Chair Walicky opened the Moraga Geologic Hazard Abatement District special meeting and presented a prepared briefing comparing options for managing the GAD, including continuing the current independent-manager model or transferring responsibilities to Town staff.

Walicky summarized legal and technical reasons to retain an independent manager, citing an outside legal memo and the need for licensed geotechnical engineers, geologists and surveyors for design and stamped plans. He told the board that "City staff could manage a a a GAD, but best practice is to avoid relying solely on municipal employees," and warned that staff-stamped designs can transfer liability to the town.

Unidentified board members pressed for a formal town staff report and for staff participation before making any decision. A motion to continue agenda items 5a–c to a later meeting, introduced by an unidentified board member (Speaker 3) and seconded by Speaker 4, did not carry; the board reached consensus instead to discuss item 5a during this meeting and to defer other items.

Speakers debating the issue highlighted three practical considerations: 1) technical expertise and licensing requirements for geologic work, 2) potential liability if town employees take on design or stamped-authority responsibilities, and 3) administrative and cost implications. Chair Walicky noted that specialist consultants assume design liability under fixed-fee arrangements and that switching to staff could make future technical work time-and-materials rather than fixed fee.

Board members and staff also discussed governance trade-offs. Some said protocols or a primer for new GAD members would be useful; others warned that formally codifying operational protocols risks inadvertently narrowing authority or mis-stating governing statutes and case law. One board member recommended keeping any written guidance simple and primer-like.

No formal action was taken to change the GAD’s management model. The board asked NGO (the current manager/consultant) to continue producing materials and staff-style documents the board can use when it reconvenes this discussion; several board members said they would like town staff or the absent vice chair present for any final deliberation.

The meeting moved on to other items after the management discussion, and chair Walicky adjourned the special meeting before 7:00 p.m.