Here’s what you need to know:
- Mayor Gary Yep proclaims Friday, August 19, 2022 as National Night Out Day.
- The council discussed a letter from the California State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), that the city’s liquor licenses are “over concentrated” and require an additional level of approval for any license. City Attorney Hilda Montoy recommended putting restrictions in place.
- The council approved an agreement with CalMuni Services to develop a CalPERS pension management policy.
Purpose of Agency:
The city council serves as the policy-making board of the city. The Kerman City Council has five members, which includes the mayor and four council members. The mayor is elected for a two-term, and council members are elected for four-year terms. The city council meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at the Kerman City Hall, 850 S. Madera Ave.
Kerman City Council Board Member Duties
Council members are the leaders and policymakers elected to represent various segments of the community and to concentrate on policy issues that are responsive to citizens’ needs and wishes. The city manager is appointed by the city council to carry out policy and ensure that the entire community is being served. Kerman City Administrator Sonia Hall handles the city’s day-to-day business with an “open-door policy” to community residents and businesses, where comments, concerns, and suggestions are always welcome.
Kerman City Council Members
- Gary Yep, Mayor
- Kevin Nehring, Council Member for District 1
- Jennifer Coleman, Council Member for District 2
- Ismael Herrera, Mayor Pro Tem and Council Member for District 3
- Bill Nijjer, Council Member for District 4
The Scene
The Kerman City Council meeting was held in person in the Kerman City Chambers on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. Mayor Gary Yep called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. Council Members Kevin Nehring, Jennifer Coleman and Ismael Herrera were in council chambers. Council Member Bill Nijjer joined the meeting virtually through Zoom. You can find the agenda for the meeting here. City Clerk Marci Reyes led the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance. Five members of the public participated via Zoom.
Presentations
Mayor Gary Yep proclaimed Friday, August 19, 2022, as National Night Out in the City of Kerman.
Request to Address Council
Jason, a resident of 27 years, spoke on behalf of the Kerman Chamber of Commerce. “The Harvest Festival has been going on for 75 years. We lost a year in 2020. We came back in 2021 and had new features, like food trucks. This brought me to life. We came up with a proposal for a pedestrian gate, which will be accessible. We are asking for permission and help to fund the gate.” Mayor Yep said, “We will send this to the city staff to work with you.”
Consent Calendar
The city council unanimously approved all four items on the consent calendar.
- (A): Minutes
- July 27, 2022
- (B): Payroll
- 06/26/22 – 07/09/22: $178,366.99: Retro Pay & Other: $4,476.39; Overtime: $6,147.47; Holiday at 1/2 Time: $1,242.11; Standby: $68.81; Comp Time Earned: 40.00
- (C): Warrants
- 1. Nos. 24615-24761 $277,433.60 ACH $55,254.92
- 2. Exceptions CK #24755 $428.77 County of Fresno, CK #24756 $393.84 Fresno County Treasurer
- (D): Brown Act Meeting
Public Hearings
There were no public hearings.
Department Reports
- Subject: Resolution Approving Agreement with CalMuni Services for Financial Advisory Services Related to Unfunded Accrued Liability of City CalPERS Pension Plans:
- City Manager John Jansons said, “Approval of this agreement will allow the City to work with CalMuni Services to perform the necessary analysis and develop a Pension Management Policy.”
- Subject: Work Study Session on Liquor Licensing:
- City Manager John Jansons said, “We have had difficulty and uncomfortably dealing with liquor licenses. We grapple with this issue. We propose different ways we can approach this. Hopefully we can provide it to investors and developers. They don’t mind rules, they just don’t like not knowing what they dealing with before investing.”
- The executive summary of the letter to the mayor and city council states, “According to California State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), Kerman is currently “over concentrated” in its respective Census Tracts for provision of ABC liquor license issuance thereby requiring an additional level of approval for the issuance of any license known as a Determination of Public Convenience and Necessity (PCN).”
- City Attorney Hilda Montoy said, “The single sale provision was written in the code, so it is an absolute requirement. One of the difficulties is that the state determines overconcentration. I would suggest that you make the requirement, the state will not be able to overturn the decision. There are lots of tools that can be built into the ordinance. It sounds like overconcentration is an issue. I would recommend putting up restrictions.”
Closed Session
The council went to closed session at 7 p.m.
Adjournment:
With no further discussion, Mayor Yep adjourned the council meeting at 7:30 p.m.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at Documenters-admin@fresnoland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.