Documented by Kristina Mansfield
Here’s what you need to know
- The Madera County Board of Supervisors voted (5-0) to enter into an agreement with the California Department of Public Health to accept funding not to exceed $1 million for the enhancement of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program for fiscal years 2023-2026.
- Adopted a resolution (5-0) in support of Operation Green Light for Veterans, which converts Madera’s municipal lighting to green Nov. 6 to Nov. 11 in honor of the nation’s veterans.
- Voted (5-0) to enter into an agreement with DL Batty, Inc. for $176,813 to pay for the construction of the Madera County 911 Memorial.
Follow-up questions
- How do people apply for the resources available in the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program?
- Where are the municipal lights located in Madera?
Supervisors and Staff:
Chair David Rogers, District 2
Chair Pro Tem Robert L. Poythress, District 3
Jordan Wamhoff, District 1
Leticia Gonzalez, District 4
Robert Macaulay, District 5
Chief Clerk of the Board Karen Scrivner
The Scene
The regular meeting of the Madera Board of Supervisors took place Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 at 9 a.m. in Supervisors Chambers at 200 W. Fourth St. in Madera. Meetings are usually held the first three Tuesdays of the month (and occasionally Mondays) and are open to the public. You just show up. Once the meeting has concluded, a video of it can be viewed on YouTube here.
Item 1 Fifty-seven people attended the meeting in person. There were no additions to the agenda.
Item 2 The board returned from closed session at 10:06 a.m. with no reportable action. Rogers opened and closed the meeting in memory of a man who had recently died. His name was inaudible.
Item 3 Pastor Fred Thurman of the New Life Assembly of Madera led the Invocation. District Attorney Sally Moreno led the flag salute. Rogers said the board was wearing special army green shirts to honor veterans and noted Moreno served in the military.
PUBLIC COMMENTS, Item 4 The first 15 minutes of each meeting are set aside for members of the public to address the board regarding any matter within its jurisdiction but not listed on the agenda. There were no online comments and one in-person comment.
- Matthew Treber, chief of developmental services, said he needed to make the board and public aware of an upcoming hard closure on Avenue 9 that would last through Monday.
CONSENT CALENDAR, items 5A-5Z, 5AA-5AO
The “consent calendar” is a group of items considered routine in nature that are passed with one vote unless a supervisor, staff member or member of the public requests individual discussion. Scrivner and Rogers said Item 5Z would be pulled for discussion. All other consent calendar items carried 5-0.
- Gonzalez made comments on Items 5E-5I and 5L. For Items 5E-5I Gonzalez questioned why the contracts put on the agenda for approval were backdated to July 1, 2023, when the council had directed staff to cease the practice at a meeting several weeks back. Connie Moreno-Peraza, director of the Behavioral Health Department, appeared to answer the board’s questions. She said that the department continues to face a delayed response from both contractors and providers releasing their rates.
- Gonzalez next commented on Item 5L, regarding a proclamation declaring “appreciation of Madera County ranchers and farmers for their dedication to food production, climate-smart agriculture and the health and well-being of their community.” She made a few jumbled remarks about wanting to get “language or a policy in place” to prevent “outside states” from coming in to request proclamations. Rogers countered that the specific proclamation was suggested to the board by a milk producer, and noted that there are 20 dairies in the county.
Item 5Z Director of Madera County Department of Public Health Sara Bosse gave a presentation about the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. She thanked the board for letting the item be moved to general discussion and said the department was trying to be responsive to the request from the community to hear a little bit more about programs and contracts. “This is over $1 million for a three-year contract,” she said. After a short presentation, Rogers brought the board back to a vote. Gonzalez moved to approve the item, and it was passed unanimously.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Item 6a The presentation of a proclamation was made recognizing The Great American Smokeout 2023, which aims to help others quit smoking. Tiara Munoz of the Madera Department of Public Health, Joseph Fuentes, program coordinator of tobacco prevention, and Students Working Against Tobacco’s (SWAT) Amy Martinez were on-hand to receive the proclamation.
Item 6b The Social Services Department was presented with a proclamation recognizing November as National Adoption Month. Several staff members and adoption families came out to the meeting to show support, including Michael Nunez and his husband, who have five adopted children.
Item 6c Veteran Service Officer Josh Christopherson again asked for the supervisors to adopt a resolution in support of Operation Green Light for Veterans, converting municipal lighting to green in honor of the nation’s veterans Nov. 6-Nov. 11. The board adopted the resolution 5-0.
Item 6d Staff gave the board an update on fiscal year 2023-2024 quarter-one budget status. The fiscal 2023-2024 budget has an $8.8 million operating deficit. “After the first quarter, if we trend how we’re trending right now, we are still projected to be in a deficit,” they said, adding that a lot of public safety departments are facing both staffing and budget issues. After citing a few upcoming fiscal challenges, staff recommended the board “stay the course” on hiring controls, identify potential one-time funding sources and consider restrictions on capital projects.
- Rogers commented that he hates to see the Sheriff’s Office low on personnel, and asked staff to look into surplus property and paper reduction. He also said trip, fuel and conference reductions could be considered.
- Gonzalez suggested the board take a look at its contractors and questioned how frequently the county renegotiates its contracts.
Item 6e. The board heard a report by General Services Division Director Anthony Loza about the Cal.Net subsidy program.
- Loza said staff has partnered with Cal.Net to develop a subsidy plan to ACP participants that would offset installation costs by $99 and the cost of a home router for $120, a total of $219 per household. In addition, he said, the county will offer monthly subsidy discounts of either $10 or $20 for services; Cal.Net has agreed to provide a dollar-for-dollar subsidy match for subscribers. Linda Thomas, vice president of community outreach and government affairs from Cal.Net, answered questions from the board.
- Rogers then said, “Ok … well, since I have to read this into the record…’Discussion and consideration to enter into Addendum #1 to MCC No. 12440-23 with Cal.Net, Inc., in an amount up to $500,000 to include a subsidy program ending on Oct. 31, 2026, or 90 days after the date at which the funds are exhausted, whichever occurs first, and authorize the chairman to sign.’” Macaulay moved to approve, and the item carried 4-0 (Gonzalez was not present).
Item 6f The board voted (5-0) to enter into an agreement with DL Batty, Inc. for $276,813 to pay for the construction of the Madera County 911 Memorial.
Item 6g The board voted (5-0) to enter into an agreement with Fortune-Ratliff General Contractors Inc. for $599,908 to pay for the construction of six accessory dwelling units to be located at the local Madera Rescue Mission.
- Wamhoff questioned the circumstances surrounding a non-responsive bid and it was explained that the contractor simply did not respond.
Item 6h The board heard a presentation by DKS Associates on outreach activities for Measure T Renewal. An initial polling presentation and education update is scheduled for Nov. 29 at 3 p.m. at the Madera County Transportation Commission (MCTC) office and via Zoom.
Item 6i Voted 5-0 to enter into an agreement with Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, PLC at the rate of $315 per hour for legal services provided for the Civil Service Commission for fiscal years 2023-2025.
Item 6j Voted 5-0 to adopt a Special Districts’ budgets for fiscal year 2023-2024 for CSA22C – Gunner Ranch West and CSA22E – Tesoro Viejo.
No pending legislation.
Supervisor Staff Reports
Gonzalez suggested checking out the county website for veteran’s services. Wamhoff has an event at Ranchos Cafe at 8:30 a.m. Rogers is giving a speech at Chowchilla’s Veterans Park. Poythress had a request from MCTC. Macaulay went to former Sheriff Ed Bates’ 98th birthday and heard stories about back in the1970s.
Rogers adjourned the meeting at 12:03 p.m. The next meeting is Nov. 28.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at fresnodocs@fresnoland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.