, but there would be several months in between.

So they have to have at least 45 days

in order to submit their objections

through the exhaustion procedures.

Okay, back here, cleared up.

Thank you.

Yep.

All right, so that's very helpful.

I get the difference.

Thank you so much.

Is agenda item 10?

Ken?

We're revamping our, we're doing a redesign of the city website.

Thank you so much for working on this.

Of course.

Long over to you.

Yes.

And you know, I'm interested in looking

at more ways to enhance AI interaction,

so it's intuitive for those that are using our website.

I don't know how we do that.

sometimes it could be you know how you ask AI you know can you give me some

more information and then it pops up a link or something like that if there's

a way to connect that and I would be interested in maybe connecting with

Google to have that conversation we this is just an appropriation so we can

certainly have conversations as this process rolls out I will say that

Granicus who's our current provider they are implementing a contained AI tool

within city websites where a resident for instance can ask a question how do I

submit a building permit and that AI tool will pull from the website itself

and create a approachable answer for people so that's one of the options that

we have here we're definitely looking to make this a much more usable and

resident friendly experience on the website so that's definitely part of

thing I heard that mm-hmm art and then I I think Andrea is working on

contributing to that I don't know if you wanted to add anything about permit

she has I think this will be probably a year-long process all told and this is

just getting it rolling with an appropriation so it will be a cross

departmental effort and I think we can maximize the because I like the a I

asking the permit if there's a way to expand on that a little more on how that

would work well like Doug said I think these are

burgeoning technologies we're always looking for ways that AI can help make

our process more efficient and more transparent we don't have those tools at

this point yet but in working through the project of the full website our

intention here is to look at the most advanced tools and best practices and

meld those together to create a platform where people would be able to find the

information they need okay we do have open counter which is called permit pal

right now and you can find out information about building permits that

way through the community development website okay thank you thank you so much

thank you Doug

one question

Radicus is providing is will be providing certain did we put this out

bid so we currently have an existing agreement with Granicus that runs for I

believe two more years I think it expires in 2027 so what this is

proposing is basically amend that agreement to take advantage of their

latest their latest software which again we haven't upgraded since 2017 so it's

been a while yeah all right it's exciting looking forward to seeing

those changes all right so madam clerk any other request to speak your public

comment we have no other requests to speak on any of the consent agenda items

Okay, so we will close public comment and I'll accept the motion to accept our consent agenda item

I'll second.

Okay, Madam Clerk, Councilmember Ocala, move. Mayor Pro Temsul-Pizio-Hull second it. Please call the roll.

Councilmember Ocala? Aye. Councilmember Early? Aye.

Mayor Pro Temsul-Pizio-Hull? Aye. Mayor Guerrero? Aye. All right. These items are approved.

Next we move to item 12 under public hearings agenda.

Agenda Item 12, Capital Projects,

is a hearing to consider adoption of Resolution 25-116,

declaring the public interest and necessity

and authorizing commencement of eminent domain condemnation

proceedings to secure real property

interest necessary for the Ice Street Bridge replacement

project, parentheses 010-372-007, 010-371-008,

and 010-101-012, close parenthesis CIP 10033.

Fred, you're up.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members.

You said it all succinctly.

Those are the words that I was going to introduce.

To talk about just very briefly, this

is a request to open a public hearing,

to commence with condemnation proceedings

to take this property under control.

We don't have any impasse for financial issues

on these properties.

It's basically not clear title.

And so we're utilizing this process rather than going

through the court for a, what we call,

quiet title action because quiet title action,

in my experience, has taken two to three years to get clear.

And this would be a better way for us

to get control over the properties

so that we can continue working amicably

with the property owners, which we have today.

We've reached, I would say, substantial settlement

on partial 012.

And so the other two remaining parcels

need to be negotiated.

But we're not here because of an impasse

with property negotiations.

They're typically why we're doing condemnation.

This is basically because there's a cloud on title

that we need to get cleared in the most expeditious way.

The straight path forward is through imminent domain.

OK.

Thank you, Brett.

Any questions from council members?

Open it up for public comment.

Madam Clerk, are there any requests to speak?

We have no requests to speak on this item.

All right.

I'm closing it, bringing it back to Council.

For any final comments, questions, none, I'll accept a motion to approve this item.

I'll second.

Council Member Early moved, Madam Clerk, and Bernice Lopezio Hall.

Mayor Pro Temps and Bernice Lopezio Hall seconded.

Please call the roll.

Council Member Alcala?

Aye.

Council Member Early?

Aye.

Mayor Pro Temps Lopezio Hall?

Aye.

Mayor Guerrero?

Aye.

All right.

Next on the General Administration Function Part 2, do we have any reports from Council assignments?

Let's see so on Monday

Yellow Transportation District this past Monday met we

Saw the short-range transit plan that YPD actually came to us

I think our last City Council meeting and presented on I shared the same

sentiment that I did when they presented here at council which is I appreciate

the hard work that's gone into it and then showing us what would be considered

the neutral cost neutral model which is the same amount of hours and miles um

however we know as our contract is going to be going out to bid meaning our

transit operator contract is going to be going up the bid that likely that the

218 2018 contract numbers that we are currently paying in rates are going to

increase which means that what we are seeing now with the cost neutral same

our same service and and some of the promises that we're making to our

community based on that are likely going to very quickly change when budget

becomes a reality and so the same thing I requested here is what I requested from

YTD as well which is I will want to lean into what the plan will be if we

have to cut services and what that would look like for West Sacramento because

that definitely feels like the reality that we are going to be operating in in

a short amount of time and so we did have that talk in December they are

going to be coming back with a full draft of the short-range transit plan and

and so hopefully staff will be able transportation staff will be able to

to attend that meeting to at least get that information

as we are trying to plan, whether it be light rail,

via, and all other kinds of public transportation

for our community so that those can work more seamlessly

and strategically together.

We had CARTA today, which is the Capital Area Regional

Tolling Authority.

I am vice chair of that tolling authority.

And we are in the process of hiring our executive director

for this year, which is going to be an important step

as the tolling authority and our managed lane project

is gonna be moving very, very quickly.

And so we saw a presentation from Caltrans today

on the Sacramento area project and what tolling

and timeline for tolling would look like

for the Sacramento region right now.

Again, I'll remind us we're working on the Yolo portion

of what will eventually be tolling lanes

that will run from Davis through West Sacramento

on the causeway.

And so those are the two major things.

Thank you.

Councilor Callender.

Good evening.

I do have a couple of things to go over.

Just as a reminder, November 27th and 28th City Hall

will be closed due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

And also December 5th is the Winter Wonderland tree lighting

event at City Hall, and that begins at 6 PM.

OK, I do have an event coming up in our community center.

It's a movie screening.

And the history around this movie screening,

It's related to California State Association.

Sorry, Cal State SAC.

CESA, it's SAC State.

So I automatically go back to my work.

SAC State director Kathy Kasich has done a great job

with this movie on the melting of Greenland

and how that impacts climate change.

Just the history of collecting all the data.

And we're having this movie screening here.

I viewed it in downtown Sacramento,

was very curious, and then brought it here

to have this viewing because it's very important as we

take a look at climate change and the impact.

Also my participation, thanks to C40 cities to attend,

which is why I was absent in the last meeting

with the support from Bloomberg to attend COP30.

one of 36 mayors of North America and many others

internationally to be able to have

a subnational representation at Rio de Janeiro pre-COP 30.

And then we launched our representatives into Berlin.

This is incredibly important for all of us

to continue the conversation on an international level,

to take a look at maintaining these policy priorities

and protecting our community from climate change here

in West Sacramento, flood protection

being one of those areas, as you see the amount of rain

that we're experiencing.

And with that, we'll have a call to action for our youth

as we continue to see from Bloomberg

the extension of the Youth Climate Action Fund.

And we were very fortunate to be able to be a recipient

of $150,000 here and allocate about $130,000, maybe $150,000.

I can't remember the exact amount of requests.

We do have a little bit of an extension

and continuing to receive youth who are interested

to do various projects throughout the city.

I've been able to visit some of those projects.

And we'll talk a little bit.

And one of our youth representatives

from the advisory board, Jasmine Garcia,

is going to be the moderator of our panel.

Yes, she's going to elevate in our youth voice.

And really, I'm excited to see her participate,

along with many others.

So I encourage you to come and join us.

Doors open at 5 o'clock, movies at 530 to 630.

It's a very short movie, panel presentation after.

You said that's tomorrow?

Tomorrow, at the community center,

at the Black Box Theater, utilizing our beautiful Black

Box Theater.

And thanks to all the staff for all your help.

Parks and Rec, they've been really helpful in getting

the word out.

It's not easy to talk about a movie screen,

just to get them to participate.

So just thanking the staff for all your hard work on that.

Let's see, city manager report.

Yeah, just speaking of next week, I'll be out of town all week

This time with my family so on Monday and Tuesday, Ariana will be acting Doug will be on Wednesday

You can reach me though if there's any kind of emergency and then just wanted to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving

Thank you. Yeah, happy Thanksgiving to the entire city staff so much

Reminding us a city attorney report nothing to report and staff direction from city council members

I did not in time in time but I did submit a future agenda item request which

will come to the next council meeting for approval we have our A's baseball

players who are getting recognized and awarded rookie of the year and other

words that are coming that are rolling out want to recognize our A's and they

are looking at a timeline between January and February so that we can have

have a full display of A's participation here in our city

hall.

I'm going to invite Sacramento City Council.

So we have this joint effort to be

able to recognize the A's players and their accomplishments

and to kind of launch the new season.

I look forward to that wearing my West Sacramento A's t-shirt

that night.

So thank you for the heads up.

Yes.

We will let you.

You will know when that happens.

Yes, of course.

All right.

That's about it.

And I just want to adjourn in memory of Rick Holland.

Rick has been known by everybody here in the community,

big family, business, and icon here in the city.

I don't know if you remember, he was always running around

in his wheelchair going from place to place.

I was always worried about him getting hit by a car

every time I would see him on the street.

But you know, he died of natural causes,

but he lived a full life and devoted father

to some beautiful children who continue

to give back to our community.

So in his memory, Rick Collins' memory, I adjourn.

With that, I accept the motion for that.

I approve.

Second.

All right.

Madam Clerk, Council Member Early moved,

and Council Member Acala seconded.

Please call the roll.

Council Member Acala.

Aye.

Council Member Early.

Tim Sopizio Hall. Aye. Mayor Guerrero. Aye. All right. We are now adjourned. Thank you.