CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, MAY 05, 2026 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
Karnig Kazarian
Daniel Parra
City Staff Present: City Manager Reid, Assistant City Manager Rocha, City Attorney Santos, Finance Director Banda, Community & Economic Development Director Flood, Police Chief Gularte, City Planner Marple, City Engineer Park, City Clerk Vasquez
3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Item 10C is going to be continued to the May 19, 2026 Council meeting.
6. CEREMONIAL PRESENTATIONS
A. Junior Ambassador of the Year - Harshan Bhandal
7. PUBLIC COMMENT
One member of the public spoke.
8. CONSENT CALENDAR
A. RATIFY Pay Warrants for May 5, 2026
B. APPROVE Minutes of the April 21, 2026 City Council Meeting Motion made by Gill, Seconded by Kazarian.
Voting Yea: Mejia, Gill, Hammer, Kazarian, Parra
10. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
City Manager
A. Discuss and consider options for filling the councilmember vacancy on the City Council for the remainder of the term.
Four members of the public spoke.
Council directed staff to move forward with accepting applications for the vacancy.
Planning
B. Council discussion:
i. RECEIVE a review and update on the Disposition and Development Agreement (DDA) with Bill Purewal for the City-owned property on the east corner of 6th and Tuolumne Streets.
ii. PROVIDE DIRECTION to staff on how to proceed with the DDA for the property on 6th and Tuolumne.
Paul Halajian, architect, responded to questions from Council.
One member of the public spoke.
Council directed staff to continue working with Mr. Purewal.
Public Works
D. CONSIDER approving Resolution No. 2832 for project list of SB 1 Local Streets and Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account funds for fiscal year 2026-27. Staff Recommendation: Adopt Resolution 2832.
Motion made by Parra, Seconded by Gill.
Voting Yea: Mejia, Gill, Hammer, Kazarian, Parra
11. STAFF COMMUNICATIONS
Updates were given by Assistant City Manager Rocha, Finance Director Banda, Community & Economic Development Director Flood, and City Manager Reid.
12. COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS AND COMMENTS
Updates were given by Councilmember Kazarian, Councilmember Parra, Mayor Pro Tem Gill, and Mayor Mejia.
Councilmember Kazarian requested that his comments be incorporated into the official record. A transcript is attached.
13. CLOSED SESSION
Pursuant to Government Code Section 54957
Threat to public facilities; Consultation with Assistant City Manager, Eric Rocha.
The meeting went into closed session at 7:14 P.M.
14. RECONVENE INTO OPEN SESSION AND REPORT ACTION
The meeting reconvened into open session at 7:20 P.M.
There was no reportable action taken on the item.
15. ADJOURN
Having no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:20 P.M.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, MAY 05, 2026 at 6:00 PM
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBER – 128 SOUTH 5TH STREET, FOWLER, CA 93625
MINUTES ATTACHMENT
Councilmember Kazarian
I wanted to just take a moment to speak about the Armenian genocide commemoration that took place in our community. First, I wanted to recognize everyone who contributed to making the commemoration reality. All of your efforts mattered, and I genuinely appreciate that it took place. I also recently learned that Roy Alatorre first brought forward the idea for the commemoration at the Recreation Commission, and I want to acknowledge him as well. We definitely could use more Roy's in our town. So…so yeah, he's just been really, really good in terms of bringing this community together.
More importantly, the Armenian genocide is not something abstract to me. My grandfather fled the genocide as a young boy. He was only eight years old before they left, he had already said goodbye to his mother, knowing he would never see her again. And as he fled with other family members, they came under fire. Chaos broke out, and in that moment, he was told to watch over his three younger sisters, and he carried that responsibility with them as they tried to survive. At one point, unable to search for his family and care for his youngest sister, an infant, he made the impossible decision to leave her briefly with someone so he could try to find them. When he returned, she was gone and he didn't know what had happened to her. He lived with that weight for the rest of his life, believing he had failed her until he was finally able to find her, and they were reunited after a lifetime apart.
That history is something I carry, and it's why remembrance matters to me, both personally and in my role here as the only Armenian member of this council. Because of that, I want to be clear about something that should be part of the public record, especially since I've been asked about this multiple times. I initially asked about it multiple times. I did not decline to participate. I was not asked, and later I was denied. I initially chose not to push to be included because I wanted the focus to remain on the commemoration itself. But after learning shortly before the event, that concerns about my exclusion had already been raised with Juan early on, and that no effort had been made to include me, I no longer felt comfortable remaining completely absent from something so closely tied to my family's history. So I reached out and offered to contribute a brief one-to-two-minute reflection, one-to-two-minute reflection.
But I was told by Juan that the program had already been finalized and would not be adjusted.
This isn't about personal recognition or speaking time for me, it's about inclusion in a moment of remembrance. When an event is centered on a history like this, it should reflect the voices it is meant to honor. And I'll say this, while I've raised concerns about exclusion in the recent past, this goes beyond even that. When it comes to remembrance tied to people's history and identity, there should be no room for decisions influenced by personal or political considerations. Moments of remembrance deserve to rise above that. This isn't up for debate, it's something I experienced, and it reflects a lack of sensitivity.
Moving forward, I hope we honor history in a way that is inclusive, respectful, and reflective of the people it represents. Thank you.
[END OF TRANSCRIPT]