1 Lucy Mallonee
From: Alyssa Homen
Sent: Thursday, January 2, 2025 12:18 PM
To: City Clerk
Subject: Public Comment
Dear City Council & Mayor,
My Name is Alyssa Homen I reside in District 2, and have been a Los Banos resident since 2018.
I love living here, and our town has so much potential as the connecting City especially now that we recalled people who did not have the best interest of Los Banos at heart. Now it’s time to bring people who will represent us with integrity.
As a former School Board of Trustees District 4 in Patterson (2015‐2017), I believe Refugio is the most common sense pick for district 2 where I reside here in Los Banos.
He received 44% votes from the entire city, and I imagine a large portion of those votes came from District 2.
Refugio has experience as a former Planning Commissioner, he attends most if not all meetings. He’s aware of the issues needing to be resolved.
Someone fresh isn’t always a good thing. The Mayor and current Council have experience so you all know that City Council is a large undertaking.
Bringing someone in with Zero Experience will take at least 2 years for them to get the learning curve before they can even learn to give proper input and fresh ideas. Our last attempt to bring in someone new with City Manager has not gone well at all(That situation needs to be addressed).
Our city needs council members with experience at on another local board, and regularly involved at the bare minimum.
I also want to address the stray animal situation. I care for a feral cat colony and do TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release).
The shelter had a grant for free Snip bus a few months ago for residents pets, stray friendly cats, and feral community cats. It was amazing we made a huge dent at curbing the breeding situation. The funds however quickly ran out due to high demand.
Kitten season is coming up and may start early based on how warm December was compared to a usual December. We need to be proactive not reactive.
Please continue to file for as many grants as you can, and consider setting aside funds for a continued TNR service or another round of snip bus.
We made a big dent in TNR but we still have a long way to go and need to continue or else we will be right back where they were.
Thank you all for serving Los Banos and I appreciate your consideration. Happy New Yearკლმნოპჟ ‐Alyssa Homen
From: Deanna Carrillo
To: City Clerk
Subject: Public Comment
Date: Thursday, January 2, 2025 1:42:58 PM
Hi Lucy,
I'd like to submit the following public comment for tonight's city council meeting as I'm no longer able to make it to the podium as planned. Thank you! To Mayor Amabile, Mrs. Lewis, and Mr. Lambert:
I'm writing to thank you for overseeing a thoughtful and transparent selection process to fill the vacancies in District 2 and District 3. The past few years in our city's government has been fraught with chaos, and I think I speak for many when I say that residents are looking forward to turning a corner this year.
As part of your commitment to accountability on behalf of our citizens, I encourage you to please consider the nearly 4,500 votes Refugio Llamas received in his mayoral race last year as you evaluate applicants for District 2. He has proved accessible to residents and dedicated to upholding civility and adherence to the processes we rely on as a city.
I'm sure you have heard some demand for "a clean slate" with all new faces on the council, but I somewhat disagree. I believe that applicants with a familiarity of processes and procedures will be necessary to clean up the mess that the former mayor and recalled council members left behind. While I understand the sentiment, I respect the expertise you folks have as municipal legislators.
I am confident that Mr. Llamas will once again perform well in the interview, and am hopeful that you will select him to represent District 2. Additionally, I would like to commend Erasmo Viveros, an applicant for District 3, for the outreach he has conducted so far. I am optimistic and excited about the future of our city with a new council.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
Deanna Carrillo