MINUTES
JOINT MEETING OF THE
GONZALES CITY COUNCIL AND
GONZALES SUCCESSOR AGENCY
MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2022
6:00 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM by Mayor Jose L. Rios.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The flag salute was recited by all present.
ROLL CALL
Attendee Name Title Status
Jose L. Rios Mayor Present
Scott Funk Mayor Pro Tem Present
Liz Silva Council Member Present
Lorraine Worthy Council Member Present
Paul Miller Council Member Present
YOUTH COMMISSIONERS
Sherlyn Flores and Luke Naegle.
STAFF PRESENT
Acting City Manager Patrick Dobbins, City Attorney Michael F. Rodriquez, Executive Assistant to the City Manager/Deputy City Clerk Mary Villegas, Administrative Assistant II Miranda Uribe, and Fire Chief Jason Muscio.
* Successor Agency Item
Council Member Silva read the following notice:
PUBLIC NOTICE
This meeting is being conducted consistent with State of California Executive Order N-29-20 dated March 17, 2020, regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The public may participate in person or online via zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85875909347 or call 1 (669) 900-6833 and use Meeting ID: 858 7590
9347. If you wish to make either a general public comment or to comment on a specific agenda item, please use the Raise Hand function. You will be allowed three minutes for your comments.
If you choose not to attend the City Council meeting but wish to make a comment on a specific agenda item, please submit your comment limited to 250 words or less by 12:00p.m. on Monday, October 17th to the City Clerk at [email protected]
BUSINESS FROM THE PUBLIC
2. Business from the Public not on the Agenda; any member of the Public may address the Council for a period not to exceed three minutes on any subject not on the Agenda. The Council will listen to all communications, but may take no action.
Lupe Ferrari, 1457 Burgundy Way, read two penal codes, California Penal Code 240 and California Penal Code 415;and commented about having difficulty hearing what was being said at the October 3rd Council meeting due to Mr. Martinez being disruptive and constantly making jokes and being verbally abusive towards Sonia and Alberto Jaramillo; felt this behavior was criminal in nature and the Council and they failed to act; and concluded the Council has the responsibility to keep this room free of any harm and intimidation.
Roman Barba said he was at that meeting too but Ms. Jaramillo came up here and she wasn't even talking about the topic that was on the agenda; he thought she instigated the whole thing by saying that they were stealing campaign signs and felt she started it. He also talked about downtown, taking down the areas that people have outside for dinner in front of the stores because there are beer bottles and trash and he had pictures he took.
Henry Martinez Sr. commented about the persons who are campaigning for political office are targets of people’s opinions and acts; him not being violent or a threat to nobody; his family running for Council before and being involved in false claims; and felt Ms. Jaramillo took a potshot at him and he stood up for himself.
CONSENT AGENDA
3. Approve the Joint City Council and Successor Agency - Regular Meeting - October 3, 2022 Minutes
4. Approve City Accounts Payable Warrants #47661-47724
5. Community Development Department Activity Report
6. Fire Department Activity Report
7. Police Department Activity Report
8. Public Works/City Engineer Department Activity Report
9. Recreation Department Activity Report
10. Consider Approval of Resolution No. 2022-74, Resolution No. 2022-74, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales Accepting the Slurry Seal Contract as Complete, Authorizing Staff to Record a Notice of Completion, and Release Retention Monies to the Contractor Council Member Silva pulled Item 4. She noticed there were several checks that were made out with regards to rental and utility assistance for very large amounts, and there was one rental for $14,859.
Mayor Rios clarified that he had the same question and talked to Carmen and this is the money that we received from the United Way, there was some excess money that could be spent outside *
of our jurisdiction, although we had to process it for the United Way, so it's actually an organization out of our community, and we were just helping the United Way be able to spend those funds. He said those are totally reimbursable, and the housing homeless Housing Coalition have rentals and they do charge the funds for, so it's a number of folks and that's why the amount was 14,000.
Council Member Silva said there were also others for utility assistance on two items. And they were to the same person, one was for the City of Gonzales utilities for $2,100. And then, towards the bottom of page 11, it was PG&E utility assistance to the same person for $1,200. She asked if that was a similar situation because that's a pretty high utility bill.
Acting City Manager Dobbins responded that he would talk to Jessica and get the details and get back to her.
Council Member Silva said there were two for rental assistance. In appears maybe it's here in town because of the person it's paid to. One of the rentals was $4,800, and the other one is $2,600. She asked for some details on that since it seems a lot for one month.
Acting City Manager Dobbins responded there were for multiple months. And as to the $14,859, that's for a number of months for a number of people. He will get the details and get back to her.
Council Member Silva hoped that Johnny Castaneda who spoke at the last meeting was here tonight to show him how much the City spent in the month of August for services at the SPCA, which was to the tune of $2,800.
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Liz Silva, Council Member
SECONDER: Paul Miller, Council Member
AYES: Jose L. Rios, Scott Funk, Liz Silva, Lorraine Worthy, Paul Miller
REGULAR AGENDA
11. Consider Approval of Resolution No. 2022-71, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales Approving the Community Action Grants for FY 2022-2023 Funded with Measure K Monies
Staff Report: Acting City Manager Dobbins presented the staff report.
Public Comment: Roman Barba asked if all this money is going to all these groups, Gonzales arts and music programs, Pueblos Unidos de Tateposco, Salvation Army. He asked if that is where the Measure K money is going to.
Council Member Worthy responded that was a portion of it. $30,000 is allocated for those grants and each group gets a portion.
Mr. Barba talked about a car show he attended, and suggested having car shows since they make a lot of money and it’s a way to generate money.
Henry Martinez Sr., 112 Tenth Street, said he doesn't want to speak because they might think he is harassing them, or anything on the topic, his freedom of speech is taken away so he can't say anything.
Council Discussion: Council Member Silva said these have been going on for a long time, and
these are funded by our TUT but she asked, given that these groups have been around for a while, are they all considered nonprofits? Do they have nonprofit status? Acting City Manager Dobbins responded he didn’t know but guessed some of them may have nonprofit status, but he will come back to the Council with the groups nonprofit status.
Council Member Silva said she brought this up before and that's with regards to the Salvation Army utility assistance, since the City has one, just to ensure that nobody's double dipping into that fund.
Mayor Pro Tem Funk commented about also sitting in the committee with Council Member Worthy and wanted to point out that this year, there were there were only nine applicants compared to prior years where they had more and were not able to allocate all the funds. This year, it made it easier for the committee to not have to worry about turning anyone away, and they were able to not only honor all nine applications, but also many of them were able to allocate the full amount. He just wanted to point that out there were only nine and no one was denied.
Council Member Worthy mentioned that she has said this before, they need to apply for these grants. If someone has an idea that they want to submit for a community action grant, to please do.
She said these organizations have been benefiting from these community action grants, and they would like to see some other things coming in as well. She congratulated all the groups.
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Liz Silva, Council Member
SECONDER: Lorraine Worthy, Council Member
AYES: Jose L. Rios, Scott Funk, Liz Silva, Lorraine Worthy, Paul Miller
12. Consider Approval of Resolution No. 2022-75, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales in Support of Measure P, a Measure to be Considered by the Voters at the General Municipal Election to be Held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, Extending the Term of the City’s Transactions and Use Tax Through 2064, with Continued Use of Tax Revenue Annual Audits by an Independent Auditor and Community Review by Citizens’ Advisory Committees Staff Report: City Attorney Rodriquez provided a verbal report.
Public Comment: Roman Barba said he was in favor of the community center; commented about a group of people around Gonzales fighting this like crazy; building it in phases if we don’t have the money since it benefits the kids seniors, and the whole community and people coming from out of town; other Cities having a community center; suggested car shows and big sponsors to raise money.
Henry Martinez Sr., 114 Tenth Street, talked about a promised a rec center 39 years ago; suggested building a library or whatever we can with the money, and show that they’re willing to start doing something; and elaborated on the different things that were promised and were not done.
Council Discussion: Council Member Worthy said this doesn’t impact your property taxes, so for those saying things like this, you’re not going to be charged an additional charge. This is just extending Measure K and X term.
City Attorney Rodriquez reiterated since he believed there were some questions in that regard at a meeting when someone was talking about assessments and they were talking about property tax report, this has nothing to do with that. This is a tax on purchase of items that have a relation to the City.
Mayor Rios asked if members that are not on the council here and that are part of the other committees can advocate for the successful passage of Measure P, since he doesn’t believe any members of the advisory board are financially paid by the City, they're just an advisor.
City Attorney Rodriquez responded as long as they are not representing us or the advisory board, they just can't do it in any way with representation of the City.
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Paul Miller, Council Member
SECONDER: Lorraine Worthy, Council Member
AYES: Jose L. Rios, Scott Funk, Liz Silva, Lorraine Worthy, Paul Miller
BUSINESS FROM CITY COUNCIL
13. City Council Board/Committee Reports
a. League of California Cities Monterey Bay Division
No report.
b. Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments
Mayor Pro Tem Funk reported on the conclusion of the regional housing needs assessment for the next eight-year cycle 2023-2031, which was approved at the last meeting; and our final numbers were 1266 homes, which got cut down.
c. Monterey Salinas Transit
Council Member Worthy reported on MST celebrating 50 years of existence; in person meetings effective January, 2023; reaching ridership of 80%; and the Better Bus Network Program.
d. City & School Joint Steering Committee
No report.
e. Economic Development Committee
No report.
14. Oral Communications
Youth Commissioner Naegle updated on the last GYC meeting with the Safe Routes to School representatives regarding pedestrian safety.
Council Member Miller reminded everyone about our most important civic duty, please vote and get your ballots in.
Mayor Pro Tem Funk thanked staff and the different departments for all their efforts and the recent festivities which was a great turnout. He looked forward to what's next.
Council Member Silva asked when they can expect the next phase of the slurry seal.
Acting City Manager Dobbins mentioned in conversation with the consultant, next spring or next summer depending on the funding that we have.
Council Member Silva said one of the reasons she asked is because she noticed on Day Street a lot of different colors and markers.
Mayor Rios said those markings were done to repair a major water leak at 306 Day Street, and PG&E and USA were called to mark that.
Council Member Silva congratulated both the JV and varsity football teams for winning their homecoming games this past Friday and thanked everyone who made time to come out to the City's 75th anniversary celebration on Saturday. She gave a shout out to the City of Greenfield for celebrating their 75th anniversary of incorporation as well. She said one of the things that has been brought to her attention was political signs being stolen and said they were expensive and stealing things is not the Gonzales Way. She asked anyone to report if they see something missing or someone taking them. She also asked everyone to be aware of children out and about earlier since the schools have minimum days this week, and be aware at night since the sun is setting a little earlier. She also asked people to take the time to vote.
Council Member Worthy thanked everyone for coming out on Saturday. She said they worked really hard this past year to bring these festivities to the community and had a great committee.
She also thanked the vendors who did well. She announced food pantry this Friday at the Community Church. She said it was important to vote and one of the options is to drop off ballots at City Hall. She asked to please vote for Measure P.
Mayor Rios asked Acting City Manager Dobbins for an update on the wastewater treatment plant for the next meeting, how is that progressing and how the financing is coming along. He also would like to get an update from Taven on the D.R. Horton project progress. He’s had a lot of people call him how soon the houses will be built.
Acting City Manager Dobbins mentioned that staff met with them a couple of weeks ago to follow up how to extend water service and then convey wastewater from their projects. Staff obtained proposals to do that work and coordination is continuing.
Mayor Rios told the Youth Council he had a challenge for them since they are very much tech savvy. He would like to converse with the Youth Council to see what works best with social media because he’s had a number of comments from different people that our Facebook and Instagram is extremely lacking. He would like to hear their ideas from them. He mentioned that the way the City will work better is to have input from more people. He said he will be happy to be invited to their next meeting to get some ideas.
Council Member Worthy indicated that in case people were wondering why they were all wearing pink is because it is Breast Cancer Awareness month. She asked to give to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation or any of the foundations out there. She also asked everyone to be kind to each other.
Mayor Rios said he was very impressed with all the decorations at the festivities and different foods. He said there were a lot of other events like the homecoming dance so attendance was impacted since a large group didn’t show up, but everyone there was having a good time.
Council Member Worthy thanked Gina Miller for the wine barrels.
Council Member Silva thanked Braga Fresh for the pumpkins.
BUSINESS FROM CITY MANAGER
15. Oral Communications
Acting City Manager Dobbins announced Administrative Assistant Anabel was back today from maternity leave. He thanked the Girl Scouts Troop who painted the flag pole at the park. He reported the Police Chief was in Texas for an annual conference and Community Development Director had an emergency.
City Attorney Rodriquez reported on the City Manager recruitment process which was up and running, has received 11 applications, and will send an email regarding the revised schedule. He also reminded the Council about the first of two meetings in the series of the districting process next week as a joint meeting of the City Councils of Gonzales and Soledad, and we’ll have a translator.
Fire Chief Muscio thanked Green Valley Farm Supply for the hay bails. He announced the Drug Awareness and Safety Community Forum tomorrow in the High School cafeteria at 5:30pm; Flu Shot Clinic at Taylor Farms on October 22nd where they will be distributing Narcan; Listening Session with Supervisor Lopez on October 24th at 5:30pm in the Council Chambers; and Drive-In Movie on October 29th at the Little League field at 6:30pm starting with a costume contest.
ADJOURNMENT
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Liz Silva, Council Member
SECONDER: Paul Miller, Council Member
AYES: Jose L. Rios, Scott Funk, Liz Silva, Lorraine Worthy, Paul Miller The meeting was adjourned at 7:04 PM.
ATTEST:
Mary Villegas, Deputy City Clerk