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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-01-06 City Council Summary MinutesCITY COUNCIL SUMMARY MINUTES Page 1 of 5 Regular Meeting January 6, 2025 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers and by virtual teleconference at 5:40 P.M. Present In Person: Burt, Lauing, Lu, Lythcott-Haims, Reckdahl, Stone, Veenker Present Remotely: Absent: Call to Order Mayor Stone called the meeting to order. The clerk called the roll with all present. He honored the current and former electives. Swearing in of Incoming City Councilmembers Pat Burt, George Lu, Keith Reckdahl, and Greer Stone City Clerk Mahealani Ah Yun provided the Oath of Office to the four new Councilmembers Burt, Lu, Reckdahl, and Stone who all repeated and swore to the oath. 1. Election of the 2025 Mayor Councilmember Stone welcomed the new Council members and announced the first action of the evening would be the election of the 2025 mayor. He expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve as mayor in 2024. NOMINATION: Councilmember Veenker nominated Councilmember Lauing for Mayor for 2025. Councilmember Veenker reflected on her decision to nominate Vice Mayor Lauing for Mayor for 2025. Councilmembers Burt, Reckdahl, Lythcott-Haims, Lu and Stone all spoke in agreement supporting the nomination. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 2 of 5 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 1/6/2025 Public Comment: 1. Sergio L., mayor of Campbell and chair of VTA, thanked former Mayor Stone and the outgoing Council members for their service and congratulated the incoming members offering his support. 2. Aram J. (Zoom) discussed reasons he did not believe Vice Mayor Lauing was qualified to be the mayor indicating he thought Councilmembers Veenker or Lythcott-Haims were both more deserving of the position. 3. Yan Z., former mayor and Council member of City of Saratoga, congratulated the newly elected and re-elected Council members and offered her support in electing Vice Mayor Lauing as mayor. She thanked the outgoing Council members for their service. NOMINATION FOR COUNCILMEMBER LAUING AS MAYOR FOR 2025 PASSED: 7-0 Mayor Lauing thanked his colleagues he has served with and looked forward to working with the new ones. He also thanked former Mayor Stone for his leadership and the residents of the City who put him on the dais. 2. Election of the 2025 Vice Mayor Mayor Lauing invited nominations from the Council members for vice mayor. NOMINATION: Councilmember Stone nominated Councilmember Veenker for Vice Mayor for 2025. Councilmember Stone commented on his decision to nominate Councilmember Veenker for vice mayor. Councilmember Veenker thanked former Mayor Stone for the nomination and accepted. She talked about her experience as a member of the Council and the complimentary professional relationship she has had with Mayor Lauing. She discussed the various positions she held that allowed her to stay current and advocate on issues affecting the City. Councilmembers Lythcott-Haims, Burt, Reckdahl, Lu and Mayor Lauing all agreed in supporting Councilmember Veenker’s nomination. Public Comment: SUMMARY MINUTES Page 3 of 5 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 1/6/2025 1. Jennifer D. thanked the outgoing City Council members and congratulated the incoming ones and Mayor Lauing. She supported the nomination of Councilmember Veenker for vice mayor and hoped for a unanimous vote. 2. Bruce H., Carbon Free Palo Alto, explained why he supported the nomination of Councilmember Veenker for vice mayor and urged the Council members to vote for her. 3. Bing W., Parks and Rec commissioner and Neighbors Abroad board member, supported the nomination of Councilmember Veenker for Vice Mayor and spoke of her experiences that would contribute to the position. 4. Brendan G., Palo Alto High School junior, congratulated Mayor Lauing and thanked former Mayor Stone for his service along with the new Council members. He spoke about his support in the nomination of Councilmember Veenker for Mayor. 5. Aram J. (Zoom) supported the nomination of Councilmember Veenker for Mayor and expressed his desire for she and the Council members to challenge the Mayor to bring up the ceasefire resolution. He thanked Councilmember Lythcott-Haims for speaking out against the events in Palestine and looked forward to her nomination as vice mayor next year. NOMINATION FOR COUNCILMEMBER VEENKER AS VICE MAYOR FOR 2025 PASSED: 7-0 Mayor Lauing shared his point of view regarding the Council’s strategic direction, the role of citizens in their work and the goals of the Council. He talked about the objectives of the upcoming annual retreat coming up January 25 and the importance of receiving input and communicating with the citizens. Special Orders of the Day 3. Adoption of a Resolution Expressing Appreciation for Outstanding Public Service to Lydia Kou as Mayor and Councilmember Councilmember Stone read the resolution. MOTION: Councilmember Stone, seconded by Councilmember Burt to adopt the Resolution Expressing Appreciation for Outstanding Public Service to Lydia Kou as Mayor and Councilmember. MOTION PASSED: 7-0 SUMMARY MINUTES Page 4 of 5 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 1/6/2025 4. Adoption of a Resolution Expressing Appreciation for Outstanding Public Service to Greg Tanaka as Councilmember Councilmember Lythcott-Haims read the resolution. MOTION: Councilmember Lythcott-Haims, seconded by Councilmember Veenker to adopt the Resolution Expressing Appreciation for Outstanding Public Service to Greg Tanaka as Councilmember MOTION PASSED: 7-0 5. Adoption of a Resolution Expressing Appreciation for Outstanding Public Service to Greer Stone as 2024 Mayor Mayor Lauing read the resolution. MOTION: Councilmember Burt, seconded by Councilmember Lythcott-Haims to adopt the Resolution Expressing Appreciation for Outstanding Public Service to Greer Stone as 2024 Mayor MOTION PASSED: 7-0 Former Councilmember Kou thanked everyone for the resolution and the support she had received during her service. Former Councilmember Tanaka expressed appreciation for the resolution and for the honor of having served on the Council. He reflected that he logged 820 office hours being accessible to the public during his service and hoped some of the new Council members would pick up that pace. He stressed the importance of making sure the community was affordable to all that live there. Public Comment 1. Darlene Y. thanked former Councilmember Kou for her leadership, dedication and commitment. She remarked she had created a limited edition medal in her honor. She welcomed the new Council members and thanked the outgoing members. 2. Alex K. spoke on behalf of State Senator Josh Becker thanking former Councilmember Kou for her service and presented a resolution from Senator Becker and Assemblymember Berman. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 5 of 5 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 1/6/2025 3. Kevin F. spoke on behalf of Assemblymember Mark Berman honoring and recognizing the outgoing Council members and presented a resolution to former Councilmember Tanaka. 4. Nicholas H. spoke on behalf of Congressman Sam Liccardo congratulating Councilmembers Burt, Stone, Lu and Reckdahl for being elected to serve on the Palo Alto City Council and thanked former Council members Kou and Tanaka for their service. He applauded Mayor Lauing and Vice Mayor Veenker for being chosen to lead the City. He added Congressman Liccardo looked forward to working with each of them to serve the City. 5. Terry H. saluted former Councilmember Kou for her dedication to the City’s young people. 6. Mora O., Palo Alto resident and executive director of Youth Community Service, expressed gratitude to last year’s City Council as a whole. She thanked former Councilmembers Kou and Tanaka for their commitment to youth mental health. She thanked former Mayor Stone for bringing the community together and elevating the discussion about ways to support youth mental wellbeing. She welcomed Councilmembers Lu and Reckdahl. 7. Lori M., Palo Alto resident, congratulated the new and continuing Council members, mayor and vice mayor. She expressed gratitude to former Councilmembers Tanaka and Kou for their service. 8. John S. thanked the Council for their work with his wife, former Councilmember Kou. 9. Bing W. congratulated Mayor Lauing and Vice Mayor Veenker and expressed her gratitude to all. 10. Jonathan E. opined that the Council needs to embrace the challenges presented through public comment and the importance of responding to public comments. He mentioned the recent passing of June Fleming and hoped the City and Council would find appropriate ways to honor her. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 P.M.