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1 MINUTES OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE SEPTEMBER 12, 2025 CITY HALL EAST CONFERENCE ROOM Present: Councilmembers Baker, Bullock, Evans, Kepple, Marx, Steiner, Strebig Also Present: One member of the public and Council Office staff. Call to Order: 1:06 P.M. Approval of the minutes of the August 4, 2025 Committee of the Whole. Motion by President Kepple, seconded by Vice President Baker to approve the minutes. All members voted in favor. Minutes approved. Lunch and Learn President Kepple invited everyone to eat the pizza that was ordered based off the results of the rank choice voting poll that was distributed. She walked through how the results were determined using the rank choice calculations. President Kepple then provided an overview of the Remarkable tablets and how to integrate them with the One Drive server. Councilmembers provided feedback on the Remarkable and asked additional questions related to Council’ s new technology. How Councilmembers Work Together President Kepple introduced the topic of Councilmember workstyles and strategies for honoring each member ’s work styles. In terms of introducing legislation, she said there are many ways to draft legislation such as writing it on your own, asking the Council Clerks for help, or asking the Law Department. Members discussed the benefits of each approach as well as the various limitations. Next the conversation moved to communication styles and each member had the opportunity to share their workflow and preferred manners of communication for different scenarios. President Kepple also brought up the fact that text messages are subject to public records laws if anything related to official Council business is discussed and urged Councilmembers to keep this in mind when choosing communication methods. In response to a question from Councilmember Marx, there was a conversation around how Councilmembers can communicate better with each other about initiatives they are working on prior to those initiatives being introduced on the docket. Boards and Commissions Councilmembers discussed Board and Commission vacancies and briefly reviewed some of the applications that have been submitted, agreeing that there are many promising candidates. They committed to reflect on the vacancies and reach out to any additional community members they thought might be a good fit. Councilmembers agreed that the Planning Commission seat was Docusign Envelope ID: 1EA20CAA- 876A-4B47-9659-5FD139C42EBF 2 critical given the nature of the role, and they spoke about interviewing the applicants to ensure the best fit. There was also discussion around potentially looking to consolidate the current Boards and Commissions as well as ways that Council could improve their coordination with the Boards and Commissions in order to better inform the legislative process. The Climate Action Plan discussed, and it was suggested that a citizen led climate- focused board might be a tool to help advance the goals of the plan. Council Office Budget President Kepple discussed the internal process whereby leadership and staff meet with the Administration to set the 2026 Council Office budget to address the needs of the office. She reminded everyone that the Council Office budget financed a large purchase of office furniture in 2025 as well as professional consulting services related to the City Hall conversation. The following purchases will be incorporated into the 2026 budget: New refrigerator and microwave Screen for the conference room Rolling copy table Professional services to convert microfilm into digital PDFs Professional services for consulting It was clarified that Council can allocate up to a certain amount for these purchases and not necessarily spend it all. Clerk Bach updated members on the new part-time Deputy Clerk I, Holly, who will start on September 15th. She shared about Holly’ s background, professional experiences, and reasons she will be a good fit for the office. She reminded everyone that the Deputy Clerk I will help with the core functions of the office and free up time for senior staff to provide more sophisticated assistance. City Hall Update Council leadership provided an update on the work being done by Project Management Consultants to evaluate the financials related to the Administration’ s proposal to move administrative offices to 1470 Warren Road. A majority of Councilmembers expressed support for a temporary solution to the lack of locker room space for female police officers, such as a trailer. President Kepple indicated that this topic can be revisited during discussion of the 2026 capital budget. She acknowledged that regardless of the plan, addressing City Hall’ s space issues will be a large capital outlay and the solution will affect city services for years to come. Council Budget Priorities President Kepple referred to the poster boards on the wall displaying the City’ s multiple projects, plans, and priorities. She asked members to consider which of these remain priorities of Council, which have a budget implication, and which, if any, should be removed, or removed from Docusign Envelope ID: 1EA20CAA- 876A-4B47-9659-5FD139C42EBF 3 discussion because they are not budget- related. She explained that it was her goal to communicate Council’ s updated priorities to the Administration in time to be impactful on the 2026 budget. In addition to costs related to short-term and/or long-term changes of City Hall facilities, Councilmembers expressed continued, specific interest in the following plans, projects and priorities that are relevant to the budget: Public Art budget increase and an increase in scope of public art Block club program Madison Park Master Plan President Kepple referred to the most recent capital budget to verify what the Administration is planning to spend on these items. Councilmembers discussed strategies for setting expectations with the Administration that are linked to the allocation of funds. One strategy proposed was to establish a process within the budget ordinances in which the Administration is required to provide regular updates on projects. It was also noted that this may not be necessary or appropriate for every ordinance Councilmembers discussed the following additional initiatives related to the City’ s existing projects, plans, and proposals. Youth mental health and out of school time Affordable housing strategies Small- scale street and intersection improvements not in the capital plan (Complete Streets/ CASE- related) Public education related to CASE 20,000 for a City-funded trap, neuter, return program Councilmembers discussed how to translate theses ideas into specific budget proposals that could be impactful. They considered digging into what has already been done on these topics, the possibility of hiring consultants, and following up with the Administration. In the context of the budget, members discussed the City’ s traffic calming program and potentially seeking changes that can make traffic interventions accessible to more residents. Councilmembers also discussed various approaches and processes whereby new initiatives are spearheaded by Council. Councilmembers identified the following additional topics for which they are seeking funding in the 2026 budget: Composting Crossing guard pay increase Increase in payments to Lakewood Alive for operations Councilmembers committed to following up with details and dollar amounts. Docusign Envelope ID: 1EA20CAA- 876A-4B47-9659-5FD139C42EBF 4 Committee of the Whole adjourned at 4:12 p.m. Approved: Sarah Kepple, Chair Committee of the Whole Maureen M. Bach, Clerk of Council 9/22/2025 Docusign Envelope ID: 1EA20CAA- 876A-4B47-9659-5FD139C42EBF Docusign Envelope ID: BA006EB7- 86D5-41D6-8119- 6B840E02BC36Docusign Envelope ID: 1EA20CAA- 876A-4B47-9659-5FD139C42EBF Docusign Envelope ID: BA006EB7- 86D5-41D6-8119- 6B840E02BC36Docusign Envelope ID: 1EA20CAA- 876A-4B47-9659-5FD139C42EBF