City of Hollister
City Council Agenda
Special Meeting
Monday, March 24, 2025, 7:00 p.m.
City Council Chamber, City Hall
375 Fifth Street, Hollister, CA 95023
Roxanne Stephens, Mayor David Mirrione, City Manager Rudy Picha, Council Member, District 1 Mary F. Lerner, City Attorney Rolan Resendiz, Council Member, District 2
Dolores Morales, Council Member, District 3
Priscilla de Anda, Council Member, District 4
Gordon Machado, City Treasurer
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Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the City Council after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, 375 Fifth Street, Hollister, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon, 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (City Hall is closed between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m.)
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Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the City Council after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, 375 Fifth Street, Hollister, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon, 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (City Hall is closed between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m.)
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1.CALL TO ORDER
2.PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3.ROLL CALL
4.COUNCIL BUSINESS
4.1 A RESOLUTION APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO
PROVIDE NOTICES OF TERMINATION REGARDING FIRE PROTECTION
SERVICES AGREEMENTS WITH THE COUNTY OF SAN BENITO AND THE CITY
OF SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Adopt a resolution approving and authorizing the City Manager to provide notices of City of Hollister City Council Meeting
termination regarding fire protection services agreements with the County of San Benito and City of San Juan Bautista.
5.ADJOURNMENT
6.VERIFICATION OF AGENDA POSTING
The agenda for the City Council of the City of Hollister special meeting of March 24, 2025 was posted on the bulletin board at City Hall on March 23, 2025 at 3:15 p.m. per Government Code Section 54954.2.
City of Hollister City Council Meeting
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION NOTICE
The public may attend meetings in person or watch meetings via live stream at:
City of Hollister Website:
https://hollister.ca.gov/government/agendas___minutes.php
Community Media Access Partnership (CMAP):
http://cmaptv.com/government/
City of Hollister YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@cityofhollistercalifornia1489
NOTICE: The City Council will hold its public meetings in person, with a virtual option for public participation based on availability. The City of Hollister utilizes Zoom teleconferencing technology for virtual public participation; however, we make no representation or warranty of any kind, regarding the adequacy, reliability, or availability of the use of this platform in this manner. Participation by members of the public through this means is at their own risk. (Zoom teleconferencing may not be available at all meetings.)
If you wish to make a public comment remotely during the meeting, please use the Zoom registration link below:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_MNOr95ZCQrWzERqd5zRuwQ
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (831) 636-4300. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to attempt to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting [28 CFR 35.102-35.104 ADA Title II].
Materials related to an item on this agenda submitted to the City Council after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, 375 Fifth Street, Hollister, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to noon, 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (City Hall is closed between 12:00 and 1:00 p.m.)
Notice to anyone attending any public meeting: The meeting may be broadcast live on Cable Channel 17 and/or videotaped or photographed. Recent City Council meetings may also be viewed at www.CMAP.com and periodically on Cable Channel 17.
To access written translation during the meeting, please scan the QR Code or click this link | Para acceder a la traducción durante la reunión, por favor escanee el código QR o haga clic en el enlace:
https://attend.wordly.ai/join/NLJC-7137
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STAFF REPORT
HOLLISTER CITY COUNCIL
MEETING DATE: March 24, 2025
REPORT # City Attorney-2025-04
AGENDA ITEM: A RESOLUTION APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO PROVIDE NOTICES OF TERMINATION REGARDING FIRE
PROTECTION SERVICES AGREEMENTS WITH THE COUNTY OF SAN BENITO
AND THE CITY OF SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
DEPARTMENT: City Attorney
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Mary Lerner, City Attorney
STAFF CONTACT: Mary Lerner, City Attorney
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Adopt a resolution approving and authorizing the City Manager to provide notices of termination regarding fire protection services agreements with the County of San Benito and City of San Juan Bautista.
DISCUSSION: Since 2013, the City of Hollister has provided fire protection services via a contract to the County of San Benito and the City of San Juan Bautista. Since the inception of the first contracts, the contracts were renegotiated in 2016 and 2019. At the request of the City Council, staff provided a presentation regarding the fire services contracts on May 6, 2024. On June 4, 2024, the City Council expressed the intent to issue a notice of termination regarding the fire services contracts with the County of San Benito and the City of San Juan Bautista. To comply with Council’s direction, staff drafted the necessary resolution and notices of termination and received approval from the City Council on June 18, 2024 to issue the notices. These notices were issued on June 20, 2024 and would adjust the termination date of the contracts from December 3 1, 2025 to March 17, 2025. These documents formally informed the respective agencies of the City’s intention to terminate the fire services contracts; however, the notices also indicated that the City was willing to work with the agencies in lieu of termination. City staff then worked with the staff from both agencies to renegotiate the terms of the contracts.
On January 7, 2025, the City Council created an ad-hoc committee to negotiate the fire protection contracts and appointed Mayor Stephens and Councilmember Resendiz to serve on the committee. On January 21, 2025, the City Council directed the City Manager to rescind both 270-day termination notices. By rescinding the notices, the contracts are now set to expire on their original expiration date of December 31, 2025. Since the current contracts have provisions to automatically extend an additional calendar year if the contracts are not terminated per the contract terms, the City Council will need to agree to an amendment or issue a new 270-day notice prior to April 5, 2025 to prevent the contracts from being automatically extended.
Concurrently to the negotiations, the three jurisdictions have partnered to conduct a Fire District Feasibility Study with the City of San Juan Bautista serving as the lead ag ency.
The City of San Juan Bautista issued a Request for Proposals for the study and recently awarded a contract to Baker Tilly. This project will be overseen by the Fire Protection Advisory Committee, which is comprised of two elected officials from each of the three jurisdictions.
Since the formation of the City of Hollister’s ad-hoc committee, negotiations have been actively underway. As a result of these negotiations, the ad -hoc committee finalized a set of proposed terms for both the County of San Ben ito and the City of San Juan Bautista contract amendments which are included as attachments to this agenda item along with the current fire protection contracts for both agencies. These amendments were presented to the City Council at its March 17, 2025 me eting and consensus was reached to bring the amendments back to Council for approval of the proposed terms.
On March 18, 2025, the County of San Benito Board of Supervisors convened via a special meeting to review and discuss the proposed amendment terms. The Board of Supervisors voted to provide staff direction to return to legal to review and to return Amendment #1 for Board review and approval. On March 20, 2025, the County of San Benito Board of Supervisors convened via a special meeting to consider the approval of Amendment #1 to the Fire Protection Services Agreement and provide staff direction if desired. The Board of Supervisors voted to approve the amendment contingent upon removal of the paragraph included in Section 1.C of the amendment that references the ability of the City of Hollister to “brown out” Station 3 at its sole discretion.
At the March 18, 2025 San Juan Bautista City Council meeting, the San Juan Bautista City Council reviewed and discussed the proposed amendment terms. The San Juan Bautista City Council voted to reject the proposed amendment, requested their fire negotiations ad-hoc committee hold negotiations with both the City of Hollister’s and the County of San Benito’s fire negotiation ad -hoc committees, and to include the City of Hollister Fire Chief, the Interim City Manager of San Juan Bautista, and the City Manager of Hollister in these negotiations.
At the March 21, 2025 Special Meeting of the Hollister City Council, staff provided a report regarding the requests of both the County of San Benito and the City of San Juan Bautista. Staff also provided an update regarding potential options moving forward. Upon reviewing the potential options, receiving public comment, and holding a discussion, the City Council directed the City Manager via consensus on the option below.
Option E
Minimum 3-0 staffing at stations
Prepare set of proposed terms that treat the County and City of San Juan Bautista as one partner
One comprehensive price and set of terms
Terms prepared in partnership with the Hollister Fire Negotiations Ad -Hoc Committee, Fire Chief, Fire Union President, and City Management County of San Benito and San Juan Bautista to work together to develop partnership to meet the proposed terms of the City of Hollister Each agency provides City of Hollister with one-time payment for Fiscal Year 2024- 25 within 30 days to compensate the City of Hollister for the financial impact during the ongoing negotiating process
Issuance of 270-day termination notices to the County of San Benito and the City of San Juan Bautista
Inclusion of 90-day provision to complete negotiations
During prior legal review of the Contracts, it was determined that they would terminate on the 270th day after the provision of notice. This assessment remains correct; however, upon additional review and reassessment of potential implications regarding such notice, it is now our recommendation that the 270-day notice should be provided in a manner that ensures the 270-day expiration will occur within the current contract term. This approach will provide greater procedural clarity and reduce potential complications related to the termination process.
Although it was the original intention of the City Council to consider all components of Option E concurrently, upon legal review, it has been determined that the 270-day notice of termination should be issued separately, as described above, to ensure proper alignment with contractual timelines. This procedural necessity requires us to bring the termination notices forward for approval at this meeting, while the comprehensive service proposal will be presented to Council on April 7, 2025, as previously directed.
FISCAL IMPACT: N/A
PREVIOUS COUNCIL OR COMMISSION ACTION: March 21, 2025: City Council directed the City Manager to prepare notices of termination for the fire protection services agreements with the County of San Benito and City of San Juan Bautista for consideration at a future meeting.
Additionally, the City Council directed the City of Hollister’s Fire Services Contract Negotiations Ad-Hoc Committee, in consultation with the Hollister’s Fire Chief, Hollister Firefighters’ Association Local 3395 President, and City management, to prepare a proposal based on Option E for the continuance of fire protection services in the unincorporated areas of San Benito County and the City of San Juan Bautista for the Hollister City Council’s review at its April 7, 2025 meeting.
CEQA: Not a project under CEQA.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution
2. Notice of Termination: County of San Benito Fire Protection Services contract
3. Notice of Termination: City of San Juan Bautista Fire Protection Services contract
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-XX
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOLLISTER
APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO PROVIDE
NOTICES OF TERMINATION REGARDING FIRE PROTECTIONS
SERVICES AGREEMENTS WITH THE COUNTY OF SAN BENITO AND
THE CITY OF SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
WHEREAS, the City of Hollister has existing fire protection services agreements with the County of San Benito and the City of San Juan Bautista; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has directed staff to prepare notices of termination to begin the two hundred seventy-day noticing period required for termination of the fire protection services agreements; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that it is in the best interest of the City to begin the termination process for these agreements due to a continuing funding shortfall for the services being provided by the City; and
WHEREAS, staff has prepared the necessary notices of termination to formally inform the respective agencies of the City’s intention to terminate the fire protection services agreements.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Hollister:
1. Approves the termination of the fire protection services agreements with the County of San Benito and the City of San Juan Bautista;
2. Authorizes and directs the City Manager to provide notices of termination to the County of San Benito and the City of San Juan Bautista; and
3. Authorizes the City Manager to take any additional actions necessary to effectuate the termination or modification of these agreements in accordance with their terms.
Resolution No. 2025-XX
PASSED AND ADOPTED, by the City Council of the City of Hollister at a regular meeting held on March 24, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAINED:
ABSENT:
Roxanne Stephens, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Lozano Smith Attorneys at Law
Jennifer Woodworth, MMC, City Clerk Mary F. Lerner, City Attorney
I, Jennifer Woodworth, MMC, City Clerk of the City of Hollister, do hereby certify that the attached Resolution No. 2025-XX is an original resolution, or true and co rrect copy of a City resolution, duly adopted by the Council of the City of Hollister at a regular meeting held on March 24, 2025 at which meeting a quorum was present.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Hollister on March 24, 2025.
Jennifer Woodworth, MMC
City Clerk of the City of Hollister
CITY OF HOLLISTER
375 FIFTH ● HOLLISTER, CA 95023-3876
March 25, 2025
By U.S. Mail and Email
Henie Ring
Interim County Administrative Officer, County of San Benito 481 Fourth Street
Hollister, CA 95023
Re: Termination of San Benito County Fire Protection Services Contract (“Contract”)
Dear Ms. Ring:
This letter serves as notice that the City of Hollister (“City”) is executing its right to terminate the above-named Contract with the County of San Benito (“County”) effective December 20, 2025.
The City has the right to terminate the Contract, with or without cause, two hundred and seventy (270) days after advance written notice to the County. (Sections 6 and C-10.) On March 24, 2025, the City Council directed the City Manager to issue this notice of termination. The City will continue to provide fire services pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Contract until the aforementioned termination date; however, the City is hopeful that a revised agreement, equitable to the City, can be reached before any such date.
The City of Hollister’s Fire Services Contract Negotiations Ad-Hoc Committee, in consultation with the Hollister Fire Chief, Hollister Firefighters’ Union Local 3395 President, and City management, will prepare a proposal allowing for an equitable distribution of costs and uninterrupted fire protection services in the unincorporated areas of San Benito County and the City of San Juan Bautista. This proposal will be presented to the Hollister City Council for review at its April 7, 2025 meeting. If approved, the City of Hollister will provide a joint proposal to the County of San Benito and the City of San Juan Bautista for consideration.
The City appreciates your partnership and is willing to work with you and the City of San Juan Bautista to enter into mutually beneficial agreements in lieu of termination.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
David Mirrione, City Manager
cc: Mary Lerner, City Attorney
CITY OF HOLLISTER
375 FIFTH ● HOLLISTER, CA 95023-3876
March 25, 2025
By U.S. Mail and Email
Ashley Collick
Interim City Manager, City of San Juan Bautista
311 Second Street
San Juan Bautista, CA 95045
Re: Termination of City of San Juan Bautista Fire Protection Services Contract (“Contract”)
Dear Ms. Collick:
This letter serves as notice that the City of Hollister (“City”) is executing its right to terminate the above-named Contract with the City of San Juan Bautista effective December 20, 2025.
The City has the right to terminate the Contract, with or without cause, two hundred and seventy (270) days after advance written notice to the City of San Juan Bautista. (Sections 6 and C-10.) On March 24, 2025, the City Council directed the City Manager to issue this notice of termination.
The City will continue to provide fire services pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Contract until the aforementioned termination date; however, the City is hopeful that a revised agreement, equitable to the City, can be reached before any such date.
The City of Hollister’s Fire Services Contract Negotiations Ad-Hoc Committee, in consultation with the Hollister Fire Chief, Hollister Firefighters’ Union Local 3395 President, and City management, will prepare a proposal allowing for an equitable distribution of costs and uninterrupted fire protection services in the unincorporated areas of San Benito County and the City of San Juan Bautista. This proposal will be presented to the Hollister City Council for review at its April 7, 2025 meeting. If approved, the City of Hollister will provide a joint proposal to the County of San Benito and the City of San Juan Bautista for consideration.
The City appreciates your partnership and is willing to work with you and the County of San Benito to enter into mutually beneficial agreements in lieu of termination.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
David Mirrione
City Manager
cc: Mary Lerner, City Attorney