Documenter: Ramiro Merino
Here’s what you need to know:
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The City Council recognized Police Officer Brandon Gresham the Lemoore Police Officer of the Year and Firefighter Chris Scaldi as the Lemoore Volunteer Firefighter of the Year.
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The Council was provided with the first reading of Ordinance 2021-08, Adding Chapter 1.5 to Title 4 of the Lemoore Municipal Code Implementing Mandatory Organic Waste Disposal Reduction SB 1383, which would make the City compliant with the proper disposal of organic waste.
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
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Stuart Lyons, Mayor and Council Member for District A
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Patricia Matthews, Mayor Pro Tem and Council Member for District E
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Jim Chaney, Council Member for District B
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Frank Gornick, Council Member for District C
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David Orth, Council Member for District
The Scene
The Lemoore City Council meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 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 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. There were also approximately ten volunteer firefighters present as well. 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
There were no public comments.
Ceremonial / Presentation
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American Legion 100 – Lemoore Police Officer of the Year
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Police Chief Kendall presented Brandon Gresham as the Police Officer of the Year. “Officer Gresham takes pride by being proactive and making a difference. He has received numerous citizen citations, where numerous have described him as respectful, professional and empathetic. Officer Greshamn places tremendous values on public safety and always goes above and beyond in public safety. In the past year, he has responded to approximately 1,607 calls for service. 1,107 of those calls were self-initiated. He investigated 383 cases, issued 273 citations, made 712 traffic stops and made 350 arrests. Supervisors have recognized Gresham;s outstanding work ethic and genuine desire to make a difference inthe City of Lemoore. In addition he was recognized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving during 2021 MADD Law Enforcement Awards for his 34 DUI arrests. He continues to expand his knowledge and skills by successfully testing for and acquiring positions within the department.”
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Lemoore Firefighter of the Year
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Firefighter Chief Brue German presented the American Legion Award Firefighter Certificate of Committee Award to Chris Scaldi. “This is awarded for outstanding public service benefiting our community, state and nation. Chrsi Scaldi joined the Lemoore Volunteer Fire DEpartment in May of 1999. He has served on the department’s rating committee as well as membership committee. He has also been the chair of many committees at one time. He has served the department as crew captain, secretary, treasure, vice president, president and is currently serving as the second assistant fire chief for the department. Chris responded to 957 calls for service in 2020 and has accumulated more than 13,538 calls for the service during his 22 and a half years with the department, which include fire, public assistance, and medical calls, as well as department meetings, training, and exercises. Chris is a loving father and husband. He is also a continuation teacher at Jamison High School where he is a former State Teacher of the Year for Continuation Schools. Not only has he volunteered his time in the fire department, he sat as a city council member and coached numerous years of high school football. Chris has dedicated his time not only to the children of Lemoore but to the community of Lemoore, which shows his commitment to making this city something he is proud of.”
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Department and City Manager Reports
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Assistant City Manager Michelle Speer: “We are well on our way into the 2020 audit. Our auditors are going to be on-site next week. We are hoping to have the audit report in January or February for your review and approval. We have also begun to transfer to the new Tyler Technologies and will be doing so for the next few years.”
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Public Works Director Frank Rivera: “The Road Maintenance Project started last week. Next week, they will finish striping. SB1 we closed bids this week and will award the winning bid next week. There was a request to install a light at the corner of Cedar and 19th Avenue. We have ordered the parts and should be arriving anytime now. We also wanted the Council to know that we can only have the light face towards Cedar and not 19th Avenue because of the high voltage line. Putting the high vaultage or speed line is a problem with PG&E so we will more than likely not be able to do that. It will light up the intersection but it won’t be as bright as we’d like it to be.”
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Chief Kendall: “We held our second annual Memorial Run for Officer Diaz from Huron to Lemoore this morning. We had a really good turnout with about 12 sworn officers running that route as well as the Diaz family. It went well and we finished around noon today. Lastly, we will be participating in no-shave november this year so if you see officers with beards, know that they are doing it to raise funds to support cancer.
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Chief German: “The night before Halloween was a very successful event downtown. I received multiple calls and several emails from downtown business owners and residents about how well attended that was and what a nice event so kudos to our Parks and Rec department. Additionally, I heard National Night Out was well attended. We gave out 600 hotdogs.”
Consent Calendar
The Council unanimously voted to approve agenda items 3-1 and 3-2 on the consent calendar.
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3-1: Approval – Minutes – Regular Meeting – October 19, 2021
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3-2: Approval – Sude Letter Number 1 between the City of Lemoore and the General Association of Service Employees (GASE) Bargaining Unit for MOU 2022
The agenda items 3-3 and 3-4 needed additional information before they could be approved.
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3-3: Approval – Budget Amendment for Comcast Internet Services
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Councilmember Gornick asked if the Kern County internet service was looked into, at which Assistant City Manager Speer said no.
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3-4: Approval – Addendum to the Mitigated Negative Declaration for Farm Lemoore LLC Cannabis Cultivation Project and the Associated Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program
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Councilmember Chaney said he had no questions for this item. Instead, he commented that due to his “personal beliefs, he could not support this item.”
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After additional information was provided for the remaining agenda items, the Council voted and both passed.
Public Hearing
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Introduction and First Reading – Ordinance 2021-08 – Adding Chapter 1.5 to Title 4 of the Lemoore Municipal Code Implementing Mandatory Organic Waste Disposal Reduction – SB 1383
Executive Assistant Amanda Champion stated “Back in March of this year, I gave a lengthy overview of SB 1383, which you can find on the city’s website. This is the first step for the city to become compliant with the regulations for organic waste and disposal. Councilmember Gornick asked if this was also for the water waste plant. City Manager Olson said “If people are sending food waste down the garbage disposal that does end up in the wastewater plant and that increases the solids and it increases the overall cost to maintain that. If people get in the habit of not using the garbage disposal and putting their food in their green cans to go to the landfill, it will have a secondary benefit on the wastewater plant. There will be less solids we have to treat. … recycle does encourage people even more so to try to recycle. A big plant manufacturer would require that any food that was reusable they recycle it to like a food bank instead or even composting it.”
New Business
No new business.
Brief City Council Reports and Request
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Council Member Orth: No report.
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Council Member Gornick: “I want to thank the Chief of Police and everybody for the dedication of opening the call center. It’s good and nice to see everyone there. There were good events downtown this week, so good job.”
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Councilmember Chaney: “I attended the dedication of the dispatch center at the Lemoore Police Department. Very proud of the very nice building. National Night Out was also the same night. This was probably one of the biggest events I saw. I also want to congratulate Officer Scaldi and Firefighter Gresham for their hard work and efforts.”
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Mayor Pro Tem Matthews: “I volunteered with KCOA in Lifeway Church for food distribution on October 29th. There were 224 Lemoore families that were served. The next distribution is November 9th at 9 a.m. at Lifeway Church. I was also contacted by a member of the community that wanted me to inform the community that Dr. Brain Beaudry, chiropractor and former city council member for Lemoore, has passed. He was retired and living in Lake Shastina, California. I also attended the last Rock in the Arbor. I also attended Rudy Salas’s presentation of the two million check to the Lemoore Police Department for a dispatch center.”
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Mayor Lyons: “I would like to thank Mr. Gornick for invocation tonight, that was a new touch and a new direction and I really enjoyed it. I would like to thank Chief Kendall for his efforts in the run I saw him do this morning. And the American Legion Post 100 for the recognition of the Officer of the Year and the Firefighter of the Year awards.”
Adjournment
With no further discussion, Mayor Lyons adjourned the City Council meeting at 8:13 p.m.
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