Documenter: Ramiro Merino

Here’s what you need to know:

  • The American League Post 100 is hosting the Gold Star and Fallen Hero Families Memorial Tree Ceremony on Sunday, September 26, which honors the heroes who died while serving our communities, and their families. 

  • The Council approved a budget amendment to the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Traffic Fund in the amount of $11,275 to up-fit the new Police Harley Davidson motorcycle with the necessary equipment and installation costs so it may be placed in service. This motorcycle was awarded in honor of fallen Officer Jonathan Diaz. 

  • The Council voted to support two resolutions at the 2021 League of California Cities (LOCC) Annual Conference, where Councilmember Orth will vote in support of the both resolutions. 

  • The Council voted to approve the Cost Allocation Plan for Fiscal Year 2021-2022, which allows the central service departments to distribute the costs of providing services to other departments. 

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 Board 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 7:32 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21, 2021 by Mayor Stuart Lyons. The meeting was streamed live virtually through Zoom, where three other participants joined the meeting virtually. The in-person meeting consisted of the five council members, which included Mayor Stuart Lyons, and Councilmembers Patricia Matthews, 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, Public Works Director Rivera, and City Clerk Avalos. The Zoom camera was directed towards the Council, where City Council Members were visible. The Councilmembers did not wear masks during the meeting. 

Public Comment

  • Dave Brown from the American Legion Post 100 in Lemoore spoke about upcoming events. He said “This Sunday, we’re having the Gold Star and Fallen Hero Families Memorial Tree Ceremony. The memorial recognizes all Gold Star and Fallen Hero Families and the legacy of their loved ones who have paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the military, law enforcement, as firefighters and other first responders. A Gold Star and Fallen Hero Family are the family members of those heroes who have died while serving our communities. May we always remember that our fallen heroes do not serve on their own. Each has loved ones who are left behind to carry on their legacy.” 

  • The City Clerk read a letter submitted by Benjamin Kahikina, the President and CEO of the Greater Kings County Chamber of Commerce. “Recently, our organization made the very difficult decision to postpone our Public Safety Appreciation Luncheon – it is tradition that our organization awards and recognizes 18 stellar departments/service agencies within Kings County. For various reasons provided by 13 of these departments, they have decided to withdraw from the function. Only 5 departments have provided us with information regarding an honoree, to which the GKC Chamber has every intention of recognizing at a later date, to be determined. In light of this sad news, we are happy to share the the GKC Chamber will be facilitating our greatly anticipated “Rocking the Arbor ” on October 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd with a great lineup of entertainment and vendors. Following the month of November we are excited to announce our “Holiday Stroll”, in partnership with the Lemoore Downtown Merchants (a huge shout out to Sheila Taylor of LRPD). This partnership will continue in the form of our Lemoore Christmas Parade.”

Ceremonial/Presentation

There were no ceremonial presentations. 

Department and City Manager Reports

  • Public Works Director Frank Rivera stated, “We will hopefully start in a couple of weeks so you can expect to start seeing activity in the north part of town.” 

  • Police Chief Kendall stated that the police officer awarded the 2021 Officer of the Year will be recognized before the Council at a future date as the Public Safety Luncheon had been cancelled. He also reported that the department has hired two new reserved officers and are currently in training for the next 6 months. 

  • Assistant City Manager Michelle Speer said “We have seen a rise in Covid cases. We currently have five employees out due to Covid, but today seven of them returned back to work. We are currently in the process for the 2021-2022 audit. We hope to have it completed for Council by December 31st so please keep your fingers crossed. Lastly, on November 10th, we will have an Employee Appreciation Breakfast where we ask the Council if you would be interested in making breakfast. We will provide more details soon. 5460 

Consent Calendar

The Council unanimously voted to approve all 9 agenda items on the consent calendar:

  • 3-1: Approval – Minutes – Special Meeting – August 17, 2021

  • 3-2: Approval – Minutes – Regular Meeting – August 17, 2021

  • 3-3: Approval – Second Reading – Ordinance 2021-05 – Authorizing an Amendment to the Contract between the City of Lemoore and Board of Administration of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System

  • 3-4: Approval – Budget Amendment – 2020 Police Motorcycle Up-fit

  • 3-5: Approval – Budget Amendment and Purchase of BIO ENERGIZER from Probiotic Solutions

  • 3-6: Approval – Denial of Claim for Ms. Valarie Charleston

  • 3-7: Approval – Budget Amendment – Homeland Security Grant Police Radios

  • 3-8: Approval – Revisions of Schedule 4 – Position Allocation of the City of Lemoore Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Budget

  • 3-9: Approval – Denial of Claim for Mrs. Paulette Jones

Public Hearing

There were no public hearings. 

New Business

The Council discussed the city positions for the 2021 League of California Cities (LOCC) Annual Conference. City Manager Nathan Olson stated “This resolution authorizes the City’s voting delegate to vote on two resolutions to be considered at the annual conference to be held in Sacramento, CA from September 22-24. 

  • Resolution 1: Resolution of the League of California Cities (“Cal Cities”) Calling on the State Legislature to pass legislation that provides for a fair and equitable distribution of the Bradley Burns 1% local sales tax from in-state online prices, based on data where products are shipped to, and that rightfully takes into consideration the impacts that fulfillment centers have on host cities but also provides a fair share to California cities that do not and/or cannot have a fulfillment center within their jurisdiction. 

  • Resolution 2: A resolution calling upon the Governor and the legislature to provide necessary funding for CUPC to fulfill its obligation to inspect railroad lines to ensure that operators are removing illegal dumping, graffiti and homeless encampments that degrade quality of life and results in increased public safety concerns for communities and neighborhoods that abutt the railroad right-of-way. 

The Council members voted to authorize the voting delegate to vote in support of both resolutions at the conference. 

Assistant Manager Michelle Speer went over the resolution regarding adopting the Cost Allocation Plan for Fiscal Year 202-2021. Speer said “Cost allocation is a budgeting principle that allows central service departments, such as Finance and City Clerk, to distribute the costs of providing services to other departments in a fair and equitable manner. It is recommended that each year the City of Lemoore amend its cost allocation plan that calculates the value of the services each central service department provides to City-owned enterprise departments. The cost allocation plan is important because not all City departments are funded in the same way. Most City departments are funded by taxpayer’s dollars though the City’s general fund because they generally serve the public at large. The City’s enterprise fund departments, on the other hand, are funded by fee-for-service dollars, in which citizens pay for the services they receive directly. We take a look at the metrics  on how much time it took to perform the tasks and put a value on those metrics to determine how much is owed.” Councilmember Gornick asked if there is a better method for evaluating the time and putting a value on the services provided, to which Speer said there might be, but this is the method they are proposing for fiscal year 2021-2021. The Council voted to approve this resolution to adopt the cost allocation plan. 

Brief City Council Reports and Request

  • Council Member Orth: “I am asking if we can have a roundtable with the public where we create goals, objectives. I would like to have this as soon as possible.I watched the BMX Gold Cup. I want to give a big shout out to everyone for your hard work.”

  • Council Member Gornick: “I want to congratulate the operators at the golf course. A lot of residents are going out and using it.” 

  • Councilmember Chaney: “I want to congratulate the officer for being selected as the Lemoore Police Officer of the Year. I want to wish him the best of luck. ” 

  • Mayor Pro Tem Matthews: “I will echo everyone’s congratulations. I attended the Brew Fest, it was hot but good. I attended the Salute to Ag Dinner and presented certificates on behalf of the City. I volunteered with a couple of Dutch Bros workers to pick up trash at Lions Park. I also want to bring it to Council with your consent if we can have another friendly competition where we host a Dog Food Drive where we donate it back to the Valley Animal Haven.”

  • Mayor Lyons: “I would like to thank Mr. Brown for showing up tonight, and Mrs. Solis for asking questions. Thank you everyone. We are adjourned into a closed session.”

Adjournment

With no further discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Matthews adjourned the City Council meeting at 8:35 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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