CITY COUNCIL / LRA BOARD RIVER CITY OF RIVERBANK
Mayor/Chair Regular City Council and
Richard D. O'Brien
Council/Authority Members: U Local Redevelopment Authority District 1 -Luis Uribe ITY OF ACTION Board Meetings
District 2- Rachel Hernandez Council Chambers, 6707 Third St EST. 1922
District 3- Leanne Jones Cruz
District 4 - Darlene Barber-Martinez Riverbank, CA 95367 ) choose civility
MINUTES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2024 - 6:00 P.M.
(THE AGENDA PACKET IS ONLINE AT HTTP://wWW.RIVERBANK.ORG/AGENDACENTER)
1. CALL TO ORDER - Mayor / Chair O'Brien called the meeting to order at 6:00P.M.
2. FLAG SALUTE -Mayor / Chair O'Brien led the pledge of allegiance.
3. INVOCATION - Reverend Randy Richardson provided the invocation.
4. ROLL CALL - Asst. City Manager Alcantor conducted Roll Call.
Members of the City Council / Local Redevelopment Authority Board present:
Council Member / Authority Member District 1 Luis Uribe Council Member / Authority Member District 2 Rachel Hernandez Council Member / Authority Member District 4 Darlene Barber-Martinez Vice Mayor / Vice Chair District 3 Leanne Jones Cruz
Mayor / Chair Richard D. O'Brien
5. AGENDA CHANGES
No Agenda Changes.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Any Council/Authority Member or Staff who has a direct Conflict of Interest on any scheduled agenda item to be considered is to declare their conflict at this time.
Council Member Barber-Martinez declared a conflict of interest with item 11.2
7. PRESENTATIONS (Informational only)
Item 7.1 Presentation by Dr. Constantino Aguilar, Superintendent of Riverbank Unified School District- City Council to receive a presentation from Dr.
Constantino Aguilar, Superintendent of Riverbank Unified School District.
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Dr. Constantino Aguilar, Superintendent of Riverbank Unified School District gave a Power Point presentation on the Cardozo Middle School Project and some of its implications with Measure N and the possibility of a new bond that will be going after in the November Election.
PUBLIC COMMENTS (No action can be taken)
State Law, matters presented during the public comment period cannot be discussed or acted upon.
Mayor O'Brien Opened Public Comment at 6:14P.M.
Residents who spoke in opposition of the River Walk Project Karen Conrotto
Kent Mitchell
Giselle Pritchard
Elaine Gorman
Jeff Olson
Jamie Aggers
There being no further public comments, Mayor O'Brien closed the Public Comment period 6:23P.M.
Item 9.1 Waive Readings. All Readings of ordinances and resolutions, except by title, are waived.
Item 9.2 Approval of the City Council and Local Redevelopment Authority Board Minutes for January 23, 2024.
Item 9.3 Approval of the Parks and Recreation Department to Apply for the National Park Service- Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program.
Item 9.4 Authorization for Out of State Travel Request to have Finance Staff Attend the Caselle Training in Provo, UT.
There being no public comments, Mayor O'Brien brought the item back to City Council.
ACTION: By motion moved and seconded (Jones Cruz / Barber-Martinez 5/0) to approve the consent calendar as presented.
Motion carried by unanimous City Council and LRA Board roll call vote:
AYES: Uribe, Hernandez, Barber-Martinez, Jones Cruz and Mayor O'Brien NAYS: None / ABSENT: None / ABSTAINED: None
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10. PUBLIC HEARINGS
No Items Scheduled.
11. NEW BUSINESS
Item 11.1 A Resolution Establishing a Parks and Recreation Advisory committee in the City of Riverbank. - It is recommended that the City Council consider the approval of a Resolution to establish a Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, along with its by-laws, application process, onboarding process, etc.
Director of Parks & Recreation gave a comprehensive staff report and power point presentation on the establishing of a Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.
City Council discussed item with staff
There being no public comments, Mayor O'Brien brought the item back to City Council.
ACTION: By motion moved and seconded (Uribe / Hernandez 5/0) to approve Resolution 2024-005 Approving the establishment of a Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee w/ modification for diversity 2.3 bylaws Motion carried by unanimous City Council and LRA Board roll call vote:
AYES: Uribe, Hernandez, Barber-Martinez, Jones Cruz, O'Brien NAYS: None / ABSENT: None / ABSTAINED: None
Item 11.2 A Discussion for the Park Space for the Tiny Home Village Located Near the Intersection of Stanislaus Street and Jackson Avenue- It is recommended that the City Council provide feedback and
recommendations to the Parks and Recreation Department on how to proceed with the park design for the proposed Tiny Home Village project located at the intersection of Stanislaus Street and Jackson Ave.
Director of Parks & Recreation gave a comprehensive staff report and power point presentation on the designated park space area at the Tiny Home Village located at Stanislaus Street and Jackson Avenue and what recommendations Council had to proceed with the project.
City Council discussed item with staff.
Brad Hawn, Engineer with CHG Structural commented on the green space for the project, it is very difficult for a park to coexist with in such a small space. But we would love to be a part of the park that is going to service the neighborhood in a better way, to purchase land or whatever City Council decides, and work with the City Staff that have been so wonderful to work with.
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Miguel Galvez, Contract City Planner, shared 3 points, number one, there is a public open space, and that's the Rio Altura Elementary School. They do have play fields and things like that. Those often are used by the residents in the weekends in the evenings there's always an opportunity to enter into some type of agreement with the school district for the public use of their facilities, but by and large that space is available.
Second point, from a planning perspective, you know the policy documents that the City has are two: one is the general plan, and its open space. Actually, the public services and facility element, which does identify standards for parks and things like that. The other policy document we have which Michael referenced is the Parks Master Plan, which recently adopted in 2020, and then there, is 4 criteria for many parks, Successful Mini parks have 4 key qualities. They're accessible, allow people to engage in activities, are comfortable spaces, and inviting and are social places. So that gives you some ideas in terms of the type of activities. It's a really small place, and there really isn't much opportunities to provide activities. The last thing I want to touch upon is, this will be, a development application at the Planning Commission will be reviewing. And that's the Architectural Site Plan Review application. When the Planning Commission considers this, one of the things that we would look at is in any multifamily project is private open space. We usually require whether it's apartment complexes or single families to provide private open space. That means that within that complex there'll be a place for them to congregate. And so, there's that opportunity to do that. And speaking with the designer, Brad Hawn, it would make I'm thinking about the best word more efficient use if you kind of put the park in the middle. I shouldn't say park, but the open space in the middle, so the rest of them have an opportunity to go there, and they kind of have eyes on the park People can see who's there. So, it's more social, more interacting. And I think it would be / won't say precedent setting, but be something to consider. Other multifamily projects come in and say, you know what we'll do a minute Park but it's what we can hold to the that. It can be a private open space meaning it's open to the residents. And, sir, that would be ideal. It would be a win, win. they're served.
Randy Richardson, Riverbank Resident was just wondering, and I'm sure that these minds, which are great, have already done this, but if we could get 2 units in there, and so, putting the 2 units at the top, then sacrificing the units on the bottom, so the park would be longer on the bottom if that would create more space for the park Deanna Garcia, business owner this location right here, just doesn't have the parking that we would need to be able to enjoy a park for gathering. Our Parks are used for gathering for the community for the public, and as you can see there may be some street parking, because its kind of like on the corner. But other than that, I don't see any parking that would feasible for this location here.
Evelyn Halbert, Riverbank Resident If the park is just going to be for the development and those tiny houses to use, it's going to be getting fenced off. Then it wouldn't be considered a City Park like the rest of the parks are, because they are all open to everybody. So, under the current city ordinance, since the tax payers are paying for city parks, would you have to amend the ordinance or would the development pay for the maintenance of the park?
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City Manager Garcia clarified, if it is a City Park then it would be maintained by city. If it ends up being green space for the development itself, then the developer would pay for those maintenance fees.
There being no public comments, Mayor O'Brien brought the item back to City Council.
12. COMMENTS/REPORTS
Item 12.1 Staff
City Manager Garcia reported on the following:
• All City Offices will be closed on Monday, February 19th for Presidents Holiday. • At their meeting on the 20th Planning Commission will be will be hosting a Housing Element Workshop, that the city is currently working on. With future meetings to be held.
• On February 27', The City Council will receive a presentation on the Released Draft EIR and Specific Plan for the proposed River Walk Project the meeting will be held at the Community Center and will be viewable through Zoom and YouTube. On Feb 27, you will not be considering the project you will just be receiving the informational presentation. The Draft EIR and Specific Plan are under the 45-day public review period and can be accessed on our City Website Comments are being requested to be submitted in writing, so that we make sure we have those as part of the record and can be evaluated by the environmental consultant. Unfortunately, because it is at the community center, we do not have the same audio-visual accessibility that we do have here at the Council Chambers.
So we will be taking comments in person and in writing prior to the meeting, we will not take those via zoom. We will also have an interpreter there, for those that are Spanish speaking, and the presentation will be translated into Spanish.
Item 12.2 Council/Authority Member
Councilmember Hernandez reported on the following:
• Last Friday, we unveiled a Sister City sign. That's right below the sign that shows Riverbank and the population. It's a symbolism of our partnership with Tamazula and our sister city in China. Its over on the corner of Patterson, where the digital light up sign is.
• There is a Friends of JMP have a meeting next week.
• Wishing everyone a Happy Lunar New Year!
Councilmember Uribe reported on the following:
• Next Love Riverbank meeting will be this Friday. We are seeking input, from the community for any kind of new upcoming projects. So, please reach out to me 719-
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9255, for those watching online. Shout out the sponsors and the committee for making all this possible.
• Looking forward to this Saturday event for Valentine's day at the community center "My Little One and Me"
Councilmember Barber-Martinez reported on the following:
• Attend the reception for the new MJC President and advocated for RHS students • Reminder the Chamber of Commerce 70th Anniversary Fundraiser on Feb. 23 at the Antigua Event Center.
• Outstanding Women of Stanislaus County 2024 there will a brunch at March gth at Greens Restaurant in Modesto.
• February is Black History Month the 2024 theme is African Americans and the arts.
The theme focuses on the many impacts black Americans have had, on visual arts, music, cultural movements, and more.
Vice Mayor Jones Cruz reported on the following:
• No comment this evening.
Item 12.3 Mayor/Chair
Mayor O'Brien reported on the following:
• Attended conference with a lot of opportunity for low income housing. Potential of bringing back RDA
• Will be pushing for a Climate Action Plan for the County, to be run by or initiated by StanCOG, the County, and all cities. We all have to do it, so better to do it together: A it's Cheaper, B is more comprehensive and see more clout.
13. CLOSED SESSION
The public will have a limit of 3 minutes to comment on Closed Session items) as set forth on the agenda prior to the City Council/LRA Board recessing to Closed Session.
Item 13.1 LIABILITY CLAIMS
(Pursuant to Government Code § 54961)
Claimant: Esther Shafer
Agency Claimed Against: City of Riverbank
There being no Public Comments, Mayor O'Brien moved to Closed Session at 7:12P.M Reconvened from Closed Session at 7:20P.M.
14. REPORT FROM CLOSED SESSION
Item 14.1 Report from Closed Session Item 13.1
LIABILITY CLAIMS
(Pursuant to Government Code § 54961)
Claimant: Esther Shafer
Agency Claimed Against: City of Riverbank
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ACTION: Council unanimously agreed to deny the claim.
15. ADJOURNMENT OF THE REGULAR MEETING
There being no further business, Mayor / Chair O'Brien adjourned the regular meeting at 7: 21P.M.to the next regular scheduled City Council / LRA Meeting of February 27, 2024 at 6:00 P.M.
ATTEST: (Adopted 03/12/2024) APPROVED:
Salvilio the
Gabriela Hernandez Richard D. O Brien
City Clerk / LRA Recorder Mayor/ Chair
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