City Council Meeting

CITY OF LOS BANOS CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 5, 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 6:00 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 Attorney Vaughn, Police Chief Reyna, City Clerk/Human Resources Director Mallonee, City Treasurer Lawrence, Fire Chief Tualla, Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms, Parks & Recreation Director Heim, Finance Director Portillo, Finance Consultant Kuhn, Public Works Director/City Engineer Bergson 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. PRESENTATIONS – CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION – EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH FOR MAY 2024 – JUSTIN CARUTHERS, MAINTENANCE WORKER II, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT. Mayor Llanez presented the certificate to Justin Caruthers, who was not present to accept. 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. BLANCHE WILLIAMS, thanked city staff, the city manager, and city council for all that they are doing for the animals and animal shelter, making sure that we are accountable for each of the animals, feral cats, we appreciate you and thank you so much, we are going to continue next week; JOHN CATES, Los Banos, proud Planning Commissioner of nearly 10 years, stated that he is here to talk the city improvements that have happened over the last few years, i.e. public works and infrastructure and all the improvements that have been made with the streets, the neglected minimal maintenance of the WWTP and how City Manager Pinheiro has been the first city manager to actually go out there, how City Manager Pinheiro created a new facilities division, a new fleet division, how he created a housing division to work on homeless issues, how the new Police Department footprint was not reduced as requested with City Manager Pinheiro insistence and how the gym facility is still there, staffed the City’s first drone program and more officers are being trained to do so, the animal shelter is now open on weekends and there is now Wi-Fi because of City Manager Pinheiro, the ladder truck was added under City Manager Pinheiro and constructed a Burn Room under City Manager Pinheiro and three positions were added, how Colorado Ball Park was improved which were horribly needed, the Ag Sports Complex has been improved, 400 trees planted and many trimmed and mitigated; ADAM CONOR, spoke regarding the encampment resolution fund and how he has a great proposed team assembled for this project with a great project manager; PEGGY EDWARDS gave kudos to the Police Chief for having his officers do their job and tow the cars that were parked illegally during May Day, inquired as to what is the difference between those signs and the signs for the street sweeper hours and why is that never acted on, kudos to the City Manager who was behind the box being painted and hopes more are to come, good job and very good artist; SARA EDWARDS spoke regarding cyberbullying and harassment and it would be nice to see someone take it seriously and actually do something about it; TAYLOR WOLFSEN, wanted to thank the Council for their support of downtown, how new businesses have come to downtown and new businesses are to come to fruition, and is talking to someone who is interested in the old Los Banos Drug Store location; UNNAMED PERSON spoke regarding their concerns with homeless on Placed Road and how her worst fears are coming to fruition as it is summertime and the homeless are out at all hours of the night, she if scared to do anything for fear of retaliation or being targeted from the homeless, she is begging this Council and City Manager to find somewhere to move them, make it uninviting for the homeless, you have a responsibility to the community to come fix this problem, she spoke to the park on DeAnza Way and how Hostetler is now coming up to speak and spoke to how the homeowners have no park or access to their home, he could have gifted the City the park, and would like the City to hold budget workshops like they used to; UNNAMED PERSON spoke to how CalTrans is proposing a round-about at Volta Road and would like to know when the project is going to start, completion date and if there will be detours, how some of the Los Banos population commutes through Volta Road, the utility tax increase and Prop 218 and can only be enough to cover the expenditures and there can be no overages and the tax increase cannot be used for other expenditures, the homeless situation has been happening for years and a new compound was erected without public participation and how much did that cost, need to address the resident concerns with homelessness, the recall for two Council Members is being processed for District 2 and District 3, why the residents are upset because of the $1.8 million payout to the City Manager, folks are eager to sign the recall and how the City Manager is allowed to spend up to $200,000 and has a 5-0 vote for termination, this Council voted to remove any type of civil service protection, the people who are behind the recall are the ones who are behind the recall, they want accountability and transparency, how you are going to vote on the budget without transparency; GREG HOSTETLER spoke about the recall and how it will put Brett Jones and Doug Begonia on the ballot, you should be more worried about your performance, how the City has collected millions of dollars, hostile work environment at the City, how City Manager Pinheiro was hired back with $1.9 million with no government experience or training, how he worked at Chipotle and Tesla, many city employees have left because of the treatment they have received at the city, they were put on at-will employment, how the employees have families to take care of, 5-0 vote to terminate unheard of all over the State, poor treatment of businesses and harassment, park on Pacheco is full on foxtails, it is horrible and being used as a homeless camp, things could be different in the community, you have not maintained the landscaping throughout town, you continue to charge the LLDs every year, it appears that money is moving into other accounts, it is a rip off of the community, what have you done since the election, you run a cronyism the four of you, how Council Member Lewis tried to talk to the Finance Director but was prohibited by City Manager Pinheiro, what’s up with that, that a dictatorship, how he has heard that his staff is not allowed to talk his staff without permission; MIKE HUGHES stated that he has been in the community for 50+ years, things have changed, he supports all of you on the Council, he supports all five, feels the Mayor has done a great job, we are now taking care of streets that we haven’t done in years, we now have this recall and how he is being accosted to sign a petition, how he read in the paper today how there has never been a recall, there was a recall tried in the past by local people, he is truly ashamed that we live in a City where someone is paying to recall people for no reason, things are a lot better than they were before, he does not plan to leave or move somewhere else, keep up the work you are doing; RAUL GRANILLO, Mercey Springs Church, spoke regarding how they are opening the church June 1 - August 31 as a cooling center for anyone who wants to get out of the heat, invites all to come to the church, as a member of the community he states that as a council member you are going to be criticized and encouraged you to not shut them down, remember everyone is a person and emphasize with them and try not to defend yourselves, we are all human beings, he sees us dehumanizing and it bothers him, how he has experienced something like that with his last name Granillo and how Portillo is pronounced correctly; CAROL ETCHEVARRY enjoyed what Mr. Granillo just said and how she is excited with what Taylor and the downtown are working on, how when she has a problem she is able to call any of the council and ask questions, how the recall people are being rude and how they are saying that they want Josh out, they are obnoxious, out front of Save art the recall people are there, how the council was chosen to improve our city, how she doesn’t see homeless at the parks, she feels bad for the women and her homeless concerns, we respect you, wants the recall to stop and for them to not be so rude, she is proud that Josh decided to come back, he was booted out by the past that didn’t want him there, if you realized the whole story behind it you would understand, don’t take it personal and continue to do all the things you are doing, how she has heard great things about Josh and how she has heard wonderful things from Chipotle; ANN McCAULEY, 27 year resident, spoke regarding how the town has changed a lot, what do we want in the November election, anarchy, take the whole council and throw it out, and how the recall petition is being handled, how anyone who signed should be ashamed, the council is not sinister it is disgusting, Greg Hostetler stated that he doesn’t need the money to be here, but he bought property, he says council has not contacted him and she doesn’t believe that, where is Anderson Homes and we need more developers like them, the previous Finance Director it is good that she left and she never made good financial investments, City Manager Pinheiro had mandates and directed things to get done, you cannot proceed without decent investments, screams that he stole $1.8 million and she feels that he has gotten way more value, it is despicable how low can people go, so many people have talked about the things he has done, the recalling is a cheap shot, some just refuse to see the positive, then replace the whole city council, reminds me of the school yard bully, all your recall folks want it your way; JULIE CREIGHTON stated that the people in the gally that claim they know why City Manager Pinheiro was terminated is false, if any of you out that have the details you need to speak up or there is a leak at City Hall, before you come up here and state that you know what is going on you better think again, Greg Hostetler was welcomed in with open arms and now he is the bad guy, he is the one who started it first and the citizens will take it on, you all were friends with him and accepted PACs from him and now he is the bad guy, you need to get your problems with Hostetler solved and leave the rest of us out of it; MARIA PHILLIPS, American Hero Initiative, spoke to what the organization provides for veterans, i.e. home and auto repairs, urged citizens to join us in our mission, we have lived here for over 10 years and want to help out the veterans in the community; MARC FAHEY, Los Banos, spoke to how City Manager Pinheiro and how he was fired a year ago, we don’t know why he was terminated but it is coming out that it was because he was not liked by city employees, he feels for the lady who has issues with the unhoused by her home, how he had issues like that and contacted Public Works but never got any movement, tried to contact the City Manager and couldn’t get through and contacted the Police Department a few times, after a full toilet tank showed up he contacted a city council member and ten hours later he got a call back and within a few days it was gone, since he has been here in Los Banos he has seen a Community Center, five shopping centers, fast-food growth, gas stations, homes, Police Department, police officers, Fires Stations, rail trail, dog park, more stop lights, more stop signs, more schools, more crummy roads, what accomplishments have been made since City Manager Pinheiro and if you open the booklet and the list of all the accomplishments happening in the city. No one else came forward to speak and the public forum was closed. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA. Council Member Lewis stated that she would like to pull items 7A – Check Register for #245305 - #245597 in the Amount of $2,861,565.33, 7C – Measure P Oversight Committee Report, and 7D – City Council Resolution No. 6772 – Delegating Authority to the City Manager, After Consultation with Legal Counsel, to Negotiate and Purchase All Right of Way Real Property Interests, Including Fee Title, Easements and Leases, Necessary for the Ortigalita Road / Pioneer Road Intersection Improvement Project, Including Executing Certificates of Acceptance and Complying with All Legal Obligations Associated with the Purchases, Within the Authority Provided by the City Council for discussion before approving. 7A – Check Register for #245305 - #245597 in the Amount of $2,861,565.33. Council Member Lewis stated that there are a couple of checks on warrant listing that she has questions about: Garlic & Onion Advisor Board payment and is this some sort of fee that the City has to pay for for which Mr. Heim responded that it is a deposit returned associated with a rental of a room; what is the US Bank Corp payment for, for which Ms. Portillo explained that is a payment for a P-Card Program, a State issued credit card program; what is the payment to EDD for, for which Ms. Portillo explained it is for unemployment costs; what is the Quad Koff payment for, for which Ms. Portillo stated that it was for Engineering Services; what is the Tyler Technology payment for, for which Ms. Portillo explained was related to our financial system and monthly payments for the software; what is the Raymond John payment for, for which Ms. Portillo explained that it was for supplies and purchase furniture items; what is the Carollo Inc. payment for, for which Ms. Portillo explained that it was for storm drain master plan services; what is the Thirklettel Corp. payment for, for which Ms. Portillo explained that it is for new water meters for the City; and what is the Fun Express LLC payment for, for which Mr. Heim explained that it is another name for Oriental Training and is program related expenses for movie night and the egg hunt. 7C – Measure P Oversight Committee Report. Council Member Lewis stated that with the Measure H report there was a financial report but she noticed with Measure P report it is just a statement of things that were discussed but no financial report for which Ms. Portillo explained that there is more required of Measure H than of Measure P and that there is additional information on the website for Measure P. Council Member Lewis stated that she would have like to have seen the financial report included in the report. Council Member Jones stated that for the check register he would suggest that that they submit their questions ahead of time so that staff is prepared to answer for which Council Member Lewis stated that in the past she has always been able to speak with staff on the check register but that is not the case now; Mayor Llanez spoke to the League of California Cities training that Council Members receive that speaks to how they have been trained to go through the City Manager for everything, for which Council Member Lewis stated that that may be your interpretation and I am not directing staff just trying to gather information. 7D – City Council Resolution No. 6772 – Delegating Authority to the City Manager, After Consultation with Legal Counsel, to Negotiate and Purchase All Right of Way Real Property Interests, Including Fee Title, Easements and Leases, Necessary for the Ortigalita Road / Pioneer Road Intersection Improvement Project, Including Executing Certificates of Acceptance and Complying with All Legal Obligations Associated with the Purchases, Within the Authority Provided by the City Council. Council Member Lewis inquired as to if this connected to the widening of Pioneer Road and are we coming up on a deadline to possibly lose that money for which City Attorney Vaughn stated that this is not about the widening this is about Ortigalita and Pioneer Road intersection improvements; Council Member Lewis inquired as to how long has this been on the books for which Mr. Bergson stated four years. Motion by Lambert, seconded by Begonia to approve the consent agenda as follows: Check Register for #245305 - #245597 in the Amount of $2,861,565.33; Measure H Oversight Committee Financial Update; Measure P Oversight Committee Report; City Council Resolution No. 6772 – Delegating Authority to the City Manager, After Consultation with Legal Counsel, to Negotiate and Purchase All Right of Way Real Property Interests, Including Fee Title, Easements and Leases, Necessary for the Ortigalita Road / Pioneer Road Intersection Improvement Project, Including Executing Certificates of Acceptance and Complying with All Legal Obligations Associated with the Purchases, Within the Authority Provided by the City Council; City Council Resolution No. 6773 – Approving, Authorizing and Ratifying the City’s Participation in the Homeland Security Grant Program and Authorizing the City Manager on Behalf of the City of Los Banos to Enter into the Standard Grant Assurance Agreement with Cal-OES and a Subrecipient Agreement with the County of Merced for Fiscal Year 2021; City Council Resolution No. 6774 – Approving, Authorizing and Ratifying the City’s Participation in the Homeland Security Grant Program and Authorizing the City Manager on Behalf of the City of Los Banos to Enter into the Standard Grant Assurance Agreement with Cal-OES and a Subrecipient Agreement with the County of Merced for Fiscal Year 2022; City Council Resolution No. 6775 – Approving, Authorizing and Ratifying the City’s Participation in the Homeland Security Grant Program and Authorizing the City Manager on Behalf of the City of Los Banos to Enter into the Standard Grant Assurance Agreement with Cal-OES and a Subrecipient Agreement with the County of Merced for Fiscal Year 2023; City Council Resolution No. 6776 – Awarding Contract for Publication of Legal Notices/Legal Advertisements for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2025 and Authorizing and Directing the City Manager to Execute Agreement with The Westside Express; City Council Resolution No. 6777 – Calling and Giving Notice of the Holding of a General Municipal Election to be Held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 for the Election of Certain Officers: Mayor “At-Large” for a Full Term of Two (2) Years, Council Member for District 1 for a Full Term of Four (4) Years, Council Member for District 4 for a Full Term of Four (4) Years, and City Treasurer “At-Large” for an Unexpired Term of Two (2) Years as Required by the Provisions of the Laws of the State of California; City Council Resolution No. 6778 – Requesting that the Board of Supervisors of the County of Merced Consolidate a General Municipal Election to be Held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 with the California Statewide Presidential General Election to be held on the Date Pursuant to Section 10403 of the Election Code. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. City Attorney Vaughn and Council Member Lambert stated that they will be recusing themselves from the next item because they have property/businesses within the Los Banos Downtown Property Business Improvement up for consideration of renewal and they both left the Council Chambers. CONSIDERATION OF THE RENEWAL OF THE LOS BANOS DOWNTOWN PROPERTY BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (LBDPBID); CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 6779 – AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO SIGN A PETITION AND AN ASSESSMENT BALLOT REGARDING CITY PROPERTIES WITHIN THE RENEWED LBDPBID; CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 6780 – DECLARING ITS INTENTION TO RENEW THE LOS BANOS LBDPBID AND FIXING THE TIME AND PLACE OF A PUBLIC HEARING IN THEREON AND GIVING NOTICE THEREOF. Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms presented the staff report, which included a PowerPoint presentation. Council Member Lewis inquired as to the initial year assessment budget and asked for an explanation of the two different tables for which Ms. Souza Elms explained. Council Member Lewis was skeptical to vote for this in the beginning and a lot of promises were made as to what the downtown would look like, i.e. Turlock, Morgan Hill, she wonders if the Downtown Association assists or helps the owners with updating their property to give it a more modern look because that is what she sees that is missing, she hopes that our building owners are willing to invest money to improve businesses, there are some buildings that are being rehabbed downtown but not seeing that as a whole, there’s an expectation for them to have an improved downtown, for which Ms. Souza Elms responded that the commitment was made by a benefactor to improve the downtown, the donation did not come through and $50,000 was received and implemented and the program ended there, she spoke to what Blue Agave and Jamz 209 and the great things they are doing, how it is going to take partnership or philanthropies to provide funding to partner with the Downtown Association, how she and Mr. Pinheiro have toured the downtown of Morgan Hill and it is strong because of the Downtown Association and PBID, and stressed how very important it is to continue the PBID and encourage the commitment. Council Member Jones offered to respond as he is a Board Member of the Downtown Association but Council Member Lewis wanted a representative from the Downtown Association to respond, for which Mayor Llanez state that he feels that it is not appropriate to call out a member of public to respond and Ms. Souza Elms stated that the information is within the management explanation. Mayor Llanez spoke to how it is hard to run a business and to explain what you plan to see within ten years. Council Member Lewis stated that short term goals and long term goals are important, she feels that the tax payers are owed an explanation as to what the City is spending its money one. Council Member Jones asked what business has Deborah owned in the past that gives her this knowledge, he explained what the PBID is for and how the City is bolstering that with the PBID, it’s kind of a revolving plan based on the market, trying to get attraction to the Downtown with events like street faire, farmers market, trying to get more and more businesses and people downtown, and invest downtown, how the local developer Greg Hostetler pledged $1 million and reneged on that, the business owners are responsible for their own upgrades and do not have capital to spend on façade upgrades, it’s a work in progress, Turlock downtown did not happen overnight it took 20 years. Mayor Llanez stated that who are we to ask for answers. Motion by Begonia, seconded by Jones to adopt City Council Resolution No. 6779 – Authorizing the City Manager to Sign a Petition and an Assessment Ballot Regarding City Properties within the Renewed LBDPBID. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Lewis voting NO and Lambert RECUSED. Motion by Jones, seconded by Begonia to adopt City Council Resolution No. 6780 – Declaring its Intention to Renew the Los Banos LBDPBID and Fixing the Time and Place of a Public Hearing in Thereon and Giving Notice Thereof. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. Lewis voting NO and Lambert RECUSED. City Attorney Vaughn and Council Member Lambert returned to the Council Chambers and their seats on the dais. PUBLIC HEARING – TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSIDERATION OF THE LEVY OF THE PROPOSED ANNUAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE 2024-2025 FISCAL YEAR FOR LANDSCAPING AND LIGHTING DISTRICT NOS. 1-7 AND 9-19; CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 6781 – CONFIRMING DIAGRAM, ASSESSMENT AND LEVYING ASSESSMENTS FOR LANDSCAPING AND LIGHTING DISTRICT NOS. 1-7 AND 9-19 FOR THE 2024-2025 FISCAL YEAR. Parks & Recreation Director Heim presented the staff report. Mayor Llanez opened the public hearing. No one came forward to speak and the Public Hearing was closed. Council Member Lewis inquired as to the funding for the Garden V sidewalk plan for which Mr. Heim explained that this is to create a full sidewalk loop that would be around the full perimeter of the basin. Council Member Lewis inquired as to some numbers running negative for which Mr. Heim explained that capital items are related to the deficit. Council Member Lewis inquired as to since the account is negative, where will the rest of the money come from if there is not enough in the LLDs for which Mr. Heim responded that usually from the General Fund, noting that the increase is limited because it has a 5% increase max. Council Member Lewis inquired as to an explanation on District 10 Engineers Estimate for which Mr. Heim explained that there are multiple line items, landscape maintenance and park maintenance costs. Council Member Lewis inquired as to District 16 and the Senior Villages and if we charge them fees for which Mr. Heim responded and explained where the fees are associated. Council Member Lewis inquired as to District 19 and Talbot Park explanation for which Mr. Heim explained that district is funky and has two non-touching boundaries but all the fees are associate with district costs. Motion by Jones, seconded by Begonia to adopt City Council Resolution No. 6781 – Confirming Diagram, Assessment and Levying Assessments for Landscaping and Lighting District Nos. 1-7 and 9-19 for the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. PUBLIC HEARING – TO RECEIVE PUBLIC COMMENT AND CONSIDERATION OF THE APPROPRIATION LIMITATION FOR THE 2024-2025 FISCAL YEAR (FY); CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 6782 – SETTING THE TAX RELATED APPROPRIATION LIMIT IN COMPLIANCE WITH PROPOSITION 4 AND PROPOSITION 111 FOR THE 2024-2025 FY. Finance Director Portillo 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. Council Member Lewis inquired as to budget cuts to departments for which Ms. Portillo explained that it is adjusted to better align with what we are actually experiencing, in previous fiscal years we had a lot of our staffing in the higher pension plans and now they are coming in at the lower pension plan; Council Member Lewis inquired as to what department fund 427 is for which Ms. Portillo responded that it is for Facilities and is now a standalone service fund 605; Council Member Lewis inquired as to the decrease in Code Enforcement for which Ms. Portillo explained that the personnel staffing costs were shifted to Measure H and Measure P; Council Member Lewis inquired to the Streets fund 431 as there is a reduction which brings her a cause for concern and Ms. Portillo explained that we still have the same level of services as far as personnel and how for the capital outlay we can only budget is what is available to us through special funding; Council Member Lewis inquired to the Recreation fund 451 that was increased significantly and wonders what is planned for which Ms. Portillo explained that this is part of the adjusting of our personnel that used to be covered in Measure H, reallocation of bodies, supplies, services and tree trimming items and Mr. Heim spoke about tree maintenance. Council Member Lewis inquired to the 491 contingency fund and how it went from $50,000 to $575,000 for which Ms. Portillo explained that is to mitigate impacts associated with the labor agreements for $500,000 and $75,000 for City Manager discretionary usage. Council Member Lewis inquired to the 498 fund transfer outs that went to $0 for which Ms. Portillo explained that programmed funds will bring the LLDs to positive and we are not asking the Council to subsidize the LLDs this year. Council Member Jones inquired as to Council Member Lewis’s concern about roads being less this time around and wanted to know if she would like to see more money for roads, he’s confused because a few months back you were concerned about the costs of roads; he spoke about the false information out there about how LLDs is paying money into the General Fund and explained how it worked for which Ms. Portillo spoke to how the funds are reimbursed. Mayor Llanez stated that this is extremely comprehensive and thank you for all the time putting this together, this budget is very goal oriented, i.e. animal control van, WWTP vehicle, and we are preparing for whatever way the wind blows and that that taxpayers see a return on their investment. Council Member Lewis inquired to the resolution regarding the City Manager and $200,000 per occurrence for which Ms. Portillo explained that this is part of the financial policy that already exists at the City and explained how a transfer could happen with City Manager approval as per budget policy. Council Member Jones inquired as to the $200,000 and how long has that been around for which Ms. Portillo stated as long as Joe has been here; Council Member Jones stated that it’s not new or created in the past few months, it’s a mirror image of a resolution from prior years, that’s another thing the newspaper got wrong. Motion by Begonia, seconded by Lambert to adopt City Council Resolution No. 6782 – Setting the Tax Related Appropriation Limit in Compliance with Proposition 4 and Proposition 111 for the 2024-2025 FY. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present. Motion by Lambert, seconded by Jones to adopt City Council Resolution No. 6783 – Adopting the 2024-2025 FY Budget, Including Updates to Division 4, Employee Salary Schedule, of the Los Banos Policy & Procedures Manual. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Lewis voting NO. ADVISEMENT OF PUBLIC NOTICES. (One Report). Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms stated that a Public Hearing will be held by the Los Banos Planning Commission on June 12, 2024 to consider a Categorical Exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and a Mobile Food Vendor Permit #2024-04 to allow the operation of a mobile food vending vehicle on private property for Gabriela Mejia Gomez dba Taco La Reina. The subject property is located within the Highway Commercial Zoning District at 330 W. Pacheco Boulevard more specifically identified as Assessor's Parcel Number: 027-152-040. CITY MANAGER REPORT. City Manager Pinheiro congratulated Justin Chuvichien on Employee of the Month, happy birthday to Vanessa and for putting this budget presentation together, congrats to all who work on putting this together and making sure that we are fiscally responsible. Spoke to how members of the public to continue to put out false facts and was glad that it got corrected, it is unacceptable and disrespectful to the fact, when you were on Council you should probably tell the public that you asked for a street light in front of your house, we all have a difference of opinion, real proud of the progress we have done. The last meeting we were absent as he and the Mayor were at the OneVoice Trip in Washington, D.C. and spoke to how important is that they are there advocating for what Los Banos needs, it is a very purposeful trip. Spoke to how Noah Jones Ball Park has quite a bit of work done with the sidewalk, cut some trees on Ward Road and Pacheco, Ward and San Luis tree cuts and thanked the team for working on that, cutting trees helps beautify the City and when we have high winds and trees go down in cuts back on accidents that can happen, City park on 9th Street/E Street and added picnic benches and there are people out there playing volleyball, folks on the PBID and thank you for all the hard work that those people do and for their investment, Jamz209 has put a lot of money into his building, Blue Agave are doing a lot of work on their building, the other buildings that have been painted and fixed up downtown, want to talk about parks and things that we have done and speaking to Pacheco Park and how they put in new irrigation and the sign was changed; when he first got here the building at Pacheco Park was not even our building and he went to the county and we got that building signed on over to us and that building is now ours, at Vineyard B Park we added a new shade sail, at Ranchwood Park all the oleanders and all the fresh landscaping that we have done, and painting the basketball courts, Skylark Park has space painting on the basketball court and picnic benches coming up, Regency park has playground improvements and new lights, Verona Park had a shade sail and more trees, College Greens Park has a new playground with hopscotch, Vineyard A Park has a new playground with a fish theme, Davis Park is a pirate theme park, Catholic Park has a new playground, Little Page Park has a new playground with a barn theme, Citrus Park has new bark, Gardens Park has new painting of that basketball court and new playground with tall slide, 7th and Pacheco have the basketball cages and there was 20+ kids playing there in collaboration with the LBUSD, doing all that we can to beautiful and make things better, there is a lot that we plan to do, thank you to the team on the park side, thanks to staff. 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 stated that at the SJVAPCD had our budget hearings last month distributing over $500 million throughout the State of California to decrease pollution with final budget approval later in June. Mayor Llanez stated that he is currently Vice Chair of MCAG and will become chair in July, it was good to go to Washington, D.C. and building relationships, with PCE he spoke regarding low income cares customers are to receive a rebate before Christmas on their bill and has been name to the Finance Committee, and he will be replacing Mayor Serato in Merced to the LAFCO Board. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS: BRETT JONES: Thanked staff for all their hard work on the budget, it’s obvious this November that Greg Hostetler plans to replace all of us Council Members, it’s hard to not take it personal, with the help from his good buddy Gene Lieb, how Greg pulled back an annexation agreement and wants to change Council so that gets approved, it he’s building nice developments we may have a nicer relationship like we have with Anderson Homes where they know how to connect their roads and building nice house and parks, De Anza Road doesn’t connect and how Greg comes in here and complains to the City and how he should have demanded the street be put in first, a lot of smoke show going on with him, Anderson Homes gives no heartburn to city staff, I don’t understand why Greg is the only one that is difficult to work with, why hasn’t he dedicated Shaunessy to the City, will not release the park until he gets something, what we are experiencing with Greg’s behavior is a toddler with a checkbook. DEBORAH LEWIS: Spoke how she was walking her dogs down Ortigalita by Cardoza and Birch and the type of plants being used in public landscaping are too high maintenance and require a lot of attention, growing up through the sidewalk, request for maintenance out there and that our Department has more control over the type of landscape that goes in out there, how our City had a financial audit done and we haven’t heard anything from the auditor, would like to get info from staff when that will happen, spoke to the organization that we contracted with to do our TOT audit to see if motels were paying the proper tax and that has not been brought back to Council and would hope to have that happen. KENNETH LAMBERT: Thanked Department Heads for the last month or two for getting this budget put together, on May 15th myself and Police Chief Reyna were invited to an awards ceremony for big building management companies and we were honored to be with Vanir to accept the highest award for building our new Police Station, CMAA Building Award for up to $49 million projects and we came in under budget and on time, thanks to the Vanir Management team, he’s hoping that this is the lightest budget that I have been on and this is one that is kind of more balanced to where it needed to go and move forward, would like to see some good comments in our paper but he doesn’t think it is going to happen. DOUGLAS BEGONIA, JR.: Spoke to the fantastic job on the budget, amazing things from the City and City Manager, spoke regarding the recall against himself and Jones, why people are to signing the recall, he even got asked to sign the recall and had to hear things about himself that are not true, the tactic they were using and were instructed by Mr. Hostetler to get them by any means, false information and trolls on the internet that like to spread lies, how the Westside Express doesn’t print all that the City Manager says, he sounds like a terrible person, he came to affect change, one of his goals was for developers to complete projects, DeAnza not being completed that should have been completed before he started, developers reasoning, he will not sell the City out, keep hearing him talk about leaving it up the voters, How Ms. Lewis stated that she would like to see us all on the ballot, and how we are being recalled because we have your best interests at heart. PAUL LLANEZ: Speaking to comments during public forum and how he shares the frustration with issues of the homeless, they can’t control human beings, we only create policy, former council member coming up and asking me to address a project outside of Los Banos in Volta, how roundabouts do save lives and we do not have jurisdiction over outside the city, person giving her opinion about Greg Hostetler and she’s writing articles for Westside Express, this is business and he is not looking out for Greg Hostetler he is doing what is best for the City, this is about the City Manager, everyone needs to treat people with dignity and respect, everyone is treated the same and he feels like that is being done, his last call with Greg he’d text dates but wants the Public Works Director to meet after hours, he sees the paid advertisements about the $1.8 million paid to the City Manager, how his daughter was approached to sign the recall and he has an issue with where you are straight out lying to the community and he does not appreciate it, Memorial Day events were nice, how Memorial Hospital staff reached out to him to recognize a retirement of the doctor who helped treated Aaron Pinon was shot in the line of duty and he saved his life, congrats to the high school graduates and best wishes on all of your future endeavors, congrats to Los Banos Little League on their season, how PAL desperately needs volunteers, and movie night will be followed by a drone show on June 15, 2024. ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Jones, seconded by Lambert, the meeting was adjourned at 10:06 p.m. APPROVED: __/s/ Paul Llanez______________ Paul Llanez, Mayor ATTEST: __/s/ Lucille L. Mallonee___________ Lucille L. Mallonee, City Clerk