2026-09-22 - City Council Special Meeting

07:34and welcome to the uh special meeting of

07:36the city council of September 22nd,

07:392026. Madame Clerk, would you please

07:41call the role?

07:42>> Of course. Council member Lou

07:44>> here.

07:44>> Council member Bert

07:45>> here.

07:46>> Council member Lowing

07:47>> here.

07:47>> Vice Mayor Stone

07:49>> here. Council member Lethod Hayes

07:50>> here.

07:51>> Mayor Vinker

07:52>> here. Council member Rectal

07:54>> here.

07:54>> For the record, all present.

07:56>> Right. Thank you. Uh Mr. City Manager,

07:59are there any agenda changes, deletions,

08:01or additions?

08:02>> We have no changes this evening, mayor.

08:04>> Okay. Excellent. Well, then we'll move

08:06on to our closed session items. There

08:09are two item AA1 conference with real

08:12property negotiators

08:14and uh item one public employee employ

08:18employee performance evaluation title

08:21city manager. Uh madame clerk, do we

08:23have any public comment on either close

08:25session item?

08:27>> No, we have no requests to speak and no

08:28hands are raised on Zoom.

08:30>> Okay, I guess with that we can uh

08:33entertain a motion to move into close

08:34session.

08:35>> So moved.

08:36>> Is there a second?

08:38>> Second. Thank you.

08:41No further discussion. We'll take a

08:43vote.

08:44>> Vice Mayor Stone,

08:46>> yes.

08:46>> Council member Bert,

08:47>> yes.

08:48>> Mayor Vinker,

08:49>> yes.

08:49>> Council member Lethod Haynes,

08:50>> yes.

08:51>> Council member Lou,

08:52>> yes.

08:52>> Council member Rectal,

08:53>> yes.

08:53>> Council member Lowing,

08:54>> yes.

08:55>> Motion's carrying.

2:33:32They're

2:33:45all here.

2:33:47All right. Well, good. Pardon me.

2:33:53>> All right. So, good evening. We are

2:33:55recessing our closed session and we'll

2:33:58go back into it later, but we wanted to

2:34:00get out here for this uh special order

2:34:03of the day. Item two, interview

2:34:05candidates for vacancies on the parks

2:34:07and recreation commission. So, madame

2:34:09clerk, you have some introductory

2:34:11remarks.

2:34:12>> I just have one announcement. Um what

2:34:14there's been one adjustment to the

2:34:16schedule that's um in front of you.

2:34:17Candidate Mustav Fuki um has withdrawn

2:34:20their application.

2:34:22>> Okay. Would it be possible while we're

2:34:24interviewing for someone on the clerk

2:34:26staff and maybe you've already done this

2:34:28to reach out to uh Bing way and see if

2:34:31she could sub into that open time slot

2:34:34unless we really need a break but I'm

2:34:35thinking we could end a little earlier

2:34:36and get back to our closed session.

2:34:38>> We're happy to reach out.

2:34:40>> That would be lovely. [snorts]

2:34:41>> Okay, thank you so much. Okay, and so

2:34:44with that, uh we will commence our

2:34:48interviews. Um, usually what we do,

2:34:50obviously there's 10 minutes per

2:34:52applicant. We invite the applicants to

2:34:54come and and say whatever they'd like to

2:34:56say and sort of an opening statement of

2:34:58whatever length you choose, but couple

2:34:59of minutes uh two to three minutes is

2:35:01good and then we can ask questions

2:35:03thereafter and if there's time at the

2:35:05end and say something at the close. So

2:35:08with that um we will commence with

2:35:11Aubrey Wickcom and so if that is you

2:35:14where that that's where you want to okay

2:35:16great welcome. Thank you for applying.

2:35:19>> Thank you. Good evening, mayor, vice

2:35:21mayor, and council members. My name is

2:35:23Aubrey Whitam. I am a PaloAlto resident,

2:35:26a renter, a mom of a toddler, as well as

2:35:28the vice president and general manager

2:35:30of Neiman Marcus here in PaloAlto.

2:35:33Professionally, I lead a large public-f

2:35:35facing operation that includes

2:35:37responsibility for events, facilities,

2:35:40safety, and maintenance as well as

2:35:42capital and P&L budgets. I regularly

2:35:45balance competing priorities among my

2:35:47team, our clients, and the public, as

2:35:50well as the least businesses operating

2:35:52within my space. I'm generally the

2:35:55person who ultimately has to make the

2:35:56decision, whether that's yes, no, or

2:35:58something in the middle, and then I'm

2:36:00accountable to that result.

2:36:03Personally, I have a 2-year-old who's

2:36:05enrolled in three of our study

2:36:06recreation programs and can frequently

2:36:09be found running barefoot through

2:36:10Johnson Park.

2:36:12So, we spend a lot of time out in the

2:36:14community and using the services and

2:36:16spaces that help uh that the commission

2:36:18helps oversee. One thing that

2:36:20particularly interests me is an

2:36:22understanding for the relationship

2:36:24between what we've built for the

2:36:25community, how the residents actually

2:36:27experience it, how it's being utilized,

2:36:30and whether the original intention is

2:36:31being realized.

2:36:33I also understand that the commission is

2:36:36at a point with a number of long-term

2:36:38projects and moving into implementation.

2:36:41That's an area where I think my

2:36:42professional experience is particularly

2:36:44relevant. Implementation is where I

2:36:46thrive. I'm used to taking a plan,

2:36:48balancing competing needs, working

2:36:50within a budget, and ultimately turning

2:36:52it into something that works. I think I

2:36:55would bring a unique perspective to the

2:36:56commission, and it would be an honor to

2:36:58serve. I would absolutely put in the

2:37:00time, do the research, rely on the

2:37:02expertise where I don't have it, and

2:37:04make sure that I bring my best to the

2:37:06work. Thank you.

2:37:09Thank you. Okay. Hey colleagues, I don't

2:37:12have the lights here, so just turn on

2:37:13your mic and I'll I'll whoever I see

2:37:15first, I will call on. I think that's

2:37:17the best way we can do it. Ah, council

2:37:19member Rectal.

2:37:20>> Thank you for applying.

2:37:22>> Thank you.

2:37:22>> Uh, I started parks and wreck, so I I

2:37:25have fun fun memories of parks and

2:37:26wreck. [clears throat] Uh, you mentioned

2:37:28wreck programs. Quite often wreck

2:37:30programs, you know, we think of open

2:37:31space, we think of parks, and then wreck

2:37:33programs are kind of the forgotten third

2:37:35>> Yes.

2:37:35>> portion. Uh, what could we do better

2:37:37with wreck programs?

2:37:40Well, I think what I would like to look

2:37:41at first is what we are offering and

2:37:44what that enrollment looks like. I think

2:37:46oftent times there are weight lists for

2:37:48certain programs, but then there are

2:37:49some programs that remain open after

2:37:51enrollment for several weeks. Um, so

2:37:54taking a look at really what the

2:37:55community needs. Is it a timing factor

2:37:58that maybe they're not uh getting

2:38:00filled? Is it a location factor and

2:38:02accessibility, whether that be physical

2:38:04or monetary? Um and then finding out uh

2:38:07what what that is once the data is

2:38:10provided and how we can take a look at

2:38:12what needs to be added, what needs to be

2:38:14tweaked. Um but there's definitely

2:38:16probably some uh pairing down of what we

2:38:19have and also some expansion of others.

2:38:21>> What kind of expansion are there spot

2:38:24types of programs that we don't offer

2:38:25that you think we should?

2:38:28>> I would say not necessarily that we

2:38:29don't offer. We have a great breadth of

2:38:31offering. I would say it's probably more

2:38:33related to the weekend maybe the working

2:38:36families looking at evenings and

2:38:37weekends and some of the scheduling to

2:38:40see about accessibility. Um there are

2:38:42popular programs that I myself try to

2:38:44get to as soon as I can um like little

2:38:47explorers for example but um I think

2:38:49overall it would be looking at maybe

2:38:51scheduling and seeing where we can meet

2:38:52the needs of the community.

2:38:54>> Okay. Thank you.

2:38:55>> Thank you

2:38:57Mayor Stone.

2:38:59Thank you and thanks for applying

2:39:01Aubrey. Uh what do you think is the

2:39:03appropriate role of the commission in

2:39:06environmental protections in our parks

2:39:08and open spaces?

2:39:09>> So I definitely think it's a balance. I

2:39:12think part of it is going to be looking

2:39:14at utilization as far as like the parks

2:39:16and the urban locations that we have

2:39:18around the city and then as far as our

2:39:21bayands or foothills or the the uh

2:39:23nature that we like to preserve looking

2:39:25at protection. So, how to find a good

2:39:27balance between allowing the community

2:39:28to enjoy those resources while also

2:39:30making sure that those resources are

2:39:32available for the future and we sustain

2:39:34them over decades.

2:39:40>> Council member Leoing,

2:39:41>> do you do you find any uh sort of gaps

2:39:45in our on the nonrec on the parks open

2:39:49space? Are there things that you see

2:39:51that you you would be interested in

2:39:53moving forward?

2:39:54Well, I myself don't necessarily stick

2:39:56to my half a mile location. I'm in parks

2:39:59all over, whether it's Johnson or

2:40:01Mitchell or Ring Canada. Those are

2:40:02probably the the main ones. I think

2:40:04there are are some things that could be

2:40:06offered for the community potentially

2:40:08looking at uh facilities like restroom

2:40:10facilities or looking at food and

2:40:12beverage options that could add to it.

2:40:14Something like Adah's Cafe at Mitchell

2:40:15Park is a great um option to keep

2:40:17parents there and keep the uh them going

2:40:19throughout the day. Um, but those are

2:40:21probably some of the gaps I look at for

2:40:23more parks. But

2:40:25yes, that's my answer.

2:40:26>> Dean Marcus Cafe would be great.

2:40:28>> Yes. [laughter]

2:40:31>> Thanks, Mayor.

2:40:35>> Council member Lith Cafe. Thank you.

2:40:36Thank you, Miss Wickham, for applying.

2:40:38Appreciate [clears throat] it. One uh

2:40:39line in your application really stood

2:40:41out to me. I'm good at turning long

2:40:43discussions into decisions. If that's

2:40:46true, that's, you know, magic and gold

2:40:48and so on. [laughter] So, can you give

2:40:50us an example of um how you do that?

2:40:53Because what we're talking about is the

2:40:54human propensity to speak on and on and

2:40:57speak in circles and you know it feels

2:41:00risky to kind of make a decision for

2:41:01some and so what what tactics um do you

2:41:05deploy in order to move from long

2:41:08discussions to decisions?

2:41:10>> No, that's a great question. I think

2:41:11first you have to listen to the com

2:41:14competing uh views and what views are

2:41:16being brought forward. That's something

2:41:18that in my role now, I have a 12 person

2:41:21leadership team that has multiple

2:41:23opinions on how we should accomplish a

2:41:25goal. Um, I like to narrow it down so

2:41:28that we have maybe one to two options to

2:41:31consider as a team. So, kind of getting

2:41:33the general consensus. Obviously,

2:41:35consensus isn't always um available to

2:41:38us, but trying to get that consensus and

2:41:40having one to two options that we can

2:41:41decide upon as a move forward so that we

2:41:44can um take action. I think to your

2:41:48point um often we can get lost in some

2:41:50of the details and maybe not all the

2:41:52details need to be discussed at that

2:41:55moment and decided um but we can go

2:41:57forward with a general direction

2:42:04>> yeah thank you um

2:42:09have do you have any thoughts on I think

2:42:12you briefly alluded to uh where

2:42:14locations of uh recreational programs.

2:42:18Uh can you share any additional thoughts

2:42:21on where we might need to um uh address

2:42:25that issue and how

2:42:30I would probably need a little bit more

2:42:32information to come up with a decision

2:42:34on where we could look at adding or look

2:42:37at different locations as far as the

2:42:38population, the density where we're

2:42:40seeing utilization and what we currently

2:42:42have. I am a big believer in taking care

2:42:44of what we we own currently and making

2:42:46sure that is usable as intended. I also

2:42:48think that the coverly project is

2:42:50particularly interesting because there

2:42:51is a plan and now we get to move into

2:42:54those phases of execution um which will

2:42:56get us a great resource for the

2:42:58community and that can also evolve to

2:43:00fill needs that maybe we currently

2:43:02aren't meeting in our um programs now or

2:43:05parks now.

2:43:06>> Okay. And just to follow up then um also

2:43:10on the the role of uh recreation versus

2:43:14natural environment and can you give us

2:43:18a additional sense of how you balance

2:43:22those?

2:43:23>> Well, I think that we are in one of the

2:43:25most beautiful places um and people

2:43:28really love to get outdoors and that's a

2:43:30lot of what we want to do um in our

2:43:32community is to help uh propel people

2:43:35outdoors into these spaces. So, I would

2:43:37need to understand like if we were going

2:43:39to make a a choice for uh expanding

2:43:42utilization in a nature preserve, what

2:43:44is going to be the long-term

2:43:46ramifications or even short-term

2:43:47ramifications and kind of weighing that

2:43:50out and deciding is that the right

2:43:51decision for the land and the

2:43:53population, the habitat that's already

2:43:54there, or is that something that is too

2:43:57big of a sacrifice for us to move

2:43:59forward with? And kind of balance that

2:44:01and make make a decision.

2:44:08All right. Well, you have a little over

2:44:10a minute left. Was there anything you'd

2:44:12like to close with?

2:44:13>> Yes, absolutely. Thank you. Um, thank

2:44:15you for the opportunity to speak

2:44:16tonight. Um, the more I've learned about

2:44:18the commission, the more I've interested

2:44:20I have become in serving. I know I would

2:44:22come in with things to learn, but I'm

2:44:24very comfortable with that. I would do

2:44:26the work. I would ask the questions,

2:44:28listen to staff, my fellow

2:44:29commissioners, and the community, and

2:44:30then be willing to make a decision. I

2:44:33think I bring a perspective that's a

2:44:34little different. And as a resident, a

2:44:36renter, a parent, and an operator who's

2:44:39responsible for everyday facilities and

2:44:41budgets, competing priorities, and

2:44:43implementation, I'd be excited to bring

2:44:46those perspectives together in service

2:44:48of the community. If selected, I would

2:44:50take the responsibility seriously, and

2:44:52I'd be honored to serve. Thank you so

2:44:54much.

2:44:56>> Thank you very much. Appreciate you

2:44:57being here tonight.

2:44:59Okay, let's move to our second

2:45:02applicant, uh, Virginia Ruiz Albeti. And

2:45:05I may not be pronouncing that right, but

2:45:07I believe she's on Zoom.

2:45:08>> Yes, Virginia, you should now be able to

2:45:10unmute yourself.

2:45:16>> Virginia, I can see that you are

2:45:17unmuted, but we unfortunately cannot

2:45:20hear you.

2:45:23>> Let me try that again.

2:45:25>> Yep, we can hear you now. Thank you. to

2:45:27do.

2:45:28>> Do we want her to turn her camera on if

2:45:30possible? Are you Are you all right

2:45:32turning your camera on, Virginia?

2:45:33>> I am, but I don't see any way to do

2:45:36that. Maybe it needs to be join as a

2:45:40>> One moment. I think the clerk's

2:45:41discerning whether or not we can change

2:45:43a set.

2:45:44>> If you um you should have received a

2:45:46request to join as a panelist. If you

2:45:48accept that, you should be able to turn

2:45:49on your camera.

2:45:51>> Let me try that.

2:45:55There you go. Then can we switch our

2:45:57view so we see her? I guess each person

2:45:59can do that. Okay. All right. Um,

2:46:02please go ahead and welcome. And so you

2:46:06can take a couple minutes to start off

2:46:07and then we'll ask some questions.

2:46:09>> Perfect. Thank you very much. And good

2:46:11evening council members. Thank you for

2:46:13this opportunity to to introduce myself

2:46:15and apologies I cannot be there in

2:46:17person. I had a last minute uh trip that

2:46:20I needed to take. Uh my name is Virginia

2:46:22Ree. I'm originally from Spain. Uh, but

2:46:24I spent the last 13 years living in the

2:46:26UK. My family and I moved to Palo Alto

2:46:30at the beginning of the year where my

2:46:31husband and I are raising two small boys

2:46:34of two and a half and and one year old.

2:46:37And um, every place I lived has become a

2:46:40place I've cared for and Palo Alto is

2:46:43already one of them. As you can imagine,

2:46:46parks and open spaces are an an abstract

2:46:48policy topic in our house. um they're

2:46:51where we spend most of our afternoons

2:46:53and weekends as as Aubrey said and as

2:46:55any parent of toddler does. We have

2:46:57strong opinions about them [laughter]

2:47:00but um but also a closer contact with

2:47:03nature was one of the key reasons why we

2:47:06decided to move here with our kids in

2:47:08the first place. H I do have to agree

2:47:11with with the previous speaker um that

2:47:13this is one of the most beautiful places

2:47:15I've been in. So they do play a very

2:47:18important part in our lives.

2:47:20Um, professionally, I spent the last

2:47:23years leading renewable energy

2:47:25businesses, including a CEO of the UK

2:47:28and Ireland markets for offshore wind.

2:47:31Um, I trust this is excellent training

2:47:33for this role because it's taught me to

2:47:35balance community expectations with very

2:47:38hard budget constraints. um to run

2:47:41genuine stakeholder consultations and

2:47:43engagements and to make transparent

2:47:45decisions that sometimes don't please

2:47:49everyone but they do earn trust and that

2:47:51is something very important for me when

2:47:53moving forward. So I'm here for two

2:47:56reasons as I mentioned I'm a daily user

2:47:59of Palo Alto parks and open spaces uh

2:48:02with the perspective of a young family

2:48:04that actually lives and enjoys them

2:48:07every day. uh but I also bring this

2:48:09strategic and governance experience from

2:48:12running complex organizations with the

2:48:15will to build a community. Uh that that

2:48:18um is where I've loved to contribute

2:48:22with.

2:48:24>> All right. Well, thank you very much. Um

2:48:27colleagues questions.

2:48:31>> Council member Lou,

2:48:33>> thank you for applying. I love how your

2:48:35application mentions uh several

2:48:38nature-based and uh really nature

2:48:41oriented programs. I am also curious how

2:48:44you think about cases where uh there

2:48:48have been notable uh controversial

2:48:51[clears throat] cases in front of the

2:48:52commission like artificial turf where

2:48:54there are tensions around what what the

2:48:57potentially most natural solution is

2:49:00like natural grass versus a solution

2:49:03that some large subset of say soccer

2:49:06players prefer. So, how do you think

2:49:08about trade-offs and uh can you help uh

2:49:13just show how you would reason through

2:49:15trade-offs like that?

2:49:17>> Yeah. Um to be honest, um this is not

2:49:20something new that I would need to deal

2:49:22with because as I mentioned, um from my

2:49:24professional experience working with

2:49:26offshore wind, it is all a trade-off.

2:49:28Um, I mean, we're talking about building

2:49:30these huge offshore wind structures out

2:49:32in a very pristine natural land and it

2:49:36is always a debate and a and a really

2:49:40tight balance between we need to deliver

2:49:42clean energy. But to do that, you might

2:49:45be a roing the sealand. You obviously

2:49:48need some contact with land and things

2:49:50like that that really require a lot of

2:49:53thought process. What we normally try to

2:49:56always do is explore for options. Just

2:49:59making sure that there are no other

2:50:00options to

2:50:03when something needs to maybe not be the

2:50:06most natural solution that you would

2:50:08want or expect. Are there any other

2:50:10options? That's always the first thing

2:50:11that we try to check. Uh what is the

2:50:13most sustainable way of uh going ahead

2:50:16with projects that as we say might not

2:50:17be the most um

2:50:20nature-based one. Um and if if it needs

2:50:23to be go ahead, what is the compensation

2:50:26measures that we can do or making sure

2:50:27that um

2:50:30again isn't going to please everyone is

2:50:32is a is always a hard balance but trying

2:50:34to make sure that we've considered all

2:50:36the options and and um compensate in in

2:50:40good enough ways that bring as many

2:50:42benefits to residents as to nature

2:50:45altogether.

2:50:50>> All right. Thank you. Um, so I am

2:50:53intrigued uh when asked about uh

2:50:56specific goals. One of the ones you

2:50:58mentioned is stewardship, education and

2:51:00inclusion uh which is great and uh you

2:51:04mentioned building on 13 years as a STEM

2:51:06ambassador. Could you just expand a

2:51:08little bit on uh what you envision for

2:51:12stewardship education and inclusion?

2:51:14>> So um as I mentioned STEM is actually my

2:51:17passion. I'm an engineer for background

2:51:18and I one of the things I've realized is

2:51:20that kids

2:51:22kids don't learn just by being told

2:51:24things. So STEM is all based about expo

2:51:28sorry exploration and be out in nature

2:51:30and trying and failing and testing and I

2:51:33do feel that parks and open spaces and

2:51:35nature provides already all those

2:51:37opportunities. You don't need fancy

2:51:39equipments. You don't need a lot of

2:51:40classroom stuff to do things like that.

2:51:42they thrive in just the the the

2:51:45challenges that nature itself offers.

2:51:48Um, and I've been really lucky. I've

2:51:51lived a few years in Scotland and they

2:51:54have a very strong STEM um

2:51:58promotion and and STEM education there.

2:52:01Also very beautiful, very different

2:52:03weather, but very beautiful uh

2:52:05landscapes and outdoor spaces as well.

2:52:07Um so there were several projects that

2:52:09they uh kept running that they very well

2:52:12attended and allowed kids to join nature

2:52:17with curiosity with open minds um and

2:52:21and allowed them to test their limits to

2:52:24understand get connected with nature and

2:52:27I feel that shaped how how I behave in

2:52:32nature and how my kids behave in nature

2:52:34nowadays and I do feel that that's

2:52:36something I've

2:52:37lacking a little bit when I arrived here

2:52:39that um would be a great opportunity to

2:52:42make um the most of this wonderful place

2:52:45that I now live in.

2:52:49>> Wonderful. And yes, very different

2:52:50weather. [laughter]

2:52:53>> Uh colleagues. Oh, okay. Council member

2:52:56Rectal.

2:52:56>> Okay. Yeah, thank you for applying. Uh

2:52:59you mentioned climate resistant parks.

2:53:01Can you talk about that?

2:53:03>> Um yes. So um we've been seeing all

2:53:07around and um maybe again because of my

2:53:11professional background the impact that

2:53:13climate change is having. Um I mean the

2:53:16first question that we had was how do

2:53:17you um manage for example soccer fields

2:53:21with like more natural terrains and so

2:53:23on. Um there is a number of um new

2:53:28trends um going on for example in

2:53:31Germany where I also work briefly uh

2:53:34where they're really trying to create

2:53:37parks and open spaces that don't rely on

2:53:41human support to thrive and to create

2:53:44the proper spaces. So I mean Palo Alto I

2:53:46think it does it already uh really

2:53:49really well. All parks have massive

2:53:51trees that provide natural shades that

2:53:53in turns lowers the temperature of the

2:53:55parks and so on. But um even going a bit

2:53:58farther away into like natural reserves.

2:54:00I know some of the projects are also

2:54:02working on maintaining wild landscapes

2:54:05and so on. Um there is um maybe some

2:54:09specific points that I would love to go

2:54:11into a bit more research and really

2:54:12understand what Palo Alto is doing uh in

2:54:15terms of making sure that they maintain

2:54:17this um balance with nature without a

2:54:20lot of interference because I believe

2:54:22that's the best way to uh to deliver

2:54:25nature resilient um parks and open

2:54:29spaces.

2:54:32And you mentioned Germany and you've

2:54:35lived quite a few places. Are there

2:54:37other things that those [clears throat]

2:54:38these other countries do that are

2:54:40different than American parks? Could

2:54:42what what can we what can we learn from

2:54:44them? [clears throat]

2:54:46>> Uh well to be honest there's quite a

2:54:49variety of them. Um because for example

2:54:52actually if you go to the UK I believe

2:54:54um one of the key things that I don't

2:54:57agree that much with is they place a lot

2:54:59a lot of emphasis in health and safety

2:55:01which which is is really um it is really

2:55:06good in one hand but it also doesn't

2:55:08allow kids to really develop. So for

2:55:09example, if you go to Germany, um they

2:55:13they're now in a in a phase where for

2:55:16example parks are being much more

2:55:18developed as I mentioned towards a

2:55:20naturebased status. So they leave some

2:55:23boulders, they leave some um pellets on

2:55:27the ground that like that are not um

2:55:30grass. Not all the parks are paved. So

2:55:33they allow a little bit more of that

2:55:35exploration of that uh playfulness with

2:55:37nature to come through and and as I at

2:55:41the same time they also allow for um

2:55:44more nature resistant not so um involved

2:55:48with

2:55:50support from um men support and things

2:55:53like that. Sorry I myself a little bit

2:55:55tongue twisted there.

2:55:57>> Okay.

2:56:00>> All right. Thank you. Well, you just

2:56:01have a few seconds. Is there anything in

2:56:03closing you'd like to leave us with?

2:56:05>> Um, no. Just first of all, thank you for

2:56:07the opportunity to uh speaking with you

2:56:09today. I do believe that as close will

2:56:12say, people h make communities. So, I

2:56:15would love to put all my experience, my

2:56:18international

2:56:19views and my time at the service of the

2:56:21city, which as I mentioned at the

2:56:22beginning is um a place that I already

2:56:26love to call home and I'm very proud of

2:56:28of being here. Um, and I know I'll still

2:56:31need to learn a lot about how things

2:56:33work here, but it will be a challenge

2:56:35that I'll be uh most grateful for

2:56:38having.

2:56:38>> All right. All right. Well, thank you

2:56:40very much for applying.

2:56:42>> Thank you.

2:56:44>> Okay. So, we will move on to Abijit Soli

2:56:49also on Zoom, I believe.

2:56:57Hi there.

2:56:59>> Yes. Hi. And I apologize if I've mis

2:57:02pronounced your name. So maybe you could

2:57:04start by introducing yourself along with

2:57:06how you say your name.

2:57:08>> Yeah. So I mean too many vowels, right?

2:57:10Parents when they're deciding names like

2:57:12they should choose less vowels. In my

2:57:14case, they chose a lot. So Abigette is

2:57:16how it goes, but people call me Abby.

2:57:19Um, so I've been a Palo Alto resident

2:57:22for like 15 years. I was just riding

2:57:25down like all my experiences of like uh

2:57:28you know hiking in the foothills

2:57:30preserve right like uh taking kids

2:57:34swimming to rankada like so I've been

2:57:36like an avid user of all the parks that

2:57:38we have in the city right like we've

2:57:40done birthday parties at Pierce Park um

2:57:43I have like pictures of my kids playing

2:57:44around at the fountain Littton Plaza and

2:57:47like um you know the heritage park and

2:57:50now that like the kids are a little

2:57:52older between soccer and baseball

2:57:54there's a lot of like arc uh visits

2:57:57right so uh whether it's Greer Mayfield

2:58:00seal parody right and been using a lot

2:58:04of the parks and that's kind of what

2:58:06drove like uh my interest and seeing

2:58:08like hey uh based on what I was seeing

2:58:11like

2:58:13could I actually be contributing as well

2:58:16right uh to to improving what we have I

2:58:19mean without a doubt like I think when I

2:58:22compare to [snorts] some of the other

2:58:24towns that I go around where we travel

2:58:26to for games or whatever, right? I think

2:58:28like Palo Alto is doing a really good

2:58:30job, right? Um but um as I could tell

2:58:35you like this weekend we had a game at

2:58:37Seal Park, right? And my little one

2:58:38wanted to use the restroom. Uh the tap

2:58:43at the sink wasn't working right um in

2:58:47the restroom. And it's it's small things

2:58:49and like how could we actually report

2:58:52those things back, right? So that they

2:58:55can actually be fixed. Um and I'm sure

2:58:58like I'm not the only one who uses these

2:59:00things. Like uh some of what I'm

2:59:02thinking of is like how could we use

2:59:05technology in a better way to report

2:59:08improvements and get capture feedback of

2:59:11people who use these parks, right?

2:59:13Whether it's the swings or the restrooms

2:59:15or the fields, right? and incorporate

2:59:18that as part of the planning process

2:59:20itself. Sorry. Uh by background uh I've

2:59:23I've spent majority of my career in

2:59:25cyber security working on a particular

2:59:27start of my own right now. Um happy to

2:59:31take questions. Uh I know you guys have

2:59:33been working on a complex agenda across

2:59:35a bunch of things. So here to answer any

2:59:38questions and see if there's a role

2:59:40where I can actually contribute as well.

2:59:42So

2:59:44>> okay, excellent. Thank you very much.

2:59:46Well, let's see if any of my colleagues

2:59:47have a questions. Council me Council

2:59:49Member Burke,

2:59:50>> thank you. Um, so I see that you've

2:59:53really uh been engaged with a lot of our

2:59:57rich recreational opportunities from

3:00:00soccer to baseball to um uh dance

3:00:05classes and etc. Um,

3:00:11one of the biggest issues the parks and

3:00:13rec commission has been struggling with,

3:00:16um, is what to do about balancing the

3:00:19booming interest in pickle ball with its

3:00:23impacts,

3:00:25>> um, and how it competes with other space

3:00:29and, uh, things. So have you followed

3:00:32that issue and do you have any thoughts

3:00:34on how to resolve it?

3:00:38>> So uh

3:00:40I [clears throat] grew up playing

3:00:41tennis, huge fan of raet ball, right? Uh

3:00:45uh not completely sold on like um

3:00:51creating dedicated um facilities for

3:00:55pickle ball all over. I think uh I think

3:00:59it's a fun sport. Uh I think there is an

3:01:03whole evolution of like uh what it means

3:01:06to a lot of people. People are still

3:01:08like understanding the game, right? Like

3:01:10the competitiveness with which it's

3:01:12played, right? I hear a lot about people

3:01:15getting hurt playing pickle ball, which

3:01:17is like the scary part, right? Uh but

3:01:20that said like if I think your question

3:01:22is uh maybe maybe if you could ask

3:01:24rephrase your question and ask it in a

3:01:26way where I can actually give you

3:01:29direction

3:01:30>> just any

3:01:31>> any thoughts on how to resolve the

3:01:34competing interests.

3:01:36>> I I I know it's it's challenging, right?

3:01:38It's it's like a it's like a fun sport,

3:01:40right? Um,

3:01:46I I do visit the tennis courts if I

3:01:48>> Well, I will say that the part we've all

3:01:51been struggling with this, so I'm not

3:01:53necessarily expecting that you have the

3:01:55magic answer.

3:01:57>> No, [laughter] no. So, so like like I'll

3:01:59tell you, right? I mean, I've enjoyed

3:02:00playing tennis, right? I have a

3:02:028-year-old who's big into like playing

3:02:05and he wants to play tennis and uh we go

3:02:08out like you know there's a whole

3:02:09process like I I'll tell you the

3:02:11difference between Pleasanton and Palo

3:02:12Alto what I noticed my sister lives in

3:02:14Pleasanton if you want to go use a

3:02:15tennis court over there there's a whole

3:02:17booking system you have to book a court

3:02:19and somebody's managing it like a

3:02:21property itself right they don't have

3:02:23the luxury of what we have is in like

3:02:24you know three courts here five courts

3:02:26there right or or at the high school so

3:02:29I think like if you put in a better

3:02:31system of like managing the properties.

3:02:33I can certainly see the value of like

3:02:36starting investing and doing more,

3:02:39right? If you can't put the

3:02:41infrastructure behind that, I think like

3:02:44it's uh like you know uh I'm not saying

3:02:48the the city needs to be making money

3:02:49out of it, but like in terms of like

3:02:52hey, how are these facilities going to

3:02:54get used if there's a reservation system

3:02:56and someone's actually managing

3:02:58overseeing the property itself, right?

3:03:00whether it's pickle ball or tennis, I I

3:03:02I feel like the ROI is definitely going

3:03:05to be there because there's a high level

3:03:06of interest in the sport itself, right?

3:03:09>> Thank you,

3:03:15>> Council Member Act.

3:03:18>> Thank you for applying. Yeah, we always

3:03:20need good commissioners. It's a fun job.

3:03:23Uh you mentioned Cberly dance lessons at

3:03:26Cberly and what are your thoughts on

3:03:28Cberly and what are your priorities?

3:03:29What should we be prioritizing when we

3:03:31look at the new design?

3:03:33>> So look my daughter's been going to the

3:03:36dance school over there. Uh we've gone

3:03:39seen performances. Uh

3:03:42the

3:03:44the facilities are what they are for a

3:03:46reason. I feel like you know people are

3:03:49making the best of what they can. Can we

3:03:52do better? Uh I absolutely think the

3:03:55infrastructure is not up to the standard

3:03:59of the rest of rest of Palo Alto has

3:04:02enjoyed right like when you go look at

3:04:03like Mitchell Park right or the library

3:04:05over there you can tell there's a huge

3:04:08difference. So does it require

3:04:11uh a reook in terms of like hey it needs

3:04:13to be invested in? I absolutely think

3:04:15that would be a wonderful idea, right? A

3:04:18would it would it help to have a gym or

3:04:20a swimming pool and like more

3:04:22concentrated facilities, right?

3:04:24Absolutely. Uh but I think there there

3:04:27should be room for like people who have

3:04:30been using those facilities, right, to

3:04:32continue doing what they are doing as

3:04:33well, right? Like so when it comes to

3:04:35like the dance classes or like math and

3:04:37judo and tennis, right, there's there's

3:04:40a lot of stuff around there. Um, you

3:04:43know, there there's a balance over

3:04:45there. Uh, if you ask me sample size of

3:04:48one and maybe my wife, we'd say like,

3:04:50sure, we'd we'd pay the extra amount uh

3:04:53in taxes, but it's not for me to answer.

3:04:55I think it's for the population to

3:04:57decide. Am I thinking like, hey, 10

3:05:00years from now, would I enjoy using a

3:05:02facility which is like, you know, which

3:05:04offers more? Absolutely. Right. uh so I

3:05:07I do hope that uh we take a good look at

3:05:11like what that facility can offer to the

3:05:14population right and mass so

3:05:18>> are there any things that you think that

3:05:19we should be adding that currently

3:05:21aren't there

3:05:24>> so I I I looked at the plan right um

3:05:31if you said adding right I think like

3:05:34adding could be a lot of things right

3:05:35like indoor basketball, right? I mean,

3:05:39it could be it could be,

3:05:41you know, uh performance arts center

3:05:44like it could be many things, right? It

3:05:47needs to make sense. It I mean, you

3:05:48know, it needs to make sense for what it

3:05:51needs to serve if it's serving the

3:05:52community, right? We went painting the

3:05:54other day over there. They had like over

3:05:56the long weekend they had like uh a

3:05:58painter come in and set up a canvas and

3:06:01like they let people paint because some

3:06:03of these paintings are going in and

3:06:04around the facility itself like the city

3:06:06office whatever right

3:06:09so if you're trying to engage audiences

3:06:11and you can create a space where you can

3:06:14use it for multiple things right as long

3:06:16as there's some ability for people to

3:06:18actually be engaged on different levels

3:06:20for different activities I think uh

3:06:24what that specific activity is probably

3:06:27doesn't mean as much as much as it means

3:06:28that hey there's an option for people to

3:06:30go and do something right uh do we need

3:06:33more meeting centers more libraries and

3:06:35stuff I don't know but if people said

3:06:37like hey you know what we're missing

3:06:38something um we should definitely hear

3:06:41them out I I I don't I can't tell you

3:06:43like among the range of ideas like hey

3:06:46which ones are missing that we should

3:06:47add right I hope we are like responsible

3:06:50we invest in like solar panels like the

3:06:53normal stuff to make sure the building

3:06:55whatever we build is like up to up to

3:06:58spec, right? Uh sorry if I'm not being

3:07:01specific.

3:07:02>> That's fine. Thank you.

3:07:03>> Yeah, that's fine. But you only have a

3:07:05few seconds left, so I think we've used

3:07:07up your time.

3:07:08>> I love the opportunity. Thank you for

3:07:10taking time to uh getting to know me a

3:07:12little more.

3:07:13>> All right. Well, thank you for taking

3:07:14the time to be with us this evening.

3:07:16Good night.

3:07:17>> Yeah.

3:07:17>> Um

3:07:19>> Okay. So, with that, we will move on to

3:07:21Sterling Watson, who step up to the

3:07:24podium, and you know the drill by now.

3:07:26[laughter]

3:07:27>> Welcome.

3:07:29>> Okay. Um, good evening, council members

3:07:31and mayor and vice mayor and everybody.

3:07:33So, um, my name is Sterling Watson. I'm

3:07:36a thirdyear resident of Palo Alto. Um,

3:07:39we moved to Palo Alto because of its

3:07:41vibrant community, um, its great

3:07:43schools, and its excellent park system.

3:07:46Um during our time um that we live in

3:07:48Palo Alto um we've enjoyed a wide range

3:07:51of our facilities both recreational and

3:07:53parks. This has included everything from

3:07:55the playing fields when our kids were

3:07:57younger. They're now far out of the

3:07:58house. Um lots of soccer, baseball, that

3:08:01type of stuff. Um courts, um the

3:08:04community center, um for my wife takes

3:08:07classes at community center, including

3:08:08dance classes and those types of things.

3:08:10um community gardens as well as our kind

3:08:13of our classic more nature parks ranging

3:08:15from the bay lands to the foothills. I

3:08:16think we really have a pretty much a

3:08:19fantastic park system here in Palo Alto.

3:08:22Um so just been one of the main reasons

3:08:24that we actually moved here and then

3:08:25enjoyed it uh tremendously for the 30

3:08:27years that we've lived here. Um a few

3:08:30bits pieces about me. Um I have

3:08:33volunteered as an outdoor education

3:08:35dosan with a mid peninsula open space

3:08:37preserve. Um they have a nature program

3:08:39up at the Daniel's um nature center up

3:08:42on Skyline Boulevard. So I would be a

3:08:44dosent um leading groups of elementary

3:08:46students around there. Um I am also a

3:08:49block preparedness coordinator. So for a

3:08:51small section of my uh my part of old

3:08:54Palo Alto, I helped make sure that um

3:08:56you know if anything were to happen, I

3:08:58would be able to find out what was doing

3:09:00and we'd contact the city and get

3:09:02appropriate help as needed. Um my work

3:09:06career, um I've been in the tech

3:09:08industry uh for 30 years. Um everything

3:09:10from an engineer to technical management

3:09:13to business management. Um, I'm now

3:09:16retired, so I have the time and I feel I

3:09:19have the skills to give back um to Palo

3:09:22Alto and I really would look forward to

3:09:25working with uh with the um city council

3:09:27on the parks and recreation commission

3:09:29to help us to maintain our current great

3:09:32park system and build it more for the

3:09:34future. So um with that, I would just

3:09:37like to thank you for giving me the

3:09:38opportunity and I am open for questions.

3:09:42>> All right. Well, thank you and thank you

3:09:44for applying and since you were brave

3:09:46enough to bring up the uh uh racket

3:09:50sports tennis and pickle ball facilities

3:09:53uh in your uh application

3:09:55um and and ending where kind of we are a

3:09:59complex issue. Finding the best solution

3:10:00is a challenge which will require more

3:10:02work in the future. So I appreciate you

3:10:04acknowledging that. But do you have any

3:10:06more thoughts or want to give us a

3:10:07little more color on on how you would

3:10:09approach uh trying to resolve this? Um,

3:10:12sure. Um, I I do know that the council

3:10:14and the city has actually, you know, loo

3:10:16talked to the stakeholders. So, I think,

3:10:18and you probably know more than I do

3:10:19about some of the issues. But I would

3:10:21say just looking at Mitchell Park and

3:10:23see what happens there, it it's clear

3:10:25there's kind of a tension there because

3:10:27you there's so much heavy usage with

3:10:30pickle ball and the pickle ball people

3:10:32feel like they need more room. They need

3:10:34more courts. whereas the pickle ball

3:10:37people are al they're also having an

3:10:38impact on other users with parking or

3:10:40noise or you know use the facilities. So

3:10:44I think you know there's there's that

3:10:46tension there. My ideas would be trying

3:10:48to find a way of maybe pulling some of

3:10:51the demand to perhaps to other

3:10:52locations. I know there are some other

3:10:54pickle ball courts in this in this town

3:10:57as well as other towns. Sometimes it's

3:10:59it's too attractive so everyone goes to

3:11:01Mitchell Park to play pickle ball. So,

3:11:03if we could find a way to perhaps

3:11:05attract people to go to other locations,

3:11:07that might be a way of easing some of

3:11:08the pressure on that facility. I think

3:11:11we could also consider going to some

3:11:14sort of reservations uh system perhaps

3:11:16during peak hours. Um such as I believe

3:11:18the tennis um actually some other things

3:11:21do have reservation type systems. So, it

3:11:23might be something that we could

3:11:25consider doing is okay, it's too busy at

3:11:27this time of day. Let's figure out a

3:11:29system to kind of bring the demand down

3:11:31to a more manageable level. So, those

3:11:33are two things I can think of. Um, but I

3:11:35don't have any brilliant idea. Haven't

3:11:37solved it just yet.

3:11:39>> Well, thank you for those ideas. Uh,

3:11:41colleagues, uh, Council Member Lowing,

3:11:44>> yeah, you also bravely said that, uh, we

3:11:46should do maintenance on the parks. Um,

3:11:49so was there an assumption there that

3:11:51there are certain areas that you think

3:11:53should be done better than they are?

3:11:55>> Uh, no, not I, no, we wouldn't say that.

3:11:58I think that um I have to we have to

3:12:00recognize that we should just be

3:12:01maintaining our parks and I think we are

3:12:03doing a a good job in my observation of

3:12:05maintaining the parks quite well. So I

3:12:07I'm not aware of any particular thing

3:12:09that I think needs to be improved. I

3:12:11just have to recognize it just part of

3:12:13the cost of doing business. We do need

3:12:14to maintain them when we do have a

3:12:16limited budget. Um so we have to you

3:12:18know balance where are we going to spend

3:12:19our money to maintain it. what are we

3:12:21going to do about acquiring new

3:12:22parklands and those things could be

3:12:24intentions but I don't not aware of any

3:12:27particular thing that I thought was off

3:12:29okay thanks

3:12:34thank you for uh for applying what do

3:12:36you think is the appropriate role of the

3:12:38commission in environmental protection

3:12:40within our parks and open spaces

3:12:43um I think it's appropriate something

3:12:46that we should consider uh I you know we

3:12:49should make sure that we're not doing

3:12:51[snorts] anything that would be causing

3:12:52I'd say environmental harm. I think we

3:12:55actually have done a great job of sort

3:12:57of maintaining with especially with our

3:13:00um parks up in the foothills and the

3:13:01bayands we've had maintained a very

3:13:03strong environmental

3:13:05um balance right there and that's both

3:13:08allowing people to come in and use the

3:13:11um parks but also maintaining a very

3:13:13vibrant natural community there. So I

3:13:16think that you want to keep the

3:13:17environmental, you know, things in mind,

3:13:20but I think we definitely want to make

3:13:22sure that we are getting, you know,

3:13:23making sure that people are able to use

3:13:25those parks at the same time. So I think

3:13:27it's wouldn't be my top priority. Um,

3:13:31but I think we should keep that as

3:13:32something we don't want to cause any

3:13:34harm to the to the natural environment.

3:13:36Um, if we were say expand photo park or

3:13:38something like that,

3:13:45colleagues. Oh, Council Member Rectal.

3:13:47>> Yeah, thank you for applying. Uh, you

3:13:49mentioned in your application two kind

3:13:51of niche areas that a lot of people

3:13:53don't take advantage of and one was

3:13:54community gardens and the other was

3:13:56camping in Foothills Park.

3:13:58>> Mhm.

3:13:58>> Can you talk about your experiences with

3:14:00those and what could we do better with

3:14:01those? [snorts]

3:14:02>> Okay. Um, so camping in Fiddle Park was

3:14:05a long time ago when my my kids were

3:14:07small. Um [snorts]

3:14:09the um it was a I thought it was a nice

3:14:14campground. Um it was a little bit kind

3:14:17of

3:14:19well wasn't too far away. I mean for

3:14:21young kids it was a little bit of a far

3:14:22walk. Um and but that's part of the

3:14:25experience. It was kind of a good way to

3:14:27kind of get people into the you know

3:14:30baby camping. So I thought it was good

3:14:32from that point of view. It was probably

3:14:34a little far for some people. I would

3:14:36say would be one thing I thought would

3:14:37be might have made it a little more

3:14:39accessible. Um in terms of the community

3:14:42garden, um my wife is uh is has a a plot

3:14:46um and one of the I forget if it's park

3:14:49in San B. She has a plot there. So um

3:14:51she has found that to be a very

3:14:52rewarding thing. Um both the growing

3:14:55things and the the camaraderie she has

3:14:58with other people who have plots there

3:15:00or people work on the plots together.

3:15:02She found that to be uh just a a

3:15:05learning edge thing and then a great way

3:15:07to meet other people with similar

3:15:09interests in addition to getting lots

3:15:11and lots of tomatoes.

3:15:13>> Anything we could do better with the

3:15:14community gardens.

3:15:16>> Um let's see. [snorts] She would speak

3:15:20to it better than I would, but I would

3:15:22say that um

3:15:24it seems

3:15:26maybe a little haphazard in terms of its

3:15:29organization there. Maybe that's the way

3:15:31it should be. But um you know there's

3:15:34some some of the plots aren't um used

3:15:36very well and some of them are used

3:15:38heavily and I don't know what kind of

3:15:40how you you have to you know pay your

3:15:42rent for the for the plot but um it

3:15:45seems like it's a little bit

3:15:48mishmash as you would expect with

3:15:50different people with different levels

3:15:51of interest. So I don't know if there's

3:15:53really much that we could do but that

3:15:56was something that struck me when I came

3:15:57when I went there.

3:15:58>> Okay. Thank you. Anyone [snorts]

3:16:03else? Um, no. So, if you uh have any

3:16:06final thoughts you'd like to leave us

3:16:07with, you are welcome to do so.

3:16:10>> Okay. Um, well, I just want to thank you

3:16:12again for giving me the time to apply

3:16:14and I would really um be excited to work

3:16:16with the uh council on on the parks and

3:16:18recreation. As I said, I really think

3:16:20Pal has fantastic parks and I would like

3:16:23to help us to actually grow them more

3:16:25for the future. So, um, that that's

3:16:28basically my message and I will give you

3:16:29a minute back. [laughter]

3:16:31>> Excellent. All right. Well, thank you so

3:16:33much. Thank you for applying.

3:16:36All right. And with that, we

3:16:37[clears throat] will move on to Shaunie

3:16:39Klein House.

3:16:42Welcome.

3:16:43And so, just start whenever you want and

3:16:46you can make an introductory statement.

3:16:48We'll move to questions.

3:16:54Good evening.

3:16:56Mayor Vinker and council members. Some

3:16:58of you know me a little bit. Um,

3:17:00[clears throat]

3:17:03so thank you for the opportunity to

3:17:05serve on the PRC and for applying for

3:17:09another term. Appreciate it. Uh, what I

3:17:13bring is a PhD in ecology and the

3:17:15knowledge of nature and our environment

3:17:18on many different aspects. many years of

3:17:22involvement in Palo Alto, experience

3:17:25with the city planning, going back to

3:17:27being on the um community advisory

3:17:30committee for the comprehensive plan and

3:17:33then various other plans in the city

3:17:35that I participated in. I bring um

3:17:39including the parks and recreation

3:17:41master plan. I bring strong connections

3:17:44to the environmental community and um

3:17:48understanding of SQUA environmental law

3:17:52and city planning processes.

3:17:55There are two principles I tried to

3:17:58adhere to as I work with in within the

3:18:01PTC.

3:18:03I've been working there now for several

3:18:06years and two things that um guided me.

3:18:10One was to protect nature and make sure

3:18:13that our parks

3:18:16are

3:18:18good for nature and the other thing is

3:18:20like keep all the wildlife and keep our

3:18:23places beautiful. The other thing was to

3:18:26try and be fair so that our park serve

3:18:29everybody and that not one group takes

3:18:32over from another and there's always

3:18:35efforts to do that. So there's always

3:18:37people want more. [snorts] So

3:18:40our m our master plan, the parks and

3:18:42recreation master plan has eight

3:18:45principles. Playful, healthy,

3:18:47sustainable, inclusive, accessible,

3:18:50flexible, balanced, all great. And then

3:18:52the last one is nature. And I think I

3:18:55bring the nature into all of them. And

3:18:57what I've tried to do is balance them

3:18:59because all of these things are really

3:19:01important for our parks. They're

3:19:02important for our community. The

3:19:04community really cares about the parks

3:19:06also about nature. So that's what I've

3:19:10been doing trying to balance. It's not

3:19:12always easy and I've been on many many

3:19:16ad hocs and many many um

3:19:20uh liaison roles. The thing that we got

3:19:23in our in the when we got went to the um

3:19:28boards, commissions and committee

3:19:30accomplishments, some of these I led and

3:19:32others I participated in. Currently I'm

3:19:35on the balance comprehensive

3:19:37conservation plan which is kind of stuck

3:19:40um nature connectivity parks dedication

3:19:44and as a leaison open space preserves

3:19:46and urban forestry there are some things

3:19:49I'd like to continue working on so I'm

3:19:51asking you to allow me to continue.

3:19:55>> Well thank you very much um council

3:19:58member Liths.

3:19:59>> Thank you mayor. Thank you Miss Klein

3:20:01House for your service and your

3:20:03leadership. Um, from your service on the

3:20:05PRC thus far, do you have thoughts on

3:20:07what either the PRC itself or city staff

3:20:11could do differently in order to make

3:20:13things perhaps more efficient, uh, more

3:20:17clear?

3:20:19Any thoughts you can share? We have new

3:20:21stuff and they're learning and they're

3:20:23learning fast, I have to say. Um but the

3:20:26thing I often find that is missing is a

3:20:29lot more public outreach on various

3:20:31issues. Even ones that came to us today

3:20:34there was some public outreach but

3:20:38I would like to see a lot more to the

3:20:40groups that are specifically concerned

3:20:43with whatever it is that they bring to

3:20:45us. So if we wanted to use the pickle

3:20:48ball as an example in the first meetings

3:20:50we would only get pickle keep pickle

3:20:52ball people and eventually the entire

3:20:56community got involved but it took a lot

3:20:57of time and it took a lot of people

3:20:59being very upset and so I think more

3:21:03outreach would be good. Thank you

3:21:07council member Bert.

3:21:08>> Yeah. Um Shnie, you spoke about the

3:21:11importance of nature and we have our

3:21:14open space uh areas and then we have all

3:21:17of our great park system within our

3:21:20urban environment around the borders of

3:21:22it. Uh do you have any thoughts about

3:21:25how we can better integrate the natural

3:21:28environment with our

3:21:30[clears throat and snorts] our urban

3:21:31areas particularly our parks?

3:21:34>> So that's part of what the nature

3:21:36connectivity ad hoc is working on.

3:21:38That's me and uh Commissioner Bing way

3:21:41who is away right now. But we've been

3:21:44trying to do that and one and the

3:21:45guidance we've been some of it is just

3:21:48ecology like how do you bring nature to

3:21:51every park where what do we do so kids

3:21:54get to see some monarch butterflies or

3:21:56any butterfly. Um there's also some

3:21:58examples. The city of Mountain View just

3:22:01passed their biodiversity and urban

3:22:04forest master plan and they have some

3:22:05good concepts that we're looking to

3:22:07borrow from. It's not perfect, right?

3:22:09But it's it's a good start to look at

3:22:11how do you create this this matrix

3:22:16of um maybe use this certain trees in

3:22:20certain places or add a few plants key

3:22:22plants that the monarch butterflies and

3:22:24the milkweed is a good example. So we're

3:22:26working to do that by looking at what

3:22:29and where you can plant and how can you

3:22:32do what what they considered in Mountain

3:22:34View as a nature is in biodiversity

3:22:37anchor. Every park should have

3:22:39something. It doesn't exactly direct

3:22:41what but every park should have

3:22:43something. I think that's a good

3:22:44concept.

3:22:49>> [clears throat]

3:22:49>> So, in addition to the nature

3:22:51connectivity ad hoc, you mentioned the

3:22:54urban forest and I'm wondering if you

3:22:55could give us a little status update on

3:22:58it and uh where you see it going. I'm

3:23:01actually really impressed. I have to say

3:23:04one thing that I've seen that the urban

3:23:06forestry department is doing is planting

3:23:09more native oaks in our streets and in

3:23:11our parks. And that's wonderful because

3:23:13often people talk about, oh, we need um

3:23:17to preempt climate change and plant

3:23:19things from somewhere else. When you do

3:23:22that, first there's no proof that it

3:23:24works. But other than that, you leave

3:23:26all the animals that come with the plant

3:23:28lose their resources. So, this adaptive

3:23:33uh process doesn't always work. And to

3:23:35see Palo Alto doing that, that's

3:23:36wonderful. Another thing I just bumped

3:23:39into in the last two weeks is a lot of

3:23:42trees in Mountain View died. And it

3:23:44turns out that they used the pesticide

3:23:46in the tree wells, but herbicide that

3:23:49over time killed the trees and we don't

3:23:52do that. So I think there's a lot of we

3:23:55we have a good program and generally I

3:23:58would like to see more natives but I

3:24:00know that they are doing a good a fair

3:24:02and strong effort and they're

3:24:04successful. So yeah.

3:24:08This is a

3:24:09>> I got a tie here. Well, your lights on,

3:24:10so you followed rules, so you get to go.

3:24:13[laughter] U [clears throat]

3:24:15warning, this is a hard question, so

3:24:17take that into account. But this this is

3:24:19called the Parks and Recreation

3:24:21Commission, which by definition, in some

3:24:23cases, they're in conflict. So, how do

3:24:26you manage that conflict? What's the

3:24:27structure? Not what's the answer to the

3:24:29question. How do you structure that? For

3:24:30example, looking at putting up a

3:24:32two-story driving range. Not only is

3:24:34that good for more recreation, it

3:24:37actually adds revenue, but it also could

3:24:39interrupt the critters out there and the

3:24:42wildlife. So, how do you sort of

3:24:43structure that discussion on the on the

3:24:45commission?

3:24:46>> I bring the point of view of the animals

3:24:48and the birds and the and the things

3:24:50that can't speak for themselves. It's

3:24:52your decision what you're going to do

3:24:54with the information and the discussion.

3:24:56So I stay faithful generally to the

3:25:00ecology of a system to the aesthetic two

3:25:03points of view.

3:25:04>> Oh yeah, absolutely. Um there is always

3:25:08more of that and they it comes up all

3:25:11the time. I'm the only ecologist there

3:25:13and so I bring the ecology and then if

3:25:16if I'm the minority it eventually comes

3:25:20to you I may try to convince you but you

3:25:22know it's still I'll bring this the the

3:25:25point of view that no usually no one

3:25:27else has. I also read everything and I

3:25:30don't and I know I should believe stuff

3:25:32when they give me something but I always

3:25:34read [laughter]

3:25:35and I go back and look at city council

3:25:37direction and I do homeworks. Yeah.

3:25:41Sorry. [laughter]

3:25:42>> Thanks for reapplying Johnny and your

3:25:44and your service. I think this is might

3:25:45be a good closing question then for you.

3:25:48What have you not been able to

3:25:49accomplish yet on the on the commission

3:25:51that's really driving you to um to seek

3:25:54a a second term?

3:25:56>> The bio biodiversity the connectivity

3:26:00um effort that I'm doing with Bing, that

3:26:03one is why I'm asking to continue.

3:26:05There's a few other things that I would

3:26:07like to see, but I don't know that I'll

3:26:09be able to influence that. The Bakai

3:26:12Creek restoration has been on the books,

3:26:14but we never had enough money. Would be

3:26:17nice to see that happen. There's other

3:26:19the uh BCCP is stuck and probably not

3:26:23going to be recovered in its form. So,

3:26:24we need to think about what to do

3:26:26instead. So there's a few things they

3:26:29mainly relate to things that are in

3:26:31Foothills Park and the Baylands,

3:26:34but also the connectivity issue that uh

3:26:37council member B asked about.

3:26:40>> Well, you have 15 seconds. Any last

3:26:42thought [laughter]

3:26:45trying to do my best there? Thank you

3:26:47for the opportunity. Hope you reappoint

3:26:49me.

3:26:51>> Sorry we tore you away from the PRC to

3:26:53do this interview.

3:26:54>> Yes. Oh yeah. Well, this is actually

3:26:56[clears throat] a project I'm happy

3:26:58with.

3:27:00>> Well, thanks very much.

3:27:02>> Were we able to reschedu Bing?

3:27:08>> Okay.

3:27:10>> Yeah, I was say is she in I'm trying.

3:27:12Yeah,

3:27:16>> she is.

3:27:17>> Okay. So, she's not but she's not

3:27:19participating remotely in the PRC.

3:27:22>> She's not in the PRC meeting right now.

3:27:24>> Okay. Um, so we have not heard back from

3:27:26her, but we do have the following

3:27:28candidate, Ben Lenol.

3:27:29>> Oh, we might as well go ahead. All

3:27:31right. Thank you. Welcome, Ben.

3:27:35>> Can you guys see me and hear me?

3:27:37>> We can see and hear you and if you want

3:27:39to make a preliminary statement to us

3:27:41and then we'll ask some questions

3:27:42afterwards.

3:27:43>> Okay. Wonderful. So, I'm uh Ben Lana and

3:27:47I live in um the uh Crestston Park

3:27:50neighborhood. Uh I've been in PaloAlto

3:27:5327 years and uh I initially lived in

3:27:58community center and moved to Crescent

3:28:01Park uh 10 years ago and I've raised uh

3:28:05two sons in uh PaloAlto

3:28:08who um were uh avid users of all the

3:28:12recreation opportunities

3:28:15and we have been very active and

3:28:18outdoorsy. So um at community center uh

3:28:22we were daily users of Ring Canada Park

3:28:25and um uh Lucy Stern and the tennis

3:28:29courts and the pool and uh the libraries

3:28:33and um also uh having a uh a wonderful

3:28:38golden retriever for 12 years. uh spend

3:28:41a lot of time hiking uh in the foothills

3:28:44parks uh and the bays

3:28:48and uh arrest as well.

3:28:52And uh I was also uh AYSO commissioner.

3:28:57So uh dealt with the uh the allocation

3:29:01of uh uh time on the various uh fields

3:29:05in uh PaloAlto and I served on two

3:29:08commissions. the uh parcel tax oversight

3:29:12commission for the school district uh

3:29:14for two terms and um also the

3:29:18exceptional ad hoc commission to rename

3:29:22public schools in PaloAlto which led to

3:29:25the renaming of Jordan Middle School and

3:29:28Turman.

3:29:31Um, one thing that's um, uh, sensitive

3:29:35for me is uh, I I've been impacted with

3:29:38a neurological disease. So, I have

3:29:42reduced mobility now and um,

3:29:45accessibility

3:29:47uh, the ability to enjoy those u parks,

3:29:51those uh, recreational opportunities,

3:29:53those open spaces. as a person with

3:29:56reduced mobility uh is uh very important

3:30:01to me and uh to make it uh accessible to

3:30:05as many others as possible.

3:30:08And then uh one final experience I want

3:30:12to mention which is both tragic and

3:30:15beautiful. Uh five years ago uh our son

3:30:19Max who was 21 uh died in San Diego.

3:30:25uh at Mission Trails Regional Park,

3:30:28which happens to be the biggest

3:30:30municipal park in the state of

3:30:32California. It's 8,000 acres and it's

3:30:35about 20 minutes east of the downtown

3:30:38San Diego. and he drowned in a flash

3:30:41flood in the San Diego River at a spot

3:30:44called the San Diego River Crossing,

3:30:47which is where the main trail of the

3:30:49park intersects the San Diego River,

3:30:52which is um dry nine months out of the

3:30:55year. And he happened to to to be there

3:30:58when there was the storm of the century

3:31:01and uh and he drowned. and um we uh

3:31:06sponsored the construction of a

3:31:09pedestrian bridge uh at the at that site

3:31:14and uh I spent the last five years and

3:31:16about $3,000 raising more than a million

3:31:20dollars uh hiring a engineering and and

3:31:24architectural firm and going through a a

3:31:27complex construction project uh to

3:31:31improve the park uh make it more

3:31:33accessible ible, safer and um you know a

3:31:37project that was both you know

3:31:38hydrarology, geotechnical

3:31:41um environmental uh cultural uh as well

3:31:46as um getting buy in from uh you know

3:31:50both uh state, county and uh city uh

3:31:54authorities respecting all the

3:31:56considerations

3:31:58uh for a big capital improvement

3:32:00project. So, I've learned a lot about um

3:32:04what it takes to build in a municipal

3:32:07park and uh would love to bring that

3:32:10experience and and be able to reuse it.

3:32:13So, thank you so much.

3:32:16>> Well, thank you, Ben, and uh I'm sorry

3:32:18for your loss, but thank you for sharing

3:32:20that story with us. I appreciate it.

3:32:22Council member Burke.

3:32:23>> Yes. Um hi, Ben. Um could you just

3:32:26comment a little bit on any um

3:32:29observations

3:32:31uh you have made on how our parks uh

3:32:36what highest priority for our parks to

3:32:39improve u accessibility for people with

3:32:43reduced mobility.

3:32:46>> Yeah. I I think you know uh some of it

3:32:48is very basic. So it's basically um you

3:32:52know the the ground. So, it's having uh

3:32:55ramps uh and making sure that the uh the

3:32:58ramps, you know, are not blocked by

3:33:00vehicles that have parked there

3:33:03illegally. Uh and then avoiding um you

3:33:07know, gravel and uh and so really um and

3:33:11you know and um al also having uh in

3:33:14terms of the ergonomics for the

3:33:16bathrooms and the um you know, the

3:33:18washrooms to make that a little bit

3:33:20friendlier. Uh but you know one example

3:33:24is um uh bay lands for bird watching is

3:33:28uh absolutely wonderful and uh you know

3:33:32it it is a little bit accessible. I mean

3:33:35you get onto uh onto gravel quickly and

3:33:38you know there are ways to uh to to

3:33:40manage that. Uh but it's um you know

3:33:43it's both the balance is a is an

3:33:46opportunity to push oneself to really be

3:33:49in nature and uh and enjoy uh you know a

3:33:53beautiful scenery and wildlife uh even

3:33:56as a disabled person.

3:34:01>> Thank you

3:34:06council member Le.

3:34:08>> Uh thank you for applying in your

3:34:10application. You mentioned access a

3:34:13couple of times including in the context

3:34:15of uh foothills park and for tennis

3:34:19courts and nonpolar residents. So can

3:34:22you uh elaborate on

3:34:25on your thoughts there? [clears throat]

3:34:28>> Yeah. So um you know I think I I was

3:34:31very interested in the um the discussion

3:34:34around access to Foothills Park you know

3:34:37with all the the historical legacy of uh

3:34:41you know how it became a park how it was

3:34:43purchased funded and I think um I think

3:34:47it's been wonderful to open it to the

3:34:49the region uh I think you know there was

3:34:53a sort of um uh peak traffic driven by

3:34:56curiosity

3:34:58uh after the park was open to non-paloto

3:35:01residents, but I think now it's uh under

3:35:04under control. Um, and I think uh we we

3:35:08need to make sure that uh we we keep the

3:35:11the park uh healthy um community

3:35:15oriented and of course uh very

3:35:18protective of nature uh while allowing

3:35:22access uh for um you know uh diverse

3:35:26people uh who um you know want to

3:35:29experience nature.

3:35:31I think for the for the tennis courts,

3:35:34you know, there's been um some tension a

3:35:37little bit similar to uh the pickle ball

3:35:39situation where um you know, people can

3:35:43come in from other communities and um

3:35:47you know there is limited capacity. It's

3:35:49a it's a resource allocation issue and

3:35:54um you know there there can be uh you

3:35:58know uh some some tension around how the

3:36:01the resource is allocated and I've seen

3:36:04that firsthand at uh Ring Canada in

3:36:06particular.

3:36:10>> Council member Rectal.

3:36:11>> Okay. Thank you for applying and thank

3:36:13you for all your good work for the city.

3:36:14We we appreciate that. Uh you mentioned

3:36:17you had a dog. Uh, do you use our dog

3:36:19parks? And if so, what do you think? And

3:36:21also, there's kind of a fundamental

3:36:23trade-off. Do you want every park to

3:36:25have a small dog park or do you have

3:36:27fewer dog parks but have them larger?

3:36:30>> I would say fewer and larger. And of

3:36:33course, I'm a little biased because I

3:36:34had a a big dog. Uh, and they're, you

3:36:38know, super important for um socializing

3:36:41the dogs. uh making sure that they they

3:36:44get playtime because you know the the

3:36:47long hikes uh with a dog on a leash are

3:36:50wonderful in terms of uh you know

3:36:52sustain exercise for a dog. But the the

3:36:56uh the ability to have dogs play and of

3:36:58course dog owners to meet and um and in

3:37:01community and and um you know share

3:37:04anecdotes. Uh that's wonderful. But I

3:37:07think they're better if they're a little

3:37:09bit bigger. Anything else we could do

3:37:12better with the dog parks?

3:37:14>> No, I think uh you know uh more of them.

3:37:17I mean now I mean I mean uh Crescent

3:37:19Park and uh I know there's been um talk

3:37:23of having a dog park at Elanar Party

3:37:26Park and uh you know I think that's uh

3:37:29that's an idea that I I would like to

3:37:31look into.

3:37:32>> Okay. Thank you.

3:37:34>> All right, we have 10 seconds. Any last

3:37:36thought? [laughter]

3:37:38No, I'm uh I'm very excited to give back

3:37:41to this community which has been so good

3:37:43to us.

3:37:44>> All right. Well, Ben, thank you so much

3:37:46for applying.

3:37:47>> Thank you.

3:37:49>> Okay. Are we uh do we have Mark Shonen

3:37:52available?

3:37:53>> Yes, Mark. He is rejoin as a panelist

3:37:56now.

3:38:00>> Hello. Can you hear me?

3:38:02>> Yes. Welcome Mark. Uh thank you for

3:38:04joining us. Oops.

3:38:06you or is it just up on that screen?

3:38:09Okay. Very well. Well, uh, welcome and

3:38:12you're welcome to, uh, make a

3:38:13preliminary statement and then we'll

3:38:15move on to any questions from council.

3:38:17>> Great. Thank you so much for having me.

3:38:19U, good evening, commissioners. I'm

3:38:21Mark. I've our family has lived in Palo

3:38:24Alto for about 15 years, which, you

3:38:26know, functionally means we've been here

3:38:28long enough to see the creation of

3:38:31Magical Bridge Playground. We've seen

3:38:33their reopening of Mitchell Park Library

3:38:35with Adis Cafe and you know even more

3:38:39recently the intense community friction

3:38:41over pickle ball and tennis and

3:38:43accessibility.

3:38:45Um by day I I've spent probably the

3:38:48better part of two decades in human

3:38:50resources including my current role. I

3:38:53work at an automotive company. Uh my

3:38:56professional life revolves around

3:38:58optimizing resources, promoting equity

3:39:01across diverse populations and

3:39:04navigating very passionate and sometimes

3:39:06competing competing viewpoints. I think

3:39:09in that sense I would say mediating

3:39:13corporate HR dynamics is a very good

3:39:17training spot for some of the

3:39:18commission's work especially given what

3:39:21you are tasked to do with balancing

3:39:23commercial and recreational expansion uh

3:39:27against ecological preservation things

3:39:29like you know the measure E site for

3:39:31instance

3:39:32um outside of work my family is deeply

3:39:35embedded in the community when my kids

3:39:37were younger we are very involved in

3:39:39little leagues. Um my our youngest

3:39:43daughter is uh volunteers with the

3:39:46PaloAlto Children's Theater. Um I'm at

3:39:49the Baylands probably a couple times a

3:39:52week, often on the weekends with their

3:39:54dog. Uh just watching the birds and just

3:39:57having wonderful kind of idyllic walks

3:40:01either in the early morning or late

3:40:03evening. Um or sometimes we're

3:40:05socializing at the Mitchell Park dog

3:40:07park. I think dog parks are u one of the

3:40:10things I love so much about Palo Alto.

3:40:13Um I would say I consider myself a

3:40:15balanced pragmatist. I'm applying

3:40:16because I want to help execute the

3:40:19longterm plan for parks and wreck with

3:40:21rigorous financial and operational

3:40:23scrutiny. I'm really passionate about

3:40:26some of the modern challenges in our

3:40:28parks, whether it's, you know, safe

3:40:30policies to balance the growing

3:40:32prevalence of ebikes on our trails or uh

3:40:36ensuring our strategic planning serves

3:40:38our senior population. And I I say that

3:40:41because I'm pretty much a data person in

3:40:45my day job and my understanding is

3:40:47something like 20% of our residents here

3:40:49are now 65 and older and that presents a

3:40:51unique set of accessibility challenges

3:40:54that we should think about. Um so with

3:40:56that uh you know I would say it's been

3:40:59an amazing summer the chili cookoff in

3:41:02Mitchell Park and as well as the

3:41:03concerts and the movies. I'm always

3:41:06reminded of why we chose to live here

3:41:08and how lucky I feel to be here and I'm

3:41:11excited and humbled by the opportunity

3:41:13to be considered for this role and I

3:41:15look forward to any questions I may be

3:41:17able to answer.

3:41:19>> Great. Well, thank you very much. Um,

3:41:22colleagues question. Oh, council member

3:41:23Lowing.

3:41:25>> Yeah, thanks for applying again and uh

3:41:28for using as a park user. you got a

3:41:30pretty good uh uh smorgus board there of

3:41:34feeling out our events. I'm I'm

3:41:36intrigued with your comment that uh the

3:41:38way you say this um there's been an

3:41:40explosion in the popularity of ebikes

3:41:42and the many issues those now create for

3:41:45Palo Alto. Um don't expect you to solve

3:41:47this problem in the answer to this

3:41:49question but just give a feel of what

3:41:51you think the bigger issues are there uh

3:41:53and maybe some possibilities of how we

3:41:55should approach that. Yeah, I I think

3:41:59this is a really challenging issue and

3:42:01my my sense actually is this is not a

3:42:05Palo Alto specific issue. I I think the

3:42:08issue is almost a larger one. um I would

3:42:12almost say maybe a state or federal

3:42:14level where a lot of times what you have

3:42:17is you have retailers who are selling

3:42:19ebikes

3:42:21um to consumers in a way that the

3:42:23consumers don't actually understand that

3:42:26they are not street legal for all

3:42:28intents and purposes and certainly I

3:42:31would say I cycle to work every single

3:42:34day even though I work for a car

3:42:35company. Um, but the vast majority of

3:42:39people that I know in the cycling

3:42:40community probably can't functionally

3:42:43tell the diff, can't explain the

3:42:45difference between a class one, a class

3:42:472, and a class 3 ebike. U more, in

3:42:51addition, even if they do, they don't

3:42:53necessarily understand what the rules,

3:42:55regulations, and laws are around such.

3:42:57So, I I I think it presents problems and

3:43:00opportunities in PaloAlto specifically.

3:43:02uh we have so many outdoor trails for

3:43:05which cyclists sometimes use. Um but I I

3:43:10actually think the fundamental problem

3:43:12is the way that ebikes are being sold

3:43:14across the country and I think that that

3:43:17is a probably a larger issue than one

3:43:20PaloAlto can solve.

3:43:25All right. Thanks very much others.

3:43:30Well, I I might ask you kind of a tough

3:43:32one. Um

3:43:35when we asked what goals you would like

3:43:37to see uh the commission achieve, um you

3:43:41bravely mentioned the debate over the

3:43:43measure east site at Bixby Park with the

3:43:45tension between reserving land for

3:43:47future wastewater bioolids processing

3:43:50and dedicating it as parkland. How would

3:43:53you like to see that um issue uh

3:43:58analyzed and addressed? like how would

3:43:59you go about it?

3:44:04>> I

3:44:06I will be the first to admit that I I am

3:44:09not a subject matter expert in in this

3:44:10space. What one of the first things I

3:44:13would respond by saying is when we moved

3:44:15here I think you know back in 2011 I

3:44:18think that is when um the the site was

3:44:22first designated

3:44:24uh to be to build the compost and waste

3:44:26energy processing facility. So I think

3:44:29that there has been some evolution in

3:44:32how the city has thought about its

3:44:35energy needs. I know certainly over that

3:44:38time there has been um a lot of

3:44:41reservations particularly from

3:44:44uh environmentalists about you know the

3:44:47vital wildlife corridor that is linked

3:44:50to the wetlands and I I would say as

3:44:52someone who is in the bays very

3:44:54frequently I understand and appreciate

3:44:57that. So I

3:44:59I don't think I I certainly don't have

3:45:01an answer to to the issue. I think what

3:45:03I would really want to do is understand

3:45:06more of the data and competing

3:45:09priorities and what are we trying to

3:45:11optimize for for the success of the city

3:45:15long term to be energy independent a as

3:45:18well as to really preserve so much of

3:45:22the the nature and outdoors that makes

3:45:24Palo Alto such a wonderful place.

3:45:28>> All right. Thank you, Council Member

3:45:31Rectal.

3:45:31>> Okay. Yeah, thank you for applying. Uh,

3:45:34in your application, you talk about

3:45:36Berkeley's music venue. Can you talk

3:45:38more about that and what you think, uh,

3:45:40how that would work in Palo Alto?

3:45:44>> Um,

3:45:48gosh, I

3:45:54I I candidly don't know. Um,

3:45:57>> Oh. Oh, was that I'm sorry. I Oh, I'm

3:46:00sorry. I got the wrong that was the

3:46:02wrong question for you.

3:46:03>> Okay. [laughter]

3:46:04No, yeah, apologies. My my son went uh

3:46:07just graduated from Berkeley, so I I was

3:46:10wondering if I misremembered something I

3:46:12put in my application.

3:46:13>> I'm sorry. I'm looking through uh 13

3:46:16resumes here and I got the wrong one.

3:46:18>> No worries. [clears throat]

3:46:21Um,

3:46:23so you mentioned the chili cookoff and

3:46:25you know that was a really big event and

3:46:28so when we're looking at different uh

3:46:31recreation programs, should we be going

3:46:33after the huge ones or should we have

3:46:34more smaller programs?

3:46:39>> I I think that like I think there can be

3:46:42both, right? Like I I I think it's nice

3:46:44to have some of those signature events

3:46:47that brings the entire community

3:46:49together. Um you know,

3:46:52the the chili cookoff is the very first

3:46:55thing that we went to as a family when

3:46:57we came here 15 years ago and it's been

3:46:59a tradition ever since. So it it's

3:47:02almost a a religious event for us. And

3:47:06um I think what's great about it is you

3:47:08have so many local community members who

3:47:12are making and serving the chili and you

3:47:14have thousands of PaloAlto who are are

3:47:16there and judging and voting. Um and

3:47:19that that's a fantastic event. And at

3:47:22the same time I would tell you this this

3:47:24past weekend we had our little

3:47:26neighborhood kind of picnic get together

3:47:28that we do once a year. And I think

3:47:30those smaller kind of whether it's hyper

3:47:32local or kind of a hyper uh specialized

3:47:37event really um brings community and

3:47:41togetherness in a very different way

3:47:42that I also think can be inculcated.

3:47:46>> Okay. Thank you.

3:47:50>> All right. Well, [clears throat]

3:47:51you have 30 seconds. Is there are there

3:47:54some final thoughts you'd like to leave

3:47:55us with? I' I'd just like to say thank

3:47:58you again for the opportunity. I know

3:48:00I've applied in the past. I think the

3:48:02work that the commission does is great

3:48:04and very important for the city. I would

3:48:06love to help if I can't if I can. And if

3:48:08I'm not selected, I am very appreciative

3:48:11for the opportunity. Thank you.

3:48:13>> All right. Well, thank you.

3:48:15>> Thank you. We really appreciate you

3:48:16applying in your time this evening.

3:48:18>> Have a good one.

3:48:19>> You too.

3:48:21Okay. So, we are just a few minutes

3:48:25ahead of schedule, but I'm guessing that

3:48:27Mr. Hober is here. So, welcome. If you

3:48:30want to come up to the podium, you can

3:48:33take a few minutes to say some uh

3:48:35initial comments and then uh we'll ask

3:48:38you questions after that. So, do I need

3:48:41to make it unmuted or it's it's it's

3:48:43good. All right. It shouldn't be green.

3:48:45It's red. Okay. [gasps]

3:48:47Uh hi, good evening. Um I'm Leo H.

3:48:50Hotchber. Um, I've been a resident in

3:48:53Palo Alto since for like 22 years or so.

3:48:57Um, and I'm a software engineer,

3:48:59entrepreneur, but I would say more

3:49:02importantly, I'm a dad and uh I've been

3:49:05a community volunteer

3:49:07uh for even before I was a dad. Um I my

3:49:13wife and I really enjoyed the libraries

3:49:15and in 2008

3:49:17uh I applied and and joined the I was

3:49:20appointed to the library commission uh

3:49:22where I served two terms and uh in the

3:49:25next room over there uh had a similar

3:49:28interview I believe. Um, and that was a

3:49:31really interesting time for the city

3:49:32because we had went from this transition

3:49:36of uh passing measure N uh and then

3:49:39rebuilding

3:49:40completely building a new library and

3:49:42rebuilding two of our other libraries.

3:49:44Um, I came into that project thinking,

3:49:48"Oh, I don't like the way the Mitchell

3:49:51Park Library design looks and I'm going

3:49:52to apply because I'm going to fix that."

3:49:54And that was absolutely not what I ended

3:49:56up doing. Um, and it was amazing to help

3:49:59to work with my other comm with the

3:50:02other commissioners, my colleagues, uh,

3:50:03to design the inside of the library,

3:50:05which was actually way more important

3:50:07and turned out to be also very

3:50:08controversial at the time, but I'm so

3:50:10happy every time I go there, uh, or any

3:50:12of the other libraries. Um, I'm also a

3:50:15volunteer uh, along with the, uh, you

3:50:18know, the city work. Uh I I volunteer

3:50:22helping uh kids since elementary school

3:50:25with math. Uh in middle school now uh

3:50:28that my younger son is middle school. I

3:50:30I help in industrial tech like wood the

3:50:32wood shop class. Uh so I spend a lot of

3:50:34time with with kids that are you know

3:50:37and have spent a lot of time with kids

3:50:38that are elementary school, middle

3:50:40school. My oldest is in high school. And

3:50:43I see that the city has amazing

3:50:46programs, amazing classes, uh amazing

3:50:48parks, uh as the kids get a little bit

3:50:51older, you know, the older teens, middle

3:50:54school, high school, um everything

3:50:57becomes

3:50:59commercialized, like all of the

3:51:01services. I'm not talking about the city

3:51:02services, a lot of the activities that

3:51:04they might do are commercialized. And I

3:51:06think the city uh can actually really be

3:51:11uh

3:51:13a partner in helping with mental health

3:51:16and and all those sorts of things in the

3:51:18community. So that's why I'm here. Um

3:51:22let me just make sure I cover Yep.

3:51:25That that's that's what I wanted to

3:51:26cover in the intro. Thank you.

3:51:29>> Thank you very much, Council Member Lu.

3:51:31>> Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Mr.

3:51:32Hochburg. Uh my colleague and I were

3:51:34battling over who was going to get to

3:51:36ask you the music question, but he has a

3:51:37second question for you. So I'm going to

3:51:38take the music.

3:51:40>> Um clearly you care deeply about kids

3:51:42and you noted that the city can and

3:51:45should do more to create recreational

3:51:46spaces for teenagers to spend non-school

3:51:49time that is not school uh like tutoring

3:51:52and robotics. Uh, one glaring example,

3:51:55you said kids here don't have an all

3:51:57ages place to perform or watch music

3:52:01like 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley.

3:52:04>> Yes.

3:52:04>> Can you take us from that statement to

3:52:06some kind of concept or vision? Um, you

3:52:09know how things work in the city. You've

3:52:11served on the library committee. So, you

3:52:13know, how do we get from that idea to

3:52:15maybe it, you know, materializing in

3:52:17Palo Alto?

3:52:19I honestly don't know what the solution

3:52:21is otherwise. You know, it's it's

3:52:22something that I've kicked around. Uh

3:52:24some of you may know that I'm actually a

3:52:26musician. I also perform at the

3:52:27California Avenue Farmers Market with my

3:52:29band. Uh it's very important to me. I

3:52:31see the reaction that the young children

3:52:33have when we play. Um I know there's a

3:52:36lot of teens who are musicians who

3:52:38perform or who have been taking lessons

3:52:41for years and years and years. They

3:52:42don't have a place to actually perform.

3:52:45And and growing up, I grew up in West

3:52:47Virginia. I remember watching my friends

3:52:49on stage, you know, playing music that

3:52:51was way too loud and then wanting to

3:52:53also do that. Uh, and that was actually

3:52:56a really important part of the community

3:52:57which just existed and we don't have

3:53:00things like that here. Um, I know that,

3:53:04you know, a lot of parents are way too

3:53:06busy with all their things. Uh, I'm a

3:53:09little league coach. I know this is a

3:53:11little bit of sidetrack. Um during the

3:53:13pandemic, suddenly everyone had time to

3:53:15help out with little league and it was

3:53:17very interesting because suddenly

3:53:19parents came out of the woodwork. Uh it

3:53:21seems like everyone kind of went back

3:53:22into the woodwork. But um I don't know

3:53:25if the city is the exact uh you know can

3:53:29solve this problem on its own but I

3:53:31think it might be a public private

3:53:33partnership. uh we have so much empty so

3:53:36many empty storefronts

3:53:39everywhere and somehow we we don't have

3:53:42those spaces. Uh the only spaces we seem

3:53:44to have are you know the the robotics,

3:53:46the tutoring, the uh mental health kind

3:53:50of things which are important but we're

3:53:52not providing places for the teens to

3:53:54go. Yeah.

3:53:54>> And the music is also good for mental

3:53:56health.

3:53:56>> Yes. Right. Oh, it's amazing. Yeah.

3:53:58>> Okay. Thank you.

3:54:02>> Okay.

3:54:04Yeah. I won't ask you about the music,

3:54:05but I will ask you about the skate park.

3:54:07Our

3:54:08>> Oh, yeah.

3:54:08>> historical but ancient skate park. What

3:54:12do you think about that? What should we

3:54:13do?

3:54:13>> Uh, well, it's funny you meant to bring

3:54:16that up because I just put my my

3:54:1913-year-old to bed just before coming

3:54:21and I said, "Just give me some one idea,

3:54:24you know, or something I I should bring

3:54:26up." And he just said, "Bike park."

3:54:29um he goes to that skate park which I

3:54:31know was recently uh they stripped it

3:54:33down and you know repainted. It's way

3:54:35too small. Uh I actually don't know the

3:54:38history of that park so you know forgive

3:54:40my ignorance on that. I' I've seen it

3:54:43there. It's way too small for the city.

3:54:46Uh it's really a skate park. It's not

3:54:48for biking. Uh I'll give an example in

3:54:50Truckucky. I don't know if you're

3:54:52familiar. There's a absolutely

3:54:55incredible bike park that is free. It

3:54:59was built I probably by a nonprofit and

3:55:01it's open to the public. Absolutely

3:55:03incredible. We absolutely have the space

3:55:05to have something like that or a version

3:55:07of that and I think that would be an

3:55:10incredible resource to have in the city.

3:55:12So,

3:55:13>> okay. Thank you.

3:55:14>> Yeah.

3:55:17>> Anyone else

3:55:21colleagues?

3:55:23Vice Mayor Stone. Thank thank you and

3:55:25thanks Leo for for applying. Julie stole

3:55:28my question. So I'm going back to my my

3:55:31trusted one of what do you think the

3:55:33commission's role is in kind of in

3:55:37balancing these recreational activities

3:55:40and park space but also with

3:55:43environmental protections

3:55:46and um and preserving nature etc.

3:55:49I I think it's really important. Uh

3:55:52everywhere I've traveled in the world,

3:55:54I'm always so happy to come back and

3:55:56enjoy the parks we have here. And I know

3:55:57how important it is to have that open

3:55:59space that's not overly, you

3:56:02[clears throat] know, built out. Um and

3:56:04it's flexible. Um,

3:56:08I'll be honest with you. I don't know

3:56:10the full extent and full

3:56:11responsibilities of the parks and

3:56:12recreation commission, but I do know

3:56:15that um, in my role as a member of the

3:56:20LACE, the library commission, there were

3:56:23a lot of things I didn't know when I

3:56:24went into it. But you know having

3:56:26understanding how the commission is not

3:56:30an antagonist to the city but is

3:56:31actually a you know we collaborate with

3:56:34the city employees with the city council

3:56:36with outside groups uh to help you know

3:56:39it's just one piece of the puzzle in

3:56:42figuring out how to make a better

3:56:43community. So,

3:56:46I I think it's important to protect

3:56:48those spaces, but also we we should be

3:56:51able to use those spaces in new

3:56:54interesting ways. Um, I will just as a

3:56:58reminder, one more thing that one of my

3:57:00notes, we used to have a bowling alley

3:57:01in the city, right? I don't know if kids

3:57:04care about bowling as much as I did

3:57:06growing up as we did growing up, but we

3:57:09don't have, you know, that's just one

3:57:10less thing. And instead of a bowling

3:57:12alley, we have a hotel or some other

3:57:16thing. So, yeah, those are the things

3:57:19we're missing. I I remember I bowled

3:57:21there once before it was torn down.

3:57:25Yep.

3:57:30Okay. Well, you have a little over a

3:57:32minute left if there's any final

3:57:33thoughts you'd like to leave us with.

3:57:35And also, uh I thank your son for

3:57:37contributing. Oh, [laughter]

3:57:39>> I'll show it to him tomorrow. Um, I was

3:57:42going to say, you know, I I I actually

3:57:45spent some time uh there's an incredible

3:57:48program at Pali that I I got to be a

3:57:50parent chapron for a I spent a week with

3:57:53freshman up in Yusede and the kids are

3:57:56incredible. Like the kids in this

3:57:58committee are incredible and they're

3:58:01stressed

3:58:03and we we can actually do better

3:58:05especially for those older teens who

3:58:08um you know they can relax too. They can

3:58:12learn how to be human and uh I think the

3:58:15parks and recreation commission is you

3:58:17know it has a responsibility at least

3:58:20for you know it's one of the um the

3:58:23parties to helping make this community

3:58:26better. So that's why I want to be a

3:58:28part of it. So thank you.

3:58:31>> Terrific. Well, thank you for applying

3:58:32and thank you for spending some of your

3:58:34time this evening with us. Thank you.

3:58:35>> Appreciate it.

3:58:37>> Okay, so I think our last applicant is

3:58:40being away. We're a couple minutes ahead

3:58:42of time, but is she online?

3:58:44>> Uh, yes, she is. Bing, you should now be

3:58:45able to unmute yourself. Oh, yeah, we

3:58:47can see you.

3:58:48>> Oh, terrific. Welcome, Commissioner.

3:58:52>> Hi. Hi, Mayor. Um, banker, vice mayor,

3:58:55st city council members. Um, thanks for

3:58:58this opportunity. Um, good evening. Um,

3:59:02it's actually

3:59:045:36 p.m. in the morning here in London.

3:59:08I came here uh a week ago to be my

3:59:11sister who passed away a couple days

3:59:13ago. Um, I want to start with this the

3:59:16personal story. My sister Karen Weiwayi

3:59:18here was like a teenage mom for me

3:59:21during the cultural revolution when our

3:59:23parents were sent to re-education camps.

3:59:26As such, my commitment to park and

3:59:28recreation has been focused on the teams

3:59:30as it because this is deeply personal.

3:59:34During my first term, I have especially

3:59:36valued serving as a youth liaison and

3:59:38working with the Palatu youth leadership

3:59:39council and also joined Mia Stone's

3:59:42youth mental health task force. During

3:59:45the first meeting through self

3:59:47introduction for the first time, I

3:59:48actually shared my own teenage trauma.

3:59:51When I was here in London coming of age

3:59:54in England, I was share shocked and

3:59:57depressed by witnessing my own fellow

3:59:59students and very close friends walking

4:00:01towards the tanks at the TMAN square.

4:00:04Fast forward to Palato in 2016 when my

4:00:08family was a teen. our city was confront

4:00:11a cluster of teen suicides. That hit

4:00:13home and inspired me to begin teaching

4:00:16expressive writing and poetry for

4:00:19healing to teenagers at my daughter's

4:00:21high school. So for my next turn, youth

4:00:24and resilience is my first priority. As

4:00:28you may know, Palato's youth master plan

4:00:30dates back to 2003. It's already 20 30

4:00:34year 23 years ago. The world of teenage

4:00:37have changed dra dramatically since

4:00:40then. Social media, AI, academic

4:00:42pressure, isolation, new questions,

4:00:45identity and blowing has become a focus.

4:00:49For the next term, I would like still

4:00:51work closely with the PAL to use

4:00:53leadership council, city staff and the

4:00:55community partners to focus on youth

4:00:58mental health. And I also want our young

4:01:01people themselves to help shape our new

4:01:03next master plan and put the plan into

4:01:05action as well solutions including

4:01:09issues such as um use on ebike and use

4:01:14um using the park as a music concerts

4:01:17and a drama uh theater. Park and rack

4:01:20indeed play a very significant role for

4:01:23youth well-being. Our parks can serve as

4:01:26an open gym and outdoor theater for use

4:01:29to break from screens and place to

4:01:31connect with friends and nature and in

4:01:33this also can go done through the enjoy

4:01:36programs. I'd like to work with the city

4:01:38staff to explore more practical programs

4:01:41connecting youth with outdoor

4:01:42recreation, nature, arts, theater,

4:01:44creative writing, civic engagements also

4:01:47through u crossgenerational learning as

4:01:50u one can mention before our city is

4:01:53also a agent as many of you may know in

4:01:56England here Shakespeare or opera in the

4:01:59parks is common theme but only during

4:02:01the summer we in California have the

4:02:03weather to host it for at least 10

4:02:05months a year we maximize that through

4:02:08cross generation drama music program

4:02:11maybe also as a part of enjoy programs.

4:02:14So my second priority for next term is

4:02:16nature and biod diversity. This is the

4:02:18area I've learned a great deal from my

4:02:20fellow commissioners and also during the

4:02:23process I was getting myself certified

4:02:25as a neighborhood naturist. I was

4:02:28pleased that Mayor Winker signed our

4:02:29city's renewal of the new commitment

4:02:32this year to the National Wildlife

4:02:34Federation's mayor's Monak pledge to

4:02:37conserve our butterflies. Now, I'd like

4:02:39to help turn this commitment into action

4:02:42in our parks. As you know, our parks not

4:02:44only recreation space, but also

4:02:46comprehensive ecosystem. As we renovate

4:02:50our parks, we can incorporate more

4:02:52nature plants, strengthen habitats, and

4:02:55bring back more butterflies, birds, and

4:02:57other pollinators. We also should

4:03:00continue to turn our park into outdoor

4:03:01classroom, as I mentioned before, where

4:03:04children learn about California ecology

4:03:07by experience it firsthand. My third

4:03:10priority is access and community

4:03:12connection. We have extraordinary parks,

4:03:1536 of them. Particularly for Hill Nature

4:03:18Preserve. We have to balance

4:03:20transportation, safety and accessibility

4:03:23with environmental protection to ensure

4:03:25young people as well as seniors and all

4:03:28residents can easily get access to them.

4:03:32So um why I want to um apply again for

4:03:36the next term. When I joined a

4:03:38commission, I brought businessertise,

4:03:40especially in communication, youth

4:03:42advocacy,

4:03:43uh, global engagement and the community

4:03:46service. Over the last three and a half

4:03:47years, I also have learned enormously

4:03:50from our city staff, my fellow

4:03:51commissioners, from uh, your guardians,

4:03:54uh, city, all the city council members

4:03:56and as well as our local residents. As a

4:03:59vice chair, I have learned something

4:04:01very important. The key element in

4:04:04public service is not just in having the

4:04:06loudest voice but to listen very deeply

4:04:09to ask good questions to bring different

4:04:11perspectives together and I found the

4:04:14practical and innovative ways moving

4:04:16forward. So now I believe this new

4:04:19ability to the commission as an

4:04:21immigrant, a mother, a long-term Palato

4:04:23resident for over 25 years and someone

4:04:26has spent much of time building bridges

4:04:28cross the culture and generations and I

4:04:31hope I can do better in my second three

4:04:34years. And so as I mentioned my three

4:04:37priorities in the next term will be

4:04:39stronger youth, healthier nature and

4:04:42great access. I'll be honored to

4:04:44continue serving Palato and turn what

4:04:46I've learned in my first term to greater

4:04:48impact in my second. Thank you very much

4:04:50for your consideration.

4:04:54>> Well, Bing, uh first of all, uh I'm so

4:04:56sorry for your loss. Um and second of

4:04:59all, thank you for your commitment to

4:05:01this city that you would get up at this

4:05:03hour and join us and uh for your service

4:05:07to date. So really, uh grateful to you

4:05:10for that. And I had forgotten about uh

4:05:13the mayor's monarch butterfly pledge

4:05:15that I signed earlier. So, thank you for

4:05:17that reminder as well. Um colleagues,

4:05:20who would have the first question for uh

4:05:23Commissioner Way,

4:05:27we're a little tired. So, Vice Mayor

4:05:28Stone,

4:05:31>> thank you. And yes, hi. Hi, Bing. Thanks

4:05:34for being here. Very sorry for your

4:05:35loss. Uh, and I appreciate all the work

4:05:37that you've given to the city and in

4:05:39particular the youth mental health

4:05:41issues. I know that's been a big passion

4:05:42of yours and you you show up at at

4:05:45everything related to the youth. So

4:05:47really um always really just appreciated

4:05:50that. Uh, one of the things you

4:05:52mentioned in your in your statement

4:05:54there was about ebikes and I'm I'm

4:05:57curious your thoughts on can uh can you

4:06:00talk more about that and your thoughts

4:06:02of what the the commission can or or

4:06:06should do related to advising the

4:06:08council on potential ebike regulations.

4:06:12>> Yeah. So um both from my observation and

4:06:16conversation with the Palato youth uh

4:06:18leadership council ebike become very

4:06:21popular as a tool for uh our teenage

4:06:24going to school uh in in Palato. So I

4:06:28feel first priorities and looking into

4:06:30the speed issue and we should have a

4:06:32separate ebike speed uh to avoid more

4:06:36accidents and then secondly also working

4:06:39with transportation uh commission over

4:06:42here looking into how we can look into

4:06:45the turning etc uh for the uh ebikes to

4:06:50avoid accidents. um that should not be

4:06:53more tragic accidents happens through

4:06:56using ebikes. And and thirdly is

4:06:59education. We have education program for

4:07:02normal bikes. Yeah. I remember middle

4:07:05schoolers um you know the police come

4:07:08and the register bike etc. And it be

4:07:11should be more of learning to ride

4:07:13ebikes not just taking for granted uh

4:07:16you can transition from normal bikes to

4:07:18ebikes. So the bike education we already

4:07:22have have to add another layer for

4:07:25ebikes. Uh middle school onwards or even

4:07:27elementary school onwards. Uh fifth

4:07:29grader you never know they might be

4:07:32looking into that the age uh getting on

4:07:34ebikes maybe something we need to do

4:07:36education both for parents as well as

4:07:39for youth and when you think you're

4:07:42ready. So the ebike readiness is

4:07:44important for them. Then coming back to

4:07:48youth and seniors too. So it might be

4:07:51something we could look into educating

4:07:53the seniors to to look into whether they

4:07:55are ebike uh ready and whether they are

4:07:58are fit enough to to ride and the speed

4:08:01issues again for themsel to be safe and

4:08:04for the city to be safe. That's the

4:08:06three elements I would um look into

4:08:09implementing for power for both youth

4:08:12and and seniors. Again, this is also a

4:08:14good cross generation learning process

4:08:16if we practice ebikes learning even have

4:08:19a few day in our parks and for the park

4:08:22staff to support that as a training

4:08:25exercise practice uh program. That'd be

4:08:29excellent.

4:08:32>> Thank you.

4:08:33>> Thank you.

4:08:33>> All right. Well, 10 minutes has gone

4:08:35fairly quickly. Does someone else have a

4:08:37last half half minute question or

4:08:41I think we'll turn it back to you uh

4:08:43Bing if there's any last thought you'd

4:08:45like to leave us with.

4:08:47Um I've been really um enjoyed not only

4:08:51living in the city but serving for the

4:08:53last three and a half years and I have

4:08:55learned tremendous amount from our

4:08:58fellow commissioners as well as um our

4:09:01city staff and also understanding how to

4:09:04work uh with the city staff and uh

4:09:08understanding their bandwidths and

4:09:10understanding how we can bring more um

4:09:13better solution to and also um enjoyed

4:09:16working with the city council to

4:09:18understand your perspective to bring

4:09:20that perspect back to to city uh um uh

4:09:25staff. uh it was a really enjoyable uh

4:09:28process and I feel we can also serve

4:09:32better with that knowledge and u move

4:09:35forward to work closely with you all and

4:09:38as well as the residents resolve

4:09:40conflicts like you have seen pickle ball

4:09:43tennis etc and create more um healthy

4:09:47programs for youth and seniors such as

4:09:49music such as drama in our parks and

4:09:53also protecting the environment

4:09:55experiment in the same um um process as

4:09:59well. Thank you all for the

4:10:00consideration.

4:10:02>> Great. Well, thank you again for uh your

4:10:05service to date and thank you for

4:10:06applying and your time with us this

4:10:08night here and this morning there.

4:10:12>> Okay.

4:10:13>> Okay.

4:10:15All right. And I believe that's our last

4:10:17uh applicant for the evening. So, thank

4:10:19you to the clerk staff for facilitating

4:10:22all of that. Um

4:10:25we uh council will uh absent any

4:10:28objection. I don't think we need another

4:10:30motion to go into close session since we

4:10:31already moved to do that and we would be

4:10:33reconvening unless anyone objects. Yeah.

4:10:36So unless there's any objection, we'll

4:10:38we'll return to close session, but I

4:10:40would suggest we take five before we do

4:10:42that. So we'll see you back in the

4:10:44closed session room. Thank you.

5:32:23Okay, so we are back from closed

5:32:26session. There is no reportable action

5:32:29and with nothing else remaining on the

5:32:31agenda, we are adjourned.