Documenter: Heather Halsey Martinez

Here’s what you need to know:

  • After a month-long hiatus, the Clovis City Council approved 19 items on the consent calendar, including the preparation of an EIR for Heritage Grove, street closure for a coffee and beer fest Oct. 30, waiving $10,000 in permit fees owed to the city in exchange for use of the Rodeo Grounds and various large expenses.

  • Further continued a request to rezone 1.6 acres of property from medium density residential to very high density residential for a proposed three-story 40-unit multi-family development near Old Town Clovis. 

  • Approved a request from the Nisei Farmers League to send letters to Senators Feinstein and Padilla supporting the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 to include packing houses and processing facilities.

  • Approved adoption of the City of Clovis 2020-2021 consolidated annual performance and evaluation report (CAPER) for expenditure of community development block grant funds.

The Scene

The Clovis City Council meeting took place on September 7, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was made available via Webex and YouTube Live. The agenda no longer states that face masks are required for those who attend in person due to COVID-19 and none of the council members wore face masks.

Names of officials:

Jose Flores, Mayor (also Chief of Police, State Center Community College District Police Department)

Lynne Ashbeck, Mayor Pro Tem (also Senior Vice President Community Engagement and Population Wellness, Valley Children’s Healthcare)

Vong Mouanoutoua, Council Member (also External Relations and Project Development Director, Community Medical Foundation)

Bob Whalen, Council Member (also Fresno County Deputy District Attorney)

Drew Bessinger, Council Member (also Chief of Police, Fresno Yosemite International Airport)

The meeting opened with Ashbeck leading the council in the Pledge of Allegiance. Bessinger was not in council chambers, but was participating via Webex. His voice sounded hoarse like he was sick.

Ashbeck then read a proclamation honoring the 40th Anniversary of Hinds Hospice and recognition of Hinds Hospice week as Sept. 6 to 11, 2021. “Hospice isn’t about giving up hope, but redefining hope,” she said. Nancy Hinds was in council chambers to accept the proclamation. Whalen, Bessinger and Mouanoutoua all commented on the importance of Hinds Hospice and thanked Hinds for her service to the community. 

From there, the meeting was open for public comments, but no one spoke in the chambers or online. 

Actions

  • Approved minutes from August 2 meeting. 

  • Approved waiving the normal purchasing process for Storage Area Network equipment from AMS.ent for the amount of $88,284.89.

  • Approved amending the 2021-2022 planning and development services budget and authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement with the Clovis Rodeo Association for use of the Rodeo Grounds several times per year for various reasons. 

    • Staff recommends waiving approximately $10,000 in building and engineering permit fees owed to the city for a pavilion project in exchange for use of the Rodeo Grounds up to five times per year for three years. 

  • Approved a street closure for a Coffee and Beer Festival on Pollasky Avenue between Spruce Avenue and Park Creek Drive on Saturday, Oct. 30. 

    • Requested by Beal Properties, owner of Rare Earth Coffee. 

  • Received and filed the July 2020 to June 2021 Community and economic Development Department report and department overview. 

  • Approved a request to rename Wrenwood Avenue from Fowler Avenue to the west to Amber Avenue to the east as “Jenna Prandini Drive” just north of Clovis High School.

  • Approved amending the fire department 2021-2022 budget to reflect an award amount of $31,000 in 2020 State Homeland Security Grant program to fund fire department equipment.

  • Approved amending the city’s 2021-2022 position allocation plan by deleting a separate engineer series and creating a single engineer series in the budget. 

  • Approved amending the city’s position allocation plan by adding a Deputy City Planner position and deleting a Principal Office Assistant position within the Planning and Development Services department. 

  • Approved a one-year contract extension with focus packaging for city-wide janitorial supplies from Sept. 22, 2021 to Sept. 21, 2022 for $54,813. 

  • Approved waiving the normal purchasing process and approved the upgrade and sole source purchase of Tyler Technologies Enterprise Law Enforcement Records Management System for $124,000. 

  • Approved waiving the purchasing process and approved the purchase of dispatch console workstations for the Clovis Police Department 911 communications center for $244,017. 

  • Received and filed the Planning and Development Services annual department newsletter.

  • Approved authorizing the city manager to execute a consultant agreement between the City of Clovis and LSA for the preparation of an EIR and related services covering approximately 888 acres of property located on the north side of Shepherd Ave., between North Willow and North Sunnyside Avenues. 

    • The total consultant cost is $467,985, which includes $425,485 for the EIR plus a 10% contingency. 

    • The city will impose an administrative cost of 15%, which is $70,197 and will be paid by Heritage Development Company. 

  • Approved authorizing the City Manager to executive a consulting agreement between the city and LSA for the preparation of a SB-2 grant funded technical studies addressing biological resources, cultural resources and ag resources. 

    • The study area will be approximately 1,322 acres located on the north side of Shepherd Avenue, between North Willow and North Sunnyside Avenues. 

    • The city was awarded $310,000 from an SB-2 planning grant from the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development to implement projects and programs that will streamline housing approvals and accelerate housing production. 

    • The total consultant cost for these technical studies is $82,555.

  • Approve final acceptance for CIP 18-14 Well 11A pump and motor improvements for $748,192.

  • Approve final acceptance for CIP 21-01, rubberized cape seal 2021 for $955,687.

  • Approve final acceptance for CIP 20-07 fire station 6 off-site improvements for approximately $1.3 million.

  • Approve waiving the formal bidding procedures and authorizing the city manager to execute a contract with SCS Field Services to replace and install landfill gas extraction wells at the Clovis Landfill for approximately $84,350. 

  • Approve appointment of Jennifer Willems to the Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District. 

    • Karl Peterson, served as the city’s representative since 2014, but recently submitted his resignation

    • Jennifer Willems is the environmental program manager for the Central District with the Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Division. 

      • Steve Mulligan, District Manager of the Consolidated Mosquito Abatement District Board, strongly recommends her.

    • Flores moved this item up on the agenda. 

    • Serpa presented the item. 

    • Whalen asked her about her views and she said she supports the “sterile male” technique and that it helps to reduce the population. He said they do get questions from the public about it and asked her if she could report back once a year. 

  • Approve a request from the Nisei Farmers League for letters of support for amendments to the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021 to include packing houses and processing facilities.

    • City Manager Luke Serpa presented the item. 

    • President of the Nisei Farmers League Manuel Cunha, Jr. was in council chambers 

      • Cunha said that workers in the field were going to get citizenship cards, but they were not going to give them to those working in packing sheds. 

      • He said the letter will tell the Senators that they need to include all members of the” family”.

    • Bill Smittcamp of Wawona Frozen Foods was in council chambers to show his support. He said they employ more than 1,000 workers and without the amendment to the bill they would be hard-pressed to find enough employees to process their peaches, because it is already difficult. “It is imperative that we have the labor force to do what we need to do,” Smittcamp said. 

    • Peter Aguayo, general counsel for the Nisei Farmers League, was also in chambers. 

    • Bessinger said he thought it was important to support this because their, “jobs depend on ag.” 

    • Ashbeck said she strongly supports it and commented that Cunha is, “the most tireless advocate she has ever seen.”

    • Whalen also said he supported it and thought it was straightforward. 

  • Approved adoption of the City of Clovis 2020-2021 consolidated annual performance and evaluation report (CAPER) for expenditure of community development block grant funds.

    • Community and Economic Development Director Andy Haussler presented the item.

    • HUD requires the city council to adopt a CAPER each year reporting on the previous year’s activity in completing CDBG projects and expending funds. 

    • The city listed highlights from the year:

      • A Community Service Officer focused solely on low to moderate-income census tracts as designated by HUD, which provided 2,491 “individual services” ranging from written warnings and citations to towing vehicles to resolving community complaints.

      • Emergency housing payment program that provided up to 3 months of rent or mortgage payments for 234 households. 

      • Senior meals program provided approximately 24,000 meals to 840 Clovis seniors.

    • The agenda packet stated that in June 2021, the City was notified it had received a $5 million grant from the State of California CALHome Program and that a portion would be used for mortgage assistance. 

  • Further continued a request to amend the General Plan to rezone 1.6 acres of property located along the east side of Osmun Avenue and the west side of Baron Avenue from medium density residential to very high density residential for future development. 

Flores opened the meeting for City Manager comments by Serpa. Serpa gave an update on COVID and he said we are in the middle of a third wave. He said the deaths haven’t climbed as fast in this wave as the previous two, but they are still climbing.  He said they have had COVID cases among staff, but they didn’t catch them at work. He said 51.7% of Fresno County residents have had at least one dose of the vaccine versus 77.5% for California. 

Serpa said the enterprise canal is down for repairs and they are using wells to keep the water pressure up. He said complaints come from the northeast part of town first and they have received one complaint. He said they may have pressures lower than people are used to seeing, but they are still safe and above requirements. 

Flores then opened the meeting for council comments:

  • Bessinger said he received an email about an addendum in the sanctuary bill disallowing law enforcement from keeping dangerous felons behind bars. He said he wrote letters to lawmakers and would have brought it to the council if he could have been there. 

  • Mouanoutoua said “great job” on the Jenna Prandini event. He said that it is great to see positive news and Clovis residents are defending them on social media when negative news comes out. He said the 9/11 memorial event will be at 9 a.m. on Saturday and that several monuments will be unveiled that day. 

  • Ashbeck said there was a CTA meeting last month. She also said the Jenna Prandini street naming was a great idea. She asked if there is a street signage replacement program because the signs in the southeast area are no longer brown, but are looking green. She said she has also seen a brown metal desk sitting out on the southwest corner of Temperance and Gettysburg for at least a month and asked if it could be disposed of. She said she is going to miss the joint meeting with Clovis Unified on Oct. 11 because she will be out of town.

  • Flores thanked staff for putting together the Jenna Prandini event. He also thanked the council for supporting the amendment and the Smittcamps. “If your parents work in Clovis, you’ve just won the lottery,” he said. He went on to say that even if they can’t afford to live in Clovis, they can get the “best education in the region” because their parent has a job at the Wawona packing facility. Flores also asked if they can get video from the gas station on Willow and Nees Avenue for a fender bender that happened around noon. He said the Fresno Police Department didn’t come, but the Clovis Police Department did and he would like to publish the video. He said it was out of their jurisdiction but they “took care of the victims of that collision.” 

The meeting then moved into closed session at 7:19 p.m. to discuss existing litigation, Paul Lee v. City of Clovis and public employee employment of the city manager. 

Flores said they would not have actions to report back. 

The next meetings will be Sept. 13 and 20, Oct. 4, 11 and 18. 

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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