[1:13] Good evening, everyone. Welcome to our
[1:15] regular City Council meeting Wednesday,
[1:17] July 8th at 6:00 p.m. Meeting called to
[1:20] order.
[1:21] Madam Clerk, may I have roll call,
[1:22] please?
[1:23] >> Yes.
[1:24] Mayor O'Neal
[1:25] >> Present.
[1:25] >> Vice Mayor Cano
[1:26] >> Here.
[1:27] >> Councilmember Gonzales, Councilmember
[1:28] Perez, Councilmember Gutierrez
[1:30] >> Here.
[1:30] >> We have quorum.
[1:31] >> Now, leading us in the invocation is
[1:33] going to be our Vice Mayor, Ricardo
[1:35] Cano.
[1:42] » Lord, we come before you with grateful
[1:44] hearts asking for your presence in this
[1:46] meeting. Open our minds to receive
[1:48] wisdom, our spirits to find clarity, and
[1:50] our hearts to practice patience. Help us
[1:52] to challenge one another towards excellence while
[1:55] maintaining a spirit of unity and
[1:57] respect. Let our focus remain entirely
[1:59] on serving our citizens faithfully and
[2:01] fairly. Amen.
[2:03] >> Amen. Now, can everybody please stand
[2:05] for our pledge of allegiance led by
[2:07] Council Member Gutierrez.
[2:11] » Ready.
[2:12] >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[2:15] United States of America, and to the
[2:17] republic for which it stands, one nation
[2:20] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[2:23] justice for all.
[2:29] » Now, may I have a motion to approve
[2:30] agenda as to form?
[2:32] >> Motion.
[2:33] by Vice Mayor Cano, second by
[2:35] Council Member Gutierrez. Madam Clerk,
[2:37] may I roll call, please?
[2:38] >> Yes. Mayor Leon.
[2:39] >> Aye.
[2:39] >> Vice Mayor Cano.
[2:40] >> Aye.
[2:40] >> Council Member Gonzales, Council Member
[2:42] Parra, Council Member Gutierrez.
[2:43] >> Aye.
[2:43] >> Motion passes.
[2:45] >> Thank you, Madam Clerk. Now, leading us
[2:47] to the feature pet of the of the week,
[2:50] highlights a pet available for adoption
[2:51] from our McFarland Animal Shelter.
[2:53] Feature presented by our Chief of
[2:55] Police,
[2:56] Adrian Olmos.
[3:03] » Stop. Don't shop. Thank you.
[3:06] >> Thank you, Chief. What a story for
[3:07] Taylor. Is there any takers today?
[3:14] See that any?
[3:16] No. Yes. Back there.
[3:18] Tristan.
[3:22] All righty.
[3:24] What the Thank you, Chief. Hopefully, uh
[3:26] somebody will come and and adopt Taylor.
[3:29] Thank you. Have a good day.
[3:31] >> Thank you.
[3:32] >> Now, moving on to public comment.
[3:34] Members of the public wishing to address
[3:35] the City Council on non-agenda matters
[3:37] or agenda items may do so at this time.
[3:40] Speakers are limited to 2 minutes per
[3:41] person. 20 minutes
[3:43] is allocated for non-agenda public
[3:45] comment and 20 minutes for agenda items
[3:48] public comments within 10 minutes of of
[3:50] person and remote speakers, unless
[3:52] otherwise
[3:53] adjusted by the presiding officer. Madam
[3:55] Clerk, do we have anybody for public
[3:56] comment?
[3:57] >> There is none.
[3:59] >> Anybody from the public would like to
[4:00] make a comment?
[4:03] Seeing none, I'm going to be closing
[4:04] public comment. Now, moving on to
[4:07] consent agenda. The consent agenda
[4:08] consists of items
[4:10] that in staff's opinion are routine and
[4:12] non-controversial. These items are
[4:14] approved in one motion unless a council
[4:15] member
[4:16] or a board or a member of the public
[4:18] requests to remove a particular item. Is
[4:20] there anybody from the public that would
[4:21] like to remove or discuss
[4:23] a consent agenda item?
[4:33] Seeing none, is there a council member
[4:36] that would like to remove or or pull an
[4:38] uh consent agenda consent item?
[4:42] >> No.
[4:43] >> Seeing none, may I have a motion to
[4:44] approve consent agenda?
[4:45] >> Motion.
[4:46] >> Second.
[4:46] >> Motion by Vice Mayor Cano, second by
[4:48] Councilmember Contreras. Madam Clerk,
[4:50] may I have roll call, please?
[4:51] >> Yes. Mayor Young?
[4:53] >> Aye.
[4:53] >> Vice Mayor Cano?
[4:54] >> Aye.
[4:55] >> Councilmember Councilmember Gonzales,
[4:57] Councilmember Perez, Councilmember
[4:58] Gutierrez?
[4:58] >> Aye.
[4:59] >> Motion passes.
[5:00] >> Thank you. Now, moving on to public
[5:01] hearings. Item 10, conduct annual public
[5:04] hearing to receive and file the fiscal year
[5:06] 2025-2026 state staff agency recruitment
[5:09] and retention report pursuant to
[5:11] government code section 3502.3
[5:14] subsection AB 2561. Ms. McQueen.
[5:19] >> Good evening, Council.
[5:22] Um in accordance with uh government code
[5:24] section 3502.3
[5:27] enacted through Assembly Bill 2561,
[5:29] local public agencies
[5:31] that adopt [clears throat] an annual
[5:32] budget budget are required to conduct at
[5:34] least one public hearing each fiscal
[5:36] year regarding the status of employee
[5:38] vacancies in the agency's recruitment
[5:40] and retention efforts. To comply with
[5:42] this requirement, the City Council
[5:43] adopted resolution number 2025-69 on
[5:46] January 1st, 2025, establishing the
[5:48] city's policy to conduct an annual
[5:50] public hearing on employee vacancies and
[5:52] recruitment and retention efforts. Uh
[5:54] this report fulfills the specific
[5:56] education um certifications, licenses,
[5:59] prior experience um which has reduced
[6:01] the number of applicants uh that are
[6:02] qualified.
[6:04] And then as far as availability, some
[6:05] recruitments receive a limited number of
[6:07] qualified applicants requiring an
[6:08] extended recruitment uh period or
[6:10] multiple recruitment efforts before a
[6:12] position can be filled.
[6:14] Uh despite these challenges experienced
[6:16] by our agency, uh the city continues to
[6:18] evaluate and improve its recruitment and
[6:19] retention strategies. HR remains
[6:22] committed to expanding outreach,
[6:23] streamlining hiring processes, um
[6:25] investing in employee development, and
[6:27] maintaining a competitive workplace to
[6:29] attract and retain a highly qualified
[6:31] workforce.
[6:33] The final steps are to receive and file
[6:35] this report, consider consider council
[6:37] direction, and continue annual
[6:39] reporting.
[6:40] And I'm open to any questions.
[6:42] >> Thank you very much, Ms. McQueen. I'm
[6:44] going to open up the uh open it up to
[6:45] the public. Anybody have questions
[6:47] regarding the receive and file report? Can we go
[6:52] back to the
[6:54] first the first
[6:54] >> Oh, the first you
[6:55] >> the staffing overview.
[6:56] >> Okay. Okay.
[6:58] >> All right.
[7:00] Seeing none, seeing none,
[7:02] I'm going to bring it back to the
[7:03] council.
[7:03] >> the council.
[7:05] Uh
[7:05] great presentation, by the way.
[7:07] It allows
[7:08] for people to see what job opportunities
[7:10] there is,
[7:11] based on their past
[7:12] qualifications and certifications. But
[7:14] it But it This is the This is the This
[7:16] is daily and daily and
[7:18] good for
[7:19] individuals that want to want to
[7:22] start a job if if if it's a new
[7:24] >> start a job if if if it's presented
[7:27] >> an entry position in the city
[7:29] with the city, but at least gives the
[7:30] opportunity for people to see what job
[7:31] opportunities there
[7:32] >> And then see the growth that we've had
[7:34] over the years
[7:35] We're at 50 and 40 now we're at like 70, This is what happens what happens
[7:39] >> Services are being provided to our
[7:41] community. But our outstanding job today
[7:43] I'm going to bring it to our council.
[7:49] » Great presentation. Great information.
[7:52] Uh
[7:52] >> Overall.
[7:52] You're
[7:53] >> Everything.
[7:54] >> Excellent.
[7:55] >> Vice Mayor.
[7:56] >> No questions.
[7:57] >> Thank you.
[7:58] >> Seeing that this is
[8:00] >> See the file now.
[8:01] I just need to see the
[8:02] presentation. Thank you so much for the
[8:03] presentation.
[8:03] >> Thank you.
[8:08] » Now, moving on to administrative
[8:09] matters.
[8:10] >> Agenda.
[8:10] >> I don't know if I can bring that up.
[8:11] Resolution 2016-82.
[8:14] The resolution 2016-82 of the City
[8:15] Council of the City of McFarland,
[8:17] California, authorizing the City of
[8:19] McFarland to apply for and cooperate
[8:20] with the County of Kern in the Urban
[8:21] County CDBG
[8:25] program for grant and state grant
[8:27] assistance to execute all required
[8:28] documents,
[8:30] including the cooperation agreement.
[8:33] Mr. Saldana.
[8:35] >> Yes, Mr. Mayor and members of the
[8:36] Council. And this item before you
[8:39] uh allows the city of McFarland and the
[8:41] County of Kern to participate in the
[8:43] >> CDBG program with the
[8:46] >> with the County of Kern as the
[8:47] >> [clears throat]
[8:47] >> agent for the CDBG.
[8:50] Urban County participant.
[8:53] >> This is
[8:54] a
[8:55] unique situation in which counties like
[8:57] Kern
[8:58] are not
[8:59] have their cities participate in CDBG
[9:02] allocation and they increase their CDBG
[9:03] allocation
[9:04] >> as a result of the number of communities
[9:06] that participate.
[9:07] >> Currently, we're non-CDBG
[9:09] >> and they just need me to sign the
[9:11] application
[9:13] to pass it
[9:14] through the state of California to
[9:15] receive
[9:15] CDBG funds.
[9:16] >> Uh by adopting this resolution and including the
[9:19] agreement with the county for the next
[9:21] three years, we'll be receiving an
[9:23] annual allocation of CDBG funds
[9:26] that
[9:27] >> that can be used for
[9:29] a variety of different programs that are
[9:30] outlined
[9:31] in the federal guidelines,
[9:33] which include public infrastructure,
[9:35] housing rehabilitation,
[9:37] and
[9:38] economic development initiatives.
[9:41] In discussing this opportunity with the
[9:43] county, they indicated that
[9:47] the city would city would stand to stand
[9:49] to receive $100,000 per year
[9:52] through this through this allocation.
[9:54] And again, currently we don't receive we
[9:56] don't receive anything.