THE CITY COUNCIL/CALEXICO COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
SUCCESSOR AGENCY/ CALEXICO FINANCING AUTHORITY MET IN REGULAR SESSION ON THE 2ND DAY OF OCTOBER 2024 AT 5: 30 P. M. AT THE FERNANDO NENE" TORRES COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 608 HEBER AVENUE, CALEXICO, CALIFORNIA. THE DATE, HOUR AND PLACE DULY ESTABLISHED FOR THE HOLDING OF SAID MEETING.
CLOSED SESSION— 5: 30 PM
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Garcia called the closed session portion ofthe meeting to order at 5: 30 p.m.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT:
Mayor: Camilo Garcia
Mayor Pro Tem: Javier Moreno
Council Member: Victor Legaspi
Council Member: Lisa Tylenda
VIA TELECONFERENCE:
Council Member: Gloria Romo
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
No public comments for closed session.
ADJOURN TO CLOSE SESSION
City Council adjourned to closed session at 5: 32 p.m. to discuss the following:
1. CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957. 6
Agency Representatives: Juan Contreras, Acting City Manager, Carlos Campos, City Attorney.
Employee Organizations: Calexico Firefighters Association, Certified Operators Association/ SEIU Local 221
2. CONFERRENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL— EXISTING LITIGATION
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956. 9( d)( 1)
Cal. Public Employment Relations Board( PERB) Case No. LA-CE- 1682- M Calexico Municipal Employee Association v. City of Calexico
3. CONFERRENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL— EXISTING LITIGATION
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956. 9( d)( 1)
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 12 OCTOBER 2, 2024
Cal. Public Employment Relations Board ( PERB) Case No. LA- CE- 1714- M Service Employees International Union Local 221 v. City of Calexico
4. CONFERRENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL— EXISTING LITIGATION
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956. 9( d)( 1)
Pyramid Construction and Aggregates, Inc. v. City of Calexico, et al.
Imperial County Superior Court, Case No. ECU003541
5. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNCIL— ANTICIPATED LITIGATION Significant Exposure to Litigation Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956. 9( d)( 2)/( e)( 1) One ( 1) Potential Case
6. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE APPOINTMENT
Title: City Manager and Interim City Manager
The City Council reconvened from close session at 6: 45 p.m.
CALEXICO CITY COUNCIL/ CALEXICO REDEVELOPMENT
SUCCESOR AGENCY/ CALEXICO FINANCE AUTHORITY
OPEN SESSION— 6: 30 P. M.
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Garcia called the open session portion of the meeting to order at 6: 47 p.m.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT:
Mayor: Camilo Garcia
Mayor Pro Tem: Javier Moren
Council Member: Victor Legaspi
Council Member: Lisa Tylenda
VIA TELECONFERENCE:
Council Member: Gloria Romo
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Council Member Tylenda led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.
MISSION STATEMENT
Mayor Pro Tem Moreno led those present in the Mission Statement.
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 13 OCTOBER 2, 2024
INVOCATION
Council Member Legaspi led those present in prayer.
CLOSED SESSION ANNOUNCEMENTS
City Attorney Carlos Campos reported council met in closed session, direction was received. No reportable action.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Moreno, seconded by Council Member Romo to approve and move Item No. 20 to be the first item for discussion as Item No. 15A and Item No. 15 to be Item No. 15B. Motion passed unanimously.
City Attorney stated a request was made for consideration of the city council to add an emergency item to the agenda, the temporary suspension on the collection of parking meter fees and rates until the city does further evaluation. Council agreed to include the emergency item and put it after Item No. 15A.
PRESENTATIONS
7. Proclamation Designating October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month— Postponed to a later date.
8. Presentation by Small Business Development Center.
A Mayoral Recognition was presented to Carlos Olguin.
PUBLIC COMMENTS AND PUBLIC APPEARANCES
Council member Legaspi asked for a moment of silence for Jose" Pepe" Soberanes.
The following persons provided public comments to the City Council: Arturo Medina Sr., Gilberto Manzanarez, Joong Kim, Raul Urena, Eric Taylor, Luis Castro, and Victor Rocha.
CITY MANAGER' S REPORT
Acting City Manager Contreras reported on the following items: stated he spoke with HR and Chief Orozco regarding streamlining process for Public Safety; waiting for direction of Council Member Tylenda on specifics of forensic audit the she requested; working on the Airport clean up as requested by Mayor Garcia; spoke with Risk Management on the ten ( 10) travel trailers to be added to the list of surplus items so they can be sold eventually; update on delinquent business license program; reported the New River Project that is about 75 to 80 percent complete; reported CITY COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 14 OCTOBER 2, 2024
the school district lowered their impact fees and that helps with future development and projects coming to the city; congratulated the new hires to the City; Carnegie Library is complete; new software for the City Clerk' s Office that will make minutes available online and explained that YouTube has transcription of audio to text as well; reported no reservations for hall rentals are being accepted at the Recreation Department due to lack of personnel; commissioner Pat Urena is requesting funding from ARPA for the Tree Lighting and Christmas Parade; update on Cordova Park; update on Gutierrez Park; requested that the Finance Department provide monthly financial status reports instead of quarterly, in order to be more transparent; update on Fire Station No. 2, is about 95% complete.
Council Member Legaspi requested an update on the cannabis dispensary. Acting City Manager stated they are waiting for direction from council to move forward with HDL and code enforcement, which has checked several businesses and provided letters of violation.
COMMISSIONER' S REPORT
The following Commissioners provided a status report: Ben Horton, Economic Development/ Financial Advisory Commission, reported that Mayor Pro Tem Moreno provided him certain facts regarding overspending by the City, which is spending around$ 20 million dollars and only taking in about $ 17 million, putting the city in a deficit; met with Acting City Manager regarding bringing in the private sector; the importance ofhaving council meeting minutes; had a call to the FPPC and was referred to the attorney general and is working with him to move forward on certain action that may have to take in reference; is working with the one that appointed him and the one that is giving him the information on the city council. Patricia Urena, Community Services Commission, reminded the public that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month; there will be a Trunk 0' Treat event at the Wellness Center on October 31 St; the commission will be having a meeting on November 13th and will discuss the Adopt a Park Application process; they are working on the bylaws; on the graffiti removal at the Community Center; revising all the policies including the naming ofthe parks. Jesus Solano, Community Services Commission, stated that he along with a group of volunteers, Calexico Alliance Group, are in the process of finishing Alex Cordova park; they will be removing graffiti from Nosotros park and the Community Center.
Blanca Morales, Business Improvement District, thanked Commissioner Solano and the volunteers for cleaning the downtown area; Robert Gronich, Business Improvement District, stated that he is seeing progress on cleanup efforts in downtown; provided a presentation regarding the increase of the parking meters, he stated that customers are not happy and are spending less time in downtown, the commission recommends that council rescind the parking meter increase and return to previous rates and also to suspend the parking meter fees between November 1st and December 31 St in order to help businesses in downtown Calexico recover from the negative impact caused by the rate increase.
CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REPORTS OF MEETINGS ATTENDED
Council Member Legaspi reported on the following items: meeting with Council Member Tylenda and School Superintendent in reference to the school impact fees; attended the Go Green event; CITY COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 15 OCTOBER 2, 2024
attended the Coffee International event at the Camarena Memorial Library; attended the League of Cities Division Meeting and congratulated Mayor Garcia for being elected President of the League of Cities Imperial County Division.
Mayor Pro Tern Moreno reported on the following items: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Breast Cancer Awareness Month; stated that the school district did lower their fees but unless we work on the service area plan things cannot be put in place; need to work on the Housing Element; the cannabis dispensaries rules and regulations; Rockwood Plaza EV station; stated the City has never had an economic development strategy other than a few councilmembers wanting to have a Chamber of Commerce; mentioned the importance of having a Chamber of Commerce; stated that the City does not have a Project Review Committee and is important to have one for the new projects coming into the City; and stated that the city needs to hire a real City Manager, that knows what is happening and has experience with municipality issues, especially working with millions and millions of dollars.
Council Member Tylenda reported on the following items: she is working together with Council Member Legaspi and Chief Orozco on an item regarding a downtown unit to serve businesses and the unhoused population and an item regarding the meters; and reported on working with the Unified School District in the reduction of school user fees from $ 10. 28 to $ 7. 12 and is looking forward to continuing working with the school district.
Council Member Romo stated she has received messages from residents regarding the water rates and thanked the commissioners on their reports.
Mayor Garcia thanked the commissioners for their reports; shared that last week at the ICTC meeting it was approved through the Coordinated Border Infrastructure ( CBI) funding project identification and recommendation that the City of Calexico was actually awarded for their 2nd Street All American Canal Bridge replacement project for $2, 000,000.00, to repair the bridge; he attended the inauguration ofthe new Mayor ofthe City ofMexicali; he attended a reception at the White House celebrating Spanish Heritage Month; shared he was elected as President of the League of Cities for the Imperial County Division and looks forward working with them; and attended a meeting with the Chief of Police and the District Attorney' s Office, to talk to the downtown business owners and community members on how to improve the safety downtown area as well as the whole community.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Moreno, seconded by Council Member Legaspi to approve the Consent Agenda consisting of the following items: Approval of City Council/ Calexico Community Redevelopment Agency Successor Agency/Calexico Finance Authority Minutes for Meetings of May 28, 2024, June 7, 2024, June 12, 2024, July 25, 2024, and September 4, 2024; Warrants from July 27, 2024 to August 9, 2024 and City Salaries from July 27, 2024 to August 9, 2024 ; Warrants from August 10, 2024 to August 23, 2024 and City Salaries from August 10, 2024 to August 23, 2024; Warrants from August 24, 2024 to September 6, 2024 and City Salaries from CITY COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 16 OCTOBER 2, 2024
August 24, 2024 to September 6, 2024; Approval of the Job description for an In-House City Attorney; Approval of the City of Calexico Five ( 5) Year Program Projects 2023- 2028 for Road Projects to be funded by Imperial County Transportation Authority ( LSA) Sales tax Revenue Bond. Motion passed unanimously.
DISCUSSION AND POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS
ITEM NO. 15A ( ITEM NO. 20) CONSIDER RESOLUTION NO. 2024-_, A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CALEXICO ADOPTING
WATER AND SEWER SERVICE CHARGES AND MAKING CERTAIN FINDINGS AND TAKING CERTAIN ACTIONSRELATING THERETO.
The following persons provided public comments to the council: Bertha Carreno, Alexis Rangel, Jesus Solano, Julio Rocha, Yolanda Cunningham, Arturo Medina, Astrid Calderas, Victor Rocha, Gilberto Manzanarez, Joong Kim, Karla Ibarra, Liliana Hernandez, Leticia Aldana Cota, Ruben Lopez, Maria Rios, Luis Castro
Motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Moreno, seconded by Council Member Legaspi to not approve Item No. 15A( Item No.20). Motion passed unanimously.
Motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Moreno to extend the meeting past 9: 30 p.m. No vote on the motion. Mayor Garcia requested a 5- minute break.
Council reconvened at 9: 35 p.m.
EMERGENCY ITEM: CALEXICO POLICE DEPARTMENT UPDATE ON DOWN TOWN METER OPERATIONS.
City Attorney Campos explained that the emergency item is for council to consider the temporary suspension of collection ofparking fees until the city conducts further study.
The following persons provided public comments to the council: Francisco Rashid, Armando Banuelos, Joong Kim, and Jonathan Rangel.
Motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Moreno, seconded by Mayor Garcia to temporarily suspend until further notice. Motion passed with the following vote to wit:
AYES: Garcia, Moreno, Legaspi, Tylenda
NOES: Romo
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
ITEM NO. 15B APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION NO. 2024-_ OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF CALEXICO AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN UN- CITY COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 17 OCTOBER 2, 2024
HOUSED OUTREACH TEAM ( U-HOST) WITH THE CALEXICO POLICE DEPARTMENT.
The following persons provided public comments to the council: Joong Kim, Jonathan Rangel, Carmen Estrada and Liliana Hernandez.
Motion was made by Mayor Garcia, seconded by Council Member Tylenda to approve Item No. 15B. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Moreno, seconded by Mayor Garcia to extend the meeting past 10: 30 p.m. for a half hour. Motion passed unanimously.
ITEM NO. 16 IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE THE RESOLUTION NO, 2024-_ AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY
OF CALEXICO AND PMAM CORPORATION FOR SECURITY ALARM
MANAGEMENT.
Motion was made by Mayor Pro Tern Moreno, seconded by Mayor Garcia to approve Item No.
16. Motion passed unanimously.
ITEM NO. 17 AUTHORIZE ACTING CITY MANAGER TO ISSUE PURCHASE ORDER TO PUREAIR FILTRATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $ 113,340.00 FOR THE PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF TWO (2) ABSORBENT MEDIA FOR WATER TREATMENT PLANT AND EASTSIDE RESERVOIR.
Motion was made by Mayor Garcia, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Moreno to approve Item No.
17. Motion passed unanimously.
ITEM NO. 18 AUTHORIZE ACTING CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN EXCLUSIVE
NEGOTIATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF CALEXICO AND MARCO ANTONIO MADRIGAL CAMARENA, JR. FOR THE DISPOSAL OF CERTAIN+/- 0. 50- ACRE PORTION OF THE 6TH STREET LOCATED WEST OF THE INTERSECTION OF EMERSON AVENUE AND 6TH STREET.
Motion was made by Council Member Tylenda, seconded by Mayor Pro Tern Moreno to approve Item No. 18. Motion passed unanimously.
ITEM NO. 19 APPROVAL OF BID DOCUMENTS FOR SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENT GRANT ST., CALEXICO ST., AND VAN DE GRAFF AVE.) FEDERAL PROJECT NO.
CML- 5168 ( 036) AND AUTHORIZE THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TO SENF THE PROJECT OUT TO BID.
The following persons provided public comments to the council: Joong Kim.
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 18 OCTOBER 2, 2024
Motion was made by Mayor Garcia, seconded by Mayor Pro Tern Moreno to approve Item No.
19. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Moreno, seconded by Mayor Garcia to extend the meeting past 11: 00 p.m. for a half hour. Motion passed unanimously.
ITEM NO. 21 APPOINTMENT BY COUNCIL MEMBER LEGASPI TO THE POLICE ADVISORY BOARD.
Council Member Legaspi appointed Rosie Reisin to the Police Advisory Board.
ITEM NO. 22 ADOPT A BUDGET AMENDMENT RESOLUTION NO. 2024-_ FOR FUND NO. 255— AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN (ARPA) IN THE AMOUNT OF $ 16, 300. 00
TO PURCHASE DESKTOP COMPUTERS, A LAPTOP, DRINKING FOUNTAIN
REPLACEMENT AND ALARM SYSTEM REPAIRS FOR THE CARNEGIE
TECHNOLOGY CENTER.
Motion was made by Mayor Garcia, seconded by Mayor Pro Tern Moreno to approve Item No.
22. Motion passed unanimously.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
ITEM NO. 23 INFORMATIONAL ITEM: ADOPT- A-GREEN AREA PROGRAM. I REQUESTED BY COUNCILMEMBER LEGASPI) Public Works Manager Falomir gave a brief update on the program.
The following persons provided public comments to the council: Jesus Solano.
ITEM NO. 24 INFORMATIONAL ITEM: RENOVATION TO CALEXICO FIRE STATION NO. 2 — REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE REPORT. ( REQUESTED BY
MAYOR PRO TEM MORENO)
Acting City Manager Contreras gave a brief status update.
ITEM NO. 25 INFORMATIONAL ITEM: THE HOLT GROUP, INC. AGREEMENT OF
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR RENOVATIONS TO CALEXICO FIRE STATION NO. 2. ( REQUESTED BY COUNCILMEMBER TYLENDA)
Acting City Manager Contreras gave a brief update.
The following persons provided public comments to the council: Joong Kim.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES PAGE 9 OCTOBER 2, 2024
Council Member Tylenda requested the following items: informational item regarding the demolition of the old Tortas and Beer building on Cesar Chavez; budget amendment for the contract City Attorney position; informational item on CBDG grant status and backup; together with Recreation Manager Gerardo, explore the possibility of using the Community Center kitchen as commissary for small businesses to generate revenue; informational item and update from Chief Orozco regarding dates and noticing efforts for the alarm system.
Mayor Pro Tem Moreno requested the following items: proclamation for the next meeting for Domestic Violence Awareness Month; update on airport hangar, Rodriguez Park and travel trailers; MOU with Vincent Memorial.
Council Member Legaspi requested the following items: set up a date and time with the attorney in reference to the Chamber of Commerce MOU; look into the complaints regarding the need for speedbumps on 1100 block of CN Perry in front of Cordova Park.
Mayor Garcia requested the following items: update on donations/ contributions received for Tree lighting and Christmas Parade or maybe looking into ARPA money; start cleaning the former Rosa' s Plain Food location at the airport in order to attract more businesses to the area.
Council Member Romo requested a report from the Police Department regarding traffic control for the Christmas Holidays.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, motion was made by Mayor Pro Tern Moreno, seconded by Mayor Garcia to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously.
Meeting was adjourned at 11: 15 p. m.
Wkci C,Vikk.131/ 4
Camilio Garcia, Mayor
ATTEST:
9 1 Gomez ' va, Deputy City Clerk