Orland City Council Minutes – May 2, 2023 1 | P a g e
MINUTES OF THE ORLAND CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING HELD MAY 2, 2023
CALL TO ORDER
Meeting called to order by Mayor Chris Dobbs at 6:30 PM.
Meeting opened with Pledge of Allegiance
ROLL CALL
Councilmembers present: Councilmembers John McDermott, Jeffrey Tolley, Matt Romano, Vice Mayor Bruce Roundy, Mayor Chris Dobbs
Councilmembers absent: None
Staff present: City Manager Pete Carr; Chief Joe Vlach; City Clerk Jennifer Schmitke; City Attorney Greg Einhorn
Staff present online: Public Works Director Ed Vonasek, Recreation Director Joe Fenske
CONSENT CALENDAR
A. Warrant List (payable obligations)
B. Approve City Council Minutes for April 18, 2023
C. Receive and file Recreation Commission Minutes from February 22, 2023 D. Approve and Adopt Second Reading of Ordinance 2023-02 E. City and Orland Unified School District Partnership Sand Volleyball Courts Councilmember Tolley asked to pull item E from the consent calendar.
Action: Councilmember Tolley moved, seconded by Vice Mayor Roundy to approve the consent calendar items A-D. Motion carried by a voice vote 5-0.
Councilmember Tolley stated he pulled the item because he felt this item needed to be discussed by Council before approving.
Mayor clarified that the item being pulled is for the Council to consider the recommendation from the Recreation Commission on approving the area at Vinsonhaler Park for City/School partnership sand volleyball courts.
Councilmember McDermott and Vice Mayor Roundy both agreed the location being close to the school would make the best choice and only add to the park.
Recreation Director Joe Fenske explained the advantages of the proposed Vinsonhaler location over the alternatives. Councilmembers asked questions and discussed the need for sand volleyball courts as well as the location.
Superintendent Vic Perry voiced support for the proposed location.
Ann Butler, Orland resident shared her excitement about the possibility of sand volleyball courts coming to Orland.
Item 4.B.
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Action: Councilmember McDermott moved, seconded by Vice Mayor Roundy, to approve the Recreation Commission recommendations. Motion carried by a voice vote 4-1.
Councilmember Tolley wanted on record his opposition is due to the location of the sand volleyball court in Vinsonhaler Park and wanting a more in-depth discussion on the project.
PRESENTATION - ORLAND AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE UPDATE
Dee Dee Jackson, Orland Area Chamber Of Commerce President and Danielle Hernandez, Orland Area Chamber of Commerce Board Member spoke about what the Chamber does to support the community and resources they have to help local businesses.
Ms. Jackson shared future goals for the Chamber and what the Chamber will be working on in 2023. Ms.
Jackson spoke about the membership revenue (currently 154 members), City support (FY 2023 $11,250), expenses, revenues, and losses for the past few years.
Vice Mayor Roundy asked for clarification on what types of memberships the Chamber provides and how many members per membership type. Ms. Jackson explained the different membership types and stated she would get back to him with the exact number of members per membership type.
Ms. Jackson asked the Council to consider an increase in City support, doubling Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) to 30% annually and starting to share 20% of business license revenue, or increase annual support to $7500 a quarter (whichever is greater).
Byron Denton expressed his support for the Orland Area Chamber of Commerce.
Councilmembers discussed concerns, asked questions, and made suggestions on what the Chamber could do to sustain community support.
Ms. Hernandez asked if the Council felt like the Chamber should come to Council and request help from the City for each individual event or come to the Council once a month for a Chamber update. The council liked the idea of the Chamber coming more often to update the Council.
Mr. Carr reminded the Council that they could give direction to staff on how to support the Chamber at the next meeting or before the budget is finalized. Mr. Carr stated he could bring examples of how other City’s work with their Chambers.
ADMINISTRATIVE BUSINESS
A. FISCAL YEAR 2023-2024 BUDGET DISCUSSION#3: MEASURE A, WATER, SEWER, DEBT SCHEDULE City Manager Carr presented the third part of the proposed draft budget to Council for the next fiscal year (2023-2024) which starts July 1. Mr. Carr spoke about the anticipated revenue and planned expenditures for the Measure A Public Safety Fund and updated the Council on how this year and next year’s activities will affect the fund balance.
Councilmembers asked questions about the proposed increase for Fire Department for volunteer support.
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Councilmember Romano stated concerns over the Public Works Department not getting the same amount of Measure A funds as the Fire and Police Departments. Mr. Carr explained that when Measure A was originally presented to voters each department wasn’t allotted a percentage, Staff thought Measure A would only generate $500,000 a year and the Fire Department was allotted the first $350,000 for Fire Department capital equipment and the remaining would go to other public safety needs within the City.
Councilmember McDermott stated his concerns about protecting Measure A funds for the Fire Department.
Mr. Carr reviewed the major capital water projects for the upcoming year, briefly discussed water and sewer operational funds, summarized the overall enterprise fund balances, and gave an update on the City’s reduced debt obligations.
Councilmember McDermott asked Mr. Carr about getting pricing for replacing streetlights including material and labor. Vice Mayor Roundy suggested to Council that the City look into running string lights over top of 4th and 5th streets in the downtown area to help with lighting.
Mayor Dobbs mentioned he would like to see the City start focusing more on roads. Councilmember Romano suggested having staff look into passing a special sales tax to help raise funds for updating roads.
Mr. Carr stated that staff could create a future agenda item focused on street funding options.
Councilmembers asked questions and discussed budget items but did not direct staff to change course.
ORAL AND WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
PUBLIC COMMENTS: None
CITY COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS
Councilmember McDermott:
• Attended the Planning Commission meeting April 20th;
Councilmember Romano:
• Orland Area Chamber of Commerce meeting will be May 4th at I5; • Attended the Transportation and Transit meeting April 20th; • Will attend the EDC meeting May 11th.
Councilmember Tolley:
• Nothing to Report.
Vice Mayor Roundy:
• LAFCO will meet May 8th;
• Attended the Transportation and Transit meeting April 20th; • Will be doing a presentation about his trip to Africa at Art Gallery on May 5th.
Mayor Dobbs
• Nothing to Report.
MEETING ADJOURED AT 8:24 PM
Jennifer Schmitke, City Clerk Chris Dobbs, Mayor