Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The subcommittee met on September 30, 2026, at 3:00 PM in the City Council Chamber. Items included a discussion on underfunded maintenance districts, repairs to Bob Hart Square fountain, and the subcommittee's roles and meeting schedule.
Maintenance Districts Assessment Ballot Proceeding (D.1): Stacey Hicks, Landscape Maintenance Coordinator, presented on seven underfunded maintenance districts (Campus North, East College Homes, Fahrens Park I, Hansen Park, Olivewood, Pleasanton Park, Yosemite Village). Previous ballot attempts in 2025 failed for some districts. Council members discussed outreach strategies, timing (preferring spring 2027 over holiday season), and a potential tiered rate increase for Fahrens Park, where the city had inadvertently subsidized 90% of costs. Public Works Director Ken Elwin confirmed the option to focus on Fahrens Park first. The subcommittee agreed to recommend the full council proceed with ballot proceedings, possibly prioritizing Fahrens Park, and to schedule a town hall in mid-November to gauge community sentiment.
Bob Hart Square Fountain Repairs (D.2): Jeff Frederick, Parks Manager, presented two options: repair the fountain for about $24,000 or convert it to a planter. Council members expressed strong support for keeping the fountain, citing its iconic downtown value. They suggested gathering input from stakeholders (already surveyed, with split opinions) and bringing the final decision to the full council. Staff will prepare more details on both options for council consideration.
Subcommittee Roles and Meeting Dates (D.3): The subcommittee discussed meeting frequency, settling on three times per year. They agreed to elect a chair to facilitate meetings. They also considered adding high-speed rail reports and regional agency updates to future agendas. The next meeting was tentatively set for March 24, 2027, at 3:00 PM.
If everyone can please stand. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Agenda item B, roll call. Council Member Smith. Present. Mayor Pro Tem Boyle. Here. Mayor Serrado. I would like to remind the audience that if they wish to address the subcommittee, they may submit a request to speak in one of the following ways. Complete a green request to speak card available at the back of the council chamber and submit it to the clerk before the item is called, preferably before the meeting begins. Scan the QR code corresponding to your preferred language, English, Mong, or Spanish, located behind the seats in the council chamber, and follow the instructions.gov. Individuals participating virtually by phone must provide a valid phone number so staff can identify the caller during the meeting. Material may be emailed to contact engineering at city of Merced dot gov. Any correspondence received after 10 a.m. will be distributed to the subcommittee and retained for the official record. Also, for audience members who wish to have Spanish or Mmong translation services, please let our interpreters know. If you are participating virtually by phone, please indicate that as you registered to speak. All right. Agenda item D reports. Agenda item D point one. Maintenance districts, assessment, ballot proceeding, campus North, East College Homes, Fairns Park 1, Hanson Park, Olivewood, Pleasanton Park, and Yosemite Village maintenance districts. Is this there we go? So again, my name is Stacey Hicks. I am the landscape maintenance coordinator with the city of Merced. And we're here today to do a presentation regarding the maintenance districts assessment balloting proceeding. So this is a listing of all of the maintenance districts that Public Works has decided that are under funded districts. And all of these on here, except for Yosemite Village, went out to ballot at the end of 2025 with the results coming to city council in January of 2026. And as a review, these were the results of those ballot proceedings for the districts that failed, and the percentage of the approved and opposed ballots from the property owners in each of those maintenance districts. Fairens Park was one of the districts that had the most services that had to be reduced. We had no funds for any replacement expense for their storm pump. And this was the engineers report that we brought to City Council that was approved for the 26-27 fiscal year, showing that we would have to use $16,082 from their reserves. And that level of funding can only be sustained for two years using those district reserves. Any questions? So thank you, Stacey. I know. Okay, so I mean, I remember the list was about 60% longer. Right. I think you and your team should take credit for the majority of the ballots get reaching a more successful outcome. Um what's the timeline and what's the plan for focusing outreach of these different districts? So we don't have a timeline set at this time.