MINUTES
CITY OF DELANO
CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING
April 6, 2026
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz called the meeting to order at 5:16 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, Liz Morris, Bryan Osorio Council members absent: Joe Alindajao
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, Transit Manager Alapisco and Fire Chief Crist
PRESENTATIONS AND AWARDS
• Mayor Solorio-Ruiz presented the Proclamation for Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month to Lideres Campesinas.
• Mayor Solorio-Ruiz presented the Proclamation for Relay for Life to the Delano Relay for Life committee.
• Mayor Solorio-Ruiz and Chief of Police Nicholson provided the presentation of Life Saving Award to Officer Julio Galvan.
ITEMS FROM THE PUBLIC
1. Roberto Ibarra – “We cross a crosswalk on the bike, nearly got run over by them. And that's one thing. And the other one is speeding. I don't know what's going on. Could you move the mic? I feel like you're cutting in and out. Oh, okay. The speeding is ... I'm on my bike. I ride my bike. I bicycle through town and all of a sudden, this car's come close to me ‘Ahrrrrrrr’. It's deafening and I don't know what's going on. I can't even hear from blocks away. I don't know what they are trying to show off and it came to my attention that by 20th Avenue, the school, people are driving fast in the area. And so, if you can take a look at that. Thank you very much for the ... And also one thing ... No, no, that's for another...”
2. Neyra Ronk – “Hello, good evening. My name is Neyra Ronk and I live on Calle Morris. I am here today to address the safety concern on the corner of Calle Morris and Aguirre where speeding continues to be problematic. I know that we have reached out to the city and two surveys have been done at this time. And even within the surveys, although they were done at times where normally people are working, so there's not a lot of traffic, they still analyzed over 500 vehicles and the top speed being 38 in November, and then top speed being 35 in January.
And I would just like to bring it up. Maybe we could do another survey, maybe at a different time on the corner of Calle Morris and Aguirre, so we can see the cars that are cutting off the corner, and those are the cars that are not being watched. Also, we do have some speed bumps on the park, but they're on Reyna Avenue. So, we've kind of noticed that the traffic is now going through Calle Morris to avoid the speed bumps on Reyna, which is just creating a little bit more of traffic and a lot of speeding on that side, at least in the corner. So just kid safety. Thank you guys so much for your time. ”
3. Fernando Bravo – “Oh, my name, Fernando Bravo, 1417 Belmont Street. Okay. I'm here to give thanks to Pedro Nunez who came through for us for setting up those benches at the seniors and putting up that barbecue grill. Super. Pretty. And we used it today, well last week also. So, I want to thank you, Pedro. And I want to ask also if they can add two more benches, maybe right there where the swing, not the swings, the slides are at, because I see parents that they take their kids there and they're just standing while they're playing the slides, whatever. So, give them a place to sit and take care of the kids. And also, if it's possible, get up two trees planted right there by the pit to get some shade. And I just want to beautify the park. It's really coming out good. So that's it.”
4. Pastor David Vivas – “Good evening, council members. Pastor David Vivas. Just wanted to first and foremost say that I did not appreciate the negative remarks that came in as a result of the ‘Community First’ ordinance that did not pass at the last city council meeting. I know that all of us have our opinions one way or the other, but I wish this was televised because most of the drama that we saw online came from people that don't even live in Delano. And there was so much negative remarks coming from both the Republicans and the Democrats. I do have a political position, and I found myself defending city council members here in Delano, even the ones that I may have a disagreement with when it comes to our ideology. But one thing that I want to say is that Delano City Council, anytime I've needed to speak to any of our council members, and that's all of them, they've always taken time to speak to me. So, I want to thank each and every city council member who has taken time to listen to me, our city manager, our city clerk, anytime I needed something. And so, this is the type of people that we are here in Delano.
We get along with each other. At the end of the day, we get along with each other, but there's a lot of outside drama. People that don't live here probably don't even shop here. And as far as I'm concerned, I'm a very kind person, but we don't need that drama here in Delano. They can stay in their own communities, but Delano is a very welcoming community. We are the international community working together. That's our motto. And so, I just want to say that anytime that myself or anybody else may have a disagreement with an ordinance or whatever, it's never personal. I personally appreciate the fact, like I said, everyone has taken time to hear me out, to speak to me.
You've never made me feel like you're in a hurry, and ‘Come on here, Pastor David, get it over with. What do you have to say? I'm in a hurry.’ No city council member has ever made me feel that way. And so, I just want to say I appreciate all your time, appreciate the work that you do behind the scenes and the staff, city staff that nobody sees. And I realize that a lot of times people complain, but yet they don't have no clue or idea of the work that goes on here at City Hall. So, I want to say thank you for that. And we have a great community. Look at the presentations that we're just given right now, Relay for Life. We look at the Lifesaving Award for our police officers.
And then thank you for recognizing this month a sexual assault awareness. I know that here in Delano that there's still a problem, but these people, hopefully people will come forward who have been victims and the perpetrators, hopefully they're caught, arrested, and made an example of. Thank you.”
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 $2,433,884.33
3) Minutes of regular Council meeting of March 16, 2026 4) Minutes of special Council meeting of March 23, 2026 5) Acceptance of the 2024 Transit Maintenance Facility Roofing Project and authorizing the filing of the Notice of Completion
6) Adopt resolution extending the Public Safety & Communications Dispatcher I Hiring Bonus Program (Resolution No. 2026-14)
7) Adopt resolution revising the Police Officer Hiring Bonus Program, extending it through fiscal year 2026-27 and authorize the Finance Director to appropriate funds (Resolution No. 2026-15)
8) Adopt a resolution declaring the former Voice of America Property (APNs 520-140-01, 521-090-01, 521-090-02, 521-090-03), not including an approximately 20-acre portion thereof to be retained for future park purposes, to be surplus property, authorizing the City Manager to issue a Notice of Availability of the surplus property, and finding the same to be exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (Resolution No. 2026-16)
9) Resolution of the City Council of the City of Delano authorizing designated positions to execute any actions necessary for obtaining financial assistance provided by the Low Carbon Transit Operations (LCTOP) and authorizing the utilization of LCTOP funds to offer free and reduced fares for fixed routes, dial-a-ride and on-demand in the amount of $92,194 (Resolution No. 2026-17)
10) Authorize City Manager to execute Agreements for the City’s Health Plans for the Period of July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027 (Agreement No. 2026-10) (Agreement No. 2026- 11) (Agreement No. 2026-12)
11) Second Reading and adoption of an ordinance authorizing the Levy of Special Taxes in a Community Facilities District (Ordinance No. 2026-1372) 12) Approval of a Task Order to Agreement No. 2021-45 with QK Inc. for $210,000.00 to provide environmental support services for the High Street Flyover Project, and authorize the City Manager or her designee to sign any documents needed to carry out this project (Agreement No. 2026-13)
13) Request Approval of Fee Schedule for Use of City Equipment and Staff Support for NonCity Events (Resolution No. 2026-18) 14) Report on the Status of the Local Emergency regarding the failed Sewer Main located on 1000 High Street Pursuant to Public Contracts Code § 22050 Motion was made by: Nunez to approved items 1-7, 9-11, 13,14 on consent items; 2nd by: Osorio
Vote: 4-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: Alindajao
Abstentions: None
Item No. 8 pulled by: Roberto Ibarra
Reason for pulling item: “My concern is since I asked a while back that if the airport could have been moved over to the area, and I guess it was not. So it was not on the agenda, not even now and not even the future. But I mean, is there any chance ... We need to get jobs here in Delano. I don't know if you have any plans for trying to get somebody to create jobs like that. I worked for Sears Logistics. I worked there for 23 years. I retired from them. And right now the facility is kind of slow, real down. And I was thinking maybe in the future this lot of land could be used for bringing in more maybe jobs to the area. I mean, we need jobs. Agriculture is not enough. Houses right now, they're being built by Albany. No. Yeah, Albany and Countyline are very, very expensive. And the used houses are too expensive also. And people who work in the fields, they only make 14,000, 20,000 a year. And I understand whoever makes 80,000 cannot even, not even qualify because my son, I have to help them out to qualify for one of the houses. I even have to help them. So, we need jobs. Bottom line, we need jobs. High paying jobs. I mean, just houses.
Houses are not enough because you're only going to go to the city fundings for the taxes, taxes, taxes, taxes, the hated taxes word. So, we need jobs where we can have our kids have something that they can develop abilities or something that they can do more than just the fields.” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Yeah, thank you. Thank you. And of course, to clarify, this item is not for the airport idea that you have, but either way Yes. Either way, of course, as we often say, the Voice of America property and project is the future of Delano, and there's a lot that's going to go into it. This is in particular designating to acquire 20 acres into what we can do a staff report if needed.” Roberto Ibarra – “I remember well back. A city official, the land where city where what's named Sears land was built, it was purchased by the city, and then the city, I believe, sell them to them for, say, 35 cents an acre so they can build whatever they want to. And so if it came to a win-win situation for the…” Mayor Pro Tem Nunez – “She's going to answer your question right now. Okay.” City Manager Reyna – “Yes. Honorable Mayor and members of the City Council. Mr. Ibarra has a wonderful idea, and it's certainly one that staff has thought of as well as endorsed by council. In 2016, staff did travel to Washington DC. We met with the FAA to try and get approval to relocate the airport to the Voice of America property so that the city owned property over at the airport could be further utilized.
However, due to the numerous changes in the flight path that would need to be done, the FAA did not allow the city to relocate the airport to the Voice of America property. So, for now, the airport will be staying at its current location. However, for the Voice of America property, Honorable Mayor, you are correct. That's not necessarily this item. This item is merely requesting that council approve the 20-acre retention of the property over at the Voice of America and proceed with the surplus property requirement that we have to go through in order to develop that land. And then the development will consist of multiple jobs. I mean, it'll consist of housing, it'll consist of retail, commercial, it'll be community facilities. It'll be a number of different things. I mean, there's just so much property there that when it gets developed, it'll be just a huge number of jobs that will be coming.” Motion was made to approved item no. 8 by: Morris;
2nd by: Nunez
Vote: 4-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: Alindajao
Abstentions: None
Item No. 12 pulled by: Anthony Cortez
Reason for pulling item: “Oh, I just want to thank you. Thank you, mayor and city council. I was reading this over and this is a long time ... Coming, the High Street Flyover Project. I looked at a few cities that have this kind of thing developed and it looks very, very nice. So I just want to encourage you to approve of this. I just have a question though. The $210,000, that's for environmental, because this project's going to cost millions. And is it Caltrans? Is it state? I'd just like to know who's paying for that.
Thank you.”
Staff report provided by City Engineer Rodriguez.
Council Member Morris – “I would just like to mention that this actually, this $210,000 is just for the environmental, right? Just to check the environmental. Right. So that doesn't include the cost of what it's taking to draw the plans up for that bridge to go over and it's not included and the cost of what that bridge is going to cost. So yeah, so I just kind of wanted to make that clear.” Motion was made to approved item no. 12 by: Nunez;
2nd by: Osorio
Vote: 4-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: Alindajao
Abstentions: None
PUBLIC HEARINGS
No items.
REGULAR AGENDA
15) Introduction of an Ordinance Adding a New Chapter 13.06 to the Delano Municipal Code to Prohibit and Enforce Water Theft, Unauthorized Water Use and an Unauthorized Connection to a Fire Hydrant, as Allowed by State Law, and Amending Two Sections of Chapter 13.04 to Reference the New Chapter and Update the Code Public Works Director Nunez provided the staff report.
Council Member Morris – “Yeah, I didn't even know that went on. So how does one hook up to a hydrant? Is there a hose part of that?”
Public Works Director Nunez – “It's a specialty hose, it's a specialty key, but we've found staff has found people, especially around the edge of Delano, connecting to the water hydrant, stealing water.” Council Member Morris – “Well, I could see from this ... I used to hear a stealing from your neighbor or something like that, but never from a hydrant. Like I said, when I read that and I go, ‘Gosh, that is news and I had no idea that people could hook up too.”
Public Works Director Nunez – “It's been happening a lot and…” Council Member Morris – “How do you detect that? I mean, how will you know?” Public Works Director Nunez – “It's hard to detect. It's usually when staff is driving around doing their inspections or they're on a job from one place to the other and they find somebody parked next to a hydrant and they see water leaking everywhere and they see water going into somebody's tank and that's the only way. So now, before staff would approach them and say, "Hey, you got to disconnect." And they would disconnect the lead, but now we can actually find them and ticket them with this new ordinance.
Council Member Morris – “You say they have a key or who…” Public Works Director Nunez – “Has- Yeah, it's a special wrench. Yeah. Thank you. A lot of contractors have them because they do check out a fire hydrant meter from us legally, pay the deposit and then pay the usage, and they do have a key for it. So those keys are available if you go to Ferguson Waterworks, just the big contractors have. You can't buy them at Home Depot, but you can find them easily available.” Council Member Morris – “That's all I have. I just wanted clarification of that. It was just astounding that ... And I'm thinking when I think of fire hydrants, I think of a lot of water, okay? Coming out. It's a lot of water. I didn't know that there was somewhere that you could attach a hose or something to it and get water.”
Council Member Osorio – “No, this seems straightforward. Thank you to you and your staff for identifying these violations and hopefully it does save the community some water.” Mayor Pro Tem Nunez – “Yeah, this is also a good thing. The only question I have, do you think the initial citation of $130 is enough to deter somebody from taking water? I don't know how much a water truck costs if they build up an entire water truck or some of these developers decide to just tap into our city and start using our water. That’s water that we're taking from our city and then water that potentially can increase our rates in the city of Delano. So, you do feel the $130 is enough for the first time?” Public Works Director Nunez – “$130 is for ... If they hook onto a meter, just like a regular meter at home, somebody comes in and steals water from your hose bib or something like that. For a fire hydrant, first violation is $2,500. So hopefully that'll…”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “There's three different components, right? There's the $130 fine for the regular one, and then there's the $1,000 and the $2,500, but those are different categories.” City Attorney Hensley – “There's also technically a grant theft on top of this, and also, we can charge them for the value of the water they took. So, there are other tools on top of this, but Sacramento wanted ... Apparently, it's a statewide problem, and Sacramento put in some additional fines to try to discourage people.”
Motion was made for approval by: Nunez;
2nd by: Morris
Vote: 4-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: Alindajao
Abstentions: None
16) Authorize an amendment to the City Manager's employment agreement providing for a contribution of 4% of the City Manager's salary towards a deferred compensation plan (Agreement No. 2026-14)
City Attorney Hensley provided the staff report.
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz opened public comment.
No public comment.
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz closed public comment.
Council Member Morris – “No, I have no comment. I think well deserved.” Council Member Osorio – “Same as Ms. Morris. This seems like a job well done, especially after being recognized by Kern COG recently.”
Motion was made for approval by: Nunez;
2nd by: Morris
Vote: 4-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Nunez/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: Alindajao
Abstentions: None
17) Introduction and first reading of an ordinance amending sections 10.16.200 (Procedures establishing parking zones), 10.16.210 (Parking zones established) and 10.16.220 (Parking more than two hours prohibited) of the Delano Municipal Code and finding the ordinance exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act Staff report provided by City Engineer Rodriguez.
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz opened public comment.
Lillybeth Lopez – “I still see my name and address. Okay. Hi, my name is Lillybeth Lopez. I would like to bring attention ... Oh, wait. I'm located at 1031 Main Street at Penelope Salon. I'd like to share a few concerns about why this enforcement creates challenges for our business. First, we do not have access to any designated back parking, so both employees and clients rely entirely on street parking along Main Street and 11th Street. As for the businesses next to us, Simple Advantage Insurance and Perfect Silhouette and the other ones surrounding us. Second, as hairstylist, we are typically booked to back to back with clients throughout the day. In many cases, we do not even have time for a proper lunch, let alone the ability to step away every two hours to move our vehicles. Additionally, our clients schedule their appointments to focus on their services, not to worry about parking limitations. Many of our services take anywhere from three to six hours to complete depending on the client's hair and service being performed. During much of that time, clients have chemical treatments in their hair and cannot leave the chair to move their cars. For these reasons, I respectfully ask that you reconsider or make accommodations regarding ticket enforcement for hairstylists and surrounding businesses in this area.
Thank you for your time and consideration.”
Yoita Harrelson – “Hi, Yota Harrelson, owner of Simple Advantage Insurance on 11th Avenue. And our concerns are the same as they were last time. It's not only where we're parked on Main Street, but we're the side streets. Again, we didn't get a chance to vote in regard to whether we wanted to be part of that, agree to the two-hour parking or not. Also, we were told that we can go to the parking lot that's behind us, which is 800 11th. But that sign specifically states that it's only for those businesses and the patrons that are within those businesses. So, it's like, what sign do we follow? The two-hour parking or the sign that says we have to have a business there to park there. It's very confusing. And the other thing I want to address is how are we marking the vehicles? Are we still taking pictures? Because I never got an answer on that. Because if we are, there's no way to prove we moved if we're doing pictures. Because again, we kind of have designated parking. Everybody parks in their specific spot within those businesses. So, if I leave and then come back and go to the same parking spot, you can't tell whether I left or not because you haven't marked me. They can only take pictures. So, my concerns are we need to look a little further into how we're marking signage, where we can park, what's legally to park by the alley at 800 11th. So just take those into consideration. We're trying to finalize this. Thank you.” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz closed public comment.
Council Member Osorio – “Thanks. Could anyone on staff clarify the signage that was referenced by the resident? I would assume it would just be public parking, but are there some conditions that have to be met? I haven't seen it.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “You have a picture? You can show it to the City Manager.” Council Member Osorio – “Or to Mr. Rodriguez.”
Council Member Osorio – “So I think my question is if that is a city of Delano sign or area because part of the things we're discussing today is signage. Thank you, Ms. Reyna. I think the follow-up question there, just for my understanding is I think today and in a previous meeting, folks have mentioned that they don't have parking in the alleyways. Are there supposed to be a set number of parking spots for folks?” Mayor Pro Tem Nunez – “Ms. Reyna, when the city was forced built back in the 19th whenevers [sic], there was no kind of parking, off-street parking requirement or anything like there is now. So, a lot of main street and a lot of the side streets do not have a requirement for off-street parking like we currently have within our city ordinances.
City Manager Reyna – “You are correct, Vice Mayor. And it's almost like if you buy a home, maybe you bought one and it was built in 1970, it may be completely different than the next home next door. I mean, so one business may have some parking in the back. Other businesses have built out that they take over that whole property. So it is really dependent on the business and the building that's on there currently. I don't know if there's a specific requirement. I don't believe so.” Council Member Osorio – “Yeah, thank you. That's helpful. I think for me, initially my reaction to that would be Council Member Alindajao last meeting brought up about having some type of exceptions. The only catch there is that if we provide exceptions there, it was brought up last meeting that more folks from not those businesses would be parking there. I wonder if we can move forward with this ordinance with some general language about what certain exceptions could be met for certain business owners, and then we can elaborate on that as we find a more efficient process that doesn't have any workarounds that folks could misuse, if that makes sense.”
City Manager Reyna – “Council members, certainly the staff can work with the council to establish those types of exceptions, but that's going to be a longer process than just tonight or even a first or second reading. Because like you said, if you're going to make exceptions for one particular occupation, what happens when the building changes owners or changes business and it's no longer a hair salon, it becomes some kind of fitness studio. I mean, so it just really depends on what the council is looking for.
We can establish those exceptions, but you have to understand it's going to have to be fluid because things are going to be changing all the time downtown. A lot of those businesses are absentee property owners, and so a lot of those businesses are just leasing. And when they lease, they understand that this is what they're leasing, this is the building, this is the structure and what their parking ability may be.
Council Member Osorio – “Yeah, no, thank you. So then again, this will be posed to the council as well. I know we have a map here on what enforcement could look like, but I wonder if for now, and as we figure out what this looks like over a long-term planning process, if we make exceptions for those side streets, and again, it'll be up to the businesses if they can get there before others who aren't requiring that parking. I think that's one of my recommendations tonight for the council to consider. And then again, I think it'll require some more build out for sure, but those are my immediate thoughts.” City Manager Reyna – “I think if you do the side streets, that's easier to enforce than if you do some kind of exceptions where there's a parking permit that needs to be issued and keeping up annually with that permit, and then do those permits get labeled on the car or does it move with the driver? I mean, there's just all kinds of other issues that come up.”
Council Member Morris – “I think my position is still the same as it was last time. I think two-hour parking is plenty of time for anyone to conduct business downtown. And I know I feel for the salons, but not everyone is a salon downtown or Main Street. We have a lot of businesses and as we surveyed or took surveys from many of the business owners when we walked Main Street, they said that two-hour parking was sufficient and they'd rather have customers park out there rather than employees parking out on the street. So, my position is still a two-hour limit. Thank you.” Mayor Pro Tem Nunez – “I'm the same with the two-hour parking. One of the problems we have with the exceptions, if we wanted to give every business owner or employee at their business a permit or a parking pass or whatever the city decided we wanted to call it, had we went that direction, just a mere fact on the 1200 block of Main Street, there's three barbershops and two hairstylists. One of those hairstylists has 10 chairs, the barbershop has four, another one has six. That is 20 people that we will give parking permits in the 1200 block of Main Street. That same block also has a one dance studio and a gym. So, there will be no parking spaces for anybody on that street other than employees. The other businesses in that area would not have any parking for people to park in front of their business. If we make the side streets exempt from any parking, people on Main Street who are getting cited, which are these employees, will start parking on these side streets. And we're going to have these business owners saying, ‘We have cars parked in front of our business all day long and nobody moves them, and there's nowhere for my customers to come and park.’ I understand that people are talking about the parking on Main Street.
There's two city owned parking lots, one in the 1000 block of High Street and one in the 1100 block of Jefferson. Comparable size to our city and the City of Bakersfield, City Los Angeles, City of Visalia, City of Tulare, including as far as the City of Fresno, we have more parking, and public parking spaces that we do not charge with in the same amount of area than any other city does our size. Again, I'm going to stick to the two-hour parking. This is a no win for anybody on this situation.” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Okay. So what I will say is currently, right now, there is a two-hour parking limit.
That is currently what is established now. And this conversation on parking has been going on and I haven't counted, but for about three to almost four meetings total how does parking look downtown, Main Street, et cetera, how do we navigate it? How do we tackle it? And so, the proposed ordinance tonight is an ordinance for a three-hour limit parking, which, I thought was kind of a middle ground for everyone involved downtown. But of course, whatever the council decides, but I am going to support the current three-hour limit that's proposed in the ordinance with the current guidelines and areas. I am all for exceptions, but I also believe that they need to be figured out and logistically if they work and how is it fair and how does the process look like? And that can be something that can still happen if Councilmember Osorio wishes to pursue that avenue and have conversations with city staff on how that looks and to figure it out. But as of right now, we need some type of logistical plan to how to deal with parking downtown. And if we don't do this, then it'll be two hours. If it dies tonight, then it's two hours of what it is now. And so, I'm supporting the three-hour limit, and I hope my colleagues do too. I think three hours is the middle ground for all of us to make everyone hopefully happy. And so, with that, I'll do a motion to approve.”
Council Member Osorio – “Mayor, if I can. I wonder if, because city staff put so much time into this, if we should wait for Councilmember Alindajao to also weigh in before making a motion.
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “If we do that, if we wait, then we will continue doing the two-hour limit until the next following meeting, right?”
City Attorney Hensley – “Two-hour limit will stay in place until there's a first and second read of the ordinance and 30 days elapses after the second read. So you'll lose ... I mean, if there are three votes for the three hours, you're going to lose a couple weeks.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Okay. Well, I'm ready to vote on it right now and I support the three hours.
There's a motion on the floor if anyone would like to at least support that. There's a motion to approve.” Motion was made for approval by: Solorio-Ruiz
Motion fails for a lack of a 2nd
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Okay. So that is one thing that is good thing that you brought that up, which by the way, no yelling across the room, but I appreciate it. But that is one thing that was brought up in regard to enforcement. Chief, if you want to at least say a few words in regard to how it's enforced.” Chief of Police Nicholson – “Honorable mayor and counsel, as explained last meeting that we discussed this, the community service officer will mark the tire or take a picture. Whatever that officer can testify to under the penalty of perjury of whether or not that vehicle moved, that community service officer has that option available or those two options.”
Mayor Pro Tem Nunez – “Thank you. Just to confirm, that is a standard, correct?” Chief of Police Nicholson – “Yes, it is.”
Mayor Solorio-Ruiz – “Thank you. Okay. Since my motion failed ... Oh, well, it didn't get a second. So I guess I'll entertain any motion that the council wishes to move forward. If not, then I guess there's no motion.”
Motion was made to continue matter to next council meeting by: Osorio; 2nd by: Solorio-Ruiz
Vote: 2-2 (Motion Fails)
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz/Osorio
Nays: Nunez/Morris
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS
No Items.
COUNCIL STATEMENTS AND REPORTS
Council Member Bryan Osorio – “Yeah. Good evening, everyone. It's been a while since we last got together. So, a few of my community updates are from the past few weeks, but I want to make sure that folks know about them. So first, I had the pleasure of attending the Delano Little League opening day on March 21st alongside my colleagues. It was a great kickoff for our local families. Later that month, I attended the grand reopening of our library, which is a great resource, and it looks beautifully updated.
So, I encourage you to check it out. And this past weekend on Saturday, I co-hosted a cleanup day right here in our downtown area. We had several volunteers come out to split into teams and pick up loose trash. A huge thank you to everyone who spent their Saturday morning with us giving back to Delano.
Thankfully, our downtown area wasn't too dirty to begin with, but extra effort always makes a big difference. And before concluding my report, I have a request for the council regarding a more serious matter. As many of you know, there have been recent troubling claims about a prominent community leader, and the severity of these claims have led to swift actions both statewide and nationally. Locally, we have seen the Delano Joint Union High School District hold a special meeting a few weeks ago to take similar action, and they began the process to rename one of their high schools. Given the precedent set by the school district and the questions I, and I'm sure others have been receiving, I am requesting if we can agendize a discussion at an upcoming council meeting to explore whether there is support here on the council for launching a public process to rename our local Cesar Chavez Park with community input. I know the obvious question will be to what? And I don't have a preferred name, but if we can move forward with this, I hope we can honor the families and loved ones who were involved in the farm worker movement. And just because it was brought up in a public comment, I would also like to uplift the speeding concern brought up on the cross streets of Morris and Aguirre to ensure that there is follow-up.
I've walked my dogs outside of this housing community along Albany Street, and I've seen a couple of cars going faster than I think most would be comfortable with. And that's it for me. Thank you.” Council Member Alindajao – Absent.
Council Member Morris – “No, I brought up the speeding thing last time. I think that is a quite concern in this community. I think every time we talk to somebody; everybody wants a speed bump on their street.
But in any case, the chief promised me that we're looking into that or see how we can curb that problem in our community because it is a problem. I just want to… said Little League opening as we went out there to support that. Glad to see so many kids out there playing ball and staying active. The other thing I want to mention, I wanted to thank the PD for bunnies and badges that they had this past week. And that was so much fun for a lot of kids out there. We got a good crowd out there , and I think everyone had a great time out there. I even got the Chief on video dancing, okay? Yeah, I'll show you guys. But in any case, I want to thank them for putting on a great community event. Our community needs those kinds of events in our town to bring everyone together, to have things that the kids can do in our town. And so I think everyone had a great time. So many vendors out there. We have a lot of people with a lot of popups and a large place, and it was perfect because it was right across the street and put the vendors up on one lot and then we put the eggs on the other side of the lawn. So it was a great event, great place really. So, thank you. Thank you, PD, for putting that on for us. The other thing, we went to ribbon cutting at Rancho Del Sol West, so that is a new housing developed that has opened up right behind Pioneer School. And so much housing needed in our community. So, we're glad to see some of those houses that are coming up.
And so that was a great event also, and they had a great ribbon cutting. And so, other than that, I think that's all I have. Thank you.”
Mayor Pro-Tem Nunez – “A few things. Everybody's asking for enforcement. Just be aware that this is distracted driving weak. So not only Delano Police Department, but several other law enforcement agencies statewide are currently going out and enforcing distracted driving. So, if you see a lot of police cars around writing a lot of tickets, this is part of what's going on. You might be the next candidate if you're distracted when you're driving. Other than that, the last thing I have is we had Officer Robert Geivet, who was a Delano police officer back when I started. Robert and I were both beat partners in the beginning, and he was also my SWAT buddy. When we had to go through the door, it was Robert and I.
And we always looked at each other, and we always gave each other that, look, ‘Hey, if something happens, tell my wife.’ Robert passed away a few days ago, long battle with a heart problem. So if we can end our meeting tonight and moment of silence for Officer Robert Geivet.” Mayor Solorio-Ruiz - “Thank you. Thank you, Vice Mayor. So I also attended the library ribbon cutting the grand reopening, so I encourage anyone to go out and get your library card. It is absolutely easy to do, and so I recommend anyone to do so. It supports our library. We are going to, or I'm going to at least inquire to city staff about the possibility of assisting the library in some form of capacity. I know we have collaborated with the library before in different forms, and so I know that they're always looking for ways to support the library, which is, in my opinion, I think we all need to in some form of capacity. I often say the way that you measure the success of a city is by how much we invest in our young people and the opportunities that arise, and the library is one of them. Let me see. I hope everyone had a good Easter.
Thank you to Councilwoman Morris for mentioning the great events that took place. And of course, kudos to PD, to our chief and the officers, and also Kiwanis for doing an event and everything that they're doing in regard to that, everything that they did. And in addition to Officer Robert Geivet, I also was made aware of some other community folks that their lives were lost these past couple of days that are no longer with us, which is Robert Shannon Ritchie and Isaac James Acosta have also are not with us anymore. And so I will include them in the moment of silence. And I think that it is unfortunate when we have losses in the community, but I think it's important for all of us to remember that each and every day is a blessing. We have absolutely no clue and no idea when our time will come. And so I will support the vice mayor in closing tonight with a moment of silence. Other than that, I will entertain a motion to go into closed session.”
Motion to go into closed session at 6:22PM by: Nunez
2nd by: Osorio
Vote: 5-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz /Nunez/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: Alindajao
Abstentions: None
The City Clerk was excused. City Manager was appointed as Acting City Clerk. City Manager Reyna, Finance Director Rios and City Attorney Hensley were present.
CLOSED SESSION
18) CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS pursuant to Government Code section 54956.8.
Property: 1721 11th Avenue, Delano, CA 93215
APN: 423-040-17
Agency negotiators: City Manager, Finance Director and City Attorney Negotiating parties: LifeHouse Church
Under negotiation: price and/or terms of payment
Direction was given. No reportable action.
Motion to go into open session at 6:33PM by: Nunez
2nd by: Solorio-Ruiz
Vote: 4-0
Ayes: Solorio-Ruiz /Nunez/Morris/Osorio
Nays: None
Absent: Alindajao
Abstentions: None
ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Nunez seconded by Solorio-Ruiz and unanimously carried 4-0 to adjourn the meeting at 6:33pm.
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Ricardo G. Chavez, City Clerk