CITY COUNCIL / LRA BOARD CITY OF RIVERBANK
RIVER
Mayor/Chair Regular City Council and
Rachel Hernandez -ocal Redevelopment Authority
Z
Council/Authority Members: Board Meetings
District 1-Luis Uribe Council Chambers
Vice Mayor - District 2-Cindy Fosi LOTTY OF ACTION 6707 Third Street, Suite B District 3-John Pimentel EST. 1922
District 4-Stacy Call
choose civility.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2025 - 6:00 P.M.
(THE AGENDA PACKET IS ONLINE AT HTTP://WWW.RIVERBANK.ORG/AGENDACENTER)
1. CALL TOORDER -Mayor / Chair Hernandez called the meeting to order at 6:00pm
2. FLAG SALUTE -Vice Mayor Fosi led the pledge of allegiance.
3. INVOCATION - Reverend Randy Richardson provided the Invocation.
4. ROLL CALL - City Clerk Hernandez 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 3 John Pimentel Council Member / Authority Member District 4 Stacy Call Vice Mayor/ Vice Chair District 2 Cindy Fosi
Mayor / Chair Rachel Hernandez
5. AGENDA CHANGES
No Agenda Changes.
6. 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.
None Declared.
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7. PRESENTATIONS (Informational only)
Item 7.1 Presentation - Strategic Plan Progress Report- It is recommended that the City Council receive a progress report on the status of the 2025 - 2030 Strategic Plan.
City Manager Garcia gave a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation of the quarterly progress of the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan.
PUBLIC COMMENTS (No action can be taken)
Mayor Hernandez opened the Public Comment Period at 6:10P.M.
Michael Christie, Riverbank Resident, to invite residents to help and or donate this Friday to the Riverbank Christian Food Sharing. Secondly, to invite everyone to the Shop with a Cop Comedy Night November 8th at 108 Sports Lounge. It's for a great cause, and all the proceeds go to Riverbank Police Services.
Vice Mayor Fosi, at the request of City Council, has printed information on food banks within Stanislaus County that are able to help those that are experiencing or maybe experiencing food shortages. These lists are located in the back of the room. It's very colorful pamphlet for those citizens that can donate to any of these food banks, please also utilize this list. Let's do all that we can to help our fellow citizens during this time.
Michael Masuda, Riverbank Resident, / wanted to introduce myself to everybody here.
I'm running for Congress in the California Fifth Congressional District to represent the community here in Riverbank and Stanislaus County and seven other counties across the Sierra Nevada and Valley.
Mayor Hernandez closed the Public Comment Period at 6:17P.M.
CONSENT CALENDAR (No Obligation to Read Aloud)
I items listed on the Consent Calendar are to be acted upon by a single action of the City Council/LRA Board unles quested by an individual Council/Authority Member or member of the public for special consideration. Otherwise, th recommendation of staff will be accepted and acted upon by motion of the City Council/LRA Board.
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 October 14, 2025.
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Item 9.3 Authorization for Out of State Travel Request to have Construction Inspector Attend 2026 Slurry Systems Workshop in Las Vegas, NV Item 9.4 Resolution 2025-107 Authorizing an Emergency Appropriation of Funds in the Amount of $52,017.13 from Sewer Fund 106 for the Track Repair on the Case STX for WWTP Pond Maintenance.
Item 9.5 Resolution 2025-108 Approving the Renewal of a Professional Services Agreement with Visual Sound for the Enhanced Service Plan.
There being no public comments, Mayor Hernandez brought the item back to City Council.
ACTION: By motion moved and seconded (Uribe / Call 5/0) to approve Consent Calendar as presented.
Motion carried by unanimous City Council and LRA Board roll call vote:
AYES: Uribe, Pimentel, Call, Fosi and Mayor Hernandez
NAYS: None / ABSENT: None / ABSTAINED: None
10. PUBLIC HEARING- No Items Scheduled.
11. NEW BUSINESS
Item 11.1 Amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement between the City of Riverbank and Jane Media Services for Social Media and Communication Services. - It is recommended that the City Council provide direction and/or feedback to staff regarding a proposed amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement between the City of Riverbank and Jane Media Services for social media and Communication Services.
City Manager Garcia gave a comprehensive staff report on the proposed amendment to the Consultant Services Agreement with Jane Media Services for social media and Communication Services.
City Council discussed item with staff.
Mayor Hernandez brought the item back to City Council
ACTION: By motion moved and seconded (Fosi / Uribe 5/0) to approve the language amendment to Jane Media Consultant Services Agreement Motion carried by unanimous City Council and LRA Board roll call vote:
AYES: Uribe, Pimentel, Call, Fosi and Mayor Hernandez
NAYS: None / ABSENT: None / ABSTAINED: None
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Item 11.2 Direction on the Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion Feasibility Study Request for Proposals- It is recommended that the City Council provide direction to staff regarding the proposal received for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion Feasibility Study to either: 1. Accept the proposal from Black Water Consulting Engineers and authorize the City Manager to negotiate an agreement with said firm, or 2. Reject the proposal from Black Water Consulting Engineers and direct staff to reissue the Request for Proposals.
City Manager Garcia gave a comprehensive staff report on Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion Feasibility Study Request for proposals.
City Council discussed item with staff.
Jeff Black with Black Water Consulting, to answer any questions Council may have.
Mayor Hernandez brought the item back to City Council
MOTION: Vice Mayor Fosi made motion not to accept the proposal.
Motion failed due to lack of a second.
ACTION: By motion moved and seconded (Uribe / Call 4/1) to accept the proposal from Black Water Consulting Engineers for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Feasibility Study.
Motion carried by unanimous City Council and LRA Board roll call vote:
AYES: Uribe, Pimentel, Call, and Mayor Hernandez
NAYS: Fosi / ABSENT: None / ABSTAINED: None
COMMENTS/REPORTS
A brief report on notable attendance of a meeting or conference or other notable topics of City business shall be made.
The Brown Act does not allow for discussion or action of items by the City Council/LRA Board during this time.
Item 12.1 Staff
City Manager Garcia:
• Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 1st, because downtown Riverbank is coming alive with the sights, sounds, and spirits of the 6th annual Dia de los Muertos celebration. Join us as we honor loved ones, celebrate life, and embrace the beauty of Mexican culture through an unforgettable night of live music, dancing, delicious food, vibrant altars, and community traditions that light up the heart of Riverbank.
• The winter watering schedule goes into effect this Saturday as well. Even addresses can water on Tuesday and Saturday. Odd addresses on Wednesday and Sunday. That means you each get two days to water. Now, you can water
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before 10:00a.m. or after 4:00 p.m. There's no watering Monday, Thursdays, and Fridays or within 48 hours of measurable rainfall.
• Edits to the third draft of the housing element are being finalized we will be posting online for a 7-day public review and comment period no later than early next week. After the review period, it will be subsequently remitted to HCD for their 60-day review.
• And the statewide special election is happening next Tuesday on November 4th.
Registered voters should have already received their absentee ballots via mail.
There's a ballot drop box available at Costless Foods and the voting center at the Riverbank Community Center opens this Saturday, November 1st and will be open Saturday, Sunday, and Monday from 8:00am to 5:00pm and on Tuesday from 7:00am to 8:00pm.
Item 12.2 Council/Authority Member
Vice Mayor Fosi:
• First of all, / would like to remind the residents that we do have a lot of construction. It is not easy. Trust me, I live here too. I avoid Claribel and Patterson with all my passion. And so, I'm just asking everybody to, you know, bring their patience with them. Nobody is going to get anywhere any faster if you try to speed past people or, you know, run into somebody. Well, don't run into anybody. We've got a long year ahead of us and so let's just make sure we all make it through it.
• I would also would like to just mention that / will be working at the polls at the Community Center. And I just want to remind residents that / will be working there as a poll taker. So please don't come up and comment to me or talk to me because / will not be able to talk to you and I don't want to be rude. So, just remember I'm there as a poll worker doing my job. I'm not there as your Vice Mayor.
• Historical Society will have their next meeting Monday, November 10th at 5:00pm at the museum right behind us.
• Women's club is meeting Tuesday, November 18th at 6:30pm at Scout Hall.
Councilmember Uribe:
• So just to add a little bit more context to the comment that was made earlier from Michael. So, Christian Food Sharing, they are going to be located at Scout Hall and they are doing this every Friday. They are going to be starting up at 7 in the morning all the way to 10 o'clock. So, come for 3 hours, come for 5 minutes.
They are looking for volunteers. They're looking for donations. So, I'll be out there as soon as / drop off my daughter. I'm going to head straight over there 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Scout Hall.
• If you haven't heard, me and the Mayor we teamed up with American Veterans First. It's going to be their event and we are going to be there supporting them.
They are partnering up with Veterans in Action. Their event is going to be
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November 3rd at 11:00am the address is 3228 Santa Fe. So just literally down the street right here. American Veterans First. They are going to be providing food, social gathering. We are going to invite Veterans, local Veterans to come out have a discussion. Meet AVF, meet Veterans in Action. Have a chat with the local leaders there. Come support Veterans. There is a huge percentage of Veterans here locally and we'd love to just kind of support AVF and what they're doing. So please join us. That is in preparation for November 11th, actual Veterans Day. So please come on out.
Councilmember Pimentel:
• On the 19th, I attended the 2nd annual Halloween Harvest, Sister City was there and it's nice to see the town coming together, you know, everyone getting involved. I want to give a shout out to Wallflower it's a mom and daughter coffee shop that was their first time there and they have really good coffee. It pushed me through the whole event. So, that was a really good event we had • Also, I have been hearing the concerns about Calfresh. I work with the elderly and they are very concerned. So, I appreciate that our City, you know, they post the actual links and information. So direct people to our city page so you will get the accurate information, not secondhand information because it's scary for the people, especially if you are elderly.
• I will be doing a meet and greet in November. I am going to set a time and date and I'll post that on my Facebook page.
• Also, Crossroads East, it's really developing and there's a lot of people shopping.
I want to encourage people to keep shopping there. It's clean. It's a good environment and it's giving back to the economy.
Councilmember Call:
• Last Thursday, I joined Pizza Plus and Cardozo SDC class. I was able to work with the children hands-on and help them make pizzas and it was just a really fun opportunity. So, I wanted to thank Pizza Plus for their engagement and dedication to the youth in our community.
• Last Friday, I walked around with Valley Sierra SBDC. We went around in the downtown pocket to a variety of small businesses, dentist office, occupational medicine, salons, just passing out brochures, talking to owners, managers, letting them know of the resources. There is a survey going around. I will post it to my social media page for resources and challenges where you can input the challenges that you're facing as a small business. And one of the common ones that I heard, which I was really surprised to hear because we don't hear often, is QuickBooks training. So, that's a big key hit point for our small businesses right now, managing their money and then marketing support. So, I'll post the resources and challenges link so that you can take the survey and we can get more feedback so we know how to apply it to the opportunity Stanislaus contract that we have.
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• The soccer season just wrapped up. I just wanted to give a huge kudos to parks and Rec and the partnership with East Valley Earthquakes. My son played on the 6U team, I believe is what it ended up being. There were 240 players this year.
We had an incredible time. It was seamless. We went, we showed up to the sports complex, we played our games. It was, they ran a tight ship, water break, halftime, water break, game over, super easy. So, thank you to the coaches, Parks and Rec, and all of the other volunteers.
• I'd like to reinforce the shop with a cop fundraiser on November 8th at 108 Sports Lounge. We did it last year we raised over $1,200. It sends around four children shopping. I know $300 sounds really like a lot of money to take kids, but coats are expensive, toys are expensive, shoes are expensive. So, the more money we can raise for this event, 100% of it goes to Riverbank Police Services for this event. So like Michael Christi said, if you can't come to the event itself, drop by Riverbank Police Services with any sort of donation you can. I know they also take toys because the day of the shopping, they all meet at the community center they have a pizza party and then they distribute toys there. So, an unwrapped brand-new box toy also helps the cause as well.
• November 20th, I'm going to be doing Aemetis tours and there's going to be hosted coffee. So, RSVP with me [email protected] by the 18th and you will get to see the rich history of Riverbank and the Industrial Complex itself and as well as the Sustainable Manufacturing happening there.
• And then lastly, to piggyback on the construction piece, please pull over for our first responders. I know the roads are congested on Oakdale and Claus Road, but I'm seeing it very often as I'm going north and south on Oakdale because we have the Silvan and Modesto MST coming and responding here in Crossroads.
People are not pulling over and is so important that we pull over for our first responders so that they can get to the emergency.
Item 12.3 Mayor/Chair
Mayor Hernandez:
• We are at the peak of event season, so a lot of schools and our own city are hosting lots of events. And so, it's been fun participating in those. I'm going to like sandwich good stuff, not so fun stuff with StanCOG. There is a lot of work moving forward. If you're not familiar with the organization, it works with transportation dollars at the State and Federal level here locally, and we're moving forward back to some normalcy after some bumps in the road this year. There is an interim that we're moving forward with at this point and really working to get stuff back on track and working through some of the extenuating circumstances that have been happening. So, it feels like some balance coming back to the organization and so we're moving forward with that.
• Youth Council has met about five times already, and they sit up here about eight students. They have worked through defining and assigning their own officer duties, as l've mentioned and they are very self-sufficient. So, I have been
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attending the meetings but I'm really just an observer as they work through what their goal setting is and how they're going to move forward with that. Fundraising is kind of one of their big goals right now, fundraising and outreach. So you'll see them out at the Dia de los Muertos on November 1st and with some other events with the school district.
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 CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS
(Pursuant to Government Code §54957.6)
Agency representative: City Manager Marisela H. Garcia
Employee Organizations: Riverbank Mid-Management Employee Association.
Item 13.2 LIABILITY CLAIMS
(Pursuant to Government Code § 54961)
Claimant: Raul Penunuri Valenzuela/Kramer Trial Lawyers Agency Claimed Against: City of Riverbank
There being no public comment, Mayor Hernandez motion to closed Session at 6:49 P.M.
Reconvened from Closed Session at 7:15 P.M.
14. REPORT FROM CLOSED SESSION
Item 14.1 Report from Item 13.1
CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS
(Pursuant to Government Code $54957.6)
Agency representative: City Manager Marisela H. Garcia
Employee Organizations: Riverbank Mid-Management Employee Association.
DIRECTION: Direction was provided to staff.
Item 14.2 Report from Item 13.2
LIABILITY CLAIMS
(Pursuant to Government Code § 54961)
Claimant: Raul Penunuri Valenzuela/Kramer Trial Lawyers Agency Claimed Against: City of Riverbank
DIRECTION: Claim was denied by a vote of 5/0.
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15. ADJOURNMENT OF THE REGULAR MEETING
There being no further business, Mayor / Chair Hernandez adjourned the regular meeting at 7:16 P.M.to the next regular scheduled City Council / LRA Meeting of November 25, 2025 at 6:00 P.M.
ATTEST: (Adopted 11/25/2025) APPROVED:
Gabriela Hernandez, CMC Rachel Hernandez
City Clerk / LRA Recorder Mayor/ Chair
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