MEETING MINUTES
The City Council/Successor Agency of the City of Firebaugh Vol. No. 22/10-03
PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH 11 OF EXECUTIVE ORDER N-25-20,
EXECUTED BY THE GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA ON MARCH 12, 2020 City Council Meeting held via teleconferencing
*Pursuant to Government Code Section 54953 (b) (2), all action taken during this teleconferenced meeting shall be by roll call vote.
Location of Meeting: Andrew Firebaugh Community Center
1655 13th Street, Firebaugh, CA 93622
Date/Time: October 3, 2022/6:00 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order by Mayor Pro Tem Perez at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL Mayor Pro Tem Felipe Pérez
Council Member Elsa Lopez
Council Member Freddy Valdez
Council Member Marcia Sablan
ABSENT: Mayor Brady Jenkins
OTHERS: City Attorney James McCann; City Manager Ben Gallegos; Deputy Clerk, Rita Lozano; Finance Director, Pio Martin Police Chief, Sal Raygoza; Fire Chief, John Borboa; City Engineer, Mario Gouveia; Public Works Director, Michael Molina; Marc Benjamin (Brian Pacheco’s Office), Ryan Gonzalez, Hector Marin, Linda Espinoza, Silvia Renteria & others.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council Member Valdez led pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Motion to approve agenda, with items #4 & #5 pulled from the agenda by Council Member Valdez, second by Council Member Sablan, motion passed by 4-0 vote.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Silvia Renteria introduced herself, has served on the Planning Commission Committee for the past several years, the City of Firebaugh has the best staff, Olga, Isabel, Ben, Michael, Sal, & others, I’d like to applaud them for the great work the did at the Carnival. I notice the agenda keeps having the same issue on the agenda, which was pulled (item #5), City Manager’s evaluation, this person has been on the agenda several times of the past few months, to the public it seems that there seems to be an issue with that employee, that could possible be resolved with a simple conversation. Another thing I noticed is under staff reports, public has & other representatives have been speaking, but it’s normally just for staff reports, & was wondering why people other than staff are given the opportunity to hold discussion. I’m running for Council in this year’s election, if anyone needs to talk to me, please feel free to get my contact information from Rita, she has it.
PRESENTATION West Hills College (Item was pulled, no representative in attendance).
CONSENT CALENDAR
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – The City Council special joint meeting on September 12, 2022.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – The City Council regular meeting on September 19, 2022.
Motion to approve Consent Calendar by Council Member Valdez, second by Council Member Sablan, motion passed by 4-0 vote.
City Council Minutes
October 3, 2022
PUBLIC HEARING
None
NEW BUSINESS
3. RESOLUTION NO. 22-45 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FIREBAUGH ACCEPTING BID AND AWARDING CONTRACT TO KROEKER, INC. FOR THE UTILITY AND
SURFACE ALLEY IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT.
Motion to approve Res. No. 22-45 by Council Member Valdez, second by Council Member Sablan, motion passed by 4-0 vote.
4. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FIREBAUGH TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS A PROJECT AT HIGHWAY 33 & CLYDE FANNON – APPLICANT SADDAM NAGI.
Item was pulled for a later date.
STAFF REPORTS
Fire Chief John Borboa – the department had no impact from the four-day festival, but still had six medical calls, three fire calls, three vehicle incidents and one emergency call. Like the Lions Club we only have a handful that are accountable to all calls we receive, would like to bring them before council to be recognized for the dedication. Police Chief Sal Raygoza – Carnival was a safe event, that’s why people like to come, we only one fight on Saturday, a local resident punched an adult, which led to a larger group of six fighting, they were told not to return. Staff did an awesome job and had an informational tobacco booth that provided information and asked the public to participate in a survey on tobacco use, marijuana use and public opinion of the Police Staff. Staff received a five, the results will be presented to council at a future meeting.
Public Works Director, Michael Molina – staff’s been cleaning up after the festival, they busted their tails to get it done, I’m proud of them, now we can work on the upcoming projects. Finance Director, Pio Martin – Freddy, Ben & I are attending a cannabis conference on Oct 12-13th in Sacramento. Will contact the auditors when I return to start the audit. Notices were sent regarding shut offs for past due balances to start making payment arrangements, three individuals contacted us out of 400 notices that were mailed from customers that are 60 days or more past due. The 2nd notices to those customers were mailed today & wanted to give Council an update in case the start getting calls. Payment Plans are usually about a year or two, only if needed. Still waiting for all invoices to come in so an account balance of the festival will be provided at a future meeting. Councilmember Sablan asked how many customers were helped with the available program funding, Staff reported, customers were contacted & appointments were scheduled to meet with a program representative in City Hall, but only one customer attended their appointment, some customers don’t qualify if they’re homeowners, income status & others have outstanding balances not related to COVID months, which the programs only funds during those months, but funds are still available for those that do. Reconnection fees went up.
City Attorney, James McCann – nothing to report.
City Engineer, Mario Gouveia – nothing to report.
City Council Minutes
October 3, 2022
City Manager, Ben Gallegos – thanked staff for their hard work & commended Michael, he was out there until 1 or 2 O’clock on Friday, Saturday & Sunday making sure everything was running smooth and everything was done. One of the things I like about the crew is they’re apart of the community, so the take pride in the stuff we do & are willing to go above if needed. I also want thank Marc Benjamin, he has helped with a company interested in relocating to our community, which will help with revenue and jobs. Will not be attending the Joint Meeting with the School District because I have another meeting with Habitat for Humanity, if one person is not in favor of their project, they will not proceed in completing it. So, Pio will attend the district meeting for me. Attended Habitat for Humanity breakfast meeting, which I would like to take a council member or staff member next time, Senator Anna Caballero was there and stated she would like to build more in our community, we received a lot of support for our accomplishments completed. Deputy City Clerk, Rita Lozano – reminder of the Joint meeting with the Las-Deltas School Board on Thursday, October 6, 2022, at the Firebaugh High School Library to begin at 6:00 pm. The day at the races for the City of Firebaugh, along with City of Mendota is Friday October 14th, post time is 1:45 pm , please report to the winner’s circle by 1:30 pm., the earlier the better, Council is also invited to the opening ceremony Wednesday, October 5th at 2:30 pm, your invitation and tickets are in your mailbox at city hall.
Mr. Mark Benjamin of Board of Supervisor Brain Pacheco’s Office – stated he was happy to be out in Firebaugh at the West Hills College Grand Opening ceremony on Tuesday, happy to be invited with Council Members Jenkins, Valdez & Lopez were there. Thank you, Ben, for mentioning me earlier, I hadn’t spoken with our planning department since last week, so I wasn’t sure if they had gotten back in touch with you, so I’m glad to hear you’ve spoken. Had question about an item that’s on the agenda, wasn’t sure if it was required for us to get involved at all, doesn’t look like there was any discussion, I was listening for it, it may have been pulled. Deputy City Clerk confirmed, yes, the item was pulled from the agenda, both agenda items #4 & #5 were pulled. Council Member Sablan – nothing to report
Council Member Perez – nothing to report
Council Member Valdez – nothing to report
Council Member Lopez - nothing to report
Closed Session Item was pulled from the agenda.
CLOSED SESSION
5. Government Code Section 54957
PUBLIC EMPLOYEE EVALUATION: City Manager.
ANNOUNCEMENT AFTER CLOSED SESSION
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn at 6:29 pm by Council Member Valdez, second by Council Member Sablan, motion passes by a 4-0 vote.