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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-02-09 City Council Summary MinutesCITY COUNCIL SUMMARY MINUTES Page 1 of 13 Regular Meeting February 9, 2026 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers and by virtual teleconference at 5:30 p.m. Present In Person: Burt, Lauing, Lu, Lythcott-Haims, Reckdahl, Stone, Veenker Present Remotely: Absent: Call to Order Mayor Veenker called the meeting to order. The clerk called the roll. Agenda Changes, Additions and Deletions Ed Shikada, City Manager, reported the agenda was amended to add a closed session to the end of the meeting. The order of public comment and Council member questions, comments, and announcements was swapped. Public Comment: 1. Sarah S., 8th grader at Ellen Fletcher Middle School, opined that gas stove manufacturers should be required to put warning labels on their products. City Council was urged to talk to Utilities about spreading awareness about the health hazards of gas stoves. 2. Mare L. spoke about the loss of her child to suicide and asked for action, the closing of Churchill, and providing a patrol on the track when trains are running. 3. Debbie M. read comments on behalf of Nick Mehta about the suicide of his daughter and urged Council to close the Churchill stop. 4. Linda H., Track Watch volunteer, urged eliminating access to the tracks. 5. Holly T. spoke on behalf of Julia Curtis, junior at Paly High School, who proposed a secure closure of the Churchill Crossing with consistent guards watching the intersection until it is closed. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 2 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 6. Bridget M., psychotherapist, urged Council to consider closing the tracks and putting up guards. 7. Bre T. begged Council to close the crossings and add paid guards. 8. Cari T. advised alternative mitigations to the dangers of the crossing such as a bridge until the crossing can be closed. 9. Sven T. requested Council take swift action to address the dangers of the crossing as well as the dangers of gas the Utility provides. 10. Maureen H. voiced support for closing the Churchill Crossing immediately. 11. Alice S. supported the Churchill closing as well as the rebate program involving induction stoves. She wanted to see more education around the community about the byproducts of gas stoves. 12. Kanami T., student at Palo Alto Middle College High School, appreciated the work on induction stove adoption and the work on climate change, sustainability and public health. She advocated for the closing of the Churchill crossing and more enforcement. 13. Camille C., Palo Alto Youth Council member, along with other members discussed past initiatives focusing on mental health, civic engagement and outreach. 14. Reed T., Palo Alto Youth Council member, spoke about an event where 20 organizations came to the library to network. Council Member Questions, Comments and Announcements Mayor Veenker talked about the Fire Department's Promotion Ceremony and the recent loss of a Palo Alto youth and ongoing efforts to respond to this issue. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims emphasized the need to support and uplift the LGBTQ+ youth in the community. The Rail Safety/Youth Mental Health Ad Hoc Committee met with Staff and personnel from Caltrain with a goal to map out recommendations for Council consideration to protect the community's youth. Support resources were provided along with discussion of mitigation efforts. The Committee is in conversation with the school district regarding paid security guards posted at all rail crossings. Other access restrictions are being investigated including a closure of Churchill. Caltrain is actively partnered with the Committee in engaging with the CPUC. The ad hoc has a goal to map out recommendations for Council consideration possibly by the end of the month. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 3 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 Consent Calendar MOTION: Councilmember Reckdahl moved, seconded by Councilmember Lu, to approve Agenda Item Numbers 1 – 8. MOTION PASSED: 7-0 1. Approval of Minutes from January 20 and January 24, 2026 Meeting 2. Adoption of a Resolution Amending the El Camino Real Retail Node Map for Purposes of Palo Alto Municipal Code Section 18.40.180: Retail Preservation. CEQA Status: Addendum to the Comprehensive Plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR), adopted November 17, 2023 (SCH #2014052101) 3. Adoption of Revisions to the Investment Policy as Recommended by the Finance Committee. CEQA Status – Not a Project 4. Adoption of a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute Purchase Orders with To-Be-Determined Vendor(s) to Procure Nine Vehicle/Equipment Purchases for a Total Not-to-Exceed Amount of $1,430,000; Approval of a Fourth Amended and Restated Purchase Order Number 4521000199 with Altec Industries, Inc., to Increase the Purchase Order Amount by $94,911 to a New Not-to Exceed Amount of $1,167,986 for Two Vehicle/Equipment Purchases; and Amend the FY 2026 Budget in the Vehicle Replacement and Maintenance Fund and Electric Funds; CEQA Status – Not a Project 5. Approval of an Increase of Construction Contingency for Contract No. C24189237 with SAK Construction, LLC in the Amount of $800,000 and Amend the FY 2026 Budget in the Wastewater Treatment Fund for the Joint Intercepting Sewer Rehabilitation (Phase 1) Project (WQ-24000); CEQA Status - Exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 (Repairs to Existing Facilities) 6. Approval of Amendment No. 1. of the Future Talent of Silicon Valley dba First Tee - Silicon Valley (Contract S25192927) Facility Use Agreement to Extend the Term for Three Years to February 2029; CEQA status – not a project. 7. Approval of Amendment No. 3 to Contract No. S23187281 with Urban Planning Partners, Inc. in the Amount of $52,409, Increasing the Not-to-Exceed Amount to $137,409 and Extending the Contract Term Through December 31, 2027 to Create Standalone Pre-Approved Parklet Plans as Part of the California Avenue Streetscape Update PL-23000; CEQA Status – Categorically Exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 and 15304(e) 8. Approval of Four Professional Services Contracts C26194180A-D, with Interwest Consulting Group, Inc, TRB and Associates, Inc., Atlas Environmental and West Coast SUMMARY MINUTES Page 4 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 Code Consultants, Inc. in the Aggregate Total Not-to-Exceed amount of $1,438,800 for On-Call Fire Code, and Hazardous Material Related Services, Inspection, Plan Review and Environmental Consultation over a three-year term; CEQA status: not a project. City Manager Comments City Manager Shikada provided a slide presentation including community support and resources, Emergency Services volunteers 20-year anniversary, and notable tentative upcoming Council items. Action Items 9. Approve a resolution for an exception to the CalPERS 180-day waiting period to appoint retired annuitant Aaron Miller; CEQA Status - Not a Project Taran Mann, Benefits Manager, outlined the resolution before the Council to rehire Aaron Miller. Councilmember Lauing inquired why there is a gap and if the intent is to keep recruiting and hire before two years. Sandra Blanch, Human Resources Department Director, replied it will be recruited for. Because of his expertise, Mr. Miller will be sought to do some training. Brad Eggleston, Public Works Department Director, indicated there will be a plan to move to fill the position. In this role, Mr. Miller will add a level of expertise and additional information to what is going on with the projects. Recruiting has not yet started. With the City's financial situation, there are constraints in a hiring review committee and process that takes longer than in the past. MOTION: Councilmember Reckdahl moved, seconded by Councilmember Stone to adopt a resolution, pursuant to Government Code sections 7522.56 and 21224, approving an exception to the 180-day waiting period, set forth by the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS), to allow the appointment of retired annuitant Aaron Miller to a temporary, part-time assignment to perform special-project work of limited duration at the Regional Water Quality Control Plant, following completion of the required 60-day bona fide separation from service. MOTION PASSED: 7-0 10. PUBLIC HEARING: Objections to Weed Abatement at Affected Properties and Approval of Affected Property List for Commencing Weed Abatement in 2026; CEQA Status - exempt SUMMARY MINUTES Page 5 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 City Manager Shikada commented this is the part of the annual cycle at which point the Council will have the initial hearing of properties identified for weed abatement. Stanford University has been working with Staff as well as the county to remove several properties from the list on the basis of weed abatement plans that are underway. Public Comment: 1. Rich Dean, Fire Prevention Manager, Stanford Fire Marshall’s Office, indicated all but one of the properties has been brought into compliance and are requesting those properties to be removed from the list. Work continues on the fifth property. Stanford meets nearly weekly year-round on wildfire resilience and vegetation management. A half million dollars is spent on vegetation management. International recognition has been received for the N5 Artificial Intelligent Wildfire Smoke Sensors. October 1 will be the 50th anniversary of the Stanford Fire Department merging with the City of Palo Alto Fire Department and plans are being made to acknowledge that. Mayor Veenker wanted to clarify that Staff supports the request by Stanford to remove four out of its five properties from the list. City Manager Shikada confirmed that. Mr. Dean confirmed the address to be left on the list to be 3500 Deer Creek, parcel number ending in 066. Councilmember Reckdahl inquired about the process. Dan Robles, Santa Clara County Weed Abatement Program Inspector, explained a notice to destroy is sent out to all property owners on the weed abatement list who elects how the property is to be maintained. Once the season begins, the properties are inspected. If it passes the inspection, it receives an inspection fee and there is no further inspection for that property throughout the season. If it fails, a second inspection is done two weeks later to verify compliance. If compliance is not met, next steps are taken necessary to abate the property through the county contractor. The initial list is generated through service requests and an ongoing list from years past. Surveyance is done at times. If a property is out of compliance, a warning letter is sent giving an opportunity to comply. If there is no response, they are added to the weed abatement program. There is about 50-50 response rate. Steve Lindsey, Fire Chief, explained this program is the next level of escalation. The preference is to do as much mitigation as possible by educating the public trying to gain compliance. There are situations where the County Weed Abatement identifies properties that have not gotten reported. Councilmember Reckdahl asked if all costs are recovered by the fees. Tamara Jasso, Fire Marshall, responded for the most part there are no fees for the City. The county assesses their fees through their inspections and mitigation. It has been cost neutral for more years. Councilmember Reckdahl queried if consideration has been given to raising the fees. Fire Marshall Jasso indicated those fees are governed through Santa Clara County. Inspector Robles explained previous to last year, the common practice was to identify any property not in SUMMARY MINUTES Page 6 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 compliance and immediately add them to the program. Beginning 2025, the new weed abatement manager decided to send warning letters. This resulted in more willingness to maintain properties in a fire safe manner. Fees went up a bit with that to help recoup the cost for the loss of parcels. Garik Iosilevksy, Santa Clara County Weed Abatement Program Manager, added the goal is to be cost neutral and fully cost recovery. During the last season, not all costs were recovered resulting in the increase in fees. The cost recovery is to recover the entire program cost for the year including staff costs and other expenses needed to run the program. Mayor Veenker inquired how inability to take care of weed abatement is addressed. Mr. Iosilevksy stated there are no financial assistance programs offered. A request has been put in for state funding for that reason. Fire Marshall Jasso added the City has programs to assist homeowners. MOTION: Councilmember Stone moved, seconded by Councilmember Reckdahl to a. Adopt a determination that weed abatement activities in 2026, as described in Resolution 10268 (Attachment A) adopted by Council on December 8, 2025, are exempt under Class 8 (CEQA Guidelines section 15308); b. Hold a Public Hearing to hear and consider any objections to the proposed destruction and removal of weeds in 2026 at the properties listed in Attachment B; and c. Approve the final list of affected properties for weed abatement in 2026 (Attachment B) excluding sites at 3460 Hillview Rd, 1072 Arastradero Rd, 3495 Deer Creek Rd, Deer Creek, and direct weed abatement activities to commence at those properties in accordance with Resolution 10268. MOTION PASSED: 7-0 11. Cubberley Project: Receive update on Third Round Polling Results, Approve a Letter of Intent with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, and Direct Staff on Next Steps Christine Paras, Administrative Services Department Assistant Director, introduced poll number 3. Curtis Below, Pollster/Public Opinion Researcher, FM3, provided a slide presentation including the survey methodology; need for additional funding for the City in principle; need for additional funds for updated facilities to provide recreation services; ballot measures for parcel and sales tax; neither parcel or sales tax has majority support; voters' top priorities for a general-purpose measure include storm drains, postholes, street maintenance, and financial SUMMARY MINUTES Page 7 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 stability; smaller shares value a safe, clean downtown or general city services as intensely; when it comes to Cubberley-focused priorities, two-thirds value preserving trees and upgrading deteriorating wiring and plumbing; fewer value improving the Rinconada Pool or renovating the Cubberley Center; the parcel tax never exceeds the two-thirds vote threshold; segmenting the electorate by consistency of support – parcel tax; the sales tax falls short of majority support even after positive messaging; segmenting the electorate by consistency of support – sales tax; positive messaging tested (both measures); and negative messaging tested (both measures). Kristen O’Kane, Community Services Department Director, joined the presentation including partnerships in development, Phil Santora, TheatreWorks Executive Director, talked about the vision of TheatreWorks and how it will serve the community if approved for a space at Cubberley. Marc Guillet, Board Member, Friends of Recreation Wellness Center, spoke about the organization's partnership with the community. Kristina Lugo, President and CEO, Avenidas, wanted to reaffirm the organization's commitment to Palo Alto and Cubberley space. Councilmember Burt did not think it made sense that the January poll saw a 19 percent drop in the number of residents who saw either great or some need. There was also concern that having two sales taxes on the same ballot would weigh them down but the sales tax is viable to the needs of Cubberley. The proportion of the voters in the community who are engaged with Cubberley is a smaller percentage than would have been expected. The geographic location and lack of programs weigh down public support. The community partners added will be a leverage point. Councilmember Reckdahl did not agree with the consultant's comment that neither measure is viable. The anchor tenants will provide expertise that will improve the Cubberley experience. Through word of mouth and through more work, it is viable. Councilmember Lauing speculated the small percentage of voters engaged in the poll and drop in public interest is the result of the time of year. The partnerships change the landscape. The anchor tenants will attract attention and help with funding. Vice Mayor Stone did not understand the significant drop in the poll findings when there seems to be increased support for the sales and parcel tax. Mr. Below explained surveys two and three were not comparing apples to apples. Some learnings were taken from prior research and additional development so the increase in support for those measures is not just an environmental factor but also refined ballot language and finding the best way to align voters' priorities. In terms of the drop in that one particular question, sometimes things happen. Other questions had variations that were more within consistent standard margins of error. That one was more of an outlier. The increase in support suggests some of the changes made in ballot language were beneficial. The question everyone SUMMARY MINUTES Page 8 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 is zeroed in on talks about need. It is generic about services and facilities that support a certain suite of things offered at Cubberley. It does not mention the name. The ballot language talked about other critical needs beyond the service provision. Vice Mayor Stone hoped the fourth poll coming in spring will be more specific understanding the support at the Cubberley site. Councilmember Lu wanted to call out specific partnerships with on the fourth poll. The City has the leverage to be more aggressive and push RFPs more publicly and shopping more aggressively with other nonprofit groups and philanthropic organizations. Mayor Veenker agreed with the other Council members' comments and wanted to convey the good news and that the numbers will go up. Public Comment: 1. Herb B. opined this was premature because of the process that was followed of appointing a Cubberley Ad Hoc Committee that has the same membership as the Finance Committee. There should be a public meeting covered by the Brown Act before a recommendation to approve the letter of intent is made by Council. 2. Jennifer D. talked about the excitement around the partnerships and the possibilities at Cubberley. 3. John M. wanted to support the public partnerships in this effort. 4. Sonya B. requested coming up with a reasonable proposal on the ballot that people will be willing to approve. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims wondered if the death of Renee Good in Minnesota affected voter attitude. Agreed that poll number four should ask specific lingering questions to include reference to the partnerships in place and test the voters' appetite for two sales taxes on the same ballot. The motion should encourage the city manager to approach the superintendent about the terms of the Land Purchase Agreement and possibly direct Staff to look at alternate options for purchasing the land. Councilmember Burt had questions about the fourth poll. Assistant Director Paras said poll four could proceed as early as April. Councilmember Burt noted the negative messaging on slide 21. Placing government efficiency as a top Council priority will help convince the electorate in general and related to this subject that the City government is focusing on efficient use of taxpayer dollars. The polling should also see how well it resonates if the expansion of community services at Cubberley is addressed. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims The City and the school district drew up a memorandum of understanding which governs the intent to purchase seven acres of the Cubberley buildings from them assuming the ballot measure passes in November 2026. The agreement contemplates expiring in 2026. The ability to purchase the land from the school district needs SUMMARY MINUTES Page 9 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 to be assured even if there is no ballot measure or the ballot measure fails. City Manager Shikada elaborated Staff has started to look at options that would allow the City to proceed with the acquisition in the interest of keeping the momentum going as well as incremental steps toward the ability to make improvements at the site to look at options that would not depend on a ballot measure. With Council's direction, Staff will continue that work with the ad hoc and bring forward some options for Council consideration. The MOU with the school district assumes a ballot measure as the means by which the property will be acquired. The school district will need to be engaged in any modification on those terms. This will give direction to proceed with those discussions and look at options. MOTION: Mayor Veenker moved, seconded by Councilmember Lythcott-Haims to 1. Approve a Letter of Intent (LOI) with TheatreWorks Silicon Valley for collaboration on a long-term public-private partnership for theatre space at the Cubberley site. 2. Direct the City Manager to talk to the Superintendent about contingency plans and alternative terms for acquisition of 7 acres owned by the School District. 3. Direct staff to evaluate and return to Council with options to acquire the 7 acres other than via a ballot measure. MOTION PASSED: 7-0 12. Review and Approval of Suggested Changes to the City Council Procedures and Protocols Handbook as Recommended by the Policy and Services Committee. CEQA Status – Not a project. Chantal Cotton Gaines, Deputy City Manager outlined three items for City Council to discuss: 1. Review of the Policy and Services recommendations from the December 9 meeting, packet page 225: a. Brown Act amendments relating to Senate Bill 707. b. Language proposed for proclamations. c. Items pulled from consent calendar can be heard as the first action item for brief discussion limited to 10 meetings, if feasible, and continued to another meeting if not resolved within 10 minutes. d. P&S propose to update language to remove the mayor and vice mayor additional compensation section from the handbook given the City Council member compensation is already at the highest authorized level according to state law. 2. If Council wants to further consider any of the items in attachment B on packet page 291 and 292. These items do not have specific recommendations from P&S but there may be interest in elevating and further discussing any of them. 3. Policy and Services recommendation from January 15, 2026, packet page 339, related to board and commissions conversations with City Council. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 10 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 Mayor Veenker was interested in the Council members thoughts on constituting a committee to follow up on Council compensation. Public Comment: 1. Herb B. opined that the same three committee members should not serve on more than one Council committee. Vice Mayor Stone inquired if recommendation one includes the updates to the allowance of how many meetings Council members are able to miss. Christine Prior, Assistant City Clerk, answered these changes do not. Those will modify the frequency. Those changes will be discussed at the next Policy and Services meeting. The changes at the current meeting would not change the frequency of meeting but there will be changes in the coming months due to new state legislation. The current motion involves alternate teleconferencing when a member of a legislative body participates remotely without noticing their location on an agenda or making that location open to the public. The change extends the expiration date of that type of teleconferencing to 2030, removes the procedural differences between just cause and emergency circumstances, expands the definition of just cause to insert to include certain military service obligations, and requires meeting minutes to identify the specific provision a member relies on to participate remotely. The five meetings per year is an internal limit City Council voted on. There is a different limit for the Brown Act. That is not a part of these recommendations. Caio Arellano, Interim City Attorney, indicated the limit is only for the just cause type meetings where the alternate location is not separately provided on the agenda. Councilmember Burt asked for the proper venue to update the Board and Commission Manual. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines explained the Board and Commission Handbook has been adopted by City Council. One of the other Policy and Services recommendations is making a suggested change to that. That is brought to Council for approval. Councilmember Burt opined that when sponsoring City events, boundaries are needed between a religious and cultural event. There is no guidance on the authority of a mayor to sponsor events. Policy and Procedures should give some sense of any boundaries. Mayor Veenker thought practices should be reviewed. Councilmember Burt stated without framework in Policy and Procedures, there is not guidance on boundaries and there is need to be more conscious and deliberate on the boundaries. City Manager Shikada noted it has been on the staff to-do list in the Community Services Department to update the City co-sponsorship policy and program. Other priorities have prevented that from proceeding. This would fit within that context. Council might want to have the larger context of the City's co-sponsorship policy in deciding where these specific issues land. This could be added as a referral to Staff to look at these specific issues. Councilmember Lauing wanted a conversation around the default and add flexibility around choosing the mayor and vice mayor. Councilmember Lu thought flexibility is great. The norms should be very clear to be followed or broken and would be fine if the only addition is a nudge SUMMARY MINUTES Page 11 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 that a mayor can serve multiple terms including consecutive terms. Vice Mayor Stone observed the current language allow flexibility and did not think a change in the language necessary. Councilmember Burt agreed with the vice mayor and Councilmember Lu. Councilmember Reckdahl was not opposed but saw no particular driving reason to do it. Mayor Veenker did not feel strongly either way. Councilmember Burt mentioned an issue of work plans. Mayor Veenker suggested that be deferred. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines stated the recommendation in the supplemental around the Boards and Commissions conversations with Council was approved by Policy and Services and could be sent to consent. Councilmember Burt wanted to be sure the work plan review would be an agendized item going forward at a minimum. Deputy City Manager Cotton Gaines confirmed it will be an agendized item. Mayor Veenker suggested deferring aligning the text on role of liaison to a date to be determined. MOTION: Vice Mayor Stone moved, seconded by Councilmember Lu to approve changes to the City Council Procedures and Protocols Handbook as recommended by the Policy & Services Committee with the following additions: 1. In section 2.3(b)5E: Decrease the limit on remote participation for Finance Committee from 5 meetings to 3 meetings. 2. In Section 3.8: Add that Councilmembers be allowed to speak for 1 minute on why they are pulling an item. Councilmembers may speak to their no vote for a total of 3 minutes for all no votes combined. The City Manager has the prerogative to clarify factual errors. MOTION PASSED: 7-0 MOTION: Councilmember Burt moved, seconded by Councilmember XX to make the following revisions to the Procedures & Protocols Handbook: 1. In Section 3.7: Allow for Study Sessions be agendized as Action Items to allow for the possibility of clearer City Council direction than is provided by comments. MOTION WITHDRAWN BY MAKER MOTION: Councilmember Burt moved, seconded by Mayor Veenker to the direct staff to review and return to the City Council regarding: SUMMARY MINUTES Page 12 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 1. Providing Boards with training for making motions. 2. Use of verbatim transcripts for PTC and UAC Board minutes using AI. 3. Return with language clarifying that U.S. citizenship is not a requirement for service on a Board or Commission. MOTION PASSED: 7-0 MOTION: Councilmember Burt moved, seconded by Councilmember Lauing to make the following revisions to the Procedures & Protocols Handbook in Section 3.6: 1. Limit the amount of time to 5 minutes per Councilmember. 2. Provide guidance that comments should be limited to city government related matters. 3. Avoid personal or political comments. MOTION PASSED: 5-2, Lu, Stone no Councilmember Lu supported one but thought two and three were difficult to articulate in the Procedures and Protocols. MOTION: Councilmember Burt moved, seconded by Councilmember Lu to make the following revisions to the Procedures & Protocols Handbook in Procedures Section 3: Items Considered After 10:00 p.m.: The Council makes every effort to end its meetings before 11 p.m. With that goal in mind, the Council generally does not start discussion of new matters after 10:00 p.m. Before 10 p.m. the Council will decide and announce whether it will begin consideration of any agenda items after 10:00 p.m. and, if so, which specific items will be taken up. MOTION PASSED: 6-1, Veenker no Mayor Veenker thought it is vague enough to not be that different from normal practice. MOTION: Councilmember Burt moved, seconded by Councilmember Reckdahl to refer to staff and subsequently the Policy & Services Committee for a recommendation to the full City Council on the permissible and recommended practices relating to an item going to more than one standing committee when appropriate (Procedures Section 1.2(a)2). SUMMARY MINUTES Page 13 of 13 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 02/09/2026 MOTION PASSED: 7-0 MOTION: Councilmember Burt moved, seconded by Councilmember Reckdahl to refer to staff to return with recommended language regarding if staff should provide briefings, respond to Councilmember questions, collaborate with Councilmembers to support City Council representatives on regional bodies. MOTION PASSED: 6-1, Veenker no MOTION: Councilmember Burt moved, seconded by Councilmember Reckdahl to refer to staff to clarify the role of the staff liaison to the committees to develop agendas in collaboration with chairs. MOTION WITHDRAWN BY MAKER Closed Session AA1. Conference with Labor Negotiators Authority: Gov. Code section 54957.6 Agency representative: Sandra Blanch and Nicholas Raisch, Teri Black, Teri Black & Co. Unrepresented Employee: City Attorney Public Comment: Herb B. opined these decisions need to be made in open session after adequate public notice. MOTION: Councilmember Stone moved, seconded by Councilmember Reckdahl to go into Closed Session. MOTION PASSED: 7-0 Council went into Closed Session at 10:14 P.M. Council returned from Closed Session at 10:56 P.M. Mayor Veenker announced no reportable action. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 10:56 p.m.