(SANGER Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Sanger City Council THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2023
6:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBER
1700 7*h Street, Sanger, California 93657
A. CALL TO ORDER
The City Council called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM.
B. OPENING CEREMONIES
Pastor Jacob Zailian offered the invocation.
Mayor Frank Gonzalez led the flag salute.
Roll Call:
Present: Mayor Frank Gonzalez, Mayor Pro Tem Daniel Martinez, Councilmember Esmeralda Hurtado, Councilmember Michael Montelongo, Councilmember Dolores Melendez.
Absent: None
C. AGENDA APPROVAL, ADDITIONS AND/OR DELETIONS
The Council by motion of Councilmember Hurtado approved the agenda as presented. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Montelongo and approved by the following vote:
AYES: GONZALEZ, MARTINEZ, HURTADO, MONTELONGO, MELENDEZ NOES: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
ABSENT: NONE
D. PUBLIC FORUM
Cheryl Senn provided the Council with a flyer for the Police Foundation Golf Tournament scheduled for September 22 and invited the Council to the event.
Unidentified member of the audience stated that the water issue should not be blamed on one person and that the comments made by Council at the last meeting were very unprofessional Council should meet with the City Manager for updates prior to meetings.
City Council Minutes
June 1, 2023
Kevin Carter stated that the meetings have become an embarrassment and Council should come prepared for the meetings. He said that John Mulligan took a beating at the last meeting and that the water issue is not John nor Tim's tault, noting that the water system was in place long before they were hired. He said that it seems that District 1 and District 2 want to form an alliance to share their district needs this evening, and felt that was wrong as they had plenty of time per the budget calendar. The Council formed a budget plan and they should not come in at the last minute to make changes.
Osvaldo Vera, Community Activist, shared a concern he addressed two weeks ago about speeding traffic in Sanger and thanked Mayor Pro Tem Martinez for doing a good job, but said that nothing has changed. He said he would like a bench added on a sidewalk for seniors to use while on their walks.
Unidentified member of the audience said he was embarrassed to hear what happened to John Mulligan at the last Council meeting. He said that Council should apologize publicly and in the paper. He said the concern should have been addressed with the City Manager. He also asked if the City would be recognizing the Sanger High School volleyball team for winning a championship.
F. CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilmember Hurtado and Councilmember Montelongo asked to remove Agenda Item F-2.
The Council by motion of Councilmember Hurtado pulled Agenda Item F-2 and approved the following item on the Consent Calendar:
SUBJECT: APPROVED - School Partner Program with Sanger Unified School District.
The City Council approved the agreement between the City of Sanger and the Sanger Unified School District (SUSD) for the School Partner Program and authorized the City Manager to sign the documents on behalf of the City.
The motion was seconded by Councilmember Martinez and approved by the following vote:
AYES: GONZALEZ, MARTINEZ, HURTADO, MONTELONGO, MELENDEZ NOES: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
ABSENT: NONE
2. SUBJECT: TABLED - Amendment No. 1 to Consultant Agreement for Water and Sewer Financial Analysis and Rate Study.
Public comment:
Kevin Carter stated that the issue is a city-wide problem and the study should have been done a long time ago. He said that residents are subsidizing Pitman and they need to pay their own fair share.
City Council Minutes
June 1, 2023
After further discussion, the City Council by motion of Councilmember Montelengo tabled Agenda Item F-2 to give staff the option to speak with Pitman Farms to pay for the study. The motion was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Martinez and approved by a 4 to 1 vote as follows:
AYES: GONZALEZ, MARTINEZ, MONTELONGO, MELENDEZ
NOES: NONE
ABSTAIN: HURTADO
ABSENT: NONE
G. PUBLIC HEARING
SUBJECT: FY 2023-2024 Budget.
The Council called a public hearing to discuss the Proposed FY 2023-2024 Preliminary Budget, the Annual Review of the Utility Users Tax, Public Financing Authority Budget Successor Agency Budget, and related matters; receive public input; deliberate; provide inpu to Staff; and continue the public hearing to June 15, 2023, at 6:00 PM for continued direction and potential adoption of the Final Adoption.
City Manager Tim Chapa stated that the preliminary budget was prepared from feedback from community meetings and Council, and that today staff was seeking City Council's direction.
Administrative Services Director Patrick Chaffee presented on the item and reviewed two options the Council may consider this evening:
Option 1: Provide direction to staff regarding changes to incorporate in the final budget for adoption at the June 15, 2023, meeting.
Result 1: This will provide staff with a list of items to update in the budget before publishing the final version for adoption.
Option 2: Make no requests for changes.
Result 2: Staff will publish this version as the final version for adoption at the June 15, 2023, City Council meeting.
Councilmember Hurtado provided the Council and the audience with a handout titled "District 1 Needs 2023."
Public comment:
Unidentified member of the audience stated that Councilmember Hurtado made her constituents proud. He thanked Councilmember Montelongo for his comments about the Fire Department. He shared concerns about the price increasing for the fire department remodel.
Unidentified member of the audience thanked Councilmember Hurtado for her presentation and that Council should consider her recommendations. He said that he supports upgrading the council chamber and adding more staff to the Recreation Department.
City Council Minutes
June 1, 2023
Council Requests:
Councilmember Hurtado made a motion to direct staff to bring the following items for consideration: Geary Ave.., Downtown Alley Ways, and 4'h Street. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Melendez. The motion failed by a 3 to 2 vote.
AYES: HURTADO, MELENDEZ
NOES: GONZALEZ, MARTINEZ, MONTELONGO
ABSTAIN: NONE
ABSENT: NONE
Councilmember Hurtado made a motion to allocate up to $30,000 to the Senior program for equipment and activities. The motion failed for lack of a second.
The City Council by motion of Councilmember Hurtado allocated an additional $5,000 to the Senior program for equipment and activities. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Melendez and approved by the following vote:
AYES: GONZALEZ, MARTINEZ, HURTADO, MONTELONGO, MELENDEZ NOES: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
ABSENT: NONE
The City Council by motion of Councilmember Montelongo allocated an additional $5,000 to the boxing program for equipment and activities. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Hurtado and approved by the following vote:
AYES: GONZALEZ, MARTINEZ, HURTADO, MONTELONGO, MELENDEZ NOES: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
ABSENT: NONE
The City Council by motion of Councilmember Montelongo added two (2) non-safety personnel to the Fire Department using IGT funds. The motion was seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Martinez and approved by the following vote:
AYES: GONZALEZ, MARTINEZ, HURTADO, MONTELONGO, MELENDEZ NOES: NONE
ABSTAIN: NONE
ABSENT: NONE
The Council continued the public hearing to June 15, 2023.
H. DEPARTMENT REPORTS
None
City Council Minutes
June 1, 2023
I. CITY MANAGER/STAFF COMMUNICATION
None
J. MATTERS INITIATED BY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
Mayor Pro Tem Martinez
1. Reported that he, Mayor and staff recently attended the ICSC Convention where they spoke with several developers. He stressed the value of a unified front by Council as the developers are watching the Council meetings on how they vote on projects. They want to make sure that the City will support them if they come to Sanger.
Councilmember Hurtado - None
Councilmember Montelongo
1. Asked about weed abatement at ponding basins. City Manager Chapa responded that the Fire Department issues notices to residents including city property and ponding basins.
2. Asked if new developments would be allowed to build if there is not enough water.
Community Development Director David Brletic responded that a condition of approval for new builds is contingent on water availability.
Councilmember Melendez - None.
Mayor Frank Gonzalez
1. Apologized to John Mulligan and said that the water issue was not personal, but appreciates the constant communication now.
2. Received complaints from residents about vehicles speeding throughout the City.
3. Stated that there are too many recruitments and staff should talk about retaining people.
4. He represented Sanger at a roundtable sponsored by Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula about broadband availability.
5. Recently attended a COG meeting where a Caltrans representative announced that Caltrans has several upcoming grants. He would like the City to apply for the grants.
6. Stated that he recently attended the ICSC Convention and shared good news that Hilton Hotels has referred the City to developers for a possible build at 180/Academy. He said they also met with the Tractor Supply representatives who are interested in building a store in Sanger very soon as well as KFC.
K. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the Council adjourned their meeting at 9:33 PM.
ATTEST:
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