CITY COUNCIL / LRA BOARD CITY OF RIVERBANK
RIV
Mayor/Chair
Rachel Hernandez
Council/Authority Members Meetings
District 1 — Luis Uribe
District 2 - Cindy Fosi Council Chambers
Vice Mayor, District 3 - John Pimentel 6707 Third Street, Suite B District 4 - Stacy Call Riverbank, CA 95367
choose civility -
MEETING MINUTES
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2026 — 6:00 PM
(THE AGENDA PACKET IS ONLINE AT HTTPS://RIVERBANKCA.PORTAL.CIVICCLERK.COM/)
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Hernandez called the meeting to order at 6:01 P.M.
2. FLAG SALUTE
Vice Mayor Pimentel led the pledge of allegiance
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 2 Cindy Fosi Council Member / Authority Member District 4 Stacy Call Vice Mayor / Vice Chair District 3 John Pimentel
Mayor / Chair Rachel Hernandez
4. AGENDA CHANGES
No Agenda Changes.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
None Declared
PRESENTATIONS
Item 6.1. Proclamation - Hispanic Heritage Month 2026 — It is recommended that the City Council present the Proclamation in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15th to October 15th, 2026, to Riverbank small business owner Maria Moore
Mayor Hernandez read and presented the proclamation to Maria Moore in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.
CC / LRA Minutes - 9/8/2026
Item 6.2. Presentation - Cheese and Wine Festival Update-It is recommended that the City Council receive a presentation from the Recreation Supervisor regarding updates to the Cheese and Wine Festival 2026.
Recreation Supervisor, McDaniel, gave a PowerPoint presentation on updates for the upcoming Cheese and Wine Festival.
7. PUBLIC COMMENTS
Mayor Hernandez Opened Public Comments at 6:14 P.M.
Chief John Bairos, with Modesto Fire Department to introduce himself as the appointed Chief overseeing the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District.
Andy Foster, President of Aemetis, spoke on data centers and wishing to present to the City Council on a proposed project for Aemetis.
Michael Christie, Riverbank resident, spoke about upcoming community events.
Karen Conrotto, Stanislaus County resident, to express her opposition to the River Walk project.
Olivia Arambula, Riverbank Chamber of Commerce, to extend an invitation to upcoming community events.
Garry Pearson, Riverbank resident, submitted a written comment (Exhibit A) Mayor Hernandez Closed Public Comments at 6:27 P.M.
8. CONSENT CALENDAR
Item 8.1. Waiver of Readings
Item 8.2. Approval of the City Council and Local Redevelopment Authority Board Meeting Minutes for August 25, 2026.
ACTION: By motion moved and seconded (Uribe / Fosi 5/0) to approve the Consent Calendar as presented.
Motion carried by unanimous City Council and LRA Board roll call vote:
AYES: Uribe, Fosi, Call, Pimentel and Mayor Hernandez
NAYS: None / ABSENT: None / ABSTAINED: None
9. PUBLIC HEARING
Item 9.1. First Reading by Title Only and Introduction of a Proposed Ordinance Amending Chapter 72 BICYCLES of Title VII: TRAFFIC CODE, by Amending Sections 72.04 & 72.99, and by adding new Sections 72.08 and 72.09. It is
CC / LRA Minutes - 9/8/2026
recommended that the City Council introduce and waive the first reading of a proposed ordinance amending Section 72.04 (License Fee) and Section 72.99 (Penalty), and adding Sections 72.08 (Unsafe Operation of Bicycle and Motorized Devices in Public Parks and Trails, Sidewalks, and Streets), and 72.09 (Administrative Appeal) to Chapter 72, Bicycles, of Title VII, Traffic Code, of the Riverbank Code of Ordinances Related to Bicycle Regulations.
Chief of Police, Ridenour, gave a comprehensive staff report and PowerPoint presentation on the proposed Ordinance amending Chapter 72 Bicycles of Title VII: Traffic Code amending sections
72.04 & 72.99 and adding new sections 72.08 and 72.09.
City Council discussed item with staff.
Mayor Hernandez opened the Public Hearing at 6:48 P.M.
Michael Christie, Riverbank Resident, spoke in support of this ordinance.
Mayor Hernandez closed the Public Hearing at 6:50 P.M.
There being no further comments, Mayor Hernandez brought the item back for consideration.
ACTION: By motion moved and seconded (Call / Pimentel 5/0) to approve the First Reading of the proposed Ordinance
Amending Chapter 72 bicycles of Title VII:Traffic.
Motion carried by unanimous City Council and LRA Board roll call vote:
AYES: Uribe, Fosi, Call, Pimentel and Mayor Hernandez
NAYS: None / ABSENT: None / ABSTAINED: None
Item 9.2. Resolution Approving an Economic Incentive Agreement with Stan Boyett & Son, Inc. for the Consolidation of All Its Sales of Energy Products Within the State Of California to Its New Headquarters At 6436 Oakdale Rd. Riverbank, CA.
City Manager Garcia gave a comprehensive Staff Report and PowerPoint Presentation on the proposed Economic Incentive Agreement with Stan Boyett & Son, Inc.
Scott Castle, President of Boyett Petroleum provided additional information on the terms of the agreement.
City Council discussed item with staff.
Public Comments:
Michael Christie, Riverbank resident, in support of Item 9.2.
Karen Conrotto, Stanislaus County resident, had a question: Is any fuel stored onsite? President, Scott Castle clarified there is no fuel stored onsite in the headquarter property located in Riverbank.
CC / LRA Minutes - 9/8/2026
There being no further comments, Mayor Hernandez brought the item back for consideration.
ACTION: By motion moved and seconded (Hernandez / Uribe 4/1) to propose amended terms to the agreement: Sales Tax Split of City-60 and Boyett-40 and a 20 year term on the agreement.
Motion carried by unanimous City Council and LRA Board roll call vote:
AYES: Uribe, Fosi, Pimentel and Mayor Hernandez
NAYS: Call / ABSENT: None / ABSTAINED: None
10. NEW BUSINESS
Item 10.1. Interim Urgency Ordinance — Imposing a 45-Day Temporary Moratorium on the Approval of New Land Use Applications for Data Centers to Allow for the Evaluation of Potential Public Health Impacts and Land Use Regulations.
City Manager Garcia gave a comprehensive Staff Report and PowerPoint presentation on imposing a 45-Day Temporary Moratorium on the Approval of the New Land Use Applications for Data Centers.
City Council discussed item with staff.
Andy Foster, Aemetis, opposed to Item 10.1.
Olivia Arambula, Riverbank resident, in support of Item 10.1.
Linda Legacy, Riverbank resident in support of Item 10.1.
JJ Medrano, Riverbank resident, in support of Item 10.1.
There being no further public comment, Mayor Hernandez brought the item back to city council.
ACTION: By motion moved and seconded (Hernandez / Fosi 5/0) to approve an Urgency Ordinance 2026-004 imposing 45-Day Temporary Moratorium on new land use Applications for Data Centers.
Motion carried by unanimous City Council and LRA Board roll call vote:
AYES: Uribe, Fosi, Call, Pimentel, and Mayor Hernandez
NAYS: None / ABSENT: None / ABSTAINED: None
11. COMMENTS/REPORTS
Item 11.1. Staff
City Manager Garcia:
CC / LRA Minutes - 9/8/2026
• No Comments.
Item 11.2. Council / Authority Member
Vice Mayor Pimentel:
• No Comments.
Councilmember Uribe:
• September 10th will be hosting the League of California Cities Valley Division General Membership meeting here at the Community Center. We are going to be doing the officer elections and networking with other elected officials.
Councilmember Fosi:
• On September 15th, the women's group will be starting up for Riverbank. They will be meeting at Scout Hall at 6:00pm for a potluck.
• On September 14th the annual Historical Society meeting will be happening at the museum right behind us at 6:00pm.
• I encourage every citizen that is in District 1 and 3 to attend one of the Forums, whether it be with the Chamber or any other organization, and learn about the people that want to represent you. Make sure that they want to represent you in the way that you want to be represented. It is important to hear what they have to say and make sure they understand what you want because you will be electing them.
Councilmember Call:
• At the last meeting, Pastor Randy was here talking about the Assembly of God. So I have certificates for him from the City of Riverbank, Supervisor Condit and Assemblymember Flora, and it is in celebration of their 100 years. The certificate from the City of Riverbank reads as follows: For one century, the Assembly of God has served as a steadfast faith community, providing spiritual guidance, fellowship, compassion, and support to generations. Through its ministry, outreach, volunteers, and commitment to strengthening families and neighbors, the church has made a meaningful and lasting contribution to the character and wellbeing of our community. So / wanted to make sure the Assembly of God and Pastor Randy received the certificates.
• Last week, I had another non-district East Ad Hoc Committee, and we were starting to go over the introduction of the accounting software and calculations on parcel mass for water allocations. The next meeting is Thursday. We went over the schedule and there are, I think, ten meetings between now and January. So more to come on that. • To echo what Councilmember Fosi said, it is very important to know and meet your potential elected leaders. I attended the candidate forums with both Stanislaus Latino Chamber and Riverbank Chamber. So this week, on the 9th and the 10th, they are holding their candidate forum at 2701 4th Street in Ceres. Riverbank is Wednesday, tomorrow at 3:00pm and 4:00pm for Districts 1 and 3. I encourage you all to attend. I know historically, Johnny at the Latino
CC / LRA Minutes - 9/8/2026
Chamber was able to provide a USB with recordings, so hopefully we can get a hold of those for those who are not able to attend, but it is an opportunity to meet your elected leaders. • Last week, I attended the AG Water Forum while everyone was celebrating Grocery Outlet, which I'm so sad I missed. Our Public Works Director, Cody Bridgewater, was there, and it sounds boring, but it was actually a lot of fun because you get to hear from other jurisdictions within our county and our state who are having similar issues when it comes to farmland and water usage and the lack thereof, or how it is being used. Federal leaders from the USDA, EPA and other organizations were in attendance. And one of the big take homes for me was we up here as elected officials, we have to do the hard things, but we also have to ensure there's little impact on residents. And so Cody and / were there to advocate for our community. We have conversations out to our Congressmen to help us, advocate for us, for the BRIC grant, for Wastewater Treatment Plant, the recycled water component. As a lot of the funding that we've already received is because of the recycled water component. So I'll continue those conversations. We're getting letters of recommendation from other local leaders, so / will continue. You guys have my commitment to continue down that pathway to help find funding for the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
• So measure M has been a hot conversation, and I'm not really here to have a discussion about it, but / will kind of follow the Mayor's lead from the last meeting, and I'm going to pause for a moment to ask my councilmembers to take a stance and support a no on measure M to ensure council and local control. So I'm going to pause for a minute, see what they have, if anything, and I'm hoping that we can all take a stance as a city for a No on Measure M. • Councilmember Uribe: I already kind of publicly shared where / stand on that. So / think I have already stated / am a no.
• Riverbank and Modesto had a joint meeting with Modesto and Riverbank councils to discuss the coordination and collaboration on major planning. So I have been requesting a Resolution to initiate a sphere of influence increase. And the goal would be, in continuing the meeting that took place in 2017, is to have a joint approach when it comes to the growth of both the city of Riverbank and the city of Modesto because of some maps that have been put out. And then our request for a sphere of influence.
Item 11.3. Mayor / Chair
Mayor Hernandez:
• / attended the Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority meeting, where, amongst many things, we discussed a consultant that has been in our local news lately, and I made a comment that we need to have our consultants treating their employees to the highest standards. And so as this consultant comes back, that operates the drivers and the staff from the different bus busses, I get us everywhere from day to day. That is definitely a topic that we're going to broach to make sure that there are remediations happening and that the consultants that we work with, both regionally and within the city, are treating employees well. • I also attended the measure L Oversight Committee meeting on behalf of the policy board, first in Stan Cog, to give them an update on and maybe i will lose a lot of you, but I'm on an ad hoc committee that is overseeing some of the potential updates that need to happen with the policies and procedures with the measure L funding. And so there are a lot of conversations, a lot of ad hoc committees happening to make sure that taxpayers' monies are being utilized in the most ethical and efficient way possible.
• And then finally, I want to join in support of councilmember Calls, comments earlier this year or just a couple of months ago, we published a letter that we sent to the city of Modesto asking for regional collaboration on growth that's going to happen towards Riverbank. As was
CC / LRA Minutes - 9/8/2026
mentioned in 2017, there was a meeting that happened similar to this and so / have the public minutes in front of me, where actually Councilmember Fosi was present in this joint meeting.
And so we both discussed wanting to be able to have this opportunity again. So we want to publicly invite the city of Modesto to join us in a joint council meeting to discuss regional growth, the collaborative approach to this, and how we can move forward in a strategic way for development for both of our cities and for the region at large. And so I would love to request one more councilmember, a couple of our councilmembers, to support us in extending an invitation to our neighbors in Modesto.
• Councilmember Uribe: I can definitely support you guys. I've actually been having meetings with Councilmember Chris Ricci, Eric Alvarez and others for this exact same thing for the last couple of months. So, if you guys need a third person, I'm more than happy to join. • Councilmember Fosi: I am for it.
12. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mayor / Chair Hernandez adjourned the regular meeting at 8:01 P.M. to the next regular scheduled City Council / LRA Meeting of September 22, 2026 at the Riverbank Community Center.
ATTEST: (Adopted 09/22/2026) APPROVED:
salines Hung
Gabriela Hernandez, CMC
City Clerk / LRA Recorder Mayor/Chair
CC / LRA Minutes - 9/8/2026
EXHIBIT A
September 4, 2026
Riverbank City Council
City of Riverbank
Riverbank, California
Re: Road Conditions and Bicycle Lane Safety
Dear Mayor and Members of the Riverbank City Council:
We, humbly ask the City Council to address the condition of Riverbank's roads as an important part of planning and maintaining safe bicycle lanes.
Riverbank continues to make progress in identifying and developing bicycle routes, but a bicycle lane is only as safe as the pavement and roadway surrounding it. Cracked pavement, potholes, dips, utility covers, uneven surfaces, deteriorated shoulders, drainage problems, and poorly maintained road edges can create serious hazards for people riding bicycles. These conditions can force cyclists to move out of the bicycle lane and into vehicle traffic, defeating the purpose of providing a designated lane.
Examples
1. We have had to repair numerous times broken bicycle rims, broken spokes resulting from the above roadway hazards. These repairs are costly and range in price from $60 to over $200 in spokes, bent rims, forks and broken bicycle side racks.
2. We have had on numerous occasions had to avoid the above roadway hazards and had to move into the active roadway. This is unsafe and dangerous!!!! Before adding new bicycle lanes—or restriping existing roadways—We ask the City to evaluate the underlying pavement condition and prioritize necessary road repairs. Bicycle infrastructure should be incorporated into a broader pavement-management strategy rather than just fulling 'potholes'.
We humbly ask the City:
• Conduct a road-condition assessment of streets designated for bicycle routes or lanes. Currently, there are NO continuous bicycle routes in the City. • Ensure bicycle lanes have smooth, continuous pavement free of potholes, abrupt pavement edges, level utility covers and unnecessary obstacles. • Address drainage and utility repairs so bicycle lanes do not become damaged or hazardous after construction.
• Consider the safety of cyclists when scheduling street resurfacing, restriping, and • maintenance projects. Please consider adding temporary bicycle lanes • Coordinate bicycle improvements with the City's long-term Pavement Management Program and capital improvement planning.
• Establish a mechanism for residents, cyclists and pedestrians to report hazardous pavement conditions along bicycle routes.
Safe bicycle transportation requires more than paint on the roadway. It requires a transportation system where the pavement, lane design, drainage, signage, and maintenance all work together. There are 4 categories of bicycle lanes the city needs to review and consider when designing streets and residential areas. Physical barriers and separation on major streets should be a high priority. Currently, the city does not have a category 4 barrier
Riverbank has an opportunity to develop a bicycle network encouraging all residents to use public transportation, ride to recreation, and access to schools, parks, businesses, and other community destinations. Maintaining the roads on which that network depends should be a fundamental part of that effort.
We, respectfully ask the City Council to make roadway condition and pavement quality a priority when considering current and future bicycle-lane projects.
Thank you for your consideration and for your continued work on improving transportation safety in Riverbank.
Sincerely,
Garry Pearson, Riverbank resident
Ramon Arevalo, Riverbank Resident
Pictures and References
1. BICYCLE TRANSPORTATION DESIGN
a. https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-
media/programs/design/documents/chp1000-a11y.pdf/1000
b. Picture of a standard Bic lane
Two-Way Class | Bikeway (Bike Path)
Bike Pach
See Note 2
: 2% Max*.
Paved With
Bike Path Traveled Way.
Figure Not To Scale
C. necessi
2. Picture at Morrill and Roselle.
Example of Non continuous bike lane with continuing with a narrowing of roadway.
There is a second narrowing of Roselle just before Claribel Ave, Bike
HAZARD