MINUTES
JOINT MEETING OF THE
GONZALES CITY COUNCIL AND
GONZALES SUCCESSOR AGENCY
MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2023
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/Chair Present
Scott Funk Mayor Pro Tem/Vice Chair Present
Liz Silva Council/Agency Member Excused
Lorraine Worthy Council/Agency Member Present
Maria Orozco Council/Agency Member Present
YOUTH COMMISSIONERS
Sherlyn Flores and Luke Naegle.
STAFF PRESENT
City Manager Trevin Barber, Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships Carmen Gil, Executive Assistant to the City Manager/Deputy City Clerk Mary Villegas, Administrative Assistant II Marisol Gomez, Public Works Director/City Engineer Patrick Dobbins, Fire Chief Jason Muscio, and Police Chief Keith Wise.
* Successor Agency Item
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/82832175845 or call 1 (669) 900-6833 and use Meeting ID: 828 3217 5845. 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 the day of the meeting to the City Clerk at [email protected]
PRESENTATIONS
2. Certificates of Recognition to the Community Health Workers from the Offices of Assembly Member Robert Rivas and Senator Anna Caballero
Office of Assembly Member Robert Rivas Representative Isabel Meza, and Office of Senator Anna Caballero Representative Marisa Hernandez presented Certificates of Recognition to the City of Gonzales Community Health Workers that have been able to assist them during the unprecedented times of Covid, storms, and for always being there for the community especially helping the South Monterey County and constituents.
Ms. Hernandez translated to the Spanish speaking community.
Certificates were presented to Jose Chavez, Guillermina Flores, Maria Flores, Monica Rico, and Lizette De Leon.
BUSINESS FROM THE PUBLIC
3. 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.
Tencia Vargas, 1501 Champagne Way, said she was here as a resident, a parent, and as a Planning Commissioner sharing her concern about a large amount of parking in front of Fairview Middle School blocked off with barricades with notices stating no stopping during 7am to 4pm on Thursday and Friday of last week. She commented about being approached by at least two concerned residents, not being notified of the parking closure, City not having the ability to plan alternate pickup locations for children due to lack of notice; wondered if the school was ever notified since the parking is highly used by the parents to drop off and pick up their children; not finding any City event notice on social media or website; signs reading Hilltown Packing only for two days, which was during school making it impossible for parents to use for public parking; and that seemed to be a private function. She asked if the City approved the no parking, if there were proper permits applied for through the City, and if there was a 72 hour notice sent to those impacted. If that wasn't done, she wanted to know why since she has worked in the City in the past and knows the process. She handed out a picture of the barricades with the no parking signs to the Deputy City Clerk.
Bob Krauth, 703 Colombard Circle, commented about his wife's brother, Juan Martinez who was extraordinary and really active in the community, not just in Monterey County but Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties focusing on migrant workers and things like pollution in the environment; and would put together displays and presentations of stuff he gathered over the years at events.
He wondered if he can get a display up at the Cinco de Mayo event. He wondered if there are things he needs to know to put up a presentation on his behalf for the community.
CONSENT AGENDA
4. Approve the Joint City Council and Successor Agency - Regular Meeting - March 6, 2023 Minutes
5. Approve City Accounts Payable Warrants #48267-48352
6. Community Development Department Activity Report
7. Community Engagement & Strategic Partnerships Activity Report
8. Fire Department Activity Report
9. Police Department Activity Report
10. Public Works/City Engineer Department Activity Report
11. Recreation Department Activity Report
12. Consider Approval of Resolution No. 2023-13, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Gonzales Ratifying a Proclamation of the Existence of a Local Emergency Due to Statewide Winter Storms/Atmospheric River
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Lorraine Worthy, Council Member
SECONDER: Maria Orozco, Council Member
AYES: Jose L. Rios, Scott Funk, Lorraine Worthy, Maria Orozco EXCUSED: Liz Silva
REGULAR AGENDA
13. Salinas Valley Safe Routes to School Plan and Proposed Separated Bike Lane Pilot Project on a Portion of Fifth Street
Staff Report: Public Works Director Dobbins presented the staff report.
Amelia Conlen, Ecology Action, presented a powerpoint presentation explaining the Salinas Valley Safe Routes to School Plan- 5
th Street Pilot Project overview, plan goals, community-based process, location, concept plan, outreach plan, and ways to get involved and help spread the word.
Public Comment: There was none.
Council Discussion: Council Member Worthy suggested putting this information out in the utility bills, and asked for clarification if the final report will come to the Council in July. She also shared she was a bit concerned about narrowing of the streets, but she thought this project was a great idea and very positive.
Public Works Director Dobbins responded the report will be brought to the Council on July 17th.
Mayor Pro Tem Funk asked for clarification on the area of Elko and the High School with the Legion Hall since that is a primary parking area during non-school hours, if that would be removed completely.
Ms. Conlen responded yes.
Mayor Pro Tem Funk elaborated on the area at the other end of Fifth Street being less of an *
impact since the removal is after the houses area.
Public Works Director Dobbins thought they can look at doing the program on the north side westbound just as it gets to the American Legion.
Council Member Worthy said that might be a way to look at it because that is something they are already facing with parking.
Mayor Pro Tem Funk said it was worth evaluating because after school hours, there are typically events going on and over the weekend where you notice vehicles parked on both sides of the street. He talked about the alternative areas that people use in the weekend.
Council Member Orozco mentioned the people that live at the apartments also use Fifth Street to park, and suggested that outreach workers have the information in Spanish. She agreed that this was taking up more parking that we don't have but the overall outcome is definitely a good one, especially if we can get some additional grants to take care of that ramp.
Ms. Conlen added that they had talked a little bit about opportunities to park in the location of the future Community Center while this installation is in place and sharing that with neighbors.
No action required.
14. Presentation of the Draft Fiscal Year 2024 Gonzales Implementation Action Plan Staff Report: City Manager Barber presented the staff report via powerpoint presentation consisting of the background, purpose and vision, strategic goals, priority action items, planning and oversight, and projects.
Public Comment: There was none.
Council Discussion: Council Member Worthy said there was so much going on.
Council Member Orozco concurred with Council Member Worthy that there is definitely a lot of work that is already complete and in progress, but it's amazing how much work is involved and what staff is in charge. She knows just one little item takes a lot to get the final results and we will see what we need to do to continue to see these projects be completed, if they can due to the financial constraints that we face.
Mayor Rios agreed that staff has a lot of work ahead of them but he knew they were capable of making this happen.
No action required.
BUSINESS FROM CITY COUNCIL
15. City Council Board/Committee Reports
a. League of California Cities Monterey Bay Division
Council Member Orozco reported she attended the meeting which was via zoom and the guest speaker was Michael Coleman who gave an updated on City finances, different challenges Cities are facing especially when trying to pass new tax measures, and creative ways in pursuing new tax increases for essential services. She said City Manager Barber was also on that call so he may have additional information to share.
b. Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments
Mayor Pro Tem Funk reported on first in person meeting in over two years, and reported on continuing the work on the regional early action planning programs 2.0 where we have an opportunity to an allocation for transportation and housing; the regional housing needs arena numbers, 2050 metropolitan transportation plan; and Sustainable Community Strategy draft work program.
c. Monterey Salinas Transit
Council Member Worthy reported on the issue of in person meetings and mask mandates voting; the exemption for the SURF Busway Project on the peninsula; and employee recognition for their service. She said she couldn't say enough about the great work that MST does especially during the storms picking up people in Watsonville, Big Sur, etc. d. City & School Joint Steering Committee
Mayor Rios announced the joint meeting with the School Board is scheduled for May 9th.
16. Oral Communications
Youth Commissioner Naegle reported on the GYC meeting last week where they had Ecology Action giving them an update for the Safe Routes to Schools Project, as well as Blach Construction who talked about the Community Center and asked for feedback from the youth; and the meeting with the Superintendent, CBO, and HR Director to follow up on the information the GYC had provided to them and got a lot of their questions answered.
Youth Commissioner Flores reported on the meetings they’ve had with the High School Principal on a monthly basis to go over the things going on at the school, where improvement is needed, future projects, and the way the GYC and ASB can connect.
Council Member Orozco encouraged agencies to have a booth at the Day of the Child event, and thought it would be a good opportunity for TAMC to have information on what's being proposed for the Safe Routes to School plan. She mentioned about a grandmother who approached her while having the Lenten dinners on Friday and was really upset about not being able to pick up her grandchild because of the school parking that was not available, and that she was not notified. She also got a call today from another grandmother who expressed her frustration when she showed up to pick up her granddaughter and she has a certain space that she parks and the granddaughter knows to go to that parking space and she wasn't able to do so. She stressed the importance of notifying the parents about the changes that are going to be taking place, and it's also a safety issue. She was glad to hear that we're moving forward with the plan to provide a safer route for our children to get to school. She announced the Lenten Dinners were down to the last two Fridays, and she has tickets.
Mayor Pro Tem Funk thanked Public Works and Public Safety for all their efforts especially with the rain continuing. He said he was reminded a number of times the last couple of months by folks who've been in the community for a few decades on how it was in the late 90s and being fearful of losing their homes, and we are privileged with what we have going on here now and what we’ve done so far. He thanked staff for their efforts which are noted.
Council Member Worthy mentioned about being approached by a resident a couple of days ago regarding the RV parking on the street situation who told her he received a ticket back in September and another one recently, but he said in the past there are notices left on their vehicles telling them that they need to move their vehicle and now it’s digital photograph. She didn’t think the residents knew about it and asked if we need to do a notice of some kind to let them know.
Police Chief Wise responded they upgraded the parking management program from handwritten tickets to an automated computerized ticket on a windshield.
Council Member Worthy was glad for the clarification because she was told that there was no ticket and they had no idea because in the past they had chalked it. She asked if it was possible to put this information out so people know there is a difference now.
Police Chief Wise said this was the same people they’ve been dealing with in the past.
Council Member Worthy also talked about an observation from someone regarding lifeguards at the pool, since she’s assuming the hiring is about to start for the pool season, noticed a real breakdown last year with staff there, there were a lot of kids that were fooling around and they’re supposed to be in charge of taking care of kids. She thought it was important to try to bring someone in that can control them a little better. She asked Carmen for a status on the hiring.
Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships Director Gil responded that staff is starting to put all the flyers out in the next week or so for the summer programming. There are a few upgrades that need to be made to the pool like the light and temperature, and Public Works staff is helping secure a pool electrician so those needs are taken care of before the pool opens. She added the recruitment for the Pool Manager will start in the next week or so and it has been hard to hire lifeguards and certain personnel specifically for the pool since we are competing against other cities who have higher pay rates, so it's something that we need to look at. She added that last year was really hard to get a pool manager, and there had been a lot of transition making it difficult to fill some positions.
Council Member Worthy thanked staff and said she took responsibility for the school parking situation that occurred last week. She explained it was the American Legion, which she was in charge of, and they were trying something new, City staff worked with her on this, and it didn't work out as well and we're looking into it. She asked everyone to be patient and what happened on Thursday and Friday is not going to happen again. She said it's something she’s learning and staff is working with her on that and she apologized to the City and residents for any nuisance that was caused on those days with the school. She also thanked Fire Chief Muscio for keeping the Council updated with all the flooding information which is very handy since she has people calling her for information. She also thanked Public Works staff.
Mayor Rios thanked City Manager Barber, Fire Chief Muscio and his staff, and Police Chief and Captain for attending the senior luncheon last Thursday, because the seniors really appreciated that police and fire personnel were not only there to translate but they were able to answer questions from the some seniors. They also talked about who has social media and there was only a couple, so the common request was to put information in the water bills. He was glad everyone had a great time. He thanked Fire Chief Muscio as well for all the notifications and Public Works for the work they’ve done with the traffic control, where unfortunately, we've had a couple of near misses. He wondered if police can lend body cameras to Public Works staff. He thought it is pretty shameful that there are only a few bad apples that are ruining it for everyone else on that side of the bridge.
He is sure people notice the difference trying to go from that side of town to this side especially when it comes to drop off kids, and even in the evening that's another little mess out there. He doesn’t know what the cameras cost and if they could be borrowed during the time that Public Works is doing that and maybe put a notice in the water bill so that they know it's coming.
Police Chief Wise mentioned that each camera is assigned to the individual officer and they’re actually assigned two cameras in the event one goes down, they can use the backup one. And they do go down, so they’re sent all the time back to the manufacturer to be refurbished or replaced.
Mayor Rios told staff that’s another item to add to the budget list of things to look at that we don’t have money for.
Council Member Orozco asked Fire Chief Muscio if he still parks his vehicle there.
Fire Chief Muscio responded that he hasn’t been parking there much in the morning because the fuel bill was getting outrageous to run the car to keep the lights going. He said it helped initially in the short term until everyone realized that was the Fire Department, not the police and they ignored it. He said it was good for him to go out there because he can watch when those things happen, and maybe if he’s out there again, he can get the plate numbers when they Public Works staff can’t.
Mayor Rios thought it was a really valuable service particularly for the folks on the east side, until we figure out a better solution to be able to still provide that, but not at the cost of any employees’ safety.
BUSINESS FROM CITY MANAGER
17. Oral Communications
City Manager Barber mentioned staff has started the Mid-Year Budget, and audit was a bit behind due to staffing issues. He asked the Council if there are items that they are looking for as part of the Council budget component, to provide to staff. He thanked the community for their patience as we work through the safety on the overpass. He mentioned there will be another presentation at the April 17th meeting on the Vista Lucia affordable housing. He highlighted local business Chely's Cafe, a new cafe in downtown across from the post office who just opened up, the Executive Barbers, as well as having a few a handful of really good salons and barbers in town. He informed about the School District's releasing their Local Control Accountability Plan today.
Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships Director Gil announced that she was just notified this afternoon that the City of Gonzales is in the top 20 for the All American Award so nationally, we have a competitive process coming in and we'll have to put together delegation that speaks to the items that were part of the application. She mentioned this is going to be a lot like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Award, which is a rigorous process, and they will send a press release soon. She also reported on the hiring of two additional staff the front office, one started Friday, and the other one is starting within the next week and a half.
Fire Chief Muscio reported on the questions received from some seniors and information in the water bills seeming to be the preferred method; and he gave an update on the rain starting later on tonight through tomorrow with potentially dangerous winds.
ADJOURNMENT
RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Maria Orozco, Council Member
SECONDER: Lorraine Worthy, Council Member
AYES: Jose L. Rios, Scott Funk, Lorraine Worthy, Maria Orozco EXCUSED: Liz Silva
The meeting was adjourned at 7:11 PM.
ATTEST:
Mary Villegas, Deputy City Clerk