HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/29/2021Town of Los Altos Hills
City Council Special Meeting Minutes
Thursday, April 29, 2021— 8:00 a.m.
Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills,
California
CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL
Via teleconference according to the Governor's Executive Order N-29-20, Mayor Tankha
called the City Council Special Meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.
Present: Mayor Tankha, Vice Mayor George Tyson, Councilmember Stanley Q. Mok,
Councilmember Lisa H. Schmidt, Councilmember Linda Swan
Absent: None
Staff: City Attorney Steve Mattas, City Manager Carl Cahill, City Clerk Deborah Padovan
(the City Manager and City Clerk left the meeting at 8:20 a.m.)
PUBLIC COMMENT (Public Comment is Limited to Items which are the Subiect of the
Special Meeting)
John Radford, Los Altos Hills, said the Council has challenging discussions ahead. He has
been associated with the Town for over 20 years and said Carl and the Town have always acted
appropriately and no issues that arise to any legal issues.
Vara Ramakrishnan, Los Altos Hills, said she is not engaged or aware of Carl's
performance. She has had conversations about the difficulty of securing city managers in the
Bay Area as there are not a lot of choices. She has spoken to Mayor Tankha and other volunteers
and has looked at Atherton.
Ying Liu, Los Altos Hills, said that she has no personal conflict with the city manager and
believe he has good intention for our Town. The attitude, competence, and results, instead of
feelings and intentions, should be the measurements in the performance review.
Yibin Tang, Los Altos Hills, said she echoes Ying's opinion. Said she thinks the problem with
the process is that we do not have clear communications between the City and the residents.
Jim Waschura, Los Altos Hills, said he was disappointed to see that this agenda item is
continuing to go on. Losing Carl would be very detrimental to the Town. The attacks on his
leadership have been registered and some issues are worth considering. He urged the Council to
please wrap this up and move on.
Courtenay C. Corrigan, Los Altos Hills, said there is way more important business to
tackle. Between the frivolous and voracious freedom of information requests and numerous
meetings and misguided efforts to slander how this Town has been run is sweeping up other
City Council Special Meeting Minutes
April 29, 2021
valued staff members in this Town
Bridget Morgan, Los Altos Hills, as an involved resident, she takes issue with the remarks of
citizens who say there is no process, no procedures. That is polar opposite of her
experience; Ccouncilmembers and staff all take phone calls from residents. There are plenty of
opportunities to play a role. She urged the Council to renew Carl's contract.
Allan Epstein, Los Altos Hills, said he has provided facts to the Council about the performance
of the City Manager. He disagreed with the numbers Mr. Radford provided about turnover. It is
important for the council to review the city manager's performance.
SC Miao, Los Altos Hills, said that he hears very strong opinions from both sides. The Council
has the obligation to the residents to look into the garbage contract further. Need an independent
and unbiased opinion on the City Manager's performance.
The City Council adjourned to Closed Session at 8:20 a.m. to consider the following:
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
TITLE: CITY MANAGER
(Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957)
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 a.m. There was no reportable action.
Respectfully submitted,
Deborah Padovan
Deborah Padovan
City Clerk
The minutes of the April 29, 2021 special City Council meeting were approved as presented at
the May 20, 2021 regular City Council meeting.
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City Council Special Meeting Minutes
April 29, 2021