MINUTES
CITY OF DELANO
CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING
March 16, 2026
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 1015 – 11th Avenue.
INVOCATION
Pastor David Vivas offered the invocation.
FLAG SALUTE
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz led the flag salute.
ROLL CALL
Council members present: Salvador Solorio-Ruiz, Mario Nunez, Joe Alindajao (arrived at 5:35pm), Liz Morris, Bryan Osorio (arrived at 5:21pm)
Council members absent: None
OFFICIALS PRESENT
City Manager Reyna, City Clerk Chavez, City Attorney Hensley, Finance Director Lara Rios, Police Chief Nicholson, Human Resources Director Zamudio, Interim Community Development Director Dowling (via teleconference), Public Works Director Nunez, City Engineer Rodriguez, Economic Development Specialist Fernandez and IS Coordinator Reyes
PRESENTATIONS AND AWARDS
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz announced the representatives for American Red Cross and Cesar E. Chavez Day could not attend the meeting.
• Mayor Solorio-Ruiz presented the proclamation for Government Finance Professionals Week for March 23–27, 2026.
ITEMS FROM THE PUBLIC
1. Roberto Ibarra – “Good evening. Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Roberto Ibarra, the landlord citizen. I want to bring you this, the things that I find on my whereabouts. I don't want to be disrespectful to anybody. I just want to see that I find things that I don't know that I find on many things. Some of this stuff is prohibited. I don't know if it's allowed here in Delano or our kids go out of the county and get them. I don't know. That's what I just want to emphasize that my trust is on you, so I emphasize on you. Another thing is that since I live on the west side, the park, and I want to see if benches, people can sit around on the benches on the benches in the afternoon when it's cool, can sit around the park. Not regular benches looking at each other where people have a picnic, but more or less benches just from one sided, looking at maybe at the sunset or whatever. So people can sit around, relax. I don't know. Something that make the park more enticing, especially for ... We getting old. We are not able to sit on the ground and stuff like that.
So, if you can please do so. Thank you very much.”
2. Eunice Romero – “Hi, my name's Euncie Romero. I live at 317 Glenwood Street. And I don't know if you guys are able to fix it, but on Wooloomes by the freeway, all that, the lights. And there's the entrance that turns into the freeway and then there's the regular lanes to go straight.
Well, people use the freeway entrance to go straight. They want to beat the traffic. And there's been some close calls that I've been in where people just swoop in. And I was just wanting to know if there could be some kind of barrier or, I don't know, something put into deter people from impeding. If they choose to go in that lane to turn onto the freeway, that's their choice. They're stuck just kind of turning in there or to keep them from just causing an incident that doesn't need to be because they're in a hurry or they just ... I don't know, but it can be kind of dangerous. And for new drivers and kids, I don't know, it's just dangerous and people don't think about those things. And like I said, I've been in a few close calls where I've almost been hit or just kind of rammed into by people who are trying to go around me. So, I don't know if that's something that has been brought up before, but it's been an issue since that whole thing has been implemented.
So I don't know if you guys can do something about it or lights. I don't know what can be done, but if ... Yeah, that's my concern today. Thank you.”
3. Maria Martinez (via interpreter) – “Good Afternoon to all. I am here to support what the lady before me said. This happened to me on Saturday when I went to Walmart. Cars just go in, they turn like this. They go into the line. They were about five cars that were coming from the Target.
The line was really behind and they were just getting into the freeway and then came cause an accident. The bad thing is that they go in this way. We're the ones who are going to ram into them and the one who hits is the one who pays, so we need something to be done. Over at Lexington, it's like they're racing. So where is the police? I see police patrol cars over here, like three parks, three patrol cars park over here and the cars are over here racing like crazy. And I'm sorry, sir. I had something else in mind. When I come from walking over here in 11, I know there's like electric charger pumps for electric cars. But are they used for decoration or for what? Because they're just being there for a long time now. I think it's just a waste of money. Thank you.
4. Timothy Aguilar – “Good evening, Mr. Mayor and members of city council. One of my concerns that I have in here in town… My name's Timothy Aguilar. Two of my concerns is if we can provide better healthcare, well, better doctors and physicians here in town, because I'm pretty sure everyone deserves better doctors who know what they're doing. And my second question is, when are we as citizens or when will we be given the opportunity to vote for our mayor? Thank you.”
5. Diana – “Hi, good evening. My name's Diana, and I'm a citizen of Delano. And my concern is I live on Cabrillo Way and it's close to Albany Park School. And on Clark, that's Clark and Albany.
On that turn, I've lived there for a year. I've asked to put bumps or something because the cars turned so fast. It's crazy. Maybe about two months ago, one of my dogs got out and they ran over them because the car just flies by. But my concern is more for the kids when they get out of school because I have my son that goes across the street also in the future, hopefully. But the cars there are always rampaging. Crazy. And I've called the police department. By the time they get there, obviously there's no cars rampaging there or anything like that. But yeah, I do have a concern if maybe you guys can put bumps or slow or maybe watch, have the police watch there days in, days out so cars can stop driving so fast through the street. I live on 309 North Cabrillo Way. It's the second house from the corner.”
CONSENT AGENDA
1) Authorization to waive the reading of any ordinance in its entirety and consenting to the reading of such ordinances by title only.
2) Warrant Register in the amount of $2,847,022.99
3) Minutes of regular Council meeting of March 2, 2026
4) Resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into an agreement with and accept grant funds in the amount of $2,000,000 from the State of California, Board of State & Community Corrections and authorizing the City Manager, or her designee, to take other actions and to execute all related documents necessary to carry out the purpose of the grant award (Resolution No. 2026-09)
5) Approval of resolution authorizing the use of California Office of Traffic Safety Traffic Records Improvement Project grant funds and Police Department general fund monies to enter into agreements with Crossroads, Sun Ridge Systems, and Vantage ID to purchase and implement an electronic citation system in a total project amount not to exceed $57,871 (Resolution No. 2026-10) (Agreement No. 2026-09a) (Agreement No. 2026- 09b) (Agreement No. 2026-09c) (Agreement No. 2026-09d)
6) Acceptance of the 2025 CDBG 11th Place Watermain Replacement Project and authorizing the filing of the Notice of Completion
7) Approval of task order to Agreement No. 2025-06 with QK Inc. for $207,040.00 to provide environmental compliance and documentation services for the High Street Flyover Project, and authorizing the City Manager, or her designee, to sign any documents needed to carry out this project (Continued to April 6, 2026) 8) Report on the status of the local emergency regarding the failed Storm-Sewer Main located on 18th Avenue and Terrace Drive pursuant to Public Contracts Code § 22050 9) Report on the status of the local emergency regarding the failed Sewer Main located on 1000 High Street Pursuant to Public Contracts Code § 22050 10) Approval of a formal invitation to Delano’s Sister City of Tangancícuaro, Michoacán to visit the City of Delano
Motion was made to table item No. 7 to April 6, 2026 by: Nunez; 2nd by: Osorio
Vote: 4-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: Alindajao
Abstentions: None
Motion was made by: Nunez to approved items 1-4, 6, 8-10 on consent items; 2nd by: Morris
Vote: 4-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: Alindajao
Abstentions: None
Item No. 5 pulled by: Guadalupe Martinez
Reason for pulling item: “Guadalupe Martinez. Deleno, I have some questions on this. Number five, it talks about an electronic citation system. So, is it for citations? From what I read, it's about documenting when there's crashes or there's accidents. However, I have seen and been ... Nowadays, you call the police officer or the police department, and they claim or they ask you if there were anybody injured. If not, then just exchange information. So, I don't see how this electronic citation is going to help in any of those things.”
Chief of Police Nicholson – “Honorable Mayor and Council, this item is electronic citation printers. So traditionally, police officers will write out the citation on a triplicate form. This is a computer system that will scan the driver's license of the motorist and populate most of the fields. The officer will just have to input a few of the fields to complete the citation. This is being paid for out of the California Office of Traffic Safety Traffic Records Improvement Project Grant that we were approved, $47,000 of that will be paid for out of the grant and an $11,000 will be paid out of the police department's general fund. As far as the traffic collision data, that is just a component of the citation printers that will be used. It collects the data, and when it collects the data, it's able to regurgitate out stats that we will need. So, it's a byproduct of having this system.”
Council Member Alindajao arrived at 5:35pm.
Motion was made to approved item no. 5 by: Nunez;
2nd by: Morris
Vote: 5-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Alindajao/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
PUBLIC HEARINGS
11) Resolution of Initiation of Annexation and Pre-Zoning Ordinance related to PreZoning Application No. 25-0002. A request to (i) pre-zone an approximately 122.49- acre property (Assessor Parcel Numbers: 521-120-14 and 521-120-15) from the Kern County Exclusive Agriculture (A) zoning district to the City of Delano Industrial (I) zoning district. Staff has determined the project to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to Section 15183 of the CEQA Guidelines (Projects Consistent with a Community Plan, General Plan, or Zoning). THIS ITEM WILL BE CONTINUED TO APRIL 20, 2026
Motion was made to continue matter to April 20, 2026 by: Nunez; 2nd by: Osorio
Vote: 5-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Alindajao/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
12) Resolutions establishing the formation of a community facilities district, calling a special election for a community facilities district, and declaring results of a special landowner election and directing the recording of a special tax lien. Introduce an ordinance authorizing the levy of special taxes in a community facilities district (Resolution No. 2026-11) (Resolution No. 2026-12) (Resolution No. 2026-13) Mayor Solorio-Ruiz opened the public hearing.
Staff Report provided by City Engineer Rodriguez.
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz opened public comment.
No public comments.
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz closed public comment.
Motion was made for approval of resolution forming and establishing Community Facilities District No. 2026-1 (Foxwood 2 & Wrenwood 2), and authorizing submittal of the levy of the Special Tax to the Qualified Electors by: Nunez;
2nd by: Morris
Vote: 5-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Alindajao/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
Motion was made for approval of resolution calling a special election for the adoption of a Special Tax within the boundaries of Community Facilities District No. 2026-1 (Foxwood 2 & Wrenwood 2) for certain types of services and facilities and submitting the Special Tax to the Qualified Electors of such CFD by: Nunez;
2nd by: Morris
Vote: 5-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Alindajao/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
Motion was made for approval of resolution declaring results of a special landowner election and directing the recording of a special tax lien within Community Facilities District No. 2026-1 (Foxwood 2 & Wrenwood 2) by: Nunez;
2nd by: Morris
Vote: 5-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Alindajao/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
Motion was made for approval of introduction and first reading of an ordinance authorizing the levy of special taxes within Community Facilities District No. 2026-1 (Foxwood 2 & Wrenwood 2). by: Nunez;
2nd by: Morris
Vote: 5-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Alindajao/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
REGULAR AGENDA
13) Discussion and direction regarding Council Member Morris’ request for a letter of support regarding AB1708 (Solache) – HHAP Pathways for Cities Act and direct the Mayor to sign proposed letter of support
Council Member Morris provide the staff report – “Explain what the bill is? Okay. Thank you. Most cities in California belong to the California League of Cities, which is called Cal Cities now. And Cal Cities primarily fights legislative issues for cities, whether it's a bad thing for cities and we lobby against those bad laws that affect cities. It's a good law for cities and we lobby for them to lobby for good things that happen to cities. And so, all of us probably out of 400 and something cities that belong that are in the State of California belong to the California League of Cities. There is a letter of support that I feel that we really need to support legislatively, and that letter has to do with HHAP Pathways for Cities Act. And I would really like us to sponsor this letter and have the signatures or support of the board. And basically, I just want to read you a little bit about what the act is. Since 2019, the State's Flagship Homelessness Grant Program, the Homeless Housing Assistance, and that's what stands the HHAP… Grant Program has provided direct funding to cities with populations over 3,000. All 58 counties and the 44 continuums of care across California. AB 1708 would create a new opportunity for the other 469 California cities with populations under 300,000 that meet clear accountability requirements to apply for HHAP funding through their COCs. Currently, the HHAP applicants must submit originally coordinated action plans to the Department of Housing and Community Development, identifying each jurisdiction's roles and responsibilities in addressing the homelessness. While cities with populations under 300,000 people may participate in these plans, direct recipients are encouraged but not required to allocate HHAP funding to those cities. As a result, there is no requirement to meaningfully engage or allocate these critical resources to small and medium-sized cities. Many of these cities lack a clear and consistent pathway to access HHAP funding even as they invest significant general fund resources to prevent and reduce homelessness in their communities. I'm sure as a state, we are all required to pay a certain tax to help that fund, but most of that money is going to larger cities and it's not really allocated to smaller cities.
And this gives the opportunities to small cities and mid-sized cities to apply for monies for that grant. And so, with that, I would like to ask for the support of the council so that we and not only we, but other cities who are our size or smaller or bigger, medium-sized can apply for these funds and be considered. And not because we don't have 300,000 people that live in our city, but that makes us eligible to apply for those funds.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz opened public comment.
Guadalupe Martinez – “Lupe Martinez. Certainly, I mean, anything that we can do for housing, for the rents, for the homeless. I am in support. However, I did have a couple of questions. How is this money going to be directed? And do we have ... I know some time ago we had planned on doing something for the homeless on Fremont Street. I knew that there was a lot that had been bought there. Where are we at? And that's been, I don't know how many years now, so I'm not sure where things are at. And would this monies be used to finish that up or to start something new? Or how does that work?” Council Member Morris – “Actually the money, there does have to be a project we have to submit because we have to have some kind of accountability. This just allows us to apply for those funds or grant. So we don't know exactly. I guess the city would decide that as to where the monies could be spent or where it's needed. And I would think if Maribel can tell us what the fund, what happened...” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Well, sorry to interrupt, but I think it'll be best practice if we wait till every comment is done, and then afterwards we can have staff or Councilwoman Morris respond. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Martinez.”
Pastor David Vivas – “Good evening, Mayor and Council members. Pastor David Vivas. I understand that AB 1708 is going to provide $500 million and cities with a population under 300,000 will be able to apply for this grant. Are you aware that according to state auditors, that since 2019, there has been approximately 24 to $37 billion that have been given towards homelessness programs and projects. And in that time, homelessness has increased by 30,000 in the State of California. So, they're wondering about the effectiveness. Obviously, it hasn't been effective because it's increased. I'm for helping the homeless population. And if this is approved, of course, I'd like the City of Delano to apply for the grant. I know that this is only just to get a letter from the City of Delano saying, "Hey, we support this bill." And I know that's what this item is about, but I just thought I'd put a little bit of facts out here. A state auditor received the California Interagency Council on Homelessness did not consistently track or evaluate the effectiveness of state programs with data often three years old. And so according to the state auditors, due to a lack of data and accountability of how these funds were used, again, over $24 billion, they are advising delaying future funding until agencies can prove the effectiveness of these programs to assist the homeless population. So that is a concern. And they actually did bring up this particular item. They did bring this up. So, their state auditors are saying before you can move forward with more funding, why isn't the previous funding for the last five, six years, why hasn't it worked and why has homelessness increased by 30,000? Thank you.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz closed public comment.
Council Member Morris – “Yeah, primarily we don't know exactly where the funding is going to go. We have to apply for it, first of all, and we have to have a project in order to apply for the money, but that gives an opportunity legislatively, it's going to before Congress and going before the governor to approve it or not approve it. And we don't know at this point whether it's going to be approved or not approved.
That's depending on the support that we all give to this program or this grant program. But in order to even get started, I guess we have to get the bill there in order to pass it so that we can figure out just what projects need to be done for cities and to allow cities to apply for that grant money. So that's kind of where we are at this point. And so, we're just asking for a letter of support to say, yes, allow small cities and medium-sized cities to apply for these grants rather than all the money goes through cities that have over 300,000 people. And so that's the point.”
Council Member Osorio – “Yeah, thanks. Well, first of all, thank you, Council Member Morris, for continuing to be involved in Cal Cities and giving us updates following your meetings. I think this is a piece of legislation that would help Delano based on a quote that I see that says, "The City of Delano would benefit from additional state homeless funding by working with regional partners in Kern County.
The funding would expand homeless services and resources such as behavioral health services to provide clinical care directly to encampments." And so just based on last year's, we had one meeting where last year's meeting, we had a partner wanting funds from the city, and if this prospective grant opportunity opens up to our community, I think it only benefits us. So I would be in support. Thank you.” Council Member Alindajao – “Thank you, Mayor. It's been my policy as a council member being elected since 2018 not to, I guess, be in support of letters and support. I made it a policy only because part of the reason is that a lot of times these assembly bills take a change or an iteration from the time it's proposed to the time it's actually passed. I'm not making a judgment on the merits of AB 1708 or its benefit to the city. I think even in the absence of a letter of recommendation or support, the city would still be qualified to apply for those funds, but for those reasons, I will not be voting against or for it. Thank you.” Mayor Pro Tem Nunez – “I will be voting in support of it. This doesn't just cover homelessness. People walking in our streets as a homeless. This actually helps some residents who are struggling financially or no longer have a house and they're living with their sisters or cousins. Or in Delano, we have a lot of families that do attend our school district and they're considered homeless because they're living in somebody's garage or living in somebody's trailer. So this kind of funding would also help stuff like that too, potentially. I don't know the facts or the specifics behind how the funding will be available in the event that this does pass, but if it is available and we can apply for it, there's also what I understand, we can even use it, some of it for some affordable housing, so it’s a plus.” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Thank you. I don't have any questions. I think I'm pretty familiar with support letters. I think it is a common practice of elected representatives to sign on to letters if they find that it'll fit their community. And so I think that this reading it, I think it fits our community in terms of do we want a piece of the pie or not? And I do want a piece of the pie for our community, and so I absolutely will support it.”
Motion was made for approval by: Morris;
2nd by: Osorio
Vote: 4-1
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Morris/Osorio
Nays: Alindajao
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
14) Results of Downtown Business Parking Enforcement Ballot Staff report provided by Economic Development Specialist Fernandez.
Economic Development Specialist Fernandez – “Good evening, honorable mayor and members of the city council. My name's Miguel Fernandez and I work in the economic development department. And at the January 20th city council meeting, council directed staff to prepare and distribute ballots to downtown business owners to obtain input regarding the enforcement of the two-hour parking ordinance and overall parking availability in the downtown area. 93 ballots were mailed out and a total of 27 ballots were returned. Of those responses, 15 supported the two-hour parking enforcement policy and 12 opposed it. Regarding parking availability in the downtown Main Street area, 11 indicated there is enough parking and 16 indicated there is not enough. Staff is presenting the results tonight for council's discussion and direction. For question number one, 15 supported and 12 opposed. And for question number two, 11 indicated there's enough parking and 16 indicated there is not enough.” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “The staff report states that there was a total of 16 for question number one?” Economic Development Specialist Fernandez – “Correct. I double checked before we came into the meeting and we did receive 27, so that was a typo on our end, so it was 15, not 16.” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Okay. Okay. We will correct that for the record. Thank you. Okay. With that, we will open it up to public comment. Is there anyone in the audience who has a comment on this particular item? Go ahead and please come up and state your name and address for the record.” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz opened public comment.
Maria Garcia (via interpreter) – “Good afternoon,Everybody. My name is Maria Garcia. I'm a Delano resident. I am here for my business. I'm just asking if it's not for the two hours incomplete time for the businesses who are making this petition, maybe to allow a little bit more time. For us to be allowed a little bit more time for all of our customers. That's it.” Council Member Alindajao – “What type of business.?”
Maria Garcia (via interpreter beauty) – “It’s a beauty salón.” Yoita – “Thank you for the opportunity. My name is Yoita and I am the owner of Simple Advantage Insurance Services right up the street on 11th Avenue. My concern, I have a couple different concerns and these are not in order of importance, but when the city went down Main Street asking for whether we approve it or deny it or forward or not for it, my concern is that we only hit Main Street. We didn't hit the side streets between 9th and 11th, but yet we're ticketing all side streets. I'm assuming between High and maybe Jefferson or Lexington. I'm not quite sure how far it goes into East and West. So, we in front of our office are getting ticketed or have gotten ticketed. Obviously, it's been stopped now until whether it passes or doesn't pass. So, my concern is we need to take those businesses into consideration as well. We didn't get an opportunity to vote. By not being able the opportunity to vote, you're missing a lot of businesses and a lot of other opinions. When I looked at the news, when I looked at social media, none of it was even mentioned on those side streets, and we only mentioned High Street. So, I think we need to reconsider that. Number two, when we were getting ticketed, the last time, it was I think the week before prior to this other city council meeting, we were told that at that time was lady and officer. She took photos of our vehicles parked and then came back two hours later. And if a vehicle was still parked in the same spot, she gave a ticket. But that is not a correct way of marking a vehicle because we, specifically in my office, we've got three of us that work there. We are in and out of the office anywhere from two to four times a day. We're open from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. So, would there be times that we're there more than two hours? Possible, but we almost in that particular block, because we have Penelope's salon, we have Farmer's Insurance across the street, we've got right next to the alley, we've got, I guess, a little section that has two or three units of other businesses that has a parking spot or parking lot. So, we kind of have an unknown parking spot for us that have businesses there. So, we leave, come back to the same spot. If it's not marked, the person can't say or the officer can't say whether they can mark it or not, whether they can give us a ticket. The other thing is that on timeframe is my concern is the safety. In the winter when we have, it's dark, the safety of going to the parking lots for the people that are working after dark. And again, I just think that we need to take in consideration from 9th through 11th or any other streets on side streets on the businesses and make sure that when we are going to be ticketing, make sure that the vehicles are marked to show that yes, they have moved or they have not moved because having somebody drive by with photos isn't going to make show that whether it's marked or not. Thank you.” Council Member Osorio – “As we wait for the next person, can we get clarification that that is accurate whether only folks on Main Street were surveyed?”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “We can go ahead after everyone goes. We can go ahead and staff respond.” Maria Martinez – “Okay. I'm here again. The parking lot, is they going to give tickets? There's people that are handicapped and they park there. Are they going to get tickets if they take more than two hours? Because handicap people take their time. So that's my question. The other one is I see a lot of traffic on where was JCPenny, that was the gym. And they park in the bank and they park the side. What do you think that business? Later they're going to put no parking. Where are they going to park? So that's a trouble too. So they're going to get a lot of tickets because they're going to stay there for a long time. I mean, I can't accept that, but it's just to you guys.”
Eunice Romero – “Hi, my name's Eunice Romero and I live here in Delano. I've lived here all my life and seen Main Street and this area change over and over from two way, one way. And the majority of the businesses now are businesses that are time-consuming. You have a lot of beauty salons there. And as time has changed, has the city ever thought of other types of parking structures or anything to accommodate? Or is that the city's responsibility to accommodate downtown the parking area, parking meters? I don't know if that was a thought. Just something because it's changing. Our little town is changing and it's growing. And even though things are growing outside of Main Street, like I said, there's time-consuming businesses here that maybe shouldn't pay the price for taking the opportunity to open a business here in Delano. I think it's kind of one of those deals where you want people to stay here and run a business in Delano, but yet you have these little things that are like, well, maybe if I open my business in another town or somewhere else that won't cause my customers extra headaches or whatever. I don't know. It's just something that I just was thinking about, just the growth and stuff. And if there's available spaces to make maybe open parking and share with the citizens that, "Hey, there's parking over here.
Maybe a little walk won't hurt to get down to walk a little ways." Or even having the businesses park, I know there's parking maybe behind the business or somewhere other than downtown because I know Wells Fargo, some of their employees park right in front. It's kind of like when you go to Vallarta, you see all the employees taking up all the front parking. So, it's just one of those deals where just maybe sharing with companies too to have their employees maybe park and give space to their customers. Thank you for letting me share.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz closed public comment.
Economic Development Specialist Fernandez – “Yes, Mayor. I believe it was just clarification on where the ballots were distributed. So we went, it was on Main Street from 9th through 14th, so that's 902 Main Street. I believe we started in Goodwill and we went all the way up to Snowfun, which is 1329. That's where the ballots were distributed to, all 93.”
Council Member Morris – “But you didn't go down the side streets, right?” Economic Development Specialist Fernandez – “Correct. That's correct. We did not go down the side streets.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Are we ticketing the side streets, just for clarification?” Economic Development Specialist Fernandez – “Currently, I believe we're not, but we ...” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “We were initially?”
Economic Development Specialist Fernandez – “I believe so, yes. They were because…” Mayor Pro Tem Nunez – “Those areas are signed.”
Economic Development Specialist Fernandez – “They're all two hour parking, I believe, signed.” Mayor Pro Tem Nunez – “Okay. Main Street, Jefferson and all the side streets do have the signs and they were being ticketed during that time. The signs are up.” Council Member Morris – “Okay. Wouldn't we have voice? Should we have a wood?” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “So I guess for clarification, this will only affect what you just stated, the area that you just stated. Would it not affect the side ones?”
Economic Development Specialist Fernandez – “Correct. This is just for me…” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “For council to decide. Okay. That's for council to decide. Okay. Thank you, sir.
Economic Development Specialist Fernandez – “You're welcome.” Council Member Morris – “Because I don't really ... For me, because I don't have a business down there downtown, it doesn't really matter to me whether they do the two-hour parking or if the employees want to park their car out there. It all depends on the business out there. Do they want their customers to park out there or do you want their employees to park out there? What's it going to be? I mean, if they're more concerned about their employees because they don't want them to park behind the store or possibly the parking lot behind it, because we do have parking behind the alleys on the other side of the structure. So, there's one by the library, there's one over there by Chase Bank. There's one over there by, let's see, by the fire department. There's one over there by ... There's several downtown that all I have to do is cross the alley to get to the other side. And I know some people say, "Well, when it gets dark." But I think those are kind of accommodations you have to make with people where you work when you all leave work and say, ‘Hey, well, let me walk you out to the car or let me make sure you get there safely,’ or however you're concerned, but what's it going to be? I mean, you want your customers to park or you want your employees to park. To me, it's up to the business owners what they want. So, I'm just looking at these numbers here and I'm looking at the majority of the people saying they're in favor of implementing it to our parking out there. But now I'm thinking maybe we should send out a ballot to those on the side streets. We have been ticketing there and it does have a sign somewhere to get their input into what's going to happen with their parking out there. So that's where I stand out there. And I think to our parking is plenty of time to conduct your business or whatever you're going to conduct downtown. I know the beauty salons may have a little problem sometimes, but you may have to run out there and just move your car to the next spot over or whatever it takes to get that three-hour parking, if that's what you want. So whatever the business owners want, I'm good with what they vote on or what they want.” Council Member Osorio – “Yeah, thanks. So, I appreciate, first of all, the efforts that staff went into put into this survey. I think it gives us a picture of where folks are at. I think for me though, if we are making a decision this evening, I still am hesitant about moving forward with investment just because of the concerns raised at the last meeting regarding the state in which some alleys are in or in that's referring to lighting, the concern of older residents walking to the city's public spaces or public parking spaces, the fact that one or two residents at that meeting, we last discussed this item that it was women primarily concerned about the safety walking from the city's parking spaces to their local business. And so, without, I think, us doing more efforts into investing to address these issues, I am reserved about voting moving forward with a two-hour limit. But if we want to consider adding more time to that, I would be in support.”
Council Member Alindajao – “I had a question for the chief. If you can answer this, Chief. In terms of enforcement, parking enforcement, there was an issue brought up by, I believe, Ms. Yoita regarding photographing of vehicles. I mean, back in the old days, they'd come by with the white chalk and mark the tires. I don't know if it's done anymore, but is that the proper method of enforcement for parking violations?”
Chief of Police Nicholson – “The method in which the community service officer would mark the tires with chalk or take photographs.”
Council Member Alindajao – “I see. So either one of those would work?” Chief of Police Nicholson – “Either one of those. As long as they could testify accurately that the vehicle was not moved.”
Council Member Alindajao – “Very well. Thank you, Chief.” Chief of Police Nicholson – “You're welcome.”
Council Member Alindajao – “Well, I think the issue I think before the city council is the traffic conditions, traffic and parking conditions in downtown Delano having a significant or material impact on businesses downtown. I think that's the question that's before the council. Now, in terms of safety, safety of the residents downtown and whatnot, I think that's a different issue and I think we're conflating those issues into one. But the issue is, is there an issue with parking and traffic downtown? And I think based on the reports and reports from staff, and of course, our own experiences with downtown over the years, I think the answer is yes. So what is the solution? The solution isn't to give the general consensus an opportunity to say, to tell the city or the police department how to enforce the law. I think all of us here on the council swore to uphold the Constitution and enforce the laws of the United States and local laws.
And the current local law, correct me if I'm wrong, is a two-hour parking limit, correct? So I'm not sure under any other circumstance or any other part of the punishing code where we would gather a bunch of surveys and information and everybody decides, well, we don't want that law enforcement. We're not going to enforce that law. I think the laws that are on the book are for a specific purpose. It's to help control traffic parking in the downtown area, and that's what we should continue to do. And that's the issue. And I think the two-hour parking limitation addresses that issue. Now, I think one of the business owners brought up a good point in terms of salons. Can they get an extension of time being that sometimes patrons to those types of businesses, they're there two, three, four, perhaps five hours, depending on what the services are. Perhaps an extension in those types of businesses makes sense. But to say we're not going to enforce the law because a majority of people say we shouldn't, is not the way it works. The laws are on the book for a purpose, and I think it helps to control traffic and park in the downtown area, and we should continue to enforce the law in order to help businesses. I understand that to an individual in the downtown area, perhaps I could see that as an inconvenience, I'm getting ticketed, I didn't move my car, et cetera, et cetera. But those kind of considerations are not for the police department or the government to take into consideration. It is the overall goal of trying to help traffic and parking in the downtown area. And that's been a problem since I was a kid and I grew up here in this town all my life. I think the downtown area is losing a lot of business. I think the downtown area is losing a lot of business because people are simply not willing to wait and to go elsewhere when there's no parking. And I think that's the bottom line, and that's the issue we're trying to address. Now, the current solution is a two-hour parking limit for everyone. Now, might there be nuances in that law to change and to make better so that we can keep the flow of traffic and parking in the downtown area going? Absolutely, let's do it. But I think we have the cart before the horse. And I think to say, "Hey, if everybody doesn't think we should enforce that, then we shouldn't." Well, what if a hundred people come in here and say, "Hey, you know what? I don't think we should enforce the speeding laws in the city. What do we do then? Do we give them the same deference?" No, I don't think so. So, we got to administer the law, the local law in an equitable way, and I don't think treating downtown any different than we would any other law is the solution. So, I'm in favor of continuing to enforce the two-hour parking lot. And of course, if there are changes that we need to make that make sense to make traffic and parking in downtown area better, then let's do it. But I think a lot of businesses are suffering in downtown from a lack of business or patrons coming to their business to do business because of the parking situation. And I don't think anyone on this council, I think, denies that. I think we all agree that there's a parking and traffic situation in downtown Delano but not enforcing the law on at least the two-hour limit, because that's all we have to address that issue in downtown is the answer.”
Mayor Pro Tem Nunez – “Myself and Councilwoman Liz, we actually walked the streets when we first ...
This item came up a couple months ago, and we also did a survey. We did cover the side streets. We didn't get to finish all the side streets, but we got a good percentage of the streets, and there was a high number of businesses that were requesting. I guesstimate we were between 75 and 80% of the businesses owners were asking us that they did want the enforcement because they were losing business with cars going around the block and they weren't able to get customers into their stores. Somebody brought up a question regarding the handicap parking in the handicap area. California state law does not allow police departments to cite a handicap vehicle that is properly marked that they placard. And as long as they're in a property spot, you cannot cite that vehicle for that reason. Even if it's not a handicapped parking spot, they won't cite for it. And if they do cite for it, it's an incorrect cite. I'm also in favor of keeping it at the two hours. I don't see any difference. We're no difference in ... We want to compare our city to Los Angeles and we want to compare our cities to Fresnos and Bakersfields. They also have the two-hour parking. They've had it in the books for years. Delano rewrote it and updated it back in 2008. I was one of the officers that was assigned to that area to go enforce it with this issue happening back in 2008. And with the economy tanking later on in those years, there were cutbacks within the city. People were moved around. It stopped being enforced and it just never came back. And the problem never went away. We had the problem. I know we have talked about potentially side roads not on Main Street that aren't parking issues. If we don't enforce on the side roads, you will be having an issue very quick because people will no longer be parking on Main Street who have to work in the area. They're going to be parking on the side streets, and they're going to be leaving their car in front of your business for six, seven, eight hours.
And then people are going to come back to us and say, "Hey, this is an issue." And you start enforcing on that area. But I also agree with Councilman Alindajao how that this ordinance is in the books at two hours, and I think we should leave it at two hours. If we go to the four hours or change it anything else, people predominantly work eight-hour days. You go in for four hours, take your lunch break, you move your car, come back, park four more hours, and we did not solve the issue that likewise, with somebody working a 10-hour shift, they go in, they're four hours, leave for an hour, park in a different spot they got four hours, and when they get their late break, they come back and put their car back. So my vote was to be leave it have we currently have it.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Okay. So now my comment, I think for those of you who of course are here and have no clue of why are we even discussing this, here's some historical analysis on this. We as the city didn't enforce this policy for a certain amount of time. And when we started to enforce this policy, of course, we got concerns from local businesses downtown, and that is why it is brought forward to council for us to confirm it, to leave it as it is, to enforce it, to not enforce it, to implement different hours, you name it. And so we decided to do this survey to get the input of the business owners of that area, and that this was the results that we received. But I think that it's important to, I think, take into consideration our hair salons who do, as much as my council colleagues walked down Main Street, I also too walked downtown Main Street, and I also asked in particular our hair salons, what would they like to see? How would it impact them? And we have a lot of hair salons downtown Main Street. And so, I think it's important for us when we look at this issue to at least maybe come into the middle. I do think it's our role to decide to change the hours. I think even before I even brought up the idea of parking meters just to, I don't know, to make it more efficient, but I would go ahead and be in agreement with three hours. I think three hours is meeting someone in the middle, and then we can always revisit policies at a later time. And so, I think three hours would suffice to try it out. And I think that that would be some sort of middle ground with our hair salons and with folks who do want it for the two-hour limit. And at the end of the day, I also agree that I think we need to put our businesses first and in terms of customers and making sure that our ... And I've said it before, I've driven down Main Street as well, and I have had difficulty in parking. I've been circling around three, four, five times and I couldn't find parking. And so it is an issue.
So let's not say it's not. It is an issue. I will say as well, and this is just me speaking, I think that it might be beneficial if we change one block. So instead of the proposed area, which is ninth to 14th, I'm going to propose nine to 13th to my colleagues. I don't know if that's something that is feasible, and here's my reasoning for it. When you look at the congestion down Main Street, I at least personally feel like it's in that area. And so I don't think when you go past Vallarta, when you go past ... Or not Vallarta. When you go past the Immortals Gym, I don't see it being that much of an issue that way, but of course that's based on what I've seen. And so if others feel differently, so be it. And so I'm going to propose that, but I also do see Vice Mayor Nunez's point in regards to, hey, if we limit it here, folks are going to start parking on the sides. And so we want folks to also utilize our city parking lots. I know they might be a little far, but let's encourage some walking a little bit. And I know that there was also some concerns about safety, and I will say that we have implemented or will implement more lighting downtown Main Street, and not just lighting as a light bulb, it's going to be a little pretty too. So, you'll stay tuned for that. And hopefully that addresses a little bit of the public safety component. But that's what I propose tonight if folks are okay with three hours and to limit that area.”
Council Member Alindajao – “I guess for Mark. Mark, is this an actionable item 14 or is this just for discussion or…”
City Attorney Hensley – “It's for discussion and direction. And so on where the council lands, there may be additional action. For example, if you want to move to three-hour parking, then we'll probably have to bring back the city's code and resolutions about changing that and there has to be some change in signage and those kind of things.”
Council Member Alindajao – “And where do we stand as far as the moratorium? Is it still currently in effect or has that been lifted?”
City Attorney Hensley – “My understanding was lifted, but ...” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Up until today.”
Council Member Alindajao- “Okay. Very well.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Okay. Any other comments from my council? Okay. So I'm going to motion to bring back to change the codes to parking for three-hour limit and limit it to ninth to 13th.” Council Member Alindajao – “And may I, if I can give my…” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “You can amend. Yeah, absolutely. Please provide your input.” Council Member Alindajao – “I think also exploring the idea of the possibility that keep it at two hours and just make exceptions for certain types of businesses like beauty salons more specifically, that would be my suggestion in terms of an overall change to the ordinance. I don't think the number of hours, extending the number of hours is going to help the situation or solve it may make it worse. I don't know.
But currently, I think the two-hour parking limit is, I think for now is working, however, with the nuances of changing it for certain types of business, that'd be my input.” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz - “Okay. Thank you. Staff have any questions or comment on that?” City Attorney Hensley – “I'd like to hear the council if you come to a majority of direction and we may need to talk among staff about how we would ... For example, if we're going to give certain kind of businesses more time to park, how would we actually implement that? But I'm not saying we can't. I would just majority says we'd like to see this as a list and let the staff go back and digest that and figure out is there a way to do that.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Okay. Thank you, Mark. So there's a motion on the floor. Do we have a second?” City Clerk Chavez – “I'm sorry, what exactly is going to be the motion?” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Yes. So, the motion that I provided was to do a three-hour limit instead of the two hours and to incorporate to change it from 9th to 13th.” City Clerk Chavez – “Is that the extent of the motion?” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “That is my motion.”
Council Member Osorio – “Just to clarify, were you asking to include an amendment in that discussion?” Council Member Alindajao – “We're not cementing ... This question's remarked, just for the record, we're not cementing an ordinance at this moment, right? I mean, it's up for debate and discussion and amendments at a future date, correct?”
City Attorney Hensley – “Correct. We have an ordinance that's going to go back in fact tomorrow apparently. And so this is a matter of what does the council want to see happen in the future and like to hear a majority. If a majority of you can come to a recommendation, then staff will take that and work on implementing it.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “I will say as well, so after today, then the two-hour limit will continue until this comes back again to council.”
Motion was made to bring back to change the codes to parking for three-hour limit and limit it to ninth to 13th by: Solorio-Ruiz;
2nd by: Alindajao
Vote: 3-2
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Alindajao/Osorio
Nays: Nunez/Morris
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
15) Discussion and direction regarding Mayor Solorio-Ruiz’s the ‘Community First’ Ordinance to restrict U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement from entering public buildings
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Okay. So first, I would like to thank the City Manager and our City Attorney for the many conversations that I've had with them on this matter and for being responsive throughout the process. I also want to thank community members who took the time to speak with me at length. Pastor Vivas, thank you for the conversations in regards to this item and the issues that you have and others had.
And it's important to make sure that we hear out our community, but also to those who have called in support. There are a number of reasons that I decided to bring this item forward tonight. Let me begin with this, that I love this country and I believe in this country and its ideals. I believe, and I've said it countless times, I believe that we are living through a moment that demands courage from those entrusted with public office. It is a moment that requires us to have difficult conversations about what our responsibilities are as local leaders, a moment in time in which our fundamental principles and ideals as Americans are under attack. A moment in time that requires political courage amongst political instability. Across this country, we have witnessed Latinos being hunted in the streets of America, American citizens murdered for practicing their constitutional right to protest. There must be internal lines that we do not cross as Americans. Too many people feel that the very institutions that are meant to protect their rights and uphold the law are instead being used in ways that create terror. And when that happens, local leaders cannot simply look away and say that there is nothing we can do, because there is something we can do. We can decide what values will guide and govern the use of our city property. We can decide how resources will be used. We can decide whether our residents will feel that local government belongs to them or whether it will become another source of fear in this time of turmoil. That is what ‘Community First’ ordinance is all about. This policy is about drawing clear lines. It is about saying that city spaces should serve the public not be used in ways that undermine trust and dignity. It is about making clear that our city government will act consistently with constitutional principles and with the values of the community. It is about local control. This policy creates a clear administrative process if an immigration authority is using property without a valid judicial warrant or court order. Per the ordinance, in that situation, the City Manager or designee must make a lawful request that the unauthorized use immediately seize, document that request, and any refusal as thoroughly as circumstances allow, notify all relevant city departments and inform the Delano community through reasonable means of communication. In other words, this ordinance is about accountability, documentation, and making sure the city responds lawfully and in an organized manner when its property is used without authorization. It says that if the federal government wants to act, it must do so lawfully, transparently and without turning our local city, own spaces into places of fear. And let me be clear as well on what this policy does not do, because that's important. It does not block federal agents from enforcing federal law. It does not authorize anyone to interfere with federal operations. It does not create conflict for the sake of conflict. Years from now, our children, our grandchildren will ask us, "Where were we in this moment in time of history? What did we do? What did we say?" I want to be able to say that when our community needed leadership, we gave it. At the end of the day, this is about trust, dignity, and reminding people that this city is theirs and that this country belongs to you. It belongs to we the people. Let me also address three questions directly because I know that potentially they will come up or these are concerns that I've heard from community members. First, if California already has SB 54, why do we need this policy? SB54 primarily sets the rules for how state and local law enforcement may engage in immigration enforcement activity. Our job as a city is to make clear how our own city property will be governed here in Delano. In fact, California law actually expressly recognizes that cooperation must also comply with local law and local policy. So, this ordinance is not redundant. It is our city doing its job to give local clarity, accountability, and direction to our employees and to our staff. If we leave any point vague, then we leave our employees without clear guidance and our community without clear assurance. What about the supremacy clause? The supremacy clause means federal law is supreme when there is a true conflict, but that does not mean that the federal government gets to command city government to use local staff, local resources, or local property to carry out federal civil immigration enforcement. The Supreme Court has made that clear that the federal government cannot command state and local governments into carrying out federal regulatory programs, and the Ninth Circuit upheld major parts of California's SB54 framework, recognizing that decline to use state or local resources to assist federal immigration enforcement is different from obstructing federal law. So, the question is not whether the federal government can enforce federal law. It can. The question is whether Delano must volunteer its own local machinery for that purpose, and the answer, in my opinion, is no. And to those who say that this violates the supremacy clause, I would say that there's a difference between obstructing federal law and declining to turn local government into the arm of federal civil immigration enforcement, and this ordinance respects that difference. And lastly, federal funding. I acknowledge the concerns, the fears, the aspirations that everyone has. There is no doubt about it that I do not see those concerns. I want to try to lower the temperature on the concern about federal funding. I have not seen proof of a city automatically losing all federal funds simply because it adopts a policy like this. This law is more limited than that.
Courts have actually rejected broad efforts to cut off funding across the board, and any dispute would have to be tied to a specific grant or actual legal authority. So, I do not think it is responsible to tell our community that Delano will lose federal funding simply because of this policy that is not established or supported based on facts that I'm aware of. Of course, based on threats and fears from the federal government, of course, we have heard them. And of course that has happened in terms of our state, but of course we know who our governor is. The truth is no one can guarantee what the federal government would choose to do. What this ordinance does is decide how Delano's own property and local resources will be used. That is our responsibility as a city. And respectfully, fear of being noticed cannot be the standard for which we govern. If we let fear decide our politics, then we no longer are leading, we are reacting. Before I open it up to public comment, I just want to ask and say that please let's engage in this discussion in a way with respect, in a way with thoughtfulness, and with right intentions, even if there may be disagreements. Other than that, I believe we could open it up to public comment unless Mark, you have anything to say. Okay. We will open it up to public comment. Is there anyone who has a public comment on this matter?”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz opened public comment.
Anthony Cortez – “Good evening, Mayor City Council. Anthony Cortez, Shell Beach Court, Delano. I am speaking directly to you, Mayor, as a resident of this community to express my serious concern and disappointment regarding your recent statements and proposals about restricting federal agents from using city owned property. The State of California already has laws in place that limit cooperation between local agencies and federal immigration enforcement. Because of this, it is difficult for many residents, including myself, to understand why additional measures are being pursued at the city level when the state law already addresses these issues. From my perspective as a resident, it creates the appearance that this issue is being used to advance political ambitions rather to address the everyday needs of the people who live in this city. The mayor of a small community like ours should focus on the real problems affecting residents every day, public safety, infrastructure, roads, local services, and the stability of our neighborhoods. I am also troubled by statements suggesting that the Hispanic community is being hunted down. In my opinion, rhetoric like this is irresponsible because it spreads fear among people who are already living in uncertainty. Words from a public official carry weight and statements like that can create panic in a community that already faces many, many challenges. Our city is a small agriculture town where many residents work long hours in the fields and contribute to the local economy every day. These are our neighbors, my neighbors. Whether they are documented or undocumented, most are simply trying to work, support their families, and live peacefully. My biggest concern is that publicly escalating this issue, you may be actually doing the opposite of what you intend. Bringing national political controversy into a small community risks drawing increased federal attention to our city. When local leaders publicly challenge federal authorities, it can lead to more scrutiny and potentially more federal presence in the very community you claim to be protecting. Leadership requires judgment and responsibility. The role of a mayor is not to bring national political battles into a small agricultural town like ours, but to focus on governing responsibly and keeping the community safe, stable, and united. I ask you to seriously reconsider this direction and remember that your words and actions carry consequences for every person who lives in this community. You sit in the mayor's seat now. Is it all about power and control. Be careful with that. I personally haven't seen any federal agents in our community. That's not to say that they haven't been here, but if I see them in my every day-to-day business, I would think that it's because of what you brought. Respectfully.”
Louis Gillum – “Good evening, Honorable Mayor Solorio-Ruiz and esteemed members of the city council. My name is Louis Gillum. I'm a legal observer with Faith in the Valley's Valley Watch Network, and I'm here tonight to speak with sincere and heartfelt support for the Community First Ordinance. As rapid responders who verify and document reports of ICE and CBP activity in eight Central Valley counties, we see how ICE and CPB's presence, or even the rumor of their presence, has undermined trust in local law enforcement. The ordinance addresses this mistrust by mandating a valid judicial warrant for any immigration activity from staging through surveillance to detention on city property. As accompaniments to our fellow community members, to immigration check-ins, court appearances, and even medical appointments where they feel unsafe, we see how ICE and CBP's presence or even the rumor of their presence impedes access to public health and legal rights and government services. The ordinance addresses this barrier by assuring the community that city property is safe property, that is truly the property of the people. And as accompaniments, for those who have won their freedom through hard-fought habeas cases after having been detained, we see and hear their stories about the brutal effects that ICE detention has had on their health, the preventable spread of infectious disease, lack of access to medical care, unhealthy weight loss from inadequate substandard food, and as the ordinance points out, these are public safety issues. And tragically, Kern County is home to three of California's ICE prisons. But the passage of this ordinance tonight, I hope it will be tonight, is a step toward assuring the community that Delano stands strong. A vote to pass the Community First Ordinance is a vote for public safety, for public health for human decency and human rights. It will send a message that people power is stronger than profit power. Passing this ordinance tonight will stand as yet another milestone in the history of Delano's long and proud history of lighting the torch of justice. And once that torture is lit, it will be passed from city to city until all cities stand up and say, ‘Enough.’ Thank you.” Rosa Lopez – “Good evening. My name is Rosa Lopez and I'm a long-term resident of Kern County and a community advocate throughout the county. I'm an active volunteer with Rapid Response Network and have responded to numerous attacks against our members of the community throughout the county. And I'm here because I commend your bold leadership, Mayor Solorio, by prioritizing the safety and the wellbeing of the Lenoir residents. And I express my support for the Community First Ordinance. This ordinance is about public safety. It's about community trust, and it's about putting community's needs first. And it's ensuring that every resident that calls Delano home feels safe when accessing city services and reporting crimes. The Community First Ordinance will use that the services in Delano are prioritized for Delano residents and not to aid in immigration enforcement because what is happening across the nation where no one is making it up and we shouldn't wait until it comes to our doors to do something.
And so this is a proactive approach to steps to take to what are we doing? And like Mayor Solorio have said, there are state laws and the landlord itself back in 2019 passed a resolution, but this ordinance goes a little further. And I commend Council Member Joe when he said that we are about enforcing the law, and that is simply what this ordinance will do. Make sure that any federal agency wanted to conduct enforcement, they follow the law. They have a judicial warrant and they are doing it by the books, and that is not what we're seeing across the country. And for that reason, we want to provide information about the false narratives, about false information being shared online and in community, saying that this ordinance risks federal grants, which again, Mayor Solorio have pointed out, there is no record of that or that we are hindering on federal enforcement. Again, this does not prevent law of federal agents from enforcing the law. Again, as long as they're doing it lawfully. The fact is that there are no clear examples that other cities have lost funding because of their sanctuary status. And the court has ruled that federal government cannot withhold funding from cities just because they're a sanctuary city. And so therefore, I support this ordinance and I hope that you see through the misinformation and the false narratives put out there to clearly represent a standup for the landlord residents as you've been doing and saying and carefully acknowledging that you're here to enforce law, not to overstep it. And this ordinance does not do that. Thank you.”
Abigail Rodella – “My name's Abigail Rodella. I am a public health and immigration organizer with Faith in the Valley. Faith in the Valley is a faith-based grassroots organization of leaders and volunteers from diverse faiths and racial backgrounds. We're anchored in a prophetic call of resistance to unite everyday people through their shared struggles to build an alternative narrative. Our old narrative found upon our own stories. As a Mexican-American, I am not afraid to acknowledge the privilege that I and many others hold in this room. Many of us who have achieved an educational degree overcome language barriers or risen up the professional ladder, gain a privilege that can cause us to become alienated from the very source of pain that ICE enforcement and detention centers inflict upon our immigrant communities. That alienation can lead us to see immigrants as either social projects or discuss their issues from an empathetic, power over, hands-tied perspective. Yet, while we go about our daily lives, families, friends, allies, and entire communities are being deprived of their unalienable rights in place like animals into detention centers that profit from their suffering. As an organizer, I have witnessed young children and students cry in fear as they describe the nightmare of coming home from school to possibly finding their parents gone. Due to recent executive orders, many of these children are more at risk of becoming lost in the American foster system, which disproportionately represents children of color in the welfare system. Even children whose parents have legal status are now becoming fearful of losing loved ones to ICE enforce violence and retaliation simply because of their accent or skin color. I applaud the city council for proposing the Community First Ordinance, which affirms the Delano community's safety and sends a clear message that ICE enforced violence cannot be tolerated. As we continue to work together, not just to advocate, but to actively mobilize our communities, I urge you all to remember that this work does not end here. Hundreds of immigrants, including your own constituents, are currently being detained across Ascension facilities in Kern County and are being subjected to inhumane treatment, denied medical and mental healthcare deprived of quality food, and subjected to racial discrimination and sexual harassment in these facilities. Faith in the Valley is committed to working side by side with community members, government officials like you, the city council and mayor, who have demonstrated the vision to support our communities during these times. I want to publicly thank you for your actions, and I hope that this can serve as an example to other cities across our county in demonstrating that we as a city care about our constituents and we care about everyone. Thank you.” Nancy Oropeza – “Good evening. This is Nancy Oropesa. I'm a Delano resident, 2120 Poplar Avenue.
First of all, I want to say thank you to Mayor Solorio Reese for your initiative on bringing up this issue as a resident of Delano and as a neighbor of our immigrant community. Personally, I work alongside a lot of people directly with fund workers, but also with the Filipino community and with our Latin America community. So that's the reason I'm here because it grabbed my attention. As a community member, I think it's a great initiative to bring this to our town for the safety and just listening to pastive speakers. I think I'm learning about this initiative that you're bringing to our town and also as a mother, I want to make sure that my kids feel safe, that we don't get to be Los Angeles or we don't get to be attacked by this agents just violating the law and not doing their right job by bringing the judicial warrants of all their jobs. They're just attacking our community. So, I just want to make sure that my kids feel safe and also I want to feel safe. And I want to say to you all to please listen to our feelings, to our thoughts as the community members, and I'm expecting the support of you all. Thank you.” Eunice Romero – “Yeah. Just really quick. My name's Eunice. So, it's kind of like what pastor said. Why kick the Hornets Nest if nothing's being done? Community first, right? Why can't you use all this effort that everybody's talking about into protecting these people and not causing a ruckus? Because I've watched the news. The federal government's going to come in whether we like it or not. They're going to do what they want to do. They just deal with the consequences later. Why can't we just help them do ... I see these people living in crappy housing. These landlords take advantage of the fact that they can't seek help, that they can't reach out to get legal help, to get proper housing. They're living in these tiny houses where there's 10 of them. It's like, why can't the efforts be put into making situations livably [sic] better for them? I've seen that how the healthcare system, they don't have insurance, so they have to pay cash.
It's like a lot of them pay out of pocket. It's like, why can't we do something to help them? You said community first, right? Flood came in and asked for help. It was denied. Why can't those kind of things come in and why can't those things be supported? And instead of kicking the hornet's nest and just bringing a spotlight and causing problems for them unnecessarily. Thank you.” Sylvia Romano (via interpreter) – “My name is Sylvia Romano. I'm a Resident McFarland Delano. I'm a community organizer with Faith in the Valley. I am thankful for this space. We know these are hard conversations to have. In a community when 90% or more is an immigrant community. We who work directly with these communities, we're here representing them, to thank this initiative and to show or support, as well as the community we work for, and you can see behind yourselves. Communities whose voices need to be heard, moreover, communities who need parents who can work in their farmer work place, students who can feel safe in their schools, but the fact that you guys take this initiative with the city first, you're showing the responsibility you have as a local authority, but moreover, the compromise that you're showing or working on their behalf. Something they ask me to mention to you is important because their health and their mental health, with this immigration policies are extremely affected by.
Having this safe zones increases their hope and safety for their families.” Pastor David Vivas – “Good evening, council members. Pastor David Vivas. I read the proposed community first ordinance. I read the whole thing, and so I understand it to mean that ICE officers, which is a federal law enforcement agency, cannot use city-owned or controlled properties for their operations without permission from the city. So, in other words, if ICE needs to use a city-owned property for an investigation or operation, they must have a judicial warrant or court order from a federal, state, or local magistrate based on probable cause and legally sufficient to compel compliance by the city of Delano. So, they just can't come in and use whatever, again, city-owned property without the permission from the city.
Also, this does not bar or keep ICE agents from walking into a city council meeting. If there's a person sitting in the audience that is wanted, that is a fugitive, maybe that has committed a heinous crime, murder, this does not prevent them from coming if they have a warrant for their arrest. They can walk into, so this ordinance is basically saying that they can't do their operations using city property. So, here's another thing that I've noticed a few times in this proposed ordinance is that we want the city to feel safe. My question is, say from who? The drug dealers, the murderers? I'm an advocate for victims of crime. We have over 50 people that have been killed here in Delano going back to 1980, and we don't know who killed them. Many of those cases have gone cold and we don't know. But there are people that have entered into our nation that have committed heinous crimes. And I believe that all of us would want those people out of here because you know what? It's not a right to come into the United States of America. It's a privilege. Big difference. It's a privilege to come in here. And I believe that people have a right to come into America and to better their lives. If they come from a nation where they're suffering poverty and they just want to come and better themselves. So, I'm all for that. But what I don't want is individuals like this 22-year-old that was arrested back in February 11th, living out here west of Delano operating a meth lab. And law enforcement agents came in and arrested that young man who was from Sinaloa, Mexico. That's what he was identified as. He was on the run from Kerman and he came here to Delano. So, see, we don't want those kind of people in here. We want people who are going to respect our laws and respect our neighbor. First of all, respect our safety. Thank you.” Maria Martinez – “My name is Maria Martinez. I live 1215 Lexington Street here in Delano. You already know. What I was saying, we have to be respectful to the people who are coming to speak. Sometimes these people talking, they don't know what our people go through. I'm going to tell you my story just a little bit. I know what they feel because I was an immigration victim, because they thought that I didn't have documents. Every time I was going to Mexico, my parents will have to come and save me because they thought that I didn't have documents. I feel like I was dying because they mistreat you. What you’re doing? Okay, but who's going to be there protecting our people? Do you understand me? We have to protect our children. We have two granddaughters who were in an immigration center in Texas. They were suffering, giving the medicine they didn't need. Right now they're scared. Even that they're young ladies right now, they live six years with us, and they're still scared for everything that's happening. Also, I didn't want to mention this, but we also in this due to President. Everyone who voted for him, I hope that you're thinking about what you did, because this is due to the President of the United States. I know the federal law has existed forever, but the other presidents were good to us because when we came, we created the federal law. We broke the federal law, but the day came, the day came, where we got a president who's doing the contrary to all the other ones. And I hope that everybody who voted for him really thinks next time. Thank you.”
America Cepeda – “Good afternoon. I'm going to be brief because I know there's not enough time. I have lived around my work associates. I work in the fields. That's why I'm saying it. When they're having these famous raids, when people start saying they're here, they're over there. There some fortunate ones like me that I have a residence, but I work with a lot of people that don't have a residency. Working in the fields, they start looking around asking, "Where am I going to hide if they come by?" And I am sorry for my tears. But working in the fields is really hard. It's something very hard. Seeing the person next to you, seeing them sad, frustrated, working, looking around, in fear because someone say they're on the street, they might come by. The contractors can say, "Close the doors." Try to stop them from coming in. I have family. I have siblings, but my siblings are everybody, all the Hispanic people. I'm not just speaking of blood relatives. I'm speaking of human brothers. We're all siblings before God. I'm not speaking about religion, not talking about politics. We have a good leader for this town. Also, like the person who spoke before me, who’s against this ordinance, but I knew and I understood that if they're going to be able to come in, if there's an order, obviously if there's someone accused of a crime, they need to bring an order.
I feel like that's what our leader is talking about. That's all I can say. I wish I could say more, but I know there's only very little time. Thank you so much for listening to me.” Roberto Ibarra – “In Europe, it's one community. This continent is not one continent. It's not one city, one country. No, it's divided. And somebody is messing up, somebody playing to their own rules. We all know that. We're not dumb, but governments are ... It didn't work according to whatever they want. Somebody who's higher, don't want it taken out, taken out, they're taken out and create property for people who are low income and what they have to do. Migrate? They have to migrate. And once they migrate, they find somebody. There's always somebody in there who teaches them and we're spending on the air. You can make more money, $3,000 a week without working on the fields. What's that person's going to do? It's going to go for the 3,000, better than 2,000 or 3,000 and work all day in the fields. It's messed up deal here. It's going, "But nevertheless, I appreciate what you're doing and I appreciate it. And I stand by you if that's all. All the people there are not behaving correctly in this country, get them out, period. I hate people when I see they doing drugs. I see the homeless doing drugs, the deteriorating of their houses because they doing drugs. I dislike that. I've been telling you though, all these things, the drugs, things that's going on is because the deteriorating people, families are deteriorating. Somebody's in there in their workplace. I past through that. And I joined the service at US Navy to get out of that stuff. And it gave me the courage to ... I saw so many things in the Navy and I said, "Hey, it's not for me, but I'm going to stand to myself." I see somebody who's pushing drugs and illegal aliens or whatever this call, ‘Hey, get them out. Get them out.’ Thank you.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz closed public comment.
Council Member Morris – “Yeah, this is ... First of all, let me ask, do we know how many cities in California have adopted this ordinance proposal?”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Off the top of my head, no, but I know that there's been quite a few.” Council Member Morris – “Oh, because I can see that the proposed ordinance came from the city of South San Francisco and the city of Pinole, right? I'm not sure.” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Correct. I have an explanation for that.” Council Member Morris – “Yeah. And I know that if we adopt this ordinance, that means that we'd be the first in Kern County. There's no other city in Kern County that has this proposal. And I really think that we have put some important priorities in place through SB54 to try to protect our immigrants from ICE.
And I think we're already a sanctuary city and the federal government, of course, is always threatening.
We don't know because they keep threatening us through to withhold money or whatever else. They want to scare communities that are sanctuary cities in California. But I don't like drawing any more attention to our city where the federal government is keeping a close eye on us. And I know that we need to protect the wellbeing of our community, and I'm just afraid that we would be constantly on their radar if we adopt this proposal. And then we don't know what the repercussions are, would be for government funding or how that would affect our community or our city. And not knowing because we don't know any of the city that's proposed this ordinance in their city or how that has worked for them. I don't think we want to take that chance right now. And I've talked to a lot of people in our community who are quite apprehensive about drawing that attention to our community. So, with that, I am not for the proposal, so that's where I stand at this point.”
Council Member Osorio – “Yeah, thank you, Mayor. First, thank you to everyone for your feedback, comments, and stories. I'm sorry we didn't get to everyone this evening, but nonetheless, getting a policy like this in front of us takes effort. So, I commend city staff's preparation, the community for providing input, my colleagues for considering this. As many of us who grew up in Delano, and as we see the news of families being traumatically separated by federal agencies, I think we understand the anxiety going around our immigrant families in Delano. And as a local elected official, I want our residents to be able to access or use city services without fear. And I believe this policy is one tool to facilitate that. But as we are coming to the conclusion of discussing this, I want to reiterate what the mayor has said, what some community members have said, which is that we don't want to overstate the scope of the policy. This ordinance prevents ICE from entering private city employee areas, and it says that they cannot conduct operations in public spaces like our parks or community centers without a warrant. That's that, but that's a solid step. The ordinance would still allow ICE agents to physically enter and be present in those public spaces. And even though folks are saying it may block federal intervention, I believe that the door is still technically open. We just hope that they enforce the law lawfully, especially when we see individuals, both immigrants and citizens with no criminal records being detained violently in other parts of California and in the country. The fear for a family seeing an agent in the city building would be the same, whether they are conducting an operation or not. But even with those limitations, taking action matters. And despite the fear that exists, establishing this boundary is something tangible to protect our public spaces, and I think it's a step in the right direction. But to close my comments, I hope that we strongly as a body here, as a community, consider revisiting other topics that can provide tangible protections as well that have come before this council, which is making sure our data sharing technologies aren't overly sharing sensitive information with federal agencies, as has been the case in other cities across the state. Further, a few years ago, we discussed the prospects of a legal defense fund to support local constituents. And if we are to be community first, I hope today's discussion is a starting line and that there's still more to be considered. So, I will be in support of this ordinance. Thank you.” Council Member Alindajao – “I think the premise of the mayor's ordinance is, as he was quoting the recent newspaper and TV coverage of it, that Latinos are being hunted in the streets of America to justify a proposed ordinance restricting federal immigration enforcement on state property. The proposal aims to ban ICE from using city resources such as parking lots, staging areas and buildings, et cetera. So, I think the issue here, I think we need to focus on what the issue actually is. We're not here to discuss federal immigration enforcement. I agree there's a lot of stories out there, a lot of news coverage about federal agents acting in bad faith, doing things that violate the Constitution, specifically the Fourth Amendment. I don't disagree with that, but that's not what we're here tonight for. We're not here to discuss the tension of individuals who are stopped, arrested, and being prosecuted by the federal government. I don't disagree with a lot of the comments and published news stories out in the community that there are mistreatment of some detainees. Conditions are sometimes deplorable. I don't disagree with that, but again ... Go closer. Okay. Can you hear me okay now? All right. Sorry. I don't disagree with the fact that there have been deplorable conditions in which detainees have been held that been treated, et cetera. I don't disagree with that. But again, that is not the issue before the council tonight. The issue before the council tonight is, will this use ordinance somehow protect the community? I heard a lot of comments about we want public safety. In fact, I think the mayor's proposing or arguing that this is somehow going to protect the community. And I just don't see the nexus, the connection between restricting the federal government from using city property and the protection of the public. In fact, there's zero evidence that federal immigration enforcement officers are hunting down individuals in the City of Delano. I haven't heard of a major operation in the City of Delano. There's absolutely no evidence. This ordinance is really a solution seeking a problem that just doesn't exist. Again, I heard a couple of comments about SB54. I heard the mayor comment about SB54. SB54 targets or focuses on law enforcement agencies and their cooperation with federal immigration officials. However, as one, I believe one comment was that in 2019, one of the public comments, which is accurate, in 2019, the City of Delano voted to adopt a sanctuary city status for the city, which I believe encompasses city buildings already. SB54 focuses on police department, and of course, we can litigate that issue, whether it does apply to city government buildings or not. The action that the council took in 2019, we can argue about that. But in my opinion, in my view, I believe that it does cover city buildings. But then again, the federal government's not knocking on our door unless staff can tell me otherwise. They're not knocking on our door asking to use our facilities to conduct ICE operations. I think the federal government has enough resources and wherewithal to enforce federal immigration law without the help of the city, city government. So, I think this is more of a solution in search of a problem that is really, at the end of the day, pointless. Another concern that I have, and I think one of the public comments brought up is that I think we're creating a sense of false hope in the community. We have a lot of public comments in which citizens are telling us, "Hey, we're really concerned about our safety. We're really concerned about our safety." And the inference is that somehow the City of Delano can do something about that to protect or to alleviate their fears, but that is simply not the case. Again, if the federal officials and law enforcement are looking for you, they will find you and they will arrest you. They will knock doors down with a proper warrant. They'll do whatever it takes to find their target, and there's nothing, not a damn thing the city's going to do about it. Now, you want to discuss enforcement and treatment of individuals, of detainees, of arrestees, violation of the Fourth Amendment, mistreatment while in detention facilities, that's a different conversation. And frankly, that conversation is a subject matter of the federal government and your federal representatives in Washington. It's not a subject matter for the City of Delano to take up. And I'm sorry that's happening. I'm sorry that people's rights are being violated. I'm sorry, and I feel bad that people are being mistreated. They're in deplorable conditions while being detained, but that's not within the subject matter of the city. So that's one issue that there's nothing about the ordinance. There's not an issue that I see that is compelling, urgent, or necessary that requires the city of Delano to pass an ordinance to simply allow the federal government not to use the government buildings. Again, my argument is that that law or that prohibition already exists with a 2019 enactment of sanctuary status for the city. The other issue that I see that's raised with this ordinance is the effectiveness of the solution.
Again, I think I touched on that a little bit already. The effectiveness of this ordinance is moot. In other words, it's not effective at all. It will do nothing to alleviate fears. It does nothing to protect public safety.
I think arguably, public safety is implicated when federal immigration officers can execute a valid judicial warrant and arrest people that are committing violent crimes, murders, rapes, getting them off the streets. Really, it's on that side of the aisle that I think public safety is really implicated, not in, "You can't use my building." So, I fail to see the nexus between, "You can't use my building.” and a safe community. I think what's making this community safe is the gentlemen that are in this room and the Chief, those that wear the badge in the blue uniform, those are the individuals that are making significant progress at a material dent in public safety when it comes to this community in this city. Again, federal law trumps, state law, I don't think there's anything really that the city government's going to do by way of ordinance that's going to stop federal officials. Again, SB54, I understand from Council Member Morris that this ordinance is adopted from the City of South San Francisco. Perhaps they have to make their own decisions. Perhaps that's an issue of significance in the City of South San Francisco. But I can tell you from being in the city all my life, representing this community since 2018, that that has never been an issue when it comes to the use of government buildings, federal law enforcement and public safety. I fail to see the nexus between the two. Again, I think this ordinance is really about political theater. I think this is just a political stunt to get attention. I think in that we've succeeded. We've gotten the attention of the community, the county, the press, the community. For an ordinance that really is, like I said, a solution looking for a problem, I encourage my colleagues to vote this measure down. Thank you.”
Mayor Pro Tem Nunez – “I am not in favor of this ordinance. I think it's an ordinance that's given a false sense of security to people who are already afraid of what's going on, what we're seeing on TV, what you're hearing, all the rumors and everything else. There's nothing saying that they cannot come to this building if they're chasing you. What's going to eventually happen, and we've seen this happen several years ago, people who feel that if I can get to a city property, I'm going to be safe. And that's not the case.
You can run. We see that 25 years being a police officer. People say we get behind them, pull them over and they don't want to stop and we get into pursuit and they pull into their driveway and they say, "Hey, I made it home. You can't stop me anymore. I'm at home." There's a thing I believe is case law behind the calls. Hop pursuit. Chase you all the way till they grab you. They can choose the location where to go get you. When they're coming for you already, regardless what law enforcement agency, either it's immigration, custom informants or police department, sheriff department, highway patrol, whoever you want to say, US marshals, they already have a warrant for you. They don't need the stage in our parking lots for our cities to come and enforce it. They can look for you, sit there. They'll sit in front of your house. They'll sit in the Vallarta parking lot. They'll sit in Walmart. They'll sit in Target. They don't care where they're going to sit. They're going to sit there. This ordinance does not restrict them from going there. All it says is they cannot use our building to stage. They'll go somewhere else. They're not going to sit here and stage if they're looking for you if you live over off of Garces and Albany. There's no need to stay here. They're going to go sit in those areas and enforce you. There's nothing in here that safeguards anybody. That's all I have.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Okay. I'm going to try to address some concerns and questions that I heard from the audience and some that I heard up here on the dais. And of course, there are exceptions to a warrant and I won't get into the details of that, but there are exceptions to a warrant. If you want to learn about them, search them up, research them. And of course, if there's an exception to a warrant, then that of course is not needed. But in terms of this policy being phrased as political ambition or political theater, when did we assume that fighting for our immigrant community, that advocating for our immigrant community is political theater? You know what's political theater to me, and we don't call it out, is prioritizing to further alienate our street vendors, which is something that individuals on this council have done before. So how is that not political theater, but this is? Okay. The other part of it, there's currently a Kern County injunction because of what we saw initially. So this idea that, oh, it hasn't happened here. We haven't seen it. There was actually a Kern County injunction that occurred when this administration came into power that said that they cannot stop individuals just because of the color of their skin. You want to know why? Because they were stopping people based on the color of their skin.
And in order for someone to be stopped, you need reasonable suspicion, not just to be brown in America.
And yes, I did bring forward two policies, one from South San Francisco and another from the City of Pinol, and I'll tell you why. Because yes, no other city has done it in Kern County. So does that mean that it stops us from doing it? What I did, is I took a step back and I said, ‘What in the hell are elected leaders in California doing?’ And thankfully, because of the connections and the networks that I've made, I have two friends who are the mayors and elected representatives of those two cities who said, ‘Sal, we did this.
This is what you can do to put those guardrails up.’ I am not trying to paint a false hope here. I'm not trying to paint a false hope that Immigration Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol that you're going to be safe from them. That is not what this policy says. This policy provides guidelines on administrative procedures on saying if they do come here and they want to do some type of raid or you name it, that there's going to be documentation, that the City Manager's going to contact department heads, community members, elected representatives. There's going to be a documentation process. And guess what? This actually doesn't go that far because there's another city that actually incorporates in their ordinance that if they do, if they do not listen and abide by this ordinance, there's a lawsuit that initially takes place. I did not incorporate that in this because it's important to look at the pros and cons of all of it. I will say as well that there's this idea, of course, that this is only to target public safety, and that's actually not the case. If that is only what we got from this, you're missing the point. This does not just target public safety. This is about our residents accessing the city services that they need to access. And yes, it hasn't happened in Delano, but am I going to be the first one to say, ‘Have you not turned on the TV? Have you not turned on the news?’ And if it offends people that much that I say that Latinos are being hunted in the streets of America, turn on the news because what we are witnessing should shake all of us to our core. And this idea as well that this does not do anything, that this policy does not do anything. It's false sense of security. Well, then this same council, or of course others who are not here, voted for the sanctuary city policy or resolution. And the reason that I didn't go with resolution, and I'll tell you why. In my opinion, is because a resolution is a statement of our values, and I appreciate the heck out of it. I do. But this is an ordinance because we are trying to make sure that there is an administrative procedure of if this happens, what do we do? And let me tell you, I've said it countless times. If we fail to prepare, we fail our community. If we say we're not going to have conversations because it's uncomfortable or because we don't want to seem as a target, what in the heck are we doing here? And so with that, I respect my colleague's decision. I really do because this is America and in America, we have differences of opinions. And right now in our politics and our government, it is frowned upon to have tough conversations on that matter. And I believe that this conversation in itself, guess what? It just opened up a box of what in the heck are we doing in Kern County? Okay. So, with that said, I have a motion to approve. Do I have a second?”
Motion was made for approval by: Solorio-Ruiz;
2nd by: Osorio
Vote: 2-3 (Motion Failed)
Ayes: Solorio-RuizOsorio
Nays: Nunez/Alindajao/Morris
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS
No Items.
COUNCIL STATEMENTS AND REPORTS
Council Member Bryan Osorio – “Yeah, I think just on my end, want to share that in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce, we attended the resource fair for DreamBig. They'll be having some early intervention for kids under the age of five. They're not open just yet, but I think they have a great program that's going to be up and running soon. I also want to thank Vice Mayor Nunez for the invitation to the crab feed luncheon this past weekend where I believe all of my colleagues attended. It was great seeing family and friends there. And of course, we were all at the grant opening of Target this past week, and a lot of people are excited. A lot of people seemed happy, and so it's great to see economic development grow in the city of Delano. That's it for me.”
“Sorry, Mayor, can I just echo that sentiment? I think it's a high priority. And yeah, I think I've heard it on Albany, on County line, on Randolph. So yeah, I think if we can have a discussion on that at a future meeting, that'd be great.”
Council Member Alindajao – “Thank you, Mayor. I attended the same grand opening of Target. If any of you have not been to Target yet, you should go visit. It's a beautiful store. One of probably the nicest targets in the county. We had a great time. Everybody was there. A lot of people were there. I want to also ask our city staff to bring an issue back. I'm not sure if it goes by way of study, first of traffic study, but I've received a few complaints about a particular intersection on the West Side Seventh and Dover Place.
And it's one of those on the west side, those intersections where there's no yield on either side in either direction. And I think it's creating some issues. There's been at least two accidents or collisions there that I know of, and that's Seventh and Dover Place. Look into that, please. I also attended the crab feed with our council. We had a good time. Always good to see old friends that you don't see often on a regular basis, so had a good time. If you missed it this year, make plans to attend next year. It goes to a great cause, and I hope to see you next year. Thank you. Goodnight.” Council Member Morris – “I've been talking to people in the community and every time I meet up with something, they're always talking about speeding cars. And I know that's probably prevalent all around the city because every time I hear it's a different street somewhere. And I know people are getting upset because their pets are getting run over or something's happening, but I don't know what we can do about that or set up those things to say how fast you're going or whatever. But I think that's a primary concern for the people that live here in this community is that speeding cars because they all want the bumper, the little thing. Everybody on their street, and I go, "Well, that's not going to happen because it's a major artery road or something like that. You just can't put those speed bumps there." But everybody call says, ‘Put a speed bump over here.’ So if you look into that or see what we can do about curbing some of that in our community.”
Mayor Pro-Tem Nunez – “I also attended the Target grand opening. One of the things that I learned at the Target through the developers in the area, they say it's okay. We can say this. They have signed and are currently in the process of building the Dutch Pros and the Chick-fil-A are both coming in at the entrance to Target. Other than that, that's all I have.” “Just be careful. We're asking for enforcement. So this place is going to get full with people who got speeding tickets, and there's going to be a lot of our people that, "Oh, I was late to school. I was late to work. I was late to this. This was put up in the city council when I was a police officer, and I was assigned off of Cecil and Browning with car speeding. And the first car I pulled over was a Delando City Council member doing 72 miles an hour and a 25." Just understand it's coming.” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz - “Thank you for that. Myself, included with Vice Mayor Nunez and Councilman Morris, we attended the award dinner for our City Manager. I got to bring it up. Come on now. Our city manager received the Darrell Houth Brand Regional Award of Merit for Distinguished Leadership at this year's Kern County Council of Governments. Congratulations to the manager. And I've said it countless times, the success of this city is because of its leadership, and I put you at the top, of course. So, thank you, of course, the chief as well for his work in our community. I also, as many others, have been participating in Read Across America. It is some long days talking to these young people and reading some books to them and a lot of requests that we have coming in. Let's see, what else? What else? Of course, I also participated in the grand opening of Target. That is a big deal, and I don't think I have to explain much more of how much of a big deal it is. I think the city is really moving forward in the direction that a lot of folks want it to go to, and I think that it is absolutely something that we should applaud. And of course, it's thanks to staff, to poor staff who's here in the audience as well for the vision that we all have for this great city. I also want to note the Delano Police Department is educating community about the virtual kidnappings of don't become a victim, where someone calls you portraying to be someone else, and they try to ask for money, et cetera. There's social media posts about it that educate community. So please let folks know to not fall into being a victim of that. And then I also attended the crab feed. Thank you, the Guadalupe, and then of course the crab feed as well. And I believe that is all on my end.”
CLOSED SESSION
No items
ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Nunez seconded by Osorio and unanimously carried 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 7:39pm. _____________________________________________
Ricardo G. Chavez, City Clerk