City Council Meeting

CITY OF LOS BANOS CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 17, 2024 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 Reyna led the pledge of allegiance. ROLL CALL – MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL PRESENT: Council Members Douglas Begonia, Jr., Brett Jones, Kenneth Lambert, Deborah Lewis, Mayor Paul Llanez; ABSENT: None. STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: City Manager Pinheiro, City Attorney Vaughn, City Clerk/Human Resources Director Mallonee, City Treasurer Lawrence, Police Chief Reyna, Fire Chief Tualla, Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms, Interim Parks & Recreation Director Heim, Interim Finance Director Kuhn, Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Lemus CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion by Jones, seconded by Lambert to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. 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. BEVERLY BASS spoke to how her father is turning 100 years old and the life he has lived, Mayor Llanez and Council Member Jones presented a proclamation to Onie Bass, Sr. for which his daughter accepted on his behalf; UNNAMED PERSON, spoke to how she has been coming to council meetings for years with concerns about a number of issues, spoke to an email she sent Stacy regarding the homeless and how she received no response how there is a Homekey update on the agenda and is looking forward to hearing more about that, spoke in support of Council Member Lewis asking for updates on the Homekey and ARPA programs and how the decisions being made all look very subjective, Mayor states how she can go directly to staff on agenda items bit no one is available or returning she calls, Council Member Lewis is the only one to ask questions, she takes issues with council members making comments and berate and intimidate citizens from speaking as they are trying to engage us in the process; KATHY BALLARD, Los Banos, spoke to the consent agenda item regarding on call construction management for $300,000 for all or is that for each, we are contracting out a lot of positions, we need to do all that we can to try to attract loyal employees, doesn’t understand the compensation philosophy as we are not adhering to what is stated, the tree contractor, and the check register for almost $4 million is very concerning to her, appreciates the programs for the kids and is concerned with the expenditures; UNNAMED PERSON, spoke regarding the point in count of the homeless training happening tomorrow and how excited she is to go out and get an accurate account of the homeless in our community, it does help the city with extra funds; UNNAMED PERSON, appreciates that someone acknowledged that there was no scoring system for the ARPA Business grants, spoke to how it wasn’t based on a fair system, if you can’t explain it to the public then you are doing something wrong, during the approval of the business grants a Council Member stated that if there were funds left over they would like to do a second round of funds and wonder where staff is at with that; MARIBEL GARCIA, Los Banos Downtown Association, Casino Night has been postponed to April 13, 2024, overall we will be having our merchant meetings, planning an upcoming Wine Stroll, and to be on the lookout for the upcoming newsletter; UNNAMED PERSON, addressed the fact that on the website that the release for the advertisement for bid of the animal shelter was just recently released and how it only allowed for a few days to respond, looks like the plan is to still have a 14,000 sq. ft. facility, hopefully we got some good bids and we choose a good one and hopes for the best; MS. JIMENEZ, spoke regarding how she has an ice cream truck and how she has concerns about people selling corn and ice shavings and if they need extra permits and how does she go about getting those to permits too to be able to sell that also. No one else came forward to speak and the public forum was closed. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA. Council Member Lewis requested that items 7C and 7D for discussion. Item 7C – City Council Resolution No. 6725 – Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Agreement with Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Irrigation Expansion Project in the Amount of $260,000. Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Lemus presented the staff report. Council Member Lewis inquired as to the entire fund that governs the project, how much money is in that funding pot, is the funding that will be used for projects associated with the WWTP, and what was the amounts for the other bid for which Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Lemus, Interim Finance Director Kuhn and City Attorney Vaughn responded to. Council Member Lambert went out to the WWTP and this is an ongoing project, we can probably pretty much expect other issues to come forward in the next six months. Council Member Jones stated that he went out to the WWTP and checked it out, it’s in bad shape and has been in need of repair for the last 20 years, spoke to how Wellman and Terrazas didn’t do anything, prior staff didn’t do anything and now it is left to current Council and staff to take care of it and how Council Member Lewis has been up here 12 years and this is the first time he’s heard her talk about concerns. Council Member Lewis responded that she what she is trying to do is bring to light the amount of money that is being spent and that the public needs to know how their tax dollars are being spent and doesn’t appreciate the daggers that are thrown at her. Mayor Llanez stated now we see the problem, we have a healthy bank account, we take care of the problem, we know this is a major neglect and will be ongoing until we fix it. Item 7D – Council Resolution No. 6726 – Authorizing the City Manager to Execute Professional Services Agreements, and the Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer to Administer Professional Services Agreements with Vanir Construction Management, Inc., CCME, Inc., C M Pros, Inc., Ghirardelli Associates, Inc. and CSG Consultants, Inc. for On-Call Construction Management Services in the Not to Exceed Amount of $300,000 Per Year. Council Member Lewis inquired as to why there a need for five companies, if the $300,000 per year is what we will spend total if we hire one, three or five, and how the contract will be paid for which Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer Lemus and Parks & Recreation Director Heim explained. Motion by Jones, seconded by Lambert to approve the consent agenda as follows: Check Register for #242640 - #242925 in the Amount of $3,888,879.53; Second Quarter Investment Report for 2023/2024.; City Council Resolution No. 6725 – Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Agreement with Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Irrigation Expansion Project in the Amount of $260,000; City Council Resolution No. 6726 – Authorizing the City Manager to Execute Professional Services Agreements, and the Interim Public Works Director/City Engineer to Administer Professional Services Agreements with Vanir Construction Management, Inc., CCME, Inc., C M Pros, Inc., Ghirardelli Associates, Inc. and CSG Consultants, Inc. for On-Call Construction Management Services in the Not to Exceed Amount of $300,000 Per Year; City Council Resolution No. 6727 – Accepting the Cresthills Sewer Lift Station Rehabilitation Project as Complete and Authorizing the Filing of a Notice of Completion with the Merced County Recorder (W. M. Lyles Co.); City Council Resolution No. 6728 – Adopting a Compensation Philosophy. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. HOMEKEY GRANT PROGRAM UPDATE. Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms presented the staff report. Council Member Lewis inquired as to if there had been any money awarded to any other city with the leftover money, if there was a deadline to make a decision for which Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms explained. Mayor Llanez thanked Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms for all she does, as it is not free, how this is a state problem and we can only help those who want help. Council Member Lambert stated that it’s not something that we just look over, we discuss it all the time and we will share the information as soon as we get it. Informational item only, no action to be taken. APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONERS TO THE FOLLOWING COMMISSIONS: AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION – THREE (3) VACANCIES, TWO (2) TWO (2) YEAR TERMS – EXPIRING DECEMBER 31, 2025, ONE (1) UNEXPIRED TERM – EXPIRING DECEMBER 31, 2024; MEASURE H CITIZENS’ OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE – TWO (2) VACANCIES, TWO (2) TWO (2) YEAR TERMS – EXPIRING DECEMBER 31, 2025; PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION – TWO (2) VACANCIES, TWO (2) TWO (2) YEAR TERMS – EXPIRING DECEMBER 31, 2025; TREE COMMISSION – THREE (3) VACANCIES, THREE (3) TWO (2) YEAR TERMS – EXPIRING DECEMBER 31, 2025. Motion by Begonia, seconded by Jones to appoint Denise Tarka to the Airport Advisory Commission for a two (2) year term expiring December 31, 2025. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. Motion by Begonia, seconded by Jones to appoint Dennis Reed to the Airport Advisory Commission for a two (2) year term expiring December 31, 2025. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. Motion by Lewis, seconded by Jones to appoint Herman Jackson to the Measure H Citizens’ Oversight Committee for a two (2) year term expiring December 31, 2025. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. Motion by Lewis, to appoint Kathy Ballard to the Measure H Citizens’ Oversight Committee for a two (2) year term expiring December 31, 2025. The motion failed to receive a second so no action was taken. Motion by Lambert, seconded by Jones to appoint John Spevak to the Parks & Recreation Commission for a two (2) year terms expiring December 31, 2025. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. Motion by Lambert, seconded by Jones to appoint Geri Blevins to the Parks & Recreation Commission for a two (2) year terms expiring December 31, 2025. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. Motion by Jones, seconded by Begonia to appoint Laurence Byers to the Tree Commission for a two (2) year terms Expiring December 31, 2025. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. ADVISEMENT OF PUBLIC NOTICES. (Two Reports). Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms reported that there will be two public hearings at the January 10, 2024 Planning Commission Meeting to consider a Categorical Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Section 15332 (In-fill Development Projects), Site Plan Review #2023-02, and Final Development Plan #2023- 02 for Snow Goose Townhomes. The project consists of the development of twenty-five (25) townhomes within a private gated residential development. The project site is within the Low Density Residential Zoning District with a Planned Development Overlay. The project site is located at the northwest corner of Creekside Dr. and Snow Goose Dr. intersection; more specifically identified as Assessor's Parcel Numbers: 084-010-094; and Categorical Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15311 (Accessory Structures) for Conditional Use Permit #2024-01 to allow the use of one (1) storage container for additional storage to be located within the Mixed Use Zoning District at 525 I St., more specifically identified as Assessor's Parcel Number: 025-241-007. CITY MANAGER REPORT. City Manager Pinheiro gave his condolences to the manager and his family of the local fair, spoke to how he was a great partner to the City and a big support to the renaming of the Noah Jones Ballpark, it is a big loss to our community. 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). Council Member Lewis spoke to how the SJVAPCD received a grant from the state highway administration to create charging stations along Interstate 5 and a lot of kudos to the CEO of SJVAPCD for all that they do; Mayor Llanez stated that the next MCAG meeting is tomorrow, January 18, 2024 and also tomorrow is the City County Relations Dinner. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS BRETT JONES: No report DEBORAH LEWIS: No report KENNETH LAMBERT: No report DOUGLAS BEGONIA, JR.: No report PAUL LLANEZ: Spoke to how he is super excited that our Los Banos Veterans Services will be at our Veterans Hall four times a month, how he let a few local students be Mayor for a day and fun that was, and urged people to please learn how your government operates, take a civics class, there is no one up here that creates a staff report, we get the information the same time as you do. ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Lambert, seconded by Jones, the meeting was adjourned at 7:13 p.m. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. APPROVED: /s/ Paul Llanez__________ Paul Llanez, Mayor ATTEST: /s/ Lucille L. Mallonee__________ Lucille L. Mallonee, City Clerk