[0:08] Good evening everyone. Uh welcome to the

[0:10] Madera City Council meeting. We have

[0:13] tried to transfer over to a new system.

[0:15] It is in still progress. So we are

[0:18] working kind of like through the bugs

[0:21] and aren't full capacity this evening.

[0:23] So please come back to our next meeting

[0:25] to see it the big grand opening show of

[0:27] our new system. At this time, I would

[0:30] like to call this meeting to order on

[0:31] Wednesday, May 6, 2026

[0:34] at 60:01. City Clerk Gonzalez.

[0:38] The Madera City Council meetings are

[0:40] open to the public. This meeting will

[0:42] also be available for public viewing and

[0:44] participation through Zoom. Members of

[0:46] the public may also observe the live

[0:48] stream meeting on the city's website at

[0:49] www.mmadera.gov/live.

[0:53] Members of the public may comment on

[0:54] agenda items at the meeting or remotely

[0:56] through an electronic meeting via phone

[0:58] by dialing 669-9006833.

[1:01] Enter ID 869-20188563

[1:04] pound. Press star 9 to raise your hand

[1:06] to comment and star six to unmute

[1:07] yourself to speak. Comments will also be

[1:10] accepted via email at city council

[1:11] public commenter.gov or by regular mail

[1:14] at 205 Westport Street, Madera,

[1:17] California 93637. We'd like to remind

[1:19] those in attendance that Wordley is

[1:21] available for translation purposes.

[1:25] >> Thank you for that. At this time, um,

[1:27] city clerk consol will do roll call. But

[1:30] before that, I would like to make an

[1:32] announcement. Council member Mah will be

[1:35] participating remotely by government

[1:37] code 54953

[1:40] 83 due to a contagious illness. So, at

[1:43] this time, she will be participating via

[1:46] Zoom. Audio and video and camera should

[1:48] be at on at all times so that we are

[1:50] able to see her.

[1:52] >> With that, I ask for roll call.

[1:54] >> And if I may also add, mayor, all votes

[1:56] will be conducted by roll call.

[1:58] >> Thank you for that.

[1:59] >> Mayor Gyos

[2:00] >> here.

[2:00] >> Mayor Prom Zachariah

[2:01] >> here.

[2:02] >> Council member Rodriguez here.

[2:03] >> Council member Montes

[2:04] >> here.

[2:05] >> Council member Evans

[2:06] >> here.

[2:06] >> Council member Mahia

[2:08] >> here.

[2:09] >> And council member Viegas

[2:11] >> here.

[2:12] >> Thank you for that roll call. At this

[2:14] time, I will be calling Pastor Alvarado

[2:17] Jr. to do the invocation. And at this

[2:20] time, we will also have our mayor pro

[2:22] Tim Zachariah doing the pledge of

[2:24] allegiance. And if everybody would

[2:26] remain standing for um the loss of our

[2:29] former mayor, Santos Garcia, and

[2:31] supervisor Max Rodriguez for a moment of

[2:33] silence, please.

[2:41] » Lord, we come before your presence,

[2:42] Father God. Lord, we just thank you,

[2:43] Lord, for this evening. Ask, Father God,

[2:45] for the wisdom, Lord. Ask for your

[2:47] spirit to be in this place, Lord God. We

[2:48] invite you here into this place. We ask,

[2:50] Lord God, that let us be with the city

[2:52] council members, Father God, and give

[2:53] them guidance and direction. Lord, I

[2:54] pray for the citizens of Madera, Father

[2:56] God, as they come tonight to business,

[2:58] Father God, that you be in the midst of

[2:59] the business. Father God, ask you

[3:00] continue to be with us and bless us,

[3:01] Lord. Bless all those who are here

[3:02] tonight, Father God. And Lord, um, we

[3:05] are also grieving the loss of two great

[3:07] men, Father God, that we're here to

[3:08] serve this city well, Father God. We

[3:09] thank you Lord for uh the time they put

[3:11] here Father God and the impact that they

[3:13] made in this city. And I thank you Lord

[3:14] as continue to be with their families as

[3:16] well. Lord be with these families.

[3:17] Continue to be with us and bless us for

[3:19] your honor for your glory in Jesus name.

[3:21] Lord said

[3:22] >> amen.

[3:23] >> You show me this pledge. Ready? Salute.

[3:26] >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the

[3:29] United States of America and to the

[3:32] republic for which it stands. One nation

[3:35] under God, indivisible with liberty and

[3:37] justice for all.

[3:39] Please remain standing for a moment of

[3:41] silence

[3:43] for Santos Garcia and Max Rodriguez.

[4:32] Thank you so much for standing and

[4:34] honoring and respecting our loss to our

[4:37] wonderful leaders that have served us

[4:38] well in this community and in the city

[4:40] of Madera. Thank you everyone.

[4:49] So

[4:58] there's no broadcast.

[5:06] » My understanding is your sister

[5:10] is connected to

[5:12] my presentation.

[5:14] Okay. Excuse me, mayor. We're going to

[5:16] need to make a very very brief call to

[5:18] council member Mahia. If you don't mind

[5:19] if we take a few minutes.

[5:20] >> Okay. We're going to take a fivem minute

[5:22] recess trying to get Councilwoman Mahia

[5:24] online.

[5:25] >> Oh, it's two minutes.

[5:27] >> Hold tight. Thank you.

[6:39] We're back. I'll turn this over to my

[6:41] city attorney.

[6:42] >> Thank you, mayor. Uh, as you know, we're

[6:44] having some challenges with our audio

[6:46] visual. We can hear Council Member

[6:47] Mahia, but we are unable to see her

[6:50] under the government code. She's

[6:51] required to be seen. She has graciously

[6:53] agreed to step out of this meeting so we

[6:55] can continue with the meeting. As such,

[6:57] she will not be participating for the

[6:58] remainder of the meeting. Thank you.

[7:01] >> Thank you for that announcement. Uh we

[7:04] thank her for letting us go on with

[7:06] business and um if you have an agenda,

[7:09] you will see proclamations that are

[7:10] listed because of the audio visual

[7:13] that's happening tonight. We're going to

[7:15] postpone those until our meeting in two

[7:16] weeks. So, please come back for all of

[7:18] that. At this time, I'll turn it over to

[7:20] my city clerk for public comment.

[7:23] >> Um, we have one written public comment.

[7:25] Mayor,

[7:27] >> before we do that, could we actually

[7:28] approve the agenda?

[7:29] >> Oh, I'm sorry. I was all excited. Okay.

[7:32] Uh, approval of the agenda. I bring it

[7:34] to my colleagues for any questions or

[7:36] concerns.

[7:37] >> Madame Mayor, I would like to see if we

[7:39] can move item F, council member reports,

[7:42] up before public comments. And I wanted

[7:45] to do that in order to honor uh the

[7:48] passing of uh Mayor Sto. Garcia this

[7:51] way. I can do that report now versus

[7:53] doing that at the end.

[7:54] >> Okay. Thank you for that. City clerk

[7:56] Gonzalez.

[7:57] >> Also, mayor, um we would also like to

[8:01] request, as you mentioned, moving

[8:03] presentations to continue those to the

[8:05] May 20th meeting. Also item E1 under

[8:08] administrative reports and E2 if we

[8:11] could also uh continue those to the May

[8:13] 20th meeting. That is the request of

[8:15] staff.

[8:15] >> Thank you. I have those um

[8:19] E1 and

[8:21] >> E1 and two. If I could get a motion and

[8:24] a second from my colleagues. Motion to

[8:26] approve is written cabinet with with the

[8:29] exception of E1, E2 and also the

[8:33] proclamations

[8:34] and moving the

[8:37] section F up to behind the public

[8:40] comment.

[8:41] >> Is there still a second?

[8:43] >> Second.

[8:44] >> Okay, I have a first and a second. All

[8:46] those in favor say I.

[8:47] >> I. Those opposed. Motion passes

[8:50] unanimously. Um, Councilwoman Evans, uh,

[8:53] motion was to do F after public comment.

[8:55] So, I'll bring it to my city clerk

[9:00] for public comment.

[9:01] >> Mhm.

[9:02] >> The first 15 minutes of the meeting are

[9:03] reserved for members of the public to

[9:05] address the council on items which are

[9:07] within the subject matter jurisdiction

[9:08] of the council. Speakers shall be

[9:10] limited to three minutes. Speakers will

[9:12] be asked but are not required to

[9:13] identify themselves and state the

[9:14] subject of their comments. If the

[9:16] subject is an item on the agenda, the

[9:18] mayor has the option of speak of asking

[9:20] the speaker to hold the comment until

[9:21] that item is called. Comments on items

[9:23] listed as public hearing on the agenda

[9:25] should be held until the hearing is

[9:26] opened. The council is prohibited by law

[9:29] from taking any action on matters

[9:30] discussed that are not on the agenda and

[9:32] no adverse conclusions should be drawn

[9:34] if the council does not respond to the

[9:35] public comment at the time. At this

[9:37] time,

[9:38] >> thank you for that. I will open public

[9:40] comment at this time and come up to the

[9:41] podium if you would like to present.

[9:56] My name is Anthony Forest here. Um, live

[9:58] in Madera. Uh, good evening, mayor,

[10:00] council members, city manager. Um, first

[10:03] I want to give my condolences for the

[10:04] loss of Mayor Garcia and Supervisor

[10:09] Rodriguez. Um, as you may be keenly

[10:12] aware, I'm on the June ballot for the

[10:14] position of auditor controller for

[10:15] Madera County. Uh, I'm here tonight

[10:18] requesting your support for my

[10:19] candidacy. This past March, I completed

[10:22] my sixth year here at the at the city of

[10:24] Madera as a financial services manager.

[10:27] I've proven myself to be a hardworking,

[10:30] responsible, ethical, and reliable uh

[10:33] team member during my employment with

[10:35] the city. I'm running for honor to

[10:37] controller to bring honesty, integrity,

[10:40] accountability, and transparency to

[10:42] Madera County, to provide my knowledge,

[10:44] skills, and abilities, and to take on

[10:47] the additional challenge of running a

[10:48] large-scale governmental finance

[10:50] department.

[10:55] In addition to the governmental

[10:56] experience gained as a financial

[10:58] services manager with the city, I have

[11:00] almost 40 years experience as a

[11:02] certified public accountant uh in

[11:04] healthcare, real estate development,

[11:06] agriculture,

[11:07] tribal gaming, winery accounting,

[11:10] residential, commercial construction,

[11:11] and of course, governmental accounting.

[11:14] This diverse background will serve me

[11:16] well during my tenure as the auditor

[11:18] controller if I'm elected. During my

[11:20] almost 40 years of experience, I've

[11:22] supervised by staffs as large as 30 and

[11:24] as small as one. I have made

[11:26] presentations to executives, council

[11:29] members, and boards of directors. My

[11:31] early years of experience included

[11:33] preparing tax returns for individuals,

[11:35] partnerships, corporations, and

[11:37] nonprofit organizations, as well as

[11:40] performed audits for companies in

[11:42] multiple industries. I'm asking for your

[11:44] support and the support of your friends,

[11:46] family, acquaintances, and constituents.

[11:48] Thank you for your time and

[11:49] consideration and remember vote Anthony

[11:52] Forest here for internal for auditor

[11:53] control in Madera County. Thank you.

[11:55] >> Thank you for your comment.

[12:09] » Good afternoon. My name is Monica

[12:10] Ramirez. I'm the executive director with

[12:12] First Five Mera County and Family

[12:15] Resource Center as well. And I only

[12:17] bring you a message from some of your

[12:19] youngest residents in the city and we've

[12:22] been seeing a lot of work happening. Um

[12:25] we our family resource center sits on

[12:27] the corner of Joede and Lake. So we are

[12:30] privy to all the action that's going on

[12:33] and we are very happy and excited about

[12:35] the the changes. The kids are really

[12:38] thrilled to see all the big equipment.

[12:40] not so much to parents that have to

[12:42] circumvent back and forth, but we bring

[12:44] you a big thank you card because I know

[12:47] that it takes a lot of work for all of

[12:49] this to happen and even though the work

[12:52] continues on, we just want to extend

[12:54] that and our gratitude for that hard

[12:56] work. Thank you.

[12:57] >> Thank you for your comment.

[12:59] >> Thank you. Thank you.

[13:10] Hello everybody. Um, my name is Monica

[13:13] Bravo. I am CEO from the Latinos

[13:17] and we are we are here last.

[13:20] So I will try to do both of them.

[13:34] Mera clue they are all the four members.

[13:38] Um want to extend this space to have a

[13:42] memory to

[13:45] both of leaders here in Madera Max

[13:48] Rodriguez and Santos Garcia. I would

[13:52] like to have a moment of silence to

[13:54] celebrate the life of portation to the

[13:58] Madera County and the Madera city.

[14:07] Max Rodriguez for to contribution. Max

[14:23] Rodriguez was represented to the Madera

[14:26] County in the district 4 in the district

[14:30] 4. He advocate for the union integration

[14:34] and the good labor on the community at

[14:36] the park during her period

[14:40] his period. Thank you Max for your

[14:43] contribution.

[14:46] Fore

[15:06] Santos Garcia ex mayor of the Madela

[15:09] city was considered for the proclamation

[15:13] inclusion in the communities of Boga for

[15:16] the sports, culture and community events

[15:22] and for be the pioneer in the change.

[15:27] He was and we will be on a member active

[15:31] of the Latinos.

[15:50] We extend the condolences for their

[15:54] family, friends,

[15:59] to the invitation to continue to the

[16:01] inclusion, the union and

[16:05] we all together we contribute to to do a

[16:09] better community

[16:11] Maxim,

[16:19] thank you so much. I'm so sorry my

[16:22] English is like a little bit but I I t

[16:26] my my heart. Thank you.

[16:28] >> Thank you for your comment.

[16:32] » Are there any other comments in the

[16:34] chamber?

[16:36] I see none. City clerk Gonzalez. Anyone

[16:38] online or on Zoom?

[16:40] We have none. Mayor, we did receive a

[16:42] public comment um that a copy has been

[16:45] distributed to the city council and

[16:47] there is a copy at the podium for those

[16:49] wishing to obtain one.

[16:50] >> Perfect. Thank you so much for that.

[16:52] With that, I close public comment and we

[16:54] move on to

[16:56] >> Excuse me.

[16:56] >> We do have someone on.

[16:57] >> Oh, okay. He put his hand down.

[17:01] >> Open public comment. Back up.

[17:05] God. Catchadorian.

[17:08] >> Caller with the last name Kacadorian. If

[17:10] you wish to speak,

[17:18] please press star six to unmute

[17:20] yourself.

[17:31] Caller by the red.

[17:33] Could you hear me?

[17:43] » Are you

[17:44] >> Could you hear me?

[17:46] >> Are you on the line for public comment?

[17:48] >> We can hear you on the Zoom call. I

[17:50] don't think they can hear you in the

[17:51] chambers. One moment, please.

[17:53] >> Um, I typed a question actually over to

[17:57] you guys. Um, just asking a few

[18:00] questions on the public comments. I

[18:03] emailed it to um the city clerk info.

[18:08] >> Okay, one moment. Let me text uh

[18:18] let me text and tail.

[18:20] >> Yeah, as long as you can read it, I'm

[18:22] fine with that.

[18:25] » Okay, we can we can hear we can hear her

[18:28] and I can read it.

[18:33] Okay, here's the public comment from

[18:35] Gabriella Catchadorian.

[18:37] She says, "Hi, we are not able to

[18:39] comment online. I'm reaching out

[18:40] regarding the maintenance in the area

[18:42] behind Parkwood Elementary. Where can we

[18:44] locate a calendar when maintenance is

[18:46] completed in this area, New Parkwood

[18:49] Valencia? My next question is if there

[18:52] are resources available for residents to

[18:54] cover some of the medical expenses. I

[18:56] only ask because some concerns have been

[18:59] brought up that residents have been

[19:01] discouraged to use the hospital because

[19:03] they are being told there is no fee

[19:04] wavers that Madera offers.

[19:07] And that is the end of the public

[19:08] comment for Miss Catadorian. Okay.

[19:10] >> Thank you, city court Gonzalez. With

[19:12] that, I close public comment at this

[19:13] time and move on to council members

[19:17] reports, announcements, future agenda

[19:19] items. City clerk Gonzalez

[19:26] one.

[19:29] This portion of the meeting is is

[19:31] reserved for the mayor and council

[19:33] members to make brief reports on boards,

[19:34] committees, and other public agencies

[19:36] and at public events to request updates

[19:38] to initiate future agenda items and to

[19:40] take action on matters initiated under

[19:42] this section of the agenda. Under this

[19:44] section, the council may take action

[19:46] only on items specifically agendaized

[19:47] and which meet other requirements for

[19:49] action.

[19:50] >> Thank you for that. I'm going to go to

[19:52] council member Rodriguez who wanted this

[19:54] to be moved up. I'll go with you first.

[19:56] >> Yes. Thank you, Mayor P. which I

[19:59] appreciate that um you know obviously

[20:02] everybody is aware of the passing of our

[20:04] former mayor but I did want to take this

[20:06] moment just to uh extend my deepest

[20:08] condolences on the passing of our former

[20:11] mayor Garcia who left us this past

[20:13] Saturday um who devoted his entire lives

[20:16] to service a longtime postal worker um

[20:20] and also very active in the United Farm

[20:22] Workers uh organization

[20:25] um and very and as you know the the

[20:28] Monica had commented that very devoted

[20:30] and care deeply for the people of

[20:32] Madera. Um you know in in getting to

[20:35] know Santos when I first got elected um

[20:38] it was uh it was unusual seeing this man out here just always coming to

[20:44] the meetings in 2016 and 17 and he would

[20:48] always praise me for comments that I

[20:50] would make again just making comments or

[20:52] asking questions. So he took on that

[20:54] baton himself, took on the city council

[20:57] in 2018 and then went on to pursue the

[21:00] uh mayorship of which he cared very

[21:02] deeply for the community especially for

[21:04] those voices that were unheard. His

[21:07] purpose was always to uplift those who

[21:09] felt overlooked and unheard. Whether

[21:11] delivering mail, organizing workers or

[21:13] serving to very dest. He carried the

[21:16] same commitment of fairness,

[21:18] representation, and human dignity. To

[21:21] his wife, his family, and all who loved

[21:23] him, we offer a heartfelt condolences

[21:25] and the loss of this truly loss to the

[21:27] entire community. May we honor his

[21:29] memory by continuing the work he

[21:31] championed at building Madera where

[21:33] every resident is seen, heard, and

[21:35] valued. Um, aside from that, I also

[21:37] wanted to um a heartfelt tribute to our

[21:40] esteemed former county supervisor Max

[21:43] Rodriguez. I think it was said earlier

[21:45] by Monica Supervisor Rodriguez again

[21:47] served this community for over 16 years.

[21:50] Um, this was a loss that took place

[21:51] within 30 days and uh really our deepest

[21:55] uh condolences to them. Now, moving on,

[21:58] I just wanted to share that I think that

[22:00] was appropriate to do it while we were

[22:02] here. Most of the time when we give

[22:03] these reports, everybody's gone and

[22:06] typically it's we're talking to

[22:08] ourselves. But I wanted to make sure

[22:09] that I if any family members, friends of

[22:11] Santos, they know that we also have a um

[22:14] a very we'll have a voice here in the

[22:16] community. Um I had an opportunity to

[22:19] attend the League of Cities leader

[22:20] summit um that uh I was accompanied by

[22:24] our uh council members Mahia Evans,

[22:27] Viega, Sakariah um and our esteemed uh

[22:31] city manager Rodriguez throughout the

[22:33] sessions that we um attended, you know,

[22:37] uh water uh government policy and um

[22:42] other u important sessions. But one

[22:44] thing that did stand out for me, this

[22:46] was the last session that I I wanted to

[22:48] bring to the city, see if it's something

[22:49] they may consider is AI has advanced so

[22:51] much that we can we could potentially

[22:54] add a chat box to our city website. I

[22:57] know this was a redevelop website. I

[22:59] think a chat box is now very

[23:01] appropriate. It's being utilized in many

[23:04] of the uh especially workspaces that I

[23:06] have. So, if it's something that we can

[23:08] consider in the future, this is

[23:10] something that I'd like to bring back up

[23:11] if the council would agree to bring this

[23:14] back up in a as a future suggested um uh

[23:18] agenda item. Last but not least, I did

[23:20] have an opportunity to attend the

[23:21] Sanwalk Regional Policy Council retreat

[23:24] that was held in Merced. This retreat

[23:26] was again eight counties coming together

[23:28] trying to see what's in the best

[23:30] interest or what uh common uh interest

[23:33] we have which is all transportation um

[23:36] air quality and again housing. So with

[23:39] that there were very a lot of important

[23:42] um uh topics that we talked about but I

[23:44] always the needs of our community

[23:47] especially here in Madera and with that

[23:49] madame mayor that's all I had. Thank you

[23:50] for your time.

[23:51] >> Thank you for your report. Uh, council

[23:53] member Vieas.

[23:55] >> Uh, thank you, mayor. I just wanted to

[23:57] say that, yeah, I uh in 2020 when I

[24:02] start uh uh uh running for uh city

[24:07] council,

[24:09] uh the first uh one of the first person

[24:11] that I meet that was on Saria and I

[24:14] learned a lot from him. uh he have a lot

[24:18] of uh uh good things in mind for the

[24:23] city

[24:25] to to improve and and all those kind of

[24:28] things. So, uh, I learned a lot from

[24:31] them, from him and from Councilman

[24:33] Rodriguez right in the beginning. And um

[24:38] I just want to say it's a it's a it's a

[24:41] one of the very

[24:44] um bad loss of of somebody that that was

[24:50] caring and have in mind that we serve to

[24:54] people and make things better around the

[24:57] city. Also, I was attending

[25:00] CVS with uh with my colleagues and then

[25:05] so I just wanted to

[25:10] they say that first year will be

[25:12] remembered by many people in Mexico and

[25:16] that's my report. Thank you.

[25:17] >> Thank you for your comment, Councilwoman

[25:19] Evans.

[25:24] Okay.

[25:26] Good evening everyone. Blessings to you

[25:29] all.

[25:32] For me

[25:33] it was hard to come today. Um

[25:39] Santos and I

[25:42] we talked all the time. We fought.

[25:46] We didn't talk to each other. We cried.

[25:50] We complained to each other.

[25:53] But he was more than just a colleague to

[25:55] me. He was more like a brother.

[25:59] His family, Martha,

[26:03] if I got sick, they were at the door.

[26:06] bringing me the

[26:09] story. Oh my gosh. Let me tell you. Um,

[26:13] one night my son was here and

[26:17] he needed hypodermic needles because

[26:19] he's a diabetic. And I spoke with Santos

[26:24] and he came over about 10:00 at night to

[26:27] bring a box of needles to my son so that

[26:31] he could take his insulin.

[26:34] Everyone else spoken about how he did

[26:37] things in the city and yes, he did. I

[26:40] mean, it was unlike Arthur Neil. He was

[26:44] one of the first to speak to me about

[26:46] running for office,

[26:49] but that was just a small part. He made

[26:52] sure that there was food for children.

[26:56] There was food for families. He made

[26:58] sure that every time the door opened, he

[27:01] was at some type of an event. Um, it was

[27:04] at one point in time said that he should

[27:07] go for the photo. Well,

[27:10] One thing about it, no one can ever say

[27:13] that he wasn't there. He wasn't our

[27:16] mayor. He made sure that his voice was

[27:20] heard from Sacramento all the way down

[27:22] to Los Angeles. And anyone in here

[27:25] that's a Dodger fan, oh my goodness,

[27:28] heaven forbid if you rooted for someone

[27:31] else, he would just elephant. And I

[27:34] don't know how many of you knew that he

[27:36] was colored right. So Martha would pack

[27:40] his clothes because she wanted to make

[27:43] sure that his things matched.

[27:46] And one day I asked him, I said, "Is

[27:48] blue your favorite color?" And he said,

[27:50] "Is that what I have on?" I said,

[27:51] "Yeah." And he says, "Oh, you know, I'm

[27:54] color blind." I was like, "Okay." So

[27:56] there are some of the the the personal

[27:58] things that um

[28:00] I just want to remember. Um I've been in

[28:03] contact with his family. Um, and

[28:08] they want everyone to know just how much

[28:12] they so appreciate the love that this

[28:16] city has shown to Stock. They rode

[28:18] around town and they saw the flags that

[28:22] were at half staff

[28:24] and I have not talked to Martha, but the

[28:28] daughters,

[28:30] the sons, they're

[28:33] everyone is devastated because he called

[28:36] me and he was on the phone and he was

[28:39] like, I can't stay on the phone long.

[28:41] And I said, why? What's the matter? And

[28:42] he says, I need a coke break. I said,

[28:44] you don't need a coke break. And he do.

[28:47] She says, "But I got to get this work

[28:48] done." Martha left left a list for me. I

[28:51] said, "Oh, you got honeydew to do." I

[28:53] said, "Do you need me to come over and

[28:54] help you?" I was like, "Oh, no. If you

[28:56] come, she's going to be mad. I'm going

[28:57] to get in trouble." I said, "Okay, we'll

[28:59] get off the phone so that you can go do

[29:01] your honeydew list." And that was that

[29:04] was the type of relationship we had. It didn't matter. It didn't matter if we didn't talk for weeks because we were

[29:11] mad together. And then he would call,

[29:14] "Oh, Kenny, I'm sorry. I can I talk now?

[29:17] You know, so but

[29:20] that was

[29:22] the loving side, the the man's side, the father's side, the brother's side of

[29:27] him, and I I I will I will truly miss

[29:31] him. Um, yesterday we went over to the

[29:35] supervisor's office and they had a

[29:39] moment of silence also for Max Rodriguez

[29:42] yesterday. And today um I went to the

[29:49] um celebration of life

[29:52] for Max and

[29:56] it was very very moving, very touching.

[29:58] I wanted to make sure that we were

[30:00] representing you know the city

[30:05] because we need to be able to have

[30:06] partnerships and we need to come

[30:08] together. life is so short and you just

[30:12] never know from one day to the next when

[30:16] you may take your your last breath, you

[30:18] know. Um,

[30:21] I I'm not going to say that I'm just

[30:25] overly overly religious, but one thing I

[30:28] do believe and I do believe is that we

[30:31] all have a number.

[30:33] And one day,

[30:36] God will call your name.

[30:38] And I just pray that each and every one

[30:41] of you who have differences will forgive

[30:44] each other. Because in order to make it

[30:46] into the kingdom of heaven,

[30:49] you have to forgive. And you got to let

[30:52] some stuff go,

[30:54] you know. And and today I I listened to

[30:58] um supervisor

[31:01] and he talked about how he and Max were

[31:04] of different parties, but on the local

[31:08] level, it shouldn't matter because we're

[31:10] supposed to all be here for each other.

[31:13] And that's that's the bond that we need

[31:16] to have as a community, be it county or

[31:20] city. We're all one and we need to come

[31:23] together as one. Our two went to major

[31:28] cities. And it was so nice. There was

[31:31] five of us that were there and the

[31:33] camaraderie was just awesome to just be

[31:36] able to sit with my colleagues and we

[31:38] didn't violate the Brown Act. you

[31:39] talking about too much other stuff other

[31:41] than of the city. But it was just nice

[31:46] because there's many times that I go and

[31:49] especially with the the housing, you

[31:52] know, it's it's only the two of us. And

[31:55] it was nice to be able to walk into a

[31:57] room and see people that look just like

[31:59] me because generally the only one in

[32:03] this room is myself and Joe.

[32:07] And it's it's it's odd. It's very odd.

[32:11] Um I want you to know that

[32:16] we need to come together. I I went on

[32:19] last Monday to Sacramento to the um

[32:22] legislative day

[32:25] and

[32:27] I was there and we went from building to

[32:31] building. We went to different

[32:33] representatives offices.

[32:35] The only one that made time for us and

[32:39] no disrespect was um Assembly woman.

[32:44] And she's here. She comes here and she

[32:46] and some folks were just like thick

[32:48] speech as well as um senator

[32:52] and we need to have that type of

[32:54] partnership

[32:56] amongst all of us. We come in here we

[32:59] smile but there was a song and I'm aging

[33:03] myself years ago. It was by the

[33:05] temptations. It's called smiling faces

[33:08] sometimes

[33:10] pretend to be your friend. We need to

[33:12] get away from that.

[33:14] We can

[33:17] pray. We have this in God and trust. But

[33:21] how many of us really take the time

[33:24] to just

[33:26] really trust each other

[33:31] trust that love that we're supposed to

[33:34] have as colleagues. We're supposed to

[33:37] help as a city.

[33:40] I thank you guys for being here tonight.

[33:43] God bless each and every one of you and

[33:45] I go back.

[33:46] >> Thank you for your comment, Mayor Prom

[33:48] Zachariah.

[33:50] >> But uh um but well said. I mean uh the

[33:57] experience that we've had with Santos as

[33:58] a um just a former Guanian with us we as

[34:02] a service club member. Um the things he

[34:05] did for the community that's always

[34:06] where he had his heart and it it is

[34:08] going to be a big loss. Um, you know,

[34:11] that same day was also a big victory

[34:13] from Derek for the Mattown robotics. Um,

[34:16] got to watch that and

[34:18] worrisome as we always do every year.

[34:20] Uh, but to it's it's a great thing for

[34:23] the community. Um, I I would hope to

[34:25] have them uh to come for a proclamation

[34:28] at some point. So, I don't know put on

[34:30] the agenda. Um, I know next meeting will

[34:33] probably be full with the the ones that

[34:35] were moving from this agenda, but um,

[34:37] you know, have been here. It would be

[34:38] nice to kind of recognize him as for all

[34:39] the work you've done through the beer.

[34:40] So, thank you.

[34:42] >> Can you let everybody know what happened

[34:44] at the end

[34:45] >> as far the end end? Well,

[34:47] >> um

[34:49] >> well,

[34:50] for the fourth

[34:51] >> fourth time, two times in a row. Um and

[34:55] what's what's always key to understand

[34:56] is again to remind people this is not

[34:58] nationals. This is this is the world

[35:00] scale. So, they were going

[35:01] internationally, China, Mexico, Israel,

[35:04] um all the big big names you would

[35:06] imagine. and Lil Madera is is the center

[35:08] of the world when it comes to robotics.

[35:10] So just remember that. So yeah,

[35:12] >> that's right.

[35:13] >> Perfect.

[35:13] >> Yeah.

[35:16] >> Thank you for your time, Council Member

[35:18] Montes.

[35:19] >> And I'll be I'll be brief and I'm sure

[35:20] it won't be as eloquent as some of my

[35:22] colleagues. U but I do also want to

[35:24] express my condolences to the the

[35:26] families of the Rodriguez and the Garcia

[35:28] families. Um they were both leaders in

[35:30] the community. They were both leaders in

[35:32] the community and I'm sure it's going to

[35:33] leave a void in a lot of people's

[35:36] hearts. Um, and so my thoughts and

[35:38] prayers go out to their friends, family,

[35:40] and loved ones. And I guess I need to

[35:42] get out more often cuz that is the end

[35:43] of my report.

[35:45] >> Thank you for your report. And we were

[35:47] talking about how they did so much for

[35:49] this community. This weekend was a

[35:51] packed house. We had Relay for Life that

[35:54] raised $57,000

[35:56] just from Madera. We had Doors of Hope

[35:59] that opened up their doors for this

[36:01] community to come see what they're all

[36:03] about. Uh Gong Boxing gym opened in the

[36:06] city of Madera this weekend and Madera

[36:09] High School Coyotes did a volleyball

[36:10] camp for our young uh students uh K

[36:13] through six. We also had the Madera

[36:16] County Office of Education put on the

[36:17] Artfest. Great event. And what was kind

[36:21] of exciting, we had our law enforcements

[36:23] that united for an 80 mile ride came

[36:26] through our city for fallen law law

[36:28] enforcement officers. That was very

[36:30] exciting. I got to see them. Um, what

[36:33] was exciting for me is I got to be at a

[36:35] ribbon cutting with the governor and his

[36:37] first partner wife that we are opening

[36:40] up our national parks for uh free of

[36:44] service. If students or adults want to

[36:46] get a free pass from our Madera County

[36:48] Library, they can do that. And their um

[36:52] vision is in 30 years to uh acquire

[36:56] 30,000 more uh square footage of

[37:00] parkland. So they're calling it 30 by

[37:02] 30. So going to see the governor and

[37:05] championing parks. I'm a parks and gal

[37:07] way back. I was very excited to be there

[37:09] with so many other elected officials. It

[37:12] was held at Sycamore Island in Madera

[37:14] County. So, in our backyard, we had the

[37:16] governor here a few weeks ago and that

[37:18] was very um exciting for all of us. One

[37:21] more thing I'd like to remind everyone

[37:23] in the community is the Madera uh

[37:25] prayers breakfast is tomorrow morning

[37:28] and hope to see everyone there for that.

[37:31] With that, um at this time, I will close

[37:34] um the reports from the council and move

[37:37] on to the next item.

[37:40] Section A, public hearings. Item A1,

[37:42] consideration of ordinance text

[37:44] amendment 2026-01

[37:46] for the amendment of chapter 3, planning

[37:49] and zoning of the city municipal code

[37:51] regarding a commercial color palette and

[37:52] establishment of exterior paint color

[37:54] standards for construction of new

[37:56] buildings and repainting existing

[37:57] buildings with commercial zone

[37:59] districts.

[37:59] >> Thank you. And that will be presented by

[38:01] our planning director, Breick. Thank you

[38:03] for being here tonight.

[38:11] Good evening, mayor val council, David,

[38:14] planning manager. This item is ordinance

[38:17] test amendment 2026-01

[38:21] and it's for exterior paint color and

[38:22] exterior paint color in commercial zone

[38:26] districts.

[38:27] Uh what brought us here tonight? There

[38:29] was the council's uh concern that they

[38:31] expressed over repainting of commercial

[38:34] structures with colors that were were

[38:37] disruptive or distracting in our

[38:39] established commercial zone districts.

[38:41] And on February 18th, 2026, council

[38:44] received a report from staff regarding

[38:46] color pallets for new development,

[38:48] repainting of existing structures and

[38:50] commercial zones.

[38:53] Per the municipal code, the the council

[38:56] has the authority to amend zoning

[38:58] regulations by initiating a text

[39:01] amendment by resolution, sending that uh

[39:04] into motion with starting with the

[39:06] planning commission, first holding

[39:08] public hearing, reviewing draft

[39:10] ordinance, making a recommendation to

[39:13] the council which is coming before you

[39:14] tonight and the council taking action on

[39:17] that draft ordinance.

[39:20] Uh again getting to tonight the

[39:22] council's concern was

[39:25] uh maintaining the scenic beauty of our

[39:28] community primarily commercial districts

[39:31] and you have that authority through

[39:32] zoning regulations in government code

[39:34] section 65850

[39:37] that includes regulation of paint color

[39:39] and that is the ordinance that's before

[39:41] you tonight. Council's direction was to

[39:44] establish standards for commercial zone

[39:46] districts through approved colors both

[39:49] for new development and for repainting

[39:51] of existing structures in commercial

[39:53] districts with an emphasis of

[39:55] prohibiting uh nuisance or bright colors

[39:58] in those districts.

[40:01] April 21st, 2026, your planning

[40:03] commission adopted a resolution that's

[40:04] included in your staff report resolution

[40:07] 2049. It's their review and

[40:10] recommendation of the draft ordinance

[40:12] and that's before you tonight and

[40:13] they're recommending improvement.

[40:15] The ordinance itself applies to

[40:18] incommercial districts, new buildings,

[40:22] additions to existing buildings,

[40:24] reconstruction of existing buildings

[40:26] even where it's caused by natural

[40:28] disaster, fire or tornado. We had

[40:30] warnings a few weeks ago. repainting of

[40:33] existing buildings. Where it doesn't

[40:35] apply is if for some reason there's code

[40:38] enforcement action or vandalism or

[40:41] graffiti, something needs to be

[40:43] repainted. The requirement is that they

[40:44] match their existing building as close

[40:46] as possible. So, this doesn't

[40:48] necessarily apply to that. Uh the color

[40:51] selection um within commercial district

[40:55] was that it be non-reflective, subtle,

[40:57] and be based on neutral or gray tone

[40:59] colors. The ordinance also specifies a

[41:02] certain percentage 10% uh can have

[41:05] accent or trim colors that are different

[41:09] and it requires your ordinance requires

[41:11] approval by the planning department. So

[41:13] be developed a draft application that

[41:15] needs to be submitted both for new new

[41:17] buildings and repainting of structures.

[41:21] There's no fee for that application.

[41:23] It's reviewed and approved by staff. If

[41:25] for some reason staff feels they can't

[41:28] approve it, that decision is appealable

[41:30] to your planning commission. The

[41:32] planning commission's decision is

[41:33] appealable to the city council where

[41:35] you're the ultimate authority on that

[41:37] decision.

[41:40] The ordinance before you tonight amends

[41:41] the city code and it sets a process to

[41:45] establish the color palette. So the

[41:47] ordinance doesn't set the color palette.

[41:49] It says that the color palette is set by

[41:51] resolution, but that resolution is

[41:53] approved by the city council. So, that

[41:55] allows you more flexible process should

[41:57] you ever need to win the the uh

[42:00] acceptable color palette.

[42:03] In your staff report, the draft includes

[42:07] a healthy list of acceptable colors and

[42:10] trim colors. Again, that can be amended.

[42:14] And this SQA this uh ordinance amendment

[42:17] process is exempt from SQA under the

[42:19] common sense exemption.

[42:22] The next step should you approve

[42:24] tonight's uh first reading is that we

[42:26] schedule a second reading which goes on

[42:28] your consent agenda. Tenatively that

[42:29] would be May 20th 2026.

[42:33] At that same meeting we would uh

[42:35] agendaize a hearing for resolution to

[42:38] set the color palette for you.

[42:42] staff's recommendation first is a minor

[42:45] uh edit to the draft ordinance that's

[42:48] included in your staff report. Uh the

[42:50] full text of that section is listed in

[42:53] this slide and you can see where we

[42:56] strike out and replace. It's the third

[42:59] or fourth line from the bottom striking

[43:01] out sign permit and inserting

[43:04] application. That's the first part of

[43:06] our recommendation. The second part is

[43:08] that you then laid the full reading and

[43:10] introduced by title uh this ordinance of

[43:13] the city council of the city of Madera

[43:15] determining the project is exempt from

[43:17] SQA section 15061 B3

[43:21] of the SQA of California quality act

[43:24] guidelines and amending chapter 3 of

[43:26] title 10 which defining the zoning of

[43:29] the city municipal code regarding the

[43:31] stereo colors and commercial zone

[43:33] districts. That concludes my report and

[43:35] I will try to answer any questions you

[43:38] may have.

[43:39] >> Thank you for that. I'll bring it back

[43:40] to my colleagues for any questions or

[43:42] concerns.

[43:46] » Councilwoman Evans.

[43:47] >> I'm trying to find another one.

[43:50] >> Can you bring back up the the color

[43:52] palettes, please?

[43:54] >> Yes.

[44:00] » Might have to look up here. She's

[44:02] working on

[44:08] » not on their screen.

[44:38] Okay. I have a recommendation. This this

[44:41] is personal, but I mean I'm looking at

[44:43] the colors that we have here and because

[44:45] of our city, I have a recommendation to

[44:48] go no more than looking from 27 to 42 in reference to the city and and the

[44:58] colors that it could possibly be. That's

[45:00] just my um recommendation

[45:03] 27 to 42.

[45:07] But I thank you so much for your report.

[45:09] That was that was what I wanted to take.

[45:13] >> So tonight's action is just the

[45:15] ordinance and its process but we will

[45:18] take your comment back with us and

[45:19] include that in my presentation for

[45:22] resolution to adopt. There's um it's a a

[45:26] long list but if you have the

[45:29] flexibility to direct us which you

[45:31] expect a few adopted.

[45:34] >> Okay. Thank you for your comment mayor

[45:35] pro Tim Sachariah.

[45:38] Um, and this question I know I'd asked

[45:40] before, but like for instance, when we

[45:41] have like downtown district that um may

[45:45] have um a certain kind of feel to it

[45:48] that they want to have that we still

[45:50] have the how hard will it be in the

[45:52] future to add or change the pallet as we

[45:55] go? Is it simple single meeting? Is it

[45:57] something that has to go back to public

[46:00] or

[46:00] >> It's a single meeting. We would schedule

[46:03] Well, it would be two meetings because

[46:04] you would need to direct us to get it

[46:05] onto the agenda. We would do that. um

[46:08] and bring u modifications for you to

[46:10] consider.

[46:11] >> Okay. And and as far as um like once we

[46:14] approve is planning have any part of

[46:16] that as well or it's just we're going to

[46:18] do demand, right? I mean we're going to

[46:20] dictate the colors, send it back to

[46:21] planning. They're going to be ones to

[46:23] kind of enforce in sense.

[46:24] >> We'll modify the application that

[46:27] includes the colors that are that are

[46:28] permissible and then that would be the

[46:30] new standard where when we apply if it's

[46:32] in there staff can approve it. We can

[46:34] keep moving. If it's not in there and it

[46:36] wants to be added or you're suggesting

[46:38] something be removed, we would need to

[46:39] do that.

[46:40] >> And there's no color restrictions for

[46:42] instance for companies that have

[46:44] specific colors to their

[46:46] >> their personality there that would be in

[46:49] the trim for instance, right? If I again

[46:52] have a purple

[46:54] business, but I can still put that on

[46:56] the trim and that's exempted from the

[46:57] pallet color or the trim is going to be

[47:00] restricted to the pallet. The draft

[47:02] ordinance says 10% of the trend and the

[47:05] draft color palette that's included in

[47:08] your staff report. If it's included,

[47:11] they can they can propose 10% include

[47:14] that color.

[47:14] >> And and I'm just using an example like

[47:16] McDonald's is yellow and red. So they

[47:19] would have to be very 10% is all they're

[47:21] going to be having on that whole

[47:23] building or the trinities at least as

[47:25] far as their colors. And if that's

[47:27] staff's interpretation through that

[47:29] process, then that could be appealed to

[47:31] the planning commission which can be

[47:32] appealed to you.

[47:34] >> Thank you.

[47:34] for your comment. I see no

[47:36] other comments. I just would like to

[47:38] thank staff for bringing this back with

[47:39] this information. It was very important

[47:41] to us. So we thank them for their time.

[47:43] With that, I open up the public hearing.

[47:45] Anybody in the chamber have any

[47:47] comments?

[47:51] » I see none. Anyone online or on Zoom?

[47:55] >> Gotcha.

[47:57] There's no one on Zoom.

[47:58] >> Thank you. With that, I will close the

[48:00] public hearing and bring it back to my

[48:03] city attorney to wave the full reading.

[48:06] >> Thank you. If you're inclined to approve

[48:07] this, the motion would be wave full

[48:09] reading and introduced by title and

[48:10] ordinance of city council city mader

[48:12] attorney. The project is exempt pursuit

[48:13] to section 150613 of the California

[48:16] environmental quality act guidelines and

[48:17] amending chapter 3 of title 10 planning

[48:19] and zoning of the city municipal code

[48:20] CMC regarding exterior colors and

[48:22] commercial zone districts as amended by

[48:24] staff. Thank you. Thank you. Well done.

[48:26] I will bring it back to my colleagues

[48:27] for a motion in a second.

[48:29] >> Motion to approve as written.

[48:31] >> Second.

[48:31] >> I have a motion and a second. All those

[48:33] in favor as written or as stated?

[48:35] >> As stated. Please forgive me. As stated.

[48:37] >> Thank you. Motion and a second. All

[48:39] those in favor say I.

[48:40] >> I.

[48:41] >> Those opposed. Motion passes

[48:43] unanimously. Thank you for that. Great

[48:45] report. Moving on to uh the next item.

[48:48] City Clerk Gonzalez.

[48:50] >> Consent calendar. Matters listed under

[48:52] the consent calendar are considered

[48:53] routine and will be enacted by one

[48:55] motion and one vote. There will be no

[48:57] separate discussion of these items. If

[48:59] discussion is desired, a member of the

[49:00] public or a member of the council may

[49:02] request an item be removed from the

[49:04] consent calendar and it will be

[49:05] considered separately.

[49:06] >> Thank you. So, I'll bring it to my

[49:08] colleagues for any concerns or

[49:09] questions.

[49:11] I see none. I open it up for public

[49:13] comment. Anyone in the chamber?

[49:17] Anyone online or on Zoom? City clerk, we

[49:19] have none. Mayor, thank you. Do I close

[49:21] public comment and bring it back to my

[49:22] colleagues for a motion and a second?

[49:24] >> Move to approve consent.

[49:26] >> I'll second.

[49:26] >> Thank you for that. I have a motion and

[49:28] a second. All those in favor say I.

[49:31] >> Those opposed. Motion passes

[49:33] unanimously. Um, next item. Item D1,

[49:37] landscape and lighting assessment

[49:38] district zones of benefit. Engineers

[49:40] report an intention to levy and collect

[49:43] annual assessment for citywide landscape

[49:44] and lightning assess lighting assessment

[49:46] district zones for benefit for fiscal

[49:49] year 202627.

[49:51] >> Thank you for that. That will be

[49:52] presented by our admin analyst. A thank

[49:54] you for being here tonight.

[49:58] >> Thank you mayor and council. Um Nicole

[50:01] Sab analyst department. I'm here tonight

[50:04] to present the 26 27 landscape

[50:06] maintenance system board. Wave that

[50:08] everyone on council has been through

[50:09] this at least once but for anybody

[50:11] following along at home we will a little

[50:13] bit of background. Beginning in 1991 as

[50:16] projects were approved they were annexed

[50:18] into the landscape maintenance district

[50:20] or LM program. Today there are 80 active

[50:22] zones of benefits within the city web

[50:25] district program. Are developed prior to

[50:27] this were not subject to this

[50:29] assessment. Assessments are collected as

[50:30] part of property taxes to maintain

[50:32] common landscaped areas. Uh rates were

[50:36] set when the zones were established as

[50:38] was the maximum amount that may be

[50:39] charged. To exceed or raise the maximum

[50:42] amount, the majority of parcels in each

[50:44] zone must vote in the affirmative. This

[50:47] is the current map of all 80 zones you

[50:49] see repeating around town.

[50:52] Zone 51 is the citywide zone. not see

[50:56] that on the map as unfortunately are one

[50:59] right here but they all all over the

[51:02] city.

[51:04] Uh the history of the internet force

[51:05] prepared on an annual basis incorporates

[51:07] past expenses revenues and projected

[51:09] expenses and revenues. It makes

[51:12] recommendations uh on adjustments to

[51:14] assessments based on data provided by

[51:16] the finance department as finally in the

[51:18] city's datas

[51:20] and estimates of upcoming expenses from

[51:24] parks and finance departments.

[51:26] Uh changes since the last report uh the

[51:30] city could not levy assessments

[51:46] sounding brand.

[52:17] I swear.

[52:31] » Okay, back on track. Uh changing since

[52:33] the last report, city cannot fund

[52:34] assessments on negative fund balances

[52:36] based on operational funds older than

[52:38] the current fiscal year, which is fiscal

[52:40] year 2025 26. Operational losses from

[52:44] 2024 and prior years have been removed.

[52:46] This equates to $52,78

[52:49] that must be covered by general fund.

[52:51] For the current fiscal year 2526,

[52:53] project to have an operational loss of

[52:55] $41,922.

[52:57] The next fiscal year, fiscal year 2627,

[53:00] we're projecting to have an offer to a

[53:01] loss of $63,382.

[53:05] For fiscal year 2627, we will continue

[53:08] to adjust assessments on a per zone

[53:10] basis when permitted by individual zone

[53:12] covenants. What this means in practice

[53:14] is there will be no cost adjustments or

[53:16] co-as. We will increase up to but no

[53:19] higher the base threshold amount in

[53:21] agreements as they approved. We will

[53:24] continue to consider avenues for zone

[53:25] consolidation. This is still a bit of an

[53:28] up battle as zone consolidation can

[53:30] cause assessments for many property

[53:31] owners to increase in the short term

[53:33] which makes success difficult.

[53:36] Changes uh going forward as fund

[53:39] balances in certain zones continue to

[53:40] drop changes will be needed to minimize

[53:42] losses. However, direction will be

[53:44] needed as to what those changes may be.

[53:47] Certain options have been discussed in

[53:48] the past and here's just a quick

[53:50] overview of some of them. Um reduction

[53:53] in service is kind of the default first

[53:55] action that we could do. Uh which would

[53:58] be a reduction of service means reducing

[53:59] either the frequency of visits to a

[54:01] given zone, reduction in the amount of

[54:03] time spent on site or some combination

[54:05] of the two. Uh the pros of this would be

[54:07] it would reduce the amount of manhour in

[54:09] affected zones which would in theory

[54:11] lower the amount of labor required. Uh a

[54:13] con would be that the landscaping would

[54:15] become overgrown and potentially lose a

[54:17] static appeal. Uh we believe that

[54:19] residents are generally not in favor of

[54:21] this effect. Also an option would be

[54:23] removal of landscaping. Uh removal of

[54:25] landscaping involves removing either

[54:27] shrubs, flowers or trees. Removal of

[54:29] trees would generally not be considered

[54:31] as part of this route. The pros are that

[54:34] it has to reduce the time spent on

[54:36] infected zones thereby reducing labor

[54:38] hours required. Uh the cons are again

[54:41] that requires upfront labor costs for

[54:43] staff to remove and dispose under new

[54:44] landscaping and then potential future

[54:46] costs to replant should zone balances

[54:49] increase in the future. And again you

[54:51] can believe that residents are generally

[54:52] not in favor of this time.

[54:56] The I believe this is the last uh

[54:59] recommendation or possibility rather

[55:01] would be altered landscaping. Uh this

[55:03] option involves either replacing the

[55:05] existing plants with less labor

[55:07] intensive alternatives such as natural

[55:08] ground cover or installation with

[55:10] features that require little to no

[55:12] maintenance such as zeroscaping. The

[55:14] pros are it has the potential to reduce

[55:16] labor costs while also potentially

[55:18] maintaining aesthetic appeal. But the

[55:20] downside would be that depending on the

[55:21] alternative landscaping chosen material

[55:24] costs could be prohibitively uh

[55:26] restrictive and could potentially

[55:27] require a significant amount of labor to

[55:29] convert into visual signs.

[55:32] The recommendation for tonight would be

[55:33] to approve the intern report with

[55:34] amendments as may be requested.

[55:36] Authorize staff to file a 10-day public

[55:39] notice for public hearing and schedule a

[55:42] public meeting for council session on

[55:44] June 17th. And with that, happy to

[55:46] answer any questions.

[55:48] >> Thank you for that. I'll bring it back

[55:49] to my colleagues for any questions or

[55:50] comments. I see none. I will open it up

[55:53] for public comment. Anyone in the

[55:55] chamber?

[55:57] Anyone online or on Zoom? City Clerk

[55:59] Gonzalez. No attendees have requested to

[56:01] speak. Mayor,

[56:02] >> thank you. I will close public comment

[56:04] at this time and bring it back to my

[56:06] colleagues for adoption. I need a motion

[56:08] and a second.

[56:09] >> Move to adopt.

[56:13] >> Thank you. I have a motion and a second.

[56:15] All those in favor say I.

[56:16] >> I.

[56:17] >> Those opposed? Motion passes

[56:19] unanimously. Thank you. Admin analyst

[56:22] for your report. Moving on to the next

[56:24] item. Item D2, Raymond Road Street

[56:27] improvements, rebid city project R37,

[56:29] CAMAC 5157094,

[56:32] shoulder paving and RMR street rehab.

[56:35] All right, presented by our senior

[56:37] engineer, Ben Court. Great to see you

[56:39] this evening.

[56:40] >> Good to be here.

[56:52] » Go ahead. Quick.

[57:04] Almost had it there.

[57:05] >> Almost.

[57:13] » Sorry about that.

[57:15] >> Mayor city council. My name is E. I'm a

[57:18] senior civil engineer with the system

[57:20] engineering department here in the

[57:21] county. I'm here to make presentation

[57:24] for contract award for the RMAN road

[57:27] street improvements rebid for city

[57:29] project 37 at Cmax CML is 157094

[57:35] shoulder paving and RM rehab

[57:40] context the the congestion mitigation

[57:43] air quality act um funding is specific

[57:46] only for the shoulder baby portion of

[57:48] this project on road and the regional

[57:52] surface transportation program RSTP

[57:54] exchange funding is specific only for

[57:56] the existing pavement and rehab.

[57:59] Uh this is just Raymond Road. It extends

[58:02] from from Kingland Avenue all the way up

[58:04] to the northeast

[58:07] city boundary. The northern southern

[58:09] limits of shoulder pavement pavement

[58:11] rehab are the same. Therefore, we

[58:12] combine two projects. There's expected

[58:15] cost savings by fitting both projects

[58:17] together under one contract.

[58:20] Two bid schedules were incorporated for

[58:22] each funding source for tracking

[58:23] purposes, but the award is based on the

[58:26] sum of both schedules. This project is a

[58:28] rebid of a project that was advertised

[58:30] earlier this year. Due to potentially

[58:33] ambiguous language regarding bid

[58:35] documents, concerns were raised by

[58:37] contractors after bail brief and city

[58:40] council adop resolution 26-38 on March

[58:44] 28th, 2026 rejecting the bid and

[58:47] authorized engineering public to be

[58:48] advertised.

[58:51] Project limits are Cleveland Avenue to

[58:53] the city limits to the northeast.

[58:56] The work in general consists of enlion,

[58:58] clearing, rubbing for new shoulder

[59:00] pading and approximately 8 foot of

[59:01] shoulder paving on the river side of

[59:03] rain road

[59:05] rehab includes drying, replace type two

[59:08] microsurfacing, surface prep and crack

[59:10] sand and also to remove and replace all

[59:16] map.

[59:22] Project bing on March 25th 2026 city

[59:25] released the revis

[59:28] city's plan west portal and notice invar

[59:33] tribute newspaper on March 25th and

[59:35] again on March 28 2026

[59:38] April 21st 2026 five bids were received

[59:42] the bids were checked for accuracy

[59:44] against bidding requirements delivering

[59:46] licenses and bid curated the lowest bid

[59:50] was war brothers general engineering

[59:52] The local contractor is almost down the

[59:55] road. This is a summary of the bids.

[1:00:00] Loganz

[1:00:04] is 1964.

[1:00:09] It was well below the engineer's opinion

[1:00:11] cost.

[1:00:15] Wars Brothers General Engineering

[1:00:16] Incorporated submitted the lowest bid of

[1:00:18] $443,261.

[1:00:21] They met all the bidder documentation

[1:00:23] requirements and selected as lowest

[1:00:25] responsive and responsible bidder

[1:00:28] recommended allow recommending an

[1:00:30] allowance of 10% of contract amount for

[1:00:32] contingency resulting from unforeseen

[1:00:34] conditions project is funded with

[1:00:37] congested navigation and air quality

[1:00:39] CMAC and local transportation fun

[1:00:42] shoulder pavement only and the regional

[1:00:44] surface transportation transation

[1:00:51] from staff is adopt the resolution

[1:00:52] approving the contract award for the

[1:00:54] Raymond Road Street improvements bid

[1:00:56] city project 37 R37 CMAX CNL5157094

[1:01:01] shoulder paving and RMR pavement rehab

[1:01:04] in the amount 443,261

[1:01:08] plus contingencies to wars general

[1:01:11] engineering incorporated and adopt a

[1:01:14] secret class one existing facilities

[1:01:16] cate categorical exemption Sure.

[1:01:24] » Presentation. Any questions?

[1:01:26] >> Thank you. Uh, senior engineer Baron

[1:01:28] Court. I can tell you the residents are

[1:01:29] going to be happy. I drive that road

[1:01:31] quite often. So, woohoo. Thank you for

[1:01:33] championing that project through. I

[1:01:35] bring it back to my colleagues for any

[1:01:37] questions or concerns. I see none. I

[1:01:39] open it up for public comment.

[1:01:42] I see none in the chamber, online, or on

[1:01:44] Zoom. City Clair Gonzalez.

[1:01:45] >> No attendees have requested to speak.

[1:01:47] Mayor,

[1:01:48] >> thank you. Do I close public comment at

[1:01:49] this time and bring it back to my

[1:01:51] colleagues for a motion and a second?

[1:01:53] >> Motion to approve as written.

[1:01:54] >> Second.

[1:01:55] >> I have a motion and a second. Ty, you

[1:01:59] want to

[1:02:01] >> Mayor Pro Tim Zachariah second. All

[1:02:03] those in favor say I.

[1:02:05] >> I.

[1:02:06] >> Those opposed motion passes unanimously.

[1:02:09] Thank you for that presentation.

[1:02:10] >> Thank you very much.

[1:02:11] >> Moving on to the next item.

[1:02:15] >> Um item E1 and E2. We're continuing to

[1:02:17] the May 20th meeting. Moving on to E3,

[1:02:19] direction regarding animal control

[1:02:20] services agreement with the county of

[1:02:22] Madera and consideration of establishing

[1:02:23] a city county ad hoc committee.

[1:02:26] >> Thank you for that. Presented by our

[1:02:27] city manager Rodriguez.

[1:02:31] >> Thank you very much, Mayor, members of

[1:02:32] the council. For the record or the city

[1:02:35] manager, the before you this evening is

[1:02:37] to establish an ad committee at the

[1:02:39] request of Madera County. For

[1:02:41] background, the city and the county

[1:02:43] entered into an agreement in 2018. Next

[1:02:46] slide, Lisa.

[1:02:49] » Captain. Oh, never mind. I'm sorry.

[1:02:51] Let's don't listen to me.

[1:02:53] >> Um, and under that agreement, the city

[1:02:55] provides our own animal control

[1:02:57] officers. We currently have two officers

[1:02:59] and we provide the equipment and all the

[1:03:00] necessary um items for those officers.

[1:03:03] However, the animal control shelter

[1:03:05] itself is controlled and managed by the

[1:03:08] county. Um, so currently if the city

[1:03:11] picks up an animal, we we take it down

[1:03:14] to the animal control shelter. If a

[1:03:16] community member has an animal, a stray

[1:03:18] animal, they in 30 would take it to the

[1:03:20] shelter. There have been some challenges

[1:03:22] with that agreement in that the county

[1:03:24] at times is at capacity or has indicated

[1:03:27] or has notified the city that they u

[1:03:30] that they do not have the ability to

[1:03:31] take some of the animals. When that

[1:03:33] happens, unfortunately, the animal will

[1:03:35] stay in the neighborhood typically where

[1:03:36] it's found. um as part of the agreement

[1:03:40] while it's not directly uh related to

[1:03:43] the animal control service agreement

[1:03:44] there's a second component to that and

[1:03:46] that second part is that the city

[1:03:48] provides law enforcement services to

[1:03:50] courthouse park I do want to identity

[1:03:56] members have talked about the city has

[1:03:58] this agreement so again this is the 2018

[1:04:00] agreement we commonly refer to it as the

[1:04:02] animal control agreement there's there's

[1:04:05] a second agreement that is not part of

[1:04:06] this and that is the tax revenue

[1:04:08] agreement. What that agreement does is

[1:04:10] it it outlines um how property taxes are

[1:04:14] split between the city and the county.

[1:04:17] It it identifies u sales tax. The city

[1:04:20] pays 4.5% of our sales tax goes to the

[1:04:24] county. So again, 4.5% of the city sales

[1:04:27] tax goes to the county. Um and then it

[1:04:31] also outlines that the city provides law

[1:04:33] enforcement services to Parkwood.

[1:04:35] is not in the city. It's

[1:04:36] approximately 2,200 people, about 550

[1:04:39] homes. And then also there is language u

[1:04:42] that the city provides um some funding

[1:04:45] for the library which is located in

[1:04:47] downtown. And at the same time if um if

[1:04:50] the water runway ever malfunctions,

[1:04:54] there's an inner tie. So there's a large

[1:04:56] gate valve. I believe it's an 8 inch

[1:04:58] gate valve along Avenue 13 or Peak

[1:05:00] Avenue. That gate valve is turned on

[1:05:02] until the resident park would have

[1:05:04] potable wires. That's a separate

[1:05:05] agreement. So that agreement is not part

[1:05:08] of this agreement. And there's a third

[1:05:09] agreement and that third agreement

[1:05:11] pertains to fire services. And if that

[1:05:14] agreement spells out is that it's

[1:05:16] nearest um nearest equipment um is going

[1:05:20] to respond to an emergency. So if the

[1:05:21] fire is in the county and our agent is

[1:05:24] closer, we will respond. And likewise,

[1:05:25] if there's a fire in the city and the

[1:05:27] county agent is closer, they will assist

[1:05:29] us. Um those two agreements are not part

[1:05:32] of this agreement. And the only

[1:05:33] agreement that the county is requesting

[1:05:34] that we revisit would be for animal

[1:05:36] control itself.

[1:05:39] So for context, um going back to 2021,

[1:05:42] the city was paying roughly $157,000.

[1:05:46] Uh more recently in the current fiscal

[1:05:48] year, we have paid about $191,000.

[1:05:51] The reason it increases every year is

[1:05:53] there is a 5% cost of living adjustment

[1:05:56] uh built into that agreement. At the

[1:05:59] time uh in 2018 the the price or the

[1:06:03] cost for a law enforcement for us as far

[1:06:06] was estimated at $60,000 per year. That

[1:06:09] estimate does not have a cola so there

[1:06:11] are no adjustments. So that estimate

[1:06:13] historically stay at 60 for that one.

[1:06:15] There's no cash exchange that's just

[1:06:17] services or for the payment for the

[1:06:20] shelter. There is payment we pay then so

[1:06:23] the city pays the county.

[1:06:26] Um, so again, the county has expressed a

[1:06:28] desire to renew parachute, which they

[1:06:30] have the the autonomy to make that

[1:06:34] request and it's it's more specifically

[1:06:37] outlined in section uh in section 7 in

[1:06:39] the agreement. Um, so the county has

[1:06:42] also indicated that if an agreement is

[1:06:44] not reached between the city and the

[1:06:45] county by the end of this fiscal year,

[1:06:48] which is the end of June, that they

[1:06:50] intend to to um to initiate a clause in

[1:06:54] the agreement where they will be

[1:06:56] providing the city 180 days to fully

[1:06:58] terminate the agreement. Um, and then

[1:07:00] that termination would be for animal

[1:07:03] services and I suspect also for law

[1:07:05] enforcement courthouse parks because

[1:07:07] that's housed within the agreement.

[1:07:10] With that said, there are a lot of

[1:07:12] challenges with operating an animal

[1:07:13] shelter as we've collectively talked

[1:07:15] about. And um so a couple of things. Um

[1:07:20] we our our animal vet bills which the

[1:07:22] city pays for has uh increased over the

[1:07:24] past couple of years which is shown on

[1:07:26] the overhead. So two fiscal years about

[1:07:28] $700 a year. We're we're currently at

[1:07:31] about 25,000. We still have a couple

[1:07:33] months to go. That is paid for out of

[1:07:34] the general fund. The other thing to

[1:07:36] note is that dog intakes have been

[1:07:38] declining. It's not that we have less

[1:07:40] dogs in the community. Rather, the

[1:07:42] dental shelter um is declining to accept

[1:07:44] the animals. So, you know, I I I can't

[1:07:47] tell you yet the dog population has

[1:07:49] increased or decreased in our community

[1:07:51] and that's a difficult number to to seem

[1:07:53] to quantify. However, uh the

[1:07:58] animal shelter has indicated that they

[1:08:00] are not accepting some of the city dogs.

[1:08:02] Um and that and that is outlined. This

[1:08:05] is data that we obtained directly from

[1:08:07] the animal shelter. And so again, this

[1:08:09] simply shows that the dog intakes in the

[1:08:10] city is blue. They've slowly been de

[1:08:13] creasing. And then we also have cats.

[1:08:17] Um I should also note that that there is

[1:08:20] a local measure being championed by some

[1:08:22] community members um that they intend on

[1:08:26] placing a measure on the November ballot

[1:08:28] and that would be for quarters and sales

[1:08:30] tax. So 0.25 25 on top of the the sales

[1:08:34] tax that we have right now which is

[1:08:36] 8.25. So it would go to 8.5.

[1:08:38] Um and that that course in sales tax

[1:08:42] would would go to a group and my

[1:08:44] understanding and reading the language

[1:08:45] it it would uh then go to the county

[1:08:48] sheriff to establish um animal services

[1:08:51] countywide. Under that measure um a a

[1:08:55] new shelter would be constructed and all

[1:08:58] animal services would be provided

[1:09:00] including animal control officers. Um so

[1:09:03] um that packet was placed on your dice

[1:09:06] this evening and again that was at the

[1:09:07] request of one of the authors of the

[1:09:11] measure. Um she also indicated that

[1:09:13] there's an event this Friday at the

[1:09:15] fairgrounds between 5 and 10 if anyone

[1:09:17] would like information. Um I I'm not

[1:09:20] necessarily advocating either way, but

[1:09:22] um at her request, I did uh inform her

[1:09:25] that I would be poisoned with this on

[1:09:26] the agenda, and I told her that I would

[1:09:28] notify council community. So the

[1:09:31] recommendation this evening is that the

[1:09:33] city council select um several council

[1:09:36] members to sit as an ad hoc, which would

[1:09:38] have been directly for the supervisor

[1:09:40] members. Um at at the request of city

[1:09:44] council, you could have staff there. Um

[1:09:46] I'm I'm not positive if the county will

[1:09:48] have staff there. Um but if that were

[1:09:51] the case, I would recommend that the

[1:09:53] chief of police and myself sit on that

[1:09:55] at our committee or if there's anyone

[1:09:56] from council that council would like in

[1:09:59] terms of city staff, we would make

[1:10:00] ourselves available. So with that, that

[1:10:02] concludes my presentation. Thank you.

[1:10:05] >> Thank you for that presentation. Um, I'm

[1:10:07] just going to make a quick comment uh

[1:10:09] from the staff report stating that uh

[1:10:13] the county is looking to close the city

[1:10:16] residents from having access if we don't

[1:10:18] come to agreement. We have five

[1:10:21] supervisors and four of them uh

[1:10:24] represent city residents. We are county

[1:10:26] residents as city residents as county

[1:10:29] supervisors and council electeds. They

[1:10:31] have two elected officials. Um, to say

[1:10:34] that is disheartening because I'm a

[1:10:36] county resident

[1:10:38] >> and you're telling me just because I

[1:10:40] live in the the city zoning area, you're

[1:10:43] going to say I can't bring my animals

[1:10:44] when I pay county taxes. Um, I have a

[1:10:48] concern about that. The second thing was

[1:10:51] um the part two of the ad hoc

[1:10:54] city manager, tell me if I'm mistaken. I

[1:10:56] thought some of that um for Parkwood

[1:11:00] patrolling Parkwood was for the animal

[1:11:02] control.

[1:11:03] >> That's that's how it's going to be in

[1:11:05] the tax sharing agreement.

[1:11:06] >> Yes.

[1:11:06] >> Which is a separate agreement which is

[1:11:08] not subject to this agreement.

[1:11:10] >> Okay. But it is that money still pulled

[1:11:12] aside

[1:11:14] for the animal shelter. Is it not? We're

[1:11:16] patrolling Parkwood. That money is being

[1:11:19] levied so that we have access to the

[1:11:21] animal shelter. Is it not in the tax

[1:11:23] sharing agreement? I I'm not too

[1:11:26] familiar. I gone back and read the

[1:11:28] agreements. I'm not too sure how the

[1:11:30] figures originated.

[1:11:31] >> Um, however, how they're prepared, how

[1:11:34] they're drafted, I would

[1:11:37] >> uh state that they're draft if someone

[1:11:39] silent and that they're very distinct

[1:11:42] from from one another.

[1:11:43] >> Okay.

[1:11:43] >> Now, if some of the negotiations overlap

[1:11:46] and that overlap is not reflected within

[1:11:48] the agreement, I can't state that with

[1:11:50] confidence. I simply wasn't there.

[1:11:53] So with that, I would like to be part of

[1:11:55] that ad hoc committee myself. If any

[1:11:58] other council member is interested on

[1:12:00] being that um please speak forward or

[1:12:05] >> Yeah, before I I answer that, mayor, I

[1:12:08] did have a question regarding our cost

[1:12:10] of living increase. Uh looks like that

[1:12:12] 5%

[1:12:14] is not sufficient according to what

[1:12:17] they're claiming, right? that this uh

[1:12:20] cost of keeping animal shelter has

[1:12:22] exceeded or at least for this city the

[1:12:25] city's portion we're not contributing

[1:12:28] sufficient right I mean for I think I

[1:12:31] saw the letter that came across as 40%

[1:12:34] um of the animals at that shelter are

[1:12:37] coming from our city do you agree with

[1:12:39] that statement or is there something to hold us accountable to that to state

[1:12:44] that we have about 40% of the animals

[1:12:47] held the animal fact there are

[1:12:48] >> I I wouldn't have those fingers and it

[1:12:51] would be difficult for me to speculate

[1:12:52] and the reason I say that is there are

[1:12:54] many animals from speaking with our

[1:12:57] chief that that we don't take them

[1:12:59] because our officers will make a call

[1:13:02] and they'll indicate that that animal

[1:13:05] and if the shelter has been accepted. So

[1:13:07] I I I can't speak with confidence. I

[1:13:08] know how long we are are are housed

[1:13:10] there and where they're originating if

[1:13:12] they're the city or they're the county

[1:13:14] or if we're simply not taken. So uh we I I wouldn't have that data, but I think

[1:13:20] as part of this discussion with the

[1:13:21] county, we could flesh out some of those

[1:13:23] details.

[1:13:24] >> Yeah. And also just to comment on the I

[1:13:28] think you provided something from one of

[1:13:30] the founders of the proposed tax

[1:13:34] measure. Is this in perpetuity or is

[1:13:36] this something that would happen like a

[1:13:38] certain time frame, 10 years, 20 years?

[1:13:40] I didn't see anything on there.

[1:13:42] >> My understanding is it's a perpetuity.

[1:13:44] Um, and there's a couple council members

[1:13:46] that kind of are nodding.

[1:13:47] >> Okay.

[1:13:49] >> I did speak with her at lane on Friday

[1:13:51] evening and that was my understanding.

[1:13:53] Um

[1:13:55] now you know like any other tax measure

[1:13:58] that takes place whether it's

[1:13:59] transportation what have you there's

[1:14:01] always some

[1:14:03] representation from the uh public agency

[1:14:06] that's also obviously the city or county

[1:14:09] and any other city that's part of this

[1:14:11] thing. So I didn't see that on there as

[1:14:13] well. I mean again this is not part of

[1:14:15] our item here but this was presented uh

[1:14:18] in conjunction to this item here. I I

[1:14:21] just am not ready to read this yet. I

[1:14:23] think we have something before us with

[1:14:26] the ad hoc. I saw I sat on the last tax

[1:14:29] sharing and doing the capital there and

[1:14:31] I certainly uh would agree with our

[1:14:34] mayor is that we we do this carefully. I

[1:14:37] mean I I I think we do pay property

[1:14:40] taxes. We do pay other sales tax

[1:14:42] measures that are collected by the

[1:14:44] county. I'd like to I'd like to see

[1:14:46] numbers that represent the claim as to

[1:14:49] why we're not paying our fair share. And

[1:14:52] if that's the case, then let's see it.

[1:14:54] I' I'd like to see what that looks like

[1:14:56] before um we commit to anything else.

[1:15:00] So, if if you're looking for uh another

[1:15:04] person I'd like to sit in as well. Um, I

[1:15:07] think, uh, you know, I'm not saying I

[1:15:09] have a relationship with the county, but

[1:15:11] at least I've been part of these, um, ad

[1:15:14] hocs and I'd like to really question how

[1:15:17] we come about these numbers.

[1:15:19] >> Thank you for that. I'd also like to

[1:15:21] nominate Mayor Pro Tim Zachariah because

[1:15:24] we have two veterans and we have someone

[1:15:26] who's new, I think, needs to really see

[1:15:28] the process and and learn from it

[1:15:30] because we're not going to be here

[1:15:31] forever. So, uh, Mayor Pro Tim

[1:15:34] Zachariah, if you will accept that

[1:15:36] nomination,

[1:15:37] >> if if that's unavailable, I was going to

[1:15:38] leave it to you guys. I trust in your

[1:15:40] hands, but if you want a third, I'm more

[1:15:42] than willing. Yeah.

[1:15:42] >> Um, I think it I I echo you that it's very appalling to be put in a in a

[1:15:47] rock and a hard place because either we

[1:15:49] >> we acknowledge their demand for what's

[1:15:51] probably going to be more money or they

[1:15:53] shut us down. And then understanding

[1:15:55] that uh to your point reading this,

[1:15:58] we're going to hand five people

[1:15:59] non-elected up to $60 million every year

[1:16:03] for perpetuity to not just build but

[1:16:06] essentially build their own private um

[1:16:08] shelter. Um so it it's I think it's for

[1:16:11] the you know good for the taxpayers to

[1:16:13] attend that meeting and ask them why

[1:16:15] it's in perpetuity that they're going to

[1:16:16] be taking between five and $6 million

[1:16:19] and then we're not included on any to

[1:16:21] say of how that is spent. So, just

[1:16:23] understand that it's not it's not just

[1:16:26] that they're collecting money. It's that

[1:16:27] these five people are going to decide

[1:16:29] how it's built, how it's spent, and

[1:16:31] essentially force us to use their

[1:16:33] services because the county shuts us off

[1:16:35] and we have no another no other choice.

[1:16:37] So, I would encourage, you know, the

[1:16:38] community to go out and ask those kind

[1:16:40] of questions because when I've done so,

[1:16:42] that that individual didn't seem to like

[1:16:44] those kind of questions. But, um I do

[1:16:47] have concerns with the a lot of that the

[1:16:49] amount and the perpetuity. So, thank

[1:16:51] you.

[1:16:52] >> Okay. And with that, I'll motion to

[1:16:55] >> question.

[1:16:56] >> I just have one one question and I agree

[1:16:59] with the with the or the candidates for

[1:17:01] that hour. But I don't know if if I'm

[1:17:04] getting ahead of myself, but I know this

[1:17:05] is talked to the county, but if we are

[1:17:09] not able to reach uh an agreement, then

[1:17:12] um our options are to start our own

[1:17:17] shelter. uh is that something that can

[1:17:19] be I mean I'm not saying that's what

[1:17:20] we're going to do but as we're in

[1:17:22] negotiation in negotiations at the same

[1:17:25] time sim simultaneously have a plan to

[1:17:28] plan for this agreement to not go

[1:17:30] forward.

[1:17:32] >> I think it would be advisable to run

[1:17:34] multiple parallel paths um in case we

[1:17:38] can all come to an agreement um and and

[1:17:42] explore options. Um I'm not sure if

[1:17:45] there's any good options. Um but but I

[1:17:49] think obviously the goal is is that we

[1:17:52] improve our level of service. I think

[1:17:54] collectively we have all heard that um

[1:17:56] that there are voting animals in the

[1:17:58] community. Um I I'm not too sure if any

[1:18:01] of us are happy about that and I do

[1:18:03] think we're constituents to to quite

[1:18:05] frankly do a better job of how we tend

[1:18:08] to to to spray animals.

[1:18:10] >> Okay. Thank you for that comment. Um

[1:18:13] Council Member Rodriguez. Uh yes, thank

[1:18:16] you Eric Agos. Again, I would also um

[1:18:19] ask our legal council to review the

[1:18:21] invocation of section 70 and how that

[1:18:24] affects and puts it puts the city at

[1:18:27] peril when you have no access to the

[1:18:29] animal shelter. So I'm not sure if in

[1:18:32] fact again we're payers of service. I

[1:18:36] understand that there's an agreement

[1:18:38] before us, but again, this county

[1:18:39] provides multiple services to the city

[1:18:41] residents through property taxes and

[1:18:43] other tax returns that we have. So, I

[1:18:46] would ask our ego council to review

[1:18:48] that, make sure that um you know, all

[1:18:51] ends especially with the city are also

[1:18:53] um we're not overlooking these these

[1:18:56] small details that could potentially put

[1:19:00] us in some type of litigation.

[1:19:03] And that's the letter. So,

[1:19:04] >> great comment.

[1:19:06] City attorney got that. Great. Um, no

[1:19:10] other comments. I will open it up for

[1:19:12] public comment at this time. Anybody in

[1:19:13] the chamber?

[1:19:16] Anyone online or on Zoom?

[1:19:17] >> We have no attendees requesting to

[1:19:19] speak.

[1:19:20] >> Thank you. I close public comment at

[1:19:21] this time and I will make the motion for

[1:19:23] the Havoc Committee uh for E3

[1:19:28] to be Mayor Gyos, Council Member

[1:19:31] Rodriguez, Mayor President Zachariah.

[1:19:34] >> Second that. I have a motion and a

[1:19:35] second. All those in favor say I.

[1:19:38] >> I.

[1:19:38] >> Those opposed. Motion passes

[1:19:40] unanimously. Thank you for that report.

[1:19:42] City manager Rodriguez.

[1:19:44] Uh moving into close session. I will

[1:19:46] turn this over to my city attorney.

[1:19:52] » Thank you, mayor. We have one item for

[1:19:53] close session this evening. It is called

[1:19:55] G1 C negotiators to government code

[1:19:57] section 5495 to 7.6. Agency designated

[1:20:01] representatives are Rodriguez Silva and

[1:20:03] Michael Lima. employee organizations on

[1:20:04] Madera affiliated city employees

[1:20:06] association police officers association

[1:20:08] manager employment group and law

[1:20:10] enforcement mid management employment

[1:20:11] group.

[1:20:12] >> Thank you for that. I open it up for

[1:20:13] public comment. Anyone in the chamber? I

[1:20:16] see none online or on Zoom.

[1:20:18] >> No attendees have requested to speak.

[1:20:19] Mayor,

[1:20:20] >> thank you. I close public comment and we

[1:20:22] will be moving on into close session.

[1:20:24] Thank you for joining us this evening.

[1:20:27] Uh we apologize for the inconvenience

[1:20:29] and all our our mishaps, but we we'll

[1:20:31] get it next time. Thank you so much.

[1:35:15] That's old school soundboard right

[1:35:16] there.

[1:35:19] >> Sorry.

[1:35:20] >> Okay. I think that's like a old school

[1:35:21] soundboard.

[1:35:22] >> Yeah.

[1:35:23] >> Welcome back everyone. We're coming out

[1:35:25] of close session and I'll turn this over

[1:35:26] to our city attorney.

[1:35:27] >> Thank you, mayor. There's no reportable

[1:35:29] action taken a close session.

[1:35:30] >> All right. I adjourn this meeting as of

[1:35:33] 7:36.

[1:35:36] And we will see you Wednesday, May 20th,

[1:35:39] 26 in the same location. Have a good

[1:35:41] evening everyone. Thank you. Happy

[1:35:42] Mother's Day.

Madera City Council Meeting: May 6, 2026

Transcript