Documenter: Ramiro Merino

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Mid Valley Disposal staff provided an overview of the solid waste rerouting plan and the different methods they will utilize to notify the customers of the transition. 

  • The Council agreed on changing the classification of the “Building Permit Technician” to “Community Development Technician”, which would allow the employee to assist both the Building Department and the Planning Department (currently two divisions). 

  • The Council adopted resolution No. 2021-083 amending the fiscal year 2021-22 budget to allocate $3,438,204 in Coronavirus State and local Fiscal Recovery Funds under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for necessary investments in water infrastructure, assistance to small businesses and one-time premium pay to essential City workers. 

Reedley City Council Board Members

  • Mary L. Fast, Mayor

  • Robert Beck, Mayor Pro Tem

  • Ray Soleno, Councilmember 

  • Anita Bentacourt, Councilmember

  • Matthew Tuttle, Councilmember 

The Scene

The Reedley City Council meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 by Mayor Mary Fast. The meeting was streamed live through Zoom. The meeting consisted of four council members who were present, which include Mayor Mary Fast and City Councilmembers Matthew Tuttle, Robert Beck, and Ray Soleno. Councilmember Anita Bentacourt was absent. Other City staff present included Community Services Director Sarah Reid, City Engineer Marilu Morales, City Clerk Ruthie Greenwood. Due to new Covid-19 masks guidelines, “Fully vaccinated employees do not need to wear masks indoors”, the Councilmembers did not wear masks during the meeting. 

Presentation

Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims presented on the Creek Fire Mutual Aid, where she expressed her appreciation to the City of Reedley and the Police Department for providing mutual aid during the Creek Fire. 

Public Comment

Earl Phillips, a resident of Reedley spoke about recent crimes occurring in the community. He stated “Chances are those little punks are smoking dope. Check their cars, I guarantee you they all have their windows tinted.” 

Consent Calendar

The Council unanimously approved all twelve items on the consent calendar: 

  • Approval of Minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of June 22, 2021

  • Recommendation of Rejection of Claim-Silva, Ernesto

  • Ratify the Authorization for City Manager to Execute an Agreement for the Airport Rescue Grant Program (ARGP) for the Reedley Municipal Airport

  • Approve and Authorize the City Manager or Designee to Execute a Successor Five-Year Online Purchase Agreement with Parcelquest, Inc. for Online Property Data Services 

  • Approve and Authorize City Manager to Execute all Documents Pertaining to Purchase and Uplifting of Nine (9) Police Department Fleet Vehicles Totaling $500,000, with Appropriations Previously Approved in FY 21-22 Budget. 

  • Approve and Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Purchasing Agreement on Behalf of the City of Reedley, Between the City of Reedley and Axon Enterprise Inc, for the Approved Purchase of a Body Worn Camera System. 

  • Adopt Resolution No. 2021-066, Accepting the Construction Improvements for the “!” Street Rehabilitation Project Between Reed Avenue and Dinuba Avene, and Authorize the City Engineer to File a Notice of Completion with the County of Fresno Recorder’s Office

  • Adopt Resolution No. 2021-067, Accepting the Construction Improvements for the Washington Avenue Reconstruction Project between Columbia Avenue and Hemlock Avenue, and Authorize the City Engineer to File a Notice of Completion with the County of Fresno Recorder’s Office 

  • Adopt Resolution No. 2021-069 Approving and Accepting the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Claims for Measure C Local Transportation Funds from the Fresno County Transportation Authority 

  • Ratify and Adopt Resolution No. 2021-070 Amending the 2020-2021 Adopted Budget for Appropriating $56,306 in the Vehicle Impact Fee Fund for the Washington Avenue Reconstruction Project Between Columbia Avenue and Hemlock Avenue to Recognize Previously Allocated Funds to this Project and Serving as the Final Appropriation of VIF Funds 

  • Consider the following items (A) and (B) for the “J” and “K” Rehabilitation Project:

    • (A) Adopt Resolution No. 2021-074 Which Replaces Resolution 2021-052 Ratifying the Construction Contract to $283,557 for Terra West Construction Inc. for the “J” and “K” Rehabilitation Project

    • (B) Adopt Budget Resolution No. 2021-075 Amending the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Budget to Appropriate Available Funds in the Amount of $59,652 for the “J” and “K” Rehabilitation Project

  • Adopt Resolution No 2021-076 Authorizing the City Manager to Execute Grant Agreements with the California Department of Transportation for the City of Reedley Active Transportation and Parkway Master Plan 

Workshop

Joseph Kulikoff, President and CEO of Mid Valley Disposal, introduced the discussion of the rerouting plans for the City of Reedley. “It was a fun process and we believe this new change is for the best.” Isaac Kulikoff went over the rerouting plan. “We want to consolidate to a three can system Monday through Friday. You should all have a map of the plan. About 20% of the homes will experience a service change, but that is a small amount. We will have a smaller footprint in the community, which is beneficial to the community. We are not waking up people on one side and another group on the other side. We want to mitigate risks for everyone. We want to start as soon as possible, we are looking at August 3rd, which is before Labor Day. Part of the notification includes a bilingual trifold brochure that will be mailed out on Friday, July 30th and again 2 weeks before the rerouting takes place. Our dispatchers will be courteous and understandable in case we get calls that someone did not receive the notifications and have to go back and pick up their disposable waste. We will be walking door to door to pass out flyers to communicate the change. We have a list with 2,600 contacts which we will email blast.  We will also use our social media, our website, the City website, and the City social media.” 

Administrative Business 

City Manager Nicole Zieba went over their request to reorganize the Community Development Department. “The Community Development Department is made up of two divisions: planning and building. Planning oversees the land use entitlement process, while building oversees the construction inspection of approved technical expertise and understanding of specialized and numerous laws, regulations, policies and codes that are applicable to land use planning and construction activities. The proposed “Community Development Technician” job classification will allow for a greater level of assistance to be offered to both the planning and building divisions, by employing a technician-level role that has exposure and direct input to both land use entitlement process and the building permit process. It is critically important you understand just how busy this department is. We used to do 20-30 inspections a week, now we are doing 20-30 inspections a day. I have three of my city manager friends asking if they can borrow our inspector or recommend consultants, which are booked. This is not a Reedley issue, this is a valley issue. Frankly, I think it is a statewide issue.” 

Council Reports

  • Councilmember Robert Beck:  “We had the Five Cities meeting. Hopefully we put the branding to sleep. The decision should be announced next week with what the name will be.” 

  • Councilmember Ray Soleno: “People were happy to hear there were 33 citations from the fourth of July for illegal fireworks.”

  • Councilmember Anita Betancourt – No report. 

  • Councilmember Matthew Tuttle: “Last week, the Christmas tree came in. We were right about the money that was raised for it. The Fiesta Run is our annual run scheduled for October 9, 2021. This is a 2 mile and 6 mile run/walk.” 

  • Mayor Mary Fast: “I attended the Fourth of July Senior Luncheon. I also attended the Upper Kings Water Authority meeting where we voted on the budget. There is a new General Manager, David Merritt, for the board. Earlier today I met with Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula. I live near the streets of K and J and I see the barricades are up, so thank you for the pavement.”

Staff Reports

  • City Manager Nicole Zieba: “Covid cases have dramatically dropped and have been low so I stopped reporting on this. Now, we are at 80 cases, and it’s increasing rapidly nationwide. It was reported we received $2.8 million for the sewer. Assemblymember Arambula also helped us get the funds so I want to acknowledge that since the newspapers did not cover this.”

  • Community Services Director Sarah Reid: “There will be a site visit for the Camacho Park project. In the past, the City of Reedley hosted an event where all City Councilmembers were present and they went all out. This time, however, the State has asked us that they do not want any people present during the site visit.”

  • Police Chief Jose Garza: “Next week we will host our “Cops, Jocks and Kids” camp. We are excited to host the 30 campers. School starts in three weeks so we will have our police officers in full force to make sure drivers are slowing down and so students can cross the streets safely.” 

Closed Session

The Council went to Closed Session at 8:03 p.m. 

Adjournment

The Council resumed from the closed session at 8:17 p.m. With no further discussion, Mayor Mary Fast adjourned the City Council meeting at 8:18 p.m.

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at Documenters-admin@thefresnoland.com with “Correction Request” in the subject line.

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