What happened?
At its Tuesday meeting, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a multi-year contract for continued maintenance and support of its elections information management system, rejected an appeal for a 100-foot cell tower in a rural neighborhood in District 5, and received an update about public health funding.
With a 4-1 vote, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors conditionally approved county Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus’s request to waive the competitive bidding process and approve an agreement with DFM Associates, Inc. for continued licensing, maintenance and support of the county’s elections information management system, retroactive to July 1, 2023, for a maximum of five consecutive years.
Competitive bidding was not feasible, per Kus, because the sole possible competitor’s software is not compatible with the county’s system. Kus said that 80% of California counties are using DFM Associates.
Kus pointed out that the upcoming primary and special elections, both in March, made the matter urgent.
Three members of the public, all of whom have appeared before the board in the past to make unsupported or false statements about election outcomes, lawsuits and processes, commented; among their suggestions were calls to shorten the term of the contract. One of them misunderstood what DFM was and called it a “voting system.”
Some board members appeared sympathetic with the commenters; when Kus clarified that the agreement included a three-year base contract and two extensions of one year each, Magsig said he found that more “palatable.”
District 2 Supervisor Steve Brandau, who has denied the results of the 2020 election and sown doubts about local elections, initially said he would not support the proposal because, he said, he wanted elections to be “transparent.” So, he made a motion that proposals to extend the contract after three years should come back to the board.
County Counsel Daniel Cedarborg explained that would be contrary to the terms of the agreement; the renewals were an internal administrative matter. Supervisor Nathan Magsig then suggested that Kus come back to the board in two years and the matter could be revisited, leaving the current agreement intact.
Board denies 100-Foot cell tower
The board voted 4-1, with Magsig the “no” vote, to let stand the Planning Commission’s denial of the construction of a 100-foot cell tower in a rural area of District 5. The land, at Boren Lane and Elwood Road, just under two miles from Yokuts Valley, is zoned for agriculture. Nearly 20 members of the public showed up to comment in opposition to the tower; the property owner was the sole member of the public who spoke in support of it.
Magsig, repeatedly referring to the area as “Squaw” Valley, despite the recent name change, first asked the appellant, an attorney for Verizon, to speak. He said the Planning Commission’s denial to build was unwarranted, but he did not bring letters of support from CalFire, schools or other local agencies to demonstrate neighborhood backing, as requested. Nor was an engineer present to address residents’ concerns about radio frequencies.
Though the property owner who was first to speak during the public comment period gave the impression that his only opponent was a single “unhinged” neighbor, 11 people who were against the tower spoke and there were at least six to eight people waiting in line who did not get a chance to speak when time ran out. All waiting in line said they opposed the tower in response to a question from Magsig. Among the opponents who spoke was a 12-year-old boy dressed in a suit.
Verizon’s attorney gave a rebuttal. Though “aesthetic” objections were permitted, those expressed were not substantive, he said, and Cederborg concurred. The subject of radio frequencies was a concern expressed by commenters but could not be considered by the board because limits are determined at the federal level.
Cederborg confirmed that if Verizon wishes to further appeal the matter, the next step is federal court.
Update on public health funding
Director of Public Health David Luchini presented an annual update on the county’s “Future of Public Health” funding as required by the state government, which supplies the funds. The county is allocated $6 million annually, 70% of which must be spent on staffing.
A rural mobile health program has provided a variety of medical services to almost 4,000 patients from December 2022 through December 2023, and a rural emergency medical technician (EMT) training program is underway.
Luchini reported on top causes of hospitalization (septicemia, COVID-19, hypertension), leading causes of death (heart disease, COVID-19, cancer) and causes of death with highest growth rate (drug overdose, cirrhosis, homicide). He reported on disparities for Black residents of the county, who had higher rates of infant mortality, sepsis, cancer, kidney disease and other illnesses.
Brandau asked if any COVID-19 deaths had been “reversed,” or if there was any documentation of “vaccine-related” deaths. A member of Luchini’s staff said that there was very little change in the data. Brandau, who was a COVID skeptic, related an anecdote about his sister-in-law, whose heart condition he blamed, without evidence, on the vaccine.
Luchini noted that the vaccination rate for the county was extremely low. “People are not getting vaccinated,” he said, likely accounting for the high hospitalization rate.
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors meet next on Feb. 6.
