CONTRA COSTA COUNTY

Committee Meeting Minutes - Final

Economic Opportunity Council

6:00 PM

Thursday, January 8, 2026

1470 Civic Court, Suite 200, Room 207,

Concord | zoom:

https://cccounty-us.zoom.us/j/84112970168 | call

in: 8882780254 | code: 7038773

Agenda Items: Items may be taken out of order based on the business of the day and preference of the

Committee

Karanbir Bal, Jessica Cisneros, Karen Coleman, Christian Dean,

Ajit Kaushal, Buffie Lafayette, Janelle Lafrades, Nikki Lopez,

Desire Medlen, Monisha Merchant, Tu'Liisa Miller, Devlyn

Sewell, Kanwar Singh, Victor Tiglao, and Renee Zeimer

Present

Patricia Campbell, and LaTonia Peoples-Stokes

Absent

Call to Order and Welcome

Chair Medlen called the meeting to order at 6:04 pm. Quorum Established.

Staff Present: Jen Quallick, Christina Castle-Barber, Ali Vahidizadeh, Roshunda Ward, M J Robb,

Melissa Molina

Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda

(speakers may be limited to two minutes).

No public present.

APPROVE the EOC Business Meeting Minutes of 11/13/2025.

EOC Buisness Meeting Minutes of Novmeber 13 2025 draft

25-5464

Attachments:

A motion was made by Zeimer, seconded by Lafayette, to approve the EOC Business

Meeting Minutes of 11/13/25 . The motion carried by the following vote:

Motion:

Zeimer

Second:

Lafayette

Aye:

Bal, Cisneros, Dean, Kaushal, Lafayette, Lafrades, Lopez,

Medlen, Merchant, Miller, Sewell, Singh, Tiglao, and Zeimer

Absent:

Campbell, and Peoples-Stokes

Abstain:

Result:

Coleman

Passed

APPROVE Sonya Bynum as an alternate member of the Economic

Opportunity Council.

25-5465

Bynum Sonya (EOC) 12-07-25 D3_Redacted

Attachments:

Applicant has withdrawn her application. She is serving on two other boards.

This Consent Item was withdrawn.

RATIFY approval of the 2026-2027 Subcontractor allocations.

25-5466

2026 RFP 1227 Scoring final

Attachments:

Christina shared that this was inadvertenly not voted on at the last meeting so we are

ratifying the Executive Committee's decision. Christina shared a remediation plan to ensure

scoring and selection is a seamless process in the future.

A motion was made by Kaushal, seconded by Lopez, to approve the final 2026-2028

Subcontractor Allocations . The motion carried by the following vote:

Motion:

Kaushal

Second:

Lopez

Aye:

Bal, Cisneros, Coleman, Dean, Kaushal, Lafayette, Lafrades,

Lopez, Medlen, Merchant, Miller, Sewell, Singh, Tiglao, and

Zeimer

Absent:

Result:

Campbell, and Peoples-Stokes

Passed

RATIFY approval of the 2025 EOC Annual Advisory Body Report to the

Board of Supervisors.

25-5467

2025 Economic Opportunity Council Annual Advisory Body Repor

FINAL

Attachments:

Castle-Barber presented the report.

A motion was made by Kaushal, seconded by Lopez, to approve the 2025 EOC

Annual Advisory Body Report to the Board of Supervisors. The motion carried by the

following vote:

Motion:

Kaushal

Second:

Lopez

Aye:

Bal, Cisneros, Coleman, Dean, Kaushal, Lafayette, Lafrades,

Lopez, Medlen, Merchant, Miller, Sewell, Singh, Tiglao, and

Zeimer

Absent:

Result:

Campbell, and Peoples-Stokes

Passed

RECEIVE the October Fiscal Report for Grant #25-6007.

25-5468

CSBG October 2025 Budget to Actual

Attachments:

Vahidizadeh presented the October Fiscal Report for Grant #25-6007.

Tiglao asked about the Supplies for Outreach/Homeless line item, to which Castle-Barber and Ward

answered that the corrected amount will be reflected on the next meeting’s report.

This Discussion Item was received.

RECEIVE Budget Presentation and APPROVE the budget for Grant

#26F-5007.

25-5469

DocuSign_2026_CSBG_26F-5007_Contra_Costa_Co

2026 CSBG Spending Authorization Letter

Attachments:

Spending Authorization Spreadsheet - December 18 2025

Copy of Proposed Budget 2026 rev 12-31-25

Castle-Barber informed that the full budget for the upcoming cycle has been received by the state

and how it is affected by federal changes.

Ward presented the itemized annual budget.

Kaushal and Zeimer asked for clarifying questions about the local travel conference, student interns,

salary allocation, and LIHEAP.

A motion was made by Lopez, seconded by Dean, to approve the Budget for Grant#

26F-5007. The motion carried by the following vote:

Motion:

Lopez

Second:

Dean

Aye:

Bal, Cisneros, Coleman, Dean, Kaushal, Lafayette, Lafrades,

Lopez, Medlen, Merchant, Miller, Sewell, Singh, Tiglao, and

Zeimer

Absent:

Result:

Campbell, and Peoples-Stokes

Passed

Staff Report

Castle-Barber presented everyone with copies of the revised Brown Act and provided an overview of the

changes.

Castle-Barber shared that Head Start Program completed their F1 review and it went very well. A letter

will be received in 45-60 days with the formal results.

10.

Chair Report

Chair Medlen thanked members for their hard work on scoring the RFP applications and praised

members for their resiliency during these difficult times.

11.

Coleman reported that the Policy Council talked about concerns regarding funding for Head Start.

12. EOC Member Report

Policy Council Report

Cisneros invited members to a town hall on affordable housing hosted Assemblymember Avila Farias on February

6th from 7-8PM.

Zeimer invited to a webinar about the Politics of Hunger.

Sewell informed members about the Concord Library’s Pop up Prom for Teens.

13.

Next Steps

Molina will send out links to events reported by members to the entire body.

Fiscal will update the budget for next meeting.

14.

Meeting Evaluation

Efficient

Ended early.

The next meeting is currently scheduled for February 12 at 6pm.

15. Adjourn

Chair Medlen adjourned the meeting at 7 pm.

The Committee will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend

the Committee meetings. Contact the staff person listed below at least 72 hours before the meeting. Any

disclosable public records related to an open session item on a regular meeting agenda and distributed by

the County to a majority of members of the Committee less than 96 hours prior to that meeting are

available for public inspection at 1470 Civic Court, Suite 200, Concord, during normal business hours.

Staff reports related to items on the agenda are also accessible online at www.contracosta.ca.gov. If the

Zoom connection malfunctions for any reason, the meeting may be paused while a fix is attempted. If

the connection is not reestablished, the committee will continue the meeting in person without remote

access. Public comment may be submitted via electronic mail on agenda items at least one full work day

prior to the published meeting time.

For Additional Information Contact: Christina Castle-Barber, 925-608-8819.