CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER – 128 SOUTH 5TH STREET, FOWLER, CA 93625
MINUTES
1. MEETING CALLED TO ORDER
Mayor Mejia called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M.
2. ROLL CALL
PRESENT
Juan Mejia
Amarjeet Gill
Leonard Hammer
Daniel Parra
ABSENT
Karnig Kazarian
City Staff Present: City Manager Reid, City Attorney Cross, Finance Director Banda, Community & Economic Development Director Flood, Interim Police Chief Gularte, Recreation Supervisor Hernandez, City Planner Marple, City Engineer Park, Public Works Director Rocha, Records Technician Turney
Councilmember Kazarian arrived at 6:02 p.m.
6. PUBLIC COMMENT
Three members of the public spoke.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Motion made by Gill, Seconded by Hammer.
Voting Yea: Mejia, Gill, Hammer, Kazarian, Parra
A. RATIFY Pay Warrants for October 21, 2025
B. APPROVE Minutes of the September 16, 2025 City Council Meeting C. ADOPT Ordinance No. 2025-06, which:
i. FINDS that Ordinance No. 2025-06 is exempt from further environmental analysis pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15061, subdivision (b)(3), and; ii. APPROVES a text amendment amending the Fowler Municipal Code to include regulations relating to sidewalk vending within the City.
D. APPROVE Resolution No. 2804 Concerning Local Transportation Purpose Funds Extension (Measure “C” Extension)
E. ACCEPT Credit Card Usage Report and Donation Report for January 1, 2025, through June 30, 2025.
F. ADOPT Resolution No. 2805 Approving the Amended Joint Powers Agreement of the Central San Joaquin Valley Risk Management Authority (CSJVRMA) G. Actions pertaining to the Conversion of the Public Works Supervisor Position to Public Works & Public Utilities Manager and Addition of One (1) Maintenance Assistant Position.
i. APPROVE Resolution No. 2806, a resolution establishing the number of fulltime positions and certain temporary/ part-time positions authorized in the City for fiscal year 2025/ 2026.
ii. APPROVE Resolution No. 2807, a resolution adopting the salary classification schedule for the Public Works & Public Utilities Manager.
H. APPROVE Resolution 2808 authorizing submittal of a grant application for the Fresno COG Measure C Safe Routes to School Program
I. APPROVE Resolution No. 2809 to ADOPT the Fresno County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan
J. APPROVE Resolution No. 2810 approving the updated Employee Benefits Handbook
9. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
Updates were given by Public Works Director Rocha, Finance Director Banda, Recreation Supervisor Hernandez, City Engineer Park, Chief Gularte, and City Manager Reid.
10. COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS AND COMMENTS
Updates were given by Councilmember Parra, Mayor Pro Tem Gill, Councilmember Kazarian, and Mayor Mejia.
Councilmember Kazarian requested that his comments be incorporated into the official record. A transcript is attached.
11. ADJOURN
Mayor Mejia made a motion to adjourn at 6:46 p.m. Seconded by Councilmember Hammer.
Councilmember Kazarian
So, before I begin my statement tonight, which I would like to have included in the record, I want to take a moment to acknowledge the tragic loss of life our community experienced. My thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family and loved ones and everyone affected by this. And also, I want to, thoughts and prayers with Angela. During this difficult time, I can't even imagine how difficult it is to lose one's father. So, I'm hoping that she's surrounded by loved ones right now and being comforted. So, with that said, and good thing, this is a short meeting because I have a lot to say. I want to address the recent city attorney interview process and then propose a way to ensure it never happens again. I was recently excluded from a process I was elected to take part in and not even meaningfully accounted for until hiring an attorney out of pocket simply to represent the people who put me here.
That should never be necessary for anyone on this dais. From the start, I said the process could occur later. Every firm confirmed that they were willing to reschedule, and our current counsel agreed to stay on as long as needed. When someone is told there's no urgency, Juan, and still insists on pushing ahead, that's not inclusivity, that's division.
You can't preach one to the community and then practice the other on the dais. The fact that we're now holding another round of interviews next week with all the same firms and with the council's availability at this later time only proves the deliberate exclusion beyond any doubt. Before turning to the Fresno Bee, I exhausted every internal avenue raising concerns privately on multiple occasions with both the city manager and the city attorney, and proposing alternative dates in an effort to find a resolution. When those efforts went nowhere, I retained counsel and sent a demand letter, which prompted a response within 24 hours.
But rather than real accountability, it was an attempt to smooth things over without acknowledging what had happened. That's what ultimately led to my op-ed. I was grateful to be published it, helping shine a light on what occurred and hopefully discouraging other jurisdictions from engaging in practices that undermine representative democracy. Because when an accountability is avoided, the only option left is transparency. But this issue goes beyond one process. It speaks to a kind of culture we allow to take root. When exclusion becomes routine, accountability erodes.
We even create a culture in which the majority supporters feel it's permissible, permissible to demean those who call out unfairness, such as in the case of one of those supporters, a local business owner, who sent me a private message calling me narcissistic and childish while saying I'm having a tantrum online, and that my explanations aren't coming across as intelligent, but as petty.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER – 128 SOUTH 5TH STREET, FOWLER, CA 93625
MINUTES ATTACHMENT
That kind of distortion, turning one's integrity into mockery is exactly what keeps people from speaking up, but it's never going to stop me. The truth is simple. There's no halftruth with another half to grab. The facts are public, the timeline is clear and no one can twist what's actually happened. When personal attacks replace honest dialogue. It discourages participation and erodes trust, and we thereby lose what makes this council and this community worth serving. What's done can't be undone. I can't reclaim that first round of interviews or the dynamic that came from being in that room, but my focus is on moving the city forward by fixing the process itself. So no council member now or in the future can be shut out simply because the majority decides to move ahead without them. That's why I'm proposing a new section of the Fowler Municipal Code under Title two administration, chapter one, city Council article one, meetings to be numbered.
Section two dash 1.108, subdivision B, council Participation and key appointment processes, which would read as follows, all council members should be included in the interview and selection process for the city attorney, city manager, police chief, and fire chief, unless lawfully recused. Scheduling of such interviews shall be done in consultation with the full council to ensure fair participation by all members. This proposal gives us a chance to reaffirm the values that define good governance. I ask that my colleagues supporting agendizing this item for our next regular meeting, not as a concession, but as a step toward restoring trust in this council's commitment to fairness and accountability. So, I would hope that you would all join me in directing staff to agendize this so that we can amend our code and ensure this never happens again.
Do I have your support to have staff do that?
Councilmember Hammer
No.
Mayor Mejia
And it's not an agendized item.
Councilmember Hammer
Correct
Councilmember Kazarian
I'm asking for direction. They’re supposed to ask for direction during this time, isn't that correct? Yes.
Mayor Mejia
No, I’m- I need to think about a lot more-
Councilmember Hammer
I need to take a look at it.
Mayor Mejia
Yeah.
Councilmember Kazarian
You just said no though.
Councilmember Hammer
Pardon me?
Councilmember Kazarian
You're going to have to take a look at it now instead of just saying no right off the bat? Councilmember Hammer
Yeah, because you’re the one that decided not to come, don't be blaming it on us.
Councilmember Kazarian
So, this is not a time for going back and forth.
Councilmember Hammer
You’re the one that decided not to come. That’s it. End of discussion.
Mayor Mejia
Yeah, so justCouncilmember Kazarian
That's minimizing it. Leonard.
Mayor Mejia
Just to bring order back to this, I appreciate both your comments. It is something that thank you for sharing it and it's something that I think we will consider, something that we will discuss before I think we agree to anything.
Councilmember Hammer
I agree
Councilmember Kazarian
Perfect, Thank you.
Councilmember Hammer
It needs to be discussed
Mayor Mejia
Agreed.
Councilmember Parra
I agree.
Mayor Mejia
Yep. I actually appreciate your comments, Councilmember Kazarian. I think it shows the great freedom that we have in this country to agree and to disagree and to do it cordially and to be productive and constructive when doing so. So, I appreciate your comments.
Now, to close it out, I'm going to turn it back to the celebratory mode that we were having just now.
[END OF TRANSCRIPT]