City Council

City Council City Manager Mayor Jill McLewis Mary Gourley Vice Mayor Sandra Maurer mgourley@Cityofsebastopol.gov Councilmember Phill Carter Councilmember Neysa Hinton Councilmember Stephen Zollman CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA Regular Meeting of Tuesday, July 21, 2026 6:00 pm Start Time Meeting to be held in Person and Virtual /Remote Participation In Person Location: 425 Morris Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472 City Council is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: City Council Meeting - July 21, 2026 Time: Jul 21, 2026 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81121161353 Meeting ID: 811 2116 1353 Passcode: 710146 --- One tap mobile +16699006833,,81121161353#,,,,*710146# US (San Jose) +16694449171,,81121161353#,,,,*710146# US Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/event/5424101 Join instructions https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/81121161353/invitations?signature=ZA1hS65o- qNJYJMbWyO0to2nGMwTKbZGu3g-UHEaD3g COUNCIL PROTOCOLS FOR MEETING: This in person and virtual/remote meeting is compliant with the Governor’s Executive Order allowing for a deviation of teleconference rules required by the Brown Act. Traditional Brown Act and AB 2449 requirements can be utilized for all City Council meetings as long as required notice and posting is conducted per the Brown Act. Please Note the presiding member of the legislative body conducting a meeting or their designee may remove, or cause the removal of, an individual for disrupting the meeting. “Disrupting” means engaging in behavior during a meeting of a legislative body that actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT Due to the length of recent City Council Meetings, it is strongly encouraged that written comments be submitted to the City Council by sending them by email to: citycouncil@cityofsebastopol.gov with either General Public Comment Written in the Subject Line or the Specific Agenda Item Number or Title Written in the Subject Line. Emails are distributed to the City Council as well as posted to the City Council meeting as public comment. Public Comment questions may be directed to City staff for a response at a later time. CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL REMOTE PARTICIPATION SALUTE TO THE FLAG LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: The City of Sebastopol acknowledges that we live and work within the unceded ancestral homelands of the Southern Pomo and the Coast Miwok people. We pay our respect to the past, present, and future generations of these peoples, including the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria. REMEMBERING THE HISTORY OF SEBASTOPOL PROCLAMATIONS/PRESENTATIONS/INTRODUCTIONS: • Recognition 20 Years Service Award- Margarito Roman STATEMENTS OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Conflicts of interest may arise in situations where a public official deliberating towards a decision, has an actual or potential financial interest in the matter before the Council. In accordance with state law, an actual conflict of interest is one that would be to the private financial benefit of a public official, a relative or a business with which the Councilmember is associated. A potential conflict of interest is one that could be to the private financial benefit of a Councilmember, a relative or a business with which the Councilmember is associated. A Councilmember must publicly announce potential and actual conflicts of interest, and, in the case of actual conflict of interest, must refrain from participating in debate on the issue or from voting on the issue and must remove themselves from the dais. PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA (FIRST COMMENT PERIOD): Up to Twenty (20) Minute Time Limit (Two Minutes for up to ten speakers). Additional public comment will be held at the end of the discussion and action items for up to an additional twenty (20) minutes. Mayor has discretion to allow for additional time beyond the 20 minutes allocated for public comment dependent upon the subject matter or number of speakers. Process for calling on Speakers: Mayor or designee shall ask for public comment as follows: Speakers to be called on in an alternate manner (One speaker in person to be called on first; then one speaker remote to be called on second with additional speakers to be called on in the same manner) based upon the time limit. CONSENT CALENDAR: The consent agenda consists of items that are routine in nature and do not require additional discussion by the City Council or have been reviewed by the City Council previously. These items may be approved by one motion without discussion unless a member of the City Council requests that the item be taken off the consent calendar. The Mayor will read aloud the title of each consent item (either full agenda title or a simplified version of the agenda title), and ask if a Councilmember wishes to remove one or more items from the consent calendar; and then open public comment to the members of the public in attendance. At this time, a member of the public may speak for up to two (2) minutes on the entire consent calendar and request at that time that an item or items removed for discussion. If an item or items are removed from the consent calendar, the item shall be placed at the end of the regular agenda items unless otherwise determined by the Mayor. Council Members may comment on Consent Calendar items or ask for minor clarifications without the need for pulling the item for separate consideration. Items requiring deliberation should be pulled for separate consideration and shall be placed at the end of the regular agenda items unless otherwise determined by the Mayor. 1. Approval of City Council Meeting Minutes for Regular Meeting of July 7, 2026 Responsible Department: City Manager Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the minutes is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: None 2. Approval of Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance- City Council Compensation Responsible Department: City Attorney Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: The increase would raise annual compensation costs from approximately $18,000.00 to $57,000.00 (+$39,000.00 per year). The new rate will not take effect until January 2027. $18,000 has been allocated in the FY 26 27 budget (January – June 2027). 3. Approve Notice of Completion - Burbank Farm: ADA path and Public Restroom Facility (CIP #0413- 78.00). City Council to Accept the Burbank Farm: ADA path and Public Restroom Facility Project and Approve the Notice of Completion. Responsible Department: Public Works Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: There is no additional fiscal impact as it is approved in the FY26 CIP budget. Page 2 of 6  4. Approve Investment Policy Statement (IPS) Update: Provides an overview of proposed updates to an existing City’s Investment Policy Statement (IPS), based on recommendations from the City’s investment advisor, Shuster Advisory Group. The updates are intended to align the IPS with current California Government Code provisions, incorporate best practices in public fund management, and enhance the City’s ability to optimize investment performance while maintaining safety and liquidity. Responsible Department: Administrative Services Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: There is no additional fiscal impact to update the investment policy statement. 5. Approve Contract Award and CIP Budget Amendment for the Morris Street Sewer Pump Station Wet Well Repairs Project (CIP No. 0617-25.02) Responsible Department: Public Works Fiscal Impact: The project is included in the FY 2026-27 CIP with a budget of $300,000 Additional Fiscal Impact: Approval of this item includes a CIP budget amendment increasing the project budget to $400,000 and appropriating an additional $100,000 from available Wastewater Enterprise Fund reserves to fund the contract award and associated project costs. 6. Approval of Contracts for City Consultants as approved in the FY 26 27 City Budget: Responsible Department: Administrative Services Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: There is no additional fiscal impact to approval of the contracts as funding has been approved and allocated in the FY 26 27 Budget INFORMATIONAL ITEMS/PRESENTATIONS: Informational Items or Presentations are items that are informational only and do not require action by the City Council. Presentations shall be scheduled as necessary for the promotion of an event or service or general information items to the Council and should be limited to ten (10) minutes total in length of item (total length includes questions of Council to presenter and public comment). 7. Informational Presentation on Updates to Jerry Threet Sebastopol Police Department Audit Responsible Department: Police Chief Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: There is no additional fiscal impact with receipt of this item. 8. Informational Presentation on Crime Statistics for FY 25-26; to include details/map locations of incidents for ease of reference. Responsible Department: Police Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: There is no additional fiscal impact with receipt of this item. Page 3 of 6 PUBLIC HEARING(s): 9. Development Agreement Amendment- Barlow Hotel. Request to Amend the DA for the Barlow Hotel to provide a TOT sharing arrangement of 50% (1st reading) Responsible Department: Planning, City Attorney Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered by a Developer Deposit Account. Additional Fiscal Impact: If approved as requested, a 50% reduction in an expected future TOT revenue for 120 months; but no reduction to other expected tax revenue REGULAR CALENDAR AGENDA ITEMS (DISCUSSION AND/OR ACTION): 10. Discussion of Consideration of Ratification of Council Direction to Forgive the Waste Water Loan (Forgive repayment from Waste Water Enterprise Fund to General Fund). Responsible Department: City Attorney Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda report is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: The loan amount is $1,100,000 11. Discussion and Consideration of Approval of City Response to Grand Jury Report Responsible Department: City Attorney Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda item is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: No further fiscal impact with preparation of response to the Grand Jury at this time as actions noted in the letter have been approved and allocated in the City budget. 12. Consideration of Approval of Waiving of First Reading and Introduction of Ordinance to Amend Sebastopol Municipal Code Section. Under the City’s Municipal Code, the City Manager possesses the authority to appoint, remove, promote, and demote any and all officers and employees of the City of Sebastopol, except the City Clerk, City Attorney, and City Treasurer. This amendment changes the requirement to include the City Clerk under the City Manager hiring authority. (2.12.100 Power of appointment, etc) Responsible Department: City Manager Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the minutes is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: None 13. Discussion and Action of Ordinance Related to Newspaper Racks Responsible Department: Mayor McLewis/City Attorney Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda report is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: The exact amount of staff time involved with enforcement of the Ordinance is unknown and will depend significantly on the number and severity of violations. 14. Commission and Committee Work Plans. Review and Consideration of the 26/27 Work Plans for the Planning Commission, Design Review Board/Tree Board, Climate Action Committee, and Public Arts Committee Responsible Department: Planning Fiscal Impact: Staff time required to prepare the agenda report is covered within existing budgeted salaries. Additional Fiscal Impact: If approved by Council, the estimated fiscal impact of adding an additional PAC meeting would be $5,376 to $8,064, and the estimated total annual fiscal impact of adding an additional DRB meeting would be $7,152 to $11,448. ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: Two minutes per speaker for up to twenty (20) minutes total for public comments but can be reduced at Mayor’s discretion depending upon the number of speakers or Mayor has discretion to allow for additional time beyond the 20 minutes allocated for public comment dependent upon the subject matter or number of speakers. Page 4 of 6 COUNCILMEMBER(S) REQUESTS FOR FUTURE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS CITY COUNCIL/CITY STAFF REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/FUTURE MEETINGS: 15. City Manager and/or City Clerk Reports: (This will be either verbal reports at the meeting, or written reports provided at or prior to the meeting) a. Departmental Reports (June 2026) 16. City Council Reports/Committee/Sub-Committee Meeting Reports: (Reports by Mayor/City Councilmembers Regarding Various Agency Meetings/Committee Meetings/Sub-Committee Meeting /Conferences Attended and Possible Direction to its Representatives (If Needed) on Pending issues before such Boards. ((This will be either verbal reports at the meeting, or written reports provided at or prior to the meeting) 17. Council Communications Received (Information/Meetings/Correspondence Received from the General Public to Councilmembers) CLOSED SESSION: NONE ADJOURNMENT OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING June 16, 2026 City Council Regular Meeting will be adjourned to the next Regular City Council Meeting of Tuesday, July 7, 2026 at 6:00 pm, Sebastopol Youth Annex, 425 Morris Street, Sebastopol, CA. American Disability Act Accommodations/Accessibility: A request can be made orally or in writing, and submitted to the ADA Coordinator by email: building@cityofsebastopol.org or to the City Clerk’s Office so as to avoid delay in reviewing and processing the request. Requests can be made by contacting the ADA Coordinator’s Office at (707) 823-8597, via email at building@cityofsebastopol.org or by mailing such a request to the ADA Coordinator’s Office located at 7425 Bodega Avenue, Sebastopol, CA. Note that if you contact the ADA Coordinators Office, via mail, you need to make the request early enough that a response can be timely provided. NOTICE: All Resolutions and Ordinances introduced and/or adopted under this agenda are waived of all reading of entire resolution(s) and ordinance(s). The City of Sebastopol is a general law city formed under the laws of the State of California. With respect to adoption of ordinances and resolutions, the City adheres to the requirements set forth in the Government Code. Unless otherwise required, the full reading of the text of standard ordinances and resolutions is waived. SB 751 Legislative bodies of local agencies must publicly report: (1) any action taken and (2) the vote or abstention on each action taken by each member present for the action at a meeting. If you have any questions regarding this meeting, please contact the City at Email: info@cityofsebastopol.org or citycouncil@cityofsebastopol.org or please call: 707-823-1153. The public is advised that pursuant to Government Code section 54957.5 all writings submitted to the City Council are public records and will be made available for review at City Hall during normal business hours. The Sebastopol City Council welcomes you in person or remotely to its meetings that are generally scheduled for the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month. Your interest and participation are encouraged and appreciated. Government Code Section 54953. (a) All meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the legislative body of a local agency, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. (b) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the legislative body of a local agency may use teleconferencing for the benefit of the public and the legislative body of a local agency in connection with any meeting or proceeding authorized by law. The teleconferenced meeting or proceeding shall comply with all requirements of this chapter and all otherwise applicable provisions of law relating to a specific type of meeting or proceeding. (2) Teleconferencing, as authorized by this section, may be used for all purposes in connection with any meeting within the subject matter jurisdiction of the legislative body. All votes taken during a teleconferenced meeting shall be by rollcall. Page 5 of 6 There are times that the City Council open meetings may not be live streamed due to technical issues; if that is the case, the meeting will be video-taped and uploaded as soon as possible to the City Web Site. In the event of a disruption that prevents the legislative body from broadcasting the meeting to members of the public using the call-in option or internet-based service option, or in the event of a disruption within the local agency’s control that prevents members of the public from offering public comments using the call-in option or internet-based service option, the legislative body shall take no further action on items appearing on the meeting agenda until public access to the meeting via the call-in option or internet-based service option is restored. Actions taken on agenda items during a disruption that prevents the legislative body from broadcasting the meeting may be challenged pursuant to Section 54960.1. COUNCIL PROTOCOLS FOR MEETING RESTATED: This in person and virtual/remote meeting is compliant with the Governor’s Executive Order allowing for a deviation of teleconference rules required by the Brown Act. Traditional Brown Act and AB 2449 requirements can be utilized for all City Council meetings as long as required notice and posting is conducted per the Brown Act. Please Note the presiding member of the legislative body conducting a meeting or their designee may remove, or cause the removal of, an individual for disrupting the meeting. Prior to removing an individual, the presiding member or their designee shall warn the individual that their behavior is disrupting the meeting and that their failure to cease their behavior may result in their removal. The presiding member or their designee may then remove the individual if they do not promptly cease their disruptive behavior. This paragraph does not apply to any behavior described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b). (b) As used in this section: (1) “Disrupting” means engaging in behavior during a meeting of a legislative body that actually disrupts, disturbs, impedes, or renders infeasible the orderly conduct of the meeting and includes, but is not limited to, one of the following: (A) A failure to comply with reasonable and lawful regulations adopted by a legislative body pursuant to Section 54954.3 or any other law. (B) Engaging in behavior that constitutes use of force or a true threat of force. (2) “True threat of force” means a threat that has sufficient indicia of intent and seriousness, that a reasonable observer would perceive it to be an actual threat to use force by the person making the threat. How can I provide Public Comment on Zoom? The Mayor will request public comment during the Public Comment period on the agenda and during each Public Hearing and Regular Calendar Item. Once the Mayor has announced the public comment period, please do one of the following. USING A COMPUTER OR SMART PHONE: • Click on the “Raise Hand” feature in the webinar controls. This will notify City staff that you have raised your hand and you would like to speak. • City staff will unmute your microphone when it is your turn to provide public comment. • A prompt will appear to confirm you would like to be unmuted. Once you accept the prompt, you will have two minutes to provide public comment. • Once your public comment has ended, you will be muted again. USING A REGULAR PHONE: • Dial *9 (star 9), this will notify City staff that you have “raised your hand” for public comment. • City staff will unmute your microphone when it is your turn to provide public comment. *6 (star 6) is used to mute/unmute. • You will hear “you are unmuted” and then you will have two minutes to provide public comment. • Once your public comment has ended, you will be muted again Page 6 of 6