Madera City Council (12/6/23)

Documented by Ramiro Merino

 Here’s what you need to know

• Council member Cecilia Foley Gallegos was elected to serve as the new mayor pro tem after a unanimous City Council vote. 
• The council unanimously voted in favor of a master agreement between the city and the Madera County Transportation Commission to receive $125,399 from the REAP Program to increase planning in the city of Madera. 

Follow-up questions

• What are the two special meetings scheduled for Dec. 9 and Dec. 13 about? Will both be live streamed and open to the public? 

Notes 

Actions/Discussions/Public comment

• Mayor Santos Garcia called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. 
• During roll call, in addition to Garcia and Gallegos, Council members Elsa Mejia, Jose Rodriguez, Steve Montes, Anita Evans and Artemio Villegas were present. 
• Pastor John Pursell from Believer’s Church led the invocation. 
• The agenda for the meeting was approved as presented. 
• One member of the public spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.
  • Resident Laurie Panero, a member of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said: “We visited the candlelight vigil that was held at the museum. I lost my son-in-law in the line of duty…He was killed in 2009 by a person three times over the (alcohol) requirement. We are not against drinking, we are against drinking and driving. We have our MADD event coming up.” 
• City Clerk Alicia Gonzales announced that the email for Teaching Fellows will be updated by staff regarding item B-5. Rodriguez made a motion to approve the consent calendar with corrections to item B-5. The motion was approved unanimously. The consent calendar included the following:
  • (B-1) Minutes – Nov. 15
  • (B-2) Informational Report on Register of Audited Demands
  • (B-3) Madera Unified School District MULES Event fee waiver request 
  • (B-4) Piggybank purchase agreements for fleet division-related purchases  
  • (B-5) Co-locator lease agreement with Teaching Fellows 
  • (B-6) Request by Mary Lou Munoz and Leonard Perez for connection to the city’s water system 
  • (B-7) Acceptance of the April & Taxiway Drainage Project at the Madera Municipal Airport
  • (B-8) Reimbursement to DMP Development Inc, a California corporation, for improvements associated with the Carmel III Subdivision 

• Parks and Community Services Director Joseph Herbert made a presentation on Item D-1: Outdoor Equity Grant Program Application Authorizing Resolution.
  •  Herbert said “The California State Parks announced a secondary application period for the Outdoor Equity Grants Program, offering a substantial $50 million in grant funding. The application is due Dec. 14, 2023 by 5 p.m. The grant-funding goals include establishing local hubs for outdoor activities, facilitating trips to natural areas, enhanced access to these spaces for communities that have historically faced barriers to such opportunities, empowering youth and families by providing outdoor leadership education, fostering career pathways and promoting environmental justice engagement,” he said. 
  • “The minimum grant application request is no less than $20,000 and (is) not to exceed $700,000. The city’s application will consist of proposals which include fishing rental-related educational activities and nature-based trips, walking educational activities and nature-based trips, camping educational activities, and bird watching expeditions.”
  • There was no public comment and no comments or questions from the council. 
  • Gallegos made a motion to approve a resolution to submit the Outdoor Equity Grants Program application by Dec. 14 in the amount of $279,000. The council approved the motion unanimously.
• Director of Community Development Will Tackett discussed Item D-2 Master Agreement Between the Madera County Transportation Commission and the City of Madera for the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) 1.0 Grants Program.
  • Tackett said “The Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Grant Program was established by the California Department of Housing and Community Development with $125 million to regions in California. This is a one-time grant funding to regional governments and entities for planning activities that will increase housing, accelerate production and facilitate compliance in implementing the 6th Cycle of Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA). The Madera County Transportation Commission is one of eight San Joaquin Valley Regional Transportation Agencies (RTPAs) and is the recipient for the Madera region. The city of Madera will receive $125,399 in phase two for projects that will increase housing.” 
  • He said the proposed use of the funds will include advertising requests for proposals, bringing a consultant onboard, identifying challenges and constraints, prioritizing tasks and preparing documentation for strategies to achieve the ultimate goal.
  • The deliverables include preparation of a variety pack of text amendments to the city zoning regulations for council consideration; developing implementing procedures, policies and programs; creating informational-educational and promotional materials for the city, its customers and the public; and preparing near- and long-term strategies and a priority outline for sequential and/or subsequent implementation activities, Tackett said.
  • There was no public comment regarding this item and no comments or questions from the council. 
  • Evans moved to approve the item, and the council voted unanimously to adopt a resolution approving the master agreement, allowing the city to receive $1,125,399 from REAP Program funds to be used to build more housing. 
• Director of Human Resources Wendy Silva discussed item D-3: Fourth Amendment to the City Clerk At-Will Employment Agreement.
  • Silva said “If the term is extended, then the salary range will move from Step D ($83,140) to Step E ($87,299) for satisfactory work performance. The extended term agreement is for an additional year, to end on Aug. 26, 2026. 
  • There was no public comment or discussion among council members. 
  • Montes made a motion to approve the amendment, and the council passed the motion unanimously.. 
• City Clerk Alicia Mayor discussed item E-1: Consideration of Selection of Mayor Pro Tem to serve a one-year term.
  • Council members are qualified to serve a one-year term as mayor pro tem. In this instance, where all council members have fulfilled their one-year service, the council member who started serving the earliest is most qualified. Gallegos meets the requirement.
  • There was no public comment and no discussion among council members..  
  • Evans nominated Gallegos and current Mayor Pro Tem Mejia seconded the motion. Council members voted unanimously to approve Gallegos as mayor pro tem for the 2023-2024 calendar year. 
• City Manager Arnoldo Rodriguez discussed item E-2: Seek Direction Regarding the Regular City Council Meetings Scheduled in 2024.
  • The dates to be considered:
    • First regular council meeting falls on Jan. 3.
    • League of California Cities Conferences
      • Mayors and Council members Academy — Jan. 24.
      • City Leaders Summit – April 17-19
      • Annual Conferences and Expo: Oct. 16-18
    • Holidays
    • Madera Unified School District Graduations – June 4-6
    • General election – Nov. 5
  • There was no public comment and no discussion among council members. 
  • The council voted unanimously to approve the 2024 meeting schedule as presented. 
• Police Chief Giachino Chiaramonte discussed item E-3: Informational Report on Laws and Regulations Surrounding Panhandling.
  • He said the city has no municipal code concerning panhandling. 
  • “The city of Madera does not enforce panhandling but we do get complaints for it. When dealing with panhandling, it’s a First Amendment protected right. The areas of law that allow us to enforce panhandling is for accosting a person on request for clothes, monetary or something else. It is them coming aggressively at you. The city of Fresno has multiple codes on panhandling. Many of these municipalities talk about locations where panhandling is not allowed, such as intersections. Some can be limited to 50 feet near an intersection. Most of our issues are near intersections and medians. Some of the issues are concerned with private properties, like at Walmart, where panhandling cannot be enforced.”
  • Council member Rodriguez said “If we can utilize that and (refer) them towards organizations that really want to help these folks, this would be the way to go.” He also recommended that the council adopt and approve signs to be added at the major areas where panhandling occurs. 
  • Mejia asked council members to be mindful of people asking for donations during hardships.
  •  “Within the last year, there has been a reduced number of opportunities for people who actually have a legitimate hardship,” she said.  “A lot of people are not always prepared for a sudden death in the family, or cancer or different kinds of things. I have heard from the community that there is no opportunity to have a car wash to raise money for their family (and) hardships that they are going through.” 
  • Gallegos asked Chiaramonte how many panhandling complaints are received in a year. Chiaramonte said no more than a handful. 
• The council then provided their reports.
  • Gallegos thanked all of the staff that helped with the Christmas parade. 
  • Rodriguez said the parade had a great turnout. He also wished everyone happy holidays. 
  • Montes said happy holidays to staff. 
  • Evans said the Christmas parade was a success. The Holiday Extravaganza is on Saturday, Dece. 16 at 5:30 p.m. 
  • Council member Mejia congratulated Matilda Torres High School’s varsity football team for winning the CIF championship game against Dos Palos. 
  • Council member Villegas said he was glad to see children’s faces during the Christmas parade.  
  • Mayor Garcia said he attended the Madera Sunrise meeting at 6:30 a.m. There are some potential changes to come for the Christmas parade. He also wished everyone happy holidays. 
• The council went into closed session at 7 p.m., and returned at 8:37 p.m. 
• With no further discussion, Garcia adjourned the meeting at 8:37 p.m. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for Dec. 20. There are two special meetings scheduled for Dec. 9 and 13. 

Conversation highlight

• “Within the last year, there has been a reduced number of opportunities for people who actually have a legitimate hardship. A lot of people are not always prepared for a sudden death in the family, or cancer or different kinds of things,” said Elsa Mejia, Madera council member.  

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