Documenter: Ramiro Merino
Here’s what you need to know:
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The Council approved to award the bid to Miracle Playsystems for 14 shade structures for the Lemoore Youth Sports Complex in the amount of $176,355.
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The 2020 Census report for Lemoore states that the city’s “population balanced”, which means the current district boundaries will still meet the equal requirements of California’s Fair Maps Act.
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The Council voted to move forward with keeping the membership of the Ad Hoc Committee to four residents.
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 D
The Scene
The Lemoore City Council meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021 by Mayor Pro Tem Patricia Matthews. The meeting was streamed live virtually through Zoom, where two other participants joined the meeting virtually. The in-person meeting consisted of four out of the five council members, which included Mayor Pro Tem and Councilmembers Patricia Matthews, Jim Chaney, Frank Gornick, and David Orth. City staff and contract employees also present included City Manager Olson, 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
There was no public comment.
Ceremonial / Presentation
There were no ceremonial presentations.
Department and City Manager Reports
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Police Department: “We have the Reason for the Season event coming up, where we will hand out wrapped toys to children in the community.”
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Public Works Department: “We have a couple of new businesses that will be opening up soon. We have site reviews for Panda Express Restaurant, Johnny Quick is rebranding to Day and Night Market, and Me-N-Ed’s wants to open another one by K-Mart.”
Consent Calendar
The Council voted to approve all four agenda items on the consent calendar.
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3-1: Approval – Minutes – Regular Meeting – November 16, 2021
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3-2: Approval – Resolution 2021-30 – Committing Ambulance Fine Revenues for the Purpose of Emergency Medical Service Training and Equipment for the Lemoore Volunteer Fire Department
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3-3 Approval – Bid Award – Lemoore Youth Sports Complex Shade Structures
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3-4 Approval – Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Lemoore and Diamante Catering, LLC.
Public Hearing
There was no public hearing.
New Business
Report and Recommendation – Resolution 2021-31 – Declaring Two Parcels Owned by the City of Lemoore as Surplus Land and Authorize the City Manager to Send Surplus Land Notices of Availability. The parcels are located on the south side of East D Street, between Oleander Avenue and Smith Avenue (APNs 023-020-065 and 023-020-064)
City Planner Steve Brandt said “This is the first step in a process to sell the city-owned property located on the south side of East D Street between Oleander Avenue and Smith Avenue. This action is a required step for the disposition of surplus properties owned by public agencies to make them available for development under the Surplus Lands Act (“SLA”) in State law (Government Code section 54221). The Surplus Lands Act requires that before a local agency such as the City takes any action to dispose of (sell or lease) property, it must declare the property to be “surplus land”. Unless the surplus land is exempt, the agency must give written notice of its availability to any local public entity, including schools and park districts, within whose jurisdiction the property is located, as well as to housing sponsors that have notified the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) of their interest in surplus property. The City purchased some parcel. It was purchased with the intent to be used for affordable housing. We will notify housing developers who are interested in affordable housing.” The Council members voted to approve this motion as presented.
Report and Recommendation – City Council Rules and Procedures – Ad Hoc Committee
Mellissa said “At the last meeting, consensus was received by Council to establish an Ad Hoc committee regarding the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. It was discussed to possibly appoint residents for each district and the meetings to be held the second Tuesday of the month. Staff want direction on how to move forward. Council can decide to move forward with the current rules and appoint up to four members of the public or Council has the authority to make changes to the rules. If the council decides to make changes to the rules, the document will come back for approval at the January 4, 2022 meeting.” Councilmember Orth asked “How high is the risk of increasing the membership from four citizens to six?” City Attorney Lerner said it is low-risk. The Council voted to approve the motion as presented.
Report and Recommendation – Lemoore Redistricting Process
“Every 10 years, after the census is reported, cities have to rewrite their districts. The 2020 census data was received and it shows that the City of Lemoore is population balanced. This means that the current district boundaries will still meet the equal requirements of California’s Fair Maps Act. Lemoore has the option to retain the existing map without drawing and holding hearings on new alternative maps. Our consultant with NDC said we can use the existing map or rewrite it.” The Council voted to approve the motion and move forward with the existing map.
Brief City Council Reports and Request
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Council Member Orth: “I would like to thank the military for your sacrifice. All the men and women who have perished, my hats off to you. I served breakfast to the city employees. I got to ride the float at the parade. Downtown looks good with the lights.”
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Council Member Gornick: “I had a good time at the Employee Breakfast. I was not able to attend the Christmas Parade but my granddaughter and daughter were there. My granddaughter said it was fantastic.”
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Councilmember Chaney: “I want to thank the fire department for everything they do.”
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Mayor Pro Tem Matthews: “I missed the holiday stroll as I was feeling under the weather but I heard it was a great time. I missed the last food giveaway but I heard that 300 people were able to get food. The next one is this Saturday at 9 a.m. The Christmas Parade was a great event and nicely attended. Maybe we can look into people who like to ride floats to also help decorate? Breakfast with Santa is on December 12th at the Lemoore Recreation Center. It’s $7 for anyone over 5 years old and children under 5 years are free. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
Adjournment
With no further discussion, Mayor Pro Tem Patricia Matthews adjourned the City Council meeting at 8:31 p.m.
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