| Time | Speaker | Text |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00:15.13 | Paul Ronan | It's a little bit of work. Thank you. Thank you. |
| 00:00:21.06 | Unknown | Mr. President, I'm sorry. |
| 00:00:49.91 | Mayor Withey | Good evening. Are we on, Debbie? Okay, thank you. Good evening, and welcome to the regular meeting of the Sausalito City Council for Tuesday, December 9th. Debbie, would you call the roll, please? |
| 00:01:11.67 | Debbie | Councilmember Pfeiffer? Here. Councilmember Weiner? Present. Councilmember Leon is absent. Vice Mayor Theodores? Present. |
| 00:01:13.05 | Paul Mowry | Thank you. |
| 00:01:13.08 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 00:01:13.10 | Paul Mowry | Thank you. |
| 00:01:14.35 | Mayor Withey | present. |
| 00:01:19.04 | Mayor Withey | present. |
| 00:01:19.80 | Debbie | Mayor Withey. |
| 00:01:21.39 | Mayor Withey | care. Um... Council Member-elect Hoffman, would you lead the Pledge of Allegiance tonight, please? |
| 00:01:36.32 | Jill Hoffman | to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. |
| 00:01:38.19 | Unknown | United States. |
| 00:01:50.36 | Mayor Withey | Thank you, Jill. |
| 00:01:56.70 | Mayor Withey | There was no closed session this evening. Could we have approval of the agenda, please? |
| 00:02:05.21 | Linda Pfeiffer | So moved. |
| 00:02:06.49 | Mayor Withey | Second. All in favor? Aye. |
| 00:02:06.69 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. Bye. |
| 00:02:08.77 | Unknown | Bye. |
| 00:02:09.04 | Linda Pfeiffer | Bye. |
| 00:02:11.66 | Mayor Withey | So our first item this evening is a special presentation from Hmm. and the city manager is going to lead this, which is awards of grants from the Holiday Parking Donation Fund to three non-profit organizations that provide services to the underserved. Yes. THE END OF THE END OF THE and I'll let our city manager describe them in detail. |
| 00:02:41.54 | Herbie | Excuse me. Something that choked up over it. |
| 00:02:50.71 | Adam Politzer | Thank you, Mr. Mayor. There's only a few times during the year that I come to the podium here so that I can be viewed by my mom and dad. and by the rest of the community. We have a very generous community. Between Thanksgiving weekend and the end of New Year's, the city of Sausalito has a holiday free parking program on all the meters. throughout Bridgeway, downtown, here off of Casno on Bridgeway and everywhere else where there's a meter. People can park for free, and we put a little sign on the meter that encourages people to feed them. And by feeding them, they feed the people in need here in Marin County through various nonprofit agencies and services. Last year, at the end of 2013, we're kind of like other revenue collection systems. We do it in arrears. At the end of 2013, we had $8,000 to give away. That meant that people put in their quarters and dollars and change and donate it towards this effort, and that's a lot of quarters for about a 30-day period We encourage you and we like doing it this time of the year because we have a full house. and we have lots of people watching at home. to continue to feed those meters, because as you feed those meters this year, next year's recipients will benefit from our community's generosity. With us tonight are four agencies that are each going to receive $2,000 from the city of Sausalito in our community through our parking program. And that money is going to help the people in need, those in need of food, in need of clothing, in need of shelters. in need of medical attention, in need of employment. or those that just need a helping hand, an ear to listen to, or a smile to keep them warm. And I'm proud on behalf of the city of Sausalito to recognize homeward bound of Marin, Warm wishes, the Ritter Center, and St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin. and tonight I'm going to ask each of the representatives from those agencies to come up and just say a few words about their program. Some of those programs work with our residents here in Sausalito, our guests here in Sausalito, our visitors here in Sausalito, they work with our police department, our public works department to help these folks that have been identified that need some help. They feed them, they train them, they shelter them, they provide whatever services that these folks are willing to take from them. So if I can ask Mary Kay Sweeney to come up first from Homeward Bound and say if you would. |
| 00:06:24.39 | Mary Kay Sweeney | Well, thank you very, very much. I think this is just an extraordinary effort that you all make. And please, as Adam suggested, keep the quarters coming, because this is really quite wonderful for us. Thank you. um, I wanted to especially say thank you because this is a celebration for Homeward Bound, our 40th anniversary. And I have some cards just kind of outlining our highlights for the 40 years that we've been in service to this whole Marine community. Since 1974, we've grown from 15 beds to 450 beds a night. Yeah. |
| 00:06:59.96 | Unknown | Bye. |
| 00:07:00.10 | Mary Kay Sweeney | Thank you. |
| 00:07:04.20 | Mary Kay Sweeney | You might say that's a good thing, in some ways it isn't, you know, if we think about that. We really want to have people have a place to call their own, right? So one of the things we did this year to celebrate our 40th is to break ground on a new project that we're building up near Hamilton in Novato. It's called Oma Village for 14 families who are formerly homeless moving into and out of homelessness and having a place to call their own. It'll be permanent housing for them. So that's a wonderful thing. Oh. Over the years, we've served 30,000 people in Marin County. We've provided 1.477 million meals. And a lot of our folks end up going into housing as a result of both the efforts we show with them in terms of counseling as well as our training programs too. So we really, really appreciate so much your support and we count on you every year. Thank you and have a very good year. |
| 00:08:05.96 | Mary Kay Sweeney | Of course, we're kind of world famous for our chocolate truffles, so I brought some for the council members. Unfortunately, we actually, for our 40th anniversary, had a 40-foot birthday cake that we made. I actually could have fed all of you with what we had left over. But I'm sorry I didn't bring some. But I do have some wonderful truffles for Adam and for the council members. Thank you. |
| 00:08:42.90 | Adam Politzer | Mary O'Mara usually comes to speak on behalf of Warm Wishes, but we're lucky tonight. The founder and the person that started all this, Bill Hamm, please come up and talk to us about Warm Wishes, please. |
| 00:09:04.98 | Bill Hamm | Thank you to Sausalito. My story started 21 years ago when I happened to be in San Francisco and I saw somebody that was kind of cold on the streets. I gave him a pair of my gloves and at this point, as Adam's going to vouch with me, he was part of my program this last Saturday and we handed out 5,000 backpacks and inside each backpack are brand new gloves, socks, caps, scarves, rain ponchos. We have 5,000 kids make holiday cards, and there's also an emergency card in here if somebody needs to make a call. It's been going on, like I say, 21 years. We've handed out over a half a million items at this point of time out there. We have a lot of time out there. Bill Hamm at Warm Wishes I just want to thank you. but he's anxious and they're all excited to do the project. So anyway, on behalf of Mary O'Mara at Marin Link and myself, Bill Hamm at Warm Wishes, I just want to thank you. Let me say one thing personally, though. My grandma used to sign the paychecks for the people at the marinship. Thank you. |
| 00:10:21.44 | Unknown | Ha, ha, ha. |
| 00:10:30.72 | Adam Politzer | Bill's putting me a little bit on the spot. This is my family's seventh year of doing it. I go there with my three daughters, and Josie's now nine, so actually Josie hasn't done it that many years, but my older two. My only two have. It's very emotional because when you put a pair of gloves in the backpack or the scarf or the poncho, you know and the card. Basich Elementary School is one of the schools that writes holiday cards that we put into the bag and that is where my youngest daughter goes to school so she asked me if I saw her card amongst the 5,000 that got replaced in the bags. But it's emotional, meaningful, and a lot of fun. And the only reason why it takes an hour and a half is that we're forced to go outside and take a group picture. We're told that we have to sing carols for about 20 minutes together. take breaks and then we're all done. But everyone's there, big smiles at the Unity Church in Novato and off of Hamilton. Thank you. I strongly recommend it. It's the easiest volunteer effort that you can do and it's very meaningful and worthwhile. So thank you, Bill. Benjamin Leroy, I saw you come in. Thank you, from the Ritter Center, please. |
| 00:11:56.26 | Benjamin Leroy | Thank you. We've got a packed house tonight. This is great. Thank you guys for coming. I really want to thank the City Council and the City of Sausalito for doing this every year. We really do appreciate it. I'll give you a little bit of background on Ritter Center. We've been serving the Marine community for over 35 years. Actually, just a few weeks ago, one of my coworkers brought up an old, old lease copy from our current location on Ritter Street in San Rafael, and it was from 1976. So that's when we moved into Ritter Street. Before that, it was in a little house on Lincoln Avenue in San Rafael. We got our own nonprofit 501c3 in 1980, so that's when we kind of officially start counting, but we've been around for almost 40 years. And Ritter Center's really grown and developed over the years with a lot of professional services. It's something we're really proud of. Some of you may know us for giving out things like clothing and food and things like that, more basic services. But Ritter Center now provides a bevy of clinical services that are multidisciplinary and integrated together. So we provide primary health care as a fairly qualified health center. And along with that, behavioral health care. That's both mental health therapy and substance abuse counseling. And comprehensive case management. So we help people manage their funds. We pay people's rent. We do a lot of emergency financial assistance, a lot of rental assistance. Obviously, we're in a very high-cost county, so a lot of folks want unexpected expense, and they find themselves want that proverbial one paycheck away from being homeless. So we help keep a lot of people in their homes doing a lot of prevention work. In addition to that, we do a few housing programs, not as big as Mary Kay's, but we have a nice permanent supportive housing program that right now has about 24 people in it, and then we do some transitional housing as well. And so I'd like to really call it the collaboration that happens in this county, because both with Warm Wishes, who donates a number of backpacks to Ritter Center to give out to our clients, and also with Homeward Bound, we do a wonderful collaboration at their New Beginnings Next Key Center with Transition Wellness, which is a medical respite bed program where folks who are coming out of the hospital but don't have a place to go can be discharged into the shelter and have all their medical care coordinated by our clinic and our nurse practitioners. And it's really that type of collaboration and the collaboration that we see here with the city of Sausalito and many other jurisdictions in our county that allow us to care for the least fortunate among us. And so I just want to thank all of you and all of you for everything that you guys do to help us and to do other things in the community. So thank you very much. |
| 00:14:21.99 | Unknown | Thank you very much. Thank you. |
| 00:14:27.30 | Adam Politzer | In the past, we've given money here to the local programs, specifically to the Star of the Sea Church. The Star of the Sea Church was the home of our food pantry. And last year, due to space needs, the food pantry has been moved out of Star of the Sea, and for a new home here in Sausalito to run that. But as that was happening, the people that I was working with at SordiCee recommended that this year that we look at St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin to take their place because St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin serves meals 365 days a year here in San Rafael and we have a program, a community run program that brings people in our vans up to San Rafael to the churches. different days of the week for meals. We thought that they were definitely a great nonprofit to support, and I'd like to invite Christine Paquette up here to speak on their behalf. |
| 00:15:37.12 | Christine Paquette | Thank you, council members and residents. We really appreciate your support. At the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin, our first mission is to prevent homelessness. So as Mary Kay says, our ideal is not to be needed. And in preventing homelessness, we do go into Sausalito and Marin City. Last year, we helped prevent 61 families from becoming homeless in your city and town. And we do it by actually going into people's homes homes So we have two people at a time going into homes hearing people's stories often. It's a job loss It's a medical condition. It's a broken-down car and someone can get to work It's the kind of crisis that could happen to almost anyone But it means that you can't make rent that month and you're looking at an eviction notice. So our volunteers actually will go in and help pay for those emergency needs to make sure that people are stabilized for a month or two and then can be back on their feet. We also do run the Southern Marin meal program. So that happens seven days a week in Southern Marin. And most of our diners are anchor outs from Sausalito. So we make sure that people have a hot meal and companionship. every day of the week also in Southern Marin. And in addition, we run the Marin rotating shelter program. So we're all throughout Marin servicing people and going through different congregations every night for five months and making sure that people have shelter. So we will shelter 60 people a night in that program. So that's in addition to our free dining room which is open every day. We serve about 600 hot meals a day. We also have a community court. So we're busy, and we really appreciate the support. It will go a long way. It does take community, and just in our rotating shelter program, we had 2,000 Marin volunteers last year. So we are really reliant on volunteers in our dining room, chopping vegetables, in our congregations, feeding and sheltering. So we really appreciate being in Marin and all that all of you do for us. So thank you. |
| 00:17:44.03 | Adam Politzer | If I can just ask the council to step down from the dais and we'll just step here in the middle of the circle and take a group photo and then we'll get on to the rest of the evening. And thank you all for all you do for our community and thanks to the community for their generosity and keep feeding those meters, please. |
| 00:18:53.73 | Mayor Withey | And thank you to all the residents and visitors who put money in the meters. Okay, our next item is communications, and this is the time when Members of the public have the opportunity to raise any matter that is not on our agenda tonight. I'd like to just clarify that If anybody wants to talk about the mayor or vice mayor's position, I will be taking public comment at the beginning of that. So that public comment will be available at that time. So these are for items not on the agenda. |
| 00:19:48.74 | Kayla Kahn | Hi, I'm Kayla Kahn and I live on Rodeo. And for the last several years, I have been asking the same thing. We need an art commission. This town is known all over the world. Wherever I go, in any country, they always say, oh, yes, that's an artist colony. We know about Sausalito. And, you know, we should definitely have an art commission. You've all voted to say yes. And please, please, next year, let's have an art commission. Thank you. |
| 00:20:16.58 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:20:21.93 | Mayor Withey | Is there any other member of the public who would like to talk? you |
| 00:20:31.16 | Tom Hoover | Tom Hoover at 300 Napa Street, Galilee Harbor. I want to thank the young man in the planning department who finally listened to my complaints about those big green plants at the corner of Bridgeway and Napa and Caledonia Street that blocked the view so that cars and bicyclists come roaring out and you can't see them at all. Now it's all clear. And I was complaining for so many years, and it finally got done, so I want to thank – I can't remember his name. I don't remember anybody's name anymore hardly, but I just wanted to thank that for happening because that was really – I spoke even to a couple of policemen in the past, and unless they needed to turn on their sirens and stuff, they would always go up to the 7-Eleven in order to turn around so they wouldn't get caught behind it. So that was very nice. Thank you. |
| 00:21:20.10 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:21:26.24 | Unknown | Health News of Hora Cable Roadway. I represent the Sorceleto Coalition, an independent neighborhood group. Council members, we believe that the bikes and buses issue is now one of the most challenging and divisive issues that confronts the city and its residents. And this was borne out by a public forum on November the 11th at the Spinnaker, at which approximately 230, 240 residents were in attendance, and also at which the PBAC was very strongly represented. They were, in fact, on the major carriers of the information on the panel. This was also borne out by a public survey we conducted that drew 647 responses from residents in the area. A copy of the survey results summary will now be provided to you as will a summary of the forum discussion. We also have 40 petitions that were collected at the meeting, and we would ask you to note the information incorporated in those documents. Thank you. Thank you. |
| 00:22:35.06 | Mayor Withey | Is there any other member of the public that would like to comment on any matter that is not on tonight's agenda? |
| 00:22:46.20 | Mayor Withey | Okay, seeing none. |
| 00:22:54.06 | Mayor Withey | Item three, action minutes of the previous meeting. We have the minutes of the meeting of December 2nd. Could I have a motion to approve as submitted or any changes, corrections to note? I'm so moved. Second. All in favor. Aye. Aye. Aye. |
| 00:23:13.13 | Unknown | Bye. |
| 00:23:15.83 | Mayor Withey | Item four, consent calendar. Is there any questions of staff before I take public comment on the consent calendar? Is there any member of the public who would like to comment on the items that are on the consent calendar tonight? Okay, seeing none, we'll close public comment. Could I have a motion to approve the consent calendar, please? So move. |
| 00:23:46.07 | Jill Hoffman | moved, second. All in favor. |
| 00:23:49.04 | Mayor Withey | Bye. |
| 00:23:49.17 | Jill Hoffman | I |
| 00:23:52.18 | Mayor Withey | Okay, there are no public hearings tonight, and so we move on to our business items. And the first, most important, perhaps, business item for this evening is, of course, the swearing-in of our newly elected city council members. And I hand that now over to our city clerk and assistant city manager, Debbie. |
| 00:24:19.23 | Debbie | Thank you. I'd like to ask that Councilmember-elect Jill Hoffman step forward and Councilmember reelected her minor step forward. |
| 00:24:28.06 | Paul Mowry | Bye. |
| 00:24:29.76 | Debbie | And if I could have the two of you stand here face out. Thank you. I got this. Thank you. It's two circle. |
| 00:24:38.57 | Laura St. Clair | Thank you. |
| 00:24:42.62 | Debbie | I have to find my mark now. |
| 00:24:47.66 | Debbie | So if the two of you would raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, and state your name. |
| 00:24:55.34 | Unknown | Aye. |
| 00:24:57.10 | Debbie | do solemnly affirm |
| 00:24:58.70 | Unknown | You saw me in my phone. |
| 00:25:00.44 | Debbie | that I will support and defend |
| 00:25:02.97 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 00:25:03.04 | Debbie | you |
| 00:25:03.29 | Unknown | support. |
| 00:25:03.91 | Debbie | The Constitution of the United States. And the Constitution of the State of California. And the Constitution of the State of California. |
| 00:25:13.97 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 00:25:15.66 | Debbie | against all enemies. |
| 00:25:17.26 | Unknown | Yes, all enemies. |
| 00:25:18.66 | Debbie | foreign and domestic. |
| 00:25:20.45 | Unknown | sparring in the message. |
| 00:25:22.12 | Debbie | and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States. |
| 00:25:30.88 | Unknown | you |
| 00:25:34.05 | Debbie | and the Constitution. |
| 00:25:35.88 | Unknown | That's what you can. |
| 00:25:36.85 | Debbie | of the State of California. |
| 00:25:36.89 | Unknown | of the state of California. of the state of California. |
| 00:25:40.70 | Debbie | that I take this obligation |
| 00:25:43.01 | Unknown | that I take this obligation freely. |
| 00:25:44.80 | Debbie | freely. without any mental reservation |
| 00:25:50.52 | Unknown | without any mental reservation. |
| 00:25:50.84 | Debbie | without the help. or purpose of evasion. |
| 00:25:54.96 | Unknown | I would prefer something. |
| 00:25:56.02 | Debbie | Thank you. and that I will well and faithfully |
| 00:25:59.50 | Unknown | and will grab the table. |
| 00:26:01.37 | Debbie | Discharge the duties. |
| 00:26:03.08 | Unknown | Mr. I have a good duty. |
| 00:26:04.51 | Debbie | upon which I'm about to enter. Upon which I'm about to enter. Congratulations. |
| 00:26:50.65 | Unknown | What's that? Donuts? |
| 00:26:51.41 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:26:52.13 | Unknown | No. |
| 00:26:58.82 | Mayor Withey | Congratulations. |
| 00:27:04.54 | Mayor Withey | Now, comments of newly seated council members. I almost missed this part, so... |
| 00:27:10.17 | Herbie | Thank you. |
| 00:27:10.24 | Mayor Withey | Anybody? |
| 00:27:11.64 | Herbie | Thank you. I just want to say thank you to the people that supported me. |
| 00:27:12.38 | Unknown | I'll say. |
| 00:27:13.03 | Mayor Withey | to the |
| 00:27:19.47 | Herbie | It's been eight years. I can't believe it's going to be another four. But I promise you that I will attempt to work as hard as I did these last eight years for the next four years. So I want to thank you very much and wish you all a very happy and a healthy new year. Thank you. |
| 00:27:49.73 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Yeah, I think first I'd like to thank Councilmember Leon for his many years of service to this town and to this council. You know, I think it's about 12 in all, including the Planning Commission, so that's a substantial portion of anybody's life to devote to his town. And so I'd like to acknowledge that and offer my appreciation for that. I'm very thankful for – yeah. I'm very thankful for the support that we had. We had early support, and we had support as we went along, the early support being from my treasurer, Sonia Hanson, and I have some flowers for Sonia. Robby, that's you. That's your cue. And as Tom said, no, Tom, I did not bring my own flowers for myself. I did micromanage a bit, but not quite that much. We had a lot of support as we went along, some immediate and some from the people that had never been involved in campaigns before. And that brings me to my campaign manager, Sarah Hook. Sarah, give us a wave back there. This was Sarah's first campaign ever. It's her first job in a political campaign, and she was my campaign manager, and we We worked extremely hard and so campaign people take note she might be someone you might want to look at next time you're looking for a campaign manager And I'm thankful for the people that jumped in and had not been involved really in the political process in Sausalito And I hope that you stay involved and engaged and we are able to tap into your talents for our city in the next four years. And finally, I'm thankful that I live in a time and a place where people can vote for somebody who they may not have known before, and we can have a peaceful and transition of representation. And I think that speaks very well of us and our city. And I'm very thankful to be here. And thank you very much. |
| 00:29:51.97 | Mayor Withey | Thank you, Jill. Thank you, Herbie. |
| 00:29:57.34 | Adam Politzer | Mr. Mayor, before you go on to the next item, we did miss an item on our agenda, and that's a brief recognition of the outgoing mayor. And so on behalf of your fellow council members, the associate of community, the employees, we thank you for your service to the city as the mayor, leading the effort of the council and the community through a very successful year with several accomplishments, several that I'm not going to go through tonight because I know that people want to get on to celebrating. But as your city manager, I want to thank you for your leadership and support of the entire city team and in that effort recognize you with this plaque with appreciation to Ray Withey for your dedicated service as mayor from December 10th of 2013 to December 9th of 2014. |
| 00:29:59.56 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:29:59.58 | Ray Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:29:59.68 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:29:59.70 | Ray Withey | you |
| 00:29:59.85 | Paul Mowry | you |
| 00:30:04.96 | Paul Mowry | Thank you. |
| 00:31:24.90 | Mayor Withey | Well, I normally... look at the agenda and obviously that item I didn't see. So needless to say, if I'd have thought about it, I might have prepared a few words. Obviously, it's been a tremendous honor to have been your mayor. it's a position that I know the residents and the whole community have their trust in me, and that's a daunting task. And so it goes without saying that there are a lot of people to thank Flynn and my family who may be watching, maybe not. All of my fellow city council members and all of the community who, whether they supported me or not, at the very beginning, I've felt your support nonetheless. And it's helped get through what has at times been a somewhat challenging, but I agree with the city manager, productive here. So to the whole community, I say a big thank you. And in particular, I'd like to thank Adam, all the senior management team, and all of the city staff. One of the most important roles of the mayor is to work effectively, not always agreeing, but working effectively with the senior city management team. And that's a two-way thing, and I thank you and all of your staff for your role there. So thank you. Thank you, everybody. |
| 00:33:32.66 | Mayor Withey | And considering I didn't prepare a speech, thank you for anybody I forgot that I should have. |
| 00:33:37.47 | Paul Mowry | Bye. |
| 00:33:39.88 | Mayor Withey | Okay. So the next items on the agenda are the election of a new mayor and then a new vice mayor. So before I call for nominations for the position of mayor, I'd like to open this up for public comment. And so basically for the positions of mayor or vice mayor, now's an opportunity for anybody who would like to say a few words. and we'll put the timer on. You probably don't need it. for anybody who would like to say a few words. And we'll put the timer on. You probably don't need all three minutes, but you're welcome to whatever. Sir. |
| 00:34:29.43 | Unknown | I don't need three minutes. I think that the city is very lucky to have five very competent council persons. And it's been a few years since there was, and I don't mean this to be sexist, but I think it's been a few years since there was a woman who was mayor. And it might be a good thing for the city. That's all. |
| 00:34:50.79 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. Is there anybody else who'd like to say a few words? |
| 00:34:57.49 | Unknown | City Council, Mr. Mayor. One of the most overused and misused phrases in American politics is public servant. I wince when I hear it. Almost everyone who chooses to accept compensation and work in the public sphere. does so because They either. fine. the power repealing. with the money appealing, or occasionally I don't know. a commitment to the public. But... They're hardly servants. They selected a job and they do it, and hopefully they do it well. Once in a while. a public servant. is truly a public servant. And, Linda Pfeiffer. is that public servant. And Linda, I thank you for that. She's a public servant in the highest and best use that that term can be used. I stand at this podium tonight to urge you. as our representatives, my representative, the representative of the folks here, to. Do the right thing. and, unanimously elect Linda. As the mayor. As a citizen, I'm represented by five members of city council, a member of the county board of supervisors, a member of the California State Assembly, two United States senators, state senators, one member of the House of Representatives, two United States senators, and a president. Or at least that's a theory. But only Linda. has ever truly represented me. and I think truly represented the citizens of Sausalito. It is only with Linda that I feel represented. She's worked tirelessly in my best interest and indeed in the best interest of the city. And... She's worked that way from the moment she was sworn in until 7.35 tonight and continuing. For sure I don't agree with her every vote. for as they say, honorable, reasonable minds can differ. However, she's been true to the highest standards of good government. keeping us informed on civic life, and doing her very best. really selflessly. my temperament is such that i i rarely can entrust any part of my private life, my public life, any part of any part of my life to anybody else. I just... I'm not that kind of guy. But— The exception is with Linda. With Linda, I don't have to worry, at least not about What goes on in this chamber? At least not that much. Because I know Linda has my back and has the back of everybody here. She studies the issues. Actually, more than I studied for the bar exam, I think. Uh, And she always votes thoughtfully. Our occasional difference of opinion. It's just not relevant to me. It doesn't matter. I just asked you tonight. Do the right thing. do the take a vote with integrity. And vote for Linda for our next mayor, please. Thank you. |
| 00:38:22.20 | Unknown | I'd like to speak about some of Linda Pfeiffer's qualities. that I feel would be beneficial as mayor. Her communication skills are excellent. She informs residents of the issues and keeps us current as well as educated. She has the quality of empathy and responds to residents' concerns in a timely manner. I think these are very difficult times for Sausalito, and I feel Linda's qualities, those I mentioned and many I didn't mention, would be beneficial as mayor. I also feel it would bring a sense of harmony. And I want to thank all of you for all the time and effort that you have devoted to our city. Thank you. |
| 00:39:23.24 | Ellie Gibbs | Hello, my name is Ellie Gibbs. I've lived in Sausalito for about 10 years after living in San Francisco for 20 years. We moved here to raise our family in a small, charming seaside town. My husband and I built our home here in Sausalito. We have some rental properties, and so we're really invested in making Sausalito a great place to live. While I appreciate everything all of you guys have done on the city council over the years, I just have to say that Linda has made a huge impact for me. I get to work at 4.30 in the morning, work New York Stock Exchange hours, and I'm there. And at 12.30, 1 o'clock in the morning, this woman is like sending this detailed email |
| 00:40:08.48 | Paul Mowry | in the morning. |
| 00:40:12.89 | Ellie Gibbs | um, And it's so informative. And I feel like it's unbiased. I think it's just a really good recap of what's going on here. Um, I can't thank you enough for your detailed work. And I've never really met you. I just support you in your efforts. I think that the voter turnout and the number of votes that Jill Hoffman received means that this town is alive. We're awake. We're aware of all the issues now, thanks to you. And, you know, Linda's the right choice. Thank you. |
| 00:40:49.45 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:40:54.89 | Barbara Nelson | Hi, I'm Barbara Nelson. I lived on Santa Rosa. I've been here since about the 60s. And at some point, I think I asked somebody, How do we elect the mayor to the council? And somebody told me that, well, we pass it around. Everybody on the council gets a chance to be mayor. I haven't seen Linda be mayor. I'm a big fan of Linda's because of her dedication, her incredible communication skills, keeping us informed, and I really feel supported by her as a resident. I have a letter here from Joan Proctor. She couldn't be here tonight, and I just thought she worded it so well and so much how I feel that I wanted to read it. She says, I have been favorably impressed with the consciousness and dedication with which Linda Pfeiffer has served us. all during her terms on the council. She has gone above the usual good service I expect from council members in keeping us residents fully informed of all meetings, the agendas, that will be coming up as well as reports afterward of what has occurred. She has lobbied for and improved transparency in all the town's activities of interest to residents. I've found her many reports to be most educational and have appreciated the diversity of viewpoints on which she reports, including those with which she may personally not agree. Um, I appreciate her willingness to ask the hard questions and reevaluate the status quo and believe that is an asset that serves to improve our chances of arriving at the best final outcome. I'd rather have sincere and thorough evaluation of our town's issues before decisions are reached, even if it is sometimes uncomfortable for those who already have an opinion. in the never-ending challenge to reach a balance between conservative and progressive leadership I'm very grateful to count on a representative who is willing to advocate for the interests of us residents, as well as to consider the financial and practical aspects of an issue. Given these considerations and the length of time that Linda has served on the City Council, I request that she be given the opportunity to serve as the next mayor, and I hope it will be a unanimous vote. Thank you. |
| 00:43:14.34 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:43:21.48 | Joel Paul | My name is Joel Paul. I am a resident of Sausalito for the last 15 years. And I, too, am here to ask the council to unanimously confirm Linda as our next mayor. I have had the privilege of working with Linda Pfeiffer on the Housing Element Committee several years ago when she was the chair of that committee. And I saw the kind of leadership she exercised in forging a very difficult compromise among competing stakeholders that would have allowed us to meet and to exceed the state requirements for affordable housing without having to build any high density housing in the city. She has been a tireless advocate for the city in protecting our way of life and preserving our small town character. She has been more than anyone I know, effective in making this a transparent and accountable government. She communicates regularly with all of her constituents. She has been particularly responsive to those of us in the north end of the city who have not always been well represented by the council. And she has also been a very strong advocate for the business community and for the arts community as the head of the Arts Commission and as a member of the board of the Chamber of Commerce. I think it's regrettable that she has now been passed over on three earlier occasions when she might have been elected mayor in favor of two other candidates who were both of whom had served previously as mayor. I think it's high time that we elected another woman mayor. It has been, by my count, at least eight years since the last woman served as mayor of our city. And I think it's somewhat ironic that a town made famous by Sally Stanford has recently been run more like a fraternity party. It's time to recognize that a woman has a seat at the table and can sometimes even sit at the head of the table. Thank you. |
| 00:45:33.04 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:45:38.71 | Paul Mowry | Hi, I'm Paul Mowry, and some people know me as the pastor at the Sausalito Presbyterian Church. I had the great honor to be appointed the chaplain of the police department here several months ago, and I'm so proud to serve what's a really great professional and compassionate force. But I'm here really to talk just as a neighbor. I wouldn't say I know a lot about politics, but I do feel committed to neighborliness because I spend a lot of time on Sundays talking about that. And so just to add an ounce of drama to the evening with recognizing everybody's different opinions, I just wanted to say a word for Tom Theodorus because Tom and his wife, Tricia, moved onto the same small street that my family and I live on just about the same time as we relocated from New York City. And New York City's actually much more of a friendly place than people would think, and of course, Sausalito's very friendly. But what I was really struck by was Tom's not just neighborliness, but very committed civic involvement, being involved and interested in so many different issues, not just for us who lived on our block, but for the whole city. And I am always amazed watching the activity from his house when people could be really sleeping in if they were in a position they could sleep in, but always out early and doing things that were very involved with the community and with, you know, really the interests of their neighbors. So I just, you know, have to say that I would urge, as a neighbor and as a citizen of Sausalito, Tom Theodorus as mayor for someone who is a good neighbor and I think is compassionate and wise about the issues affecting all of his neighbors. Thank you. |
| 00:47:58.99 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:48:05.52 | Sybil Boutillier | Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers, Sybil Boutillier. I wanted to speak in favor of you electing Tom Theodorus as the next mayor. I have found that he's always been very well informed, knowledgeable about the larger overview and importance of issues, while demonstrating attention to the details that are so important to a well-functioning city. He's consistently been a voice of equanimity on the Council and attentive to the ethics, compassionate approach to the needs of the entire community. And he listens carefully to all sides of every issue, and manifest what to me is an ideal, even-handed, honest, and trustworthy public servant and a wise man. And I hope that you will elect him as mayor. Thank you. |
| 00:49:16.53 | Mayor Withey | Thank you, Sybil. |
| 00:49:23.52 | Bob Page | I'm members of the council. My name is Bob Page. I've lived here in Sausalito for about 12 years. And I want to thank each and every one of you because I know what time and effort it takes to contribute. And I very much appreciate that. I do want to speak on behalf of Tom Theodorus. Tom, when I first moved here, I moved here from downtown San Francisco looking for a different way of life. And I think I found it here. I was mildly shocked and disappointed about five years after living here to see our town on TV on the news because there were some very divisive relationships on city council. So I originally voted for Tom to be a city council member because I really appreciated his ability to bring people together and I think he's really delivered on that. I also thank Tom because I'm one who also wanted to be involved in the bikes issue, and Tom has served tirelessly for the last year and a half meeting with the Pedestrian Bicycle Advisory Committee once a month, also after hours, contributing time with the Ambassador Program on Saturdays. And so for that reason, I hope you will consider Tom Theodores as our next mayor. |
| 00:50:21.33 | Unknown | I'm sorry. |
| 00:50:21.45 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:50:26.88 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:50:33.01 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:50:33.03 | Herbie | show. |
| 00:50:34.22 | Joe Burns | Good afternoon, or good evening. I'm Joe Burns in Sausalito on Turney Street, and I recently was the manager for the Measure O campaign that passed at 60%. That's what we finished at. So thank you all for that. Being that dear to me, I would like to see a mayor who supported that, and I know I work closely with Tom Theodorus on that campaign, as well as different park issues that have come up over the years, at least since last year. So I support Vice Mayor Tom Theodorus as your vote for mayor. Thanks. |
| 00:51:08.73 | Mayor Withey | Thank you, Joe. |
| 00:51:15.75 | Paul Ronan | Thank you. My name is Paul Ronan and I've lived here for about 45 years and thank you all for all the work you've done. A few of us here in the audience have gone through a lot of council meetings and mayors and everything else. But the only thing I'd like to express here is I think the country has got A lot of problems. And one of the problems is there's not much diversity And I think one of the biggest things we need is more diversity in our government. And Amy Poulser was a wonderful mayor. Robin Sweeney was a wonderful mayor. And I think it's time after eight to 10 years that we have another Ladies. woman on it, to give another point of view. You three gentlemen are wonderful council members, but I think it's time for a woman to sit up there and give another opinion, another idea of how things should be done. And I think the country's going this way. And maybe Sausalito could be in the forefront. So I really wish that you would elect Linda Pfeiffer for the mayor. Thank you. |
| 00:52:25.72 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:52:31.44 | Sonia Hanson | Sonia Hanson, Spring Street, nice to see the five of you and thank you all for what you do. I was not going to speak tonight, but I think the one thing that keeps drumming in my mind is there is an issue of fairness here. The current mayor, who has done a wonderful job, was only on the council for one year when he became mayor. Tom, you will have only been on the council for two years when you become mayor. Linda has been sitting on the council for six years, and she has worked hard for those six years. You may not agree with her, but she's worked hard, and she has earned the right to be mayor in this town. And I plead with you to do that because, frankly, we are not looking so well as a town. and the more people look at us and the more it is run by just the men the worse we look. And that's the truth. And Linda deserves this. So not that Tom doesn't deserve it, but maybe Tom could wait one year since Linda's been here for six years. Thank you. |
| 00:53:39.78 | Mayor Withey | Thank you, Sonia. |
| 00:53:46.03 | Laura St. Clair | Good evening. I am here. I'm Laura St. Clair. I've been a resident for over 10 years now, and I really want our council to consider Linda Pfeiffer as our mayor. I live on Alexander, and it gets pretty nasty at that end of town, and I have to say that It's only through her emails that I've really learned what goes on here, and I've really appreciated the time and effort she makes to educate us for the best interests of Sausalito, so I really encourage you to honor us with her as our mayor this year. Thank you. |
| 00:54:29.56 | Unknown | I've been a resident 47 years. I wasn't going to speak, but hearing a lot of things people are saying, I think people need to take stock themselves and use wisdom. To me, it doesn't make a difference what sex somebody is. or even how many years they've been on city council. It's who's going to do the best job. just because somebody's been on a position 20 years, or two years, to me doesn't make a difference just because they're male or female. or gay or whatever doesn't make a difference to me. Consider. who's going to do the best job and let wisdom Be your guide. |
| 00:55:15.02 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:55:24.57 | Mayor Withey | Is there any other member of the public who'd like to say anything this evening on this matter? No. Okay. Then I will close public comment on the selection of mayor and vice mayor. |
| 00:55:48.47 | Mayor Withey | So, um... actually is my last action as mayor. I'm going to call for nominations, and I'm going to, as is, I think, . standard take a mayor's prerogative of making the first nomination and I nominate Tom Theodore as mayor and I'm asking for any other nominations for this position. |
| 00:56:27.64 | Jill Hoffman | Mr. Mayor, I'd like to nominate Linda Pfeiffer for mayor. |
| 00:56:31.16 | Mayor Withey | Thank you. Is there any other nominations? Okay, so I will close nominations. And I think Debbie, we're going to ask you to call the vote. And as there are two names that have been nominated, you call the vote by indicating the person that you will vote for as mayor. The mayor will be the individual who receives three votes. Debbie. |
| 00:57:08.56 | Debbie | Councilmember Pfeiffer. |
| 00:57:11.75 | Linda Pfeiffer | Linda Pfeiffer. |
| 00:57:13.91 | Debbie | Councilmember Weiner. |
| 00:57:15.36 | Herbie | Tom Theodorus. |
| 00:57:17.35 | Debbie | Councilmember Hoffman. |
| 00:57:19.48 | Jill Hoffman | to Pfeiffer. |
| 00:57:22.04 | Debbie | Vice Mayor Theodoros. |
| 00:57:23.59 | Ray Withey | Tom Theodorus. |
| 00:57:26.92 | Debbie | The Mayor Withings. |
| 00:57:28.24 | Mayor Withey | Tom Theodores, and Tom Theodores is hereby elected mayor. |
| 00:57:42.48 | Mayor Withey | And with that, I'll hand the go. |
| 00:57:56.72 | Ray Withey | OUR NEXT ITEM IS THE SELECTION OF ELECTION OF THE VICE MAYOR. AND I WILL OPEN UP TO NOMINATIONS, BUT I'LL START WITH THE NOMINATION MYSELF. Councilmember Jill Hoffman. |
| 00:58:14.20 | Ray Withey | Are there any other nominations? |
| 00:58:14.47 | Paul Mowry | Are there any... |
| 00:58:17.05 | Ray Withey | All right, Debbie, do you want to take the roll on this? |
| 00:58:20.28 | Jill Hoffman | I'd like to nominate Linda Pfeiffer for vice mayor. |
| 00:58:31.14 | Ray Withey | Can we take the roll? |
| 00:58:33.22 | Debbie | Councilmember Feiffer? Thank you. |
| 00:58:37.14 | Linda Pfeiffer | Well, I'm not sure, you know, what, well, of course, I'm going to vote for myself. So, Linda Pfeiffer. |
| 00:58:50.40 | Debbie | I think. |
| 00:58:53.71 | Debbie | Councilmember Weiner. |
| 00:58:54.95 | Herbie | Joe Hoffman. |
| 00:58:58.45 | Debbie | Councilmember Huffman. |
| 00:59:00.64 | Jill Hoffman | Linda Pfeiffer. |
| 00:59:04.81 | Debbie | Councilmember Whibby. |
| 00:59:07.70 | Ray Withey | Thank you. |
| 00:59:07.71 | Mayor Withey | Joe. |
| 00:59:08.03 | Ray Withey | Hoffman. |
| 00:59:11.38 | Debbie | Mayor Theodorus. |
| 00:59:13.11 | Ray Withey | Bill Hoffman. |
| 00:59:14.87 | Debbie | Congratulations. |
| 00:59:17.94 | Jill Hoffman | you deserve it. |
| 00:59:21.01 | Ray Withey | All right. |
| 00:59:21.91 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 00:59:21.95 | Jill Hoffman | you |
| 00:59:22.02 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 00:59:22.11 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah. |
| 00:59:22.33 | Unknown | Thank you. with that. |
| 00:59:25.16 | Ray Withey | Okay. |
| 00:59:26.01 | Unknown | Which one? |
| 00:59:27.98 | Ray Withey | Moving on. |
| 00:59:28.82 | Unknown | THE END OF THE END OF THE Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. |
| 00:59:29.85 | Ray Withey | So the next agenda item will be, so that's congratulations to Vice Mayor Hoffman. |
| 00:59:35.98 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:59:37.18 | Ray Withey | Okay, the next item is approval of the 2015 City Council meeting schedule. |
| 00:59:45.63 | Ray Withey | Thank you. you And... |
| 00:59:47.47 | Unknown | At this point, does anyone have questions on the schedule? We have... |
| 00:59:56.09 | Ray Withey | Everyone has it in their No. Did you have it in the frack package? |
| 01:00:01.98 | Jill Hoffman | I have no objections. |
| 01:00:03.79 | Ray Withey | Okay, no objections. Mr. Mayor. |
| 01:00:05.90 | Adam Politzer | Mr. Mayor. Maybe it would be helpful, especially for our new council member. The staff report pretty much explains what it is. This is a preview of the year of 2015. Traditionally, we hold two meetings a month. The city clerk here has done a good job over the last six years of trying to avoid coming back from a Monday holiday and showing up to a council meeting on Tuesday, avoiding midweek holidays that may be like Fourth of July or Thanksgiving that throws off the schedule of production of the council packets. So what I think may be best for the council to do tonight is just accept the schedule and then individually respond back to the city clerk if there are any conflicts that cannot be changed. We try our best to hold these meetings as is so it's best for us to hear if for some reason you know that there's no way that you can make that meeting date and then we'll come back at the first meeting in January and then provide you the final copy. Why it's so important that this happens by the first meeting in January is that the Planning Commission is waiting to schedule their meetings because they don't like to have a council meeting on Tuesday night and then a Planning Commission the next night. So they try to go off week. So when we're Tuesday night, week one, they're planning commission week two. And then because several staff members, including our city attorney and our public works director and community development director, usually attend both meetings, we try to give them a night off as well. So if the council would take the schedule with them and respond back to the City Clerk by the end of the year if they have any conflicts. We also encourage you, if you have conflicts now in your schedule, to try to work them out in advance so that we don't have to make any changes to what's being proposed. Thank you. |
| 01:00:23.06 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 01:02:04.56 | Ray Withey | Okay. Any council questions on that? Any public comment on our 2015 City Council meeting schedule? Okay. So moving on, we have other reports of significance. And at this... Mr. Mayor. |
| 01:02:18.97 | Mayor Withey | I suggest we table that until the next meeting, and I propose a motion to adjourn. |
| 01:02:25.05 | Ray Withey | Okay. Anyone opposed to that? Motion to adjourn. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Okay. We are adjourned for today. |
| 01:02:30.09 | Mayor Withey | Bye. |
| 01:02:48.91 | Ray Withey | I know. Oh, should I? |
| 01:03:09.72 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 01:03:09.73 | SPEAKER_08 | Watch it. |
| 01:11:27.28 | SPEAKER_08 | Thank you. I am here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. |
| 01:16:31.57 | Unknown | Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. |
Tom Hoover — Neutral: Thanked planning department staff for clearing vegetation at Bridgeway and Napa/Caledonia Street intersection that had blocked visibility for years, improving safety. ▶ 📄
Unknown (Sorceleto Coalition) — Neutral: Presented bikes and buses as a major divisive issue, referencing a well-attended public forum and resident survey, and submitted related documents and petitions to council. ▶ 📄