Documented by Rachel Youdelman
Summary: What You Need to Know
- The board approved a resolution deferring the implementation date of SB43 to Jan. 1, 2026. The new law expands the criteria for the involuntary appointment of a conservator for people who are severely mentally ill and unable to care for themselves. The terms of Senate Bill 43 allow for deferment so that jurisdictions have time to build infrastructure necessary to implement the laws.
- The board voted unanimously to add a “Fresno County Infectious Materials Ordinance” to the county ordinance code. The ordinance will give the county authority to make visits to private clinical laboratories not regulated by Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and evaluate their compliance with hazardous-materials laws.
Board
Brian Pacheco, 1st District
Steve Brandau, 2nd District
Sal Quintero, 3rd District, chair
Buddy Mendes, 4th District
Nathan Magsig, 5th District, vice chair
Staff
Daniel Cederborg, County Counsel
Bernice Seidel, clerk of the Board of Supervisors
Paul Nerland, County Administrative Officer (CAO)
The Scene
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors held its last meeting of the year at 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 12. Quintero opened the meeting promptly and asked Seidel to call the roll. All were present. Supervisor Mendes, holding each end of a pencil in his hands, then introduced the person giving the invocation, Clayton Paull, pastor of the Hope Mennonite church in Kingsburg. Among Paull’s remarks: “God, I pray over the agenda.” Flag salute quickly followed.
Quintero then said that he would deviate from the agenda and ask each supervisor to make remarks about the holiday season. Mendes said it was the time of year to be with family and “remember why we celebrate.” Pacheco wished everyone Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, then acknowledged all who must work over the holidays, such as medical staff, dairy workers and police. Magsig said he was “sentimental” and mentioned a Bible passage, then made explicitly religious comments about “Christ coming into the world and later dying on the cross for all of our sins.” Brandau also expressed religious sentiment, calling the birth of Jesus “a great event.” Quintero then read a prepared statement that ended with “from my family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.”
The meeting was more than 3 1/2 hours long, including a recess of 40 minutes, which preceded the final agenda item, the public comment period. Magsig spoke most frequently, making remarks on almost every agenda item. The room was full of people, most of whom were members of the local In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) union, all in purple SEIU2015 T-shirts. They have frequently appeared to request a salary increase, as a significant part of their hourly rate is controlled by the board, and labor negotiations are ongoing.
Seidel read agenda items exceedingly fast.
Meetings are open to the public and are held at the Fresno County Hall of Records, 2281 Tulare St., Room 301. Public comments on matters on or off the agenda are welcomed. If you plan to make a comment in person on an item not on the agenda, note that this portion of the meeting is always last on the agenda. Each agenda item is otherwise accorded time for live public comment as they are introduced. Meetings are live streamed; agendas, live stream and meeting video may be accessed here. The next regular meeting is scheduled for Jan. 9 at 9:30 a.m.
Each supervisor represents one of five districts. Who is your county supervisor? Find out here.
To contact your supervisor about any issues or agenda items for a particular meeting, call or email with your opinion or question:
Pacheco District 1 District1@fresnocountyca.gov 559-600-1000
Brandau District 2 District2@fresnocountyca.gov 559-600-2000
Quintero District 3 District3@fresnocountyca.gov 559-600-3000
Mendes District 4 District4@fresnocountyca.gov 559-600-4000
Magsig District 5 District5@fresnocountyca.gov 559-600-5000
Agenda Item 1 The board approved the day’s agenda with a 5-0 vote. Before that, Brandau said that in item 11, a rezoning matter, two properties had been removed from an initial copy of the agenda. He said that “many people” had called his office about those specific properties.
Agenda item 2 The consent agenda, items 20-52 on today’s agenda, includes items that are considered routine or administrative, grouped together and decided with a single vote; however, supervisors or members of the public may pull an item for discussion. Seidel mentioned a minor correction in item 22. No items were pulled for discussion.
Agenda item 3 The board proclaimed Dec. 12, 2023, “Tony Boren Day.” Boren is retiring as executive director of the Fresno Council of Governments (COG) after a 37-year career in local government. Brandau remarked that when he noticed Boren was attending the meeting, he asked him what he was here for, not realizing that he was being honored, per the day’s agenda, which has been public for several days. Board members praised Boren, who spoke only briefly.
Agenda item 4 The board unanimously accepted a detailed annual report from the county’s Foster Care Standards and Oversight Committee (FCSOC). Present were committee chair Wilma Hashimoto and vice-chair Pamela Hancock. Sanja Bugay, director of the Department of Social Services (DSS), was also present to comment. Among the successes of the program, the FCSOC representatives noted a higher than average high school graduation rate and a decrease in the total number of children in foster care. Magsig asked about reasons for the lower numbers; Bugay said that they were attributable to “strengthened prevention measures,” improved services and better results with family reunification. Nevertheless, Fresno County has a relatively high rate of its juvenile population in foster care compared to other counties in California — no single reason explains why, Bugay said.
Magsig cited “correlations” as distinct from “causes” that influence the numbers of children in foster care, including, he said, “children having children” and “broken homes.” Brandau asked about children who “age out” of the program; Bugay said that children in foster care were now eligible to remain in the program until age 21.
Some vacancies remain in the FCSOC; members are appointed by supervisors.
Public comment was opened on the item. Three people commented, including an older woman who had been a foster child and expressed gratitude for it; and Riley Talford, a labor union representative who commented on the difficulty of retention of DSS employees.
Agenda item 5 The board voted 5-0 to approve a resolution deferring the implementation date of SB43 to Jan. 1, 2026, though it will be effective as of Jan. 1, 2024. The terms of SB 43 allow for the deferment because of the need to find funding for costs associated with its implementation; it addresses the growing problem of severely mentally ill people who may be unable to care for themselves and can potentially cause harm to themselves or others by expanding the criteria for the involuntary appointment of a conservator to direct their care. The terms of the law provide for protection of individual rights and transparency of outcomes.
Susan Holt, director of behavioral health, spoke briefly and explained why the deferment was necessary, which she explained as a lack of facilities and funding. Though the law allows for the deferment specifically to give counties time to budget, supervisors Magsig and Brandau complained that no funding was forthcoming from the state specifically for implementation of the law. “Did SB 43 come with dollars?” Magsig wanted to know. Brandau said that “government” was “forcing us to drive down a road that hasn’t been built yet, adding that it was a “mistake” that “government” makes often.
Holt reminded them that the law allows counties to delay implementation specifically so they can build the necessary infrastructure.
Public comment was opened on the matter. Brandi Nuse-Villegas said that the law was “well meaning but harmful,” and said that Human Rights Watch doesn’t approve of involuntary mental health treatment.
Sheriff John Zanoni spoke next, and repeated most of the points already made by Holt, in support of deferring the law’s implementation.
Quintero said that a letter saying “show me the money” should be sent to Sacramento.
Agenda item 6 The board received a report from the county’s lobbyist, Paul Yoder, on the 2023 state legislative session. It was a “pretty good year,” per Yoder, with earmarks for the county and his firm’s “derailment” of “almost all” of the bills that the county opposed. Yoder discussed the state’s budget deficit, which he said was an estimated $68 billion, and talked about a shell game of moving some debts to the budgets of future years. Nevertheless, he said, everyone will have to “buckle up” and be prepared for budget cuts.
Magsig tried to speak, and Mendes interrupted him with a “you already talked too much.” Mendes wanted to say that he alone was “not shocked” at the deficit total, and he could not understand why everyone else was so naïve as to not know what he knew. “Nobody else bothered to look at the train coming down the tunnel,” he said. For Mendes, it was “pretty Captain Obvious,” as he put it.
Brandau wanted to know what areas would be subject to budget cuts. Yoder speculated on several areas but had nothing definitive to say, likely because nothing is on the table.
Agenda item 7 The board approved 5-0 amending the county’s Master Schedule of
Fees, with an amendment to subsection 3305 of Section 3300-Agriculture (Weights and Measures). Fees are paid by device owners, said Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures Melissa Cregan, and the most recent increase was in 2019. This was a first hearing.
Agenda item 8 The board unanimously approved an energy services agreement with FFP BTM SOLAR, LLC (ForeFront Power) to provide solar photovoltaic energy systems for several county facilities, including Animal Control, Area 2 Sheriff Substation, Behavioral Health and Mental Health Services, Hamilton Yard, Health and Wellness Center, Pontiac Offices and the Woodward Library.
Agenda item 9 The board approved 5-0 suspension of competitive bidding for maintenance of specific tech systems and awarded the contract to a vendor called Rimini Street, Inc.
Agenda item 10 The board voted unanimously to add a “Fresno County Infectious Materials Ordinance” to the county ordinance code. The ordinance will give the county authority to make visits to private clinical laboratories not regulated by Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and evaluate their compliance with hazardous materials laws.
The matter follows the controversial Reedley lab affair, an allegedly “secret biolab” run by Chinese communists and which inspired conspiracy theories; the ordinance seeks to address what was described as lack of federal regulation for certain laboratories. Nerland said that the county would not “wait for Congress” to manage laboratories. He announced that the county had “worked very closely with the congressional select committee on the Chinese Communist Party that resulted in a report with recommendations for both Congress and the executive branch to close loopholes in oversight of these labs.” In fact the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) disputed the select committee’s findings.
David Luchini, director of the county’s Department of Public Health, spoke briefly on the matter after Quintero asked him to “saunter up to the podium.” Among his remarks, Luchini reiterated that only non-CLIA labs would be affected by the ordinance.
Only Magsig and Brandau asked questions. Magsig wanted to know if there were any labs that would fall under the ordinance’s rules. Luchini knew of none. What warranted the urgency? No one mentioned it. Brandau remarked that the federal government needs to “step in” and “stop these types of laboratories all across our nation.” How many were there and where are they? Were there any at all? No one addressed this point.
Agenda item 11 The board agreed with a 5-0 vote to rezone several land parcels to meet current Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) as required by state law. Yvette Quiroga and Derek Chambers of the Department of Public Works gave a presentation to the board. It was noted that additional parcels will need to be rezoned within 12 months.
The parcels are located at of W. Caruthers and S. Marks avenues in Caruthers, the S. Marks and W. Kruger avenues in Riverdale, E. Jefferson Avenue between S. Del Rey and S. McCall avenues in Del Rey, N. Feland and W. McKinley avenues adjacent to the city of Fresno, and N. Clovis and E. Ashlan avenues in the Tarpey area.
Magsig asked questions about sewer and water access for these areas and confirmed that Clovis did not ask to be removed from consideration of this rezone.
Mendes said that the RHNA numbers were “unrealistic” and that “we got stabbed in the back by the cities” because some housing was being proposed for unincorporated areas of the county and thus created problems for sewer and water access. Cities were “punting” problems to the county, and they should have done “what they should have done,” concluded Mendes.
Quintero opened the matter for public comment. Two people spoke, one a resident of Tarpey who had concerns about traffic and emergency egress and fears about solar panels being “blocked by 2 p.m.” by the shadows of three-story buildings. Another speaker was concerned about housing being too close to a cellphone tower. Chambers noted that no building will be over two stories high and that cell towers can be moved.
Before the vote, Pacheco spoke. He said he had received a letter from a concerned constituent and that residents will have issues “wherever we put” new housing and that “people don’t like apartment buildings.” People show opposition to a 200-unit building when in fact over 1,000 units are needed. He agreed with Mendes that “this needs to go back to the cities that are most suited for it because of sewer and water access.” Pacheco asked Quiroga if proposed buildings will be of the “caliber” of a recent project in Kerman, which he praised for appearing to look like any other “market rate” apartment building.
Finally, Magsig suggested that traffic and public safety studies be carried out at the Clovis site.
Agenda item 12 The board unanimously approved a partial cancellation of a Williamson Act contract, to permit family members to use a portion of their farmland as a residence.
Agenda item 13: Supervisors’ committee reports and comments
Mendes had no comments.
Magsig had no comments.
Brandau said that he spoke with Zanoni about staff retention, a subject he wanted to further discuss.
Quintero said that the children’s winter coat drive ends Friday, Dec. 15.
Agenda item 14 The board unanimously approved one appointment by Magsig and two by Brandau to various committees.
At this point, just before noon, Quintero called a 15-minute recess. However, the meeting did not reconvene until 12:40 p.m.
Agenda item 15 This portion of the meeting is for public comment regarding matters not on the agenda. Five people, all IHSS workers in purple SEIU15 T-shirts, pleaded for higher salaries, as they have been doing for many months. They currently earn $16.10 per hour, and have been asking for $20. Several of the commenters pointed out that fast-food workers are paid $20. The county pays a portion of the IHSS workers’ salaries. SEIU 2015 labor negotiation was on the day’s closed-session agenda, during which the supervisors would sit as the Fresno County In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority Governing Board.
Three women from the Central Sierra Chamber of Commerce were present to ask why their application for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding had been denied and if there was any possibility of receiving unused funding. Magsig said his office would follow up.
Agenda items 16-19 Closed session. Items concerned ongoing litigation, labor negotiation and labor negotiations for the SEIU 2015 labor union. Cederborg said that no announcements would follow the closed session, and the public portion of the meeting ended about 1:10 p.m.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at fresnodocs@fresnoland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
