Documenter: Ramiro Merino
Here’s what you need to know:
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Police Chief John Golden was presented with the Certification of Completion for the California Peace Officer Standards and Trainings.
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The Kerman Harvest Festival is scheduled for Thursday, September 16 through Sunday, September 19, 2021, with four days filled with fun, food, fair rides, and more.
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The Council approved to adopt the findings for the Type 20 Off-Sale Beer & Wine Alcohol License for Tony’s Fresh Market, which would allow for the grocery store to sell alcohol.
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Dr. Brandon Taylor from Fresno State presented the draft of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and it’s findings.
Purpose of Agency:
The City Council serves as the policy-making board of the City. The Kerman City Council has five members, which includes the Mayor and four Council members. The Mayor is elected for a two-term, and Council members are elected for four-year terms. The City Council meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at the Kerman City Hall, 850 S. Madera Ave.
Kerman City Council Board Member Duties
Council members are the leaders and policy makers elected to represent various segments of the community and to concentrate on policy issues that are responsive to citizens’ needs and wishes. The City Manager is appointed by the City Council to carry out policy and ensure that the entire community is being served. Kerman City Administrator, Sonia Hall, handles the City’s day-to-day business with an “open-door policy” to community residents and businesses, where comments, concerns and suggestions are always welcome.
Kerman City Council Board Members
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Gary Yep, Mayor
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Kevin Nehring, Council Member for District 1
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Jennifer Coleman, Council Member for District 2
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Ismael Herrera, Mayor Pro Tem and Council Member for District 3
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Bill Nijjer, Council Member for District 4
The Scene
The Kerman City Council meeting was held in-person in the Kerman City Chambers on Wednesday, August 25, 2021. Mayor Pro Tem Ismael Herrera called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. Councilmembers present in-person included Councilmember Ismael Herrera, Kevin Nehring, and Bill Nijjer. Mayor Gary Yep and Councilmember Jennifer Coleman both joined the meeting virtually. There were about six people present in the Chambers, including Parks and Recreation Director Philip Gallegos, Parks and Recreation Supervisor Theresa Johnson, Police Chief John Golden, and Police Chief Jeff Dun. City Attorney Hilda Montoy zoomed in for the meeting. Those present in the Chambers wore masks the duration of the meeting. You can find the agenda for the City Council meeting here
Presentations:
Chief Jeff Dun presented a Certificate of Completion of the California Peace Officer Standards and Training to Chief John Golden. Chief Dun said “I appreciate this time to be here. This helps set standards and training for law enforcement professionals. There is only one certificate required for police officers. With 38 years of service, he has a perfect track record of serving. This is not an easy feat as this is certificate number 1,789. This is a relatively low number across the law enforcement field, where thousands of certificates are awarded to police officers. Thank you for all of your years of work and for many more to go. Chief, congratulations.” There was a standing ovation from the City staff and community members present at the in-person meeting.
Chief Golden stated “I am humbled and happy to achieve the executive certificate. I knew this would be in my future. I took courses that would allow me to work towards this certificate. We are lucky to have officers working towards the community. On my behalf, I knew I had to work hard to make sure I was right up there with them. Thank you.” Councilmembers all praised the Chief. “Congratulations Chief Golden. Thank you for your service. I am very proud of you and your officers. I see how you interact with them. That is a reflection of your leadership and how you set an example. Thank you and congratulations.” There were about 6 Kerman Police Officers that walked into the Chambers to take a picture with the Chief. Fellow Councilmembers also took pictures with the Chief.
Request to Address Council
A representative of the Kerman Chamber of Commerce presented the annual Kerman Harvest Festival. ”This year we will have two stages since we have to spread out. Thank you to the City for allowing us to use the Community Center and city streets. Our carnival will be brought to us by a new company, which will provide us with new rides. The opening ceremony will be on Thursday, September 16, at 7:15 a.m. The activities and entertainment are all listed. Pre-sale tickets will start on September 1st. We are still looking for vendors so they can contact us if interested. The dates for the festival are for September 16th through the 19th, 2021.”
Consent Calendar
The City Council unanimously approved the four items on the consent calendar.
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(A): Minutes
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(B): Payroll
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Report: 07/11/21 – 07/24/21: $175,198.62; Retro Pay & Other: $1,516.18; Overtime: $7,175.31; Standby: $1,572.56; Comp Time Earned: 45.00
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(C): Warrants
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Nos. 22329-22444 $939,537.75 ACH $80,401.75
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(D): Resolution Adopting City of Kerman Investment Policy (CC)
Public Hearings
Mayor Pro Tem Ismael Herrera opened the meeting for Public Hearing regarding the resolution to adopt the findings of public convenience or necessity for Type 20 Off-Sale Beer & Wine Alcohol License for Tony’s Fresh Market Inc., located at 15057 W Whitesbridge Rd. Mayor Gary Yep recused himself from the public hearing due to personal interest.
“Tony’s Fresh Market, Inc. submitted their application to sell beer and wine as a component of the grocery business. The Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Board has determined that an undue concentration exists within Tract 40.01. Per the August 12 ABC Active Off-Sale Retail License report, there are 10 active Off-Sale licenses whereas six is the number of licenses allowed to avoid an undue concentration. Tony’s Market license request would be the 11th license in the area, if approved. The Kerman Police Department identified minimal concerns related to public nuisance, vagrancy, and loitering at the shopping center.”
“We have customers coming in daily and asking us for our beer/wine section but they walk away because we do not sell alcohol.” stated a representative for Tony’s Market. “We want to be Council members that are welcoming for businesses to start in Kerman. Knowing the over saturation of alcohol sales in other cities, we do not want those same issues here. Currently I do not object to the actual licensing, but in the future I will since we need to regulate this” stated Councilmember Nijjer.
“Those types of customers typically don’t cause problems. It’s the person that comes through that buys 1-2 bottles that wants to drink it in their cars as they drive home or in the parking lot or alley” stated the representative. Councilmember Nijjer said “I want to keep the language in there, so we can be consistent with the other stores.” Councilmember Coleman said “I am comfortable with or without the language as well.” Mayor Pro Tem Herrera said “I think denying this request would be unfair. It is not up to us to establish the marketplace for the community.” The representative also added “We want to be transparent. We want to grow in the community and help people from the community get jobs. We do not have a problem on our behalf that the language is included.” The four Councilmembers voted 4 to 0 on the resolution to move forward with the request as submitted. At this time, Mayor Gary Yep was invited back into the meeting virtually.
Department Reports
Parks and Recreation Director Philip Gallegos introduced the 2021 Draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan Overview. Gallejos stated “For all of the years that I have been here, the City has supported the Recs and Parks Department. I want to thank my department for all their work, including the volunteers. I would also like to thank Theresa Johnson for being the lead on this Master Plan.”
Dr. Brandon Taylor from Fresno State presented on the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. “The Park and Recreation Master Plan is a dynamic plan that focuses on the community’s future, including short, medium, and long-range action and implementation strategies. It creates a clear set of goals, policies, and objectives that guide staff toward development, redevelopment, and enhancing parks and recreation systems, including facilities, amenities, programs, services, operations, and finances. This plan has been guided by the City of Kerman’s Park and Recreation Department dedication to promoting quality of life by creating community through people, parks, and programs for residents. Over the last two years Parks and Recreation Department staff, Recreation Commission and Fresno State have worked on developing the City’s first Parks and Creation Master Plan to help guide future planning, policy, and development of the City’s Parks and Recreation system. What was planned as a one-year process, turned into two years due to Covid. We collected data and feedback through a variety of sources including public input, stakeholders, staff, and public and virtual meetings. Fresno State also conducted a city-wide statistically valid survey with residents having the opportunity to complete the survey online. They also provided a needs assessment, conducted an inventory of assets and program locations, a level of service analysis, and a community profile that included demographics. The master plan will be a document that guides decision-makers for the next eight to ten years to improve the parks and recreation system as the community envisioned it today. Due to the Covid restrictions, conducting a needs assessment in 2-3 years might be necessary to receive updated feedback from the community.”
Closed Session
The Council went to closed session at 7:50 p.m.
Adjournment:
The Council resumed from closed session at 8:39 p.m. City Attorney Hilda Montoy stated that there were no actions taken during the closed session to report. She did state that Councilmember Coleman recused herself from agenda item 7B: Labor Negotiators with the Kerman Police Officers Association due to personal interest.
Since there was no further discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Ismael Herrera adjourned the City Council meeting at 8:41 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.