City Council Meeting

McFarland, CA · 2026-07-08 · More McFarland, CA meetings · More California meetings

Agenda

Agenda: https://mcfarlandca.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFile(fileId=1430,plainText=false)

Full agenda packet (agenda plus every staff report and attachment): https://mcfarlandca.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFile(fileId=1431,plainText=false)

Transcript

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[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.