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Home My WebLink About2020-01-09 Human Relations Commission Action Minutes ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 1 of 43 HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION Thursday, January 9, 2020 Community Meeting Room Palo Alto Civic Center 250 Hamilton Avenue 7:00 PM REGULAR MEETING Commissioners Present: Kralik, Lee, Regehr, Savage, Smith [arrived after roll call] Absent: Stinger Staff: Minka van der Zwaag, Mary Constantino I. ROLL CALL Chair Kralik: Happy New Year to the staff and my fellow commissioners. This is the regular meeting of January 9th of the Human Relations Commission. We’ll begin with our roll call. II. AGENDA CHANGES, REQUESTS, DELETIONS Commissioner Savage: I have a request. Sorry. I’d like to request that our election be delayed for one month, when we have a fuller commission present. Chair Kralik: [off-microphone] Okay, I understand the request. Do we need to vote on that? Because, frankly, I thought we tried to bring all Commissioners with an alternate date this month. Ms. Minka van der Zwaag, Human Services Manager: That was the alternate date, this month, but Commissioner Savage is speaking about next month. Chair Kralik: [off-microphone] Right. I think in the leadership, Commissioner Savage, we talked about this, and we had two proposed dates in January, the regular date and the date that was, I think next week. Ms. van der Zwaag: Correct. Chair Kralik: [off-microphone] Right. And the reason for that was, I think Commissioner Stinger said that she could not make it on the 9th, but she could make it on the 16th. Unfortunately, … Ms. van der Zwaag: Microphone. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 2 of 43 Chair Kralik: Oh, I’m so sorry. Unfortunately, even though we offered the alternate date of the 16th, it turns out that Commissioner Regehr could not make it on the 16th. And then, when we discussed it with staff and leadership, the thought process was that no matter when we hold a meeting, there’s always going to be somebody that might be late or might not be here. And we did confirm a quorum this time. The one drawback, I think, to holding the election next month is that, you know, that would delay the new group who is going to be the Chair and Vice Chair from moving forward, and my understanding, just from my own soft polling, is that the new Chair and Vice Chair will have four votes this evening and based on that, I would not be in favor of moving it unless there are others that want to talk about that. Anyone else want to give their thoughts? Comm. Regehr: Well, I just have a thought that it really doesn’t, this is the procedure, and it’s in January, and this is the scheduled meeting time, and I’m a stickler to this… and to me, it doesn’t matter if whoever is running for Chair or Vice Chair, the votes, it should be… Chair Kralik: They have to have four. Comm. Regehr: No, I understand that point. Chair Kralik: Is that right? Ms. van der Zwaag: But that should be irrelevant. Any action by the HRC needs four votes. Comm. Regehr: Four votes. Chair Kralik: Okay. All right. Ms. van der Zwaag: But I believe for Commissioner Savage, she, the process would be she would look for a second, and if she had a second, then a vote would be taken, if that wanted to be moved or not. Chair Kralik: Right. I was not a second. Anybody else here? Ms. van der Zwaag: I hear you. I don’t know if we want to wait for Commissioner Smith to come in…? Commissioner Lee: I would concur with the Chair’s comments. I think, you know… Chair Kralik: We did, I think…. Commissioner Lee: Yes… [crosstalk] Chair Kralik: … the vote was to try to get everybody here, but separate from that, I think without, you know, without the meeting moving to next month, I don’t think it would change anything [crosstalk]. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 3 of 43 Commissioner Lee: I mean, for most of 2019, most meetings had at least one person absent. I mean, there were very few meetings where we had all seven of us. Chair Kralik: Yes, maybe we should ask Commissioner Savage why she wants to do that. Commissioner Savage: I just think, you know, with more bodies here, we would get a more accurate count, you know, and a greater chance of having four votes for whomever. Chair Kralik: Okay. Well, we did attempt, as I said, to have an alternate date for Commissioner Stinger, who was not going to be present. [Commissioner Smith joined the meeting.] Chair Kralik: So, Commissioner Smith, it’s just a short question, but Commissioner Savage has asked that we delay the vote on leadership until February, and what I responded with was that we did come up with an alternate date in January when Commissioner Stinger could be present, but, as it turns out, Commissioner Regehr was not present. So, we defaulted to the regular date, and then, I said that my own soft polling of the new leadership was that there would be four votes here. So, consequently, I felt that it probably wasn’t a good idea. Did you have any thoughts about changing it to February? Commissioner Smith: I think we should go to February, given the fact that we’re already down one commissioner. So, having the other commissioner here I think would be advantageous on the vote. Or would be representative. Chair Kralik: Okay. All right. Well then, that’s a second, so why don’t we go ahead and fashion a motion. Commissioner Savage go ahead. MOTION Commissioner Savage: I move that we delay our vote for a new Chair and Vice Chair one month, when we have more bodies here, until February. Chair Kralik: And… Right. So, is there any discussion? Commissioner Lee. Commissioner Lee: I mean, I just reiterate the points that the Chair has already made. I mean, Chair/Vice Chair elections have been scheduled for January, I mean, we’ve had notice of how to… It’s theoretical whether we would have more people in February. We could just as easily have the same number if not fewer, in February. So, I’m inclined just to keep with the schedule. So, I’m going to be voting no. Chair Kralik: Commissioner Regehr. Commissioner Regehr: I was just wondering, what is the process if, if the argument is that we will have more commissioners in February, what are we going to do if we don’t? Are we going to postpone it till March because it’s still the…? You know, I mean, I’m just saying… ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 4 of 43 Chair Kralik: Well, that was why, Yes, that was why we had the alternate date in January, because we were trying to be… Commissioner Smith: Flexible. Chair Kralik: Yes, we were trying to be flexible. We offered a second date, but unfortunately, it’s, you know, sometimes people just don’t… Commissioner Regehr: I guess that’s… Chair Kralik: …show up, or… Commissioner Savage: Well, it sounds like I don’t have the votes. Chair Kralik: No, it… We’ll have to vote on it. We’re having a discussion. I mean, I think you can… Commissioner Savage: I was going to withdraw my motion, but go ahead, if you want to continue. Chair Kralik: I mean, I think it’s important, Commissioner Stinger, it would be great if we could all be here. Let me ask this question. Is everybody, as of the present moment, thinking that they’re going to be here at the next meeting? Commissioner Smith: [off-microphone] I am scheduled to be here for the next meeting. Baby in toe or not. Commissioner Lee: I’m sorry, what was that last point? Commissioner Smith: With a baby, or not. That’s the 13th, right? Ms. van der Zwaag: The second Thursday. Commissioner Lee: I schedule my life around the meetings because… Chair Kralik: Okay, well, I plan to be here. Commissioner Regehr: I do, too, but my husband, who never takes a vacation, and he’s really busy on that Tuesday, said he wants to get away, and its Valentine’s day… I mean, that’s… So, that’s the only… Chair Kralik: So, you won’t be here. Commissioner Regehr: I’m not sure. I’m just saying. Yes. Chair Kralik: Okay, well, let’s have a vote on the motion. Commissioner Smith: Didn’t Commissioner Savage withdraw? ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 5 of 43 Chair Kralik: I don’t know. I don’t think so. Commissioner Savage: Yes, I withdraw my request. Chair Kralik: Okay. Good. All right. We’ll go ahead. Any other agenda changes, requests or deletions? III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS Chair Kralik: Not hearing any, we’ll ask for oral communications from members of the public, and not seeing any, we’ll move to the business of the meeting. IV. BUSINESS 1. Review and update of Fiscal Year 2019/2020 workplan and Liaison assignments – Kralik - Action (30 minutes) Chair Kralik: Why don’t we start with the liaison assignments. Is there any updating that we need to do there? Ms. van der Zwaag: There was the spots that Vice Chair Xue was filling, so I think it’s the empty spots that you see. Or, if anybody for any reason is not able to keep their original commitments. Chair Kralik: Okay. I see one… Ms. van der Zwaag: I believe it was the age-friendly committee, and a liaison to Avenidas. Those were my recollections. Chair Kralik: Okay. Patti, didn’t you want to do the Avenidas, or…? Commissioner Regehr: Yes, I had requested that I… I just asked if I could… Chair Kralik: Okay, so, let’s propose that, and we can write that in, and then we’ll vote on it afterwards. Oh, the Palo Alto Mediation Program. Commissioner Smith…? Commissioner Smith: I’m in. Chair Kralik: You’re in. Okay, so, that is confirmed. Ms. van der Zwaag: Thank you. Chair Kralik: That was already assigned. Healthy Cities is Valerie. Senior and Dementia Friendly. You know, that’s right, that’s what I do in Ombudsman work, so I think I might write myself in on that one. Ms. van der Zwaag: The meeting is a week from Thursday, during the day. Chair Kralik: Okay. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 6 of 43 Commissioner Lee: I’m looking on the sheet you have the Liaison Buddies. Chair Kralik: Oh, the buddies, has that changed? Commissioner Lee: Yes, it says “not confirmed,” but I’ve already met with Mayor Fine in, I think it was October or November. Chair Kralik: Okay. Commissioner Lee: Question on that. In the past, typically the Chair and Vice Chair have been assigned, respectively, to the Mayor and Vice Mayor. I wanted to… Chair Kralik: That has changed. Commissioner Lee: … discuss with my colleagues if we wanted to continue that or revert back to that. I just know that that’s what’s been in the past. We don’t have to keep doing that, but I wanted to discuss that. Chair Kralik: Yes, why don’t we, we can review the Council Buddy situation after the election tonight, okay? Commissioner Lee: Okay, so we’re going to come back to this item? Chair Kralik: Yes. Commissioner Lee: Okay. Commissioner Smith: Come back to this component of the item, not the whole item, right? Chair Kralik: That component, Yes. All right, so, I’ll just ask for a motion on the Liaison to the… Commissioner Lee: Do we need to assign someone to Vice Mayor Dubois? Chair Kralik: No, no, not on that side, Steven. We’re just going to; we’re going to forego the Council Buddy… Commissioner Lee: That’s fine. Chair Kralik: …portion of this, and we’re just going to look at the Liaison. MOTION Commissioner Smith: I move that all changes discussed in meeting for liaison, including Avenidas and Senior, be approved. SECOND ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 7 of 43 Commissioner Lee: Second. Chair Kralik: Okay, all in favor? MOTION PASSED WITH UNANIMOUS VOTE Chair Kralik: Okay, that stands approved. Those changes are that in Avenidas, Patti will be the liaison; Commissioner Smith is the confirmed co-liaison to Palo Alto’s mediation program; and I have signed on to the senior and dementia-friendly city liaison. Okay, great. All right, workplan review. I think it’s just, you know, I originally, when we were talking about doing a workplan review, felt that it was important to do this with the new leadership that’s going to come into the commission this year. That was my goal. What I might do is just make a proposal that we move forward on this after the election. Would anyone like to change the order? MOTION Commissioner Smith: I move that item 3 be moved up in the schedule, before we review the workplan. Chair Kralik: Okay. Great. SECOND Commissioner Lee: Second. Chair Kralik: Why don’t we do that, and then… All in favor, by the way? Aye. Commissioner Lee: Aye. Chair Kralik: Patti, did you…? Are you in favor of that? Commissioner Regehr: I’m just wondering… I am. I’m just wondering why… Can you do that during a meeting? Like, we already had agenda changes. Commissioner Lee: We should have done it earlier. Commissioner Regehr: We should have done it earlier… Chair Kralik: We should have done it… Commissioner Regehr: …so I’m just wondering about the process. Like, it doesn’t seem… Commissioner Smith: Somebody can make a motion to move business in the meeting, but the agenda changes usually happen at the beginning. Commissioner Regehr: Right. Commissioner Smith: Like, I think agenda changes tend to be additions or subtractions that we ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 8 of 43 know about in the beginning of the meeting. But if somebody wants to bring… Chair Kralik: Yes, during the meeting, I think it just, it just would flow a lot better if we did it that way. That way, the new leadership can talk through their thought process. So, you’re in favor? We have four votes. Commissioner Lee: Yes. Chair Kralik: Commissioner Savage? Five. Okay, so we are unanimous on that. MOTION PASSED WITH UNANIMOUS VOTE 2. Human Services Resource Allocation Process (HSRAP) site visit signups Ms. van der Zwaag: Okay, so, I will go over that. I’ll just pretend like no one knows what this is, so we can take in new commissioners and long-term commissioners. So, what this is, is the off year, so not the year in which the decisions are made regarding HSRAP funding, is that the commissioners go and pay what I call “social visits” to the HSRAP agencies, and up to three people can go to each agency. So, the purpose of this is just to learn more about their programs, what they do, hear about new things. The purpose is not to do a review of their programs, to ask in-depth, you know, program questions, or to ask to see documents, or those type of things. But, just to find out more about their programs. I’m sure there’s some curiosity questions, like, you know, “What are you seeing? What are you planning next?” But staff does, in your two other contracts, staff does an in-depth contract review based on the quarterly reports that the grantees fill out, along with any concerns that we have. So, this is, like I said, this is like a social call. So, there are 15 grantees. Like I said, what we have is a lead commissioner. So, that’s the one who usually contacts the agency, and Mary and I would provide the contact information for the agency, and up to two more people can go. I would say, what I would prefer not to happen, is that if three people are interested, one person goes one day, one person goes the other day. Because that’s a waste of the resources for the agency. So, we can start this around now, or we can just do this via email. We’ve done both in the past. Chair Kralik: And we can send you our interests? Ms. van der Zwaag: You can send me your interests, or I can start this around now. Are there any questions? Usually, I give you the contact for the ED. Often the ED makes the decision if they put you onto a staff member. If they go long, sometimes they invite you, “Hey, we’re having this special event, why don’t you just come to that?” Questions? Chair Kralik: When are these meetings going to take place? Ms. van der Zwaag: This is whenever you would like them to in the next several months. Chair Kralik: Do they depend on you coming along, or… Ms. van der Zwaag: No. No. It’s… ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 9 of 43 Chair Kralik: So, it’s just the commissioners go? Ms. van der Zwaag: It’s one to three of you. Chair Kralik: I see. And so, this is not part of the two-year review. Ms. van der Zwaag: This is not part of… This is you learning more about the agencies. The actual review is done by Mary and me. Now, obviously, if you go and you’re touring around and you see something that, you know, you find out more about the agency positive or concerning when you’re referring the grants the next time, and they come in to ask questions, you can say at that point, “Hey, when we had a visit, I had a concern of XYZ. Can you tell me a little bit about that?” But it’s not to come back and say, “These were my concerns about the agency.” It’s like, come back, if we want to do a report back, “Hey, I had a nice visit, just wanted to let everybody know, they’re doing this new program,” and so forth. Chair Kralik: Yes, that’s cool. Ms. van der Zwaag: Okay. Commissioner Lee, you had a question? Commissioner Lee: Question about the review process. So, in the second year, there’s an option for the second year, right? So, staff is doing a review to determine whether to option it? Ms. van der Zwaag: No. Commissioner Lee: Or is that…? That’s CDBG, right? Ms. van der Zwaag: Yes, CDBG comes back to this entity. Staff makes the decision. Basically, the contract is… Commissioner Lee: It’s two years. Ms. van der Zwaag: … it’s a two-year contract, one year with the option to renew. And really, only that would happen if there was gross mismanagement of the contract, which has not happened in my tenure of managing this program. Commissioner Lee: So, unlike CDBG, that option to renew is with staff… Ms. van der Zwaag: Is staff only. Commissioner Lee: … but for CDBG, that does come back for… Ms. van der Zwaag: That comes back to you for your recommendation, which goes to Council. Commissioner Lee: Is that because of a requirement under the CDBG program? I’m wondering why there’s a difference there. Ms. van der Zwaag: I would say yes, they have a very specific, you know, public involvement ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 10 of 43 process in CDBG, and each community chooses and entity or process in which that happens. Commissioner Lee: Okay. Thank you very much. Ms. van der Zwaag: So, I’ll just start this around, or is there a preference, online or right now? Commissioner Regehr: I guess my question for you… Ms. van der Zwaag: Yes? Commissioner Regehr: … is that, what would be easier for you to do? Because if you do that… But if we do it online, then Valerie can participate, even though she’s not here tonight. Commissioner Smith: Maybe we do, like, a Google doc, or something. Ms. van der Zwaag: We can do a Google doc. That’s a very good idea. Commissioner Regehr: And then Valerie… Chair Kralik: Yes, because that would help us to see if other people have interest, and we can just… Ms. van der Zwaag: Yes. We will take care of that. Commissioner Regehr: And then Valerie can participate. Ms. van der Zwaag: We are that savvy. Commissioner Smith: And we can even put another column that says, “Date of Visit,” so you can see when commissioners plan to visit. Ms. van der Zwaag: Certainly. But when you go out to visit, you don’t need to include Mary in your organizing emails. Chair Kralik: All right. Ms. van der Zwaag: Okay. 3. Human Relations Commission Chair and Vice Chair Elections Chair Kralik: Okay, so, we’ll move to the staff elections. Let me just say, background. I felt privileged this past year to be the Chair, and I thank you for the confidence, and also for your cooperation during the year. I do not anticipate serving as the Chair this year, so, I’m excited to see who’s new that’s going to come on board, and I’m anxious to wish them well. It’s a big commitment. I think to do it right, it needs more of a commitment than was originally said to me, which was focused on going to meetings that relate to the agenda. Because there’s an awful lot of discussions about things behind the scenes, staff input in interactions that also take place. So, I ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 11 of 43 would say, you know, six to eight hours a week is probably something that, if you’re going to be doing it, you should do that. And I would say that the vice chair should spend some time as well. I know Commissioner Xue did toward the beginning of his term, and then it got very difficult, which is maybe part of the reason, because he changed jobs and went out. But thank you all for the privilege, and I’m looking forward to the new leadership as it comes along. Ms. van der Zwaag: Great. Thank you. You took step one of what I was about to go over. So, for everybody present, I think it’s important to read over the process so everybody’s on the same page. So, I will do so at this time. The first thing was the outgoing chair explains the general rules of responsibilities of the chair, including the monthly commitment necessary to facilitate the meetings. The Chair opens the floor up to nominations for the position. Commissioners nominate one commissioner at a time. The person nominated must be present at the meeting. A commissioner may enter their own name in nomination. The person offering the nomination can explain why they have nominated the person, or why they would be appropriate for the position. The Chair asks the nominated person if they are willing to accept the nomination. Commissioners continue to nominate additional candidates. With each nomination, the Chair asks the person nominated if they are willing to accept the nomination. When there are no further nominations from the floor, the Chair asks for, or Commission offers, a motion to close nominations. The motion is seconded. The Commission votes verbally to close the nominations. Staff distributes a single ballot for each commissioner. The names of the nominees are repeated by the staff secretary in order in which they were nominated. Each commissioner writes in the name of the person they wish to vote for and returns the ballot to the staff secretary. Staff counts the ballots and announces only the winner and the number of votes. The elected Chair assumes responsibility for chairing the meeting from that point forward. The new Chair thanks the outgoing chair for his or her service, or their service. And that is repeated for Vice Chair. There are separate elections for the position of Chair and Vice Chair. The Vice Chair does not automatically fall to the person who came second in the balloting for Chair. I will turn it back over to Chair Kralik. Chair Kralik: So, Commissioner Xue is not here as the Vice Chair, so I guess, is your preference to have the new Chair lead the Vice Chair portion of the election, and open the floor and…? Ms. van der Zwaag: Then the new Chair would handle the… Chair Kralik: Vice Chair. Ms. van der Zwaag: …the Vice Chair, yes. Chair Kralik: Okay, that sounds great. Commissioner Smith: What are the stipulations on majority? Is it majority of attendants, or…? Commissioner Lee: It’s always four. Ms. van der Zwaag: It’s four. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 12 of 43 Commissioner Smith: It’s four. Okay. Ms. van der Zwaag: Yes. For anything to pass the HRC, it needs four votes. If four votes are not received for any reasons after a number of tries tonight, then I would make a suggestion that it be forwarded to the next time. Chair Kralik: That sounds good. Ms. van der Zwaag: Okay? Chair Kralik: Okay, I’m going to go ahead and open up the floor for nominations. Go ahead. Commissioner Regehr: No, do you want…? Chair Kralik: I’m going to be… Commissioner Regehr: Oh. I just want to nominate Steven Lee. I watched all the meetings before I became Human Relations Commission, I mean, not all of them, but I’ve watched quite a few. And I’ve also, I think he’s shown up at all the meetings. He hasn’t missed one, and I think that’s one. And I think, two, it’s just listening to what you were saying earlier at some point, that you thought that everyone should have a chance to become… You talked to me about being new, and you thought that people should have the opportunity to become Chair. And I think Steven has shown that, his track record, he shows up, he hasn’t missed a meeting. I think working with him, because I share a lot of the work study things, and I think that he… Not work studies, but projects, and I think that he’s very thoughtful, and I’ve seen that he, contrary to what I had heard, I think that he really is a team player, and I think that when Kristen last week was talking about Rinconada Pool, and how we did push her to… She thanks us for kind of pushing her to do that. And I think Rinconada Pool, to me, was an example of Steven’s leadership, but also his ability to let other people think and present their passion. I think he knows the Brown Act; I think he knows Roberts Rules. I think he will be very productive in these meetings and be a great Chair. I think he knows how to run a meeting. I think even though he has very strong viewpoints, I’ve watched him tone it down a little bit with me, and we argue, and he listens, and I think he’s very active in the community, and the community knows him. And he’s very involved. So, that’s why I would like to nominate him. Mostly because he’s… Chair Kralik: Okay, great. So, Steven, are you willing to take on that responsibility? Commissioner Lee: Yes, I would be honored to. Chair Kralik: Okay. Very good. Are there any other nominations for the chair? Commissioner Savage: I have a nomination. I would like to nominate Commissioner Kaloma Smith. I think he is a true leader. I saw him leading his congregation at his church last week and I was blown away. There must have been more than 300 people there, and he had the ear of everybody. He is a visionary. And his passion for the people of Palo Alto and his commitment to fairness is unmatched. I was just mesmerized by the leadership of Kaloma Smith. I am proud to serve with him on the HRC, and I would even be prouder if he were the Chair. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 13 of 43 Chair Kralik: Okay. Are you willing and able to do the honors of Chair? Commissioner Smith: Yes, I am. Chair Kralik: Oh, wow. Okay, great. Let me say something nice about both of these gentlemen. I also went to Pastor Smith’s church with my son and saw firsthand what he does in the community, which is wonderful. He’s been a very nice presence here at meetings as well in terms of guiding toward productive solutions. Steven has been on the forefront of several issues, and I think one of the strengths that he has had is his connections with the community and bringing people here to our meetings that have something to say about the issues that we bring up, and having those connections as well. So, they are both fine candidates. So, are there any other nominations? MOTION Chair Kralik: I’m going to make a motion then to close the nominations. Would anyone like to second? SECOND Commissioner Lee: Second. Chair Kralik: Okay. All in favor of closing the nominations at this time. MOTION PASSED WITH UNANIMOUS VOTE Chair Kralik: Okay, that does it. Great. Ms. van der Zwaag: I will hand out the ballots because my colleague is otherwise involved [Ms. van der Zwaag hands out ballots; commissioners vote; Ms. van der Zwaag collects ballots.] Ms. van der Zwaag: So, there is, there is not a decision for either candidate. Neither candidate received four votes. Chair Kralik: Okay, so, I guess we will move the election to the next regularly scheduled meeting. Is that the way it works? Ms. van der Zwaag: You can do that, or you continue to have conversations to see if anybody would change their vote. But, if not, you move it to the next meeting. Commissioner Smith: Yes, and Robert Rules of Order you can run the election again. Then you will have the option to either change the rule of the election or move it to a secondary meeting. Or move it to another meeting. Chair Kralik: Yes, I don’t anticipate changing my vote. Does anybody here anticipate? ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 14 of 43 Commissioner Lee: Can you give the candidates a chance to speak? Chair Kralik: Oh, Yes, of course, guys. Go ahead. Yes. Commissioner Lee: I’m just going to speak on my candidacy. I appreciate the nomination, Patti. You know, there are a number of reasons why I think I would be an optimal change for 2020. Commissioner Regehr: Can we just wait until everyone is paying attention, or look…? Commissioner Lee: I’m one of the… Well, I am the senior-most member of the Commission who has not served in leadership today. I am in the third year of my term. I expect to reapply, and with Council’s grace, hope to be reappointed. So, given the fact that I have less time, I think its sort of my turn, if there are to be turns. I have consistently shown up and done the job. In the 30 or so-odd meetings that we’ve had since I’ve been appointed, I haven’t missed one meeting. I regularly attend two to three other meetings a week, whether it’s meetings with my colleagues, meetings with nonprofits, meetings with residents in our community. So, I go out of my way to really put in the time. I really go above and beyond, I think, what’s minimally expected of a commissioner, and I would hope that whoever we choose for leadership shares that perspective and has that track record. I’ve served on a number of the Commission’s various ad hoc committees. I think I did a tally the other day and it’s something like 10 or 15 different initiatives. And of the major initiatives that the Commission has worked on the last year or two, I’ve been either a leader, or one of the folks leading the charge on those issues. So, I’ve been fairly involved with most of the activity of the Commission and know it fairly well. I’ve served on a number of other commissions. This is my eighth commission. I’m also on a VTA citizens advisory council, so I’m very much familiar with local government, the process. I know how many votes are required to pass any action because I regularly read our municipal code as it relates to the Commission, so I’m very familiar with our mandate, and with how things are run. My goal as Chair would be to empower the entire Commission. I don’t think we ever fully agree on any particular issue, but we all come with a very valid experience and valid perspective on all of the issues. And I want to empower the Commission to help empower each individual commissioner to pursue their particular passion project or issue, and I think that requires a chair who not only shows up and gets his or her work done, but can also schedule the meetings such so that every commissioner has an opportunity to bring up their particular issue or project, and that they feel like their time on the Commission is worthwhile. That the months go by pretty fast. We only meet 12 times, maybe 13 times including the retreat, so I want to be very cognizant of that and show that, you know, before people’s terms end, that they have an opportunity to feel like they made an impact. And my general philosophy is, you know, even if I disagree with someone, I’m going to listen to them, and I’m going to work with them. Not everyone shares that philosophy, but I certainly do. I’ve met with every member of the Commission at least once or twice, if not more, for coffee. I proactively go out of my way to make myself available. And even if my colleagues are working on an issue that is less of a priority for me, I always put myself out there to help people. And to the extent that folks utilize me as a resource, it’s up that commissioner, but I make myself available. Chair Kralik: Let me just ask a question because, you know, it was surprising to me, for a couple reasons, that you had another person vying for the position, and that was Commissioner Smith. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 15 of 43 Because I thought the last time, we had a meeting on the vote that Commissioner Smith had actually placed your name in nomination, Steven. Am I wrong about that? [no audible response] Okay. Yes, so, I was just kind of surprised by that. So, maybe I’ll just ask Commissioner Smith if he has any input on that as to… Because a couple, one of the things I would say is that, I know you’ve been extremely busy with your parish congregation. You know, I also am busy with two young children, and a parent who lives far away in Jacksonville who has had health crises. So, it’s a pretty big challenge to be the chair. And I always thought, you know, that your input at the meetings was wonderful, but I sensed that there was some reluctance really to always commit, given your outside activities. So, I guess… I don’t know. I guess I was just a little surprised tonight. Maybe that’s something that comes… You know, and the Vice Chair position – and I’m trying to be a mediator here – in the… Commissioner Smith: I sense that. Chair Kralik: …Vice Chair position, the, you know, I think Commission Xue was quite busy with his job because they were changing, and he got into the mode of at least relying on my input at these leadership meetings. The leadership meetings are usually followed up with emails and a lot of interaction with staff over the agenda. I guess as a mediator, I was just wondering, maybe, since you’ve in the past stated sort of a positive framework around Commissioner Lee, whether you’re going to be willing to do maybe the Vice Chair instead. I’m trying to be… Commissioner Smith: I know. I sense the effort to be the bridge. Chair Kralik: Yes. Commissioner Smith: A couple of critical things. The one thing that I’ve proven in the city so far is anything that I’ve dedicated my effort and time to has been transformative for this community. That’s why… Chair Kralik: I don’t question your abilities at all. Commissioner Smith: Let me finish, though. Let me finish the sentence, please. Chair Kralik: Okay. Commissioner Smith: Please, sir. My current reality is, particularly after what happened at the church, and the fact that we had over 40 community leaders convene at the church on Sunday, and over 500 people there, it made me realize how integral it is for me to become more deeply engaged with this community. This is not a hobby, or a part time. This is now a passion because it directly impacts my parish, kids – everything. And the reality is this. I provide transformative leadership in the local church, on the boards that I serve on, on my denomination, regionally, civil rights organizations. It’s not… My track record is extremely clear on what I can provide for this community. It’s not, you know, when I put my mind to this effort, I guarantee this commission will do something special. Chair Kralik: Okay, well, I was just trying to be my… ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 16 of 43 Commissioner Smith: I know you were. Chair Kralik: …my mediator self-there, and see if could come to, get you both there. Go ahead. Commissioner Regehr: I guess my question is, I’m doubting your, you know, and I’m not… But I think that, that I haven’t seen you here very often, so I don’t know, and I want someone on the Human Resources Commission that’s going to show up, that is going to be involved. And I’ve seen Steven be involved and follow through with projects. And I guess my point with you is my confidence is that, if you have this, why can’t you be Vice Chair? I’m just saying, because we’re trying to have a discussion so we can vote, and I think… Ms. van der Zwaag: This seems to me like it’s teetering off into a debate or an interrogation… Commissioner Regehr: No, it’s just… Ms. van der Zwaag: … of someone, where the decision to be made is really in the ballots. I mean, if you all want this to continue in this way, I will let you do so, but I’m feeling… Commissioner Regehr: Let me finish, though… Ms. van der Zwaag: … a little uncomfortable. Commissioner Regehr: …let me just finish. Chair Kralik: I’m sorry you’re feeling uncomfortable. Commissioner Regehr: No, but I think… Chair Kralik: I don’t feel that uncomfortable… Commissioner Regehr: Me neither. Chair Kralik: … because we’ve all said positive things. Commissioner Regehr: Yes, I mean, I think it’s great, but I’m just saying, how about… I would feel more comfortable voting for you if I saw a track record at the Human Relations, and be Vice Chair, and then, then you can be Chair. Then you could be Chair next year when you have shown, you know, when you have shown that you are coming to meetings, that you’re participating, responding to emails. That… I’m just saying, is that none of us are doing this just because it’s a hobby. This has been my long-term, I mean, this is what I’ve done my whole life. You know? And I think that… Commissioner Smith: So, Patti, I think you took an unfair sample of my body of work. The reality is you came on the board in July, right? June? Commissioner Regehr: I was… ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 17 of 43 Commissioner Smith: And we took Henry in, in August. So, that was why. But Minka and staff will tell you, long before I was on this board, I’ve shown up year in and year out and done community-designed events. Chair Kralik: Yes, I think… [crosstalk] Commissioner Smith: And I think that criticism, although the sample size that you have makes it appear to be valid, if you ask anybody, staff or any of my other people in the building, they will tell you that before then, I had done the projects that I had signed up to do. Commissioner Regehr: I’m just talking about, I’ve looked at all, before I joined the Commission, I looked at all the meetings. I attended… I didn’t watch them all. I’m just saying it’s not like I’m just this “new body.” And I can only judge from what I’ve seen. I’m only talking about the Human Relations Commission. I can’t validate your contribution to… Because you have done wonderful things. I can only judge voting for someone or saying something, is because of what I’ve seen at the Human Relations Commission meeting. Chair Kralik: Would it help you, Patti, if we mentioned one other thing, which is that, you know, Commissioner Smith has for throughout my term, which has lasted almost two years now, run the community conversations group, which has been probably the most, if not the second most, productive Human Relations Commission activity that we’ve had. So, there is the time commitment. I was trying to ask him if we could sort of build a bridge because of his prior recommendation of Steven because I thought actually they made a great pair. I hark back to an issue in which I was the lone vote of the Commission, and they both, you know, signed this lovely letter to the folks down in San Jose. And obviously they’ve worked well together as a team, and that’s what I was hoping to do. But what I heard back from – and this is the mediator in me talking – what I heard back from Commissioner Smith is that his mindset has changed because he wants to be the leader, and a transformative one, and perhaps I’ve been the one that has spurred him on to be transformative here at the HRC. But his mindset has changed. I was just exploring that. I was trying to be polite in making sure that he understood that it is a commitment. And I think he echoed back that he does. So, with that said, I think we should have a motion to push this election… Commissioner Savage: I’d like to say something before the motion. Chair Kralik: Yes, go ahead, please. Commissioner Savage: Okay. Just to add on, I think that Pastor Smith has the maturity, the wisdom, and most importantly, the composure to be Chair. And the time is right. Chair Kralik: Okay, well, those are nice things to say, and we should all say nice things about one another. Commissioner Regehr: I think it’s a win/win situation, no matter how we look at it. I think that’s ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 18 of 43 what we as a Commission needs to pat all of ourselves on the back, that whoever wins, it’s a win. Because I think either one… And I think… Chair Kralik: Okay, so… Commissioner Regehr: …my question, I guess my question to Daryl is, when you said, “the time is right,” I don’t understand that question, that point. Commissioner Savage: Well, the church is in the news, you know, that was a huge news story, and I think it’s going to continue, and it’s, you know, it will… The leadership that he has displayed will continue in the community. He’s getting noticed more and more, and it’s a good thing, and it’s the time. Commissioner Regehr: I guess we could just debate. I mean, the reason why I knew about the Commission, for me, was because of all the things… I didn’t even know that there was a Human Relations Commission until Steven was doing… I mean, I guess I don’t understand this “time is right” because… Is it just the timing? I guess I… Chair Kralik: The main question to ask you, Patti, is, are you willing to change your vote? [crosstalk] Commissioner Regehr: …question to me…[crosstalk] Commissioner Smith: So, I think… [crosstalk] Commissioner Smith: First of all, the ballots are secret… Commissioner Regehr: Right. Commissioner Smith: … so, we’re making an assumption of who votes where. Commissioner Regehr: Yes. Commissioner Smith: I think the… Chair Kralik: My ballot had my name on it. Commissioner Smith: No, but I think the… Can we move this to a vote, please? [crosstalk] Chair Kralik: What would you like to move? Commissioner Regehr: I just want to make a point, no… ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 19 of 43 Commissioner Smith: I would like to move that we have another round of votes, if the Chair would allow it, because I think each commissioner has responded, each commissioner has asked questions, and I think the period is over. So, in order to move the process forward, we can vote. And please vote your conscious. Please. Chair Kralik: Let me just say this…. Commissioner Regehr: I just want to say… Chair Kralik: I’m not in favor of that, so if there is a second, I’d like to hear it. Commissioner Regehr: I just want to defend myself a little bit because I don’t think it was right the way you said, “are you ready to change your vote, Patti?” We were having a discussion. You didn’t say that to Daryl, you didn’t say that to the other people. You’re assuming that Daryl and I voted one way or the other. That was a conscious decision on your part to say that, and I think it was unfair for you to say that only to me, and not to Daryl. You didn’t ask Daryl if she was ready to change her viewpoint. Or who everybody else. Commissioner Smith: He did ask me to change my viewpoint, though. Commissioner Regehr: No, but he didn’t ask Daryl. And we’re the two that nominated you two. Chair Kralik: Well, I’m happy to ask anybody here if they’re willing to change their vote. I mean… Commissioner Regehr: But you didn’t. Chair Kralik: I think it’s… Commissioner Smith: Can we…? Chair Kralik: It’s kind of a… Commissioner Smith: Can I move the vote? Chair Kralik: No, no, let me just run this a little bit differently. First of all, Patti, I said, personally, that I didn’t want to change my vote, and therefore, I felt that it wasn’t worth moving forward. So, unless… And I did ask other commissioners, “Are you willing to change your viewpoint?” I asked the candidate himself – one of the candidates, not both – if he was willing to. And I’m trying to get to the bottom of getting four people on the same list. Commissioner Regehr: Well, can you ask Daryl if she’s ready to change her vote, too? It wasn’t fair the way you just put it on me. Chair Kralik: Okay, so, I listened to what you said, and what you had said is that you were okay no matter how it turned out. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 20 of 43 Commissioner Regehr: No. I said it was a win/win situation, in some ways. Chair Kralik: What’s that mean? Commissioner Regehr: Okay, what it means is I think that Steven has proven himself to do it, and I think that he’s come to the meetings, he’s shown that he has composure, he’s shown to me at other meetings that he’s done this. But, at the same time, when I was listening to Daryl saying how Kaloma is a wonderful pastor, we’re not voting for a minister. We’re voting for a leadership at the Human Relations Commission. Chair Kralik: I got it. Commissioner Regehr: And so, I think… Chair Kralik: In “win/win,” you did not mean to say that you didn’t mind voting for either candidate? Commissioner Regehr: I said that we’re all passionate, wonderful, skilled people. We all bring different things. Chair Kralik: Right, and just so you know… Commissioner Regehr: Just like Daryl was saying… No, so, what I’m saying is that when you said, am I willing to change my vote? You didn’t ask the other person that promoted someone else. And that was an unfair situation on your part. And I think we should point, and I think… Chair Kralik: Okay. All right. Commissioner Smith: I think it’s only fair to at least have the docket go one more time. And then, we can open a motion to either move it to a later date, or whatever. I don’t know how the bylaws are written. Some bylaws are written that you can actually change the vote count. Some are legal. Chair Kralik: Okay, I’m not personally in favor of re-voting. Does anyone else want to second that motion? Commissioner Lee: Can I…? Commissioner Regehr: Which motion? Chair Kralik: The motion to have a re-vote. Commissioner Lee: Can I make a comment? Commissioner Smith: It’s not a motion. You have to make a motion not to have a re-vote. Because the vote process continues until you make a motion to stop it. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 21 of 43 Chair Kralik: Okay. MOTION Chair Kralik: I will make the motion, the countermotion to stop the vote. Commissioner Lee: And effectively move the vote to… Chair Kralik: Another meeting. Commissioner Lee: Okay. Chair Kralik: Yes. I don’t see that this is going to resolve. Commissioner Lee: Well, before you make that motion, can I make an observation? Chair Kralik: Mm-hmm. Commissioner Lee: Okay. I’m not going to use names, but let’s assume that the vote this evening was 3-2. Let’s just assume that that’s the case. Assuming that no one in this room is willing to change their vote, right, and we move this to February… Chair Kralik: Yes, you need somebody to change their vote. Commissioner Lee: Yes, we need… So, adding Valerie doesn’t change the outcome. We need someone in this room to change their vote, so I’m going to make that observation. Commissioner Smith: This is the one thing about voting, and this is why it’s anonymous. Sometimes you just have to let the people vote. At the end of the day, us arguing about the vote, we just have to run the process through. Chair Kralik: Okay. Commissioner Smith: What I’ve seen in many different occasions is sometimes running the process leads you to different results. So, let’s just run the process and let the process take care of itself. If we get to two or three rounds and we say we want to hold it till the next month, people can go think about it for a month and come back and vote. We don’t know what the result is until we vote. This is all speculation. Commissioner Regehr: Can I ask question? When I watched the last election, when you became chair, you said how many people… You didn’t say who voted for what, but you said it was 4 to 3. This time, we had no idea. [crosstalk] Commissioner Lee: … announce a number, just not who voted for who. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 22 of 43 Ms. van der Zwaag: When I re-looked at the thing, it says staff counts the vote and announces only the winner and the number of votes. So, there was not a winner this time, so I said there was not a winner this time. Commissioner Lee: I just want to clarify. So, the number of votes is specified in the Municipal Code, so unless the City Council changes that, we as a Commission do not have the ability to change it from four votes to anything else. Ms. van der Zwaag: That is correct, since it is in the Municipal Code. Commissioner Lee: And the Chair continues to serve until his or her replacement is selected. Ms. van der Zwaag: That is correct. Commissioner Lee: Okay. Chair Kralik: Good grief, guys. Okay. I’ve made a motion. Is there a second to close the election process this evening for chair? SECOND [none] Chair Kralik: Okay, not hearing one, let’s do another round, I guess. Ms. van der Zwaag: Since this was unexpected, I basically put, Round 1 is what you just did, and to the left of it I put Round 2. [Ms. van der Zwaag hands out ballots; commissioners vote; Ms. van der Zwaag collects ballots.] Ms. van der Zwaag: No candidate received four votes. MOTION Chair Kralik: Okay, I’m going to go ahead and make a motion that we table the election until the next meeting. Commissioner Regehr: Can we ask if it’s closer? Ms. van der Zwaag: There was no change. Commissioner Regehr: No change. Chair Kralik: Which is why I was trying to ask people if they would change. But, okay. Commissioner Regehr: I’ll move so you can tap her, too. Chair Kralik: Okay, please. Okay. Let me just say, these are very nice guys. They’re both ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 23 of 43 running. They have very good things about them, which we’ve dictated. I think even as a combination team, they would be wonderful. But I don’t see that there’s been any change tonight. So, it’s possible that with an additional vote next time, if everyone shows up, that we could reach it. It’s also possible that we might not do that. So, I am willing to continue to serve as the Chair until such time as we get there. Commissioner Regehr: I have a couple of questions, just on protocol, Minka. So, the next vote was Vice Chair. And we don’t have a Vice Chair anyway. So, are we going to hold…? We were going to vote on Vice Chair, but not knowing who the Chair is going to be… Commissioner Smith: I wouldn’t vote just after propriety. Commissioner Regehr: Well, I was asking Minka. Ms. van der Zwaag: The process as it’s written here doesn’t specifically give any protocol if a Chair is not chosen. The process said the process is then repeated for the position of Vice Chair as outlined above. The Chair outlines the responsibility of the Vice Chair position. Commissioner Lee: So, there’s a separate action. So, unless the Chair wants to move that we postpone both of them, we could certainly do that, but they are separate items, I believe. Chair Kralik: Yes, I would move that we postpone both of them because I think, you know, one of the things that I would say is if, you know, some of our newer members run for office, they’ve never been in leadership and if they do not win the Chair position, you know, we said nice things about two candidates tonight, and I think that a Vice Chair position could also be one of the people who runs for Chair. And I don’t necessarily want to pick the second one, first. I don’t know how everybody else feels about that. Commissioner Savage: I agree with you. If we don’t have a Chair, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to vote a Vice Chair in. Commissioner Smith: You have a third on it, Yes. Chair Kralik: Okay, so… Go ahead, Patti. Commissioner Regehr: I have another point, is that tonight was supposed to be the election, and only people that are present can be elected. What are we going to do if…? Commissioner Smith: Same rules. Commissioner Regehr: Well, but it’s changing a little bit, because now we’ve nominated two people, we’re supposed to vote on them. But, let’s say someone nominates Valerie, and she’s there at the next meeting. We’re supposed to vote on Chair, we’re supposed to vote on Vice Chair, and in next meeting… Commissioner Lee: We did vote to close nominations, so unless we did a motion to reconsider, we cannot re-open nominations at the next meeting. Basically, what tabling the vote on the two, ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 24 of 43 on the Chair, so the nominations I don’t believe would be re-opened unless we made a motion [crosstalk]. Commissioner Regehr: But we also said not, when Daryl was saying let’s postpone the election to February, we said no. And that included the Vice Chair. And we voted on that. Chair Kralik: I think we all want to do that, and we can just, to make sure there’s no misunderstanding, could someone make a motion to postpone both the election of Chair and Vice Chair to the next meeting? MOTION Commissioner Savage: I move to, again, postpone both the Chair and Vice Chair election. SECOND Commissioner Smith: I second the motion. Chair Kralik: All in favor? Commissioner Lee: I’m sorry, there needs to be discussion… Commissioner Regehr: There has to be discussion because we already voted not to postpone it. The Vice Chair. Commissioner Smith: You can bring back up a motion again and re-run the vote. Commissioner Lee: Right. To re-run the vote requires, what? A 5-6 vote, for a motion to reconsider? Commissioner Regehr: That’s my point, is we can’t just… Commissioner Smith: You can reconsider a motion. Commissioner Lee: Yes, but the threshold to reconsider a prior action requires a higher threshold. Correct? Ms. van der Zwaag: What I’m saying is, I see it slightly different, and I’m trying to keep track of this all myself. You made a motion not to move it to February. Then you went forward with the action. You did not come to resolution for it with the action, so, as with other actions that you have taken or other agenda items you have taken in the past, if you haven’t come to resolution, then sometimes what people do is, hey, let’s get some more information about it, let’s have staff give a presentation on this, and we’ll revisit this at the next meeting. It’s my understanding that there’s not a necessity to say this item is not coming up again because we made the decision to discuss it. You made a decision to discuss it, you discussed it, and you didn’t come to resolution. So, then, this item would come up at a next meeting. Now, to be honest, I do not have the information to say at this point if you need a super majority to be able to say, “Do we need to ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 25 of 43 discuss this again?” You don’t have a Chair, so I’m not sure what… And you might not get a super majority for this vote? But what are we going to do? Yes, then the decision might be that the Chair continues to serve until this is re-done. Chair Kralik: And in your favor on that, let’s just talk about the process. The process is to select the Chair first, before the Vice Chair. So, we have not selected the Chair. On the Monopoly board, we haven’t passed “GO” there. We’re not, you know, we’re not through the first step of the process. Commissioner Savage: I think common sense has to take over at some point. Chair Kralik: Yes, it’s common sense, and I think that’s… Commissioner Smith: So, just to be clear, on Robert’s Rules of Order, the motion must be seconded, is debatable if the motion to be reconsidered is debatable, can’t be amended, requires a majority vote. So, majority vote is what’s in the room at the time. So, three people here vote to reconsider a motion, we can reconsider the motion to postpone until February. Chair Kralik: Yes. MOTION Commissioner Savage: Okay, so, I move to postpone until February the election of both Chair and Vice Chair. SECOND Commissioner Smith: You have a second. Commissioner Lee: [off-microphone] Well, you have to give a motion to reconsider; it’s a two- step motion. Commissioner Savage: I’m sorry? Commissioner Lee: It’s a two-step motion, so you have to move to reconsider, and then we debate the question. MOTION Commissioner Savage: Okay. I move to reconsider what I just talked about. SECOND Commissioner Smith: Second. Chair Kralik: Okay, open for discussion. Okay. All in favor? ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 26 of 43 Smith, Savage, Kralik: Aye. Ms. van der Zwaag: Commissioner Lee… Chair Kralik: All against? Ms. van der Zwaag: …I did not hear your vote. Commissioner Lee: No. Commissioner Regehr: No. Ms. van der Zwaag: Thank you. Okay. So, it’s, per… Commissioner Lee: So, we will reconsider the question, and now we vote on the motion again, to postpone it. Which requires a four-person vote. Commissioner Smith: It’s a majority… Commissioner Lee: Majority for the motion to reconsider, but then, once you, we’re reconsidering it now, to pass the second motion requires four votes. Commissioner Savage: Steven, do we actually want to vote for a Vice Chair when there’s no Chair? Is that possible, that that’s what you’re thinking? Commissioner Lee: I think we need to get resolution on this today. I don’t think postponing to February. Commissioner Savage: So, is that a yes? You want to get a Vice Chair before we have a Chair. Is that correct? Commissioner Lee: I want to continue the discussion on Chair. Commissioner Smith: Well, it’s not a discussion, it’s a round of votes. Commissioner Lee: Well, every action has discussion. So, it’s not just a matter of voting. There’s discussion that happens on each action. Commissioner Smith: Okay. Chair, can you open the floor for discussion, please? Chair Kralik: All right, I’m a little bit confused, because I think that we did go through two rounds of voting, so, none of the votes changed from the first to the second time, according to staff. And so, I’ll just ask, you know, how it is that we would end voting on the Chair if no one would be willing to change their mind? I’ve explored kind of a bridge that I thought was friendly. Commissioner Smith: Sometimes you just have to run the process. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 27 of 43 Chair Kralik: Right, but we also had some positive feedback on that, and people ran it. So, I think we’re at loggerheads at this point, guys. I think the meeting has to end. Commissioner Lee: I’d like to [crosstalk] discussion. Chair Kralik: What would you like to discuss? Commissioner Lee: Can I just make my comment? Let me caveat my comment by saying that, you know, I have a lot of respect for Commissioner Smith. You know, we’ve done a lot of great work today, great work during our terms. So, what I say, what I’m going to say is nothing personal against you. I’m going to try to state it as neutrally as possible. In 2019, going through the meeting minutes, of the 13 meetings that we had as a Commission, which included the retreat, I counted six or seven absences from you. Now, I acknowledge, and I thank you for your larger service to our community, and to the Commission, over an extended period of time. But, in my opinion, we’re talking about leadership of this Commission, and for me, a basic pre- requisite is showing up for commission meetings and while I understand you have a perfectly valid reason, and I probably would have made the same choices that you did given your circumstances, you know, the facts are the facts. I attended all 13 of those meetings. I’ve attended numerous outside meetings. I understand that there is, you know, there was this incident that happened in our community, and that you have done tremendous work. I attended the service last Sunday and I thought that was fantastic. And I see how you have a great ability to mobilize a community. That being said, you know, that’s one issue. I mean, it’s certainly a large issue. But when we look at the totality of our Commission’s mandate, the issues that we have on our workplan, the accomplishes we have done in the last year or two, you know, I do have to point to the fact that not only did I show up, and be prepared, and asked good questions, and participate, but I lead or co-lead the initiatives on most of the things that we would consider accomplishments. I think that I’ve mobilized a lot of people in the community to support us on some of those issues. I think I’ve raised the visibility of the Commission. A lot more people know about the work that we are doing, not just the work that I’m doing, but the work that the Commission is doing, and I think that’s important. I don’t think we should be a one-issue body; you know. And with regards to maturity and composure, I’m not a perfect person. I’m continually learning, and I have the emotional awareness and am humble enough to acknowledge my faults and have striven to improve when and where I can. But that being said, I think there is a difference between maturity and composure and just folks disagreeing on issues. I have spoken out on particular issues. Not all of my colleagues have agreed with me on those issues, and that’s fine. I think I’ve always spoken with respect and with a lot of thought. Again, not everyone is going to agree with what I said, but I think the way that I engage with the community has always been respectful. I always make it very clear, you know, when I’m speaking as an individual as opposed to on behalf of the Commission, because I have a clear sense of the structure of the Commission and the roles, and I know that in order to speak for the Commission, it requires an action by this body. And really, that means that a lot of the work that we do in our community is individual work or work that we do with one or two commissioners. So, I think, even though I am the youngest member of the Commission, I would rebut the claim that my conduct to date has been less composed or less mature. I think we just have honest disagreements on issues, on policy, on our role in the Commission. As a lawyer, I read what the Municipal Code says about what our mandate is or could be. You know, it’s going to vary depending on the membership of ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 28 of 43 the committee, but I see the four corners of what we can do, and I see a lot of potential in this Commission. As Chair, I’m going to do everything that I can do to empower not only the Commission as a body, but each individual commissioner and their particular passion projects. And I’ve done that by reaching out to everyone. Not everyone has to reach back and work with me, but I am at least receptive to do that, and I have done it continuously. You know, when Commissioner Xue said he was interested in working on senior issues, I went out of my way, when I identified opportunities for him to engage with that community by setting up meetings with myself and some members of the county senior commission. So, while I’ve done a lot of work on the issues that I care about, I’m constantly reaching out my hand to my colleagues and trying to find way to empower them, and to empower the work that they’re doing. And I would continue to do so in an even larger context as Chair. I just want to put that on the record. Chair Kralik: I would like to give… There were some statements made in there about attendance, so I do want to give Commissioner Smith the opportunity to respond, if he would like to. You don’t have to. Commissioner Savage: Wait. May I just say something? Are we still talking about Chair? I thought that issue was gone. Commissioner Smith: They want to go back. Commissioner Savage: Huh? Commissioner Lee: [off-microphone] We never made a motion to move [inaudible]. Commissioner Smith: [off-microphone] We are here again. Commissioner Savage: Oh, okay. I must have missed something. Commissioner Smith: Sometimes leadership is reading the board and understanding where you are. Also understanding how to work with the people in the room, and how to get a solution to where you need to go. We are currently at an impasse, and we keep pushing the impasse. Is this something we’re going to sign up, to be impasses for the rest of the year? Are we going to work in a way that we can get to solutions that can meet everybody’s needs? Chair Kralik: Commissioner Regehr, just for a few comments, if you have them. Okay, Commissioner… Commissioner Regehr: No, I just want to say, when you say things like that, Gabe, few comments, I didn’t hear you say it to anybody else, and once again I feel, just like when you asked me if someone drove me to my meetings, I feel very patronized by your comments towards me, and I think that… Chair Kralik: I’m sorry if you took offense, but it’s 8:15… Commissioner Regehr: No, I didn’t take… ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 29 of 43 Chair Kralik: …and we have… Commissioner Regehr: Okay. Chair Kralik: …a 20-minute election. Commissioner Regehr: This is a very important thing that we’re doing, and I think that our leadership… Chair Kralik: We’re going in circles. Commissioner Regehr: We’re not going in circles. Chair Kralik: No one is changing their vote, and it’s… Commissioner Regehr: Well, you’re not changing your behavior either towards me. Commissioner Lee: I believe that there’s value in the discussion. Chair Kralik: Well, I don’t agree with your characterizations. But, here’s the point. The point is… Commissioner Regehr: Wait, didn’t you ask me to speak? Okay. Chair Kralik: I asked if you had any comments that you would like to make, because you voted to keep the election open. So, it’s… I’m opening the floor to you. Do you have anything to say about why you want to keep it open? Commissioner Regehr: Well, we’re not, we’ve already… That’s not my discussion. Our discussion right now is not keeping it open. That’s not a motion. [crosstalk] Chair Kralik: You voted against closing it. Commissioner Regehr: What are we discussing here? Are we discussing the motion that lost, or are we discussing…? Chair Kralik: Yes. Basically, we’re… Commissioner Smith: We’re back at Chair. Commissioner Regehr: Right. We’re back at Chair. That’s what we’re discussing. Chair Kralik: Yes, and I… Commissioner Regehr: Not the motion. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 30 of 43 Chair Kralik: I don’t think that we’re… Commissioner Regehr: Let’s just cut to the chase. I am here to talk about the leadership of the Chair, not whether or not, how I feel, why I didn’t vote for the motion. Chair Kralik: Go ahead. What would you like to say? Commissioner Regehr: I would like to say that I feel that our leadership has been lacking. I feel that our leadership, that either one… And I think coming to a conclusion sometimes, as painful as it is, is an important process. And I think that sometimes people are viewing questions, is because some people come prepared to meetings, and I think that there’s certain ways that these meetings have been led in the last year that is not given each commissioner five minutes to speak, with the questions. So, some of us have been asking more questions, because I’ve heard that’s part of the criticism of Steven, that he asks too many questions. And I think if he hadn’t been showing up, he wouldn’t have been given that criticism. You know what I’m saying? Let’s not blame someone because they come enthusiastically, and they have questions. Are we saying that we’d rather have people not show up? And I… Let me finish. I think that we need to think as a leadership, as a group, of, sometimes thorns are necessary. Sometimes thorns are necessary, we’ve tried this getting-along business. And I think getting along is also having an agreement that we disagree, and how do we move forward? Not trying to make everybody feel happy here. And I think that that… How many people have worked with each individual person and seen what they’ve done this year? That’s what we’re voting for. We’re voting for what they’ve done on the Human Relations Commission, not what they’ve done other places. We’re voting for a Human Relations Commission leader, and what they have done, and what they have shown, on the Commission. Because… And that is what we’re voting for. We’re not voting for… Commissioner Smith: I want to change the conversation a little bit. Nobody brought up anybody’s tenor or questions in a negative light. Or nobody made any criticism of anybody. Before we start veering off and saying, “because Steven asks questions,” nobody brought that up. I just want you guys to be clear. Nobody in this… Commissioner Lee: [off-microphone] There have been a lot of conversations about that. [crosstalk] Commissioner Smith: But, you see, this is the point. This is a simple election. Please. I understand that we have a loggerhead, but I think we… Part of the thing, to your point, is the way we move this forward is we have the vote. And we just, we just have the vote. We could have voted four times already, and… Chair Kralik: Let’s go ahead and have another vote. Commissioner Smith: …and I think… And I’m going say this one last time. Please stop attacking my record, because the reality is – and staff will sit here – for the last five years, before I was a commissioner, I worked with the Human Relations Commission. Before I got appointed by the City, I worked with the Commission. When there were no meetings to go to, showing up at meetings, I did it. So, please, please, please, please, everybody. Stop attacking my record. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 31 of 43 Because at this point, everybody wants to talk about thorns? I am personally, have personally sat back… Gabe started by saying I should step down to Vice Chair. That was the first thing. Then, you came at me and said, you’ve been here six months, and then you, then you narrated my whole term. Then this one came at me and said, “You should look at what we did in this community.” Chair Kralik: Well… Commissioner Smith: Wait. Stop… [crosstalk] Chair Kralik: I did not say that. Commissioner Smith: No, no, I’m saying this one, not you. Chair Kralik: I know, but I did not ask you… Commissioner Smith: So, the reality is… Chair Kralik: I didn’t ask you to do that. Commissioner Smith: …is, if we, we have been throwing barbs at me, but… We have been throwing barbs at me for the last 25 minutes, for me to step down. And you know that resolves me for? That means that this Commission needs leadership if we’re going to spend a meeting attacking one of us, and then acting like the victim after the person is attacked. Chair Kralik: Let me respond, because I do want to respond to that. I didn’t ask you to step down. What I said to you… Commissioner Smith: What did you say? Chair Kralik: I said last year, you nominated Steven, and I was surprised that you had been nominated. So, I asked, is there a way to build a bridge? I asked… Commissioner Smith: You did, but it… Chair Kralik: I also said that… The whole thing is… [crosstalk] Commissioner Smith: … at the end of the day, Gabe, how does it look that a Human Relations Commission has three commissioners make personal veiled or unveiled comments against another commissioner? [crosstalk] ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 32 of 43 Chair Kralik: … that was positive. Commissioner Smith: And criticism is critical. Chair Kralik: Yes. I didn’t say anything about your attendance record. Commissioner Smith: But we’ve repeated it six or seven times. Chair Kralik: Then we need to move on. [crosstalk] Commissioner Smith: At what point does that criticism become an attack? Chair Kralik: Okay, well, then we need to move on and hold another vote. Commissioner Smith: Yes, hold the vote. I think we should just hold the vote. Commissioner Regehr: I want to say that I didn’t mean it at all. No, no, I’m not trying to back step on this. Gabe, you need… You’re not even looking at… Commissioner Smith: I’m looking. Commissioner Regehr: Okay. I’m saying that it is important for me. And maybe I’ve been on six months, but I’ve been involved in this community for over 25 years, and I think that looking at the Human Relations Commission – that’s what we’re voting for – looking at all the past meetings before I was here, and I think, for me, attendance… I can’t judge how someone is going to be a leader if I haven’t seen them here. Commissioner Smith: And that’s a fair comment. But we can’t keep saying it every time we run the vote. Like, at a certain point, it becomes redundant. Commissioner Regehr: Okay. But… Commissioner Smith: And that’s a fair point. Commissioner Regehr: Right. That’s the only… Commissioner Lee: And there’s a difference between redundancy and attack. Again, that’s why I prefaced my comments before I mentioned attendance. And I want you to know, regardless of how this ends up being, that I’m going to continue to work with you, I’m going to enjoy debating with you… Commissioner Smith: [inaudible]. Commissioner Lee: … but a statement of facts is different from an attack. And I tried to make that very clear. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 33 of 43 Chair Kralik: And moreover, let me just say this. I planned this meeting with staff, and the meeting plan calls for one hour from a seven o’clock meeting. It’s now 8:20. Commissioner Smith: I know. And I [crosstalk]. Chair Kralik: And I have childcare responsibilities, so I have to leave at 20 minutes till 9. So, we can take one more vote, but if we take another vote and it’s the same vote, guys, I really think we’ve got to be… Commissioner Smith: We have to adjourn the meeting. Chair Kralik: … adults about this and adjourn the meeting until next time. I mean, I’m sorry. [Ms. van der Zwaag hands out ballots; commissioners vote; Ms. van der Zwaag collects ballots.] Ms. van der Zwaag: There was no change. MOTION Commissioner Lee: I’m going to move to table this until February. Chair Kralik: Is there a second for that motion? SECOND Commissioner Smith: I second that motion, empathically, and from the top of a mountain. Chair Kralik: Is there a need for discussion? Commissioner Lee: I just have one comment. My comment is this. Even though the vote didn’t change, I think the discussion and debate, whether it’s on this item or on any other item, is important. We as a commission have a very limited ability to discuss any issue as a body, and so, whether it’s this item or something else, even if the vote is inconclusive or yes or no, I think there’s a lot of value in discussion. And I think in the future, we need to allocate more time to discussion so that we feel like we have more meaningful impact on this community. Because having the presentations are great, but if we don’t get around to actually discussing anything and making recommendations or deciding what we’re going to do, then it’s kind of wasted time. So, I’m going to end debate, but I think the debate, this debate and all debates, are important, and I want to give folks the ability to do so. Chair Kralik: Okay and let me just say that both of the candidates, I have very positive feelings about. I think they could serve. And so, I think in different ways, they bring different skills, and they’re both very passionate people about our community. And when we concentrate on the things we do for others; I think we do a better job. I don’t know why the things I say bother Commissioner Regehr, but if they do, I apologize, and I’ll do better next time. And I’ll do my best to offline talk to you about how I can better acknowledge your viewpoints, okay? So, let’s move to the last… ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 34 of 43 Commissioner Lee: We need to vote on it. Chair Kralik: Oh, we need to vote? Okay. Commissioner Lee: I made it, and [crosstalk]. Chair Kralik: Let’s have a vote. Any votes in favor? MOTION PASSED 4-1 WITH COMMISSIONER REGEHR VOTING IN OPPOSITION TO THE MOTION. Chair Kralik: Okay, we have four votes in favor and one against. Is that correct? Commissioner Lee: Yes. Chair Kralik: Okay. I’m going to vote, because the whole idea of reviewing the workplan assignments was to have the new Chair and Vice Chair review those assignments… Commissioner Lee: Could we provide updates, though, on the progress we’re making? Because I don’t think that is, I don’t think that’s dependent on who is in leadership. Chair Kralik: This item is not to update the items, but to review and update the workplan. Which is… Commissioner Smith: [inaudible]. Chair Kralik: Yes, which is a little bit different. Commissioner Lee: Okay. MOTION Chair Kralik: So, I just motion that we move that discussion item to the next meeting as well. SECOND Commissioner Smith: Okay, I’ll give you a second. Is that a motion? Chair Kralik: Yes. Commissioner Smith: I’ll give you a second. Chair Kralik: Discussion? ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 35 of 43 Commissioner Regehr: I don’t know what’s planned for February, Minka, but, I mean, I’m just wondering if there’s anything on the agenda for February that this is going to really mess things up. Commissioner Lee: I mean, I have several items that I am hoping to be on February agenda, so, certainly [crosstalk]. Ms. van der Zwaag: We have some tentative items and some items that basically are on the agenda. And if we add these two items, we’d be at four before even adding items. Commissioner Smith: [off-microphone] What is the possibility of calling a second meeting in January during the last week. Commissioner Lee: The Chair or any four members of the Commission can call a special meeting. Ms. van der Zwaag: And we would need at least… Chair Kralik: Well, I mean, the idea behind the vote was to try to get a meeting which everybody would come. And we did try an extra day in January… Commissioner Smith: That’s why I said the end of the month, at the end of the month. Ms. van der Zwaag: Yes. Commissioner Smith: [off-microphone] I mean, and let’s be clear. There’s one agenda that we, if we could do it early and get it over with, that would be great Commissioner Lee: I would be in favor, I would second that. Can we make that motion now, or do we need to do that at the end of the meeting? Ms. van der Zwaag: I would think at the end of the meeting, but I’m not clear as to that protocol. V. REPORTS FROM OFFICIALS Chair Kralik: Okay, let’s go to Commissioner Reports, and I just ask kindly if we could keep it brief. Only because the time that we had set out for the business of the meeting ran very long. Commissioner Savage. Commissioner Savage: Well, we met with the police chief, but I think I’d like to delay that to next month because there are quite a few items that we discussed. Chair Kralik: Okay. Commissioner Lee. Commissioner Lee: I’ve been working with Commissioner Regehr on some of our action items, including some follow up to the presentation that the County Offices of Supportive of Housing ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 36 of 43 provided. You know, homelessness is one of our initiatives for this year. It’s a big year in the community and the region as a whole. So, Commissioner Regehr and I have been exploring what additional information might be of value to the Commission. So, hopefully we’ll see some additional items on that in February. Regarding, on the children initiative, Commissioner Regehr had spoken with someone from UNICEF to learn more about their initiative, and they are passing that along. That one might be a bit further out. Commissioner Regehr: I was asking the Chair if we could ask people to pay attention and not be on their phones when someone is giving a report. Commissioner Lee: And so, we had a very good… Commissioner Smith: Just so you’re clear, I suffer from ADD, and one of my coping mechanisms is to scroll the phone. So, as we talk about inclusive communities, sometimes when you see people scrolling, it’s because of things that we don’t know. So… Commissioner Regehr: Okay. Commissioner Smith: …just so everybody understands. Commissioner Regehr: No that’s… Thank you. Commissioner Lee: So, we had a very good conversation with them, and we’re going to continue to do some background research on that. Let’s see, quick, really quick. Commissioner Singer and I continue to support the LGBTQ working group. Our idea is to get a new leadership in place for that so that it hopefully reduces the burden on the Commission and on the City. So, we continue to work with some of the… We have three co-chairs that have stepped up to take leadership over that group, so we’re working with them to support sort of did this beta launch, and we’re going to do a new roll-out that includes some of the other communities in North County who are perhaps earlier in the process, or at different stages in the process than we are. So, we’re actively working with that group to move that forward. Childcare. I’m continuing to do outreach to the PTA as recommended by the Commission. I really appreciate that feedback. So, I’ve sent a list of questions that Minka has helped me focus a bit. I’ve sent that out to some of the PTA leadership, and they’re either going to be discussing it within their individual site or PTA council meetings, or if their leadership wants to email me individual feedback, they can do that, too. So, I’m waiting on getting feedback from that, and then I’ll be able to revise the proposal based on some of the great feedback. Commissioner Smith, I know you made some good feedback about language and tone, and so those will certainly be in there. I’m sure I did a bunch of other stuff, but I’ll leave it at that for now. Commissioner Smith: We’re tentatively going to hold our next community conversation in April. We have League of Women Voters already signed on. We have two places that could be possible locations. The library, the staff recommended, but also First United Methodist wants to open their doors to have a bigger conversation. So, that’s it. I’ll have a meeting with them on the 16th of this month, and we’ll get topics and stuff based on community response from our last talk. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 37 of 43 Chair Kralik: So, I just want to update. You know, I got an email today with the names of the Mayor, the new Mayor and the new Vice Mayor, and in that email they outlined that a city ordinance had gone into effect, or had been voted on, so that in June, stores will be stopped from selling vaping items. And I just wanted to congratulate our Commission as a group on this. It’s a pretty big win, and I think, you know, our collective recommendation did do something for our children. So, I want to end that report on that. If there’s any other reports, please put your light on, and I’ll go ahead and acknowledge. All right, staff liaison… I’m sorry. Commissioner Regehr: I do have one question. I don’t have anything to report, but I do have a question. I’m sorry… Commissioner Smith: [off-microphone] It’s a long night (inaudible). Commissioner Regehr: No, because I thought when we voted, we voted about certain places where we could hold those meetings, and I thought it was supposed to be a non-religious…? Commissioner Smith: They just volunteered it to us. Commissioner Regehr: No, but I thought we as a Commission said we wouldn’t be able to… Ms. van der Zwaag: Right, so, the Commission, they can accept your endorsement of the event or not, and your recommendation was, I think your endorsement was that three out of the four would… Commissioner Lee: Could be at a… Ms. van der Zwaag: Could be. So, if that’s not the way they want to go forward, then they just don’t go forward, and use the HRC’s endorsement. Commissioner Lee: This is the third, third one, right? Commissioner Smith: This is a third one. Commissioner Lee: So, the fourth one would have to, if you went with First Presbyterian, the fourth one would… Commissioner Smith: No, it’s not First Pres. Ms. van der Zwaag: First Methodist. Commissioner Lee: Oh, Methodist, sorry. Commissioner Smith: First Methodist. Commissioner Lee: So, it’s fine for the third one, either way. Commissioner Smith: Yes, so, basically, they approached us after they… And they have been ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 38 of 43 very proactive community-wise. They run a lot of services for the city actually out of that church. Like homeless services and kitchen. So, they were like, “We’d like to be part of the discussion.” You know, and the reality is this. We can (inaudible) recommendation to say the library, or there. So, nothing is set in stone. And the choice is up to us. But I think one of the things that we must remember is there’s different places of engagement. So, how often do we engage our community in religious places? Like, I would love for us, once Congregation Kol Emeth finish building their building, to do something there, just because a lot of churches and religious institutions do a lot of outreach in the community, and we as a City, where else do we get to meet them and actually have conversation and dialog and connectivity? Because we do a lot of other activities. So, as long as it’s not one place or one person, I think it’s healthy. But we can [crosstalk]. Commissioner Lee: I mean, we certainly opened the discussion, but it’s not an issue at this point. Commissioner Regehr: Right. But it will be in the fourth one. Commissioner Lee: Potentially. Potentially. Ms. van der Zwaag: If they continue to choose to use… Commissioner Lee: Choose to use [crosstalk]… Ms. van der Zwaag: … endorsement, right. Commissioner Lee: It is not yet an issue. Ms. van der Zwaag: Okay. Commissioner Smith: But we will. We’ll work with HRC. Chair Kralik: Moving forward to the staff report. 2. Staff Liaison Report Ms. van der Zwaag: Thank you. So, I believe the only thing that… Oh, there’s two updates. One is I heard back, for the second time, from the Clerk’s Office regarding the filling of the vacant positions, and they are still going to wait for the spring recruitment to fill our positions. The second is, on Monday’s agenda at Council, the living in vehicle… not living in vehicle, the Safe Parking Program, will be coming back to the Council again. I looked before I had to leave today and it wasn’t posted, so I haven’t re-looked. So, I will look again tomorrow if that is posted, and then I will send you a link to the agenda and to the staff report. That concludes my report. VI. TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR NEXT REGULAR MEETING: Thursday, February 13, 2020 Chair Kralik: Moving to the tentative agenda for the next regular meeting, February 13th. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 39 of 43 Ms. van der Zwaag: So, staff has two items that have been brought to our attention. One is Community Development Block Grant – CDBG – second year allocations, or really recommendations. So, Erum from Planning will come. The second is… Commissioner Lee: Do we need to form an ad hoc committee for that, or is that going to be at the Commission level? Ms. van der Zwaag: They haven’t asked. I do recall that in the past, there has been some meeting, but maybe there was some reason for that. Commissioner Lee: Maybe one of the agencies dropped out, I think, and we had to… Ms. van der Zwaag: I don’t know. Erum is really good on process, and she did not indicate any need for any input, but I will check. Commissioner Lee: This is for the… Sorry, go ahead. Commissioner Smith: How long will that item take? Because I remember last time that was an extensive piece. Ms. van der Zwaag: It depends on the discussion in the room. Commissioner Smith: What’s your experience been? Ms. van der Zwaag: My experience has been it’s gone anywhere from 15 minutes, of which 10 minutes is just staff giving their report, and a five-minute discussion, to 30 minutes. Commissioner Lee: I’m sorry, can you clarify, is this for…? This is for the second-year option? Ms. van der Zwaag: Yes. Mary handled that communication with Erum; Mary, can you recall the specific framing that Aram had for this CDBG agenda item for next month? Ms. Constantino: She’s just going to be going over for the second-year funding. Commissioner Lee: So, is it an action item? Is it going to require our recommendation? Commissioner Smith: Or is it just a report? Ms. van der Zwaag: It’s an action item. Ms. Constantino: Action item, Yes. Commissioner Lee: Okay. I would anticipate that that discussion may be lengthy. If it was any other year, perhaps not, but given some of the things in the news, it… Again, I’m not predicting what the outcome will be; it may be the same. But the discussion itself may be more extended. So, I think we should plan accordingly. ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 40 of 43 Ms. van der Zwaag: Okay. We will take that into consideration. The second is an agenda item brought to me by the Chair, based on a presentation by a representative from the Paralyzed Veterans of America and he can come next month to give a presentation. Commissioner Lee: Which item does that fall under, for the workplan? Chair Kralik: Homelessness. Ms. van der Zwaag: Homelessness. Commissioner Lee: Homelessness? Chair Kralik: I’d appreciate a second because the Chairman, Vice Chair Xue was my second. He’s not here now, and it’s sort of in a purgatory. Commissioner Lee: Could we discuss it offline between the three of us? Because Commissioner Regehr and I are on the homeless item. Chair Kralik: That would be great. This is a nice group. They do a lot of good work. Commissioner Smith: [inaudible]. Ms. van der Zwaag: So, there was a miscommunication with this gentleman, in which I emailed him, and I asked him if he wanted to come to an upcoming meeting, based on the first and the second. And he apparently, he contacted me on Tuesday and said, I’m coming tomorrow night.” And I went back into all my inbox and my deleted, and he sent something that I never received. So, it feels to me that invitation was based on a first and a second, and it feels to me a little disingenuous to now say that gentlemen is no longer on the invitation, has been taken back. Now, we can say you have 15 minutes, and we keep to 15 minutes, but I hear your concern. But this item went forward based on the process, and I think we need to respect that. Commissioner Lee: As I courtesy, I would second it, because the invitation has already been extended. I think in the future… Again, this is a new process for us, but I think the courtesy, when an item falls under a particular workplan item, that even if you have a second, you should ideally discuss it with the people assigned to that item. But as a courtesy, I will second that request. Chair Kralik: Thank you very much, guys. I appreciate that. Ms. van der Zwaag: Okay, then… Sorry, Chair, you can continue now with asking for other agenda items. Chair Kralik: Are there agenda items? Commissioner Lee: I think we had a tentative item that we had, Commissioner Regehr and I had emailed Minka, about having Kathryn come. Did I forward [crosstalk]? ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 41 of 43 Ms. van der Zwaag: You did send that to me. I did want to give you some information, though, that… So, they did host a meeting in North County. Unfortunately, the meeting they hosted at North County two months ago was at the very same time as the HRC meeting. Staff, that includes staff from the city manager’s office, me, planning and community environment. About seven city staff did meet with Kathryn to hear this presentation, to give feedback on the City’s behalf to the update from the County homelessness plan. So, it would be that there has been the opportunity for staff, and there has been opportunity for a meeting in North County. I just want to bring that to people’s attention. This is to give feedback on the update to the County five-year plan to end homelessness. To give an update on what they’ve done, and what they plan to do different. Commissioner Smith: So, this is the lady that… Commissioner Lee: Yes. Ms. van der Zwaag: This is Kathryn, and this could be, when they came to city staff, they had a representative from Abode, which is a housing provider, and from Destination Home, which is another large-scale convener of agencies taking the lead on homelessness in the county. Commissioner Smith: And so, what is the goal by bringing her here. Commissioner Lee: So, the County Office will be soliciting endorsements or something of that nature from the various city councils. Ms. van der Zwaag: And that’s already taken place between our city staff, and being in liaison with, after that meeting, our Planning staff is in touch already with the County staff. Commissioner Lee: But has the Council weighed in on it yet, or…? Ms. van der Zwaag: Staff will be bringing the item to the Council. Commissioner Lee: In about March, I believe, right? Ms. van der Zwaag: This is between the Planning Director and the County. Commissioner Lee: My understanding is that the item, it’s likely to come to Council March/April. That’s based on my conversations with Kathryn. So, the idea would be, if this is an item on homelessness, that Council is going to weigh in. One of our mandates as a Commission is to advise Council on these issues. We had a prior presentation on it. I appreciate staff having the opportunity to weigh in. I would love for the Commission to also have an ability to weigh in and put a stamp on it, whether it’s yes, we love it, go for it, or, here are some suggested things we would ask you to consider. I mean, obviously, even if we don’t like it, it goes through anyways, but it’s, in my mind, us continuing the process that we started by inviting her here, and us fulfilling our mandate to advise Council on these issues. Ms. van der Zwaag: I will leave that part of the decision up to the will of the HRC. As far as, I don’t believe Council is going to have a discussion on this. This is just a recommendation… ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 42 of 43 Commissioner Lee: That’s fine. That’s fine. Ms. van der Zwaag: … by staff that staff has reviewed this, and staff is encouraging bringing the opportunity to the Council to endorse, or whatever language, the continuation of a County plan to end homelessness, and… Commissioner Lee: Gotcha. Ms. van der Zwaag: So, it’s not going to be a discussion. Commissioner Lee: Sure, okay. That’s fine. Can I just confirm with my colleague? Commissioner Regehr, that you have seconded, or that you would second that agenda request? Commissioner Regehr: February? Commissioner Lee: For February. It’s time sensitive. Commissioner Regehr: I second it. Commissioner Lee: I just want to… Yes. Commissioner Regehr: But… Commissioner Smith: [off-microphone] Here goes the question. Commissioner Lee: So, the process that we laid out as a Commission is that if it was on the workplan, and we have three people supporting it, it would be on the agenda. Chair Kralik: Okay, so… [crosstalk] Commissioner Lee: I’m sorry, go ahead. Commissioner Smith: This is team question, so I’m asking a question. It’s on a workplan. Staff is working on it. Are they positively disposed to it at this moment? Ms. van der Zwaag: It’s not a positively or negatively disposed. There’s a plan in action, and we gave feedback to say yes, these aspects have gone well; these are needs in the community; these are suggestions for you to consider to the County as you update this plan. Commissioner Smith: Okay, so, I’m trying to figure out, what is our impact on the plan? If they come make a presentation, are we another voice in the chorus? Where do we fit in the overall flow of this? I’m just trying to get clarity because staff’s reporting on your data, right? Of what the program has done so far. Ms. van der Zwaag: Correct. I just want to make clear right now that what we are only discussing ADA. The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request accommodations, auxiliary aids or services to access City facilities, services or programs, to participate at public meetings, or to learn about the City's compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, may contact 650-329-2550 (voice), or e-mail ada@cityofpaloalto.org . This agenda is posted in accordance with government code section 54954.2(a) or section 54956. Members of the public are welcome to attend this public meeting. Page 43 of 43 is on the agenda and placement on the agenda. That we are not discussing the issue because that would be a Brown Act violation. Commissioner Smith: Okay. Thank you. Chair Kralik: Okay, guys, I’d like to adjourn the meeting. It’s now… Several voices: Wait, wait… Commissioner Regehr: We need… I seconded. Commissioner Lee: I [inaudible], okay, Yes, so… [Several speaking at once] Ms. van der Zwaag: I just wanted to be sure because it ended kind of abruptly. Chair Kralik: Okay, sure. I’d like to, it’s now 8:48. I’d like to adjourn the meeting and wish everyone… Commissioner Lee: I second. Chair Kralik: …a Happy New Year. Commissioner Regehr: And please eat. Chair Kralik: By, Patti. Commissioner Regehr: Bye-bye. VI. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 8:48pm