Documenter: Ramiro Merino

Here’s what you should know

• Police Chief Kendall announced that Assemblymember Rudy Salas has awarded the City $2 million, which will cover the costs of building a new dispatcher center. 

• The Council voted to approve the agreement between the City and Flavor Fusion, LLC, which allows Flavor Fusion to manufacture, deliver, distribute and sell cannabis products. 

• The Council voted to approve the agreement between the City and Tyler Technologies, a software program that specializes in products and services exclusively for government operations. The implementation will cost the City $1.6 million. 

• The Council voted to approve the agreement between the City and Price Paige & Company, a financial consultant for the City for several years. A one-time cost of $50,000 will cover the fees for the consultant company to facilitate the implementation to Tyler Technologies. 

Purpose of Agency

The five City Council members are elected at large to serve four-year, overlapping terms. Municipal elections are held in November of even-numbered years. Council selects one of its members to serve as the Mayor, who presides at meetings and represents the City in all official matters and at official functions. Councilmembers do not spend all day at City Hall; they have regular jobs like everyone else. The variety of experience they bring to meetings helps them as a group to make wise decisions. 

Lemoore City Council Member Duties

The City Council is responsible for approving all legislation and formulating City policies. The Council’s objectives are broad and include translating public attitudes and service requirements into policies and programs, so that desired levels of service can be provided efficiently and economically. The Council keeps abreast of current State and Federal legislation. By participation in the League of California Cities, Council members are able to compare policies, techniques and procedures with other cities throughout the state. Close liaison is maintained with other Kings County elected officials to ensure that Lemoore’s policies and programs are coordinated with other public agencies. 

Lemoore City Council Board Members

• Stuart Lyons, Mayor and Council Member for District A

• Patricia Matthews, Mayor Pro Tem and Council Member for District E

• Jim Chaney, Council Member for District B

• Frank Gornick, Council Member for District C

• David Orth, Council Member for District D

The Scene

The Lemoore City Council meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6, 2021 by Mayor Stuart Lyons. The meeting was streamed live virtually through Zoom, where a total of six participants showed up throughout the night. The in-person meeting consisted of all five council members, which included Mayor Stuart Lyons, Mayor Pro Tem and Council Member Patricia Matthews, Council Members Jim Chaney, Frank Gornick and David Orth. City Staff and contract employees also present included City Manager Olson, Assistant City Manager Speer, Police Chief Kendall, City Attorney Lerner, Community Development Director Holwell, and City Clerk Avalos. Kyle Johnson from Tyler Technologies was also present to answer questions regarding the Tyler Technologies services via Zoom. Due to the global pandemic, physical attendance by the public cannot be accommodated given the current circumstances and the need to ensure the health and safety of the City Council, City staff, and the public as a whole. The Zoom camera was directed towards the Council, where City Council Members were visible. Due to the new Covid-19 mask guidelines, the Councilmembers did not wear masks during the meeting. 

Closed Session Report

There was no closed session report. 

Public Comment

• A public member asked “Kings County is redrawing their district lines, do we have an update on that?” One of the Councilmembers answered that they are looking into it to see if they are required to do that. The same individual also asked “If the website can be updated with the golf course being closed since it would be better to get that information ahead of time rather than showing up and seeing that the golf course is closed.”

• Jennifer Solis thanked the Councilmember for their continued work and professionalism. “Thank you for not going so strict on water. I am hoping we can look into the fireworks and see what our neighboring cities our size are doing about the aerial fireworks. 

• Paulette Belamy said “Anything that can be done to facilitate the fireworks. Maybe the City can host an event so that everyone doesn’t have their own fireworks show.”

Ceremonial/Presentation

No ceremonial/presentations.

Department and City Manager Reports

Lemoore Police Chief Kendall said “Last year we met with Assemblymember (Rudy) Salas and I am happy to announce we have been awarded $2 million, which will be used to build a state of the art dispatching center.” City Manager Nathan Olson stated “On the Fourth of July, we had two fires that started in dumpsters because they were not put out before being thrown away. There’s an excessive heat warning that will run from Friday to Monday morning, that will be between 105 and 110 degrees. As of 7 p.m. tonight, there are no outside water restrictions. You can wash your cars starting on Thursday to give time for the water to reset.”

Consent Calendar

The Council unanimously voted to approve the first two agenda items on the consent calendar:

• 3-1: Approval – Minutes – Regular Meeting – June 15, 2021

• 3-2: Approval – Minutes – Special Meeting – June 28, 2021

Councilmember Orth pulled the last two agenda items because he wanted more information. After his question was answered, the Council voted and approved the remaining agenda items: 

• 3-3: Approval – Second Reading – Ordinance 2021-04 – Adopting Zoning Text Amendment 2021-01

• 3-4: Approval – Mutual Aid Agreement between Commander Navy Region Southwest Commanding Officer NAS Lemoore and City of Lemoore Volunteer Fire Department

Public Hearings

Public Hearing – Project Development Agreement and Cannabis Regulatory Permit between the City of Lemoore and Flavor Fusion, LLC. (Olson)

Staff has been negotiating with the Flavor Fusion, LLC., to enter into a Project Development Agreement for cannabis activities outlined in the PDA. These include, delivery, manufacturing, distribution and tasting/consumption lounge. The ordinance 2019-03 went into effect August 2, 2019. Per the Ordinance, no person or entity can operate a Commercial Cannabis Operation within city limits without obtaining a Regulatory Permit and entering into a Project Development Agreement. City Manager Olson said “They have 3 acres in the south industrial park. The intent is to build a building between 22,00-25,000 square feet.” Flavor Fusion, LLC will be responsible for an annual revenue raising fee for the privilege of having the right to conduct a commercial cannabis operation in the City. The revenue raising shall be: 

• Delivery: 5% of gross receipts. 

• Manufacturing: 1% of gross receipts not to exceed $45,000 per annum. 

• Distribution: 1% of gross receipts 

• Consumption Lounge: 5% of gross receipts. 

“This is the public comment, the PDA has been written. Once we vote tonight, then we will move forward with issuing a Cannabis Regulatory Permit to Flavor Fusion. We are one of 400 cities in California they visited and they chose Lemoore. However, we are selective with who we work with, we turn down companies on the daily like from Chicago. I think this one here is the least impactful for the city. Mayor Lyons opened this portion of the meeting for public hearing. A member of the public asked “For the murals,I thought I counted 6 murals, I know there are 3, so I just want to clarify so we are not thrown off afterwards.” City Manager Olson said “They already submitted plans, they are working with a bank in Fresno. They want to meet the planning commission next, I would suspect they will be breaking ground at the end of the year. They are excited to get going, if they could they would do it tomorrow.” With no further discussion for public hearing, the Council unanimously voted to approve the agreement between the City and Flavor Fusion, LLC. 

Public Hearing – Project Development Agreement and Cannabis Regulatory Permit between the City of Lemoore and Hold My Beer, LLC. (Olson)

City Manager Olson stated that “This will be used as a marketing tool to pre-negotiate with other vendors through the City.” Staff has been negotiating with the Developer to enter into a Project Development Agreement for a three acre site that will be home to Flavor Fusion and future tenants. “The developer seeks to construct facilities on each of the three acres; one facility dedicated to Flavor Fusion, and the other two acres built out to accommodate future tenants. The Developer believes that building out additional space will help attract other businesses to the City of Lemoore. Any future tenant desiring to perform cannabis operations would be required to go through the process of background checks and enter into a Project Development Agreement, approved by City Council, in order to operate.” The Council opened it to public hearing but there were no comments from the public. With no further discussion, the Council voted to approve the Project Development Agreement and Cannabis Regulatory Permit with Hold My Beer, LLC. 

New Business

Report and Recommendation – Intention to Levy and Collect the Annual Assessments within Landscape and Lighting Maintenance District No. 1 (LLMD) Zones 1 through 13 – Resolution 2021-12 and Public Facilities Maintenance District No. 1 (PFMD) Zones 1 through 10 – Resolution 2021-13 (Champion)

Management Analyst Amanda Champion presented on the City’s Landscape and Lighting Maintenance District (LLMD) and Public Maintenance Facilities Maintenance District (PFMD). She said “If you vote to adopt the intent to move forward, this would allow us to set up a public hearing, at which we will go over a presentation on this. This is basically the meeting before the meeting.” With no questions from the Council, they unanimously voted to approve this new business item. 

Report and Recommendation – Agreement between the City of Lemoore and Tyler Technologies a for Implementation and Hosting of the City’s New Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software (Speer)

Assistant City Manager and the Administration Services Director Michelle Speer presented the proposal agreement between the City of Lemoore and Tyler Technologies for Implementation and Hosting of the City’s New Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software. “The City underwent upgrades to the Pentamation software, most recently in 2015; however, the software has since had numerous changes in ownership, which has impacted customer service and software upgrades. Each time ownership/responsibility transferred hands, the City faced challenges in receiving adequate customer support. The City has found it increasingly more difficult to receive the support needed in order to ensure productivity and compliance with ever changing state and federal reporting requirements. The City was notified in April 2020 that the current version of our software would no longer be supported by December 2023. We were provided the option of continuing to work with Central Square and upgrade our software, however, due to the customer service issues, functionality issues and need for more robust options, the City chose to research other options. In February and March of 2021, the City of Lemoore participated in over 8 hours of demonstrations with Tyler Technologies. City staff from every department were invited to participate. After participating in the training and contacting other agencies utilizing Tyler products, City staff determined that Tyler Technologies would be the best option moving forward. Tyler Technologies specializes in products and services exclusively for government operations. Their products have the capability to support complex functions and will provide enhanced services to the community; services we cannot currently offer through our existing software. The goal of the implementation is to utilize the Enterprise Resource Management (ERP) software to increase efficiency and to provide mobile services to citizens. The MUNIS software, provided by Tyler Technologies, will centralize finance, human resource, planning, building inspection and permitting, fleet and recreation functions into a singular system. Our current system requires additional software for each of those functions; many of which do not integrate with Central Square, and require duplicate entry and interfacing processes, which increases the opportunity for human error and decreases efficiency. The current software is cumbersome to use, is archaic in its functionality, and is incapable of providing all the services provided by Tyler Technologies. Once integrated, and operational, citizens will have the opportunity to request building permits, submit planning documents, check on the status of building inspections, make appointments, make payments online, and have broader access to utility billing data. The proposed agreement will consist of a five year term and cost the City $1.6 million.” 

A Councilmember asked if “We can look at neighborhoods and their water consumption?” Speer said “I cannot answer that, but I am sure they can help us get to that point.” Another Councilmember asked “If this will save time, then can employees be let go?” Speer stated “In finance, we have lost 2 positions. We currently do not have an HR person besides me so just because we can save time, it does not mean people can lose their jobs. In fact, this will allow us to be more efficient with our time and allow us to get other projects done, we are scraping by every day. This technology will be changing, the amount of information City Council members can pull at their fingers will be invaluable.” With no further discussion, the Council approved the agreement between the City and Tyler Technologies. 

Report and Recommendation – Agreement between the City of Lemoore and Price Page & Company for Implementation Services Related to the New Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software (Speer)

Speer presented the proposed agreement between the City and Price Paige & Company for Implementation Services Related to the New Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software. “The City of Lemoore is in need of a new software system to consolidate City functions and to enhance efficiency and productivity. City staff is recommending that the City Council approve a contract with Tyler Technologies for the MUNIS platform which will include functions related to finance, human resources, planning and buildings, fleet services and other divisions. In order to effectively implement the new software, the City’s chart of accounts must be modified and appropriate internal controls must be established with end users and the new platform. Additionally, reconciliations must be performed between our current system and the new system. Price Paige & Company has served as the City’s financial consultant for several years, and has played a vital role in assisting City staff in implementing best practices facilitating year-end close procedures, producing financial statements, and coordinating the year-end audit. Implementation of new software will have an impact on the audit scheduling and processes. In order to ensure a smooth audit process and transition between the old and new software, it is recommended that the City contract with Price Paige & Company for services related to implementation of the new software. Price Paige & Company will supply us with 4 – 6 staff that will help us make this successful implementation.” With no further discussion, the Council approved the agreement between the City and Price Paige & Company. 

Brief City Council Reports and Request

• Firefighter Chief: “We use the ground for training, which is next to the location that Flavor Fusion will build their building. Dan has offered to build us a new training site if we can find a place to host it.”

• Council Member Orth: “Huge shoutout for the Water Department and Police Department for taking care of the situation. Shoutout to the Jones family for his family for losing his life. I also send my thoughts to Jeremy for a speedy recovery.” 

• Council Member Gornick: “It was heartwarming to see everyone come together. Thank you to the City Manager for keeping us afloat on what was going on.” 

• Council Chaney: “Thank you everyone for your hard work during the past couple of weeks. I appreciate all of the presentations tonight, everyone putting in the time for presenting, I appreciate it. Thank you.” 

• Mayor Pro Tem Matthews: “Well 7 is back online. It was incredible to see all of the hard work putting in to get it back to working. My condolences to the Jones’ family, I cannot imagine the loss. The July Fourth 5K event on Saturday looked awesome. You can support the Firefighter Department by ordering online or shopping at the store for their anniversary. The Lemoore Stadium Cinemas is open. This Saturday at 4pm is the Furla Palooza event, please check out the event if you.” 

• Mayor Lyons: “Mr Johnson from Sierra Golf reached out and said they will honor fees as credit for previously purchased memberships as credit when they open. Jones family, I cannot say how sorry I am for your loss. We showed resilience and dealt with it, we did the best we could. All the staff have been doing an exceptional job. Keep doing a good job.” 

Adjournment

With no further discussion, Mayor Lyons adjourned the City Council meeting at 9:05 p.m.