OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Visalia City Council Meeting - March 18, 2024

City Council — Monday, March 18, 2024
BodyVisalia, California
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, March 18, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:57:35

Transcript — Verbatim
0:03

Or the work session of Bisoya City Council.

0:05

We're gonna begin with public comments.

0:07

Citizens are now invited to comment on issues within the jurisdiction of the Bisous City Council and items listed on the closed session.

0:14

The council asks that you keep your comments concise and positive.

0:18

Creative criticism presented with appropriate courtesy is welcome.

0:21

Each speaker will be allowed three minutes and a timer will notify you when your time is expired.

0:25

Please begin your comments by stating and spelling your name and providing your city of residence.

0:31

Microphones now open.

0:34

All right.

0:35

So we're gonna move to work session of action items.

0:38

Um we have action item one new employee introduction.

0:42

We're going to push this item to the next meeting.

0:44

So it'll be the first meeting in April.

0:46

So at this time, we're gonna move to a special presentation, uh proclamation and designation for the week of March 18th, 2024 as a National Senior Games Week in the city of Aisalia.

0:57

Now we have Larissa here to accept.

1:01

So we have this proclamation for National Senior Games Week.

1:05

March 18th to the 24th, 2024.

1:07

We're asked, senior and games are an integral part of communities throughout the United States and Canada, including Visalia, California, and we're asked senior and games organizations such as the City of Aiselia offer Olympic style multi-sport competitions for adults age 50 through 100 plus that engage over 100,000 people nationally each year.

1:28

And we're as only 21% of adults age 65 and older in California meet federal physical activity guidelines, and we're as senior and games encourage regular physical activity, which is associated with many health benefits, including lower risk of eight types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type two diabetes, falls and falls related to injuries for adults for older adults, and we're as senior games foster well-being, community, and friendship that help reduce social isolation among older adults.

2:00

And we're as senior games tackles ageism by celebrating possibilities for community members age 50 and above.

2:08

And we're as senior games create positive and economic impact and social impact in Visolia, California through volunteerism and community outreach.

2:16

And we're at City of Ayasoya recognize the benefit senior games provides to participants and our entire community.

2:22

Now th therefore, be it resolved that the Vicella City Council recognizes March 18th through 24th, 2024 as National Senior Games Week in the City of Aiselia.

2:34

Thank you.

2:40

Hey guys, let's take a picture up there.

2:44

Steve, see you want to be a member.

2:47

You should let Steve R read that.

2:49

We're the only one to qualify.

2:51

Thank you so much.

2:55

Yeah.

3:20

One, two, three.

4:02

So thank you so much for recognizing this.

4:05

Congratulations.

4:12

All right.

4:13

Any public comment on uh the special presentation.

4:17

All right.

4:18

Let's move to item number three.

4:19

Capital improvements program.

4:20

Review select fiscal year 2024 slash 25 and 2025 slash 26 capital improvement program budgets and future capital plans for primary uh primarily streets and roads.

4:34

Good afternoon, council.

4:36

Uh I'm Melody Murch from your finance department, and I have Jason Huckleberry here from the engineering and buildings department.

4:45

Awesome.

4:47

Along with several of the engineers from that department to answer any questions you're gonna have on the projects today.

4:54

Today is the third opportunity to review projects proposed for the city's next six-year capital plan.

5:01

We'll go over this really quickly.

5:03

The there's no action required tonight.

5:05

This is the third of five meetings.

5:07

Staff is available for questions, and if you have questions they can't answer, we'll bring those back to you at a later date.

5:14

And all of this will return to you in June for final adoption.

5:18

The budget structures remains the same.

5:21

Each fund is shown in attachment A with a cash summary, a summary of the project descriptions.

5:28

There are map references included in attachment B for you to find the projects if you need to.

5:33

And the six-year plan includes two years that are proposed in the budget for appropriation and an additional four years for planning purposes.

5:50

The funds for review tonight are all transportation related.

5:54

And we're gonna start off with the gas tax fund, which receives excise and sales taxes on the sale of transportation fuels to be used only for construction, improvement, and maintenance of streets and roads.

6:08

I think we have three slides.

6:10

There's a lot of projects in this one.

6:13

Any questions on the first slide?

6:16

Oh, one.

6:18

Um, how do you choose which um streets get the pavement the patching and pavement?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management██████████████████████████26%
Transportation Safety████████████12%
Parks and Recreation███████████11%
Procedural██████████10%
Public Transportation████████8%
Public Engagement███████7%
Technology and Innovation███████7%
Community Engagement█████5%
Environmental Protection█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Visalia City Council Meeting - March 18, 2024

Overview

The Visalia City Council held a work session at 4:01 PM and a regular session at 7:00 PM on March 18, 2024. The meeting included presentations, public comments, and votes on capital improvement plans, an inclusive park project, clean fleet compliance, groundwater updates, business regulations, and wastewater fee adjustments.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved 13 routine items in a single motion (5-0), including:
    • Authorization to read ordinances by title only.
    • Confirmation of the Operations and Management Agreement for Plaza Park Raceway with One Four Promotions, LLC.
    • Purchase of one diesel-powered solid waste truck for $381,193.40.
    • Appropriation of $2,385,000 for the Houston Community Connectivity Project and $795,000 for the Goshen-Visalia Corridor - Phase 1 from the Active Transportation Program.
    • Acceptance of $64,940 in Homeland Security Grant funds for seven Motorola portable radios.
    • Award of landscape maintenance contracts for Quadrant G ($101,461.14) and Quadrant L ($95,744.00).
    • Award of playground design and installation at Riverbend Park ($272,129.00).
    • Acceptance of the City’s cash and investment report for Q2 FY 2023-24.
    • Notice of completion for Diamond Oaks Unit No. 2 (126 single-family lots).
    • Authorization to apply for a $182,320 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.
    • Acceptance of the 2023 Housing Element Annual Progress Report.
    • Authorization for legal assistance on groundwater issues (up to $75,000 annually through June 2026).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Taylor Heine (Visalia) spoke about the conflict in Gaza, citing a South Africa International Court ruling and describing civilian casualties. The Mayor stated the Council does not make proclamations on international or national events.
  • Kyran Rice (Visalia, representing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) offered volunteer assistance to the city and requested the Council contact him for service projects.
  • Raquel Marmolejo (Visalia) described dangerous and unsanitary conditions at Riverway Park, including a used condom, a restroom covered in feces, a broken glass pipe, and a person engaging in indecent exposure during a soccer game. She requested increased security and asked what actions the city is taking.

Discussion Items

  • Work Session

    • New Employee Introductions: Postponed to the April 1, 2024 meeting.
    • Senior Games Week Proclamation: The Council recognized March 18-24, 2024 as National Senior Games Week in Visalia.
    • Capital Improvement Program (CIP): Staff presented proposed FY 2024/25 and 2025/26 budgets for streets, roads, and related funds (gas tax, Measure R, transportation impact fees, etc.). Council discussed pavement priorities, pedestrian signals downtown, and project sequencing. No formal action was taken; the final CIP will be adopted with the operating budget in June 2024.
    • Bridging Horizons Inclusive Park Project: Staff presented an updated concept layout based on public outreach, including playgrounds, water play zone, music meadow, basketball courts, and open green space. The Council voted 5-0 to approve the updated layout and proceed into design.
    • Advanced Clean Fleet Compliance Pathway: Staff recommended adopting the Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Milestones Option for CARB compliance, citing limited vehicle availability, high costs (2-3x conventional), and range concerns. Council members expressed frustration with state mandates but acknowledged the need to comply. A motion to approve the ZEV Milestones Option passed 5-0.
    • Mid-Kaweah Groundwater Update: Aaron Fukuda provided an update on the Groundwater Sustainability Plan, including progress on setting new minimum thresholds, a dry well mitigation plan (estimated 214 domestic wells could go dry at 10x level, annual mitigation cost ~$1.6 million), and subsidence control. The GSA is working to submit a revised plan by July 2024 to avoid state probation. Councilmembers praised the cooperative effort and asked about cross-boundary impacts.

  • Regular Session

    • Business Regulations Amendment (Ordinance 2024-02): Second reading and public hearing. No public comments. The Council voted 5-0 to adopt the ordinance updating business license and hotel/lodging chapters.
    • Water Reclamation Facility – Removal of Industrial User Volume Discount: Public hearing. Staff explained that large industrial users (those discharging >500,000 gpd) have been inconsistent in compliance, requiring increased monitoring (from 1 to 5 days/week) and causing higher operating costs. Since 2012, penalties assessed totaled nearly $3.9 million, but discounts offset nearly $3.6 million. In 2023, $867,864 in penalties were assessed vs. $431,992 in discounts. The Council voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2024-11, removing the 10% discount for any month the user fails to comply with discharge requirements.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar: Approved 5-0.
  • Bridging Horizons Inclusive Park: Motion to approve updated layout and proceed to design carried 5-0.
  • Advanced Clean Fleet Compliance: Motion to adopt ZEV Milestones Option carried 5-0.
  • Business Regulations Ordinance: Motion to adopt second reading carried 5-0.
  • Industrial Wastewater Fee Schedule: Motion to approve removal of 10% discount for non-compliant large users carried 5-0.
  • Next Meetings: April 1, 2024 and April 15, 2024 at 7:00 PM.

The meeting adjourned at 7:26 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Or the work session of Bisoya City Council. We're gonna begin with public comments. Citizens are now invited to comment on issues within the jurisdiction of the Bisous City Council and items listed on the closed session. The council asks that you keep your comments concise and positive. Creative criticism presented with appropriate courtesy is welcome. Each speaker will be allowed three minutes and a timer will notify you when your time is expired. Please begin your comments by stating and spelling your name and providing your city of residence. Microphones now open. All right. So we're gonna move to work session of action items. Um we have action item one new employee introduction. We're going to push this item to the next meeting. So it'll be the first meeting in April. So at this time, we're gonna move to a special presentation, uh proclamation and designation for the week of March 18th, 2024 as a National Senior Games Week in the city of Aisalia. Now we have Larissa here to accept. So we have this proclamation for National Senior Games Week. March 18th to the 24th, 2024. We're asked, senior and games are an integral part of communities throughout the United States and Canada, including Visalia, California, and we're asked senior and games organizations such as the City of Aiselia offer Olympic style multi-sport competitions for adults age 50 through 100 plus that engage over 100,000 people nationally each year. And we're as only 21% of adults age 65 and older in California meet federal physical activity guidelines, and we're as senior and games encourage regular physical activity, which is associated with many health benefits, including lower risk of eight types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type two diabetes, falls and falls related to injuries for adults for older adults, and we're as senior games foster well-being, community, and friendship that help reduce social isolation among older adults. And we're as senior games tackles ageism by celebrating possibilities for community members age 50 and above. And we're as senior games create positive and economic impact and social impact in Visolia, California through volunteerism and community outreach. And we're at City of Ayasoya recognize the benefit senior games provides to participants and our entire community. Now th therefore, be it resolved that the Vicella City Council recognizes March 18th through 24th, 2024 as National Senior Games Week in the City of Aiselia. Thank you. Hey guys, let's take a picture up there. Steve, see you want to be a member. You should let Steve R read that. We're the only one to qualify. Thank you so much. Yeah. One, two, three. So thank you so much for recognizing this. Congratulations. All right. Any public comment on uh the special presentation. All right. Let's move to item number three. Capital improvements program. Review select fiscal year 2024 slash 25 and 2025 slash 26 capital improvement program budgets and future capital plans for primary uh primarily streets and roads. Good afternoon, council. Uh I'm Melody Murch from your finance department, and I have Jason Huckleberry here from the engineering and buildings department. Awesome. Along with several of the engineers from that department to answer any questions you're gonna have on the projects today. Today is the third opportunity to review projects proposed for the city's next six-year capital plan. We'll go over this really quickly. The there's no action required tonight. This is the third of five meetings. Staff is available for questions, and if you have questions they can't answer, we'll bring those back to you at a later date. And all of this will return to you in June for final adoption. The budget structures remains the same.

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