City Council Minutes
September 9, 2025
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CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2026
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor White called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Mayor White, Councilmembers Ortiz and Garcia
Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez arrived at 6:02 p.m.
ABSENT: Councilmember Jones
STAFF: City Manager Wood, Captain Paredes, Economic & Community Development Director Mugan, Public Works Director Tugel, IT Director Espinosa, Engineer Tony Nisich, Assistant Engineer Gil-Mares, City Attorney Thompson, City Clerk Rathbun GUESTS: Emma Gutierrez, Gail Stewart White, Juergen Smith, Luis Mojica, Lourdes Villarreal, Adela Acosta, Dariana Acosta, Carlos Venegas, Avelina Torres, Karina Valentin, Rosario Benavides, Cheryl Urquidez, Tomas Rendon, Maria Inez Rendon, John Huerta, Jr.
EXCUSE COUNCILMEMBER ABSENCES
A MOTION by Councilmember Ortiz, seconded by Councilmember Garcia to excuse Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez and Councilmember Jones. All in favor. Motion carried.
INVOCATION BY VAL GARCIA
Invocation by Val Garcia.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
All recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez arrived at 6:02 p.m.
AGENDA REVIEW
City Manager Wood requested that Item I-4, Deny Claim against City and Item L-1, Closed Session be removed from the agenda. City Council concurred.
PUBLIC COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE REGARDING ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA Lourdes Villarreal stated that she was here on August 26th about a problem that had been happening for months and it was with the placement of trash cans, abandoned vehicles, receiving poor services from the police department and the lack of action from the City Council.
She stated that she had reported the situation, and the Police Department was annoyed with her and no action has been taken. She stated that she cared about her community and would like for action to be taken.
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September 9, 2025
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Juergen Smith announced the Golden Ticket program sponsored by Tyler Farms and stated that it was for every 3rd grader in Monterey County. He stated that the program was based on test scores and at the end of the year each 3rd grader that showed improvement was eligible for $250.
Beatriz Diaz asked for the City to work with the residents on 14th Street, Mercado Camp, for a long term water solution. She stated that these residents have been working with the State regarding water contamination and would like for the City to assist them. She also asked if the City was looking for a pharmacy since Rite Aide had closed and stated that the local pharmacy never answered the phone and was for delivery services only. She also asked why the utility deposit was so high and how it was calculated.
COMMENTS FROM CITY COUNCIL
Councilmember Garcia stated that she appreciated people caring about the safety of getting kids to school; however, would like drivers to be safer and not drive with their devices in their hands.
She also stated that she appreciated that the City had rules and regulations but sometimes staff and council needed to look at those rules and amend, change or remove those rules. She stated that if the City had rules then it needed to be consistent with all its residents. She also stated that if someone couldn’t build a fence for their protection and safety, something had to change.
Councilmember Ortiz asked about the crossing guards for the schools. She stated that they couldn’t interfere with the school district; however, she would be reaching out to TAMC regarding training the crossing guards. She stated that she and Mayor White attended the Relay for Life event at the National Steinbeck Center and it was a very nice event. She stated that they would like Greenfield to host its own Relay for Life event in the future.
Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez stated that she was happy to be back and that it had been a difficult month.
She stated that residents had been emailing her, and she apologized to all those that she had not gotten back to; however, she would be emailing them back. She stated that she attended an award ceremony in Monterey, which recognized Adela Alvarez, a Greenfield resident, for all her volunteer work and would like to recommend that this Council also recognizes its local residents and place this recognition on the agenda. She also announced that Supervisor Lopez was willing to pay for two inclusionary signs for parks as long as the City was willing to pay for the installation. She also stated that she had been working with the Arts Council on having a mural and was hoping to find place to get a mural installed and that Supervisor Lopez had also made a donation for mural installations.
Mayor White announced the 9/11 ceremony would be held at 8:40 a.m. in front of City Hall and the Harvest Festival would be on October 19th in a new location, on El Camino Real from Maple to the Gazebo. He stated that he attended the Monterey Bay League of California Cities event and Supervisor Lopez was the speaker in his capacity as a Coastal Commissioner. He stated that the Monterey County Mayors’ Association met in Greenfield on September 5th and thanked City Manager Wood for the presentation. He also stated that he attended the Relay for Life Event at the Steinbeck Center and that Relay for Life Walk Event was being held on September 20th in downtown Salinas.
CONSENT ITEMS
A MOTION by Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez, seconded by Councilmember Ortiz to approve the consent items including Warrants #325464 through #325539 and Bank Drafts #6849 through #6873 in the amount of $448,609.47; approve Minutes of the August 26, 2025 City Council Meeting, and Receive and File Monthly Report –Science Workshop / Grants. All in favor.
Motion carried.
MAYOR’S PRESENTATIONS, PROCLAMATIONS, COMMUNICATIONS, RESOLUTIONS 17 City Council Minutes
September 9, 2025
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PROCLAMATION – A PROCLAMATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENFIELD HONORING JACOB’S HEART CHILDREN’S CANCER SUPPORT SERVICES AND DECLARING SEPTEMBER 2025 AS CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Mayor White read the proclamation proclaiming September 2025 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.
CITY COUNCIL BUSINESS
ADOPT A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENFIELD AWARDING A
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT TO HARRIS & ASSOCIATES IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $28,220.00 FOR DESIGN SERVICES FOR A BASIS OF DESIGN REPORT FOR THE
REPLACEMENT OF THE TYLER LIFT STATION, AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE THIS CONTRACT AND ASSIGN ADDITIONAL WORK IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THIS RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION #2025-82
Staff report was given by Public Works Director Tugel.
A MOTION by Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez, seconded by Councilmember Ortiz to adopt Resolution #2025-82, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Greenfield Awarding a Professional Services Contract to Harris & Associates in an Amount Not to Exceed $28,220.00 for Design Services for a Basis of Design Report for the Replacement of the Tyler Lift Station and Authorizing the City Manager to Negotiate and Execute this Contract and Assign Additional Work in Accordance with this Resolution”. All in favor. Motion carried.
RECEIVE REPORT AND PROVIDE DIRECTION REGARDING THE 2025 SEWER RATE & FEE STUDY
Report and power point presentation was given by Engineer Nisich and Public Works Director Tugel.
Lourdes Villarreal stated that she supported the individual usage method for charging the sewer rate instead of a flat rate.
John Martinez stated that he was looking at other options and stated hooking up to Soledad’s sewer would probably cost less. He stated that another option could be expanding the ponds until things picked up. He stated that the State of California put the City in a really bad situation here. He stated that people were struggling and that the increase was a lot of money.
John Huerta, Jr. stated that a lot of the rate payers in Greenfield were farm workers and the City needed to look at different options. He stated that the City had time right now because of the building moratorium and after September 25th there would be no more building permits issued. He stated that the City had two options that the residents would like and they would be to stay with the current bioreactor modular design or running a wastewater pipeline to Soledad. He stated that cities were doing consolidation more often. He suggested that the City do an engineer’s cost analysis for the pipeline to Soledad.
Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez addressed the option of running a pipeline to Soledad and stated that it was not cost effective. Public Works Director Tugel stated that the City would have to obtain easements from all the property owners and CalTrans and obtain other permits. She stated that it would be very costly and lengthy. She stated that the City was at capacity currently and has been in violation and it did not make sense to wait.
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Mayor White stated that the Council had looked at all the options and he explained that the City had almost shovel ready plans. Public Works Director Tugel stated that the plans were about 90% complete and would be ready for bid within a couple of months of securing the finances. Councilmember Ortiz stated that the City had been working on this for over 6 years. Mayor White stated that the City was better off keeping control of its own sewer plant and that King City and Gonzales were also looking at expanding or getting new plants as well.
There was additional discussion among staff and the City Council regarding the water conservation program, the recycled water component of the plant as well as hiring a consultant to help educate residents and explain the importance of understanding why the sewer rate was increasing.
City Manager Wood recommended that a workshop or two be held to explain everything to the public.
Mayor White asked that the workshop be scheduled right away and that it be in the evening.
ADOPT A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENFIELD APPOINTING THE
VOTING DELEGATE AND ALTERNATE TO THE LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
RESOLUTION #2025-83
Staff report was given by City Clerk Rathbun
A MOTION by Councilmember Garcia, seconded by Councilmember Ortiz to adopt Resolution #2025-83, “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Greenfield Appointing Mayor Pro-tem Rodriguez, the Voting Delegate and Councilmember Ortiz, Alternate to the League of California Cities Annual Conference”. All in favor. Motion carried.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
No report.
CITY MANAGER REPORT
No report.
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m.
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Mayor of the City of Greenfield
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City Clerk of the City of Greenfield
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