Documenter: Ramiro Merino
What you need to know
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During public comment, a longtime resident of Lemoore expressed concerns for a proposed feedlot and slaughterhouse to be built at the southwest corner of Highway 198 and Highway 41.
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The Council voted to approve the appointments of Mitchell Couch and Gregory Franklin to the Lemoore Planning Commission.
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The Council voted to approve the appointments of David Brown, Tom Reed, and Marissa Trejo to the ARPA Ad Hoc Committee, which will assist in making recommendations to the Council regarding ARPA funds distributions.
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The Council voted to approve the creation of an Assistant Public Works Director position, and for the revision of the city’s salary matric to include a salary range for a Public Works Inspector I and II.
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The City voted to approve the agreement and budget allocation of $16,000 for HR Dynamics & Performance Management, Inc. to provide a Strategic Planning/Goal Setting process.
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, Jan. 18, 2022 by Mayor Stuart Lyons. The meeting was streamed live virtually through Zoom, where seven participants joined the meeting virtually. Four of the five Council members also joined the meeting via Zoom. This included Mayor Stuart Lyons, Councilmembers Patricia Matthews, Frank Gornick, and David Orth. City staff and contract employees also present included City Manager Olson and City Clerk Avalos. Since the Council members joined via Zoom, they did not wear masks.
Public Comment
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Barbara Hill, resident: “I have some concerns with this issue. A cattle feedlot does not belong across from a large residential area. I don’t want a feedlot across from me. I know he is the ;largest owner of farmland in Kings County. We will be ruined by big ag. We need to keep the small town community. We have been active with this community, we do not want to leave. But we will if the feedlot is built across from us.” City Manager Nathan Olson responded “We have issued a letter in opposition of the feedlot. Feedlots are typically not allowed to be across from residential neighborhoods.”
Ceremonial / Presentation
There were no ceremonies or presentations.
Department and City Manager Reports
There were no department reports.
Consent Calendar
The Council voted to approve all nine agenda items on the consent calendar as presented.
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3-1 Approval – Minutes – Regular Meeting – January 4, 2022
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3-2 Approval – Minutes – Special Meeting – January 5, 2022
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3-3 Approval – Denial of Claim for Mr. Mark Reed
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3-4 Approval – Appointment of Lemoore Planning Commissioners
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3-5 Approval – Appointment of ARPA Ad Hoc Committee Members
The Council voted unanimously to approve the 5 agenda items as presented.
Public Hearing
There was no public hearing.
New Business
5-1: Additional Position and Revision of Existing Positions in Support of Succession Planning for the Public Works Department
Assistant City Manager Michelle Speer stated “Frank Rivera, Public Works Director, is responsible for the oversight of five (5) city divisions; Water, Wastewater, Streets, Fleet and Refuse. Mr. Rivera has informed City management that he intends to retire from the City within the next 18 months. In order to ensure that the City of Lemoore can make a seamless transition to its next Public Works Director, city management is recommending the following actions:
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Creation of an Assistant Public Works Director position. This position will be created and added to the City’s position allocation within the Public Works Department (4230), and assigned a salary range of 116 ($86,481 – $110,374). It is the intent of city management to offer this as an internal recruitment to allow for internal promotion and training.
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Revision of City’s salary matrix to include a salary range for a Public Works Inspector I and II. The current salary matrix included the salary for a Public Works Inspector. The City has been unsuccessful in recruiting for a public works inspector 33 (experience required) and has thus created a Public Works Inspector I/II. The Public Works Inspector I level is a trainee level position, with a recommended salary range of 47 ($43,526 – $55,551). The salary level for the Public Works Inspector II is 57 ($48,080 – $61,363) and is unchanged from the current salary schedule. The intent of city management is to offer the Public Works Inspector I as an internal recruitment to allow for internal promotion and training.
The recommended changes are necessary in order for the public works department to have cohesive and efficient delegations of duties, as well as to help prepare for significant transitions when the current public works director retires. In the past, city management has either absorbed the workload of outgoing directors or hired contractors and delegated duties to other management staff. The decisions were based on lack of funds and the need to assist in alleviating the burden to the general fund. However, in this case, the Public Works Director is responsible for five (5) divisions, and the workload is too great to disseminate. In order to best prepare the City for the future transition, adding an Assistant Public Works Director would significantly help reduce the work product required by a singular position.”
Speer also said “The 2022 annual budget already includes the salary and benefits for a full time public works inspector. The recommended changes for the position are a result of four (4) failed attempts at hiring the position. After lengthy discussions with management staff, it is recommended that the new salary band for Public Works Inspector I/II be created in order to allow for recruitment, promotion and training of current city staff. Frank Rivera currently serves as the public works inspector for all city projects, and recruitment for a level 1 position will afford the individual with the opportunity to receive on-the-job training from the incumbent. The resulting change would be a savings compared to the adopted budget.”
The Council voted unanimously to approve the addition of one position, revision of one allocated position, revision of the city’s salary schedule, and position allocations.
5-2: Agreement and Budget Amendment – HR Dynamics & Performance Management, Inc.
City Manager Nathan Olson said “Consensus was received from City Council to hold a Strategic Planning/Goal Setting process with the Council and City staff. Staff reached out to surrounding cities and organizations for references for a facilitator. Staff were unable to receive any recommendations for a local facilitator. While I attended the Annual League of California Cities Conference, I received information about HR Dynamics & Performance Management, Inc. Staff received a proposal of $16,000, which includes travel related expenses. HR Dynamics & Performance Management, Inc. will provide strategic planning pre-workshops, develop session agenda, facilitate the planning session(s), and provide final strategic planning documents. This item was not budgeted for the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 budget.
Council member Matthews asked “What are the options for having a city staff or a member of the community lead this for us?” City Manager Olson said “In my personal experience, HR Dynamics specializes in facilitating workshops for municipalities, schools and other agencies. We want someone that can provide an unbiased perspective and I think we should not include City staff.” Resident Jennifer Solis said “I agree with Nathan, I have done this with the private sector. I think someone that specializes in municipalities would be best since they are experienced.” Council member Gornick said “I am sure we can find this in our budget since I would hope all departments will be included. All the departments can pitch in to cover the costs for this.” The Council voted unanimously to approve the budget amendment of $16,000 and agreement between the City of Lemoore and HR Dynamics & Performance Management, Inc. for the Strategic Planning proposal.
5-3: Kings County Association of Governments
Terri King, the Executive Director for the Kings County Association of Governments, said “KCAG is required to develop a comprehensive long-range planning document, known as the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) every four years. The RTP establishes regional goals, identifies present and future needs, deficiencies and constraints, and fiscally constrained infrastructure improvements.”
Kendall Flint with DKS Associates said “The Kings County Association of Governments is the metropolitan planning organization for the Kings County Region. There are 18 metropolitan planning organizations in California and 381 nationwide. The point of the KCAG is to funnel money to municipalities locally. There is an update to our Regional Transportation Plan including a Sustainable Communities Strategy. It takes a list of planning projects and puts them into a large list and guides transportation investments, priorities and plans. There is a focus on regional issues and multiple modes. There is a link with land use, housing and employment for the next 25 years, thru 2046.”
Flint also said “Most importantly, it is a shared vision of all of the cities and the county. What can we realistically pay for? We are looking to emphasize system preservation, so we are not considering new highways, but enhancing what we currently have. We have two upcoming workshops on February 8 and February 9 at 6:30 p.m. You can register at kingsregionalvision.com
Brief City Council Reports and Request
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Council Member Orth: “Thank you to the City staff for your work every day. Nathan, I want us to look into the cameras we talked about at the league cities meeting.”
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Council Member Gornick: “I want to thank everyone for tonight’s meeting. My thoughts are with Mr. Chaney, I hope everything is good with him.”
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Council Member Chaney: No report.
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Council Member Matthews: “Thank you to City staff, police and fire department for working hard. I agree with Mr. Gornick, we have had productive meetings today. Also, the blood drive is happening tomorrow at the Police Department.
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Mayor Lyons: “Thank you Mrs. Champion for setting this up today, I know I would be a mess right about now. Also I want to thank everyone that joined us for this meeting. And thank you to the City staff, police department, and fire department for your work. Stay safe and take care everyone.”
Adjournment
With no further discussion, Mayor Lyons adjourned the City Council meeting at 8:41 p.m.
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