City Council Minutes
February 25, 2025
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CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES
MEETING OF FEBRUARY 25, 2025
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor White called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Mayor White, Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez, Councilmembers Ortiz, Jones and Garcia ABSENT: None
STAFF: City Manager Wood, Public Works Director Tugel, Captain Paredes, Science Workshop Director Sanchez, Recreation Manager Perez, City Attorney Thompson, IT Director Espinosa, City Clerk Rathbun
GUESTS: Gail Stuart-White
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
All recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
AGENDA REVIEW
None.
PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE REGARDING ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA Laura asked that the cannabis budget be placed on the website so that everyone would know where the money was being spent.
COMMENTS FROM CITY COUNCIL
Councilmember Jones stated that she attended the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority meeting and reported on the new recycling program. She also announced that The Market at the Gazebo would be starting this weekend.
Councilmember Garcia stated she attended the presentation regarding the new community center and the question-and-answer session as well as the Immigration Forum. She stated that both were well attended. She stated that the Forum had a lot of resources for the people and everyone there was very welcoming and made everyone feel safe. She also stated that she attended the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority so that she could be informed as an alternate.
Councilmember Ortiz stated she attended the Soledad Chamber of Commerce mixer and stated that it was a nice event. She stated that she also attended the American Legion meeting and they talked about the banners. She stated that she was planning on having a Block Party in the Spring and would notify Council of the date when it was set. She stated that she would not be able to attend the TAMC meeting on March 26th and asked Mayor White to attend and stated that she would not be at the March 25th Council meeting because she would be out of town. She announced that the Safe Routes to School Committee for Greenfield had received an Excellence Award from TAMC. 22 City Council Minutes
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Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez stated that she attended the laptop giveaway that was sponsored by the AT&T Pro-Am and the Greenfield Science Workshop. She stated that Supervisor Lopez was in attendance as well and stated that the person from the AT&T Pro-Am stated that this was the most well-organized event they had ever attended and congratulated everyone that received laptops. She stated that there was a victim of a hit & run on 13th and Walnut and described the situation. She thanked the first responders for all their help. She stated that the incident happened outside of the city limits; however, since she and her family gave the person a ride home and the house was in town, the police department responded. She stated that she was interested in getting some sort of reward from the City for anyone with information regarding the incident. She also asked that the information regarding disabled parking be given to the resident that was requesting information. City Manager asked if Council wanted to place an item on the agenda regarding a reward. Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez stated that she would like to have an item on the next agenda.
Mayor White stated that Councilmember Garcia, Councilmember Jones and he attended the Immigration Forum. He stated that there was over 250 in attendance and thanked all the sponsors that put on the event. He stated that Supervisor Lopez had organized a meeting with the CPCU Commission, Matthew Baker, to encourage their support for the grant for broadband for South Monterey County. He stated the meeting was on February 12th and stated that all south county mayors were in attendance. He stated that broadband was very essential and thanked everyone that attended. He stated that he attended the Senior Social on February 12th and there was over 100 people in attendance. He also announced The Market at the Gazebo would start this weekend.
CONSENT ITEMS
A MOTION by Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez, seconded by Councilmember Garcia to approve the consent items including Warrants #323810 through #323917 and Bank Drafts #6479 through #6497 in the amount of $490,659.72, approve Minutes of the February 11, 2025 City Council Meeting, and receive and file the departmental reports – Finance Department. All in favor. Motion carried.
MAYOR’S PRESENTATIONS, PROCLAMATIONS, COMMUNICATIONS AND RESOLUTIONS PRESENTATION – GREENFIELD COMMUNITY CENTER/PARK DESIGN BY NJA ARCHITECTS John Vierra, NJA Architects, gave a power point presentation regarding the new community center.
John Huerta stated that the funding for the new community center was from Prop 68. He stated that when the grant application was approved the project was named Greenfield Recreation Center & Park and not Greenfield Community Center and would like it to be named by its original name. He stated that staff was proposing reduction of square footage; however, the Council should be given options. He stated that there was over $3 million dollars in ARPA money and over $2 million in the VW measures and these funds could help pay for the center. He stated that the presentation was a great presentation.
He stated that the current Community Center at Patriot Park had received two grants, HCD grants – one Federal and one State.
Noemi Chieco stated that she hoped that it would not take three years to complete and stated that the City did not need another soccer field and the park should include a Splash area and a playground that was inclusive.
Lucila Ayala stated that this was very much needed in the community and asked if there had been community input.
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Gabby stated that she would like to request that the City fund the park and if the funds were available the City should fund the project so that the City does not lose the grant. She asked about having another soccer field and if the Council would consider putting up lights.
Beatriz Diaz stated that she hoped that the center would happen sooner rather than later.
Councilmember Garcia stated that the field was not a soccer field. Recreation Manager Perez stated that the field was a multi-purpose field and on the plan it showed a soccer field so that residents could know the size of the space.
Councilmember Ortiz asked for the timeline and funding for the project. Mr. Vierra explained the timeline and stated that they would be receiving $6 million from the grant and were also seeking additional funds in order to complete the project. He stated that once the funding was secured, the project was ready to go and hoping that something would occur by the end of the year.
PRESENTATION – MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW
City Manager Wood gave a power point presentation.
CITY COUNCIL BUSINESS
ADOPT A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENFIELD APPROVING SUPPLEMENTALLY APPROPRIATING $61,162.60 FROM 503-390-85800 FROM FISCAL YEAR 2023/2024 TO FISCAL YEAR 2024/2025 FOR
THE PURCHASE OF TWO SEWER VEHICLES FOR THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT RESOLUTION #2025-12
Staff report was given by Public Works Director Tugel.
A MOTION by Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez, seconded by Councilmember Garcia to adopt Resolution #2025-12, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Greenfield Approving Supplementally Appropriating $61,162.60 from 503-390-85800 from Fiscal Year 2023/2024 to Fiscal Year 2024/2025 for the Purchase of Two Sewer Vehicles for the Wastewater Treatment Plant”. All in favor. Motion carried.
ADOPT A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENFIELD APPROVING TRANSFERRING WATER CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUNDS IN THE AMOUNT OF $60,000 FROM 504-390-86211, BACKFLOW DEVICE REPLACEMENT TO 504-390-86201, WELL #7 IN ORDER TO REPAIR WELL #7 PUMP AND ASSOCIATED ELECTRICAL WORK
RESOLUTION #2025-13
Staff report was given by Public Works Director Tugel.
A MOTION by Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez, seconded by Councilmember Jones to adopt Resolution #2025-13, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Greenfield Approving Transferring Water Capital Improvement Funds in the Amount of $60,000 from 504-390-86211, Backflow Device Replacement to 504-390-86201, Well #7 in Order to Repair Well #7 Pump and Associated Electrical Work”. All in favor. Motion carried.
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ADOPT A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENFIELD ESTABLISHING
THE POSITION OF PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR AND AMENDING THE UNREPRESENTED
SALARY SCHEDULE
RESOLUTION #2025-14
Staff report was given by City Manager Wood.
Lucila Ayala urged the Council to reconsider this and not establish the position of public safety director.
Noemi Chico stated that the City should have both positions and it would be a lot for Chief Mixer to administer both departments.
John Huerta asked if this was temporary or permanent and why does the Police Department have to have three raises to cover this. He stated that he was against this and that the Fire Department should have its ladder of personnel position so that one of them could move up. He stated that there maybe no one from the Fire Department that wanted to be the Fire Chief and maybe they wanted the Council to approve this; however, he did not know that. He suggested that the City Manager find ways to accomplish this within the department without getting the police department involved. He stated that it seemed that it was happening kind of quick and stated that it had taken a long time to establish both the Fire Department and Police Department to be respectable units.
Stephanie Garcia stated that the mid-year budget review showed that the budget was tight and at some point, the City needed to look at reality and look at the numbers as well as the needs of the community.
She stated that she would like to know what the Fire Department personnel thought of this and if they were in favor of it. .
Beatriz Diaz stated that she was against this and that both departments should be separated and both departments have very different responsibilities. She stated that this way could also be costly, and the Council needed to consider everything and recommended that this be put on hold at this time.
Councilmember Garcia asked if this decision was temporary. City Manager Wood stated that the decision that was made tonight would not be that difficult to undo if the Council decided that it was not in the best interest of the community. He stated that the intent at this time would be to see how this would work.
Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez stated that her concern was the actual impact that it would have on the actual firefighters. She stated that there were already three Fire Captains operating without a Deputy Chief and now they would be operating with a Chief that would only be doing approximately 20% of the administrative duties. She stated that the Fire Department was already operating in a structure that doesn’t have all the support that most other departments have. She stated that she did understand about budget also, however, did not believe that it should be the primary factory that should drive their decision, and that public safety should be the decision maker on this item. She stated that she had asked for a report on cities that were comparable to our size that have a similar position like this and how it worked in their cities as well as salary information; however, it was not in the report. She also stated that she felt that overall, the report was missing a lot of information and that information was needed to know what the real savings would be. She also stated that the Fire Captains should receive an increase if their duties were going to be increased. She asked about the administrative assistants for both the fire and police departments, and which one would get the raise and how the increase would be justified. City Manager Wood stated that the increase would be for the fire department administrative assistant because they would be doing more administrative duties and the police administrative assistant would not necessarily be doing more. She stated that she has heard from a lot of residents and stated that the Council had just passed a raise when Chief Mixer went from interim to permanent. She stated that she understood the 20% increase in pay and the responsibilities that were going to be added but would that 25 City Council Minutes
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mean Chief Mixer would dedicate 20% to Fire and 80% to Police or how would the City spread one person to cover two departments. City Manager Wood explained that he was trying to pay a reasonable amount of money to take care of an executive staff position and it did not necessarily mean that he would take an additional 20% of his time. He stated that there was a list of tasks in three different programs that staff was looking at to try to allocate between people that were already here and a fire marshal. He stated that a lot of what was going on now was trying to figure out if this could work and how to save money. He stated that whether the Council decided to approve this or not, there was a lot of work that needed to go into looking at workloads and what needed to be done to be as effective and efficient as could be. Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez stated that she would like more information before making a decision and stated that she did not see the savings to justify the lack of a Fire Chief and place the additional duties for others. She stated that there were important factors that needed to be part of the public record before making a decision.
Councilmember Jones stated that if the Council does approve this she does not want staff to come back and request another position later.
Mayor White asked if this was done in other places. City Manager Wood stated yes and the savings were not small. He stated that he believed that Sunnyvale did this and that Seaside had done this in the early 2000s.
Councilmember Ortiz stated that she was okay trying this and stated that she believed that Chief Mixer could handle the work load.
A MOTION by Councilmember Ortiz to adopt Resolution #2025-14, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Greenfield Establishing the Position of Public Safety Director and Amending the Unrepresented Salary Schedule”.
Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez stated that she would agree only if this would be until June 30, 2025. Mayor White stated that it would need to be at least until June, 30, 2026 because the Council needed to give it time to work. Councilmember Ortiz stated that it would take time to see if it worked; at least 6 months to a year. Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez stated that she would like this to come back with more information and would like to know what other cities paid.
A MOTION by Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez, seconded by Councilmember Jones to request more information prior to making a decision on this item. ROLL CALL VOTE: Councilmember Jones – Yes; Councilmember Garcia asked how long would the Council have to wait to get more information. Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez was requesting that the information come back by the next meeting.
Councilmember Garcia – Yes; Councilmember Ortiz – No;
Councilmember Jones stated that she thought she had seconded the motion by Councilmember Ortiz to pass Resolution #2025-14 and was not in favor of the motion made by Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez and withdrew her second to that motion.
Mayor White called for a second to the motion made by Mayor Pro-tem Rodrigez to request more information prior to making a decision on this item.
Motion died due to a lack of second.
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A MOTION by Councilmember Ortiz, seconded by Councilmember Jones to adopt Resolution #2025- 14, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Greenfield Establishing the Position of Public Safety Director and Amending the Unrepresented Salary Schedule”. ROLL CALL VOTE:
Councilmember Jones – Yes; Councilmember Garcia – No; Councilmember Ortiz – Yes; Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez – No and Mayor White – Yes. Motion carried.
DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF REGARDING ADVISORY BODY MEMBER
APPOINTMENT PROCESS
Power point presentation and staff report was given by City Attorney Thompson.
Gabby stated that the boards should not have different rules and all appointments should be opened to the public every time.
Mayor White stated that the first section made more sense and suggested that if Commissioner had served a three year term they should be able just to submit a letter; however, if they did not serve a full term they would have to fill an application and the position would be open to the public. Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez stated that she would like the position to be opened to the public every time. Councilmember Ortiz stated that the Council made the appointments and if the Commissioner was not doing a good job then they would not be re-appointed.
There was additional discussion among the Council and staff regarding this item.
It was the consensus of the Council to change the advisory body member appointment process, Planning Commission only to include: when an incumbent wants to serve again they need to submit a letter by November 15th of the year that their term was expiring and if a letter was submitted, Council would consider re-appointment at their first meeting in December. If a letter was not submitted, the clerk or the planning director would put out a recruitment and the Council would consider the applications and appointment the first meeting in December. Also, eliminate the language that states that the appointment to fill a vacancy before the end of the term is for three years but rather they’ll fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term and if they have served less than 6 months the Commissioner could not submit an incumbent letter and the vacancy is opened to the public. The Parks & Recreation Advisory Board rules would not change.
BRIEF REPORTS ON CONFERENCES, SEMINARS, AND MEETINGS ATTENDED BY MAYOR AND
CITY COUNCIL
Councilmember Ortiz reported on the TAMC meeting and stated that the tree removal project near the Red Barn was completed and they removed about 300 trees.
Mayor White reported on the AMBAG meeting and stated that they discussed the 2025 Coordinated Public Transit – Human Services Transportation Plan Development process and the 2050 Metropolitan Transportation plan.
Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez reported on the MST meeting. She stated that F. Loduca was awarded the contract to build the bus stops for the route in Greenfield. She also stated that they presented a recognition and appreciation award to Anna Velasquez and a “Roadeo” award to Mike LeBarre. She stated that the Board asked MST to consider an alternative to the on-call services once the on-call service was stopped. City Manager Wood stated that ITN Monterey County would be doing a presentation regarding on-call services at the next meeting. 27 City Council Minutes
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City Manager Wood reported on the Mayors and Managers meeting and stated that they discussed a regional animal control concept for the four south county cities and a location for the services: AB 413 curb painting and the homelessness situation and its options.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
No report.
CITY MANAGER REPORT
City Manager Wood announced that the Team Building Workshop would on March 19, 2025.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 8:48 p.m.
_________________________
Mayor of the City of Greenfield
____________________________
City Clerk of the City of Greenfield
28 No. of Building Inspections 82 Planning Projects to Hearing 1 Building Permit Applications Processed 52 New Planning Applications Received 2 No.of Building Permits Issued 25 Regulatory Permit Renewal Application 1 No. of Building Permits Finaled 14 Renewal Letter 1
Total Valuation of Building Permits $ 3,661,098 Plan Reviews 12 Total Permit & Impact Fees Collected $ 26,878
New ADU Applications Received 3 Reporting to outside agencies completed:
Certificates of Occupancy issued 1 AMBAG Opportunity Areas CA Dept of Water - MWELO Report
Plan Review Fee collected $ 10,334
Administrative Fee collected $ 2,739 EV Climate Adaptation & Resilience Meeting Building Permit Fees collected $ 12,961 Planning Commission Meeting Water Meter Fees collected $ 404 WASP Final Map Meeting Department Training fee $ 429 AMBAG Planning Directors Forum Stron Motion Fee collected $ -
CA Building Standards Commission fee collected $ 11 Advanced Planning TOTAL $ 26,878 Request for Proposal (RFP) for Nexus Study on Impact Fees Impact Fees Collected CDBG Applications Ranking
Community Center Impact Fee collected $ - Annual Progress Report (APR) Contract/ Data Collection Fire Impact Fee collected $ - Housing Element Passback
General Facilities Impact Fee collected $ - General Plan Progress Park Impact Fee collected $ -
Police Impact Fee collected $ -
Sewer Impact Fee collected $ -
TAMC fees $ -
Traffice Impact Fee collected $ -
Water Impact Fee collected $ -
TOTAL $ -
*no impact fees collected for Feb 2025
ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MONTHLY REPORT FEBRUARY 2025
BUILDING PLANNING
Permit fees collected
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City Council Memorandum 599 El Camino Real Greenfield CA 93937 831-674-5591 www.ci.greenfield.ca.us
DATE: March 4, 2025
AGENDA DATE: March 11, 2025
TO: Mayor and City Council
PREPARED BY: Guillermo Mixer, Director of Public Safety TITLE: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF GREENFIELD ACCEPTING THE
GREENFIELD WILDFIRE PREVENTION
GRANT AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT
WITH THE STATE OF CALIFRONIA
BACKGROUND
Last year the Greenfield Fire Department (GFD) was awarded a wildfire prevention grant through the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. On December 10, 2024, Fire Chief Langborg brought the matter to the city council where the grant was accepted, and the requested appropriations were made.
While reviewing the grant prior to signing, we found an additional area, Reliz Canyon, that would benefit from vegetation and wildfire reduction. Working with CalFire, the grant administrators, we added Reliz Canyon to the Greenfield Wildfire Prevention Program (GWPP).
In addition, CalFire identified some verbiage that was needed in the resolution previously approved by Greenfield City Council. Specifically, indicating the city manager or his designee to, “to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all documents including, but not limited to applications, agreements, amendments, payment requests and so on, which may be necessary for the completion of the aforementioned project.”
Again, the objective of the grant is to fund projects that will decrease the likelihood of vegetation fires in the areas of the Salinas River and Reliz Canyon. Specifically, the grant is intended to reduce fuels and help property owners mitigate hazards on their property. While the geographic locations affected by the grant sit inside of the unincorporated Greenfield Fire Protection District, the project will be overseen by the City of Greenfield Fire Department who contracts their services to the Greenfield Fire Protection District.
FINANCIAL AND BUDGET IMPACT
None, as the Grant is in the amount of $189,263.74, and there is no matching requirement on behalf of the city.
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RECOMMENDATION
Approve and appropriate the Greenfield Wildfire Prevention Grant.
PROPOSED MOTION
I MOVE TO ADOPT RESOLUTION #2025-15, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENFIELD ACCEPTING THE GREENFIELD
WILDFIRE PREVENTION GRANT AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF CALIFRONIA
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