MINUTES OF
REGULAR MEETING
August 18, 2026
CALL TO ORDER - PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Nagy called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M. and conducted the pledge of allegiance.
ROLL CALL
Council Members: Melville – Giles – Marsigli – Mayor Pro Tem Ford – Mayor Nagy Staff present: City Manager Melanie Correa, Finance Director Jennifer Morrison, Economic & Community Development Director Jami Westervelt, Police Chief Ruben Chavez, Fire Chief Rich Martin, City Attorney Olivia Clark (virtual), Recreation Manager Tiffany Vitorino, HR Manager/Deputy Clerk Desirae Porras, Project Manager Danny Reed and Public Works Director Alberto Villa-Leyva
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Council member Melville made a motion to approve the agenda.
The motion was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Ford and carried 5-0.
DECLARATIONS OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST
There were no declarations of conflict of interest.
PRESENTATIONS
1. Employee Introduction - Administrative Assistant
Desirae Porras, HR Manager/Deputy Clerk
HR Manager/Deputy Clerk Porras introduced Administrative Assistant Jessica Conrad. Ms.
Conrad expressed appreciation for the opportunity.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Paul Willett, Patterson Ambulance Director, advised of their approved application to provide ambulance service in Zone A. He informed Council they will continue being long-term partners with the City and its residents.
Mayor Pro Tem Ford inquired clarification on a non-exclusive Zone A, to which Mr. Willett provided clarification on the variety of providers in Stanislaus County.
Police Explorer Sergeants Yazmin Ruiz and Hazel Lopez, advised of the new limited addition commemorative patches the department is selling for $15.
Abby Pendleton, on behalf of Assembly member Juan Alanis, provided a legislative update.
Zachary Ramos, 1080 Elm Ave, provided an update on the 9/11 Memorial Plaque project. He thanked Mike and Denise Azevedo for picking up the rock where the plaque will be placed on. He thanked Police Chief Chavez for his generous donation toward the plaque. He announced the ribbon cutting of the memorial garden at Gustine Elementary at 8:00 a.m on September 11.
Mayor Nagy thanked Mr. Ramos for spearheading the 9/11 Memorial Plaque project.
CONSENT CALENDAR
2. Minutes of the August 4, 2026 Regular Meeting
Recommendation: Review and approve
3. Warrants
Recommendation: Review and ratify
4. Treasurer’s Report – July 2026
Recommendation: Review and file
5. Approve Resolution Authorizing Contract Amendment #2 with Harris & Associates for Water & Sewer Rate Study and Authorizing City Manager to Execute Amendment
Recommendation: Review and approve resolution
Mayor Nagy introduced the consent calendar.
There was no public comment.
Council member Marsigli expressed concerns with consent calendar item #5, to which Finance Director Morrison advised of her conversation with Harris & Associates and informed Council of the reasoning for their rates.
Council member Marsigli further questioned the rising prices, to which City Manager Correa advised Council could direct staff to further negotiate the rates with Harris & Associates.
There was further discussion regarding the increased rates.
Consent calendar item #5 was moved to a future meeting.
Council member Marsigli inquired on the bank fees from Data Ticket, to which Finance Director Morrison advised of her upcoming meeting with Data Ticket and Police Chief Chavez to review documentation that Data Ticket has sent to the City.
Council member Marsigli inquired whether the Unwired Broadband warrant will be held until the fiber at all City locations are functional, to which City Manager Correa affirmed.
Council member Marsigli made a motion to approve consent calendar items #1-4 and to move consent calendar item #5 to a future meeting.
The motion was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Ford and carried 5-0.
ADMINISTRATIVE AGENDA
6. Hold Workshop and Consider Approval of a Resolution Adopting the 2026 Sanitary Sewer Master Plan
1. Receive staff report and presentation
2. Hold Workshop
3. Receive Public Comment
4. Consider a motion to approve the resolution adopting the City’s 2026 Sanitary Sewer Master Plan Update
Project Manager, Danny Reed, provided the presentation.
Mayor Pro Tem Ford inquired on the grease and grit maintenance challenges, to which Project Manager Reed provided examples of both grease and grit.
Council member Marsigli inquired the cause for grease and grit, to which Project Manager Reed advised of combination of sewage and sand.
Council member Melville inquired whether replacement of vitrified clay pipe is primarily downtown, to which Mr. Reed affirmed.
Council member Giles inquired which areas take priority, to which Project Manager Reed advised the areas are chosen by what the City can afford and which areas are highly problematic.
Mayor Pro Tem Ford recommended that lift stations be maintained by the subdivisions.
Council member Marsigli inquired clarification on the zoning of the sphere of influence, to which Mr. Reed advised the most recent Housing Element zoning designations were utilized.
Mayor Pro Tem Ford inquired whether the total recommended improvement includes the future industrial growth, to which Project Manager Reed affirmed.
Council member Marsigli inquired whether the Middle School pump station will need to be upgraded for the Southeast Gustine Master Plan area, to which Mr. Reed advised he did not know if it would be necessary and further advised some surcharging shown in models with future buildout.
Economic & Community Development Director Westervelt inquired whether the Rasmussen Development is included, to which Project Manager Reed affirmed.
There was no public comment.
Council member Marsigli made a motion to approve the resolution adopting the City’s 2026 Sanitary Sewer Master Plan update.
The motion was seconded by Council member Melville and carried 5-0.
7. Consider Approval of a Resolution Authorizing City Manager to Execute Warranty Agreement with Unwired Broadband LLC
1. Receive Staff Report
2. Receive Public Comment
3. Consider a motion to approve resolution authorizing City Manager to execute Warranty Agreement with Unwired Broadband LLC
Economic & Community Development Director Westervelt presented the staff report.
There was no public comment.
Council member Marsigli confirmed that expenses for drafting the agreement were covered by the company’s deposit, to which Economic & Community Development Director Westervelt affirmed.
Council member Marsigli made a motion to approve resolution authorizing City Manager to execute warranty agreement with Unwired Broadband LLC.
The motion was seconded by Council member Giles and carried 5-0.
Mayor Nagy inquired whether loss is measured for the sewage system, to which Mr.
Reed advised the City could compare previous years flow to current year flow and further advised of what could cause loss and where it could be detected.
CITY DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Police Chief Chavez updated on the Explorer’s participation in the traffic control at the Pacific Grove Rally event last Friday. He expressed appreciation for Explorer’s and volunteers. He reported on an incident last week that led to an outstanding warrant for a suspect who fled the scene.
He advised of recent burglaries and a stolen vehicle incident and stated the department was able to locate the suspect and additional stolen items.
He advised of his attendance at the AT&T Outage meeting and updated Council on the cause of the regional outage that took place on June 30th.
He further advised of his attendance at Mercy Medical Care meeting last week and he informed the County of his retirement.
He expressed appreciation for the Explorer Sergeants on their patch presentation.
Council member Marsigli inquired on the length of the FLOCK Camera contract, to which Police Chief Chavez advised of an upcoming meeting to review the terms and stated he will determine when the timeframe starts and report back to Council.
Fire Chief Martin reminded everyone of the upcoming annual golf tournament.
Public Works Director Villa-Leyva advised of valve issues on Well #6 and stated the department is looking into estimates to repair. He advised of his submittal of three project applications to San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors.
He confirmed receipt of Council member Marsigli’s request for weed abatement on the Schmidt Park walking path.
Recreation Manager Vitorino advised of an upcoming OLM meeting to discuss trailer parking in Henry Miller Park during the Festa event. She informed Council of the removal of a bench at Henry Miller Park due to damage. She thanked Council member Giles for the Kid’s Fishing Day donations. She advised FFA will be volunteering at the Fishing Day event. She updated on the Merced County inspection of the Goman Center.
Finance Director Morrison advised the City has received $29,018 reimbursement for FY24/25 from Nichols Consulting. She informed Council she included the map of Cityowned properties in the Council update.
Economic & Community Development Director Westervelt advised of the opening of Lumina Beauty Studio on Saturday. She thanked Project Manager Reed for his work on the Sewer Master Plan and thanked Council for their approval of the plan.
She provided an update on the Business License site and advised of back end issues.
She thanked Deputy Clerk Porras for her assistance in updating the City website.
Finance Director Morrison informed Council that any emails regarding the Business License update will receive an email directly from the Finance Department.
Economic & Community Development Director Westervelt advised of her communication with business owners regarding the new business license system.
She advised the City has been informed they may proceed with sole sourcing for the FAA Fuel Pump project.
Council member Giles inquired whether there has been any interest in marquee advertisement, to which Deputy Clerk Porras advised of a recent marquee advertisement application.
Council member Marsigli inquired whether there is any reference in the City code preventing annexing islands, to which Economic & Community Development Director Westervelt advised the first step is to speak to LAFCO and further advised she did not believe LAFCO would agree to the annexing parcels that create islands.
Project Manager Reed advised he had nothing to report.
HR Manager/Deputy Clerk Porras informed Council of the upcoming Notice of Nominees publication in the newspaper. She provided a Public Surplus update and advised of the auction end date. She informed Council the City is awaiting signatures from the Contractor for the Well #1 Abandonment project. She advised the City has scheduled the SB1343 and AB1825 Mandatory Citywide Training for November 5th. She reported on open recruitments. She informed Council she is assisting the Finance Department in FY24/25 Audit requests and assisting Economic & Community Development Director Westervelt with the Business License website updates.
CITY MANAGER REPORT
City Manager Correa informed Council the Clerk Recorder will hold westside office hours on the first Wednesday of every month from 9A.M. to 3:30P.M.
She advised of her upcoming meeting with Sergeant Martinez and FLOCK and stated she will provide an update at a later time.
She thanked City staff for their hard work.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
City Attorney Clark complimented staff on their work.
COUNCIL REPORTS
Council member Marsigli inquired on the puddle at McDonald’s, to which City Manager Correa advised it is backflow from the CCID irrigation bowl and stated the City will be hounding the construction team to make sure the CCID valve and correct drainage connection is installed during CalTrans’ intersection widening project.
City Manager Correa advised the delay in the project is due to utility relocation.
Council member Marsigli commented on the AT&T Outage meeting she attended. She expressed appreciation for Adam Amaral and his work in trying to prepare for future outage solutions. She recommended the City consider working to ban Data Centers.
Council member Melville advised of his attendance at the two Back to School Night events put on by the City and O’Reilly’s.
Council member Giles inquired on the mobile homes when coming into town, to which Economic & Development Director Westervelt advised it is billed as one unit and ran by one individual.
Council member Giles inquired whether there is low income funding for the mobile homes, to which Economic & Community Development Director Westervelt advised the issue is there is not any designation showing that they are low-income units.
Mayor Pro Tem Ford inquired whether the City could purchase a stump grinder for Public Works, to which City Manager Correa advised Public Works Director Villa-Leyva is meeting with the tree contractors later this week regarding the stump removal and for future tree removal.
Mayor Nagy thanked Police Chief Chavez for the patches and commended the Explorer’s on their presentation. He inquired whether there was any conversation regarding reimbursement for the AT&T outage, to which City Manager Correa denied and advised of follow up meetings regarding the outage.
City Manager Correa provided an update on the outage that occurred on Monday.
Mayor Nagy recommended using the marquee to recognize donors and sponsors for City events.
He inquired whether there is an update on the bookstore, to which Economic & Community Development Director Westervelt advised it was confirmed it was inspected and there were no harmful chemicals presented.
Mayor Nagy inquired an update on the veterinarian business, to which Economic & Community Development Director Westervelt advised the owner is working on the inside of the building and there is no set date for opening.
He advised of the issues arising with Westside Ambulance staffing which is leading to AMR covering the City as mutual aid.
He reminded everyone of the annual Fire Department golf tournament.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Nagy adjourned the meeting at 8:20 P.M.