Documented by Kristina Mansfield
Here’s what you need to know
- Voted to enter into an agreement (5-0) with the Chowchilla Subbasin Growers (CSG) to establish a Domestic Well Mitigation Program for a portion of the Chowchilla Subbasin in the Madera County Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) and to develop a working relationship between Madera County GSA and CSG.
- Voted to adopt (5-0) a resolution approving a cash-flow loan for Transit Fund 6386 in the amount of $1.2 million to fund the purchase of six new buses.
- Voted to adopt (5-0) a resolution freezing the Road Impact Fee program at the 2023 rate for parcels not created by a final subdivision map.
- Voted to adopt a (5-0) a resolution approving a special discretionary funds policy. The policy allows the expenditures of these budgeted funds for important public purposes as determined appropriate by individual members of the Board of Supervisors.
- Voted (5-0) to enter into an agreement with the LensLock, Inc., in the amount of $107,275 for in-car and body cam services for the Sheriff’s Office for a term of five years from execution.
Follow-up questions
- How many deputies and service vehicles will be outfitted with equipment from LensLock? Are these the first body cams Madera County sheriff’s deputies will wear?
- Are the proposed resolutions on the agenda leveraging a CEQA Ministerial Projects exemption to open new churches in Tesoro Viejo’s Creekside Village for Redemption Hill Community Church, where Fresno County Supervisor Nathan Magsig preaches? What other parcels have been zoned for ministerial projects in the Tesoro Viejo development, and what is the breakdown of denominations?
- Will the Board of Supervisors have to provide receipts on how they spend their $10,000 in discretionary funds?
- How much money is Madera County receiving in Opioid Settlement Funds?
The Scene
The regular meeting of the Madera Board of Supervisors took place Tuesday Dec. 12, 2023, at 9 a.m. in Supervisors Chambers in the Madera County Government Center (200 W. Fourth St.) in Madera. Meetings usually take place the first three Tuesdays of the month. After the meetings conclude, you can view recordings of them here, although they may take several days to be posted. They are streamed live here.
County staff will post the meeting agenda, agenda packet with supporting documents, and detailed instructions on how to participate in the meeting remotely, whether via Zoom or by dialing in via telephone, here, 72 hours prior to the start of each meeting. It is worth noting that county staff will not condense the size of the files for download.
Otherwise, if you want to participate, just show up. About 60 people attended the meeting in person.
Supervisors in attendance:
Chair David Rogers, District 2
Chair Pro Tem Robert Poythress, District 3
Jordan Wamhoff, District 1
Leticia Gonzalez, District 4
Bobby Macaulay, District 5
CLOSED SESSION, Item 2 There were two items on the closed session agenda. Rogers brought the board back and entered into the public session.
Item 3 The invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance followed.
PUBLIC COMMENT, Item 4 The first 15 minutes of each meeting are set aside for regular people to address the board on anything that isn’t on the agenda, but is within its jurisdiction. There was no public comment.
CONSENT CALENDAR, Items 5A-5V Items on the consent calendar are considered routine and non controversial in nature and are passed with one motion. The consent calendar passed 5-0.
DISCUSSION ITEMS, Items 6A-6B
The board recognized two of the Matilda Torres High School’s sports teams. The football team is Division IV Valley Champion, and the Varsity Boys Cross Country Team are Division III Valley Champions.
Items 6C-6D Sgt. Mark Stritzel and Patricia Retton of the Madera County Sheriff’s Office were honored with proclamations recognizing their retirement.
Item 6E Roman Noriega with the Human Resources Department and Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue recognized several Madera County employees who have worked for the county for 25, 30 or 40 years. Rogers closed the meeting with a 15-minute break for photos and an Employee Longevity Reception before moving on to the next item.
Item 6F Voted to adopt (5-0) a resolution freezing the Road Impact Fee Program at the 2023 rate for parcels not created by a final subdivision map.
- Wamhoff asked how many single-family residents will be affected, while Poythress said there’s going to need to be some education that needs to go along with the resolution, and that he’s excited to discuss ways that building has been made less expensive in Madera County.
- The vote passed 5-0.
Item 6G Voted to approve (5-0) new Fleet Service Rates for all county departments. Technical difficulties prevented the presentation from being shared on screen.
- These are new rates that won’t be imposed or collected from the public.
- The vote passed 5-0.
Item 6H Voted to adopt a (5-0) a resolution approving a special discretionary funds policy. The policy allows the expenditures of these budgeted funds for important public purposes as determined appropriate by individual members of the Board of Supervisors.
- County Administrative Officer Jay Varney presented the item, which was continued from the Nov. 28 meeting. The county previously set a limit of $10,000 per supervisorial district for discretionary expenses by board members. Gonzalez asked if any of the supervisors elect to not use the monies whether it would be put back into the general fund. Varney confirmed that would be the case.
- The vote passed 5-0.
Item 6I Voted to adopt (5-0) a resolution approving a cash-flow loan for the Road Fund, Fund 1180, in the amount of $3 million.
- Deputy Director Public Works Andrea Saldate presented. Using an analogy to explain the fund, which pays all expenses related to maintenance and improvements of all county roads and bridges, Saldate likened the fund to managing a family budget with a single income or revenue stream. “The long story short is that the Road Fund struggles,” Saldate said. “Our biggest expense is salaries and benefits. Then we’ve got another really expensive kid – that’s our capital projects. Then you can see how much we’re left with to pay for utilities, fuel and equipment, and this is before we’ve even put staff out on the road yet.” The cash-flow loan will help bridge a gap between purchase request, payment and reimbursement received, she continued.
- “We have to spend our regular household income before we can get those reimbursed from the state and fed. You don’t know when you’re going to get paid back, but you know that you will.”
- Carter from the Public Works Department added that the entire department is very frustrated with the process, and said sometimes he’s scared to ask Saldate if he has money for projects. “She’s found a way to make this fund work, and I appreciate her work on this.”
- The vote passed 5-0.
Item 6J Voted to adopt (5-0) a resolution approving a cash-flow loan for Transit Fund 6386 in the amount of $1.2 million to fund the purchase of six new buses. Saldate again presented. Three of the buses are conventional gas buses and three are electric.
- The vote passed 5-0.
Item 6K The board heard the introduction of an ordinance related to parking restrictions on Treasure Hills Drive frontage roads within the Tesoro Viejo Development.
- The board waived the reading and set the second reading for Jan. 9, 2024.
- The vote passed 5-0.
Item 6L Next, the board heard an informational presentation on the Opioid Settlement Funds Spending Plan for Madera County.
- Connie Moreno-Peraza presented. The item was continued from September to report on the planning processes. She said they identified five goals within the Oakhurst area, and that they currently only have one counselor.
Item 6M Voted to enter into an agreement (5-0) with the Chowchilla Subbasin Growers (CSG) to establish a Domestic Well Mitigation Program for a portion of the Chowchilla Subbasin in the Madera County Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) and to develop a working relationship between Madera County GSA and CSG.
- Stephanie Anagnoson, the director of water and natural resources for Madera County, presented the item.
- The board passed the agreement 5-0.
PUBLIC HEARINGS, Items 7A-7C The revised agenda made available in print at the meeting included three items under the public hearings portion of the meeting. There was no discussion during the 10:30 a.m. time stated on the agenda, so it is unclear whether these items were missed during the meeting or continued through until the new year.
Items 7A-7B Both items related to the approval of Resolutions of Creekside RM, LLC (McCaffrey Homes) for a subdivision final map amendment of Tesoro Viejo, Creekside Village for exemptions under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15268 of the California Public Resources Code (PRC). Section 15268 relates to Ministerial Projects. You can check out a map of Creekside Village here.
Item 8 There was no pending legislation to discuss.
SUPERVISORS AND STAFF REPORTS, Item 9 Macaulay said he had a town hall meeting with the Insurance Commissioner’s Office. He said he had some concerns with their plan, as it was largely unfinished.
Anagnoson, the director of water and natural resources for Madera County, shared a copy of a letter from several water advocacy groups to the state board regarding the Tulare Lake Subbasin.
ADJOURNMENT, Item 10 Rogers adjourned the meeting at 12:40 p.m. It was the final meeting of 2023. The next scheduled meetings of the Madera County Board of Supervisors are Jan. 9, Jan. 16 and Jan. 23.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at fresnodocs@fresnoland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
