Council Special Meeting
Special MeetingMonterey, CA · April 30, 2025
Minutes
MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING
CITY OF MONTEREY
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
4:00 PM
COUNCIL CHAMBER, 580 PACIFIC ST.
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA
Councilmembers
Present: Barber (left at 5:45 p.m.), Garcia, Rasch, Smith, Williamson
Absent: None
City Staff City Manager, Assistant City Manager, City Attorney, Finance Director,
Present: Community Development Director, Police Chief, Fire Chief, Parks and
Recreation Director, Library & Museums Director, Public Works Director,
City Clerk, Acting Assistant Fire Chief, General Services Superintendent,
Public Works Administrative Services Manager, Recreation Manager,
Conference Center General Manager, Senior Administrative Analyst
(Public Works), Senior Administrative Analyst (Police), Management
Analyst (Recreation), Sports Center Manager, Assistant Human
Resources Director, Finance Manager, Finance Analyst, Parks
Supervisor
Call to Order
Mayor Williamson called the meeting to order at 4:02 p.m. City Clerk Klein called the roll with
the Council present as indicated above.
Afternoon Session Items
Presentations (Afternoon)
1. Receive Presentation from See Monterey: FY 2024-25 Mid-Year Performance & Group
Sales Trends (Not a Project Under CEQA per Article 20, Section 15378 and Under
General Rule Article 5, Section 15061)
Action: Received presentation
Rob O'Keefe, President and CEO of See Monterey, gave the presentation and answered
Councilmembers' questions.
In the interest of time, public comment was limited to two minutes per speaker. Public comment
was received from: Lauren Cohen, of My Museum, who said See Monterey supported their
museum and allowed it to thrive; Paige Viren of Monterey County Hospitality Association and
California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB)'s Sustainable Hospitality & Tourism
Management program, who said that supporting See Monterey was critical to the region; Alicia
Ibarra, student of the CSUMB Sustainable Hospitality & Tourism Management program, who
said that See Monterey's support of the local tourism industry had allowed her to have valuable
hands-on experiences and internships; and Steven Wales, of Monterey County Hospitality
Association and Fogs End Distillery, who said that See Monterey provided value by improving
the quality of visitors coming to the area; and Kent Glenzer, who said that Monterey could learn
from the history of the South by Southwest event n Austin Texas, and that the hospitality
industry needed to do a better job of paying its workers.
The Council briefly discussed the presentation, stating that it was important to think about the
workforce doing the work in the hospitality industry, and that increasing housing affordability in
Monterey would contribute greatly to local quality of life.
City Council Minutes April 30, 2025
Study Session
2. Study Primer for FY 2025-26 Annual Budget (Not a Project under CEQA Article 20, Section
15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061)
Action: Received presentation
City Manager Uslar gave a verbal introduction, and Councilmember Smith left the Chamber
from 4:57 p.m. to 4:59 p.m. Finance Director King gave the staff presentation and answered
Councilmembers' questions together with City Manager Uslar.
Public comment was received from: Daniel Almandariz, who referred to one of the presentation
slides and asked whether the $2M would be accounted for; and Tom Reeves, who referred to
the costs for Fire personnel to respond to medical calls and asked whether the City could
recover insurance funds for these services, asked if the City had considered undertaking a full
cost study to ensure that City fees currently charged were sufficient, and said that the rate of
the increase in expenses was concerning as compared with the increase in revenues.
On question regarding the $2M, Finance Director King said that the $10M had been an estimate
and the $8M was an audited number, not that there was $2M lost or missing. On question, City
Manager Uslar said that the Monterey Sports Center loan would expire on May 1, 2032. He
agreed that it would be appropriate to do a comprehensive look at the City's services and fees,
though he advised that it may not be popular with constituents. He stressed that the City
needed to find a way to decrease its expenditures and at least not lose further revenues. He
said that he anticipated that in the new Fiscal Year the staff would be working to manage the
expenditures increase rate as compared with the revenues increase rate.
The Council thanked the Finance budget team and City staff. Hope was expressed that hiring
an economic developer would expand the attraction of business to the area, including STEM
(science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) sectors. It was stressed that the City
needed to expand and diversify its economy and bring more businesses in. It was stressed that
the increase received by City staff had been deserved and needed in order to stay competitive
with the job market. It was stated that the community engagement had been an improvement
but that finding interactive ways to involve residents in budget issues would be a benefit. It was
suggested to look at vacancy taxes and property transfer taxes as potential revenue boosters. It
was requested to receive more context and justification for adding new City staff positions. It
was requested to receive a five-year forecast for revenues vs expenditures. During the Council
discussion, Councilmember Barber left the meeting at 5:45 p.m.
Adjournment
The Council adjourned at 6:02 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted, Approved,
Clementine Bonner Klein Tyller Williamson
City Clerk Mayor
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Agenda
Mayor
Tyller Williamson
Councilmembers
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA
Kim Barber, District 1
Ed Smith, District 2
Council Special Meeting
Jean Rasch, District 3
Gino Garcia, District 4
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
City Manager
Council Chamber 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM Hans Uslar
580 Pacific St. City Attorney
Monterey, California M. Christine Davi
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS MEETING:
In-Person: At the meeting location listed above.
Remotely via ZoomGov webinar:
o On a computer or smartphone: https://monterey-org.zoomgov.com/j/1616037682
Zoom software must be up-to-date. For help, please use our Zoom Meeting Instructions.
o By telephone dial 833-568-8864 (Toll Free), 669-254-5252 (CA) or 646-828-7666 (NY). If
one number doesn’t work, please try another. Enter Webinar ID: 161 603 7682 # If asked
for participant ID, press #. To raise your hand: dial *9. Once called upon, dial *6 to unmute.
This meeting will also stream live for viewing only on youtube.com/cityofmonterey (~10 second
delay) and on Comcast Channel 25 (up to 90 second delay).
Written comment: Emailed comments to cityclerk@monterey.gov sent no later than ½ hour
before the start of the meeting (sooner preferred) are not read aloud but are made available to
the Council and public at monterey.gov/submitted-comments.
PUBLIC COMMENT PROCEDURES AND TIME LIMITS:
The total amount of time allocated for public comment on a particular issue and for each individual
speaker is generally as follows:
1. Up to three minutes per speaker.
2. For regular City Council meetings, there are two 15-minute public comment periods, one in the
afternoon and one in the evening. Speakers may only comment during one session.
3. The total time allocated for public comment:
a. 30 minutes per item – Public Appearance and Public Hearing items
b. 15 minutes per item – All other items (including, but not limited to, Consent, Closed
Session, Presentations, and Requests to Agendize)
At the time an item is considered, the Mayor will ask those attending the meeting in person to line up
at the podium or raise their hands, and for remote participants to use *9 on the telephone or the
“raise hand” function in Zoom, if they wish to address the City Council. The maximum amount of
time for each person to speak and the total amount of time allotted for each item will be determined
based on the number of people indicating an interest in speaking and the amount of business to be
conducted on the agenda. In exceptional circumstances and when necessary to ensure a full
opportunity for public input, the Mayor may, with the legislative body’s consent, adjust the amount of
time allowed for public input and/or the time allotted for each speaker.
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION DISCLOSURE: Pursuant to the Levine Act (Govt. Code §84308), any
party to a permit, license, contract, or other entitlement before the Council is required to disclose on
the record any contribution, including aggregated contributions, of more than $500 made by the
party or the party's agents within the preceding 12 months to any City official. Participants and
agents are requested to make this disclosure as well. The disclosure must include the name of the
party, participant, or agent, and any other person making the contribution; the name of the recipient,
the amount of the contribution, and the date the contribution was made.
4/30/2025 4:00:00 PM
AFTERNOON SESSION: 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Call to Order
Pledge of Allegiance
Afternoon Session Items
Presentations (Afternoon)
1 Receive Presentation from See Monterey: FY 2024-25 Mid-Year Performance & Group
Sales Trends (Not a Project Under CEQA per Article 20, Section 15378 and Under
General Rule Article 5, Section 15061)
Study Session
Study Session items are used to provide information to the City Council and answer their
questions to clarify issues. Study Sessions provide a setting for informal discussions between
staff, consultants, board, commission,committee members and the City Council regarding
specific programs, projects or policies. The Council does not take formal action on the items.
2 Study Primer for FY 2025-26 Annual Budget (Not a Project under CEQA Article 20,
Section 15378 and under General Rule Article 5, Section 15061)
Adjournment
Writings distributed for discussion or consideration on these matters within 72 hours prior to the meeting,
pursuant to Government Code § 54957.5, are available at: monterey.gov/submitted-comments and in the City
Manager’s Office at 580 Pacific St., Room 1, Monterey, CA 93940 during regular business hours. All
comments and materials provided to the Council become part of the public record. Members of the public who
comment in any fashion on an agenda item may be subject to the Levine Act which requires disclosure of
campaign contributions of more than $500 to an officer of the City within the preceding 12 months.
INTERPRETATION: The Monterey City Council invites and encourages public participation at its meetings.
Requests for language interpretation may be made by contacting the City Clerk at cityclerk@monterey.gov or
831-646-3935. The City Clerk will make every effort to accommodate requests for interpreter assistance.
Requests should be made as soon as possible in advance of any meeting of the City Council. The City is
committed to addressing language interpretation requests swiftly in order to maximize public participation.
ACCESSIBILITY: The City of Monterey is committed to including disabled people in all of its services,
programs and activities. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special
assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact cityclerk@monterey.gov or (831) 646-3935.
Notification 30+ hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements to ensure
accessibility to this meeting [28 CFR 35.102-35.104 ADA Title II]. Later requests will be accommodated to the
extent feasible. For communication-related assistance, dial 711 to use the California Relay Service (CRS) to
speak to City offices. CRS offers free text-to-speech, speech-to-speech, and Spanish-language services 24
hours a day, 7 days a week. If you require a hearing amplification device to attend a meeting, dial 711 to use
CRS to talk to the City Clerk's Office at (831) 646-3935 to coordinate use of a device.
CITY OF MONTEREY 24-HOUR SUGGESTION HOTLINES: (831) 646-3799 or suggest@monterey.gov
Upcoming city meetings are listed at monterey.gov/agendas For more information, call (831) 646-3935
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