Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Sanger City Council
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2022
6:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBER
1700 7th Street, Sanger, California 93657
A. CALL TO ORDER
The City Council called their meeting to order at 6:00 PM.
B. OPENING CEREMONIES
The invocation was offered by Pastor Paul Canaday.
The flag salute was led by Mayor Eli Ontiveros.
Roll Call:
Present : Mayor Eli Ontiveros, Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Martinez, Councilmember Esmeralda Hurtado, Councilmember Michael Montelongo
Absent: Councilmember Humberto Garza
C. A GENDA APPROVAL, ADDITIONS AND/OR DELETIONS
The Council by motion of Mayor Pro Tem Martinez approved the agenda as presented. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Montelongo and approved by the following vote:
AYES: ONTIVEROS, MARTINEZ, HURTADO, MONTELONGO
NOES: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
ABSENT: GARZA
D. CEREMONIAL MATTERS
1. Recognition of Ari Ruiz.
Mayor Eli Ontiveros presented on the item.
E. P UBLIC FORUM
Public comment:
Osvaldo Vera shared with the City Council a certificate the he had received. He said that a couple of meetings ago while he was talking to Josh, the Chief of Police told him he could not be here.
City Council Minutes
September 1, 2022
An unidentified person said that at the last City Council meeting he was unable to unmute himself in Zoom to provide comment on item D.I. construction of City wells and would do so today. He asked when the wells go online in 2024, will it leave the City of Sanger water pressure and water levels back to normal? He said that with the new homes and Tombstone by 2035, will the new wells support the growth or fall back to the same position as now. He said he was misquoted in the June meeting minutes about Walmart. He meant are we in jeopardy with the water pressure on fire sprinklers and would we be compromised.
Karen Pearson, for the Sanger Historical Society, said there were sprinklers overflowing by the Museum building and that she had called City Hall but her concern has not been addressed.
Director John Mulligan said the concern would be taken care of tomorrow morning.
Kevin Carter said he had some observations to make from previous meetings. During the water bottle distribution a few weeks ago, it appeared to be more of a publicity stunt than helping the people in need of water – every time water was handed out there were cameras and video recording going on and posted to social media, which is insulting to those residents receiving the water. A few weeks ago, the City Attorney talked about communication behavior between the Council and management. He said that during the budget adjustment discussion, Council decided to hire a new recreation employee, was there communication between Council and management? Instead of hiring a part-time grant writer, Council decided to hire a full-time position. Was there communication between Council and management?
Jaime Loza talked about boxing, that he boxes a man not a woman and it is unacceptable for a man to put a hand on a woman.
There were no public comments by zoom or email.
F. CONSENT CALENDAR
Mayor Ontiveros pulled item F.4. for discussion.
The Council by motion of Councilmember Montelongo approved the following items on the Consent Calendar:
1. SUBJECT: APPROVED - Minutes of the Special and Regular meetings held on June 16, 2022, June 23, 2022, and July 7, 2022.
2. SUBJECT: APPROVED - First Amendment to Agreement with Health Management Associates and Participating Cities.
3. SUBJECT: APPROVED - First Amendment to Agreement with Fresno County Fire Protection District for Automatic Aid Services.
5. SUBJECT: APPROVED - Fiscal year 20-21 Annual Report of Development Impact Fees (AB1600 Report).
The motion was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Martinez and approved by the following vote:
City Council Minutes
September 1, 2022
AYES: ONTIVEROS, MARTINEZ, HURTADO, MONTELONGO
NOES: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
ABSENT: GARZA
4. SUBJECT: APPROVED - Emergency Purchase of a 2022 7.5 Ton Commercial Split Heat Pump HVAC System for the Sanger Youth Center – Additional Purchasing Authority.
Acting City Manager, Chief Greg Tarascou presented on the item.
Public Works Director John Mulligan presented on the item.
Public comment:
An unidentified person said that why does it seem everything in Sanger is an emergency. There are short cuts in PD; everything in Sanger is a short cut.
There were no public comments by zoom or email.
The City Council by motion of Councilmember Hurtado adopted Resolution No. 2022-70 reviewing the emergency action taken by the City Manager to purchase a 7.5-ton HVAC unit and approving the award of emergency purchase without competitive bidding for the emergency purchase of a 2022 Carrier 7.5 Ton Commercial Split Heat Pump HVAC System from Jack’s Refrigeration, Inc. in the amount of $34,980 and authorize the City Manager to sign the purchase documents on behalf of the City. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Montelongo and approved by the following vote:
AYES: ONTIVEROS, MARTINEZ, HURTADO, MONTELONGO
NOES: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
ABSENT: GARZA
G. DEPARTMENT REPORTS
1. SUBJECT: APPROVED - Grant Acceptance from the California Fire Foundation.
Acting City Manager, Chief Greg Tarascou presented on the item.
Councilmember Hurtado asked for the status on the wildfire fund and previous funds.
Public comment: None
The City Council by motion of Councilmember Hurtado adopted Resolution No. 2022-72 for a budget amendment in the amount of $10,000 as a result of a grant from the California Fire Foundation for the purchase of wildland firefighting personal protective equipment and related equipment, and authorize the City Manager to sign the appropriate documents on behalf of the City. The motion was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Martinez and approved by the following vote:
City Council Minutes
September 1, 2022
AYES: ONTIVEROS, MARTINEZ, HURTADO, MONTELONGO
NOES: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
ABSENT: GARZA
H. CI TY MANAGER/STAFF COMMUNICATION
Acting City Manager, Chief Greg Tarascou presented on the item. He said the valley was experiencing a heat wave and that the Cooling Center would be open. He also provided an update on Well 6. Discussion followed.
Public comment:
Dolores Melendez asked for a follow up on the petition that she gave to City Council on August 4 for portable showers. She said that when the bottled water was delivered, residents were told that City staff would be back with more water, but they have not redelivered water. She said that the City should reach out to the State for help.
An unidentified person said that the Acting City Manager sounds like he’s more aggressive now by having spare parts for well repairs.
Osvaldo Vera, community activist said that he agreed with the previous person and that prevention is the key.
Frank Gonzalez (zoom) said the City needs to be more proactive with maintenance on wells and not reactive. He said maybe there should be a hotline for residents to call when they don’t’ have water.
There were no comments by email.
I. MAT TERS INITIATED BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
1. Downtown Business Standards Review – Informational item.
Community Development Director David Brletic presented on the item.
Councilmember Hurtado said that the Planning Commission had an ad hoc committee and maybe they can look at what other local cities are doing.
Consensus was given to send the Business Standards to the Planning Commission for review and to update, improve façade, and to select a facade and provide City Council with a recommendation.
Public comment:
Karen Pearson said that Sanger Medical already made some changes to their building so there is something already in the books. The City should update the current standards instead of rewriting the standards.
City Council Minutes
September 1, 2022
An unidentified person complimented Councilmember Hurtado for keeping downtown in the forefront. He said the City was spending a lot of time and money on Academy and 180 and should focus on downtown now. He said that we have a small town like a historical little heritage downtown and let’s not let that identity go.
Kevin Carter said the history of downtown in the 1970s had a lot of merchants that discouraged new businesses from coming to downtown to protect their interests. He hears from others comparing Sanger downtown to other towns and ask what happened?
Frank Gonzalez (zoom) said that Kevin Carter is correct. He said the future is 180 will bring more businesses back to town. He is part of the Revitalization Committee and trying to bring back downtown. There is a lot happening in downtown that Council has brought back.
There were no comments by email.
2. Councilmember Hurtado
a. Water situation, if the City has to declare an emergency, no citizens should go without water and need to be helped out. She said that it is time to declare a water emergency and to write a letter to the Governor and get the state involved. Mayor and Council said there is a Water Emergency in place.
b. Add the Drought Emergency plan and Emergency Power Shutoff plan to a future agenda for discussion, which she had received consensus at a previous meeting. She requested a copy of the City Emergency declaration be provided to her for review.
c. Asked for a consensus to add a Water Efficiency Rebate program to a future agenda for discussion. Consensus was not given.
3. Mayor Pro Tem Martinez
a. Asked why the Sanger Crossing Apartments have low water pressure to no water.
He said the apartment landlord should get involved with the water issue.
4. Councilmember Montelongo
a. Regarding water usage by Pitman Farms, wants to make sure they are in compliance with their water usage. He asked for a consensus for staff to come back with water usage information by hopefully the next City Council meeting. Consensus was given.
b. With more traffic congestion due to school now in session and students starting at 8:30 AM, he asked for a consensus for a traffic study on Greenwood Ave.
Consensus was given to do another traffic study.
c. Asked for a consensus for staff to provide an update on the Covid-19 grant for businesses including the grant money issued and what is pending. Consensus was given.
City Council Minutes
September 1, 2022
d. Asked for a consen sus for staff to provide an update on the Tobacco Ordinance by the next meeting. Consensus was given.
e. Asked for a consensus for staff to provide an update on when the Youth Council will resume their meetings. Consensus was given.
f. Asked for a consensus for st aff to provide an update on the hiring process, which he had previously requested. Consensus was given.
5. Mayor Ontiveros
a. Asked for a consensus to discuss an emergency p lan that when there is no water for showers or drinking water, that porta-potty and drinking water be provided.
Consensus was given to add to a future agenda for discussion.
b. Asked for a consensus to purchase other motors and pumps for Wells. Consensus was given to add to a future agenda for discussion.
Councilmember Montelongo asked for a written report with a timeline on Well rehabilitation schedules to share with residents.
c. Asked that the Public Parks bid to be posted by the next City Council meeting, which is for the claying and snack bar work.
J. ADJOURN MENT
There being no further business, the Council adjourned their regular meeting at 7:45 PM.
ATTEST:
Corina Tamez, Deputy City Clerk
Corina Tamez