MINUTES
GATEWAY City Council Meeting
RNIA Council Chamber, Chowchilla City Hall
TO 130 S. 2nd Street, Chowchilla, CA 93610
FROSPERTO 1923 Tuesday, July 22, 2025
FEBRUARY Closed Session: 3:00 p.m. | Open Session: 4:00 p.m. 7 CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
Mayor: Kelly Smith
Mayor Pro Tem: Jeff Troost
Council Members: Waseem Ahmed, Ray Barragan (3:09pm), John Chavez (absent) City staff and contract employees present: City Attorney Mary Lerner, Police Chief Jeff Palmer, Public Works Director Jason Rogers, Community & Economic Development Director Jaime Quintana, Director of Recreation & Community Engagement Stacy Wisener, IT System Administrator Carlos Berrocal, City Clerk Joann McClendon, Deputy City Clerk Vanessa Galvez- Escobar
CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF AGENDA Additions and/or Deletions: None.
PUBLIC ADDRESS - CLOSED SESSION
No one spoke.
CLOSED SESSION - 3:08 PM
1. PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957 (b)(1)
Title: Police Chief
OPEN SESSION - 4:00 PM
CLOSED SESSION REPORT: No reportable action.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
INVOCATION: Pastor Pruitt
PRESENTATIONS/WORKSHOP - Section 1
PUBLIC ADDRESS
No one spoke.
COUNCIL AND STAFF VERBAL REPORTS - Section 2
2.1 COUNCIL VERBAL REPORTS
Legislative, Collaborative Agency, Ad Hoc
Council Member Barragan attended econ dev ad hoc meeting.
City Council Meeting MINUTES July 22, 2025
Council Member Ahmed MCEDC meeting.
Mayor Smith had the opportunity to attend the Madera County Board of Supervisors meeting at the Chamber, where they honored Asterisk Talley with an awar. Mayor would like to thank Sherman Rogers for putting that together. It was a really nice event, and Asterisk is such a nice young lady. Valley Champion track team from the high school. Glad that our local talent is being celebrated at the county level. We'll be sure to get them here as well so we can recognize and thank them on our end.
2.2 STAFF VERBAL REPORTS
Fire Chief Gaumnitz since we last met, he attended the EMC meeting - Emergency Medical Committee, which focuses on how our local EMS and hospitals are doing. They review all the important metrics and data, and while he won't make the official announcement yet, Chief shared that we'll soon be increasing the number of ambulances staged in town full-time. "That's something we've been advocating for over the past years, so I'm really looking forward to that becoming a reality. I'll bring more details within the month," concluded Chief Gaumnitz.
Public Works Director Rogers reported this week attending a leadership council meeting with Self-Help Enterprises and representatives from the State Water Resources Control Board regarding the Fair Sewer Connection Project. Our engineer is currently working in the design phase, specifically focusing on the location of pipe infrastructure and utility stubs. The meeting provided important clarification and coordination related to future High-Speed Rail projects that may affect the area. We are also working on the grant closeout for the Sonoma Storm Project.
In addition, plans and specifications have been completed for the third and final phase if the Downtown Storm Drain Improvement Plan on Kings Avenue. Planning for this phase was funded by Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, and we are currently preparing a CDBG construction application. Once this phase is completed, we will have finalized all three phases: Humble, Sonoma, and Kings.
Lastly Director Rogers met with MCTC (Madera County Transportation Commission) and other local agencies to discuss the Measure T renewal. The meeting focused on a draft outline of the implementing guidelines for the renewed Measure T, which will go into effect in April 2027. A public workshop to gather community input will be held on Thursday, August 14, at 6PM at the MCTC Office for anyone interested in attending and providing feedback.
Community & Economic Development Director Quintana, as far as the Community and Economic Development (CED) Department is concerned, things are running smoothly. Permits and inspections are active and ongoing, particularly within developments such as Century Communities, which many of you know as Orchard view and Maple Meadows. Progress continues at a steady pace. On a more community-based note, he is excited to share that he officially began his downtown walkabouts this week. Director Quintana had the pleasure of meeting some truly amazing members of our community. Local business owners who are passionate about what they do. All while he keeps things unbiased, He gave a quick shutout: "If you haven't had the burger at Pedro's, it's definitely worth a try. I also heard their Chile Verde pizza is even better - just passing along the tip!" They also had a great meeting with Kristina Gallagher from the Madera EDC, where they discussed ideas on how best to showcase Chowchilla and promote our community. They've been incredibly helpful in past reporting and currently assisting us with identifying vacant properties and available commercial spaces. We're continuing to collaborate on gathering and sharing that information.
This week, we also attended the Ad Hoc committee meeting, and it being an item on tonight's agenda will allow for further discussion on that topic.
City Council Meeting MINUTES July 22, 2025
Lastly, our department met with prospective developer, Rossy & Grecko Stonefield, who are exploring a multi-phase housing project on Howell Avenue. The proposed development includes up to 280 residential units. We're continuing conversations and doing everything we can to support that potential investment and growth in out community.
Director Wisener reported that the Open Swim program has remained steady since its opening, with great community attendance. In response to a recent council request and with the school's approval, we're happy to announce we will be extending the program by one additional week.
We truly do appreciate Chowchilla High School's flexibility and your continued support in keeping this service available during the ongoing warm weather. We've had 1,768 swimmers.
Our Events in the Park are also going great. We've received a lot of positive feedback, especially regarding the misting stations and fans, which have been keeping everyone cool.
Luckily, we've had a fairly mild July so far-aside from one especially hot day, which we managed to get through just fine.
Looking ahead, we're gearing up for the fall season. Planning is already underway for Halloween and Christmas events, and I've made a new contact who's helping us work toward launching a Certified Farmers Market in October and November. This market will focus exclusively on local produce and organic farms—no craft or merchandise vendors-just a simple, quality setup for farmers to sell directly to the community.
We also have a few exciting events coming up: Stargazing Night on August 15 & Block Party on August 22
City Clerk McClendon reported on the administrative side, we're currently working on a record destruction project in partnership with the City Clerk's department, which will take some time. In my weekly report, I also mentioned that Caltrans will be conducting a Drug & Alcohol Program review due to our funding through the FTA. This is a standard requirement, and they'll be visiting to review our procedures and processes. Introduced Vanessa Galvez Escobar, Deputy City Clerk, she will be learning how Council Meetings work.
Police Chief Palmer reported over the past two weeks, officers responded to 1,360 calls for service, conducted 581 proactive stops. Resulted in: 31 misdemeanor arrests, 5 felony arrests and 41 citations. Code Enforcement responded to 58 calls and took 36 enforcement actions.
Last Friday, Chief Palmer had the privilege of speaking to over 400 women in law enforcement from across the Valley at a Leadership Symposium in Clovis. It was a powerful and inspiring event.
CONSENT CALENDAR - Section 3
3.1 Approval of the July 8, 2025 Regular City Council Meeting Minutes (McClendon)
3.2 Consideration and Acceptance of the Quarterly Smart Sheets (McClendon)
3.3 Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance Amending Chowchilla Municipal Code Section 2.04.110 - Council Salaries, to Authorize the Mayor to Temporarily Receive Additional Compensation (Lerner)
3.4 Consideration and Acceptance of the Quarterly Fee Waiver Report (Pruett)
3.5 Consideration and Acceptance of the June 2025 Financials Report (Williams) City Council Meeting MINUTES July 22, 2025
Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Troost, Seconded by Council Member Ahmed to Approve the Consent Calendar as Presented. Motion passed by roll call vote with Council Member Chavez absent.
PUBLIC HEARINGS - Section 4
4.1 Introduction and First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chowchilla Municipal Code Section 13.05 - Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control (Rogers) Mayor Smith opened the public hearing at 4:16 p.m.
No one came forward for or against the item.
Mayor Smith closed the public hearing at 4:16 p.m.
Motion by Council Member Ahmed, Seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Troost to Accept the Introduction and Waive the First Reading of an Ordinance Amending Chowchilla Municipal Code Section 13.05 - Backflow Prevention and Cross-Connection Control. Motion passed by roll call vote with Council Member Chavez absent.
4.2 Consideration and Adoption of a City Council Resolution Confirming the Diagram and Assessments and Approving the Levy and Collection of the Annual Assessments for Landscape Maintenance and Lighting District No. 90-1 of the City of Chowchilla for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 (Rogers)
Mayor Smith opened the public hearing at 4:18 p.m.
No one came forward for or against the item.
Mayor Smith closed the public hearing at 4:18 p.m.
Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Troost, Seconded by Council Member Ahmed to Approve City Council Resolution # 56-25, Confirming the Diagram and Assessments and Approving the Levy and Collection of the Annual Assessments for Landscape Maintenance and Lighting District No. 90-1 of the City of Chowchilla for Fiscal Year 2025-2026. Motion passed by roll call vote with Council Member Chavez absent.
DEFERRED BUSINESS - Section 5
5.1 Request for Direction Regarding Continuation of Development Impact Fee Reductions or Amendment of Development Agreements with Current Fee Schedule (Quintana)
Council directed staff to not implement a new reduction, thus leaving previous reduction expired as of July 1, 2025.
NEW BUSINESS - Section 6
ANNOUNCEMENTS - Section 7
JULY 25 AUG 1 LAST DAY OF SUMMER OPEN SWIM PROGRAM, CUHS SWIMMING POoL, 12:30PM - 4PM JULY 26 MOVIES IN THE PARK, MUFASA, VETERANS PARK, AT SUNSET JULY 27 BATTLE OF THE BADGES, AT RITE AID
AUG 12 CITY COUNCIL MEETING, COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 4PM
City Council Meeting MINUTES July 22, 2025
AUG 15 STARGAZING, ED RAY PICKLE BALL COURTS, 8:30PM
AUG 20 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING, COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 5PM AUG 22 COMMUNITY PARTY IN THE PARK, VETERANS PARK, 7PM
ADJOURNMENT
Mayr Smith adjourned the July 22, 2025 City Council meeting at 4:33 p.m.
ATTEST: APPROVED: