The meeting still happened
Happy Tuesday Daly Citizens!
The Westlake Park town hall did not happen. But about 50 of us were there anyway. The night before the meeting, a notice went up on the city's website: "Following receipt of a request from The Olympic Club, the Town Hall Meeting for the Proposed Westlake Park Field Improvements Project scheduled on August 13, 2026 has been canceled." Two neighbors posted it to r/DalyCity that night.
The meeting room was locked up, so we stood outside in the cold and damp Daly City air in a big circle. We took the time to get to know each other, and to understand why this issue was important enough that we all showed up to a canceled meeting.
In addition to our neighbors, Vice Mayor Teresa Proaño, Pamela DiGiovanni and Juslyn Manalo joined us and voiced their opposition to the plan as it stands today, although Teresa would not commit to putting it on the agenda for the next council meeting.
We don't know for sure why the Olympic Club pulled out of the meeting, but I would imagine it has something to do with the hundreds of flyers and signs that went up around the neighborhood. Our next chance to say anything on the record is the City Council meeting on Monday, September 14 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
Help us get Westlake Park on that agenda. Send a note to [email protected] and ask to put rescinding the MOU as a topic on the agenda.
For maybe a more biased take, visit SaveWestlakePark.com.
City Meeting Updates
The council did meet once in August, but not in their normal chambers. On Thursday the 13th at 1 p.m., in Redwood City, the county Board of Supervisors hosted a joint session with every city and town council in the county on the Vehicle License Fee shortfall.
This is a critical issue to read up on. In 2004 the state cut vehicle license fees and promised to backfill the money to cities and counties. All but three counties get paid their due without issue. Unfortunately for us, San Mateo County is one that doesn't, and the Legislature has patched it with a one-time appropriation six years running. The county now puts the countywide gap at about $226 million for this year. Daly City's share is $12.2 million, the second largest of any city in the county after the City of San Mateo itself. Check out the details for every town.
Mayor Sylvester spoke for us at the meeting. "The VLF shortfall is not just a budget problem," he said. "This is not numbers on a spreadsheet. They represent people, programs, and services that our residents depend on every day." Bay City News reported that "[t]he city would have to eliminate library and recreation programs and close senior facilities." The next deadline to get it into a budget trailer bill is the end of August.
No other meetings to note in August so far.
Side note: the minutes from the July 27 council meeting aren't posted yet, so everything below about that night comes from the recording. Which is probably a better source anyway.
The other Park issue - Edgewood Park
The last City Council meeting had a great example of the community coming together. Five residents came to the July 27 meeting to talk about Edgewood Park, and none of it was on the agenda. Rich Cairo brought a petition: "My petition goal was 100. Today, we have 205 people that sign the petition." Sang-Hee Cho, a new dad who lives near the park, said "the park's famous slide has been boarded off with plywood for over a year with zero notice from public works," and on the Magical Bridge project, "Just think, a $4 million playground effort yet no pull-up bars." Rick Pacheco asked for enforcement of illegal dumping laws that already exist.
The Magical Bridge Playground sounds great on paper, but it is mostly poured-in-place rubber, which has its own issues. And the design is somewhat lackluster. Cho hit the nail on the head: "I understand the goal for this park is accessibility for all abilities, but that should mean adding options, not swapping out or [omitting] classics like pull-up bars." He said the designer told him a multi-high pull-up bar could replace one of those fitness pieces at comparable cost.
Westlake streetlights
The RO 572 streetlight conversion is done. 38 streetlights around Westlake Shopping Center came off the old high-voltage series circuits. Final cost about $1.53M against a $1.47M contract, with five change orders that Acting City Engineer Shirley Chan walked the council through one by one. Staff said about 14 more areas in the city still run the old wiring.
The staff report says the conversion will "reduce maintenance cost, power consumption, minimize large area streetlight outages and increase lighting reliability," but it puts no dollar figure on any of that. The old high pressure sodium fixtures are now LEDs, which staff said last longer and draw less power. City Manager Piccolotti added that the project was designed before the city's solar streetlight pilot, and that other grids are being replaced with solar. Staff report · map
Entertainment zones
The council designated four entertainment zones on July 27: the Mission corridor and Top of the Hill, Gellert Park, the Civic Center around City Hall and Marchbank Park. Under state law (SB 969) that means during a permitted event you can carry a drink from a licensed bar out onto the street. Councilmember Pamela DiGiovanni pulled the item so staff could answer residents' questions on the record, and Maybelle Manio from Economic Development was plain about the limits: "It simply identifies the areas that are eligible to be activated in the future through the city's special event permit process." Nothing changes on a random day. Kasayahan and Top of the Hill events are where you will notice it. Staff report Why wasn't Westlake Park considered?
Data centers at the Cow Palace
On July 13, DiGiovanni read a letter from the Cow Palace saying "there is no move to have a data center at the Cow Palace." On July 27, she reported a Global Stack presentation and an MOU in progress there, and asked the council to consider a moratorium or a public position against data centers. The two reports came two weeks apart and they don't agree. I don't know which is right. Manalo said the CalCities Peninsula Division is studying the issue. From what I have heard the Cow Palace data center is dead. But that doesn't mean they won't try again. This could be a future fight worth taking up.
Other Business
The Sanitation District (which is just our City Council) approved two chemical purchases for the wastewater plant on July 27, up to $900k each. One went through a regional buying consortium. The other went to a single supplier because staff's own testing found its blend worked best.
The Women's Commission is planning a domestic violence education event for November 5 and is finishing a status-of-women report comparing us to the county: median household income $123k here against $158k countywide. Next meeting August 27.
Important dates
Friday, August 28. Pre-applications close for the six Point Martin below-market-rate townhomes. Daly City residents. Details
Monday, September 7. Write-in candidate filing opens for the three council seats and runs through October 20. Papers from the City Clerk, (650) 991-8078. The seven candidates who filed by August 7 are listed in last week's post.
Monday, September 14, 7 p.m., City Council, City Hall, 333 90th Street. First meeting since July 27. Two zoning hearings and open public comment. Email [email protected] to ask for Westlake Park on the agenda.
Thursday, September 24. First pre-election campaign finance statements are due, covering July 1 through September 19. That is the first look at who is funding the council race.
Around town
Serramonte Kids Club Tuesday, August 18, 5:30 p.m. Serramonte Center. Crafts, prizes and music; this month's theme is Back to School Boogie. Free.
Tuesday Fun Night Tuesdays, August 18 and 25, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Westlake Library, 275 Southgate Ave. Drop-in, a different activity each week, kids and adults. Free.
Izumisano Sister City Youth Choir Wednesday, August 19, 5 to 6 p.m. Pacelli Event Center, 145 Lake Merced Blvd. All ages, free.
Paws for Tales Wednesday, August 19, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Westlake Library. Kids 5 and up read to a therapy dog. Free.
Colma summer concerts Thursdays, August 20 and 27, 6 to 8 p.m. Colma Community Center, 1520 Hillside Blvd. Native Elements on the 20th, Smokin' Slice of Mojo on the 27th, the last one of the summer. Free, bring a chair.
Play & Learn with Help Me Grow Fridays, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., through September 4. Serramonte Main Library, 40 Wembley Drive. Ages 0 to 5. Free.
Hip-Hop Day '26 Saturday, August 22, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. War Memorial Community Center, 6655 Mission Street. All ages, free food while it lasts.
History Guild walking tour, Broderick-Terry Duel Site Saturday, August 22, noon to 1 p.m. 80 El Portal Way. Guild president Mark Weinberger leads it. Free.
Teen Art Workshop: Light and Shadow Book Wednesday, August 26, 4 to 5:30 p.m. Serramonte Main Library. First come first served, no registration. Free.
Fixit Clinic Wednesday, August 26, 5:30 to 7 p.m. John Daly Library, 134 Hillside Blvd. Bring one broken thing; tools and volunteer coaches provided. Adults.
The libraries also run their weekly storytimes through early September: Serramonte Tuesdays and Baby Bounce Wednesdays at 10:15 a.m., John Daly Wednesdays at 6 p.m., Westlake Thursdays at 10:15 a.m. and Bayshore Thursdays at 6 p.m. All free.
Everything past two weeks out is on the events calendar.
Other Notes
The Westlake slurry seal started Monday, August 17. Prep work runs through the 21st and sealing goes through September 4. On your street's day it is closed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and anything still parked after 7 a.m. gets towed at your expense. Signs go up 48 hours ahead. The construction projects page has the schedule. Benjamin Zee, (650) 991-5796, [email protected].
What is going up on the hillside next to the McDonald's by Serramonte? A neighbor posted a photo asking, and nobody knew. I couldn't match it to anything in the city's meeting record either. If you got a notice, let me know.
The In-N-Out line on Washington. A resident says the drive-through queue blocks the intersection a couple of times a week and most of the weekend. One person's account. The place to take it is the Traffic Safety Committee, which is how the stop signs at Washington and Edgeworth reached the council this spring.
Until next time!