May 2, 2023 — Tulare County Board of Supervisors

Documented by Dani Huerta

 Here’s what you need to know

  • Fire Chief Charlie Norman provided an update on the status and response efforts regarding the March 2023 flood. The county is now in recovery mode. The Kings River is a potential area of concern for Allensworth and Alpaugh. FEMA’s disaster survival assistant crews are going door to door and are looking to go into Allensworth and Alpaugh in the near future.
  • Tulare County Resource Management Agency Associate Director Mike Washam gave a presentation on the 2022 Annual Report of Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Dairies and Feedlots for 2021. In 2021 dairies, feedlots and their support crops produced about 6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, 3% less than in 2020. Emma de la Rosa, regional policy manager with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, asked for more outreach in the surrounding areas and for the updated report to be made available to the public. The categorical exemption was approved. 
  • An agreement with Mythics Inc. to provide Human Capital Management software and licensing on behalf of Oracle was approved. The county has used ADP Enterprise as its payroll solution for 30 years. Advantages of Oracle are quarterly updates, mobile solutions, real-time analytics and less paper-heavy processes. 

Follow up Questions

  • How many people are against the dog park in Mooney Grove Park? What is the cost to maintain the dog park?
  • How soon will Oracle be implemented?

Board of Supervisors

  • Larry Micari – vice chair, District One
  • Pete Vander Poel III, District Two
  • Amy Shuklian, District Three
  • Eddie Valero, District Four
  • Dennis Townsend – chair, District Five
  • Jason T. Britt, county administrative officer
  • Jennifer M. Flores, county counsel
  • Melinda Benton, chief clerk

The Scene

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors meeting was held simultaneously both in-person and streamed via YouTube at 9 a.m. on May 2. The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance and an invocation led by Paul Belt.

Actions

  • Board of Supervisors matters
    • Valero
      • Last week was the Dia De los Niños event, District 4 Women of the Year awards brunch, Dinuba Lions club concert, Western Region Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall Foundation ceremony and the Cultural Heritage Foundation open house.
      • Upcoming is the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) public health lab ribbon cutting, speaking at an event recognizing youth volunteers, Sequoia Kings Canyon national parks update meeting, Community Services Employment Training (CSET) senior day at the park, Kaweah Water Foundation Advisory Committee meeting, judging the Lions Club regional speech contest, ImagineU museum gala, and a meeting with the Mexican Consulate of Fresno.
    • Shuklian
      • Last week she spoke to a political science class and attended the Central Valley Rescue railroad bark and bid.
      • Upcoming is the Farm Bureau banquet, a meeting with the IT director, San Joaquin Valley Insurance Authority meeting, senior day at the park, she will be presenting a proclamation at the Resource family picnic, and attending the ImagineU gala.
    • Vander Poel
      • Upcoming is a Valley Innovative energy watch view partnership meeting, public health clinic opening, meeting with the debris cleanup vendor, meeting with RMA director, senior day at the park, San Joaquin Valley Insurance Authority meeting, Boys and Girls Club comics for kids fundraising event, ImagineU gala, sheriff’s engraving program grand reopening, Tulare Chamber of Commerce governmental affairs meeting, and a Greater Kaweah Groundwater Authority meeting. 
    • Micari
      • Last week he attended the supervisor academy graduation, spoke at the Lindsay Civic Club, Lindsay dollars for scholars event, Exeter chamber awards, San Joaquin Valley conference regarding finishing Highway 99, Dia De los Niños event, bark and bid fundraiser and visited the cultural heritage foundation. 
    • Townsend
      • Last week was the San Joaquin Regional Policy Council conference, Government Affairs committee meeting, Springville Rodeo parade, Cowboy Church
      • Upcoming is the public health facility opening, speaking at the mental health conference, Tulare County Farm Bureau awards, speaking at the prayer fest, Eastern Tule Groundwater Agency meeting, a meeting with Assemblyman Devon Mathis, R-Visalia, First Friday Coffee, San Joaquin Regional Policy Council, St. Ann’s Church dinner, and he will be giving a welcome at the sheriff’s engraving reopening. 
  • Presented a proclamation recognizing May 2023 as Mental Health Matters Month in Tulare County.
    • Townsend presented the proclamation. Members of the Mental Health Board accepted the proclamation and said “next year’s focus is on our environment and those around us.”
  • Received an update from Charlie Norman, fire chief, on the status and response efforts regarding the March 2023 flood.
    • The emergency operations center was closed last week and is on an on-call basis. They are now in recovery mode. The Kings River is a potential area of concern for Allensworth and Alpaugh. 
    • Valero asked for an update on FEMA. Norman said he would get back to him with an update. Micari said FEMA asked the board to spread the word about the mobile centers.
      • Anita Ortiz said the disaster survival assistant crews are going door to door and are looking to go into Allensworth and Alpaugh. FEMA has made 809 registrations.
    • Arlene Diaz from FEMA and Mary Bradfeld from the Small Business Association spoke about how they support small business through loans. She said 4% is the lowest rate and they are flexible. 
  • (Approved) Consent Calendar (Items 6-33)
    • Item 10 was pulled for comment. Item 15 was pulled for separate consideration.
      • Item 10: Approve the Funding Agreement with Community Services Employment Training, Inc. for the construction of the Tulare County Hope Navigation Center, in an amount not to exceed $.5 million, effective May 2.
        • Shuklian said she pulled this item to highlight the county’s effort to help with homelessness.
      • Item 15: Authorize the submission of a grant application for funding from the California Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) for up to 50% reimbursement of the Mooney Grove Dog Park project which is projected to be $200,000.
        • Brooke Sisk, General Services Agency director, explained the item. There will be sections for large and small dogs. 
        • Public Comment
          • Emails received for this item were passed out to the board, but were not read aloud.
          • Mary Bryant said nobody wants a dog park at Mooney Grove. She wants them to complete unfinished projects instead.
          • Julianna Gomez asked if the dog park is approved or not. She requested details about the project. She is concerned about the ongoing costs of maintaining a dog park. 
        • Approved
    • Remainder of the consent calendar was approved.
    • Some of the approved items included the approval of the capital asset purchase of four thermal drones for the Fire Department (item 11) and the acceptance of grant funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the Community Health Workers for Public Health Response and Resilient Communities Program (item 18).
    • An item listed on a previous meeting agenda as item 26 regarding a resolution authorizing the Registrar of Voters to not list proponents and opponents of local measures on county ballots for all future elections was not discussed and it appears it was removed from the consent calendar prior to the meeting, as it does not appear on the meeting minutes.
  • (Approved) Public hearing: Request from the Resource Management Agency (RMA) to adopt the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration for General Plan Amendment No. GPA 22-003, Zone Change No. PZC 22-010 and  Tentative Parcel Map No. PPM 23-007 as set forth in the Planning Commission resolution. Approve the general plan amendment, Akers Business Park, to change the county’s land use designation within the Urban Area Boundary (UAB) of Tulare, from “valley agriculture” to “mixed use,” Adopt the findings of approval. Adopt an ordinance amending the Tulare County Zoning Ordinance for Change of Zone from AE-20 (Exclusive Agricultural – 20 Acre Minimum) to C-3-MU (Service Commercial with a Mixed-Use Overlay Zone). Find that this ordinance by statute can only be passed after notice and a public hearing, so it is exempt from the usual requirements that an ordinance be read in full and adopted over two regular meetings. Adopt the findings of approval and approve the tentative parcel map.
    • Aaron Bock explained the item. The applicant is NFDI and the owner is J & M Thomas Ranch. A letter from the Golden State Environmental Justice Alliance (GSEJA) was received but was declared to be without merit due to brief arguments without reference or expert analysis. The city of Tulare said the project is consistent with the regional commercial land use designation. 
    • Public Testimony
      • An email was distributed to the board but not read aloud.
      • Darlene Mada spoke as a representative of NFDI. She thanked the county, city and staff. She said the comments from the letter by GSEJA are without merit. 
    • Approved
  • (Approved) Request from the RMA to consider the 2022 Annual Report of Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Dairies and Feedlots for 2021 (“2022 Annual Report”). Accept a Categorical Exemption.
    • Mike Washam gave the presentation. The information is based on 2021 data. In 2021 dairies, feedlots and their support crops produced about 6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is 19% less than in 2013 and 3% less than in 2020. The goal is 40% below 2013 by 2030, as stated in SB1383. 
    • 21 alternative manure management projects are planned, with eight of those being currently operational. The total cost of these projects is $22,494,399. There are 55 total digesters, with 38 of those currently operational. The total cost of the digester projects is $232,365,046.
    • Public Comment
      • Emma de la Rosa, regional policy manager with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability asked for notices to be published in surrounding residential areas or in the newspaper because the notice on the website is hard to find and not many people know to look for it. She asked for an updated report to be made available to the public. 
    • Approved
  • Request from the Human Resources and Development Department to approve an agreement with Mythics Inc. to provide Human Capital Management software and licensing on behalf of Oracle, in an amount not to exceed $3.171.8 million effective May 2, 2023 through May 2, 2028. Approve the agreement with Graviton Consulting Services to provide Oracle software implementation services and support, in an amount not to exceed $1,438,820, effective May 2, 2023 through Dec. 31, 2024.
    • Lupe Garza, Human Resources Development director, explained the item. The county has used ADP Enterprise as its payroll solution for 30 years. Oracle was the only vendor that could demonstrate its ability to handle the county’s processes.
    • Joe Halford, the county’s IT director, spoke in further detail. The current processes are very paper heavy and time consuming. Advantages of Oracle are quarterly updates, mobile solutions and real-time analytics. 
    • Cass Cook, auditor controller, said Oracle is effective and efficient in ways they do not currently have. There are some self-service capabilities. The one-time cost of Graviton, the implementing partner, is $1.438 million. Mythics, the annual license cost, is $3.171 million 
    • Approved
  • Received a presentation from the HHSA on the efforts addressing homelessness, including updates on the Task Force on Homeless, the Homeless Multidisciplinary Team, and related funding.
    • Noah Whittaker, Homeless Initiative Program coordinator, gave the presentation. In 2017, there were 181,871 individuals in California who were homeless and accessed local response systems. In 2022 that number increased to 316,434 individuals. Some homelessness services in Tulare County are permanent supported housing, transitional housing, diversion services and assistance and outreach and engagement services. HHSA is in phase 1 of a homeless subject Matter expert committee.
  • There were no board matter requests
  • Vander Poel read his financial conflict of interest statement regarding closed session item D. He will not attend the closed session for that item.

Public Comment

  • Mary Bryant accused CSET of embezzling. She said funding was supposed to go toward park repairs but repairs were not finished. She said the whole park could have been done in 10  years.
    • Julianta Gomez said she wants to see the park the way it used to be. She spoke in support of the real Mooney Grove project.
  • An email was passed out to the board but it was not read aloud. 

If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at fresnodocs@fresnoland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.

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