Documented by Ramiro Merino
Here’s what you need to know
- The City Council approved a new district boundary map, which adds 1,851 acres of annexed property to District 1, now represented by Mayor Pro tem Cece Gallegos.
- After a presentation by Police Chief Giachino Chiaramonte, the council voted to approve the purchase of new 9mm firearms for $94,626.. The purchase is allocated within the city’s budget, with $60,000 from the general fund and $34,626 from Measure K.
- After a discussion, the council directed city staff to continue researching Spanish interpretation services from other vendors, preferably Central Valley-based, in-person services, and capabilities provided by Zoom for virtual options.
Follow-up questions
- What does terminating the declaration of the local state of emergency related to the closure of Madera Community Hospital mean? How does this impact those who used services provided by the hospital?
- Regarding the discussion of providing Spanish interpretation for council meetings, does the city plan to provide other city resources in Spanish, such as on the city website?
Notes
Mayor Santos Garcia called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. Council members Elsa Mejia, Jose Rodriguez, Steve Montes, Anita Evans and Artemio Villegas were present, as well as Mayor Pro tem Cece Gallegos, at the start of the meeting. Valley State Prison Chaplain David Doughtery led the invocation.
Public comment
One member of the public provided public comment.
- Gladys Diebert, a resident of Madera and a board member of the Madera Unified School District, invited everyone to the International Women’s Day event on Saturday, March 2 at the Madera South High School. Gallegos and Mejia will serve as speakers for the event. “This is an event put on by women for women and men that value contributions made by women in our community,” said Diebert.
Actions
- Evans made a motion to approve the consent calendar as presented. The council unanimously approved the motion.
- (B-1) Minutes – Feb. 7 and Feb. 14
- (B-2) Informational report rn Register of audited demands
- (B-3) Informational report on personnel activity
- (B-4) Terminating the declaration of the local state of emergency related to the closure of Madera Community Hospital
- (B-5) Acceptance of the Local Government Waste Tire Amnesty Grant Program from the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
- (B-6) Amendment 3 to agreement with GHD, Inc. for professional engineering services relating to the Lake Street, 4th Street and Central Avenue intersection
- (B-7) Contract award for pavement distress survey and analysis
- (B-8) Consider an ordinance to amend Section 8-7.08 (D) of the Madera Municipal Code involving the delinquent date for the payment of municipal utilities
- (B-9) Second reading and adoption of an ordinance to rezone 57.53 acres located on the southwest corner of the Intersection of West Pecan Avenue and Stadium Road (Road 26 ½)
- Garcia said the public hearings for items C1 and C2 would be postponed until 6:45 p.m.
- During the petitions, bids, resolutions, ordinances and agreements portion of the meeting, Police Chief Giachino Chiaramonte reported on Item D-1, Piggyback Purchase Agreement for Police Department Firearm Purchase.
- “The Police Department is requesting to replace its duty firearm with the 90mm glock handgun. The new firearm is equipped with a red dot sight (for optics). The total cost of the replacement is $94,626.96, with potential savings from a buyback program. Currently, officers are equipped with a .40 caliber firearm. Law enforcement standards have shifted away from the use of .40 caliber firearms and towards the 9mm. The department has 76 firearms to replace. The benefits of the 9mm firearm is easier handling, less recoil, more approachable for individuals with limited firearm knowledge, and less expensive ammunition. The cost of ammunition for a 9mm is $0.29 versus $0.37 for a 4mm firearm. With the buyback program, the vendor will evaluate the 4mm caliber firearm and assign a value for the officers to purchase through the vendor if they so desire. Staff anticipate reducing the cost of the overall purchase by approximately $17,000. The purchase is allocated within the city’s budget, with $60,000 from the general fund and $34,626.96 from Measure K.”
- There was no public comment.
- Gallegos thanked the chief for the presentation, and said it might be easier to recruit police officers with the switch from the 9mm firearm to the 4mm firearm, and asked, “When we get the buyback back, is the $17,000 going into Measure K or into the general fund?” Chiaramonte said, to his knowledge, the funds will go back into the general fund.
- Gallegos made a motion to approve the item, which was unanimously approved.
- At about 6:45 p.m, the council returned to the public hearings section of the meeting.
- City Clerk Alicia Gonzales reported on item C-1, the updating of City Council member district boundaries for annexed property.
- Gonzales said, “We are here to provide information on the districting process for properties annexed into the city. Significant annexation, including the Villages at Almond Grove, which has occurred since the adoption of the current boundary maps. Any annexed property must be added to the nearest district and no other districts should be changed.”
- There was no public comment.
- The city attorney asked council members if they were comfortable with the proposed map with the addition of the annexed property into District 1, to which all council members and Garcia nodded in confirmation.
- Gonzales also reported on item C-2, adoption of updated district boundary to include property annexed to the city.
- Gonzales said, “The City Council has held five public hearings to receive public input on district boundaries to account for property annexations. The next step is to amend the city of Madera’s municipal code to formally add the annexed territory. This is done by first introducing the ordinance and then approving it at a subsequent meeting. If approved, the new map will become effective April 6, 2024.”
- Rodiguez made a motion to approve the item, which passed unanimously.
- Next up was administrative reports. Gonzales reported on item E-1, Spanish language interpretation at City Council meetings. Gonzales said, “The City Council directed city staff to look into this item during the Dec. 20, 2023, meeting, through a majority vote. The city has traditionally relied on city staff for interpretation services as needed, with public requests channeled through the city clerk’s office. Although 72 hours is recommended, it is not required. City Council meetings are open to public participation via Zoom offering simultaneous interpretation for up to 25 participants through different audio channels. There are key considerations for interpreters, which include professionalism and expertise, language proficiency and cost and timeliness. For this meeting, staff contacted firms that specialize in live interpretations during public meetings. Staff also reached out to other cities who offer Spanish translation services.”
- There was a public comment regarding this item.
- Resident Jose Eduardo said, “I am happy the council brought this issue. At minimum, provide Spanish interpretation services for communities who want to engage with the City Council at some level. When it comes to our communities, we need to think about the most vulnerable.”
- Resident Rosa Hernandez said in Spanish, “Me alegra que estemos hablando sobre la interpretación en español. Seremos parte de las platicas como también en el activismo. Tenemos que estar incluidos. Esperamos que algo positivo venga de esta decisión. Me gustaría ser parte de esta conversación con un intérprete español.”
- Resident Olidia Garcia also said in Spanish, “Ha asistido a la reunión y no he entendido el idioma. En las ocasiones que ha venido, la única información que me ha llevado es que hay un nuevo negocio.”
- Evans asked, “If we provide Spanish interpretation, are we going to provide interpretation services for other languages? Can we also provide closed captioning for those of us who do not understand Spanish?”
- Montes said, “Having interpretation services goes both ways. I would encourage you to keep researching. I would suggest we post the public meetings in Spanish so that the public can watch the videos even after the meeting, not just in English. Just because we don’t have someone in the meeting asking for Spanish interpretation does not mean they will not need it after the meeting is over.”
- Gallegos said “Alicia, I appreciate you researching other cities but can you also research the services our partners like Madera Unified uses?”
- Mejia asked, “Why are the businesses listed outside of the Valley?” Gonzales replied that those listed provided timely responses for this meeting. Mejia also said “For full disclosure, I work with the second business on the list during my day job. I appreciate the creative approaches but let’s not forget to keep this on a level-playing field. As English speakers, we attend meetings without having to think about the logistical procedures.”
- Villegas said he supports the idea but does not like the cost for the services. Villegas asked if Spanish interpretation services based in the Valley could be researched.
- Rodriguez commented, “Interpretation is something that can benefit the community. In the UN meetings, they have the technology of the headpiece to listen to the interpretation in real time. I don’t think we can put a price tag on interpretation. I don’t know if we have the technology, but can we look into this? Whoever is putting together the agenda should be proactive in getting Spanish interpreters as a courtesy rather than as reactive.”
- Garcia said the direction for city staff is to continue researching local vendors, explore the Zoom interpretation capabilities and look into in-person interpretations.
- There was a public comment regarding this item.
Council members then provided their reports:
- Gallegos asked for an update regarding the sewer system. She also gave a shout-out to Montes for his birthday next week.
- Rodriguez said they received an update on Measure E and said more outreach is being done. There will be a meeting soon with updates regarding this measure.
- Montes gave a shout-out to Parks and Community Services Director Joseph Herbert for getting needed equipment.
- Evans thanked everyone who came to the Black History Month event. Despite rain in the forecast, he said the event had a great turnout.
- Mejia reminded everyone about the Women’s International event taking place on March 3. “Happy Black History Month and thank you to the city staff for reinstating the bus stop and making sure our residents have the public transportation available to them.”
- Villegas had no report.
- Mayor Garcia gave a shout-out to a near-record short ending of a council meeting at 7:02 p.m.
With no further discussion, Garcia adjourned the meeting at 7:02 p.m. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for March 6.
Conversation highlight
- “I am happy the council brought this issue. At minimum, provide Spanish interpretation services for communities who want to engage with the City Council at some level. When it comes to our communities, we need to think about the most vulnerable,” said Jose Eduardo, Madera resident.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at fresnodocs@fresnoland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
