Thread by @AndyHS

After a week of Budget Hearings a regular Fresno City Council meeting PLUS Special Emergency Closed Meeting. (Probably about re-opening City Hall ) @FLDocumenters

Some of the Agenda items include 1-E Approve an Agreement with Economic & Planning Systems, Inc., in the amount of $140,600 with a $30,000 contingency, to prepare an updated nexus study for the Citywide impact fees for Regional Streets, New Growth Area Major Streets, Police Fa-

-ilities, Fire Facilities, Quimby In-Lieu Parkland Dedication and Park Facilities. (Citywide wide)

1-F *Actions pertaining to the summary vacation of access right restrictions on a portion of the northwest corner of East Jensen Avenue and South Maple Avenue (Council District 5)

1-H *Actions pertaining to the Tulare Street and Q Street Traffic Signal Project – Bid File No. 3770 (Council District 3)
Approve the Grade Crossing Signal Agreement and the Surface Installation Agreement with Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Company totaling $103,170

to facilitate BNSF grade-crossing and traffic signal pre-emption network and timing improvements

1-I *RESOLUTION – Adopting a list of proposed Public Works projects to receive Senate Bill 1 (SB1) Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account funding for City Fiscal Year 2022
Sponsors: Public Works Department

1-J *Actions pertaining to Final Map of Tract No. 6241
RESOLUTION - Approving the Final Map of Tract No. 6241, Phase 1 of Vesting Tentative Tract Map No. 6241, and accepting dedicated public uses offered therein except for dedications offered subject to City acceptance of

developer installed required improvements – located on the West side of North Armstrong Avenue, South of East Clinton Avenue (Council District 4)

1-M
Award a construction contract in the amount of $1,578,023.00 to Avison Construction, Inc., of Madera, CA, as the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, for the Shields Avenue Bankside Trail Project, along Shields Avenue from Fresno Street to First Street

You can watch today's meeting (at least until the Closed Session portion) here

Invocation by Pastor Tommassian of Northpoint Church. 1-L removed to June 24. City Council meeting. Addition to Swim lessons. 1-I Esparza wants it removed completely until or more equitable) Esqueda: we need to approve today or Friday. Esparza says District 7 only gets $700,000.

Bredefeld has concerns as well. 1-R, 1-V, 1-W, 1-S pulled. *Proclamation for "Anna Pine Day" Ryan Jacobsen says she is a big part of the Fresno Rotary. Karbassi: she was never cross and excited she will work with City in the future.She was Chief Executive at Rotary. Business

Manager for Retired Police Officers Rotary. Council Reports: Soria Tower roadwork will be completed by July 22. Thanks Public Works. She also thanks her fellow councilmembers and City Manager for attending Pride Flag raising. Cooling Centers are needed.Esqueda:hopefully we will

Know by end of today’s meeting which cooling centers will be open. Also pools are free during this hot weather. Karbassi: Swimming center in his district will be open. A few fires in his district. We caught the 19 year old arsonist fortunately. He thinks another arsonist was

Caught this morning. Airshow at Sierra Sky Park this weekend. 8 am to 2 pm this Saturday. Arias:Broken splash Park update? Esqueda:Not yet but we will ask Scott Mozier this morning. Arias: can we put arsonist in our dedicated jail beds so he is not loose during this heat wave.

Mayor agrees. @D7Esparza Mayor had a good meeting with District 7. He shared his vision with them. We are technically still in Budget hearings. I want to see what it would take to purchase old Valley Medical Center that is now back on the market ($6 Million+) Also a park let in

District 7 motioned for budget. @MayorJerryDyer Chuckchansi Beautify Fresno last week as well at Camp Fresno Cleanup. TJ Miller and parks staff have worked diligently. High School students headed out this morning on a charter bus. One of the students said:this is like heaven!

Also every Tuesday is Free Zoo attendance for kids. Sponsored by One Fresno Foundation. Jokes outside of Budget this has been a good week! 32 students went to Camp Fresno followed by 60 Middle Schoolers next week. Three day and 2 night camp experience. Tested for Covid prior to

Getting on the bus. Camp has Ben closed the past two years but Mayor is unsure if it was ever able to be used by Youth . Typically outside groups hire it out. Hoping to have schools taking part as well as Advance Peace and possibly with rival gang members in attendance.

Esparza: how did you select this cohort of students and how did you fund this? A:online applications and we used existing resources, City Manager discretionary funds and non-profit one Fresno. We have raised $100,000 and hope to raise $1 million. Lots of deferred maintainence.

Staff:Funding for Camp funding. It is a park function. Unsure if it is from last year’s budget allocation. Chavez: I remember discussing it with brand Administration last year. Staff:donations of sleeping bags and hygiene kits from too. City Manager Esqueda: Loved the budget

Spirited discussions yesterday on Beautify Fresno. We want approval for heavy equipment and operators. It will include education and enforcement too. Also Revitalization efforts per district.Also Homeless in parks and schools will be placed like with freeway. Chavez:I bought a

Lot of food for more colleagues this week and had a lot of energy. Now they are back to carrots he jokes. Esqueda:FresGo will be taking calls about homeless encampments, monitor and get them into housing. Currently 76% will make the move to housing.

Public Comments on Consent Calendar and Unscheduled Commnication. First Terry Hirschfeld: Would like cessation of all projects near her school until SE Specific Plan. We are not being notified about industrial developments in their area. Widening of Jensen is for developers but

Not for the residents. All the reports need to be done before any new projects begin. On another not eI congratulate the City on Camp Fresno! How can my students at orange Center take part? As well as free zoo tickets. @LisaYFlores1 Concur with previous caller on Jensen project.

This Truck reRoute Study will be innovative for Fresno as it will have a health component. City needs to take that into account and need to wait for it. @IvankaSaunders of Leadership Counsel. We oppose any approval of Central Ave. We have submitted a letter on it. South Fresno

Residents were left out of the discussion. Adequate truck routes and rerouting them. This hopes to diminish the Amazon Warehouse truck. CEQA exemptions to evade an adequate look at the project is wrong. This is not a minor alteration. City must not approve. @LovesMercy Brandi:

In addition to swimming and cooling centers can you make it easier for homeless to store their belongings earlier and retrieve later. There are not enough resources for those at motels. Homeless are not being seen as constituents but only as a project to be solved. Encampments

Have not been reduced. People want to get help. Greater investment needed. Dez Martinez: Homeless Task Force is same as HART. Already clean camps which is just displacing them. Why have these meetings when nothing changes. Rather CAHOOTs is a better model. It diverts 5-8% of call

That would usually go to Police. They have never had any of their outreach personnel attacked or too afraid of going into these camps. CAHOOTs is in Eugene Oregon. We don’t need officers in black boots and bullet proof vests coming into the camps. H Street is overwhelmed.

Remainder of Consent Calendar approved. Contested Consent:1-I Why is District 6 left behind again asks Bredefeld? Mozier: We look at best investment per dollars. We could spend all our SB1 dollars in one district and it would be appropriate. We had thought of just dividing it

Evenly by 7 in a sense 7 cities. Bredefeld: in fairness of all districts we need to tweek formula to be fair to my districts. We pay a lot of taxes in my district. Esqueda: We need to approve this very soon but we can change what we actually use the money for. Mozier: we could

Change it and resubmit in July. It would delay getting those SB1 dollars. Esqueda: Adopt the list which is really adopting the State’s $10.8 millionSB1 dollars. Bredefeld: if we adopt this today we can change it BUT it isn’t going to change to give his district more dollars.

Esparza: it won’t change for sure he chimes in. Chavez: I get comments where people ask why certain parts of the city look better than others. I have new developments with landscaping etc but others are 100+ years old and crumbling. There are a lot of needs and we have $1 billion

In needs citywide. There is not a clear formula. This body collectively negotiates. Bredefeld: i understand but District 6 is left behind. They pay a lot in taxes but doesn’t get their fair share back. Esqueda: i have heard some cities will split 50% of money and divide it 7

Ways and rest of 50% divided by most needed. Chavez: please do that City Manager. Karbassi: Lets just talk about SB1. People who pay a tax should benefit. Lets split this by 7. Districts 2, 6 and 7 will get more. Lets not create a food fight and this will be fair. 75% will be

Invested south of Shaw . This will be fair. Esparza:District 7 and may be 3 have the greatest need. Gas Tax is a regressive tax and my residents in 7 pay the largest portion of their very low incomes into gas tax. If we need a special meeting before this is due in July so be.

In Mayor’s budget District 7 got the smallest portion of Parks. Arias:higher end incomes tend to have more electric cars and thus low income pay more of this gas tax. Our infrastructure budget are exactly the same but I get more calls about homeless and broken streets. When

Ex- councilmember Brandau said we need to divide it evenly or it is is essentially paying reparations. (Karbassi gets angry but Chavez cuts him off). Arias continues: my district is essentially every homeless and pedophiles in district 3 motels. Mozier is a professional public

Servant but we barely raised his budget. But we trip over ourselves to give more funding to Public Safety. I am open to giving more money from General Fund to Mozier and Bredefeld and Karbassi will get a larger share. Karbassi:SB1 dollars only.If we increase Public Safety it

It doesn’t get shared freely as most calls for service are south of shaw. If there is going to be a change in allocation lets do it in public where the public can see it. Mozier: anyone who owns a car pay into SB1.@Maxwell4Fresno I met with Mozier to go over theses lists.

Mozier presented us what deferred maintain is? Mozier: 70% of that study is being done by neighborhoods down to sidewalks. If a tree is behind a sidewalk it is property owner is liable. If in front strip it is City. That study will be available late this year with a public report

Chavez seconds Esparza’s motion to table this until a later time. Soria:Historically we shared money equally but those with greatest needs were not getting enough. SB 1 is just one component of funding.Esparza and Bredefeld need to meet regularly with public Works so they know

What is their priorities. We drive the district so we know. We should boost our general fund dollars and there will never be enough resources due to being 120 sq miles as we built to fringes leaving inner city behind. Keep this in mind when we have these discussions. Developments

Need to pay their fair share. Karbassi: Melli-Roos would help. Bredefeld: Mozier knows all the troublesome parts of all our districts. Allocation formula needs to change. What Arias said is true and his district has immense problems. At the same time it isn’t fair my district

Doesn’t get its fair share. Chavez directs City Manager to follow policy but to come back with other options. Arias:MOtions to add to budget $5 million from General Fund to public Works. Mayor: money from American Rescue Program can be used for infrastructure. I would like a

Third of that to infrastructure. Arias:maybe 2/3 of this one time funds. Soria: I am in agreement of using this one time funding but we need to figure out reoccurring funding too. Esparza:ARP dollars will not be enough. I want a commitment from Mayor that District 7 won’t be con-

-sistently at the bottom. Mayor: we want fair and equitable but that will depend on your district. Whatever we do we won’t reach the $1 billion deferred work as it took 50 years to get there. Esparza: districts who didn’t get their fair share over the years needs to get it back

Chavez: i am getting fiscal restraint coming for him.Karbassi:CARES and ARP will be one time. WE need to be fund neutral City. Makes Motion to give more money to District 7. Bredefeld: this is a slippery slope. I am not sure District 7 is the lowest. I am articulate the needs

Of my district 6 but i don’t know where we are going with this. Nest Consent item 1-S Workforce Board Blake Konzal on zoom: A regional plan is before you. Our local plan does follow these 4 steps.

1-Q Approve the First Amendment to the License Agreement between the City of Fresno, through the PARCS Department and New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC to license use of certain real property, together with access and utility rights located at the Woodward Park maintenance yard.

Soria: i reached out to this company but never heard back We have bad service in Fresno High area. What can be done? AT%T reps on zoom: Our future plans i will need to defer says Kelley Romani. I can put Soria in touch with us as well as other carriers. Don Keller: I can share

What we will do in the future due to non-disclosure items we need to have in place. But Fresno High/City College has a new site at McKinley /Palm that will help Fresno High. Tower has plans to build there soon. Soria: the need during the pandemic made it apparent how slow the

The service is and spotty. Please meet with us Councilmembers more often. Carriers received significant funding during the pandemic so it can be used in less advantaged areas. Arias: I thought we are not allowed to put any money making things at Woodward Park due to covenant?

Esqueda will get to him on it. Next 1-W Providing City sponsored swim lessons to eligible children in the City of Fresno
Soria: this is not a new issue. We ;lost a 4.0 Edison student who sat on Youth Commission drowned. We raised money privately for swim lessons but we need to do

This more consistently. Metric is if they qualify for free lunches. We need to budget yearly up to $100,000 for these lessons.Private funding has to be consistently followed up with. Approved 7-0 Mayor: is this a budget motion too? Soria:yes .

1-X Amending Section 5-510 of the Fresno Municipal Code relating to the Fresno Youth Commission (Subject to Mayor’s Veto)
Karbassi: Met with Soria Commission Present Evelyn Gamble online: We want to allow 8 excused absences over two years and one I excused. Personal or medical

Issues come up. Soria: i met with them and i am comfortable with these changes of reducing number of excused absences. Approved 7-0

1-R Actions pertaining to CARES Act contracts for testing and tracing:
1. Approve Third Amendment to Agreement with Fresno Building Healthy Communities extending the agreement to December 30, 2021 (no cost extension)
2. Approve Third Amendment to Agreement with Fresno Economic

Opportunities Commission extending the agreement to December 30, 2021. (no cost extension) Bredefeld: Why are we extending this? Barfield: We still need this. UCSF had more column as they were at a lot more places. Approved 6-0 with Chavez recused.

Concludes Contested consent items. 2-A Acting as Housing as Successor to Redevelopment Agency (RDA)

Whoops : wrong documents on that last tweet. Here is the correct: ones. Sorry!

Arias: $2 milion left in RDA but the life cycle of RDA is coming to its end. We need to create a Housing Department that just doesn’t take in projects but goes out for them. Armenian Homes looks like Office Space is not the best use after all but back to housing. Esqueda: Gap

Funding is still needed and is coming Bredefeld: Hopefully we should create another government entity with a Housing Dept but loosen regulations to allow more housing. There are plenty of ways to create growth. Approved 7-0

2-B 10 am item. @LisaYFlores1 What is the bum rush to get this one approved (Council approved with out discussion or presentation_) Approved again. Next 10:05 2-C Esparza: is this the same CFD Public Director brought up earlier? Karbassi: annexed into an existing. Just one owner

So much easier. Approved 7-0. 3-A Workshop- Insurance and Indemnity Requirements
Sponsors: Personnel Services Department We try to protect city ‘s credit score. We can still purchase liability as we have good credit. Protects vendors especially small ones.

Arias: Asks while we charge more for those not directly working with kids such as Covid shots or food distribution Haupt: case by case. Arias:fee for block parties went up? Haupt: unsure of cost of those permits as we don’t set those prices. Insurance has gotten together.

Haupt: we want to make it as cost effective for neighbors.How to determine those costs of anything. Sometimes legal decisions change the cost. Soria: Insurance for each car that was in Tower Parade. Put out 2 weeks before event caused chaos for these mainly volunteers

What happened or what can change? There has never been an incident of a car in Tower Parade. Arias: same here. Umbrella for all vendors but now each vendor had to come up with their own policy. It can just be a necklace seller and not a large entity that already have an umbrella

Policy. Soria: even large CBOs have hard time covering a $1million policy. Can City provide something at a lower cost? Bolton: we are working on creative solutions for events. Arias: can you meet with Downtown Partnership as well? Soria: Can you make it a s simple as possible

For people who want to have any event so they can know going in? Georgeann White: We can adjust the policies down. We are not seeing this at City events like Christmas Parade as the City subsidizing it. We never see Risk Management at these smaller events and so can’t answer why

A stage has to be insured at x amount. Barfield: It is at insurance level where it is determines it. Arias: other Cities fund there own risk. We seem to be making up for the increase of insurance rates by shifting it to smaller events. Bolton: we are looking at how we can fund

Our own risk. It does make it hard when it is a new event or a one-off. Soria: sometimes number of PD officers or security needed seems to go up for parades. Is there a way for these events to know what that number will be?
Esqueda: PD has a list and takes things into account

Like alcohol. Arias: Please have them met with Economic Development team and see where they can complement each other.Arias: maybe all of these events should be City events? Concludes Workshop.

Karbassi: (three budget motions) Budget to move Fire trainers to ARP (?).Next: Also funding source for all open contracts. He spoke to quick for the first motion. Maxwell: move $265,000 to purple pipe. Arias: $250,000 Council intern liaisons. Chavez: We may need to use the empty

5th Floor for all these interns. Esparza: jokes that looking at the Councilmembers waistlines maybe we need the Mayor’s gym up there. Councilmembers are sending their remaining budget motions to Assistant City Clerk Parra. Breaking for lunch until 1:30

Among Closed Session
5-A CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL-EXISTING LITIGATION Government Code Section 54956.9, subdivision (d)(1) Case Name: Dennis Cooper v. City of Fresno and Police Officer Nathan Christian Hanna Fresno Superior Court Case No.: 19CECG04245

5-B CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL-EXISTING LITIGATION - Government Code Section 54956.9, subdivision (d)(1) Terance Frazier, et al. v. City of Fresno, et al.; United States District Court Case No.: 1:20-CV-01069

5-D PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION Government Code Section 54957(b): Consider the appointment, employment, evaluation of performance, discipline, or dismissal of a public employee. Title: City Clerk Government Code Section 54957.6: Conference with Labor

Negotiator City Negotiator: Council President Luis Chavez Unrepresented Employee: City Clerk

They are back at 1:33 City Manager Esqueda on reopening the building. We have employees and guests. Hoping to open June 23. No temperature check but masks required unless vaccination card is shown. Stamp on hand that you have vaccination and ID. OSHA requires that for employees.

OSHA is meeting now so that may change. Public will be allowed to attend City Council. depending on department an appointment will be required for public. Employees: need to enter from P St doors. Cannot use rear door only charter employees. Still need to complete online

Questionnaire. Staff will need to wipe down counters between public visits. Maxwell:no later than Wednesday? Day before city Council meeting? Not much wiggle room to fix any issues. Perhaps for 28th meeting ? Karbassi: are we liable of any OSHA fines? Barfield: OSHA meeting

started at 10 am today and is still in Public Comments (now 1:42 pm). We are monitoring it. Karbassi: doesn’t sit right to have employees not come through rear door. Sloan: this is from an ordinance a year and half ago. Karbassi: since fence hasn’t been installed can employees

come through that entrance ? Take 6 Democrats to build a wall Karbassi jokes. Arias: has no problem with that. Sloan: will have to pass a resolution to do that once Covid emergency is lifted. Then fence would be built. Will build fence beginning in July and done in November

Esparza: need guidelines to determine who has immunity or not 1) all wear a mask 2 ) only vaccinated wear a mask Personally I would like to wait until 28th meeting to give time for hybrid meetings. Some kinks in doing hybrid. Probably not much time for test drills with budget

happening. Otherwise City Manager’s plan seems good. Arias agrees. Esqueda: July 6 we would be open to public completely. Bredefeld: I thought we should’ve opened a month ago. Are these OSHA rules? Esqueda: as an employer how are we going to protect employees? Barfield: hospital

setting requires masks to be worn. Bredefeld: County is a mouthpiece for State and St Fauci have lied. Intrusive to make people show vaccination cards. White: have to wear a mask if won’t show card. Bredefeld: I want to see data that show masks help. Fauci now says two after he

that none was better. Bredefeld wants to rescind Emergency order requiring masks indoors and businesses can use their intelligence whether to have customers west or not. Should be up to businesses. Arias: we are defaulting to Newsom’s order. Chavez: a suggestion and not an order.

Esparza: Delta variant is now 10% and will probably higher next year. Only 43% vaccinated in our county. Not good. SF has higher rates so better. We need to reserve the right in case a upsurge. We have done mainly education. Sloan: City Manager can always declare an emergency

again. Bredefeld: 16 months since this. Sporting events , movie theaters etc are open. We just wanted to show our power up here. Yes people have lost lives or got sick. We quarantined healthy people. Time to follow what others have done. No more snitch lines. Government has

caused more damage. Arias: let me second this before Bredefeld convinced me not to he jokes. Newsom and Bredefeld both agree now. I will be supportive today. Chavez:open up this building. What else? Sloan: emergency ordinance is on agenda. That requires masks everywhere. City

Manager can determine who wears masks inside City Hall. Bredefeld motion is only about masks. Esparza: leaving up to employers what they want to do in their businesses. Arias: reopen on 28th and default to state order for other businesses. Barfield: repeal item 514L is only thing

on Bredefeld motion. Other items we are focusing it for July 6. @LisaYFlores1 remember February 6 is when I lost my cousin who didn’t believe in Covid. He died that night. We have plenty of time to change or ordinance. It takes me 20 minutes to go thru City Hall security due to

my heart valve. How do we know if public just takes their masks off in bathroom once through security. Motion approved 6-1 with Esparza voting no. Bredefeld: when will appointment mandate go away? A: July 6. Now to Closed Session that includes item on Public Security. Soria will

recuse herself from several closed session items. Next meetings JUNE 22, 2021 – 9:00 A.M. BUDGET MOTIONS VOTE
JUNE 24, 2021 – 9:00 A.M. MEETING/BUDGET ADOPTION

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