Documented by Josef Sibala
Here’s what you need to know:
- The Kings County Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to delay the implementation of Senate Bill 43 until Jan. 1, 2026. Behavioral Health Deputy Director Christi Lupkes added that the lack of funding related to the passage of these changes is significant.
- The board approved the transfer agreement with the Mojave Water Agency to transfer Department of Water Resources State Water Project water to the Mojave Water Agency, which will only go to Kettleman City Services District and exclude farmers.
- The board approved the agreement with Witt O’Brien’s, LLC for post-disaster recovery management services effective upon execution through Sept. 30, 2026. The contract includes project development, claim submissions, extension requests, timeline monitoring, technical assistance, appeals, close-outs and audit responses.
Follow-up questions:
- How will the county fund the implementation of SB 43?
- When will the board implement simultaneous translation?
The Scene
According to its website, Kings County is a “general law” county, meaning the state constitution and general law determine the county’s governmental structure.
The Board of Supervisors is the governing body for Kings County and many county special districts. Each of the board’s five members is elected in a nonpartisan manner to a four-year term. The board sets policies and depends on the county administrator, county officials and department heads to fulfill its wishes.
The Board of Supervisors has administrative, legislative and quasi-judicial duties and responsibilities prescribed by the state constitution and statutes.
The meeting was held at 9 a.m. in the board chambers at 1400 West Lacey Blvd. in Administration Building 1 in Hanford.
Kings County County Board of Supervisors members present:
- Joe Neves, District 1 (Lemoore and Stratford)
- Rusty Robinson, District 4 (Armona and Hanford)
- Richard Fagundes, District 5 (Hanford and Burris Park)
- Doug Verboon, District 3 (North Hanford, Island District and North Lemoore)
- Richard Valle, District 2 (Avenal, Corcoran, Home Garden and Kettleman City)
Others present:
- Behavioral Health Director Lisa Lewis
- Behavioral Health Deputy Director Christi Lupkes
- Finance Director Erik Urena
- Fire Chief William Lynch
- Human Resources Director Carolyn Leist
- Personnel Analyst Ashley Hernandez
- Public Health Director Rose Mary Rahn
- Public Health Deputy Director Everardo Legaspi
- Administrative Officer Kyria Martinez
- Administrative Officer Matthew Boyett
- Community Development Director Chuck Kinney
- Planner Noelle Tomlinson
- Jacob Westra from Tulare Lake Water and Storage District
- Dave Clevenger
- Registrar of Voters Lupe Villa
- Human Services Agency Director Wendy Osikafo
- Giovanna Isidoro
- Red Fitiausi
Discussions/Actions
Dave Clevenger, a Kings County resident, updated the board on the Triangle Courtyard project, adding that the drive surface is in storage.
Osikafo stated that staff will bring an item to the board next year to close the funding gap on the Triangle Court project.
Lupe Villa, registrar of voters, gave the board an update on who will be on the ballot for the March 5, 2024, primary elections. The nomination period ran Nov. 13-Dec. 8.
He discussed the possible special election at Reef-Sunset School District and the associated costs of $150,000 to $170,000 if a recall is confirmed.
Giovanna Isidoro, Valley Voices representative and a local high school student, stated that she lives in District 4 and would like to bring attention to the need for youth programs and third spaces within the community. She also stated that safe spaces are important for development.
Red Fitiausi, a local high school student, asked for the meetings to be held later, including Spanish translation services.
Araceli Barrios, Kings County resident and Valley Voices representative, stated in Spanish, translated by Yvette Chaidez, that she has requested simultaneous interpretation of the meeting and attended a meeting with Supervisor Valle to discuss the request and has not seen any changes to the meetings.
Valle said he met with the Valley Voices representatives and discussed the research staff have been looking into regarding their requests.
He stated that he did offer at the meeting for bilingual county staff to be available for translation if requested at the board meetings and understood the group did not accept that.
A. The board (5-0) approved the minutes from the meeting of Dec.12.
Under the consent calendar, the board (5-0) unanimously approved items as follows:
A. Behavioral Health Department:
1. The board approved the first amendment to the agreement with Mental Health Systems Inc. to add the Mental Health Student Services Act services for children and youth.
According to the agenda packet report, the amended agreement amount for fiscal year 2023-2024 will be $366,449 and $712,461 for 2024-2025.
This amendment to that agreement seeks to add early intervention school-based mental health services to children, youth and their families.
MHS, through the operation of the KIND (Kids In New Directions) Center, will provide school-based services to districts as authorized by KCBH in collaboration with the Kings County Office of Education.
B. Child Support Services:
1. The board approved the agreement with Consolidated Facility Services, LLC for janitorial services for two years, effective Jan. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2025, with up to two additional one-year terms.
According to the agenda packet report, the annual cost of this agreement is $37,410 for janitorial services and supplies.
C. Elections Department:
1. The board appointed Jeffrey Alan Gonzalez, Martin Chavez and Dianna Griffith to four-year terms as directors at-large to the Stratford Public Utility District.
Regular agenda items were as follows:
A. Behavioral Health Department
1. The board (5-0) retroactively approved the agreement with Willow Glen Care Center for residential board and care services, effective from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025.
According to the agenda packet report, the maximum agreement cost is, at most, $2.8 million.
Lewis said that the maximum budget for the Casa Del Rio facility for fiscal year 2023-2024 is $868,700, and for 2024-2025 is $955,570.
Lupkes said that the services provided include assistance and monitoring in taking medication, scheduling treatment appointments, transportation and performing daily living skills.
2. a. The board (5-0) approved the participation agreement with the California Mental Health Services Authority to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with the California Department of State Hospitals on rates for state hospital beds retroactively effective from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025.
b. The board (5-0) approved the memorandum of understanding with the California Department of State Hospitals and the California Mental Health Services Authority for the purchase of state hospital beds retroactively, effective from Oct. 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025.
According to the agenda packet report, the fee for this participation agreement is $2,804 for fiscal year 2023-2024 and $2,804 for 2024-2025, for a total of $5,608.
Lewis said counties collectively paid between $90 million and $130 million to procure state hospital beds, and expressed concern regarding the nonnegotiable annual rate increases of 22% imposed by DSH.
CalMHSA successfully negotiated a new purchase agreement with DSH on behalf of the counties, saving the counties millions of dollars each year.
Lupkes added that the MOU and participation agreement allow DSH to authorize CalMHSA to continue to be the administrative agent to negotiate rates and serve as the liaison agency for KCBH.
The rates listed in the MOU cover the retroactive period from July 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023, due to the timeliness of negotiations between CalMHSA and DSH.
3. The board (5-0) adopted a resolution to delay the implementation of SB 43 until Jan. 1, 2026.
SB 43 broadens eligibility to people unable to provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care.
In addition, the legislation covers people with a severe substance use disorder, such as chronic alcoholism, and no longer requires a co-occurring mental health disorder.
Lewis said that the law will require the partnership of behavioral health, public guardians, emergency rooms, law enforcement and the community to address the required changes fully. Lupkes added that the lack of funding related to the passage of these changes is one of significance.
Verboon said waiting for 24 months does not solve the problem, and urged a proactive approach by starting with small steps.
Lupkes said she will draft a legislative platform to equip the board to garner state funding. She added that the mobile crisis unit will be operational in 2024.
Verboon emphasized the urgency of implementing SB 43 and protecting families.
Valle asked whether the unfunded mandate is why 58 counties requested a delay. Lupkes said that the reasons are limits on resources in place within 60 days, such as law enforcement training and large intake on substance abuse hospitals.
In response to Verboon, Lupkes said that voluntary placements do not take involuntary holds.
4. The board (5-0) retroactively approved the agreement with Bay Area Addiction Research and Treatment Inc. for narcotic treatment program (NTP) services, effective from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026.
According to the agenda packet report, the original agreement outlined in 2018 had a set limit of $36,164, but the services rendered by BAART have exceeded this amount by $162,851.
The total incurred costs retroactive to fiscal year 2021-2022 through fiscal year 2023-2024 will be paid upon approval by the board for this agreement, and the budget has been updated to be better aligned with Kings County Medi-Cal beneficiaries’ utilization of these services.
The costs exceeded the original budgeted amount because of several factors:
When developed in 2018, the original budgeted amount aligned more with prior service use, which has increased over time.
Since Medi-Cal beneficiaries can access NTP services from any certified NTP provider within California, and the Medi-Cal county of residence for that beneficiary is responsible for provider reimbursement via a contract or other agreement, the provider could continue services beyond the budgeted amount.
Unfortunately, since this agreement was on auto-renewal and with staffing changes during this contract, there were no systems to identify this budgetary issue earlier.
However, while putting systems in place for contract and budget monitoring during fiscal year 2022-2023, this issue did come to light and is being remedied.
This agreement also has retroactive application due to the complexities of implementing the new CalAIM Behavioral Health Payment Reform rates.
The associated tasks for this transition to payment reform included the following: understanding new claiming codes, setting and negotiating rates with providers, updating the associated contract language and working through the significance of this initiative with the contract providers for each contract.
Robinson asked whether the county was behind in payments in 2021-22. Lupkes said that project spending is tracked, and noted a 62% turnover rate in executive management.
Verboon urged exit interviews be instituted in order to understand what previous county employees were working on.
B. Department of Finance
1. The board (5-0) approved the agreement with Witt O’Brien’s, LLC for post-disaster recovery management services effective upon execution through Sept. 30, 2026.
According to agenda packet information, the contract will include the following main services: project development, claim submissions, extension requests, timeline monitoring, technical assistance, appeals, close-outs and audit responses.
Funding for most $200,000 for the recommended action is included in the fiscal year 2023-24 adopted county budget.
Urena said that Witt O’Brien’s, LLC will assist the C\county in developing and monitoring the debris-removal program and consult on mitigation projects.
The contract term is through Sept. 30, 2026, as the full recovery process is expected to take multiple years as the county waits for the water to recede fully, complete debris removal, repair infrastructure and finally, the project close-out process.
C. Fire Department
1. The board (5-0) authorized the transfer of California Emergency Services grant funding to support progress payments to Teter and Associates for fire station remodel projects
According to the agenda packet report, Teter and Associates will provide conceptual design and cost analysis of potential fire station remodels for Station 1 (Burris Park), Station 2 (Hardwick), Station 6 (Island), Station 9 (Kettleman City), Station 10 (Stratford), Station 11 (Corcoran) and Station 12 (Avenal).
Lynch said that the California Emergency Services (CalOES) pass-through grant revenues of $37,000 will fund the payments of the department’s fire station remodel projects.
2. The board (5-0) authorized the purchase of two Type 1 fire apparatus from Fire Apparatus Solutions.
According to agenda packet materials, purchasing these two vehicles totals $1.5 million. It will be funded through the California Emergency Services (CalOES) pass-through funding awarded to the Fire Department from the State Budget process.
Lynch said the purchase will support life safety services in those communities and the unincorporated area.
3. a. The board (5-0) authorized the purchase of three Rice FH3 National Fire Prevention Association-rated hose testers.
According to the agenda packet report, purchasing the three Rice FH3 hose testers costs $9,632. It will be funded through the California Emergency Services (CalOES) pass-through funding awarded to the Fire Department from the state budget process.
Lynch said the Fire Department sought to purchase three Rice FH3 hose testers to ensure attack fire hoses meet NFPA standards. The NFPA standard for hose-testing guidelines stipulates that attack hoses be tested for five minutes at 300 pounds per square inch (PSI).
D. Human Resources
1. The board (5-0) approved the revised Paid Sick Leave for Extra Help Employees Policy.
According to the agenda packet report, the policy was established in 2015.
Leist said that the policy had been revised due to legislative changes to update the definition of a qualifying family member, increase the maximum amount of paid sick leave authorized within a calendar year and include additional clean-up language to clarify the process.
Hernandez added that the policy is proposed to go into effect on Jan. 1.
DI. Public Health Department
1. The board (5-0) approved the agreement amendment with Dr. Milton Teske to continue providing services as health officer/tuberculosis controller/registrar of births and deaths through June 30, 2024.
DII. Administration
1. a. The board (5-0) approved Transfer Agreement 1 of two with the Mojave Water Agency to transfer Department of Water Resources State Water Project Table A water to the agency.
b. The board (5-0) approved Transfer Agreement 2 of two with the Mojave Water Agency to transfer Department of Water Resources State Water Project Table A water to Kings County.
c. The board (5-0) approved the state water project analysis agreement with the Department of Water Resources and the Mojave Water Agency.
d. The board (5-0) authorized the county administrative officer to sign transfer agreements and the State Water Project Analysis Office Agreement for the water transfer with the Mojave Water Agency.
According to the agenda packet report, Kings County will make available 300 acre-feet (AF) of its Table A water for transfer to MWA in 2023.
Martinez said the bank-pumping plant is the transfer point. Kings will assist MWA in scheduling the delivery of this transfer water as necessary with DWR.
Administrative Officer Matthew Boyett said MWA should be responsible for the SWP delivery costs for the water delivered to MWA.
Kings will assist MWA with the request to DWR for approval of the transfer and appropriate California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance.
As such, the county and MWA are looking to enter a transfer agreement to move water out of San Luis Reservoir and to MWA for delivery back to KCCSD later based on the ratios outlined below.
If DWR sends a state project allocation of 36-50%, there is a 6:1 ratio, which means that for one acre-foot of water the county gets back from Mojave, they will keep six acre-feet.
If DWR sends a state project allocation of 51-75, there is a 3:1 ratio, which means that Mojave will keep three acre-feet of water from Mojave for one acre-foot when they return to the district.
If DWR sends a state project allocation of 76-90, there is a 2:1 ratio, which means that Mojave will keep two acre-feet of water from Mojave for one acre-foot when they return to the District.
If DWR sends a state project allocation of 91-100, there is a 1:1 ratio.
Jacob Westra from the Tulare Lake Water and Storage District clarified that the water will only go to Kettleman City Services District and excludes farmers.
2. The board (5-0) directed staff to act as deemed necessary to implement Senate Bill 1383 for collection service to be nonmandatory.
Public hearings are as follows:
A. Community Development Agency
1. a. The board conducted a public hearing on the partial rescission of a Farmland Security Zone contract and simultaneously entered into a new Farmland Security Zone contract concerning Lot Line Adjustment 22-06.
B. The board (5-0) found that the partial rescission of a Farmland Security Zone contract and simultaneously entering into a new Farmland Security Zone contract is categorically exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15317, and none of the circumstances in Section 15300.2 apply.
c. The board (5-0) adopted a resolution to partially rescind Farmland Security Zone Contract 135 and simultaneously enter into new Farmland Security Zone Contract 282.
According to agenda packet information, the existing contract to be partially rescinded consists of 92.44 gross acres, and the new contract to be entered into will consist of 93.19 gross acres, a minimal increase of 0.75 gross acres.
Tomlinson added that agricultural production would remain the same, so there would be no significant change under the revised contract.
Closed session included the following:
Conference with Labor Negotiator: Negotiators: Martinez, Leist, Che Johnson of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore
General Unit – CLOCEA
Supervisor’s Unit – CLOCEA
Blue Collar – SEIU
Detention Deputies Association
Firefighter’s Association
Deputy Sheriff’s Association
Probation Officers Association
Prosecutor’s Association
Unrepresented Management
Personnel Matter:
Public Employee Appointment: Fire Chief
Personnel Matter:
Public Employee – Discipline/dismissal/release
Litigation initiated formally. Title: El Rico GSA v. County of Kings, et al., Kings County Superior Court Case No. 23CU0202
The next board meeting will be on Jan. 2 at 9 a.m.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at fresnodocs@fresnoland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
