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City Council Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, September 1, 2026 - 5:30 p.m. Regular Meeting
City Council Chamber, 491 North M Street, Tulare, California Proper notice of this regular meeting of the Tulare City Council was given pursuant to California Government Code Section 54954.2.
City Council Present: Mayor Patrick Isherwood, Vice Mayor Stephen C. Harrell, Jose Sigala, Terry A.
Sayre, Dennis A. Mederos
Staff Present: Assistant City Manager Thomas W. Gaffery IV; City Attorney Mario U. Zamora; City Clerk & Public Affairs Director Melissa Wilcox; Deputy City Manager/Chief Technology Officer Jason Bowling; Chief Financial Officer Mark Roberts; City Engineer Michael Miller; Public Works Director Trisha Whitfield; Community Services Director Chris Orr; Police Captain Greg Merrill; Fire Chief Michael Ott; General Services Director Manny Correa; Community Development Director Mario Anaya; Human Resources Director Janie Venegas
1. CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Isherwood called to order the regular meeting of the Tulare City Council at 5:32 p.m. in the Council Chamber located at 491 North M Street.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE AND INVOCATION
Mayor Isherwood led the Pledge of Allegiance, and an invocation was given by Greg Peterson, Pastor of Sunrise Community Church.
It was the consensus of Council to consider Item 9.1 prior to Item 3, Public Comment.
3. PUBLIC COMMENT
Bruce Young addressed the Council regarding the Brown Act and a recent incident at Zumwalt Park.
Donnette Silva, Tulare Chamber of Commerce CEO, provided various updates on upcoming activities.
Jason Bender addressed the Council regarding the upcoming 9/11 Memorial Blood Drive.
4. COMMUNICATIONS
Assistant City Manager Gaffery advised there were no communications.
5. COUNCIL REPORTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST
Council reported on recent events and discussed items of interest. Councilmember Sigala requested information regarding benches that had been removed from Downtown Tulare and not replaced, as well as the noticing and relocation process for individuals staying at the temporary encampment site that had recently been cleared.
6. CONSENT CALENDAR
Items 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, and 6.9 were removed from the Consent Calendar.
It was moved by Councilmember Sigala, seconded by Vice Mayor Harrell, and unanimously carried to approve the items on the Consent Calendar as presented except for items 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, and 6.9.
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6.1 Waive the reading of ordinances and approve reading by title only.
Recommended Action: Approve the reading by title only of all ordinances and that further reading of such ordinances be waived.
6.2 Approval of City Council Meeting Minutes.
Recommended Action: Approve the minutes of the special and/or regular meeting of August 18, 2026. [M. Wilcox]
6.6 The Villas at Sierra Ranch Final Oversize Agreement.
Recommended Action: Authorize the City Manager to execute an oversize construction reimbursement agreement with Summit Homebuilders Inc., a California Corporation, for construction costs associated with The Villas at Sierra Ranch subdivision that are eligible for reimbursement in accordance with Chapter 8.64 of the Municipal Code, subject only to approval of the final reimbursement amount and minor conforming and clarifying changes acceptable to the City Attorney and City Manager. [M. Miller]
6.7 Designating Portions of City-Owned Parcels as Public Street Right-of-Way.
Recommended Action: Adopt a resolution designating a portion of City-owned parcels (APNs 174-010-012, -013, -014) along the south side of Bardsley Avenue and the west side of West Street as public street right-of-way and accepting the resulting right-of-way into the City’s public street system. [M. Miller]
6.8 Notice of Completion - The Villas at Sierra Ranch Subdivision.
Recommended Action: Accept the required public works improvements for The Villas at Sierra Ranch subdivision located at the southeast corner of Retherford Street and Corvina Avenue; authorize the City Engineer to sign the Notice of Completion (NOC); and direct the City Clerk to file the NOC with the Tulare County Recorder’s Office. [M. Miller]
6.10 Proposition 64 Grant with the Tulare County Office of Education.
Recommended Action: Approve a resolution authorizing the City Manager to sign the grant agreements, amendments, and any related documents from the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) and Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE) related to the Proposition 64 funding and delivery subject to any minor, conforming or clarifying changes acceptable to both the City Manager and City Attorney. [J. Bowling]
ITEM(S) PULLED FROM CONSENT CALENDAR
6.3 Bargaining Units Bereavement Leave Update.
Recommended Action: [J. Venegas] Adopt resolutions approving and authorizing the execution of the following to update Bereavement Leave:
• Side Letter of Agreement No. 4 between the City and the California League of City Employees Association (CLOCEA) amending the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the term of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027 adopted October 15, 2024 • Side Letter of Agreement No. 1 between the City and Tulare City Professional Fire Fighters Association Non-Management Bargaining Group (TPFA) amending the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the term of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028 adopted April 7, 2026
• Side Letter of Agreement No. 1 between the City and Tulare City Professional Fire Fighters Association Management Bargaining Group (TPFA-M) amending the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the term of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028 adopted April 7, 2026
• Side Letter of Agreement No. 3 between the City and Tulare Fire Chief Officer Group (TFCO) amending the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the term of July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2028 adopted December 2, 2025
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• Side Letter of Agreement No. 1 between the City and Tulare Police Officers Union (TPOU) amending the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the term of July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027 adopted January 21, 2025
Council Action: Staff requested that this item be removed from consideration pending further clarification; therefore, no action was taken.
6.4 Tulare Police Management Group Benefits Update.
Recommended Action: Adopt a resolution amending Resolution 2025-16 to formally codify and update benefit provisions for the Tulare Police Management Group. [J. Venegas] Council Action: Staff requested that the bereavement leave provisions be excluded from consideration and brought back at a future meeting following further clarification. It was moved by Councilmember Mederos, seconded by Councilmember Sayre, and unanimously carried to approve the item as amended to exclude the bereavement leave provisions.
6.5 City of Tulare Merit System Rules and Regulations Amendment.
Recommended Action: Adopt a resolution amending Section 1206 - Compensation for Use of Personal Automobile While on City Business, Section 1211 – Management Employees, and Section 801 – Bereavement Leave of the City of Tulare Merit System Rules and Regulations. [J.
Venegas]
Council Action: Staff requested that the bereavement leave provisions be excluded from consideration and brought back at a future meeting following further clarification. It was moved by Councilmember Mederos, seconded by Councilmember Sayre, and unanimously carried to approve the item as amended to exclude the bereavement leave provisions.
6.9 2027 Annual Street Striping Contract.
Recommended Action: Approve a multi-year agreement for on-call roadway striping with Central Valley Striping of Lindsay, California for $259,337.50 per year; authorize the City Manager or designee to execute change orders not to exceed 10 percent ($25,934.00) per year; delegate to the City Manager the authority to extend the agreement for three additional one-year terms, provided funds are budgeted, for a total potential four-year cost of $1,141,086; and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement, amendments, and related documents, subject only to minor conforming and clarifying changes acceptable to the City Attorney. [T. Whitfield] Council Action: Councilmember Sigala pulled this item to inquire whether the contract includes striping for bike lanes. Public Works Director Whitfield confirmed that it does and advised that staff determine where repainting is needed. It was moved by Councilmember Sigala, seconded by Vice Mayor Harrell, and unanimously carried to approve the item as presented.
7. PUBLIC HEARING
7.1 Resolution of Necessity for an Overhead Utility Easement.
Recommended Action: Adopt a resolution of necessity for APN 172-370-032 (“Property”) authorizing the City Attorney to take the steps necessary to finalize the acquisition of an overhead utility easement.
Presented By: Assistant City Manager Gaffery
Public Comment: The public hearing was opened at 6:34 p.m. City Attorney Zamora confirmed that the property owner was not present. Receiving no comments, the public hearing was closed at 6:34 p.m.
Council Action: It was moved by Councilmember Mederos, seconded by Vice Mayor Harrell, and unanimously carried to adopt the resolution as presented.
8. GENERAL BUSINESS
8.1 Presentation on the Pavement Management System Update.
Recommended Action: Receive a presentation from Infrastructure Management Services (IMS) on the preliminary results of the Citywide Pavement Management System Update.
Presented By: City Engineer Miller; Marcial Mota of IMS City Council Meeting Minutes Tuesday, September 1, 2026 City of Tulare Page 4 of 4
Public Comment: There were no public comments.
Council Action: Staff responded to questions from the Council. This item was informational only; therefore, no action was taken.
9. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
9.1 Request to Discuss Potential Moratorium on Data Center Permits.
Recommended Action: Direct staff to add to a future agenda or take no action.
Submitted By: Councilmember Sigala
Public Comment: The following provided comment in support of establishing a moratorium on data center permits: Carlos Rodriguez, Maria Guillen, Jordan Hegaretta, Mariana Alvarez, Mateo Fernandez, and Amy Lopez.
Council Action: There was no consensus of Council to add a future agenda item to discuss a potential moratorium on data center permits. It was the consensus of Council to direct staff to add an item to the September 15, 2026, agenda to discuss and provide direction on the scope of a potential study session or presentation regarding data centers.
10. STAFF UPDATES
Staff provided updates on department activities.
11. ADJOURNMENT
Seeing no further business to discuss, Mayor Isherwood adjourned the regular meeting at 7:12 p.m.
I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the special and/or regular meeting held on September 1, 2026, as approved by the Tulare City Council.
Melissa Wilcox, City Clerk & Public Affairs Director