City Council Meeting

CITY OF LOS BANOS CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 20, 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 Commander Melden led the pledge of allegiance. ROLL CALL – MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL PRESENT: Council Members, Kenneth Lambert, Deborah Lewis, Mayor Paul Llanez; ABSENT: Douglas Begonia, Jr., Brett Jones STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Police Commander Melden, City Clerk/Human Resources Director Mallonee, Community & Economic Development Director Souza Elms, Parks & Recreation Director Heim, Finance Department/Kuhn, Public Works Director/City Engineer Bergson, Fire Chief Tualla; City Treasurer Lawrence 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 and Jones absent. PRESENTATION – CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION – CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION – EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH FOR OCTOBER 2024 – GUADALUPE YEPEZ, PUBLIC SAFETY DISPATCHER IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. Mayor Llanez presented the certificate, for which Police Commander Melden accepted on her behalf. Mr. Llanez apologized to Ms. Yepez as he didn’t present the certificate at the last non-meeting as he wants to make sure employees get recognized at actual Council Meeting. 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 invited the public to come forward and speak. BLANCHE, lives in the downtown, wanted to let everyone know that we completed the final spay and neutering session that we were doing and have now completed the program for this year, she thanked the Council for their efforts for the animals, to the Police Department, Animal Control, Code Enforcement employees as they are the true heroes for the job they are doing, spoke to all the community outreach events that have been happening, all the programs they have participated in, they have been the best we have ever had at the shelter, she sees how hard they work and the work they do with the animals at the shelter, the community should shake their hands as they are doing tough work out there, how the comments on Facebook are so positive now with no negative remarks about the animal shelter; RAUL GRANILLO, Pastor of the Church of the Nazarene, spoke of encouragement and reminded us that the ends do not justify the means and the meaning behind the phrase and how it is the journey that matters, how sometimes you may have to compromise to achieve, how this election has caused a lot of shifts, this journey is not over and it matters to us all. 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 7A – Check Register for #247623 - #248686 in the Amount of $8,330,088.60 be removed for a separate vote and items 7E – City Council Resolution No. 6848 – Committing to Use All of the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Funds They Receive, on the Project that it was Allocated to, Within the Time Frame Required by the Program and Authorizes the City Manager to Execute Any Necessary Agreements to Secure CMAQ Grant Funding, 7G – City Council Resolution No. 6850 – Relating to the Annual Adoption of an Investment Policy, 7H – City Council Resolution No. 6851 – Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Contract with Taylor Backhoe Service, Inc. for the Construction of Animal Shelter Rehabilitation in the Amount of $367,592.05 and a Project Contingency of $91,898.00 and Amend the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget by Increasing the Appropriation Amount in the ARPA Fund in the Amount of $789,760 and the Police Capital Improvement Fund in the Amount of $210,240; 7I – City Council Resolution No. 6852 – Awarding the Bid for the Purchase of Two (2) New 2024 Model ¾ Ton Medium Duty Utility Trucks with Lift Gates; and Authorize to Issue a Purchase Order to Greenwood Chevrolet in the Amount of $145,716, 7J – City Council Resolution No. 6853 – Awarding the Bid for the Purchase of a New 2024 Model Mid-Size Crew Cab Truck; and Authorize to Issue a Purchase Order to Santos Ford in the Amount of $39,750 for discussion. 7A – Check Register for #247623 - #248686 in the Amount of $8,330,088.60. Council Member Lewis stated that from the last meeting we were scheduled to have we had $5.6 million in checks approved and there were questions she had as to who they were for and what services they provided to the City and now we have an additional $2.5 million up to $8.3 million, before she votes on this, she would like to ask Mr. Kuhn some questions about certain checks and expenses. City Attorney Vaughn stated that California Government Code requires that that there be a majority vote of the City Council for all financial matters and Ms. Lewis’s NO vote does not allow the check register to be approved; Mr. Kuhn explained that is the course of business that needs to be approved to continue and he doesn’t have all the invoices in front of him so it will be difficult for him to answer. Mayor Llanez asked Ms. Lewis if she reached out to the Finance Director prior to the meeting or the City Manager for which Ms. Lewis responded to don’t keep asking me why I haven’t asked questions because you know why as staff has been instructed not to talk with me. Mr. Lambert stated that we need a need a paper trail of this to show that you have asked and no one has responded; Mr. Llanez asked Ms. Lewis what’s the goal of the information you are seeking, do you not trust the Finance Department or the recipients for which Ms. Lewis responded that she just wants to understand what these checks are being paid for. 7E – City Council Resolution No. 6848 – Committing to Use All of the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Funds They Receive, on the Project that it was Allocated to, Within the Time Frame Required by the Program and Authorizes the City Manager to Execute Any Necessary Agreements to Secure CMAQ Grant Funding. Council Member Lewis inquired as to when we first signed up with PCE, the City Manager at the time submitted a request to put in chargers in the parking lot at City Hall and she thought we were told by PG&E that we couldn’t install those in our parking lot for which Ms. Souza Elms stated that it’s not that we couldn’t install them, it’s that the cost of the project far exceeded what we had planned. Ms. Lewis inquired as to how many charging stations and where for which Mr. Bergson stated 1 at City Hall and 1 at the Community Center. Ms. Lewis asked if those would be for employees only or open to the public for which Mr. Bergson stated they would be open to the public. Ms. Lewis asked about if a fee would be charge for which Mr. Bergson stated there will be a nominal fee for maintenance and costs of running the charger. 7G – City Council Resolution No. 6850 – Relating to the Annual Adoption of an Investment Policy. Ms. Lewis stated that the staff report states that the policy includes revisions to a more enhanced investment and wanted more detail on what those revisions are for which Mr. Kuhn stated that what he did was include a more detailed matrix in the investment policy to identify all of the available or approved durations and investment mixes per the government code, as noted on page 4 of the policy, it expanded the overall explanations of the type of investment that you can invest in, the duration, the percentage, an overall road map of what the City can do, spoke to responsible investing, investing in non-harmful type of things, safe keeping of investments, expansion was mostly in the matrix and allowed for liquidity of future spending. Ms. Lewis asked if the government code states what we can’t invest in for which Mr. Kuhn responded yes and spoke to what types of things the City cannot invest in. Mr. Llanez asked how is our rate of return since you have come on and Mr. Kuhn responded that we are in an interesting time, short period returns are very high yield, but an interesting yield curve, we are monitoring the environment so that we have a strategic mix to balance out the yields. Mr. Llanez inquired as to what was it before he came here for which Mr. Kuhn stated that there was a much less interest rate, pretty much 0% and losing money, how investments have grown considerably in the last 2 years mostly due to common sense, but not something we can rely on forever, and the money that we are sitting on are for the people. 7H – City Council Resolution No. 6851 – Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Contract with Taylor Backhoe Service, Inc. for the Construction of Animal Shelter Rehabilitation in the Amount of $367,592.05 and a Project Contingency of $91,898.00 and Amend the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget by Increasing the Appropriation Amount in the ARPA Fund in the Amount of $789,760 and the Police Capital Improvement Fund in the Amount of $210,240, Council Member Lewis inquired as to if there is a request for an increase in ARPA funding for $800,000 for the animal shelter, with already $900,000 set aside for improvements, for the money that is left for this project, is this exhausting our ARPA money for the shelter for which Mr. Kuhn explained that in last year’s budget there was an ARPA component for the initial phase, we brought a plan to Council a while back and the $1 million did not get spend last fiscal year or carried over into this fiscal budget, which should have had both phases in this budget, the full $1.8 million. 7I & 7J – City Council Resolution No. 6852 – Awarding the Bid for the Purchase of Two (2) New 2024 Model ¾ Ton Medium Duty Utility Trucks with Lift Gates; and Authorize to Issue a Purchase Order to Greenwood Chevrolet in the Amount of $145,716; and 7J – City Council Resolution No. 6853 – Awarding the Bid for the Purchase of a New 2024 Model Mid-Size Crew Cab Truck; and Authorize to Issue a Purchase Order to Santos Ford in the Amount of $39,750. Council Member Lewis stated that we have replaced quite a few trucks in the last couple of years, how many more trucks do you have to replace in Public Works for which Mr. Bergson stated that the fleet is about 120 pieces and we have gone through most of the replacement and are close to the end here. City Manager Pinheiro stated that there will not be an end to replacing vehicles, we are constantly replacing vehicles, speaking to how we need to take care of our vehicles, our streets, our trees, and we pay taxes and we need to use our tax dollars for things like this. Parks & Recreation Director Heim stated that we added quite a few positions that needed vehicles, needing to replace older vehicles and vehicles will be purchased every year, there are vehicles with high mileage that need to be replaced and the importance of needing to maintain the fleet. Ms. Lewis inquired as to if these trucks that are being purchased come in a hybrid fuel for which Mr. Bergson stated that the Fire Chief’s vehicle was a hybrid vehicle, the 5 new Priuses are hybrid, are the new one being approved tonight coming in is hybrid form. Council Member Lambert asked if electric vehicles run hydraulics for which Mr. Bergson responded that utility vehicles no on hydraulics and Mr. Lambert added that we look at the option of hybrid for which Mr. Bergson confirmed yes. Motion by Lambert, seconded by Lewis to approve the consent agenda as follows, minus 7A – Check Register for #247623 - #248686 in the Amount of $8,330,088.60: Check Register for #247623 - #248686 in the Amount of $8,330,088.60; First Quarter Investment Report for the 2024/2025 Fiscal Year; Minutes for the October 2, 2024 City Council Meeting; City Council Resolution No. 6847 – Approving Closure of Non-Essential Offices on Tuesday, December 24, 2024 and Tuesday, December 31, 2024 Due the Christmas Holiday Season; City Council Resolution No. 6848 – Committing to Use All of the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Funds They Receive, on the Project that it was Allocated to, Within the Time Frame Required by the Program and Authorizes the City Manager to Execute Any Necessary Agreements to Secure CMAQ Grant Funding; City Council Resolution No. 6849 – Approving the Acceptance of a $10,000 UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Grant via their California for All Animals Program and Amending the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget by Increasing the Appropriation Amount for Expenditures and Revenues in the Amount of $10,000; City Council Resolution No. 6850 – Relating to the Annual Adoption of an Investment Policy; City Council Resolution No. 6851 – Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Contract with Taylor Backhoe Service, Inc. for the Construction of Animal Shelter Rehabilitation in the Amount of $367,592.05 and a Project Contingency of $91,898.00 and Amend the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget by Increasing the Appropriation Amount in the ARPA Fund in the Amount of $789,760 and the Police Capital Improvement Fund in the Amount of $210,240; City Council Resolution No. 6852 – Awarding the Bid for the Purchase of Two (2) New 2024 Model ¾ Ton Medium Duty Utility Trucks with Lift Gates; and Authorize to Issue a Purchase Order to Greenwood Chevrolet in the Amount of $145,716; City Council Resolution No. 6853 – Awarding the Bid for the Purchase of a New 2024 Model Mid-Size Crew Cab Truck; and Authorize to Issue a Purchase Order to Santos Ford in the Amount of $39,750; City Council Resolution No. 6854 – Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Amendment to Professional Service Agreement with PlaceWorks for the Preparation of a General Plan Update and Accompanying Environmental Impact Report and Adopting a Revised Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 as it Pertains to Expenditures in the Amount of $57,804; City Council Resolution No. 6855 – Approving and Accepting Parcel Map No. 2024-02 which Includes a 10’ Public Utility Easement Dedication of Approximately 2,593 Square Feet of Land Along the Southern and Eastern Portions of 662 Adams Avenue, APN 026-082-038; City Council Resolution No. 6847 – Approving Closure of Non-Essential Offices on Tuesday, December 24, 2024 and Tuesday, December 31, 2024 Due the Christmas Holiday Season; City Council Resolution No. 6848 – Committing to Use All of the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Funds They Receive, on the Project that it was Allocated to, Within the Time Frame Required by the Program and Authorizes the City Manager to Execute Any Necessary Agreements to Secure CMAQ Grant Funding; City Council Resolution No. 6849 – Approving the Acceptance of a $10,000 UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Grant via their California for All Animals Program and Amending the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget by Increasing the Appropriation Amount for Expenditures and Revenues in the Amount of $10,000; City Council Resolution No. 6850 – Relating to the Annual Adoption of an Investment Policy; City Council Resolution No. 6851 – Authorizing the City Manager to Execute the Contract with Taylor Backhoe Service, Inc. for the Construction of Animal Shelter Rehabilitation in the Amount of $367,592.05 and a Project Contingency of $91,898.00 and Amend the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget by Increasing the Appropriation Amount in the ARPA Fund in the Amount of $789,760 and the Police Capital Improvement Fund in the Amount of $210,240; City Council Resolution No. 6852 – Awarding the Bid for the Purchase of Two (2) New 2024 Model ¾ Ton Medium Duty Utility Trucks with Lift Gates; and Authorize to Issue a Purchase Order to Greenwood Chevrolet in the Amount of $145,716; City Council Resolution No. 6853 – Awarding the Bid for the Purchase of a New 2024 Model Mid-Size Crew Cab Truck; and Authorize to Issue a Purchase Order to Santos Ford in the Amount of $39,750; City Council Resolution No. 6854 – Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Amendment to Professional Service Agreement with PlaceWorks for the Preparation of a General Plan Update and Accompanying Environmental Impact Report and Adopting a Revised Budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 as it Pertains to Expenditures in the Amount of $57,804; City Council Resolution No. 6855 – Approving and Accepting Parcel Map No. 2024-02 which Includes a 10’ Public Utility Easement Dedication of Approximately 2,593 Square Feet of Land Along the Southern and Eastern Portions of 662 Adams Avenue, APN 026-082-038. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Begonia & Jones absent. CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE NO. 1205 – ADDING CHAPTER 11, TO TITLE 5 OF THE LOS BANOS MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO PUBLIC CAMPING AND STORAGE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY ON PUBLIC PROPERTY OR IN PUBLIC AREAS (SECOND READING & ADOPTION). City Attorney Vaughn presented the staff report. Police Commander Melden stated that he is present to answer any questions and spoke to the new law allowing for this. Motion by Lambert, seconded by Lewis to waive the second reading of Ordinance No. 1205 – Adding Chapter 11, to Title 5 of the Los Banos Municipal Code Relating to Public Camping and Storage of Personal Property on Public Property or in Public Area. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Begonia & Jones absent. Motion by Lambert, seconded by Lewis to introduce Ordinance No. 1205 – Adding Chapter 11, to Title 5 of the Los Banos Municipal Code Relating to Public Camping and Storage of Personal Property on Public Property or in Public Area. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Lambert, Lewis, Llanez; NOES: None; ABSENT: Begonia & Jones. ADVISEMENT OF PUBLIC NOTICES. (No Report). CITY MANAGER REPORT. City Manager Pinheiro wanted to note a correction to what was previously stated, that we do use a hybrid vehicle at Public Works, one went to City Hall, Community Center and yes those vehicles do get used, we are buying a lot of vehicles for 200 plus employees in the City and we need to replace vehicles, and to get upset that we are buying vehicles it is because we need these vehicles, when I first got here we didn’t have enough vehicles, not the best way to run the operations, a healthy way is to have the fleet in place that we need and the great job the different departments that have worked together to get these vehicles that we need and in a responsible manner, we put them out to bid for the best price, spoke to how COVID has affected the supply chain, the Stonewood Drive/Fallbrook has been paved recently, the new Community Center fence, more pavement projects planned, i.e. parking lot 7th & J Streets, Ranchwood Park, Vineyard B, we are reinvesting the tax dollars, things are being repaved that have never been repaved and we are doing it a responsible way. 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 the SJVAPCD has their annual retreat last week in Hanford, how effective Jan 1, 2025 there will be no more ag burning of waste, the Governors Office of Business Alliance is working on another way to produce clean green energy in the State with millions of dollars given to the SJVAPCD for this purpose, they gave an overview of the fireworks program that they endorsed last year and the funds dispersed and will try to get more counties involved in these programs, looking at offering drone shows in the future too, it is cheaper and safer, how SJVAPCD still has funds available for residents to apply for fireplace inserts, demonstration of companies that brought their electrical vehicles in and shared their experiences with converting from diesel to electric, as that is the reason that she brought up her concerns about the trucks because there is a move to get government/municipalities into electric vehicles, the State in concerned with the age of the vehicle not the mileage, and does not want to see the City get caught in a quagmire. Mayor Llanez stated that the next PCE Meeting is November 21, 2024; at the last MCAG meeting we authorized purchase of an electric bus and it takes 8 hours to charge a bus and there is a lot of movement and discussion on hydrogen vehicles, how the state mandate isn’t until 2035 and anything we purchase in 2024 will have aged out by then, and how MCAG was amazing and they gave me a sendoff which was very cool. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS: KENNETH LAMBERT – DISTRICT 1: Thanked the Department Heads for a good job tonight, apologized for being absent at the last meeting, I did respond and called that I would not be at the meeting, didn’t know the other two Council Members would not be here, spoke to how this election has been the dirtiest junkiest election I have seen in this town, he is disgusted by the people who ran it and the people who followed it, my opponent didn’t need brought out what was brought out, I would have been happy either way with the election results, as soon as I seen it I sent a message right away to my opponent, I wished that whatever they wanted to put out there they didn’t do that, stated that he is is going to miss a few more meetings in January 2025, noting that he has not missed one meeting, he has been here every meeting and the one he missed gets blown up. DOUGLAS BEGONIA, JR. – DISTRICT 2: Absent BRETT JONES – DISTRICT 3: Absent DEBORAH LEWIS – DISTRICT 4: No report PAUL LLANEZ - MAYOR: Spoke first to City staff - thank you for everything you have done the last 2 years, how he as the City Council are in the limelight and we signed up for this, we appreciated your speech tonight Pastor Granillo, how Thanksgiving is coming up and hopes everyone is thankful. ADJOURNMENT. Motion by Lambert, seconded by Lewis, the meeting was adjourned at 7:15 p.m. The motion carried by the affirmative action of all Council Members present, Begonia & Jones absent. APPROVED: __/s/ Michael S. Amabile________ Michael S. Amabile, Mayor ATTEST: __/s/ Lucille L. Mallonee___________ Lucille L. Mallonee, City Clerk