City Council Meeting

CITY OF LOS BANOS CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JULY 19, 2023 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 Llanez called the City Council Meeting to order at the hour of 6:01 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Police Chief Brizzee led the pledge of allegiance. ROLL CALL – MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL PRESENT: Council Members Brett Jones, Kenneth Lambert, Deborah Lewis, Mayor Paul Llanez; ABSENT: Council Member Douglas Begonia, Jr.; None. STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: City Manager Pinheiro, City Attorney Vaughn, Police Chief Brizzee, City Clerk/Human Resources Director Mallonee, City Treasurer Lawrence, Fire Chief Tualla, Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms, Public Works Director/City Engineer Than, Interim Finance Director Kuhn, Interim Parks & Recreation Director Heim CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion by Lambert seconded by Jones to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Begonia 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 Llanez opened the public forum and asked those at the meeting if they would like to speak: MR. SANTOS, Congressman Duarte’s representative, spoke regarding what they are working on, i.e. co- sponsoring the H2VISA program, the NDAA Ag committees; RHONDA LOWE, Small Business Development Center, announced that they will be having their first live in-person workshop for start-ups at the Community Center on July 22, 2023 and explained what the workshop will offer; UNNAMED PERSON, speaking regarding the homeless, thanked the city for the new barriers on the rail trail, how there is less auto traffic and found the Mayor’s Plan on homeless and wonders how far along he is on the plan, inquired as to if he needs help; CAMMI AVILAR, spoke regarding her homeless concerns, how there was a cleanup but it is dirty again, how she is getting woken up by homeless and is not sleeping well, it’s a problem and it is now affecting her personally, it needs to be addressed, there has to be another solution, it’s not fair to my neighborhood and they are willing to help, she sees on the agenda that you are going to put a stop light at Scripps & Mercey Springs and it would be nice to address the closure at DeAnza at the same time and reopen it; UNNAMED PERSON, spoke regarding her concerns with the homeless and how her husband had someone arrested after an incident at their home, they are trespassing, majority of the homeless are mentally unstable, drug addicts and no respect for the citizens, it has become a health hazard, burning each other’s tents, Fire Department consistently going out to the homeless site, there is still traffic back there, garbage cans are back there and they are stealing them, it’s disgusting and scary, we need to not enable them, they choose to live like this, our safety is in jeopardy; UNNAMED PERSON, spoke regarding her concerns with the homeless and how they are in front of her house, she has emailed the Mayor, left messages and no response, why was there not a plan made when the homeless encampment was closed and why were they told to move to locations, why are the homeless not given porta-pottys or handwashing stations, thank you for sending Code Enforcement to clean up all the garbage and furniture that they are constantly moving in there, how she has been told by Code Enforcement to move her couch from her porch, you need to take care of defecation and urination problem, the public hazards and safety all these conditions are creating; UNNAMED PERSON, spoke regarding the Small Business Assistance Program and how he requested that a report be on the next agenda and it is not, he has concerns regarding the program guidelines, it has ran out of funds, the program is short, requested clarification and has been ignored, he is asking the City Council to speak up for the businesses and asked for a an explanation of the scoring which should include the refund from the RADcard program, how has experienced homeless at his business and how ARPA funds can be spent to solve the homeless problem; MARIBEL GARCIA, Los Banos Downtown Association, spoke regarding the 4th of July event and the huge success that it was, thanked the City for their support and the sponsors and volunteers, the Farm to Table event in September at Henry Miller Plaza and Farmer of the Year application, and how they will provide scholarship for FFA Seniors, their vision is promoting and improving downtown Los Banos; UNNAMED PERSON, business owner in town, spoke regarding the homeless crisis in town and how the City received homeless funds, how have the funds been allocated to Merced County and to each City, the State has already put billions of dollars to combat homeless issues and this is very concerning to him, what changes will be made, he deals with homeless issues at his place of business; BLANCHE JORGE, resident of downtown, went to the Planning Commission meeting the other day, sad news about businesses closing down in the downtown area, thoughts of what could come in to the vacancies in downtown, happy to see the Vineyard item and Sports Complex being approved and thanked the City Council for all their hard work, the parks are being improved and she sees it and appreciates all that you are doing, spoke to the Parks & Recreation book with activities and how wonderful it is, and how she supports our City and employees. Mayor Llanez asked the City Clerk if she had received any, for which she stated she had received none. No one else came forward to speak and the public forum was closed. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA. Council Member Lewis requested that item F - City Council Resolution No. 6666 – Authorizing the Public Works Director/City Engineer to Execute Change Order No. 1 to the Contract Agreement for the Exterior Painting of Four (4) City-Owned Buildings to Pro Group Painting for the Stucco Work at City Hall and Police Annex and to Increase the Project Contingency to $87,454 be pulled from the consent agenda for presentation. City Council Resolution No. 6666 – Authorizing the Public Works Director/City Engineer to Execute Change Order No. 1 to the Contract Agreement for the Exterior Painting of Four (4) City-Owned Buildings to Pro Group Painting for the Stucco Work at City Hall and Police Annex and to Increase the Project Contingency to $87,454. Council Member Lewis inquired as to the need for this item and how she is finding it hard to justify this instead of doing repairs and just a paint job, which could save the city money, she feels the smooth stucco is excessive and will not solve the problem, for which Public Works Director/City Engineer Than responded to and explained the reasoning behind it. Motion by Jones, seconded by Lambert to approved City Council Resolution No. 6666 – Authorizing the Public Works Director/City Engineer to Execute Change Order No. 1 to the Contract Agreement for the Exterior Painting of Four (4) City-Owned Buildings to Pro Group Painting for the Stucco Work at City Hall and Police Annex and to Increase the Project Contingency to $87,454. To motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Member present, Begonia absent and Lewis voting No. Motion by Jones, seconded by Lambert to approve the consent agenda as amended as follows: Check Register for #239561 - #239963 in the Amount of $2,805,229.35; Minutes for the June 7, 2023 City Council Meeting; Minutes for the June 21, 2023 City Council Meeting; Minutes for the July 5, 2023 City Council Meeting; City Council Resolution No. 6665 – Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Agreement between the City of Los Banos and Mark Thomas & Company, Inc. for Engineering Design Services for State Route 165/Vineyard Drive Intersection and Adopting a Revised Budget for the Fiscal Year 2023-24 as it Pertains to the Lamoglia Fund in the Amount of $164,027; City Council Resolution No. 6666 – Authorizing the Public Works Director/City Engineer to Execute Change Order No. 1 to the Contract Agreement for the Exterior Painting of Four (4) City-Owned Buildings to Pro Group Painting for the Stucco Work at City Hall and Police Annex and to Increase the Project Contingency to $87,454; City Council Resolution No. 6667 – Accepting the Sports Complex Restroom and Concession Building Project as Complete and Authorizing the Filing of a Notice of Completion with the Merced County Recorder; City Council Resolution No. 6668 – Accepting Public Improvements for Southpointe at Regency Park, Phase 8 (Stonefield Home, Inc.); City Council Resolution No. 6669 – Accepting Public Improvements for Southpointe at Regency Park, Phase 9 (Stonefield Home, Inc.); City Council Resolution No. 6670 – Award of Construction Contract to St. Francis Electric, LLC., in the Amount of $495,000 with a 10% Contingency in the Amount of $49,500 for SR-152 Signal Synchronization, Federal-Aid Project No. CML-5160(028); City Council Resolution No. 6671 – Authorizing Management & Mid-Management Employees and the Los Banos Police Sergeants Association to Participate in the California State Disability Insurance Program at Their Own Expense. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Begonia absent. PUBLIC HEARING – TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT AND DISCLOSE THE FINAL FUNDING AMOUNTS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF 2018 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) AGREEMENT 12913. Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms presented the staff report, which included a PowerPoint presentation. Mayor Llanez opened the public hearing. No one came forward to speak and the public hearing was closed. Motion by Jones, seconded by Lambert to accept the Report on the 2018 Community Development Block Grant Agreement 12913 as submitted. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Begonia absent. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 6672 – APPROVING THE LIST OF REGIONAL STREET PROJECTS TO BE RECOMMENDED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE MEASURE V 2023 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN. Public Works Director/City Engineer Than presented the staff report, which included a PowerPoint presentation. Council Member Lewis inquired as to what the approval process through MCAG was for the widening project, how the regional bike path is very important to the students going out to Merced College and promises were previously made. Mayor Llanez stated that he didn’t get elected to finish any legacy projects and he doesn’t feel that this is a viable solution and we need to with Merced College on addressing this issue. Council Member Jones stated that there are a lot of projects that sound better on paper, kind of like our rail trail, he doesn’t think the regional bike path is aligning up with priorities, noting how there are sidewalks in town that are not complete on the highway. Motion by Jones, seconded by Lambert to adopt City Council Resolution No. 6672 – Approving the List of Regional Street Projects to be Recommended to be Included in the Measure V 2023 Implementation Plan. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Begonia absent, Lewis abstained. ADVISEMENT OF PUBLIC NOTICES. (Three Reports). Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms reported that there will be three public hearings at the July 26, 2023 Planning Commission to consider a Categorical Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15332 (Infill Development Projects) for Site Plan Review #2022-11 for the development of a 12,000 sq. ft. for a medical/ dental and various site improvements located within the Professional Office Zoning District at 602 & 604 Texas Avenue; to consider a Categorical Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and a Conditional Use Permit #2023-06 to allow the use of a small collection recycling facility. The requested Conditional Use Permit is for Quezada Recycling to be located within the Professional Office Zoning District at 705 W. H St; and to consider Conditional Use Permit #2023-07 and a Categorical Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Section 15301, Existing Facilities, to allow the use of a Type 41 Alcohol License for the on-sale of Beer and Wine for Los Banos Premier Cinemas, located at 245 Mercey Springs Rd. CITY MANAGER REPORT. City Manager Pinheiro introduced everybody to the new Recreation Guide and big thanks to Interim Parks & Recreation Director Heim and his for all their hard work, exciting to see all the things happening and activities being provided for the kids. REPORT/UPDATE ON MERCED COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS (MCAG), PENINSULA CLEAN ENERGY (PCE), MEASURE V COMMITTEE, AND SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT (SJVAPCD), AND LOS BANOS DOWNTOWN PROPERTY & BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (LBDPBID). Mayor Llanez stated that the next MCAG Meeting is July 20, 2023 and spoke regarding the PCE Meeting held yesterday with a topic of discussion was the surplus of funds they have and he is pushing for the option to give the money back to the customers who paid it or to the cities in some form of community amenity. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS DOUGLAS BEGONIA, JR.: Absent BRETT JONES: Thanked staff for making the tree trimming a priority this year and it was definitely necessary, for making the Vineyards a priority, and the much-needed improvements at City Hall and how it will attract developers. DEBORAH LEWIS: Stated that a citizen of our community has showed up two times at a Council Meeting with concerns regarding the Small Business Program and a request for an update and she doesn’t see a reason why we are not doing that for full transparency on the next agenda, spoke regarding how Brenda Geary and Rachelle Ciuffo have left the city after working here for 8 years and thanked them for all the years of service. KENNETH LAMBERT: Spoke about priority for our citizens, thanked Public Works Director/City Engineer Than for the Ag Sports Complex as it is finally getting some love. PAUL LLANEZ: Spoke regarding sharing communication with the public, he does have a homeless plan and would like to coordinate with our City Manager a Town Hall Meeting in the future to share his thoughts and plans, how issues start at with the State of California laws not being strict enough, would also like to see an time on the agenda for a report the Small Business, how he takes pride in responding to emails so he will look into the ones that he might have missed, thanked City staff and Police Sergeant Mendez for their code enforcement efforts, spoke to all the things that have been accomplished, like improvements to the Ag Sports Complex and shade structures in the park. ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Jones, seconded by Lambert, the meeting was adjourned at 7:23 p.m. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Begonia absent. APPROVED: /s/ Paul Llanez_____________ Paul Llanez, Mayor ATTEST: /s/ Lucille L. Mallonee_________ Lucille L. Mallonee, City Clerk