Thread by @AndyHS

Fresno City Council meeting October 11,2018! Among consent items today: MOU with Fresno County EOC and PD for removal of tattoos of gang affiliated individuals to abandon gang lifestyle and human trafficking.
Grant non-exclusive Franchise for roll off collection to BinCo

Swanson-Fahrney Ford for purchase of 6 Ford F-350 for $165,215
Continue acceptance with City and Community Colleges to allow School ID access on FAX buses

Proclamation of Disability Awareness Month

Proclamation of Code Enforcement Officer Appreciation Week

Late Start this morning but all Councilmembers are present! Tate Hill, Sr. with the nice invocation @tatehill 1-C , 1-M and 1-N pulled from Consent calendar. Now Proclamation of Disability Awareness Month by @MayorLeeBrand and Disability Commission (DAC) & Vocation Plus.

Have worked with PD and FD to learn best way to deal with disabled population. Meet with departments so first time disabled meet them isn’t during an incident.

Disability Advisory Commission is present this morning as well &are honoring various advocates that focus on homeless veterans, Geekwise Academy, & City’s Desi Garcia

Proclamation of Code Enforcement Officer Appreciation Week by @Esmeralda_Soria @MayorLeeBrand Mayor Days Code Enforcement is most under appreciated part of City Staff.

City Councilmembers give Code Enforcement Team a standing ovation! @PaulCaprioglio honors the late airport barber by
Naming Fresno Yosemite Airport Conference Room after Nick Palomares.

Council members reports. @PaulCaprioglio had two “Coffee with Cop Day”events in his district. “Building relationships one cup at a time “ October 17 Shaw and First Chick fil-et is next one. @Esmeralda_Soria 600-800 at their big Inspiration Park day. She also has morning coffee

with PD next one is October 30 at Revue in Tower District 7:30 am. Soria also mentions sale of parking lot near Chuckchansi Park and hopes proceeds could go to public safety. (She needs to recuse herself from that item) Consent 1-N: $150,000 with Byrne Software for Accela System

Support. DARM’s Jennifer Clark says additional amount on top of $3 million for software usage. Possible another $50,000 too. (Clark will come back to Council if that amount is needed) Training City Staff will reduce how much they would need Byrne. @GarryBredefeld will vote NO.

Council approves providing that item comes back to request the additional $50,000 first. @GarryBredefeld agrees to that request and will vote to approve 6-0 with @stevebrandau absent. 1-M Continue acceptance with City and Community Colleges to allow School ID access on FAX buses

@Esmeralda_Soria needed to recuse herself on that item as she instructs at Community College. Baines runs Council for that item approved 5-0. 3-B Shared Mobility Devices like electric scooters. If approved will allow City to make an agreement with these providers (Bird etc).

@PaulCaprioglio would like to continue this item for two weeks in order to speak with Fresno State’s President Castro @JosephICastro @ClintOlivier says City has a chance to be part of innovative item like these and would like to vote on this today. He calls up Katie Stevens with

Lime to come up to speak. It is a fast growing company in 100 cities. (She is a former City Staff as well). Provides first and last mile transportation to Bus Rapid Transit. They have 50% off for low income. Most scooter rides are under 3 miles. Data Sharing with City can be pro-

vided to allow City to use for grant applications. Helmet give aways , lots of signage and App instructions provided to riders. Lime is in CSU Monterey, Arizona State, Washington State. Lime could have a separate agreement with Fresno State or together with City. @ClintOlivier

asks that we vote today. @wilma_quan says a representative with Fresno State is here to discuss. Caprioglio says we need to talk with community colleges as well.Gresno State’s Larry Salinas says @JosephICastro would like a few weeks to see how Ordinance will effect school.

Bird representative (in 85 cities currently) here to talk as well. He apologizes for anything that happened around Fresno State last few months. People can get a job as a charger who returns scooters overnight. 70,000 ponds of carbon emissions have been saved in Oakland alone.

Please contact San Jose, Portland to see how well we (Bird) worked there. Today’s ordinance is not specific to Bird or Lime. Caprioglio doesn’t want to carve out Fresno State today but to wait two weeks. Olivier would like to vote today. @stevebrandau says he saw scooters in Long

Beach. He asked about can they be ridden on sidewalks? A:NO. Can be parked near sidewalks. Q: any liability to City? A: City will ask for a waiver for City from scooter companies. He is fine with two weeks to discuss with Fresno State. Baines said he didn’t appreciate all the

emails from Bird. He doesn’t know why all the provisions in this ordinance. He won’t support ordinance in this current form but will vote for two week delay. @ClintOlivier says this is Baines’ most libertarian speech in 8 years! Olivier will wait for two weeks. @District5Chavez

says he rode one of the scooters and enjoyed it. Bird has 1000 scooters in San Jose and have been there since March. Chavez asks about Scooter Graveyard Instagram and what happens to stolen scooters. Bird says community can Report directly to Bird if anyone abuses it. Also riders

need to take a photo showing where scooter was docked. Bird has GPS so know where scooters are left or stolen. Tough to tear off Code from scooters. Chavez wants to be sure that PD doesn’t have to recover scooters if lost. Chavez would like stats when this comes back in two weeks

@Esmeralda_Soria would like City College to be part of this discussion as well. This will come back in two weeks as a timed item. Now to unscheduled items. VA Neighborhood parking issue. Says they only get one parking permit per Home and have to pay for any others they need. She

didn’t feel they had enough info or say so with petition. She thought they as neighbors got to vote in this and not Council. If she knew that she would’ve came down to Council earlier. @ClintOlivier says petition was taken around by a neighbor and not his staff. Olivier would

like to schedule regarding this at next Council meeting. Hector Cerda said petition was told it was “for neighborhood watch and free parking for neighbors” but that wasn’t the case. No Parking signs also prohibit holidays and weekends. Hard for family gatherings. @stevebrandau

asks who Helen the petitioner was ? Cerda says she is another neighbor. Council asks that Parking Enforcement will be suspended until this is discussed again. @GarryBredefeld asks City Manager if this Enforcement wil indeed be suspended? A:yes. Olivier says for decades VA has

allowed their staff to park in the neighborhood. Neighbors complained that garbage bins were moved to allow parking disrupting trash pick up. Cigarette butts tossed. Olivier says he has also gotten positive responses to new parking District. VA is also for once dealing with the

issues. This is largest parking district the city has ever created so it won’t please everyone. Some adjustments are needed to some neighborhoods. @GarryBredefeld says Vets have to park in neighborhood too. @PaulCaprioglio says items like this is why he needed two weeks for

Scooter issue. Parking will be enforced as scheduled except for neighborhood south of Clinton. Olivier says he didn’t like insertion that he and his neighbors dont have respect for Vets. VA is starting to offer valet service for Vets. New parking structure maybe built due to this

pressure by Neighbors. @stevebrandau says we all love vets but the business of VA and dumping their parking problems on neighbors wouldn’t have happened by a business in North Fresno. Moving on to Selling 216,000 square feet parking lot at H St and Kern/Mono to Fresno Sports &

& Events Partners for $1,900,000 ( new owners of Fresno Grizzlies). @Esmeralda_Soria recuses herself from this item due to a conflict. She would like this to go to public safety. @GarryBredefeld says he would like a workshop next week to hear what public safety needs are.

Reserve Management Amendment was approved by Council in December. It states 10% has to go to capital and 90% to general fund over 5-10 years. @GarryBredefeld asks Counsel Sloan if Council can override this decision? A: YES. Baines: says Reserve Management is appropriate here.

It can be done most appropriately during the Budget season. However he says it it fine if we have Public Safety Workshop next week. He also says all department heads have pressing needs too. @District5Chavez says midyear Budget is coming up and maybe that is a good time.

@stevebrandau says dispatchers are a good option but glad we have Reserve Management as well. Approve 6-0 to sell parking lot for $1.9 million. 3-D Prop 218 on Water, wastewater and solid waste rates. Need to cover costs. No water rate increase until July 2020.

TCP found in 47 wells. Water Conservation is here to stay. Many pipes are over 50+ years old. Wastewater has not been increased since 2010 but increase is needed now.

Some of the Wastewater system dates back to 1800’s(!) last Residential rate was in 2009. Recommend slight increase. Would like to replace 10-15 garbage trucks a year. Rate will increase an extra $4 a day. Low income rate plans are available ($127 a year). Soria asks how well City

does in advertising this discount for Seniors? Water facilities have been located University site since 1959’s and MSC since 1970’s. Would like to combine all of those to SE Water Treatment plant. Will continue to remain among lowest in the State.

Utilities would like new rates (if approved) to become official July, 2019. If we don’t slightly increase rates now it will be double digits in the future. Baines is supportive. Other Councils kicked problem down the road leading to 200% eventual rate increases. Slight increments

is the best and not force future council to make much larger increase later. Will go to Lunch Recess until 1:30

Council returning from recess break. Beginning with Adopting Fancher Creek Parkway (and trailway?) @District5Chavez this would allow state monies from being secured. FID (Fresno Irrigation District) has approved this designation. Approved 6-0 with Baines absent. Resuming with 3-D

once Councilman Baines can be located(!) He has been found. @PaulCaprioglio thought it was a well done PowerPoint. Asks about timeline for notifying ratepayers. Q: What is result of this vote? A: Counsel Sloan says this will start timeline and this will start to notify counsel.

Caprioglio wants to call this Council the Courageous Council and make tough decisions. This will make rates less over time and keep excellent service. Past Council had to double rates because earlier councils kicked it down the road. We can’t inform our ratepayers until this vote

Gradual increase in rates are easier to budget for ratepayers. @MayorLeeBrand says in past Brandau had to take a tough vote for Recharge Fresno ($430 million). He knew by just kicking down the path it will be more expensive. Now Fresno is water secure compared to other CA cities

Other cities have to turn to expensive desalination plants like San Diego New water treatment plant was built underbudget and on time. Longer we Delay the more expensive in long run. This only starts debate. Brand says he is an example that you can be elected while also in-

creasing rates. @ClintOlivier says these votes are hard when his average council district households have low incomes. Sales tax increases like Measure P hurt those homes. He will vote yes today because he believes it needs to be done. ( someone on Council laughs at that comment

which doesn’t make Olivier happy). Baines says he had his libertarian comments earlier and now Olivier has his progressive part 😝Brandau says this is not a good time for this vote. Said there was a lot of anger over 3-Month survey (water survey??). @GarryBredefeld says too many

people are over taxed and will vote NO. @Esmeralda_Soria says it is unfair to future councils to have to take tough votes. Timing of this so close to November 6 election is not good. Cost savings were promised earlier. Solar energy savings have not been incorporated at treatment

plants yet. Digester gas uses? Trying to connect pipe with PG&E to sell this methane gas. Electric Bill jumped 30% when digester gas was decommissioned. Soria would like know revenue caused by this negotiation with PG&E. Staff says it is already incorporated in this proposal.

Energy reduction as been put into these proposals. One was shutting off energy gobbling water pumps. Long term savings will decrease the amount of rate increases says staff. Soria needs to know everything was done to lower costs before asking her constituents to pay more. Water

Division has been located in 1950’s space and isn’t efficient. City has grown and move is needed. General Fund could use that space as well if vacant. Invites Soria to come on out and check it out. She will ask now to notify ratepayers that this may happen and not vote today.

She knows if we came back in January it will be a new Council that will make this decision. She wants to be sure rates are at the lowest possible hey can be. Baines says he didn’t hear anyone say that our infrastructure doesn’t need improvement. If timing isn’t it right time let

us know? After elections? When new Council is set? Soria said it is prudent to wait after either of those dates but we can start educating public now. Baines says we know we need this investment. He wishes other councils hadn’t booted decisions like this. Some of our pipes are so

old they may burst. Baines and Olivier won’t be here for next Vote. Agrees there should be public outreach. Motion fails 3-4 with Soria, Chavez, Brandau and Bredefeld voting NO. Closed Session now.

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