Residents promote Juneteenth celebration and raise transit and parks maintenance concerns during business from the floor

At the start of the June 10 Folsom City Council meeting several residents used the business-from-the-floor period to promote community events and raise service concerns.

Juneteenth celebration at Black Miners Bar Tracy Stafford, who identified herself as a volunteer executive director for the Juneteenth festival at Black Miners Bar, asked for community support and donations for the July 4 / Juneteenth–period event and said the 2025 celebration would be held Saturday, June 28 from 4 to 9 p.m. at Black Miners Bar State Park. Stafford described historically rooted ties of the site to Black miners and said the event includes entertainment, vendors and family activities; Ruth Anderson, another resident, said the event is free to attend aside from the park's $10 state-park entrance fee and urged residents to bring friends and family.

Paratransit and RT Go complaints Margie Donovan told the council she is blind and raised concerns about regional paratransit service after Sacramento Regional Transit updated software for its RT Go system. Donovan and other speakers described missed medical appointments, late pickups and software glitches that have forced riders to pay missed-appointment fees; she urged the council to press the city's representatives on the transit authority board to address the problems. "It is unfair that we have to pay for missed appointments because the buses are late," she said.

Parks maintenance and public-safety hazard claims Sharon Kendall, a longtime Folsom resident, presented photos and said trees in Davis Park—specifically Bradford pear trees—are beyond their typical 15–25 year lifespan, have signs of disease and are dropping limbs. Kendall cited a recent out-of-area lawsuit in Davis that resulted in a settlement after a park limb fall and urged the council to increase parks maintenance funding; she called the trees a "public safety hazard." Kendall and other speakers urged higher parks budgets and more proactive tree removal or pruning in neighborhood parks.

What the council said Council staff invited audience members to remain for the items on the agenda, and councilmembers acknowledged receipt of the concerns. No formal action was taken during business from the floor; items raised were either informational (event promotion) or requests the council and staff address service and maintenance issues in follow-up communications and budget deliberations.

Ending Staff said the Juneteenth organizers had secured sponsors and vendors and encouraged residents to attend the June 28 celebration; staff also noted the city will continue to collect details and consider the paratransit and parks issues in subsequent budget and operations reviews.