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» Where are you?
Good morning. Who needs a clock when
you've got the noise of the crowd to uh
let you know when it's 9:00. Happy New
Year to everyone. I can't believe it's
2026 already. Uh nice to see so many
smiling faces here this morning. We're
going to begin today's meeting with the
pledge of allegiance followed by uh an
invocation if we have one. Madame clerk,
do we have one? Okay. And if not, then
the moment of silence. So, please join
me in saluting our nation's flag. And we
will be led this morning by How about
Supervisor Chuck Lean?
>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. Please join me in
» Thank you, Mr. Chair. Please join me in
saluting our nation's flag. I pledge
algiance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the republic
for which it stands, one nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
Thank you. You may be seated.
[snorts]
Okay. Uh on to item number one on our
agenda here today and that is the
election of the chair and vice chair of
the board of supervisors for the year
2026.
Supervisor Mccari.
» Morning Mr. Chair. Uh I'd like to
nominate Supervisor Shuckling as chair
and supervisor Townsen as vice chair.
Okay. Is there a second to that
nomination?
Have our screen. Okay, we've got a
motion and a second.
>> Looking for the button.
» Looking for the button.
>> Uh, cast your votes.
» Uh, cast your votes.
>> It's not popping up.
» It's not popping up.
>> There you go.
» There you go.
>> There we go.
» There we go.
>> Got a motion by Supervisor McCari,
» Got a motion by Supervisor McCari,
second by Supervisor Townsen. Please
cast your votes.
Motion passes unanimously. 5-0. Okay.
Uh, that means that uh I say goodbye to
my gavl and I'll turn to the new
chairperson of this board and hand it
over.
>> Well, I don't like this one. It says
» Well, I don't like this one. It says
Pete Vanderpool. Well,
>> but before we do that, I would like to
» but before we do that, I would like to
present you with your gavvel for 2020.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Five. I want to congratulate you on
» Five. I want to congratulate you on
getting us through a year without a
global pandemic.
>> Appreciate that. Uh but also I I
» Appreciate that. Uh but also I I
appreciate Pete's leadership. I've
always found it uh to be an extra uh
little thing for me to be the vice chair
under supervisor uh Vanderpool because
of his vast knowledge of the county and
his many years of service there and is
very much appreciated.
>> Thank you. We appreciate it. [applause]
» That's better.
Well, thank you for that. I appreciate
it. And I want to just thank my
colleagues for the opportunity to serve
as chair. It really is a privilege. It's
not something to be taken lightly. Uh
this county is a wonderful county and
we've worked hard to put it in the
position that it is. And so to be
chairperson of this county and to lead
it, uh is not is something I definitely
didn't take for granted is truly a
privilege that I'm very grateful for. Uh
and I know that Supervisor Shuckle will
do a wonderful job as the next chair. Um
and uh hopefully uh 2026 is a great
another great year for Tallery County.
[clears throat]
>> All right. So with that uh we will move
» All right. So with that uh we will move
into supervisor matters and I'll start
with uh former chair Vanderpool.
>> All right. Thank you uh chair madam
» All right. Thank you uh chair madam
chair. Uh first of all happy new year to
everyone. Um I hope everyone had a
wonderful holiday season. It was busy
with different events, functions, family
gatherings, friends. Uh it was uh uh
great and uh here we are in 2026 and
already uh rolling. So I've got meetings
with constituents throughout this week.
I've got a meeting with the Health and
Human Services Agency directors this
Thursday the 8th. Um I also have that a
meeting following that meeting uh with
the Tacera uh organization, the Tiller
County Employees Retirement Association.
And we're really digging a little bit
deeper into the organization chart and
uh the investment staffing. Uh trying to
figure out whether or not we've reached
a point in the um existence of Tacera
where we need to start looking at
independent uh investment staff. I know
that was a question posed by one of our
trustees and so it's sort of an ad hoc
committee meeting to dig deep into that.
Um on Monday we have a meeting of the
Kingsary Area Agency on Aging at 10
o'clock at the Probation Connections
building. Um then uh we have a meeting
of the Teriy Chamber of Commerce
governmental affairs committee meeting
at noon at Appalantes in Tallery. I've
got a Greater Kawa Groundwater
Sustainability Agency meeting at 1:00
here in Viceelia. And that's followed by
a water commission meeting at 3 pm right
here uh at uh the board of supervisors
chambers. So that's all I've got for
this next week and uh uh thank you all
for being here this morning.
>> Thank you, Supervisor Valero.
» Thank you, Supervisor Valero.
>> All right. Thank you, Chair, and uh good
» All right. Thank you, Chair, and uh good
morning, Terary County. First and
foremost, I hope everyone had a great
Christmas and winter holiday season. And
I'm I hope that you're also having a
great start to the new year. Uh this
year I am believing for greater things
in Tillery County and in our region as
we continue to uplift, encourage and
support our communities across the
county. Um and so I'm also believing in
greater partnerships, collaboration, and
connections to help us grow. And with
every move forward, obviously there are
bound to be challenges and hardship, but
as a county, we muster through. And so I
want to congratulate Supervisor Shuckle
on your role as chair for our board this
year. I know that you will do great
things ahead and this and next week
include a well 2026 conference committee
meeting as this year's conference will
be held in Fresno. Tonight our Kiwanas
Club of Woodlake will have a dinner uh
together along with festivities to start
our new year. I also have a Latino
Caucus of California counties uh meeting
uh statewide um on Thursday. And then on
Monday we have a Kings Tiller area
agency on Aging meeting followed by an
executive committee meeting for
Proteius. And that is all I have. Chair,
thank you.
>> Thank you Supervisor McCari.
» Thank you Supervisor McCari.
>> Well, good morning everyone. I hope
» Well, good morning everyone. I hope
everyone had a great Christmas and and
New Year's and a holiday and enjoyed
time with your family. I was able to do
some of that. Had been a while. My girls
have moved away and they came back. So,
it was really nice to have everyone
home. And uh
>> Were you surprised they came back? No,
» Were you surprised they came back? No,
only a few were there. [laughter]
Um, anyway, you know, I had the
holidays. We did have some events. I
know the supervisor town and I attended
the Bountiful box in Porterville where
we packed I How many boxes was it,
Dennis? Several hundred.
>> Yeah, it was like 350, I think.
» Yeah, it was like 350, I think.
>> 350 boxes that we did to to give out as
» 350 boxes that we did to to give out as
a food giveaway. Um, also attended the
Aggra business lunchon in Porterville.
It was great. Thank you for inviting me,
Dennis, to that. It was a great time.
Got to see a lot of people hadn't seen
in quite a while. I attended the
Farmersville Toy Drive which was put on
by Danny Valdeino. She's back on the
city council over there, but Danny's
always done a great job with a huge
Christmas drive there in Farmersville
and helping those kids in need over
there. Ted Smallley, our TAG uh
director, he has an open house every
year for the holidays and Christmas and
I went over there and saw Ted and uh and
got to visit with some people there. So,
thanks Ted for that. And then I want to
thank Diana Ma. Dana called me on
December 29th regarding the conditions
of the roads in Tonyville. There was a
construction going on there and I went
out there on the 30th and met with her
in person. It was just absolutely
horrible. So I made some phone calls and
Johnny Wong at RMA and Tony Boland and
Craig Wallace from LSID, everyone got
together and we had a meeting yesterday
and uh there's a lot of issues out there
going on with the current uh
construction project going on. the
contractor seems to not be following the
rules that were set aside. A lot of
different things, a lot of excuses. But
I want to thank everybody. We got out
there and we did it. And I just want
staff to know, I told them yesterday,
and I'll say it publicly, I'm in full
support of whatever actions they need to
take on this contractor to make sure
that these roads get fixed properly
because it was an absolute disaster. And
it's very disgusting when we have people
come from out of the area to do jobs in
our county and tear our stuff up and act
like they don't care. And that's my
impression of it. I got of it. And I
just think it's wrong. So,
you know, we wouldn't know these things
unless somebody calls. Everyone wants to
complain. You see stuff show up on
social media. You try to track it down.
Half of it is not even substantiated.
But, you know, Diana took the time to
call me and I went out there and met
with her and we're trying to get it
fixed. So, the one thing I want to
impress upon everyone starting this year
is let's quit crying on social media and
let's start calling and making see what
we can do to help things get better. So,
that's all I have to say and everyone
have a happy new year.
» Supervisor Townsen.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair.
» Thank you, Madam Chair.
>> Oh, I'm sorry, Vice Chair Town.
» Oh, I'm sorry, Vice Chair Town.
[laughter]
>> Thank you, Madam Chair.
» Thank you, Madam Chair.
Good morning, everyone, and happy new
year. Happy 2026. Uh 2025 was a very
eventful year. Lots of blessings uh in
the year, even some miracles uh
personally in that year. And so uh CeCe
and I had a great time over Christmas
and New Year's. It was kind of a low-key
uh time with our friends and our
families. U in between that lots of
calls and texts and visits and wrapping
up loose ends uh from 2025 before the
close of the year. Uh starting uh
yesterday had a meeting with the Tuli
River improvement joint powers
agreement. Uh it was really a good
meeting, a short meeting uh but there
was really good news on the status of
the success reservoir enlargement
project. It's it's really there besides
just a couple of loose ends. Uh but one
thing that was really great, we had put
in a Zoom call uh to a lobbyist in
Washington DC uh regarding a 14.6 $6
million appropriation for that project
that was going through the energy and
and water appropriations. Uh it was
sponsored by Congressman Thong that the
success reservoir is in his district um
and also co-sponsored by Congressman
Valadeo which it's not in his district
but all of the downstream users are
affected uh by this. And so it was a
14.6 $6 million um um appropriation
there that that had passed through.
There's still some other hoops to jump
through, but it was really good news and
it looks like it is um uh that that will
secure that funding and so I did reach
out to both Congressman Fong and Valido
thanking them uh for their efforts on
that and really appreciative of that. Um
this coming Thursday have our Eastern
Tuli groundwater sustainability agency
meeting at Portville City Hall at 2:00
as that agency winds down uh be uh
toward the end of or toward next month
toward the end of next month it's
winding down uh and will be taken over
by the Tuli East Groundwater
Sustainability Agency when I serve as
vice chair chair on the ETGSA and vice
chair now on the uh TEGSA.
Uh and then also on Thursday be meeting
with the Porterville uh museum board on
a potential addition uh to the museum
celebrating three historic theaters uh
that have been in Porterville. So
excited to see if they can get that uh
underway helping everyone that I can.
And that's all that I have to report,
Madam Chair.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> All right. I want to start off first of
» All right. I want to start off first of
all with wishing everybody a h merry
Armenian Christmas. Today, uh, Armenians
celebrate Christmas and, um, and it's
not because things go on sale after the
25th of December. [laughter]
We go by an old Julian calendar and, uh,
just the way it is.
>> How do you say Merry Christmas in
» How do you say Merry Christmas in
Armenian?
>> Uh, you don't want me to say that.
» Uh, you don't want me to say that.
>> Oh, [laughter]
» Oh, [laughter]
>> shorun, I think. But yes. All right. So,
» shorun, I think. But yes. All right. So,
a couple things I want to highlight. Um
few weeks ago, Supervisor Vanderpool and
I got a tour of the new Kawia Health
Clinic that is located in our Tallery
Acres Professional Center or the Sigma
building. Um it was actually the space
that the board used for about a year
while our offices here were being
remodeled and they have done an
incredible job with that space. Um and
we look forward to them opening it,
bringing new doctors in to serve our
community. So, thank you for that. Um,
tomorrow I have a meeting with Adrienne
Hillman from Salt and Light. On Saturday
I will be attending the uh and
presenting a certificate to Mave Blanco
who is receiving her Eagle Scout and she
is um part of the first and only all
girl scouting uh troop. It's not called
Boy Scouts anymore. It's called Scout
Scouting of America I believe. So um
congratulations to her. I then have uh
next week a Ter County Economic
Development uh Corporation
Administration meeting and then we're
back here in chambers. So with that, we
will move on to public comment.
These items are routine and usually
approved. Oh no, that's for the consent
calendar.
Public comment is a time where uh
members of the public can comment on any
item not appearing on the agenda. for
items that are on the agenda. I will
open that up for public com comment
during the time that we hear that. Uh so
at this time, do we have anybody here
today that would like to speak for
public comment?
>> We have Brian Thurn.
» We have Brian Thurn.
>> Usually you get three minutes. Today you
» Usually you get three minutes. Today you
get one.
>> Nah. Hi, Brian.
» Nah. Hi, Brian.
>> Always uh I was going to say
» Always uh I was going to say
congratulations, Madam Chairman, but uh
I always try to practice the three Bs of
public speaking. Be brief, be brilliant,
be gone. And with that, I just want to
say on behalf of Southern California
Edison, happy new year uh to all of you
at the county. We want to express our
appreciation
uh for the partnership and support uh
this past year. As you know, it was a
very active year for us at Edison,
particularly on the wildfire safety
front. Um we have our targeted
underground uh project in Springville
where Supervisor Townson's um been a key
um leader in that effort and working
with us to help u improve the wildfire
safety uh in that area. I want to
express our thanks to Supervisor Valero
for the wildfire safety work we've done
this past year in Three Rivers. We've
turned the corner on that work and we
had a great year of uh customer
engagement up there. Uh thanks to the
supervisor and all of our uh county
partners. I do want to also thank uh Mr.
Britt and Mr. Hess uh for their u
support over this past year and also for
um your board staff uh Israel Satello
and Patrick Burks, your county PIO
Jennifer Fox uh who's been a great
partner uh uh during the year and uh
your emergency manager Sabrina Bamonte.
And then last but certainly not least,
Chief Norman. So again, our appreciation
and we look forward to working with you
this year. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Brian. We appreciate you,
» Thank you, Brian. We appreciate you,
too.
>> Okay. Do we have anybody else who would
» Okay. Do we have anybody else who would
like to speak?
>> Yes, [clears throat] David.
» How's it going everyone? Uh,
>> congratulations, Madame Chair, and uh,
» congratulations, Madame Chair, and uh,
uh, happy new year to the rest of the
members of the board. Uh my name is
Daniel Seulva and I'm a district
representative for Congressman Jim
Casa's office. Uh I just wanted to
briefly highlight a few statistics from
our 2025 end of the year report uh which
reflects uh some of the work Congressman
Kas has been doing uh in Tallery County
and as well as the rest of the central
valley. Over the past year uh
Congressman K has sponsored 26 bills and
co-sponsored 351 bills focused on
important issues here in the valley and
valley. Our office closed more than
1,200 constituent casework requests,
responded to more than 11,000
constituent messages, and returned $74
million directly to residents of the
21st district through federal casework.
In addition, $831 million in federal
funding came into the 21st district for
infrastructure, uh, water, public
safety, and other community priorities.
Um, our office is looking to make those
blumbers larger. And, uh, if there are
people here in the 21st district here in
Terary County that need help and need
more assistance with federal agencies, I
want to remind everybody that our office
is located um at 425 East Oak Avenue,
sweet 202. Uh, that's the transit center
for anyone who doesn't know. And our
phone number is 559-7499330.
Again, uh thank you so much for this
opportunity to share and uh thank you
guys everyone for your service to
county.
>> Thank you, Daniel. And please share with
» Thank you, Daniel. And please share with
the congressman. We appreciate his
support and his presence in Tallery
County.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Okay, anyone else?
» Okay, anyone else?
>> The public comment cards.
» The public comment cards.
>> Pardon?
» Pardon?
>> That concludes the public comment card.
» That concludes the public comment card.
>> Thank you.
» Thank you.
>> Nobody's rushing the podium, so we will
» Nobody's rushing the podium, so we will
uh move on to the consent calendar.
Do we have any items that need to be
pulled?
Oh
>> yes, we have item 18 that needs to be
» yes, we have item 18 that needs to be
pulled off the calendar.
>> And u madame clerk, I I just wanted or
» And u madame clerk, I I just wanted or
madam clerk, madam chair, I wanted to uh
highlight a couple of items because we
have uh uh pretty much eight 8 to 10
appointments on our consent calendar.
And I just want to thank all of the
individuals uh who are stepping up to
serve uh including um we are appointing
a new member to uh the Ter County
Employees Retirement Association board.
And I want to point this out
specifically because uh Gary Reid, a
longtime serving member of Tacera as
well as a former county supervisor uh
here in these chambers stepped down. He
did so very quietly and I want to
respect his uh request for privacy. But
uh Gary served a long time here in
Tallery County. His work is to be
commended. Uh he was a financial adviser
in the private sector and uh really do
appreciate all of his service and we
were blessed to have another financial
adviser who's younger coming in uh to
serve on to Sarah in Igor Ferrer. So, I
want to thank Eigor for stepping up to
that position.
>> And I'd also like to make note of Aaron
» And I'd also like to make note of Aaron
Brooks, our public defender, who's here
today, who serves on our mental health
board also. And Mr. Seo, did you we had
one to pull?
>> 18 is pulled.
» 18 is pulled.
>> Madam Chair, can I also mention about
» Madam Chair, can I also mention about
Gary Reid a little bit?
>> Pardon? I'd also like to say something
» Pardon? I'd also like to say something
about Gary Reid just because he's been
so influential in uh in the portable
area in district five in general as as
supervisor Vanderpool mentioned uh that
he had served on the board of
supervisors and then with the TCH Tacera
for so many years and so he has been uh
intimately involved in in the um in the
workings of Tillery County for many
years. So really appreciate his service.
Thank you.
>> Okay. Thank you. So, we have a motion by
» Okay. Thank you. So, we have a motion by
Supervisor Mccari with a second by
Supervisor Valero for approval. Uh, with
18 removed, please cast your votes.
Consent calendar passes. 50.
Okay. With that, we have no public
hearings and no timed items today. So,
madame council, do we have a need for
close session?
>> Yes, madam chair, there is need for
» Yes, madam chair, there is need for
close session. Item B is off calendar
and I do not anticipate any announcement
out. Okay. Well, thank you folks. Happy
New Year. And this is how it's going to
be every week.
Thank you.