City Council Meeting

CITY OF LOS BANOS CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MAY 4, 2022 ACTION MINUTES – These minutes are prepared to depict action taken for agenda items presented to the City Council. For detail of this meeting refer to the electronic media (CD and/or audio) kept as a permanent record. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Pro Tem Lambert called the City Council Meeting to order at the hour of 6:01 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Police Commander Reyna led the pledge of allegiance. ROLL CALL – MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL PRESENT: Council Members Brett Jones, Kenneth Lambert, Deborah Lewis, Refugio LLamas; ABSENT: Mayor Manuel Thomas Faria III. STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: City Attorney Vaughn, City Clerk/Human Resources Director Mallonee, City Treasurer/Accounting & Budget Supervisor Tomas, Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms, Police Commander Reyna, Public Works Director/City Engineer Than CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion by Jones, seconded by Lewis to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Mayor Faria absent. 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. Mayor Pro Tem Lambert opened the public forum and asked those at the meeting if they would like to speak: SHANDRA LEWIS, Assistant Manager of the Rancho Mobile Home Park, stated that they appreciate hearing us out, we will be back in numbers at your Council Meeting until our issues are resolved, the Police Chief has been out and visited with them which was very much appreciated, just the other day they had to call the Police Department because a homeless man was bringing in furniture through their park to take to the homeless encampment and was then arrested for trespassing, how they want to have confidence in the promise that the Police Chief made that he will try to resolve the issues, we have endured this situation for 2 ½ years and feels they have endured enough; CLAUDIA NUNES, resident at the mobile home park, stated she has called the Police Department over and over, concerns with loud stereo, loud screaming that doesn’t stop, we can’t take much more and we can’t confront them because we are scared what they might do, how she has called the Police Department and they don’t show up, why do we have to put up with this crap, the homeless are stealing everything, please listen to us, please help us, she is scared a lot of times to even go out of her house; SHARON GRAY, Manager of Rancho Mobile Home Park, she has never had the problems she is having now with the homeless, the homeless people have no respect, they steal everything you leave outside, leave junk in our yards, it’s not fair that they work and pay rent, keep their places neat and they have to put up with this, she knows it’s a big problem but I want them gone, they are siphoning out gas from the cars; MARIA SALINAS, Los Banos Mobile Home Park resident, thanked the Police Chief for coming out to the mobile home park yesterday and listening to our concerns and committing to do whatever he can to address our issues with the homeless, she invited all to come visit their mobile home park and see what they have to endure, they have cut the fence even more to make it easier to come in and out of mobile home park, a recent brush fire by their fence, please give us our peace back, she supports resources for the homeless, but the homeless that are house on the other side of our fence are lazy destructive drug addicts, afraid to wake up in the morning to see her car gone, they don’t want resources, they choose to live like this, there is a lot of potential problems and danger and help us avoid dangerous situations, inquired how they can get an item on your agenda so that you can take action on the issues we are raising today, member of the community support them, they are still tired and worried and more scared, so please do your part; ANN McCAULEY, Los Banos, stated that it’s been a long time since she has been to an in person meeting, she noticed that you will be meeting later in closed session about property on Pacheco Boulevard and hopes that this is the corner on 6th Street and hopes the City can purchase the property, she spoke regarding her concerns with Pioneer Road and how it is back up east bound now and knows there are plans to expand to four lanes, she feels that we should be looking at Henry Miller Road and use that as a truck bypass, there are no homes out there and can well accommodate the truckers as all they want to do is get through town, and how the Pioneer Road expansion just does not make sense especially if trucks are going to be on it; SANDRA BENETTI, Peninsula Clean Energy, provided information regarding the enrollment of their services and how PCE passes the savings on to their customers and explained the enrollment information Los Banos residents are receiving; ADRIAN LAGARA, Los Banos, raised his concerns regarding the homeless encampment near the Rancho Mobile Home Park, spoke regarding the danger the fires the homeless are starting can cause, the noise they are making is up to a maximum at all hours of night making it hard to sleep, there is a drum set, a trumpet with a band going on all hours of the night and day, they steal stuff, leave trash and drugs. Mayor Pro Tem Lambert then asked City Clerk Mallonee if she had received any comments, for which City Clerk Mallonee stated that she received one comment: Ray Walton, representing LUAAC, wanted to know what if the city manager and city council ding about diversity when it comes to the African American community, do they have any current programs. No one else came forward to speak and the public forum was closed. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA. Motion by Jones, seconded by LLamas to approve the consent agenda as follows: Check Register for #232121 – #232476 in the Amount of $1,641,619.82; Third Quarter Investment Report for the 2021/2022 Fiscal Year; Minutes for the April 20, 2022 City Council Meeting. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Mayor Faria absent. ADVISEMENT OF PUBLIC NOTICES. (Three Reports) Community & Economic Development Director Elms reported that Public Hearings will be held by the Los Banos Planning Commission on May 11, 2022 to consider a Categorical Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and a Mobile Food Vendor Permit #2022- 03 to allow the operation of a mobile food vending vehicle on private property for Casta Dolores Amador Romero dba Casa de Churro y Osita Hot Dogs, located within the Highway Commercial Zoning District at 2169 E. Pacheco Boulevard, more specifically identified as Assessor's Parcel Number: 083-140-008. CITY MANAGER REPORT. No report, City Manager Pinheiro absent. REPORT/UPDATE ON MERCED COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS (MCAG), PENINSULA CLEAN ENERGY (PCE), AND MEASURE V COMMITTEE. No report, Mayor Faria absent. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS. BRETT JONES: No report KENNETH LAMBERT: No report DEBORAH LEWIS: Stated that she really wished the residents at the mobile home park would have stayed to hear her comments and hopefully they will hear them as her heart goes out to them, we placed a horrible situation around them that we cannot control, some homeless do not want to be on the street and we have been able to help some, some homeless don’t want help, how the county has services to help those who want it, how there is no money being sent down to smaller communities to address the homeless issues and concerns, she thinks we need to find some land in a remote area and relocate them as she doesn’t think any of us would want the homeless in our back yard. She is making a Council Member Request to have this item put on the agenda sooner rather than later and have the staff explain this all to them, this is not the most favorable place to have the homeless encampment, the mobile home park residents are entitled to the same protection as all of us, we need to take care of these people and do something about it. REFUGIO LLAMAS: Stated that he concurs with Council Member Lewis’s comments regarding the homeless encampment, it is a very difficult situation for the mobile home residents, he has confidence in the Police Chief’s ability to minimize the situation, and the City Council needs more information and options for this homeless encampment near the mobile home park. MAYOR TOM FARIA: Absent CLOSED SESSION – CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATIONS, PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956.8; PROPERTY LOCATED AT 610 PACHECO BOULEVARD, LOS BANOS, CALIFORNIA, APPROXIMATELY 0.296 ACRES (APN 026-121-006); CITY NEGOTIATORS: CITY MANAGER PINHEIRO, CITY ATTORNEY VAUGHN, COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR ELMS; NEGOTIATING PARTIES: SYBIL A. BALATTI TRUSTEE; UNDER NEGOTIATION: PURCHASE PRICE AND TERMS OF SALE. No reportable action. ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Lewis, seconded by LLamas, the meeting was adjourned at 6:58 p.m. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Mayor Faria absent. APPROVED: /s/ Manuel Thomas Faria III____ Manuel Thomas Faria III, Mayor ATTEST: /s/ Lucille L. Mallonee_________ Lucille L. Mallonee, City Clerk