The Visalia City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, February 2, 2026, at 7:00 PM in the City Council Chambers. Mayor Brett Taylor called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilmember Emmanuel Hernandez Soto, and an invocation was given by Pastor Johnny Renteria of Heart of the Valley Christian Fellowship Church. All five council members were present. The meeting adjourned at 7:21 PM.
The consent calendar was approved unanimously (5‑0) as presented. It included nine routine items:
Good evening, everybody. Welcome to the Visalia City Council meeting. We appreciate you guys being here. We're gonna go ahead and start this meeting by uh offering the Pledge of Allegiance by Councilmember Soto, and then we will have an invocation by Pastor Johnny Renturia, Heart of the Valley Christian Fellowship. Please stand. One nation under God. Indivisible with everything in justice for all. Amen. If you would join with me by bowing your heads, I'd just like to say a quick prayer for us all as we begin this meeting. Father, we just come before you in the name of your son Jesus. We pray for our city council members. May your wisdom be upon them as they make decisions this evening, God, and just pray for a blessing on their lives, their families, and also all those in attendance tonight. God, would you just make yourself known? May we honor you. May you bless all that are here in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you, Pastor Enterir. Appreciate that blessing. All right, we'll go ahead and open up to public comments. This is the time for the general public to comment on issues within the jurisdiction of the Visalia City Council. Each speaker tonight may speak for up to three minutes during the general comment period on a matter that is not on the agenda. The public may also make one comment for up to three minutes prior to the consideration of the consent calendar and immediately before any regular agenda item is heard. 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 has expired. Please begin your comments by stating and spelling your name and providing your city of residence. Irene Lampen, L A P I N Visalia. Mayor, Vice Mayor, and members of the council. About the proposed aquatic center, this part of your parks and rec master plan. To avoid another one, I called to Learry Avenue Rehamp Fiasco. Here's what I recommend. You simply must reach out to residents proactively. For example, at your last two at your next two special meetings, don't spend precious time advancing the city's preferences, but instead ask residents to state theirs. Be prepared to have a council member present who will be able to answer questions. Apropos of this, I learned this morning from the Parks and Rec Director that a firm named Pros Consulting, which I found out is located in Indiana, was signed up to uh to guide, quote unquote, the planning for this massive project. And in fact, we'll be here in person to answer resident questions. How and why? Second, avoid making an extravagant aquatic center a way to thank or honor a former councilman. That would be a grave misstep in my view. To disrespect, no disrespect to former councilman Collins, but everyone here became exasperated with the proposal after years of exhaustive discussions. In the end, he was unable to secure the funding, and the idea was permanently shelved. I still have all the pertinent notes and emails, even uh cover story in the local paper. Sitting on my desk, still reminding me of what a fiasco looks like. Likewise, you don't owe any debt of gratitude to an upscale aquatics design company from San Diego, the Senate representative here. It was their decision to come here and to make their sales pitch in advance of any competition. Moreover, that was before the bidding process even began. To me, the timing seemed highly inappropriate, and my guess is not in compliance with state regulations. Last, as you know, these are extremely tough economic times for lower and middle income residents. Vice Mayor Wynne, I was baffled by your comment last time. Go big or go home.