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CC 01-28-2025 (Commission Interviews) APPROVED MINUTES CUPERTINO CITY COUNCIL Tuesday, January 28, 2025 SPECIAL MEETING At 6:02 p.m., Mayor Liang Chao called the Special City Council Meeting to order in the Cupertino Community Hall Council Chamber, 10350 Torre Avenue. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Liang Chao, Vice Mayor Kitty Moore, and Councilmembers J.R. Fruen, Sheila Mohan, and R “Ray” Wang. COMMISSION INTERVIEWS 1. Subject: Interview applicants for commission vacancies and terms expiring on January 30, 2025 Recommended Action: Conduct interviews and make appointments to the Arts and Culture Commission, Audit Committee, Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, Housing Commission, Library Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, Public Safety Commission, and Sustainability Commission. Written Communications for this item included an amended Attachment C – Interview Schedule. Mayor Chao opened the public comment period and, seeing no one, closed the public comment period. Councilmembers asked questions and made comments. Council conducted interviews for commission vacancies and terms expiring on the Arts and Culture Commission, Audit Committee, Bicycle Pedestrian Commission, Housing Commission, Library Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, Public Safety Commission, and Sustainability Commission. At 7:30 p.m., Mayor Chao recessed the meeting. The meeting reconvened at 7:41 p.m. with Page 2 City Council Minutes January 28, 2025 all Councilmembers present. The Council continued conducting interviews for all commission vacancies and terms expiring. At 9:16 p.m., Mayor Chao recessed the meeting. The meeting reconvened at 9:30 p.m. with all Councilmembers present. The Council voted to make appointments via an electronic voting system. The electronic voting ballots are included after the minutes as Exhibit A (attached). Arts and Culture Commission Council conducted a voting round for vacancies on the Arts and Culture Commission. MOTION: Chao moved and Mohan seconded to appoint Gurmeet Lamba and Susan Chen to the Arts and Culture Commission with terms ending January 30, 2029 and appoint Archana Panda to a partial term ending January 30, 2027. The motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Chao, Moore, Fruen, Mohan and Wang. Noes: None. Abstain: None. Absent: None. Audit Committee Council began voting to fill the vacancy on the Audit Committee but did not complete the voting process. MOTION: Moore moved and Fruen seconded to suspend the voting and reopen the recruitment to fill the vacancy on the Audit Committee. FRIENDLY AMENDMENT: Wang made a friendly amendment to receive a threshold of at least five new applicants (Moore and Fruen accepted the friendly amendment). The amended motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Chao, Moore, Fruen, Mohan and Wang. Noes: None. Abstain: None. Absent: None. Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Council conducted a voting round for vacancies on the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission. MOTION: Chao moved and Wang seconded to appoint Munisekaran Madhdhipatla and Ilango Ganga to the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission with terms ending January 30, 2029 and appoint Gerhard Eshelbeck to a partial term ending January 30, 2027. The motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Chao, Moore, and Wang. Noes: Fruen and Mohan. Abstain: None. Absent: None. Page 3 City Council Minutes January 28, 2025 Housing Commission Council conducted the first voting round and there was no motion made for this round. The Council unanimously consented to a run-off round for the two applicants who received two votes each in the first round. Council conducted the second voting round to fill vacancies on the Housing Commission. MOTION: Chao moved and Moore seconded to appoint Elida Xhindi and Usha Narayan to the Housing Commission with terms ending January 30, 2029. The motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Chao, Moore, Fruen, Mohan and Wang. Noes: None. Abstain: None. Absent: None. Library Commission Council conducted a voting round for vacancies on the Library Commission. MOTION: Mohan moved and Wang seconded to appoint Liyan Zhao, Chandrasekaran Sakthivel, and Ravi Kiran Singh Sapaharam to the Library Commission with terms ending January 30, 2029. The motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Chao, Moore, Fruen, Mohan and Wang. Noes: None. Abstain: None. Absent: None. MOTION: Wang moved and Moore seconded to reconsider the appointments previously made to the Library Commission and conduct a revote due to an error in tallying the votes. The motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Chao, Moore and Wang. Noes: Fruen and Mohan. Abstain: None. Absent: None. MOTION: Chao moved and Wang seconded to appoint Liyan Zhao, Chandrasekaran Sakthivel, and Xiangchen “Minna” Xu to the Library Commission with terms ending January 30, 2029. The motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Chao, Moore and Wang. Noes: Fruen and Mohan. Abstain: None. Absent: None. Parks and Recreation Commission Council conducted a voting round for vacancies on the Parks and Recreation Commission. MOTION: Wang moved and Moore seconded to appoint Seema Swamy, Gopalakrishnan Kumarappan and Sheela Sreekanth to the Parks and Recreation Commission with terms ending January 30, 2029. The motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Chao, Moore, Fruen, and Wang. Noes: Mohan. Abstain: None. Absent: None. Planning Commission Council conducted a voting round for vacancies on the Planning Commission. Page 4 City Council Minutes January 28, 2025 MOTION: Chao moved and Wang seconded to appoint Steven Scharf, Santosh Rao and Tracy Kosolcharoen to the Planning Commission with terms ending January 30, 2029. The motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Chao, Moore, and Wang. Noes: Fruen and Mohan. Abstain: None. Absent: None. Public Safety Commission Council began voting for vacancies on the Public Safety Commission but did not complete the voting process. Council conducted a second voting round to fill vacancies on the Public Safety Commission. MOTION: Chao moved and Wang seconded to appoint Sashikala Begur and Ravi Kiran Singh Sapaharam to the Public Safety Commission with terms ending January 30, 2029. The motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Chao, Moore, and Wang. Noes: Fruen and Mohan. Abstain: None. Absent: None. Sustainability Commission Council conducted a voting round for vacancies on the Sustainability Commission. MOTION: Mohan moved and Wang seconded to appoint Sonali Padgaonkar and Jack Carter to the Sustainability Commission with terms ending January 30, 2029. The motion carried with the following vote: Ayes: Chao, Moore, Fruen, Mohan and Wang. Noes: None. Abstain: None. Absent: None. Appointment Summary: Arts and Culture Commission Archana Panda, appointed to a partial term ending 1/30/2027 Gurmeet Lamba, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Susan Chen, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Audit Committee No appointment made. The Council directed staff to re-advertise the vacancy to receive a wider selection of applicants. Bicycle Pedestrian Commission Gerhard Eshelbeck, appointed to a partial term ending 1/30/2027 Munisekaran Madhdhipatla, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Ilango Ganga, reappointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Page 5 City Council Minutes January 28, 2025 Housing Commission Elida Xhindi, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Usha Narayan, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Library Commission Liyan Zhao, reappointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Chandrasekaran Sakthivel, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Xiangchen Xu, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Parks and Recreation Commission Seema Swamy, reappointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Gopalakrishnan Kumarappan, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Sheela Sreekanth, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Planning Commission Steven Scharf, reappointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Santosh Rao, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Tracy Kosolcharoen, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Public Safety Commission Sashikala Begur, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Ravi Kiran Singh Sapaharam, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Sustainability Commission Sonali Padgaonkar, reappointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 Jack Carter, appointed to a full term ending 1/30/2029 ADJOURNMENT At 10:59 p.m., Mayor Chao adjourned the Special City Council Meeting. Minutes prepared by: ______________ Lauren Sapudar, Deputy City Clerk