City of Sunnyvale  
Meeting Minutes  
Charter Review Committee  
Thursday, June 5, 2025  
5:00 PM  
Online and Redwood Conference Room,  
City Hall, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale,  
CA 94086  
CALL TO ORDER  
Vice Chair Wickham called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m.  
SALUTE TO THE FLAG  
Vice Chair Wickham led the salute to the United States flag.  
ROLL CALL  
Present: 9 -  
Vice Chair Kristel Wickham  
Member Galen Kim Davis  
Member Kathryn Filley  
Member David Newswanger  
Member Timothy Oey  
Member Ken Olevson  
Member Martin Pyne  
Member Gail Rubino  
Member Barry Vickrey  
Absent: 1 - Chair Gustav Larsson  
Chair Larsson's absence is excused.  
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS  
Steve Scandalis spoke towards the June 3 joint meeting between City Council and  
the Charter Review Committee (CRC).  
CONSENT CALENDAR  
Public Comment opened at 5:08 p.m.  
No speakers.  
Public Comment closed at 5:08 p.m.  
MOTION: Committee Member Pyne moved and Committee Member Oey seconded  
the motion to approve agenda items 1.A as submitted.  
The motion carried with the following vote:  
Yes: 9 -  
Vice Chair Wickham  
Member Davis  
Member Filley  
Member Newswanger  
Member Oey  
Member Olevson  
Member Pyne  
Member Rubino  
Member Vickrey  
No: 0  
Absent: 1 - Chair Larsson  
1.A  
25-0583  
Approve the Charter Review Committee Meeting Minutes of  
May 1, 2025  
Approve the Charter Review Committee Meeting Minutes of May 1, 2025 as  
submitted.  
PUBLIC HEARING/GENERAL BUSINESS  
2
25-0585  
Discussion of June 3, 2025 Council Direction and Next Steps  
for the Charter Review Committee Work Plan  
Deputy City Manager Connie Verceles provided the staff report.  
Public Hearing opened at 5:13 p.m.  
Steve Scandalis spoke towards the five prioritized Charter amendments and shared  
support for potential Charter amendments that were not prioritized: Section 601  
(City Council Term and Elections), Section 603 (City Council Qualifications), and  
Section 607 (Presiding Officer. Mayor)  
Zachary Kaufman spoke towards Charter amendment Section 605 (Compensation)  
and Section 611 (Regular Meetings).  
Mei-Ling Stefan spoke towards the June 3 joint meeting between City Council and  
the CRC specifically the discussion related to full-time compensation for Mayor and  
shared support for prioritized Charter amendments: Article 8 (City Manager) and  
Section 1309 (Contracts on Public Works).  
Public Hearing closed at 5:20 p.m.  
Vice Chair Wickham announced assignments as follows:  
Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee 1 – Members Newswanger, Olevson, Pyne, Vickrey  
Topics:  
Charter Section 606 (Vacancies)  
Charter Section 611 (Regular Meetings)  
Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee 2 – Members Davis, Filley, Oey  
Topic:  
Charter Section 605 (Compensation)  
Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee 3 – Chair Larsson, Vice Chair Wickham, Member  
Rubino  
Topics:  
Charter Article 8 (City Manager)  
Charter Section 1309 (Contracts on Public Works)  
Vice Chair Wickham provided an overview of the next steps which include  
committee reports that capture information on assigned topics such as public  
engagement/outreach. In addition, Committees will select one assigned topic and  
include in their report’s information related to research/background, questions of  
staff, and resources that are needed from staff. Reports are to be submitted to City  
staff a week before a scheduled meeting and in Adobe PDF format.  
Committee Members provided comments or questions related to assignments:  
- Question regarding the availability and reservation process of City facilities to host  
a public outreach or community meeting.  
- Question regarding the availability and timeline process for conducting an online  
survey.  
- Question regarding funds available for outreach/community meetings.  
- Suggestion that community outreach can be accomplished via neighborhood  
association meetings, Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings, and school  
district meetings.  
- Question regarding hosting community discussions via Nextdoor, Facebook,  
Threads, etc.  
- Question regarding the possibility of conducting focus groups.  
- Question regarding Members conducting outreach on their own. For example,  
Members are permitted to attend a Rotary Meeting to get feedback on an assigned  
topic.  
- Suggestion that Committee reports identify substantive issues and options that  
address issues.  
Staff provided comments and answers:  
- Comment that staff should be provided with potential community outreach meeting  
dates so that staff can identify City facilities that are available for reservation.  
- Comment that Staff can assist with conducting online surveys via available City  
platforms. Members were encouraged to submit requests to staff with a five-day  
lead time. It was suggested that one or two surveys be conducted instead of various  
surveys.  
- Comment that there are allocated funds for polling that may be used for outreach.  
- Comment that Members hosting community discussions on social network  
platforms would increase the risk of a Ralph M. Brown Act violation.  
- Comment that Staff would have to determine if funds are available to conduct  
focus groups.  
- Comment that individual Members are permitted to attend meetings to gather  
feedback on assigned topics.  
Members were polled on their availability for a CRC meeting on June 30 or July 3.  
Staff announced that the next CRC meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on June 30.  
Public Hearing reopened at 6:16 p.m.  
Steve Scandalis communicated support for the work and discussion on the  
prioritized Charter amendments be conducted in a public meeting by the entire  
Committee as opposed to Ad-Hoc Advisory Committees working independently and  
that outreach meetings be conducted in public settings.  
Zachary Kaufman spoke towards the workload of each Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee.  
Public Hearing closed at 6:19 p.m.  
NON-AGENDA ITEMS AND COMMENTS  
-Committee Member Comments  
None.  
-Staff Comments  
None.  
ADJOURNMENT  
Vice Chair Wickham adjourned the meeting at 6:20 p.m.