What Rancho Santa Margarita is about to decide

The Rancho Santa Margarita City Council meets Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 7:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 22112 El Paseo. Roll call lists Mayor L. Anthony Beall, Mayor Pro Tempore Anne D. Figueroa, and Council Members Keri Lynn Baert, Jerry Holloway, and Bradley J. McGirr. There are no public hearings and no continued items on the posted agenda; the decisions are two public-works construction contracts and a consultant amendment on the consent calendar, plus two personnel resolutions under New Business. These are pending decisions from the posted agenda — not outcomes. Every item links to the official record.

Source: official agenda (Granicus) · staff reports are linked per item below · City Agendas & Minutes page · Next regular meeting: Wednesday, October 28, 2026, 7:00 p.m.

🏗 Public works: turf, stormwater and pavement

• Civic Center turf replacement: the recommendation has five parts — approve the plans and specifications; find the project “categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), as a Class 1 Existing Facilities, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section 15301”; “Award a Public Works Construction Contract to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder Synthetic Grass Showroom, Inc. of Clovis, California, in the amount of $99,999.99, and reject all other bids”; authorize the Mayor to sign the contract; and adopt “A Resolution … Amending the Fiscal Year 2026-27 Capital Improvement Program Budget to Include Additional Expenditures for the Civic Center Non-Functional Turf Replacement Project.” The agenda names no other bidders, gives no bid amounts beyond the award, and does not say how much the CIP budget would grow; those details are in the staff report. Staff contact listed: Parco. Item 5.7 · Consent
• Stormwater Treatment BMPs: same four-step form — approve plans and specifications, the same Class 1 / Section 15301 CEQA exemption, “Award a Public Works Construction Contract to the lowest responsive, responsible bidder Downstream Services, Inc. of Escondido, California, in the amount of $33,364, and reject all other bids,” and authorize the Mayor to sign. No budget amendment is attached to this one. The agenda does not describe where the treatment devices (“BMPs,” best management practices) would be installed. Staff report. Item 5.8 · Consent
• Pavement management consultant: “Approve proposed Amendment No. 1 to the Professional Services Agreement with Bucknam Infrastructure Group, Inc., for professional pavement management consulting services to extend the term of the current agreement for an additional two (2) years, through November 8, 2028, and to increase the total maximum contract amount by $38,770 for a total not-to-exceed amount of $93,560,” and authorize the Mayor to execute it. Staff report. Item 5.9 · Consent

💼 New Business: an interim director and two new job classes

• Retired annuitant as Interim Development Services Director: the council is asked to adopt “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Rancho Santa Margarita, California, Approving and Authorizing the City Manager to Appoint a Retired Annuitant to Serve as Interim Development Services Director During Recruitment for Permanent Appointment.” The item title also references a “Retired Annuitant Employment Agreement.” The agenda does not name the appointee, the pay rate, or the term; see the staff report. Staff contact listed: Cervantez. Item 7.1
• Two new classifications: a resolution “Amending and Restating the List of Employment Classifications and Salary Ranges to Establish the Program Manager and Senior Public Works Inspector Employment Classifications and Salary Ranges.” The salary ranges themselves are not printed on the agenda; they are in the staff report. Item 7.2

💰 Consent money and reports

• Warrant registers: “Approve the warrant registers totaling $2,295,717.89” for September 8, 2026 through October 5, 2026 — four weeks of city payments. Register. Staff contact listed: Turner. Item 5.4 · Consent
• Investment report for the month of August 2026, to be received and filed. Report. Item 5.5 · Consent
• CDBG year-end report: “Authorize staff to submit the Fiscal Year 2025/2026 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report, including public comments, to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development” for the city’s Community Development Block Grant program. Staff report. Staff contact listed: Linares. Item 5.6 · Consent
• Vector control: receive and file “the report submitted by the City Council’s appointed representative to the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District.” Report. Item 5.10 · Consent

🪑 Also on the agenda

• Minutes: “Approve the September 9, 2026 City Council Regular meeting minutes.” Draft minutes. Item 5.3 · Consent
• Recognitions and a proclamation: a Certificate of Recognition for a Business Recognition to Kinetic Design Inc.; Certificates of Recognition to the Rancho Cielo Firewise USA® Community Committee “for their Firewise USA® Community Leadership”; and a proclamation declaring “Fire Prevention Week” for October 4–10, 2026. They are presented under Item 3 and formally approved on consent under Item 5.2 (documents). Items 3.1–3.3, 5.2
• Public hearings: none. Section 6 (Public Hearing Items) and Section 8 (Continued Items) are empty on the posted agenda. Items 6, 8
• Committee report: an oral report from Mayor Beall on the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Authority’s October 8, 2026 meeting. Item 2.2
• Waive full reading of ordinances — a routine consent item; no ordinance is listed elsewhere on this agenda. Item 5.1 · Consent
• Upcoming events, as posted: RSM CERT Citizens Academy on fire safety and utilities control, Tuesday, October 20, 6:00–7:30 p.m., Council Chambers; Halloween Family Festival, Friday, October 30, 3:30–6:00 p.m., Central Park; electronic waste disposal and document shredding, Saturday, November 7, 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., Applied Medical’s R100 building parking lot; City Hall closed Wednesday, November 11 for Veterans Day, with the council meeting moved to Thursday, November 12; and a Veterans Day reception at 6:00 p.m. November 12 at the Bell Tower Regional Community Center, followed by recognition at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Items 1.1–1.5
• Public comment is split into two 15-minute segments (Items 4 and 9), three minutes per speaker, per Council Policy 4.4; a speaker who addresses a topic in the first segment may not return to it in the second. To call in, submit the “Request to Speak Call-In Form” on the city’s Agendas & Minutes page and dial (949) 229-7104. Items 4, 9–11
• The agenda was certified as posted on October 09, 2026 by City Clerk Amy Diaz.

Council Brief summaries are produced from official public records by our automated newsroom and reviewed before publication. Items are described as posted; the council may amend, continue, or remove items at the meeting. Spot an error? hello@councilbrief.com — we publish corrections.