Documented by Kristina Mansfield
Here’s what you need to know
- The Madera County Board of Supervisors voted (5-0) to extend the current agreement with Friends of Ahwahnee Hills Regional Park to lease the park for $1 per year for five more years. The new lease commenced on Nov. 1, 2023 and will terminate Oct. 30, 2036.
- Voted (4-0) to enter into an agreement with Madera County Food Bank in the amount of $528,378 for a grant made available to build a new single story pre-engineered metal building warehouse with office space. Wamhoff recused himself from the vote, citing frequent business dealings with Trinity Power, who were awarded $90,000 as part of the contract.
- Voted (5-0) to adopt a Resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of a 2023 series Grant Anticipation note not to exceed the principal amount of $500,000 to provide a short-term cash advance for Maintenance District No. 19, Parkwood.
Follow-up questions
- What is the financial disclosure policy for peace officers within the counties that they serve that hold public office in neighboring counties, and what oversight policies are in place in each of those counties to prevent corruption, coercion and and financial fraud?
- What other solar companies bid for the Madera County Food Bank project?
- When will construction start to add the Southbound Lane on SR 41 between SR 145 and Road 209 and how long will it take to complete?
Supervisors in Attendance:
Chair David Rogers, District 2
Chair Pro Tem Robert Poythress, District 3
Jordan Wamhoff, District 1
Leticia Gonzalez, District 4
Robert Macaulay, District 5
The Scene
The regular meeting of the Madera Board of Supervisors took place Tuesday Dec. 5 at 9 a.m. in Supervisors Chambers at 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. Seventy-two hours to the start of each meeting, 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. Otherwise, if you want to participate, just show up.
Item 1 There were no additions to the agenda and it was approved (5-0) as presented. Twenty-six people attended the meeting in person throughout its duration. You can watch a video of it here.
CLOSED SESSION, Items 2A-2F There were six items on the closed session agenda.
- Item 2B is a meeting with Real Property Negotiators and Jay Varney, county administrative officer, for the property at 35141 Bonadelle Ave, Madera CA 93636, Madera County Fire Station 19. Under negotiation are the price, terms and conditions of sale of water rights. Read about Government Code Section 54956.8 here.
- Item 2D is a meeting with legal regarding existing litigation. The name of that case is Fulton Ranch, Inc. vs. The Madera County Groundwater Sustainability Agency (Madera County Superior Court Cases No. MCV086218). Read about it here.
The board returned at 10:06 a.m. Chair Rogers opened and closed the meeting in remembrance of those who died at Pearl Harbor.
Item 3 Pastor Roger Leach, the Founding Senior Pastor of Valley West Christian Center, led the Invocation. A member of the audience then led the Pledge of Allegiance.
PUBLIC COMMENT, Item 4 The first 15 minutes of each regular session meeting are set aside for regular people to address the board on anything on their mind that isn’t on the meeting agenda, but is within its jurisdiction.
- Madera County Treasurer Tax Collector Tracy Kennedy said taxes are due on Dec. 10. She said her department collected $1 million in e-checks over the weekend and between $65 million and $75 million to-date.
- Larry Salinas introduced himself as he is working in a new capacity in the county. He has three adult children that live here as well.
- Deborah Martinez, director of Madera County social services, introduced the newest members to the department, including Yeng Her, Nickie Matus, Vivian Garcia, Kenneth Shirley and Steve Duckworth.
- Jared Carter from the public works department said his team won several awards throughout the state.
- Regional Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Planning at DKS Associates, Kendall Flint, gave a comment via Zoom. She said she’s been spending a lot of time in Madera and thanked Carter and his department for their help with Measure T outreach. “It was helpful for people to see first hand some of the challenges that residents face,” Flint said. DKS is a consulting firm providing planning and engineering services for all modes of ground transportation.
CONSENT CALENDAR, Items 5A-5Q Macaulay had a comment on the appearance of a retroactive contract on the consent calendar.
- Over the last month and a half or so, Macaulay said, the board has made comments about receiving retroactive contracts and had requested that staff make amendments to board letters to include information as to why contracts that continue to come to the dais are retroactively dated. He said in the future, he’d like to see more information on items that indicate there is no fiscal impact on the General Fund on items with retroactive contracts.
- “When we have items where the fiscal impact is simply stated as ‘not having an impact,’ that just doesn’t sit that great with me,” he said. “I’d love to have some more explanation.”
- Macaulay requested that county counsel provide direction. County counsel provided some suggested verbiage.
- Shawn Kirkpatrick, deputy public health director, answered questions from the board related to Item J. He said one of the changes this specific agreement allows is to protect the county from liability.
The consent calendar passed as presented 5-0. Next, the board took a 10 minute recess to take Christmas photos in the lobby.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Item 6A Voted (5-0) to enter into an agreement with Friends of Ahwahnee Hills Regional Park in the amount of $1 per year for lease of real property located at 43469 Highway 49, Ahwahnee, Calif. for a term to commence Nov. 1, 2023 and terminate Oct. 30, 2036. This extends the current agreement for five years.
Item 6B Before heading into discussing the next item, Rogers segued over to Wamhoff, who recused himself.
- “When the board had initially approved a $528,000 expenditure, I didn’t see any breakdown, but on this agenda I see a breakdown that includes a solar proposal with Trinity Power,” said Wamhoff. “I have frequent business dealings with Trinity Power, and mutual interests, at times, so out of an abundance of caution I am going to be recusing myself from this item.”
- Wamhoff previously stated he owns SolarQuote, a solar energy sales, installation and maintenance company for residential, agricultural and commercial customers. According to SolarQuote’s LinkedIn and Website pages, its business address is 2105 N. Fine Ave. in Fresno, in the same business park as the Fresno County Probation AB109 Offices (2171 N. Fine Ave. Fresno, CA 93727). Wamhoff is also a police officer in the City of Fresno.
- Jessica Leon, county administration, presented the item. She clarified that the monies, being funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), are specifically meant to help the food bank complete the building they are currently working on. “The grant is meant to assist with very specific costs, such as freezer/refrigeration costs and kitchen and other interior furnishings,” she said. Poythress commented how pleased he was with his colleagues and the County for the judicious use of ARPA funds. Gonzalez echoed his comments and said she is excited for the project to come forward.
- The vote passed 4-0.
Item 6C Next, Jared Carter presented the Public Works Department’s Speed Hump Installation policy to the board for discussion and consideration.
- Carter said that his department receives a lot of requests for various traffic and speed control devices throughout the area. He said more recently, with the developments of areas live Riverstone and Tesoro Viejo, the department has seen an increase in these types of requests. To streamline the process, the department has created a Speed Hump Installation Policy.
- Carter said the applicants must first get together and decide that they want the speed hump, then start the approval process through the city. The installation is paid for by the applicant. Carter clarified that a speed bump is usually seen in parking lots, while a speed hump is wider and flatter, and something that you usually see in residential areas.
- Wamhoff asked what the average cost of a speed hump is. Carter said he didn’t have the dollar figures available but that variables include how wide the road is and whether it is a single or double installation. Macaulay said he’s grateful that the department put together a thoughtful policy about how to get these installed and that there are a lot of communities that have been requesting them .Gonzalez asked what the lifespan and maintenance of the speed humps are, Carter said similar to a regular road.
- The board voted (5-0) to adopt a Speed Hump Installation Policy to guide and standardize the process for requests to install speed humps.
Item 6D Carter presented on behalf of the Public Works Department. The board voted (5-0) to enter into a Cooperative Agreement with the California Department of Transportation for the Project Initiation Document (PID) to add a Southbound Lane on SR 41 between SR 145 and Road 209.
Item 6E Carter continued to present. The board voted (5-0) to enter into a Cooperative Agreement with California Department of Transportation for the PID to add a Southbound Lane on SR 41 between Avenue 15 and SR 145.
Item 6F Deputy Public Works Director Andrea Saldate presented next. The board voted (5-0) to approve a receipt of unanticipated revenue in the amount of $825,697 derived from CSA 22 Table Mountain Zone B – Fund Balance to Refund/Overcharges and Operations Transfer Out for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.
Item 6G Voted (5-0) to adopt a Resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of a 2023 series Grant Anticipation note not to exceed the principal amount of $500,000 to provide a short-term cash advance for Maintenance District No. 19, Parkwood. Madera County Treasurer Tax Collector Tracy Kennedy presented.
Supervisors and Staff Reports Macaulay led the room in the birthday song for Gonzalez. Poythress attended the groundbreaking ceremony at the Madera Rescue Mission. Rogers had several meetings. Wamhoff attended a tree lighting event. He said more people attended than in years past. Gonzalez made a quick announcement and said there will be a Pearl Harbor remembrance. CAO and County Counsel had nothing to report.
The board returned to closed session at 11:16 a.m. The next scheduled meeting of the Madera County Board of Supervisors is Dec. 12.
If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at fresnodocs@fresnoland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.
