Documenter: Joeanna Lopez
Here’s what you need to know:
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Council members approved an $800,000 annual contract between the Fresno County Fire Protection District and the City of Parlier to fully staff the Fire Station on a 24/7 basis for a minimum of 25 years.
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Council members amended a resolution, making findings and determining PERS Public Safety Member, Jonathan Pierro, is disabled from the performance of his duties under government code §§21154 and 21156 and that the disability was industrially caused.
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Council approved to authorize the City Manager to sign and submit the Vast Network service order contract to provide the City of Parlier with a private dedicated fiber network within the City of Parlier for a 60 month term.
The meeting (in full)
The Scene
Parlier is a general law City governed by a five-member City Council and operates under the City Council-City Manager form of government, according to their website. All council members were present and participated at the in-person meeting.
The Parlier City Council meets on the first and third Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at 1100 E. Parlier Avenue, Parlier, CA 93648 and via Zoom.
The Zoom audio and video were connected through an iPad.
Parlier City Council Board Members
Alma M. Beltran, Mayor
Sabrina Rodriguez, Council Member District 1
Trinidad Pimentel, Mayor Pro-Tempore and Council Member District 2
Cathryn “Kathy” Solorio, Council Member District 3
Diane Maldonado, Council Member District 4
Included on the agenda, Dorothy Garza, City Clerk
and Michelle Lopez, Treasurer
The meeting began with 5 minutes of inaudibility. Four members of the public joined the meeting via Zoom. Cristina Lopez and I posted comments in the chat about the audio issue. Council Woman Rodriguez handling the iPad corrected the issue.
When the audio cut on, Mayor Beltran was speaking during the Awards of Appreciation presentation, praising Ellie about bringing an awareness to the council board regarding items that may be purchased.
Bertha Escalera, assistant city manager, also received an award.
The final award was presented to Sonia Hall, “The best city manager that the City of Parlier has ever had.”
According to the agenda, the City Manager Hall is presenting the awards.
Before the conclusion of the awards, Mayor Beltran asked City Manager, Neil to add to the agenda that a motion be approved to continue celebrating Sonia Hall on Saturday by use of the Senior Center.
Consent Items
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The Board unanimously approved the following consent agenda items:
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Check reports dated July 10, 2021 to July 30, 2021.
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Minutes dated Special Meetings for July 15, 2021.
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Approve and waive fees for the use of Earl Ruth Park by Lirio de Los Valles church on August 8, 2021 for a backpack giveaway from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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The last item was pulled for review:
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Approve and waive all fees and the issuance of keys for the use of the Parlier Community Center by Michael Avila for basketball tournaments on Sunday’s.
Public Comments:
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Javier was thanked in a public comment made by an in person attendee (inaudible/no introduction) for making a great difference in such a short time, “makes our job a lot easier.”
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No other comments were made.
Actions
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Mayor Beltran’s addition to the agenda was approved and carried with a 5-yes vote.
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The council member who requested to pull item 4 said, “The back-up agenda wasn’t included, my question is I just want to make sure they have a certificate of insurance, only because if anything happens in there we’re liable.”
It was explained that the reason this is on the agenda is to officially allow for the recreational area to be used again after covid and that proof of insurance is not required at any of the city’s parks in order to play basketball.
The issue then became that the person named on the agenda is not an employee of the City, “then we lose control of who has keys to our facilities.”
It is inaudible (speakers did not always click on their speaker to be heard over the loudspeaker) what is being said about somebody who in the past had sought to the center and whether they could handle the keys. The stated resolution as to who will ultimately be issued the Community Center’s keys was unclear. Motion carried 5-yes.
Regular Business:
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Resolution no. 2021-41 states that an agreement has been made between the Fresno County Fire Protection District and the City of Parlier to fully staff the fire station 24/7.
-City manager Neil said this will, “ultimately decrease homeowners insurance rates,” and called the item a housekeeping matter that has been in negotiations and on the calendar for 6 months or more.
-The resolution now authorizes Sonia Hall to execute the agreement for payment of property taxes in lieu of vehicle license fees, which needs to be memorialized in order for an enforceable agreement to exist.
-The City of Parlier will pay the annual sum of $800,000, subject to annual increases of 2% per year to be directly paid to the Fire District from property and vehicle taxes in lieu of vehicle license fees.
-Under Recitals, letter I. in the Agreement for Resolution 2021-41, it states that the District agrees to provide full-time staffing of the District fire station in Parlier consisting of a minimum of two career staff fire fighters, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
-Council member Pimentel, a lifetime Parlier resident since 1948 calls it, “a dream come true.”
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Parlier City Council approves and enters an Agreement with California Department of Education for the purpose of providing child care services at the Parlier Academy of Excellence in the amount of $1,058,382.
-The approval and acceptance of the amended contract now authorizes the city manager and or finance director to sign the contracts for the fiscal year of 2021-2022.
-Motion to move resolution no. 2021-42 carries 5 yes.
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Council adopted the amended Resolution 2021-43, again, referred to by the city manager as, “purely a housekeeping matter,” stating a resolution was previously found determining the PERS Public Safety Member to be disabled.
-PERS sent the resolution back to the City of Parlier requesting for the documentation to be amended stating that Pierro, employed by the City of Parlier Police Department as a Police Corporal and is a Public Safety Member of the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS), to be disabled and that the disability was industrially caused.
-Recital 5 of the amended resolution: The City Council certifies that this determination is not made as a substitute for the disciplinary process and that no disciplinary process has been commenced against Pierro.
-Recital 8: The disabling condition of the Employee and body part involved is an orthopedic condition involving the lower back.
-Recital 9: Advanced disability pension payments have not been made to Pierro.
-Motion carried 5 yes.
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Council approved a 5 year contract with Vast Network Service for a dedicated fiber network totaling $4,020.60 monthly . This includes 48 phones and higher internet speeds of 1GB-3GB throughout the City.
-Currently the City pays Comcast $3,121.60 per month.
-Vast Network’s private connection would provide a service unlike regular broadband service in which the City does not have to compete with other subscribers for bandwidth.
-No public questions are asked about the recommendation.
-Page 60 in the agenda packet shows the invoice for the breakdown of the 8 locations in Parlier where installation for phone/services will be provided by Vast for 60 months totaling $4,020.60 every month.
-Motion carried 5 yes.
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No comments for Closed Session
Closed Session
9. Public employment pursuant to government code section 54957 all positions.
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A comment made by a council member about an event at the park going over very well.
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No other public comments were made.
The meeting was paused for closed session at 7:16 p.m. and the screensaver remained idle.
I checked for the final time at 9:50 p.m. when the screen showed that the meeting was ended by the host.
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