City Council Meeting

CITY OF LOS BANOS CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 20, 2017 ACTION MINUTES – These minutes are prepared to depict action taken for agenda items presented to the City Council. For greater detail of this meeting refer to the electronic media (CD and/or audio) kept as a permanent record. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Villalta called the City Council Meeting to order at the hour of 7:00 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Police Commander Reyna led the pledge of allegiance. ROLL CALL – MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL PRESENT: Council Members Daronica Johnson-Santos, Deborah Lewis, Scott Silveira, Mayor Michael Villalta; Absent: Council Member Faria. STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: City Manager Terrazas, City Attorney Vaughn, City Clerk/Human Resources Director Mallonee, Admin Clerk I/Deputy City Clerk Huff, Police Commander Reyna, City Treasurer/Accounting & Budget Supervisor Tomas, Finance Director Williams, Assistant Fire Chief Hurley, Assistant Public Works Director Pimentel, Community & Economic Development Director Elms and Information Technology Director Spalding. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion by Silveira, seconded by Lewis to approve the City Council Meeting agenda as submitted. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all City Council Members present; ABSENT: Faria. PRESENTATIONS. PROCLAMATION – RECOGNIZING LOS BANOS TIGER TRAP TEAM MEMBER JACK GERSTENBERG. Mayor Villalta spoke of how firearms could be negatively viewed but explained how this young man has won various awards and how he learned to use weapons in a positive manner. He presented the proclamation to Jack Gerstenberg and noted how he represents Los Banos well with his sportsmanship and good grades. PROCLAMATION – RECOGNIZING THE PEACE FOR FAMILIES MARCH ORGANIZED BY VALLEY CRISIS CENTER. Mayor Villalta introduced Chee Yang and Rosa Rangel and presented them the proclamation. Chee Yang spoke to the march and how it will be held on October 26, 2017 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Pacheco Park and it will continue on to the Community Center where a gathering will be held afterwards. Rosa Rangel further spoke about the march and how banners and posters are displayed during the march. They are challenging the public to come up with their own awareness signs and to also take place in the drawing that will take place at the community center after the march. PUBLIC FORUM: MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ON ANY ITEM OF PUBLIC INTEREST THAT IS WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE CITY; INCLUDES AGENDA AND NON-AGENDA ITEMS. NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS. SPEAKERS ARE LIMITED TO A FIVE (5) MINUTE PRESENTATION. DETAILED GUIDELINES ARE POSTED ON THE COUNCIL CHAMBER INFORMATIONAL TABLE. ERIK LIMON, Republic Services, spoke to the annual fall clean up hosted by the City of Los Banos and Republic Services, will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2017 from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Spring Fair parking lot at the corner of 4th and F Streets, bring all unwanted items for free disposal, green waste must be separated from other materials, tires will be accepted at a maximum of nine tires per person, batteries and electronic waste will be accepted, household hazardous waste will be accepted but no medical waste, recycled motor oil can be pleased in a clear and sealed plastic container and placed by receptacles for pick up on garbage day, if you have questions on how to dispose of household hazardous waste please contact Merced County Association of Governments (MCAG) at (209)826-1163, encourages commercial and residential recycling to meet State mandates of 75% by 2020, if assistance is needed to implement recycling practices please contact him at (209)826-0231, CalRecycle is pleased with the City’s efforts but there’s always room for improvement; MAYOR VILLALTA requested Mr. Limon contact the Police Department for traffic control; Mr. Limon encourages a 6:00 a.m. arrival time to avoid lines and heavy traffic, the idea is to make sure that none of the contents end up in the public rights-of-way, it’s a great program; ESMERALDA SHORES, Los Banos, presented the idea of a dog park with Girl Scout Troop 2702, the girls have ideas to propose regarding a dog park, they see a need for a place where furry friends can play and make friends, the community also holds an annual Relay for Life - Dog Edition which benefits a great cause, less dog doo in the public, pets need a place to run free, whole community can benefit by socialization, thanked Council for their time, the girls made a dog park model, girls spoke regarding their presentations, dogs can run free without a leash, a dog park would bring less dog doo in public facilities, sidewalks and lawns, the dog relay for life could be hosted there, thanked Council; MAYOR VILLALTA thanked the girls and believes many people think a dog park is needed, at some point a dog park will be discussed, budget and site issues hinder that idea, the City will continue to pursue that avenue, requested an outline of what they wanted and invited the troop back to discuss the matter further, thanked the girls; JOHN FULTON, wanted to give a brief history lesson regarding solar panels, spoke to the cost of the permit and how much each phase costs, trying to be a good city member and support local construction so he put solar panels on his home, took advantage of State and Federal incentives, the State said that in 2002 they passed a goal that it would have 20% of the electricity would be renewable by 2017 then it was changed to 20% by 2010 and then changed it again to 1/3 by 2020, spoke to the changes of timelines and how the State encourages increased renewable resources used, energy grid more sustainable, and the decreased use of fossil fuels, Grid Alternatives is trying to promote that, spoke to portfolio standards, in 2013 SB1222 stated that fees could not exceed $500, in 2014 AB 2188 said valuation could no longer be used to establish permit fees, states the City has been in violation of that State code since 2015, spoke to codes that prevent cities from putting up roadblocks regarding solar panels, here to support social justice, solar panels are needed to pay for electricity bills, other alternatives are needed, by a show of hands asked how many people pay more than $500 for PGE bills, questioned why the Council Members don’t support that for the people that need it; MAYOR VILLALTA requested the documentation regarding fees; MY LOS BANOS.COM, created a website that is a community portal, allows local businesses to sell their products online, brings together residents and businesses and specifically the commuters, there’s an events calendar so the public can see what’s going on in the community, created a job board which allows local business owners to post jobs they have available for free, residents can go online and submit resumes and employers can review them all for free, business owners can post to the website for free, they were at the street faire and asked the residents about the website and asked for suggestions regarding the community portal, residents wanted local news on the homepage, no forms or chatting, wanted daily events on the homepage, starting a project called Discover Los Banos which will be hosted by John Cates, regarding the history of Los Banos both past and present, thanked Council. No one else came forward to speak and the public forum was closed. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA. Motion by Lewis, seconded by Johnson-Santos to approve the consent agenda as follows: Check Register for #206638 – #206835 in the Amount of $903,551.32; Authorization for the City Manager to Execute a Response Letter to the Grand Jury Regarding the Mandated Annual Inspection of the Los Banos Police Department Jail. The motion carried by the affirmative of all Council Members present; ABSENT: Faria. BUXTON CO. RETAIL RECRUITMENT UPDATE AND PRESENTATION. Community & Economic Development Director Elms presented the staff report and spoke to previous encounters with Buxton. She introduced Cheyenne Robinson, a representative of Buxton, who spoke regarding this item and what Buxton is all about and how it could benefit the City. There was Council and staff discussion pertaining to how Buxton retrieves its data and in turn creates various reports on consumers in the City and what businesses would benefit in such a community. Statistics regarding income, household sizes, commuter demographics other statistics are continuously being updated and these numbers are used to determine potential retailers which will in turn generate increased revenue for the City. No action taken, informational item only. ADVISEMENT OF PUBLIC NOTICES (One Report). Community & Economic Development Director Elms stated the Planning Commission will be reviewing the sign ordinance regarding temporary signs and that the information would be brought back to Council. The recommendation will be reviewed and discussed on September 27, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The focus will be on temporary signs and classification for special categories of businesses and exempt signage. CITY MANAGER REPORT. City Manager Terrazas thanked the girl scouts for coming to visit, looks forward to a follow up on the dog park. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS. SCOTT SILVEIRA: Let everyone know he had the honor of representing the City at the 2017 League of California Cities Conference, a big concern was CalPERS and what they’re doing and what that means for the City and employee health retirement, it is doom and gloom but we are one of the cities that is already doing a lot of the things that they are recommending and have been for a while, moving forward the CalPERS representative’s answer to everything was ‘do not hire new full-time employees because you can’t afford them,’ scares and worries him regarding the numbers, but he believes in the next three years it will cost the City of Los Banos $3 million more to do business than what it costs now, the conversation needs to be real and a conversation needs to be had regarding generation revenues for the City, CalPERS is a board and elected but also they are not a standalone body, they still have legislative authority over them, California wants to be politically correct in every way possible, to him CalPERS is a board that is charged with taking the money that employees are paying out of their salaries and that the cities are matching and doing the best job possible at investing that money to get the biggest return on investment as possible, things that California chooses not to invest in are some of the biggest investments but California and its infinite wisdom chooses to not invest in those big markets, something needs to change or CalPERS won’t be around forever, when going into those meetings some of the things discussed have already been made as conscious efforts, gives kudos to Council for listening to staff’s recommendations, overall it was a good conference and a good time to be in Sacramento, spent some time with our assemblymen, these conferences are good to go to in order to hear different sessions and to learn new things, always good to spend time with staff outside of work and get to know them on a personal level and to interact with colleagues and other council members statewide, thanked the residents for allowing him to go there; the Farm to Table dinner is tomorrow and tickets are all sold out. TOM FARIA: Absent. DARONICA JOHNSON-SANTOS: Gave a heartfelt thank you to the Los Banos Police Department, especially Sergeant Parras and Officer Castellanos, for their work on a burglary that occurred to a member of her family, most of her things were reclaimed. DEBORAH LEWIS: Thanked the City and residents for sending her to the League of California Cities Conference, echoed Mayor Pro Tem Silveira’s comments regarding CalPERS, there is not one pot of money it pulls out for Los Banos to pay for our employees or any other cities, it is all one big pot of money, so if some other city doesn’t meet their obligation then all the money the cities as a whole put in there gets used to meet their obligation and that’s the sad part about it, she is a CalPERS retiree and remembers asking her employer what would happen if CalPERS runs out of money and she was told the issue would be returned to the voters and they would vote more money in, discussed politics behind the investments and what’s important to these organizations, CalPERS is the largest retirement system in the United States and it should be something of pride rather than shame, it’s disgusting that CalPERS doesn’t take into consideration their obligation to the public who voted for them and who have paid their hard earned money into this system; spoke to a seminar she went to regarding a citizen’s academy, helps the citizens of the city understand how the city operates, how the budget is spent, what each department does and how it operates in the city and with the services it provides, a healthy pool of people who would be fit to serve on boards and commissions also comes from this academy as they become educated on how local government operates and how money is spent, would like to see the City put on a citizen’s academy once a year and invite the public to come and get educated, most people don’t have a good understanding of how local government works; SB 649 is one of many bills sitting on the governor’s desk for signature, it is a telecom bill pertaining to the cities losing control over site telecom devices that can be set up in certain location and which take up a certain amount of space, passage of this bill would give all power to telecom companies to place whatever telecom device of a certain size wherever they would like whether it be on City or personal property and the City or property owner would have no authority of the decision whatsoever, the governor hasn’t signed the bill yet, encourages residents to call the governor’s office and voice their concerns at (916)445-2841 or send a fax to (916)558-3160, strongly believes that cities should have a say in where these devices are placed, this bill has made its way through the legislative process but hopes that telephone calls and written concerns will persuade the governor not to sign the bill. MAYOR MICHAEL VILLALTA: Stated that over 150 will be attending the Farm to Table event, thanked the City for being a co-sponsor, more things happen in town when the Chamber of Commerce and the City work together, it’s a way to bring businesses and maintain businesses and grow the City; attended the Mark Marshall reception, he is the new superintendent for the Los Banos Unified School District, wanted to reach out to the culinary class from Pacheco High School that prepared all the food for today’s event, it was spectacular; the street faire was a success, thanked Bertha Faria and the Chamber of Commerce for the nice event, Rotary had a ‘make your own omelette’ breakfast, everything went well; City Manager Terrazas and he attended a meeting at Merced College in Los Banos and are in the process of having a right-of-way dedicated for a bike path extending all the way out to the college, there are a number of agencies involved in the discussion, it’s not a big project but it is a monumental project because of all the moving parts, hopefully this will come to pass; wasn’t here for the last meeting, thanked Mayor Pro Tem Silveira for taking over, was in Washington D.C., and the main topic was water, listened to Council Member Lewis and Mayor Pro Tem Silveira regarding the State and Federal electees and how they are not listening to the voters, the two parties can’t come into an agreement regarding more storage for water which is the life blood of California, all the water that is not able to be stored is washed out to sea, the further up in ranks these politicians are, the harder it is for them to hear the voices of the American citizens which is preventing them from listening to the people’s concerns, not sure how we are going to get people to listen to us, there is need from our electees but how are these needs going to be fulfilled if no one is listening, asked democrats and republicans to please get together and come up with a water bill for California, something that is meaningful so that the water is not wasted and flushed out to sea, this water could be used to grow more food, the decisions in this country are made at the council level because that is where change is effected immediately; thanked MCAG and the local waste company for putting on another clean up event, it makes a big difference so the waste doesn’t end up on the streets; the City’s graffiti plan is not working, it is making certain parts of the town look really crumby which prevents businesses from coming to town, the City of Merced has a plan where they use an independent contractor that gets paid by the job, the middleman is cut out and the job gets done; the shopping cart ordinance will be coming up soon, seems that Target is a big culprit right now not having the locking grocery carts, would like to discuss this item at the next meeting along with the graffiti issue. ADJOURNMENT. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. APPROVED: /s/ Michael Villalta__________ Michael Villalta, Mayor ATTEST: /s/ Sara Huff______________ Sara Huff, Deputy City Clerk