The Visalia City Council met on Monday, April 6, 2026, for a work session starting at 5:00 PM and a regular session at 7:00 PM. The meeting included a review of the Capital Improvement Program budgets, a presentation on a solid waste electric truck pilot, approval of a consent calendar (with two items pulled for separate discussion), two public hearings on land use changes and the annual action plan, and a closed session report on a property acquisition.
Items Approved (4-0): Items 1-4, 7-17 were approved as part of the Consent Calendar. Key approvals include:
Item 5 (25-0688) – Joint letter of support for Naval Air Station Lemoore F-35 transition: Pulled by Council Member Poochigian. Assistant City Manager John Lollis explained the Navy's environmental impact statement is pending. The letter supports transitioning seven FA-18E/F squadrons to F-35C aircraft. Approved 4-0.
Item 6 (25-0694) – Letter of opposition to Assembly Bill 1383 (McKinnor): Pulled by Council Member Hernandez Soto. City Manager Leslie Caviglia explained the bill would allow renegotiation of pension benefits, potentially increasing unfunded liability. Public comments from Chris Ortiz (firefighters union president) and Maria Guillen opposed the letter, arguing it undermines trust and fairness. Council Member Soto voted no, citing the city's 2022 legislative platform supporting pension stability. Approved 3-1 (Soto dissenting).
Item 1 (25-0723) – Tulare County Office of Education (TCOE) land use changes: Planning Director Paul Bernal presented a request to expand the Urban Development Boundary and rezone 24.32 acres for a new TCOE campus. The project includes consolidation of facilities, new classrooms, offices, and a training kitchen. Council Member Taylor raised concerns about future east-west connectivity in the area; staff noted the general plan update will address this. Public comments from Jeff Ramsey (TCOE) and Josh McDonald (Four Creeks) supported the project. The council adopted all four resolutions and introduced the ordinance (4-0).
Item 2 (25-0724) – Draft 2026 Annual Action Plan and 2025 Amendment: Housing Specialist Margie Perez presented the proposed use of CDBG ($1.2 million estimated) and HOME ($525,000 estimated) funds. Key allocations include $245,000 for ADA-compliant tree wells downtown (requested by Disability Advocacy Committee) and $190,000 for Lincoln Oval Park fencing and lighting. Public comment from April Lancaster questioned the tree well expenditure and requested prioritization of single-family homeowners. Council Member Hernandez Soto raised concerns about park fencing impeding police access; staff agreed to revisit. The hearing was informational; no action taken. Final adoption set for April 20.
Hi, good afternoon. Welcome to the Visalia City Council work session. We're going to go ahead and get started. We'd like to welcome everyone. We're going to go ahead and get started with public comments. So citizens are now invited to comment on issues within the jurisdiction of the Visaya City Council and items listed on the closed session agenda. 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's expired. Please begin your comments by stating and spelling your name and providing your city of residence. Anyone wishing to speak, come on up to the podium over here. And seeing nobody, we'll go ahead and close public comments. And we'll go ahead and start our work session with item number one, which is a review of capital improvement programs. All right. Good evening, Mayor, Council. I'm Nicole Ritchie, Finance Manager. Joined by Renee Nagel, our finance and technology director. Tonight will be our fourth review of the capital budget. All right, so tonight I'll be presenting on the proposed six-year capital budget. The first two years, fiscal years 26-27 and fiscal year 27-28 are included for appropriation, while the remaining four years are provided for long-term planning outlook. The CIP focuses on the critical assets supported reliable service delivery, planning future needs, and also some of the items being discussed this evening might seem a bit redundant, but that's done intentionally to ensure clarity for public that's potentially hearing this for the first time. This slide outlines how the capital improvement plan review process works. So projects are first developed by the departments and then brought forward to council for review and feedback. Then, based on that feedback, the staff will then revise revise refine project timing and funding, and then brings that CIP back to council for the final adoption that's done in June alongside the operating budget. So this slide is providing a summary of the capital funds that's included in tonight's review. The majority, as you could see, is the projects for the vehicle and equipment replacements, along with fleet maintenance, information services, risk, and building safety. Represents the planned projects in the outer four years. Projects again shown in any peach color is considered a multi-funded project and will be representing only that funds portion of the cost. This fund or I'm sorry, this slide represents the vehicle replacement policy for the city. All vehicles proposed to be replaced will be evaluated by the fleet maintenance division and approved by the city manager prior to any purchase. Vehicles are then also evaluated for alternative fuel options in accordance with the city of Visalia's vehicle policy, and fleet will then make recommendations for reassignments or replacement vehicles to lower demand uses. Vehicles are typically replaced at the end of their useful life in accordance with the schedule that you see. Some may be replaced earlier due to an accident or safety concerns. For example, a wrecked vehicle might be more cost-effective to replace versus the continuing repair of that vehicle. The vehicles included in the capital plan are projected to meet the policy's age and mileage in the year that is being requested, and if vehicle does not meet that requirement as we get to that proposed time, then that will vehicle will be pushed out to future years. Tonight's review includes 148 vehicle and equipment replacements, totaling approximately 19.7 million over the six-year period. So beginning with the vehicle and equipment replacement fund. This is an internal service fund that sets aside annual depreciation from the general fund to replace vehicles and equipment at the end of their useful life. This vehicle is critical to maintaining reliable fleet and avoiding large one-time impacts to hit our general fund. Over the six-year CIP period, staff is proposing 108 vehicle and equipment replacements, totaling approximately 14.6 million. This slide highlights the first set of vehicles and equipment replacements in this 502 fund. These requests are primarily supporting engineering, neighborhood preservation, and the fire department, and the ref, and they all reflect the standard life cycle replacements for units with the high mileage or ongoing maintenance needs. As you can see here, item or number three, it's a 2002 hybrid. It's an exception and is being recommended for early replacement due to ongoing mechanical issues. This next slide highlights additional vehicles and equipment replacements requested in public works and community services. Item number 14 is also an exception, and that's for a crack filler that's also experiencing ongoing mechanical issues. Represent the police department vehicle requests included in the two year budget. These requests are for marked patrol units, detective vehicles, and specialized units necessary to support the daily operations. In total, this represents 13 of 20 police vehicle replacements included in the two-year appropriation period. And this last slide of the police department replacement period is overall the replacements help to maintain reliable service levels while avoiding large one-time impacts to the general fund.