MINUTES
CITY OF DELANO
CITY COUNCIL – SPECIAL MEETING
June 5, 2024
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Alindajao called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 1015 – 11th Avenue.
FLAG SALUTE
Steve Kinsey led the flag salute.
ROLL CALL
Council members present: Mayor Joe Alindajao, Mayor Pro Tem Morris, Mario Nunez, Jr., Salvador Solorio-Ruiz, Veronica Vasquez
Council members absent: NONE
OFFICIALS PRESENT
City Manager Reyna, City Clerk Garcia, Finance Director Lara Rios, Chief Nicholson, Interim Community Development Director Chavez
SPECIAL AWARD ITEM
Recognition Award to Cesar Chavez High School Baseball Team for Winning the State Championship
SPECIAL AGENDA ITEM
1. Sale of Delano Police K9 Vehicle to the City of McFarland and authorize the City Manager to complete the necessary documents to complete the transaction
Staff report provided by Chief Nicholson
Mayor Alindajao opened public comment.
No public comment.
Mayor Alindajao closed public comment.
Vasquez: “Not a comment just a correction on the letter we have down that Jerry is acting chief. If you just can make that correction and take acting off.”
Solorio-Ruiz: “So thank you for being here chief. I'm sad to hear about of course, the situation with the drunk driver and what happened, but I think that we never know when crisis occurs and when situations occur. So I'm glad to see that we were able to assist a neighboring community even though you're just a few minutes away, we're all the same.
Right? I always say we all have so much more in common than what divides us and it's important to come together and get the job done for the people and so fully in support of it.”.
Morris: “Of course, we're always happy to accommodate our neighbor to the south of us and I just wanted, what if sometime we get a canine and I'm just out of curiosity, okay, we'll have to buy a new vehicle. We don't have one now. Right? So how much does canine vehicle run Chief?” Chief Nicholson: “Right now the cost of a fully outfitted lease emergency vehicle with the addition of it being outfitted for a canine is approximately $95,000.” Morris: “What special features does it have?”
Chief Nicholson: “So it has an electronic door. If the officer or the handlers are what we call them is out of the vehicle and he or she is attacked, there's a button on their belt that they can push and it automatically opens the back door for the dog to come out. The backseat is also outfitted to accommodate the dog. So when it's not in use, it has enough space to sit down. It also has food and water in the back. It has a special air conditioner that keeps it cool. There's also a feature on the vehicle that if the internal temperature, if let's say the handler is out of the vehicle and the vehicle is idling and the air conditioner is on and for some reason, the engine stops or the air conditioner fails, there's a fail-safe in it to where it rolls down all of the windows, it honks the horn and even some systems will page or telephone the officer's cellular telephone to tell him or her that the internal temperature in the vehicle is dangerously high and that the canine is in danger. So, all of those combined are very expensive and those are in addition to a basic police officer vehicle. So you have to make a basic police officer vehicle with lights and sirens, all the equipment. And then in addition, the canine vehicle requires additional equipment to accommodate the canine dog.” Morris: “Do you see us in the future getting a canine?” Chief Nicholson: “Yes, we are going to explore this coming fiscal year, which is in the next couple of weeks.”
Motion was made by: Morris to authorize the sale of a Delano Police K9 Vehicle to the City of McFarland 2nd by: Solorio-Ruiz
Vote: 5-0
Ayes: Alindajao / Morris / Nunez / Solorio-Ruiz / Vasquez Nays: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Solorio Ruiz seconded by Nunez and unanimously carried 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 5:55 p.m. _____________________________________________
Nancy Garcia, City Clerk