City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. you Thank you. so so you

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Thank you. Thank you. you Thank you. you you Thank you. you . . . . . . . you Thank you. . . Thank you. . . . . . Thank you. Let's pray. Thank you. How was the recital? It was good.

Did you see all my various nieces? Yeah.

I mean, I wasn't looking for it.

Danny's daughter graduated, so he might not be there.

All right. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to day five. Yeah, day five of the city budget, 2026, 2027 city budgets. I'm going to go ahead and get started. Clerk, if you'll please take the role.

Yes, good morning. Council Member Perea. Council Member Arias. Yes. Council Member Maxwell. Present. Council President Esparza.

Present.

Council Member Vang.

Present.

Council Member Richardson. Here. Council Member Carbasi. Here. And I apologize, Council Vice President Maxwell. And Mr. Arias has entered the room. So seven members being present, we have a quorum.

All right, fantastic. We'll now, and I'll ask everyone if they can to please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Richardson, would you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?

Good morning, President.

All right, I'll entertain a motion for approval of the agenda. First, second, third, fourth. Any opposition to approving the agenda as is? Seeing none, that's approved seven to zero. Our main purpose for today is to vote on the many motions that were made. Let's see, I forgot how many exactly there were, but there were quite a few made between the seven of us. Before we do that, I will recognize members if they have additional motions or revisions to motions. as we technically saw the ability to do that, and then we'll do public comment, and then we'll look at voting on the motion. So first up, I do have Council Vice President punched up.

Thank you, Council President. Mayor, how many motions does Council have? 67. Okay, let's make that 80. I got a couple I gotta make right now.

The kids love 67, though. You're messing it up for...

I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING MOTIONS. MOTION FOR $5,000 FOR CITY HALL MOTHER'S ROOM UPGRADES. SECOND. MOTION FOR ONE-THIRD OF THE COST OF A HOCK AT MOROA BETWEEN BARSTOW AND BULLARD. Just an FYI, that's a cost that's going to be split between the school district, the county, and the city, which is why I'm making it for one-third.

Motion for... Councilmember, I'm so sorry. Because we're going to be scrambling going through this, could you also give us what the RFI number, if you, after, so we can go back and just confirm the information.

I don't necessarily have all those handy.

Not right now, maybe after. That would be great.

I'll have my chief of staff for it.

That would be great. Thank you.

You got it. Motion for $30,000 for wage protection program outreach.

Second.

Motion for $100,000 for resiliency center.

Second.

Motion for $100,000 for Fresno Arts Museum flooring upgrades. Second. Motion for $50,000 for Care Fresno.

Second.

Motion if there are any remaining Measure P funds after the budget has been balanced to go towards the upgrades needed at the Veterans Auditorium.

Second.

Motion for $350,000 to supplement the Pave More Now priority location between Princeton, Bond, Clinton and First. Motion for $930,000 for a Hawk at First and Fairmont.

Second.

Motion to move $50,000 from the FY27 District 4 Public Works to the District 4 Operating Budget.

Second.

Motion for $250,000 to fund the Child Care Access and Family Affordability Commission.

Second.

and motion to make Fresno fax buses zero fare on election day, which is about $12,000. That'll be it. Thank you, Council President. All right.

Council Member, what was the amount on the mother's room? I missed that one. The first one.

$5,000. $5,000.

Thank you. All right.

Council Member Barrios, followed by Council Member Vang. Thank you, Council President. I just have a couple of them. REVISIONS TO MY MOTIONS. ON MOTION 21, MOTION IS TO AMEND TO ADD THE $50,000 TO THE CITY CLERK'S BUDGET FOR OPERATIONAL COST. SECOND. ON MOTION 33 IS TO ALLOCATE $584,500 FROM THE MEASURE P FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF 80 PICNIC TABLES AND INSTALLATION OF 44 CONCRETE PATHS INCLUDING ACCESSIBLE PARKING AND PATHS OF TRAVEL AT TWO PICNIC AREAS AT RODING PARK.

SECOND.

And my last motion, hopefully for this cycle, is a motion to fund up to $100,000 for a gun buyback program and seek matching funds from Crimestoppers.

Pardon me. Council Member Arias, $100,000?

Correct. Thank you. Is that a total of $100,000 between the city and the match? Correct. Okay. Thank you.

If we get a bigger match, then we can reduce the city obligation, and the money would come from the attrition savings in the police department's budget.

Stolo? Stolo? Just a reminder, if the chiefs of staff are listening, obviously we're going to get this in the queue pretty quickly here. Make sure you get your members' motions in to Edward and the city manager and the city clerk as well, so we can get those in the queue as well. Council Member Vang, followed by Council Member Perea.

Thank you very much, Council President. I have the following motion as motion as placeholder. Motion, repaving South Fowler between Butler Avenue and Church Avenue.

Second.

Motion as placeholder, concrete repair along South Peach to South Wabi, East Grove to East Kavelin. Second. Thank you. Motion as placeholder, Concrete repair, sidewalk lifts around Huntington Court Apartments, East Huntington Avenue between Clovis Avenue and Phillip Avenue.

Second.

Thank you. Motion as placeholder, repaving, repairing roads within Ventura Avenue, South Orange Avenue, East Butler Avenue, and South First Street.

Second.

Thank you. Motion as placeholder, installing a traditional street lighting or light post, particularly in alleys within the East Low Avenue, 10th Street, Lyle Avenue, and 4th Street grid. I have a question if I can.

Yes. Are these pursuant to the RFIs you submitted?

Yes, they are.

Okay, so these all have RFIs with them?

I think so, yes.

With dollar amount, so we've already determined the cost.

If not, my office will be in communication with you, Mayor. Okay, just wanted to mention. Thank you.

I'm sorry you didn't get a second on that last one.

Thank you. Thank you. Continuing with motion as placeholder, installing crosswalks on 10th Street intersections on East El Monte Way and Montecito Avenue.

Second. Second.

Thank you. Motion that space holder concrete repair South Avalon Avenue to South Whaling, East Grove to East Kavelin. Second. Thank you. And I'd like to motion $100,000 to the Hmong Inc. to support their mission with the following historical context. In 2019, the city of Fresno contributed $25,000 to the Hmong Culture New Year celebration as a champion sponsor to support their mission. And the following, noted on the record, the Hmong New Year celebration is recognized as the largest Hmong American community event in both the United States and the world. drawing more than 120,000 attendees annually. This year's celebration presents a meaningful opportunity to connect, embrace, and highlight the rich diversity that defines the Fresno region. For a millennium, the Hmong community has commemorated its most significant cultural tradition, the Hmong year. Historically rooted in the conclusion of the harvest season This annual observance is served as a time to reflect on a year of hard work and gather in spirit of gratitude. Today, it has evolved into a vital cultural bridge, one that connects the Hmong community with the broader Fresno region and invites individuals of all backgrounds to engage with and appreciate the community's rich history, traditions, and contributions. The Hmong New Year celebration continues to serve as a catalyst to strengthening cross-cultural understanding and enhancing community cohesion. Its role in showcasing the vibrancy, heritage, and resilience of the Hmong people makes it a cornerstone event for Fresno and the surrounding region. The Hmong Inc. is a nonprofit community organization dedicated to advancing well-being of the Hmong American community through education, economic development, and cultural preservation. Its initiative includes support students in pursuing higher education, providing business training and development opportunities, promoting cultural awareness, and fostering strong and meaningful relationships with the Barada community. And I want to thank the mayor again for last year's billboard. You and I were on billboards, several of them around the Fresno Fairground area, and I look forward to having that collaboration with the mayor's office, mayor. Thank you. That's all I have, Council President. Thank you.

All right, Council Member Perea, followed by Council Member Carbasi.

Thank you, Council President. Just a few more that I wanted to add on. Motion for $100,000 to continue the Fresno's, our new Fresno Youth Leadership Academy.

Second.

$120,000 for Shine Fresno. Second. $25,000 for the local chapter of the National Alliance of Mental Illness. Thank you. And then I have been really impressed with the efforts of bringing a library to the Tower District, specifically through the efforts of Brooke. Brooke is here with us today. Brooke, so I just want to say thank you for your organizing abilities. Let's give her a round of applause. Go ahead. I'm very impressed with the way you have brought community together around an effort to bring literacy awareness. And every neighborhood should have the ability to walk to their corner library. And so this will be a joint partnership with Fresno County. And the costs to get this up and running are unknown at this time. My motion earlier this week was for $30,000, but I would like to increase that to $50,000. Second. Thank you. The $25,000 will come from my personal office budget. So I just want to let you know that I'm putting some of my personal office money into the pot too. But this will be a heavy lift for Fresno County as well. And so we're hoping that they will continue to work with us and collaborate. And we know we will get this done. So thank you guys for being here today. And then city manager, I made a motion yesterday or a couple days ago related to spay and neuter. The motion was for $1 million to go towards spay and neuter. But I just want any clarified information regarding what that $500,000 match was because there was a commitment to match. up to $500,000 from Dogwood. Did we get clarification as to what exactly they meant by that?

We did. Thank you, Council Member Perea. I had an opportunity to meet with Dogwood last week and clarified for this budget cycle for the City of Fresno, the maximum they can match is $300,000. And how the match works is it is any funds that we put in over the $225,000 that we currently have proposed. So their program is an incentive. for agencies and cities to put additional funds in during their budget cycle. The way the match would work, if we put in an additional $300,000, they would match $300,000 in spay and neuter services for owned dogs and community cats. And co-pays do apply. So it would not be actual funds coming to our budget, but it would be handled through going to HOPE or SPCA or another organization they contracted with.

Understood. So there are some guardrails around what we can do with their money if they are to give us a match.

Actually, they wouldn't give us their money. They would handle, they would sign a pledge that they would have X number of animals spayed and neutered up to $300,000 through their program.

Understood. Okay. And so based on how much we have set aside so far? What would their match be?

They would not match unless we put something additional. So what's proposed on the table, I believe, is $180,000. So as of the prior motion, they would match $180,000.

So it's $180,000, but we did build in a separate allocation. The mayor did in his budget that was presented to us.

Correct, $225,000, and they will not match any of those funds. That is like our base.

So just for clarification, I read the email this morning, too, and had a conversation. So we have $180,000 that we were going to shift over on top of the $225,000, and if we put in another $120,000... on top of that, then that would give us the maximum match. So in total, it would be their $300,000 plus our $225,000 plus another, the $180,000 plus $120,000. It would be a total of $825,000 for spay and neuter.

Okay. So that will be my motion then is to add an additional $120,000 for spay and neuter. That way we can take full advantage of that match.

Thank you.

Thank you for that clarification. And then Council Member Maxwell, I don't know if you made this motion already, but I would like to make a motion to set aside funding to offer zero fare for pregnant mothers in the city of Fresno to be able to ride the fax bus for free. That is all, Council President.

All right, Council Member Karabasi. Thank you so much. I do have some questions for some of the department directors, but that's okay. Clarifying questions to RFIs? Or do you want me to do just the motions and come back and ask those questions later? There won't be a lot, but.

That's fine, yeah.

Are you sure? Yeah. Okay. Let's go ahead and start with Public Works. Just one question. I have Director Mosher's here. This is regarding, this is regard to RFI 8.1. Had to do with the timing of the yellow lights. Good morning, Council Member. Director, with RFI 8.1 regarding the adjusting timing of yellow lights for the top 10 intersections for red light runners, the estimate is 35K. For an evaluation, what exactly will that entail? And how far will it get us towards next steps?

Good morning, Council. Scott Moser, Public Works. So that actually would be the work necessary to adjust the timing. Okay. That's... So that has a few different aspects to it. One is a larger-scale technical analysis. Right now, we are 100% consistent with the timing set forth in the federal standards, a document called the MUTCD, Manual Traffic Control Devices. So we're 100% consistent, and now we would be looking to increase or modify some but not all So we would need to work through that technical aspect. Second component is specifically the timing at those locations. We've been very successful in developing traffic synchronization and the intelligent transportation system, the adaptive corridors. Those all wind up being good news, bad news. They're very advanced. They accomplish a lot. But then when we want to make this type of change, It's very time consuming and expensive as compared to the old school isolated traffic signals. So it would address that as well.

So this is more of a question for staff recommendation. So the purpose of this, we unfortunately have a real problem with safety on our roads. There are just way too many people that blast through red lights, and we're looking potentially at installing cameras, which can be expensive and controversial. One thought was if we can extend the timeframe for yellow lights potentially, that may reduce the incidence of people actually going through red lights. Do you agree or disagree with that? And then if we were to do this, what are the unintended consequences of expanding the intervals?

I believe those are excellent questions. Our team is still researching that and how other cities across the country have handled that. some arguments in favor of extending YOLO lights is providing that time for the driver who's in the dilemma zone. Should I go? Should I stop? To provide more opportunity. The jury's still out to some degree. The argument against that is that drivers become trained up and accustomed to that longer time frame and then simply choose to to say, oh, great, now I can make a run at it from even further back from the intersection. As compared to right now, most drivers assume as I get near where the left turn pockets start, that's where I may need to stop. And that could become a much greater distance to be able to still go through.

It's a tough call. There's pros and cons. And unfortunately, I think this is a real quality of life issue. What I will do is I'm going to make a motion to fund $35,000 in conjunction with RFI 8.1 for the assessment. However, in the meantime, we're going to come back in a couple of days or whenever or next week to approve the budget. If there's a different recommendation or you feel that we need more time or we can do this over a longer period of time, I'm open to any recommendations the staff and the mayor has on this item. You get the goal of what we're trying to do.

If I could ask, Scott, is there a difference in intersections in our city where we have some of the intersections that take longer to get through, you know, the ones on Friant, wide roadways, et cetera? Is there a longer period of time in those intersections versus the other ones?

Mayor made an excellent point here. So in the timing of that yellow light, that yellow interval, it is based upon the speed, the approach speed of the roadway. So if you're in downtown Fresno, 25, 30 mile an hour streets, it's a much shorter timeframe than if we're on, you know, a Friant, Jensen, Temperance Avenue situation. It's a longer yellow period.

And then lastly, last question is, can you name, I didn't ask you to do this, but give me just a couple of the top ten intersections. I'm guessing Herndon and Blackstone is one of those for red light runners. Would that be correct?

Our Traffic and Engineering Services Division does receive data, regular data, from the police department. And so there are a few different top ten intersections. One list is, is essentially what's the greatest number of accidents that occur. Also, what we tend to look at is, well, what's the rate of accidents? Because if you're running 100,000 vehicles, two roadways combined, there may be a lower rate of accidents, high volume. And then also, our team in the police department has looked at the greatest number of red light running accidents. And that may be the desire here, to look at that specific top 10. What's the greatest number of red light running accidents and focus on those 10.

There was a list from a couple years ago, and it was interesting. It was all over the city. It was in Northwest, Northeast, obviously Friant, Friant Roulette being one, and then, of course, Southeast and all over. So let's see what we can do about this. I appreciate the cooperation, administration, and staff. You're good.

I would add that in that top 10 list, it has moved around year to year. For example, the last top 10 we received from the police department did not include Friant and Shepherd. It is not on the top 10.

Okay, interesting. See, I wouldn't have expected that. Okay, thank you. So next is General Services.

I needed a second on that motion.

Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you, Council Member Arias. And this is regarding RFI 25 about the stadium. Good morning. How you doing? Okay. I read the memo. So as far as the elevator at Jachancy Park, whose responsibility is it to upgrade that? Would it be the operator or is it the city's responsibility ultimately for funding?

From a perspective, whether or not be the operator or the city is responsible for repair or replacement of the elevator system, it goes down to whether or not the elevator system is considered a structural element of as defined by an architect. Doing a little bit of research, we do not believe the elevator system is defined as a structural component of the building. It does not carry a load in terms of structure. It is merely conveyance of people up and down. It does carry heavy loads, but it is not load-bearing. For that reason, it is most likely the operator's responsibility for replacement.

Thank you. Is there an estimate for what it could cost? I mean, if it's the operator, I'm assuming it'll be a lower rate than we would do it. But any idea based on experience dealing with other elevators? We have looked at this, and we believe it's a million dollars to do a full replacement. Okay. Well, I don't think that's feasible. I mean, I don't see them doing that, but it's just, it's interesting. The effect of efficiency it has, getting folks up and down, getting them to go spend money at concessions, which comes back to the taxpayers. I guess it is what, it's one of those is what it is things, but I'm not going to divert money towards that when there's more important things to do. Okay.

If I may, Council, Council Member Karbasi. Director, can you remind us how much money is in the deferred maintenance fund for Chetansi?

I have to defer to the Senate office for that.

How much is in the deferred maintenance fund for Chansey Park?

$472,800. Okay.

Council Member Carbasi, I know there's lease options in new elevators or payment options. Can staff and the park operator look at options and bring them forward?

To finance the work?

It's 50% of the funds are there.

Yep.

I mean, it's an ADA requirement, is it not, to operate the stadium?

It is an ADA requirement, and the elevator currently is operational. Correct. Therefore, the repair is not required. As I understand it, it's just because it's very slow.

Well, I'll put it this way. If there was a fire, luckily I can walk. I would not rely on the elevator, because it does take forever to move up to the different place. It just is what it is. Now, how can we craft a motion without completely depleting the fund, but that can also move this thing forward?

I'm looking to the city controller. I don't know if we could include that in our master facilities lease as a financing option. It's not a vehicle.

Yeah, I would need to check with the bank, but just off the top of my head, I don't think that that would be eligible for an equipment lease, but I'd need to check with them to confirm that.

But the council has the authority to say this is the fund and we're going to spend it on X, Y, and Z, correct? Correct.

You're talking about the capital?

Sure.

That's my understanding.

Okay.

Okay.

Oh, I'm sorry. It is jointly, George-Anne. Thank you very much for reminding me. We would need to bring the DBH along to approve that that's the highest and next best thing. Okay. Although I have spoken with them about it. Great. They know that the slowness is an issue.

Okay. We'll come back to this one later. Thank you. That was very helpful. Okay. RFI... RFIs 23 and 55 have to do with the Riverside Golf Course. Oh, I'm sorry, Director. One more, sorry. RFIs 23 and 55 have to do with the memo regarding Riverside Golf Course. So, We're at the memo, and I know there's been challenges in the past, and you've done a great job along with Parks. Your department has to get back on track with the operator, which I'm really, it's very evident, and I'm very pleased with that, and I'm grateful for that. The question is next steps so we can increase programming activities at this site and potentially revenue capture, which is what I'm interested in for the general fund. but reading the memo, we originally wanted it before budget and it really felt like we were waiting and waiting because it was gonna be this grand memo and it looks like something that was written in 10 minutes. And I'm frustrated that there's been difficulty on not just our side or the operator's side coming to a conclusion because we're towards the end of this process and we wanna make decisions and it's difficult. We just allocated $750,000 and threw a big number at the problem because we have no number. And I don't see any, I was looking to reduce that number to a more appropriate number, but I don't think I can do that today because we haven't had progress. The memo states, The clubhouse forget the clubhouse. We don't want to spend money on that I don't know how much it's going to benefit the general public But the driving range will for the youth programs and other programs and the revenue potential that it will capture so Do we have any progress on that portion of it? Just the driving range portion?

Council member Great questions. I want to reiterate that we are in alignment with the Notion that if improvements are made to the driving range that revenue will increase and it should increase to the city as well I will say that the the operators proposal Results in the city actually receiving less revenue as a result of the improvements, which is as a non-starter sure But we are actively trying to get what just the improvements would be for the driving range So we can focus in on that as well as your needs. So that's something which I We don't have this moment. We are actively trying to do right now.

Did we get... I understand that we got just one document and we asked for the amounts to be broken out.

Yes.

I know we put that request in yesterday. They did before. Have we gotten it back from the operator yet?

No, we have not. We've made two phone calls over there. We have not had return calls.

So, Council Member, I understand your frustration. If the direction is that you want us to move forward on... the driving range top tracer issue. I think that we take it out of the operator's hands and we come up with our own proposal and ask them for their contribution because I think it's been the other way around. And if that is the desire to try and move forward with that, which could be revenue generating and seems like a neat thing that would benefit our community, that would be a process that I would recommend of kind of putting the lead back in our hands instead of the operators.

I'm open to that. However, I feel like I've said multiple times, forget the clubhouse. It's focused on the driving range. So I feel like there's plenty of time in the last week or two, bless you, since you didn't meet the deadline of before budget, to get some progress. But at the same time, they're the ones that have experience building these things. I don't want us to get in the business of designing and building a driving range, unless that's not what you meant.

Yeah, well, we can't get the information from them, though.

Another question. Correct. So we don't reinvent the wheel. Valley Oak Golf Course in Visalia has a fairly new driving range, a little bit bigger than we want. I'm sure it's a public records act request to see how much that costs. It won't be apples for apples, but it'll give us a range. I had asked before to look at those numbers. Do we have an idea of how much that costs for the city of Visalia? Yeah.

We have looked at that, and we have not pertained what exactly the improvements are to the driving range. Much like the proposal to the city, a lot of other things are lumped in with it. So it's hard to extract just that driving range component.

Okay.

What was, I mean, I know that.

Didn't the RFI say if we contributed $750,000, they would contribute a million?

The problem with that, and I wouldn't agree with that number, the problem with that is that includes the clubhouse. Now, I don't think there's any way you're going to get anywhere worth that much money. That was the problem with the RFI. It didn't include the driving range only.

It should cost less. I think the question I wanted the city manager to answer is, is anything to do with the driving range Does that get tied into the lease extension? And it's my understanding they've been operating that since 1989. Something like that.

Yeah. So I think that's part of their proposal of, you know, they're going to make a capital contribution but would want a lease extension to be able to amortize whatever investment they make. And that I think we can subject to negotiation. Brian, I could have sworn that the staff report delineated how much the driving range was. And again, Council Member, I agree. I know you've been asking for this information, so I understand your frustration. But I thought that we had that information.

You know, I think you're right. I don't have that in front of me at this point. I will have to spend five minutes. I can come back here and talk about it. If you don't mind.

And the issue is, and I know our staff knows this, Golf can be a very expensive sport. I'm not a golfer. I have no idea what I would be doing out there. It's the only municipal course that makes it affordable for the public in this city, as far as I know, or at least long-term. So we want to make sure we can increase opportunities and access. So that's kind of why we're pushing for this. If you want to come back, that'd be great. Thank you. And you could just give it to us. You don't have to come up again, Director, and we'll talk it over. Thank you. I really appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah, I'm... I wanna approve the budget. I want this resolved beforehand or at least have significant progress. So let's hope we get somewhere with some of the numbers. And if the operator's listening, pay attention and please work with our staff because we're running out of time. Okay, those are my only questions on just a couple of motions, please. Mayor, quick question for you. Before all the new motions, what was the dollar amount for motions?

35 million.

OK. So I did the tabulation. As far as my motions go for the general fund, this is a lot of money. But in comparison, it's not. It was only $500,000. So I'm hoping, as these are reconciled, every one of those motions of those dollar amounts would make it through. OK.

Yeah, and I'll add that prior to today, I think the general fund portion was $8.4 million, $25.7 million in special revenue and grants, and then $1 million in enterprise. Good, so I'm still pretty low.

That's great.

Okay, awesome.

Okay, so motion to allocate $77,200 to fund the gap for improvements to Stallion Park. Funding source to be determined. Thank you, council member. Allocate $447,100 towards the design of a new park at Veterans and Barstow west of Highway 99. Funding source to be determined.

Thank you.

Allocate $200,000 to accelerate construction of a new park west community park west of Highway 99. Thank you. Allocate $25,000 to the African American Community Council. Thank you. I did the motion already to allocate 35,000 for the yellow lights at the intersections. And another motion to allocate $150,000 to Sister Cities International Fresno. This is their local chapter, but it's contingent upon them providing a spending plan that's approved by council leadership. 150, Mayor. Okay, thank you, Council Member Perea. And at this time, that's all I have. I'll tell you who it is. Thank you, Council President. Thank you.

All right, I don't see anyone else punched up. Any other takers? All right, I've got a couple revisions. So I want to make an amendment to motion number 67. That was my motion for property acquisition at First and Clinton. I want to amend that motion to reflect the amount of $650,000 to fill the funding gap for property acquisition on the southwest corner of First and Clinton. And that was in reference to RFI number 61. The next motion I want to amend is motion number 50. This was in reference to traffic safety improvements surrounding District 7 schools. And I want to amend that motion to reflect the amount of $760,000. So motion for $760,000 dedicated to providing school traffic safety improvements surrounding District 7 schools. And that was in reference to RFI number 67. In case staff is wondering. And lastly, I do have a brand new motion for $30,000 to fund a feasibility study to identify appropriate traffic safety improvements along Olive Avenue, specifically between First Street and Cedar Avenue that would address the pedestrian safety concerns at Olive and 9th. Thank you. And that was in reference, again, to RFI number 74. Council Member Karbasi, you're punched up again.

Yes, regarding the motion for design for the new park at Veterans and Barstow, that may be possible to break it up over multiple years because I think that we're not fully through the process. So I'm open to breaking that up if necessary to help balance the budget. This is the motion for the $447,000 for the Barstow and Veterans Park. Because if we're not going to spend the money, I wouldn't want to tie it all up.

Got you. Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, Council Member Arias. These are our requests for information, and they're mostly requesting clarification on the memos that we received. The memo regarding the golf course, why are we recommending 160,000 to assess the condition of the facility? Don't we have an operator that can just tell us what the conditions are? That seems to be a waste of money. If you can get back to me on that when we get that answer on the golf course.

You're talking about the assessment? Okay. And I think what we're talking about, I'm looking at Aaron, I think what we're talking about things are like sewer, water, and I don't think that those are things that the operator, but we'll make sure we get you.

We already have that city on property. Don't we already know the condition of our sewer lines?

It's money for an assessment, not the work, correct? Correct. So the question is, why would the assessment itself take so much money? I mean, that's quite a lot. Why wouldn't our staff go out there at a much lower cost and evaluate it? Is there a way to free up funding?

Yeah, because my overall point, city manager, is these are our own city-owned facilities. Nobody else ever owned them. Don't we already have an inventory of the age of the sewer lines, the age of the trees, the conditions? Why do we have to spend a ton of money six figures to just assess those basic infrastructure conditions.

Good morning, council, Aaron and Gary parks director. Um, this assessment would be as, as a city manager mentioned, the assessment of the existing sewer lines, you know, water lines and any other infrastructure that we don't have, um, inspection data on. Um, as far as, you know, the tree inventory, that was something that wasn't done in the years past. So some of that would be a part of this assessment.

So on sewer lines, DPU is supposed to be inspecting sewer lines on a consistent and ongoing basis. Why aren't they just paying for it? Why do we gotta pay DPU to tell us the conditions of their sewer lines?

rate pay we're a customer correct so dpu does so it's private property like they don't go out it just follow me along here in this instance we're operating we're a customer we pay the bill just like a private sector company pays the bill we don't go on property

using rate payer money to inspect sewer lines for- But City Manager, we've never charged the Public Works Department or another department to inspect existing sewer lines.

Yeah, sure we do. We don't have- Charge. Rate payers do not pay to do things for city-owned property.

I understand that, but the rate payer system incorporates the cost of inspection.

Of public right-of-way, of sewer lines down the streets, the sewer mains, not the lines coming directly onto a property.

So you're telling me that Public Works bills us for inspecting the sewer lines at City Hall?

Public Works or Public Utilities.

Is City Hall the sewer lines?

So you will recall that we put money in the budget to fix the sewer lift station, not ratepayer dollars.

That's correct, yes. I know that's an infrastructure improvement. I'm talking about inspections. I'm not talking about whether you have to pay the public utilities to replace the sewer line. Inspections is the cost of just... PROVIDING THE SERVICE, WHY IS THAT AN ADDITIONAL COST TO THE PARKS DEPARTMENT? I WOULD HAVE TO REITERATE. BECAUSE OF WHAT I'M SAYING.

IT'S A PRIVATE FACILITY.

IT'S A PRIVATE FACILITY. WE ONLY INSPECT SEWER LINES THAT ARE THE LARGE-SCALE SEWER LINES THAT ARE THE MAINS. WE DO NOT GO ON PROPERTY AND INSPECT THE CONNECTION.

WE WILL PICK UP THE DEBATE DURING THE PROP 8218 AND THE UTILITY RATE CONVERSATION.

I WANT TO ADD A QUESTION. SO HOW MANY ACRES IS THE FACILITY?

Oh, God.

Roughly. I mean, it's not massive, but it's not small, but it's not like it's a massive expanding major golf course. It's a municipal golf course. My question is this. I don't know how long it would take to do the assessment, but why does it cost $160,000? Is there anything we can do to reduce that cost by using our own staff to do that work?

What we did include into that number is a cost if there's any potholing needing to dig up some things and to check out certain sections. That is one of the primary drivers of why it's expensive.

It could potentially then include the cost to repair things?

Not repair, but pothole and verify. Repair is what is eventually going to be assessed.

And we don't know when that's going to be yet. Okay. All right. Thank you.

On the memo related to the HART team, staff provided us the number of internal affairs complaints and whether they were resolved, sustained, not sustained, unfounded, or exonerated. But what staff didn't provide us in that memo is how many interactions we've had with individuals during the time of Hart's operation. So, for example, the memo indicates that we had two sustained DISCOURTEOUS TREATMENTS, BUT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR, FOR THIS CALENDAR YEAR? AND IF YOU CAN HAVE THE MEMORY VICE ATTALAS, THE AMOUNT OF INTERACTIONS HAS HAD SINCE ITS DEVELOPMENT, THAT WOULD HELP IN TERMS OF CONTEXT. BECAUSE I KNOW THEY PROBABLY INTERACT WITH A THOUSAND PEOPLE, ANY GIVEN, YEAH, FEW MONTHS. SO I WANT, BECAUSE THESE THINGS ARE GOING TO BECOME PUBLIC AND I WANT THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND THE FULL CONTEXT. On the memo related to infill development, staff indicated- What number was that?

I'm sorry.

I forgot the top page. Is that nine?

No, that was heart.

Heart memo, yeah.

No, the one you just said, Councilman.

Infill?

76. 73.

73, thank you. Sure. Staff indicate that three projects have received a total funding of $131,000 and waivers. Can you provide us the actual list of projects? I'd like to understand what type of projects are applying and benefiting. And then on the memo related to artificial intelligence, I believe it's number 27. You, staff listed all the different AI programs that the city's currently engaged with. Cloud AI is the only one that popped up at me, because it has a $1,200 plus a token expense. Tokens are utilized as much as you use the software. But staff didn't indicate what department's actually using these software AI operations. Do we know who's using Cloud AI, the 1,200 plus the token expenses?

Yeah, hi, Frank Votter, assistant director ISD. Primarily used by ISD.

Okay, so it's you guys. Yes. So there's some level of control that you guys can't go above a certain amount? Correct. That was my question. Thank you. Thank you, appreciate your answer. Thank you, city manager. Those are all my requests for clarifications on the items.

All right, council, any additional comment, questions, inquiries, motions, revised motions?

Sorry, Council President, I just had one additional request. I requested a memo on whether individuals trespassing to a school site, what would be the designation. Staff provided me a very comprehensive list of all the 01, 02 priorities, but didn't answer the actual question. What would a trespassing incident at a school site that resulted in a lockdown of the school site be categorized as? Because based on this, it's not clear whether it's a zero or a eight, which means nobody shows up.

Good morning, counsel. Rob Beckwith, deputy chief of the police department. Based upon the example that you gave, it would be a zero priority.

So school sites should know that if somebody, a trespasser engages, enters the school site during its operations, resulting in a lockdown of the school, that call would be a zero irrespective of the 20 questions that are asked by the dispatcher.

Yes, if there's kids present, somebody's mentally unstable, there's an imminent threat to those children. It's a zero priority.

Perfect. Thank you for the confirmation.

You're welcome.

I appreciate that. Those are all my questions, Council President.

All right, Council Member Garbasi.

I'm going to be your favorite today. I'll be Columbo. One more thing. Sorry. Director Barfield. And this is all good stuff, so...

Caught me reading the New York Times.

I'm curious about article two. Director, I apologize. I was ill the day you gave your presentation. I did read the presentation. Great work. I had a community meeting a couple of weeks ago about a new park site west of Highway 99 at Herndon and Barstow. So just right off that, I'm sorry. veterans in barstow yes right off veterans and a resident there was saying well when you do this can you get bus service out here and i was thinking how far we have come from when i first started seven years ago because the bus service ended at herndon and milburn correct so that means you couldn't get paratransit at herndon and polk for example correct but now we go all the way to the el paseo shopping center that herndon crosstown you've done a really great job of extending that

Thank you.

Thank you very much. So I just want to applaud you, and if there's anything you need, I'm sure there are plans for the future. We have some time before the park is built, but anything we can do to aid your work to expand that beyond, you guys are just making great progress, and we're happy to help.

No, thank you very much, Council Member. I will also pass on that thank you to... the team and don't forget with the extension of the 45 to the Garza Glacier Point complex that has also extended Handy Rides service with the upgrades that are going on in and around the area including the money we've put forth through the STEP grant. You will soon see us looking at a north-south connection west of 99. That's great. That would probably end up coming back to either El Paseo or into the Manchester area. So it was really about the streets at that point. That's fantastic.

I'm glad to hear that, and I think the residents of Central Unified will really appreciate that. Absolutely. Great work. Thank you. Thank you.

All right, Council. All good? Going once, going twice. All right, so before we vote on the motions, we're gonna take public comments. I do have a large stack of yellow cards. Thank you to everyone who filled one out so far. If you have not filled one out yet and you are planning to give public comment, I would appreciate if you did fill one out and drop it in that basket back here, give it to Bernard. I'll go ahead and start with what I have. The first card I have is for Rosalina. Come on down, you'll have three minutes.

Hi, good morning everybody. I'm Rosalina Carson and I'm coming from District 3, from Three Palms. And again, I'm here asking to everybody and especially the one they're going to do the help for the park. We're asking for park for our families. Our kids, they don't have a new park around the neighborhood, Jane Items. So this is what we asking here. And this is we coming and coming to trying to get the help. Also the sidewalks, also the lining, and the water too. So it's a lot of, I know we asking a lot of stuff. But you guys know that little by little, start with one thing. And I've been in it for 25 years. And not in vain seeing change. So I think it's about enough in time to start listening to us and help us. Thank you. God bless you guys.

Council President?

Yeah.

I would like to dismiss our directors to go frantically start working on the motions that you all made. But before I do that, is that safe to do? Or should I keep them here in case you have them?

I close it down. We're done.

We're good to send them off to go work?

Yeah, shop is closed, yeah.

Okay, all right, guys. Go get started on the rest of these motions. Thank you, Council President.

Find the money.

All right, next card I have is gonna be for Derek Payton. Derek. Welcome, you have three minutes.

Good morning. My name is Derek Payton. I am a Tower District resident in District 1. I'm also the Executive Director for Route Access, a community makerspace in Tower, also in District 1. And then I am the Operations Assistant for the Tower District Library Project, which is a fancy way of saying that I'm Mr. Brooke Payton. So $50,000 is amazing. And to be clear, it's not the whole cost. Getting a library in the Tower District is going to take lots of money and a long time and a lot of organizations and people involved. But it's very catalytic. It's the start of something that will be much greater. It's a small line item ultimately for the city that de-risks a lease and signals to the county that the city is a serious partner in getting a library in the Tower District. It's a placeholder, it's tied to an eventual lease, but there's high signal value and the money demonstrates that intent without committing to, or rather without committing the city to ongoing operations. The tower used to have a library. The Gillis branch served as the neighborhood library from 1940 until it was relocated. So in a way, this is kind of about restoring access and not inventing a new want or a new need. Tower is dense and walkable and transit served and a library in the tower district would do so much to serve the residents of the tower and residents beyond the tower. Being able to walk to your local library is something that would make life so much easier for so many residents, especially in areas like the South Tower community that are more historically underserved than other parts of Tower. Is that my one minute or my three minutes?

You still have one minute.

All right. So this coalition, the Tower Library Project, has the support of Tower businesses and nonprofits, churches, the Rotary Club, neighborhood and preservation associations. There's documented community demand with a petition and a survey behind it, exactly the kind of constituent signal that a budget vote should respond to. So again, I urge you to approve this allocation to help kickstart a tower district library. Thank you.

All right, thank you. Next card is gonna be for Jovana Morales.

Thank you.

Hi, everyone. Giovanna Morales with Leadership Council. We just wanted to say thank you to council members who made motions to allocate funding to community-identified priorities like the park at the Jane Addams neighborhood, street lighting, repavements, and other infrastructure needs in District 5, especially additional funding to the eviction protection program. These investments are critical to ensuring vulnerable communities become healthy, vibrant neighborhoods. We urge the council to vote on these motions and allocate much-needed funding to Central, South, East neighborhoods. Additionally, we continue to support partners' asks in diverting funding from the Second Heart team to the much-needed resources for the unhoused community. Thank you.

All right, thank you. Next card is going to be from Mayra Dominguez. After my records will go down via what is.

Well, I want to see us at those classes but it's important to me that they is present in the area. The numbers might have been this represent all this to the top. There is get over this and you'll be in areas. But let me see on para la construcción de un parking was a community that you're getting this doesn't even want to see them. Mucho as construir este parque no solo mejor area el desarrollo de nuestros hijos. Um tambien ayudaria el medio ambiente al plantar nuevos árboles ya que como ustedes saben nuestro aire esta es de baja calidad. Entonces les pido todos ustedes que nos apoyen a dar su voto para que se lleve a cabo este parque. Muchas gracias a todos y que Dios los bendiga. Con permiso.

Next speaker, Galia Juarez.

Yes, it is ready for the park. Good morning, members of the council. My name is Galvia Juarez. I live in the community of District 3 in a mobile park called Villafresno. Today I want to ask and thank Councilor Miguel Arias porque hemos trabajado muy duro, hemos tenido muchas peticiones para él. Pero yo sé que esto no es solamente concejal y nosotros como residentes, sino también es un equipo. Creo que todos debemos de ser escuchados y atender las necesidades de cada comunidad. Y yo quisiera pedirles el día de hoy que, por favor, tengan en cuenta la moción y el apoyo para un nuevo parque en nuestra comunidad de Ada. Como ven ustedes, el niño ya está listo para el parque. Lo que nos falta es el parque. Desafortunadamente, tenemos que tener que usar otro transporte para ir a un parque más accesible. Que ellos tengan la oportunidad para poder salir a jugar, a caminar, y desafortunadamente ahorita no contamos con esta área. Ahora que es tiempo de verano, queremos tener a nuestros niños entretenidos, que salgan a caminar, a correr, que usen su tiempo en cosas positivas y que no estén solamente encerrados en casa, en una tableta, en una computadora. Hay algunos niños que calificaron tal vez para un programa después de escuela o de verano, pero hay otros niños que no cuentan con esos servicios. Y por favor, de todo corazón, yo quiero que tomen muy en cuenta que no nada más es el área de Gerdon, el área de Clovis. Creo que nosotros también tenemos derechos de tener un área verde, sana para nuestra comunidad y para nuestras familias. Tenemos muchas necesidades en nuestras áreas, pero esta es una de las que quisiéramos que se tomara en cuenta. Muchísimas gracias por su atención. Que tengan buen día.

Next card going to be for Yania Escobar. Yania Escobar.

Hi, good morning. Thank you, Council President, Council Members, for allowing me the opportunity to speak today. My name is Yania Escobar, and I'm a neighbor in the tower in District 3, and I'm a mother of two children aged six and four. I am here in support of a library in my neighborhood in the South Tower Community Land Trust Office. I'm sure I don't need to speak about why libraries are important and an amazing resource for everyone, but I'm still going to. Sorry. Literacy is very important to our family, and as a bilingual household, the library provides so many opportunities for us to teach the love of books and story to our children in English and in Spanish. But libraries don't only provide that. They also provide a free and open place to gather for parents and people of all ages. They provide STEM activities and room for diverse groups to come together. We visit our library at least once per month and usually take a bag of 15 to 20 books to read and explore with our children. But why am I in support of a library in the Tower neighborhood specifically? I have always dreamt of a community where I can walk in my neighborhood, meet my neighbors, play outside, and maybe grab a coffee and third space with my family and neighbors, if you will. With the closure of the central branch for remodeling, we've only been able to drive to the nearest libraries. The tower neighborhood stands out in its community focus and move away from car dependence. This is why a library in this neighborhood is pivotal as a gathering place for neighbors and families. Thank you Council Member Perea for your support and commitment and the updated funds. This is why I ask you to please vote yes on $50,000 allocated to the Tower District Library. I also want to support the $250,000 fund for the South Tower Community Land Trust Office. South Tower Community Land Trust is an organization that has welcomed my whole family, kids and all, as board members. And the staff and board work nonstop to keep as much land and amenities in community hands as possible. My family and I are so excited about the new office being so close to our house, as it will house an amazing local bookstore that puts on events highlighting community building and literacy, and perhaps other small local businesses and organizations. South Tower Community Land Trust is truly a force of good in a world that is moving away from walkable accessible trusting and affordable communities. And having a physical space to host events and collaborate with other organizations doing this work is vital to the Tower District. Thank you.

Next card is going to be for Jason Cross.

Hi. My name is Jason Krause. I live in District 3. Our family goes to the library every week. We read books every night with books they picked. And my daughter back there always asks for like a take-home craft before we leave. So having a library closer to home is more than a convenience. And I remember Tower District before we got the parks nearby. now it was a transformative change. We now have a playground we can walk to after church, and when my three-year-old is climbing up the walls, we hop on a bike and we go and he can go down the slide instead of like testing our patience. So, you know, I believe the library would be just as transformative as those parks because it goes from a weekly adventure where we have to go spend gas to take a car to a daily resource that we can exploit. So that's why please support it. That's all. Thanks.

Next card is for Brandy N. Brandy?

Council, I stand in support with the others regarding the Tower Library, South Tower Land Trust, Casita Feliz, increase the EBP, and Fendi and Nuspe and Nuder. And note that the TNR is an example of how we can address solutions through partnerships and not harmful practices with those who are unhoused. As one of our unhoused told me that they're already connected, and one of them is interested as I've talked to them. Again, I opposed one sergeant and forwarded police for a second heart and asked for accountability and oversight as this does not solve the issues of our community. I reached out to the person who's a client service specialist who witnessed many sweeps and shared that her client's loved one's ashes were discarded by heart that I mentioned last month. She said of her client, she let me know that they took her tent and all the belongings in it during an early morning sweep. The ashes were in a tin in her tent and the full thing was picked up and thrown into the dump truck. This is also not the first time I've heard someone mention their loved one's ashes were taken either. She said that she would not have written a report because they've done nothing but tear her down while she was here, so she did not believe it would do anything, and she knew the ashes would be gone for good anyways. And I've heard the same. I was told that you received emails from a service provider who said, I have had clients who had ordered Social Security cards, birth certificates, IDs three, four times a year because heart keeps taking them. How are they supposed to get a job with no ways to verify? I would add, how could they get housing? It seems that there is an attempt to invalidate what our unhoused members are saying as well as justifications why this treatment is warranted. even the claims that people don't want help, which our service providers supported by our CES system data say people are accepting services and refusal is exception, but there's no justification for this treatment of your constituents. If your response is, well, they weren't there, I have witnessed and documented people begging Hart team for their belongings and being ignored, including easy-to-move belongings like a backpack. I watch Hart refuse to let a man roll away his personal cart of things even as he repeatedly asked for it and said that his dead mother's belongings were in there. In the midst of this, their offer for service that they could say that this distraught man refused was for the police, not service providers, to take him to the Pavarello house on a Sunday, which should not address his housing needs, as even if he wasn't in the CES system, MAPS was not open. I experienced recorded heart police refusing to let a woman take her and her boyfriend's personal card of belongings out even as I held her dog so that she can move when they asked me to. I then didn't respond to a repeated request to store and then threw the whole thing in as well as a wheelchair. One of our advocates was arrested for trying to help and collect people's blankets during a February. Ivers refused to let a man move his bike, help his man. There's been testimony after testimony, many I've witnessed and documented, including people coming to you for years with very similar treatment of heart over years, including the couple that came last week who said that at present they throw away everything and laugh and bully them. You have an opportunity to listen. And I want to note that the coordinated entry system, that there is... Thank you.

Thank you, Bradley. Next card is going to be for Brooke Payton. Brooke.

Hi, I'm Brooke Payton. I oftentimes call myself the Tower District Library advocate, but as you can see, I'm a Tower District Library advocate. This has grown over the last three years. First phone calls starting May 18th of 2023. They were very naive phone calls. thinking that it wouldn't be a huge ask for another library in a system that already has 34 of them. But I do want to state that you giving $50,000 to help with paying the rent or facilitating some kind of move, to a tower district library in the tower district is immense. But it should not be seen as a Fresno City public library. It should be seen as a branch of the Fresno County public library. It needs to be a part of the San Joaquin Valley library system. It needs to be beneficiary of the Measure B funding that I hope extends after 2029 when it gets back on the ballot in 2028. this is something that will take a great deal of time that doesn't mean that we can't get our foot in the door and find a location now or in the next year something small something within 5 000 plus square feet as i once had a conversation with then fresno county program manager of real property in 2023 and 2024 5,000 plus square feet, minimum two bathrooms, 20 independent parking stalls. That's what we were looking for. That is something that I think that the Tower District could provide. The Fresno County Public Library is looking to lease, not to own. The Fresno County Public Library is not looking to add a brand new capital project to build from the ground up in the near future. There are already a long list of capital projects being built from the ground up, and I don't want to take away from any of the Fresno City or county public works building those libraries. But getting a library in the Tower District, even a small one, would mean that we would be able to gather helpful demographic information showing how many people use it, what parts of the library get used, whether that's the computers, the Wi-Fi, charging stations, the bathrooms, free access to clean water, using the library as a heating and cooling center. These are helpful things that we can track that will allow us to go before the county board supervisors and say, look, we have one, we've been using it, we've far outgrown it, we outgrew it before it opened. We need bigger, we need better, we need more. My husband is going to be my wonderful Vanna White.

This is three.

Sure. Don't break it. All right. Thank you. All right. Next card is going to be for Laura Faye. Laura.

Hello, my name is Laura Fay. I am an educator, I'm an activist, and I'm a director of a literacy nonprofit here in the Central Valley. We are here because we love books, we love libraries, and we've been working with Brooke this past year advocating and helping her raise advocacy for this tower library. And we think that's very important. And we not only want a library, but we need a library because of all the facts that everyone is told today. I also want to speak on behalf of a people's budget. I went to an art exhibit they had a few weeks ago, and I was educated about the heart team and the devastation that it left in its path. with relocating unhoused folks. This must be done more humane. We must require solutions that are not harming folks of their belongings. This is dehumanizing. Fix the problem. Houseless people are human beings and deserve dignity with their belongings. Just like the mothers need a park, Neighbors need libraries and non-profits can have safe spaces to do their work. Keep putting dollars into our community. Thank you.

Next card is going to be for Kyle Lopez-Schmidt.

Good morning, Council. Kyle Lopez-Schmidt, Executive Director of the South Tower Community Land Trust, and here to speak on a couple items. First, just wanted to welcome Councilmember Richardson to his first budget, and also Brandon Vang. I don't know if you were here for last budget or not, but appreciate the energy that you both have brought to this, and specifically wanted to appreciate your support of the Office of Community Affairs. I've had experience with both Robin McGehee and Pastor BT Lewis in those roles, and I think your addition of a role supporting North African Middle Eastern community is really stellar, so appreciate that. Wanted to speak in support of Council Member Perea's motion for Casita Feliz receiving resources. We began collaborating with them. Lady Diana is an amazing community member. They've signed on as a co-host for our queer housing summit, and we've been exploring collaborations and think this was really stellar to support their organization. the tower district library we have acted as the fiscal sponsor for uh for brooke and the tower district library project and helping elevate her leadership and i think that really demonstrates what the community is sewing up to support that that our neighborhood deserves to return a library and not only to appreciate the city's support i think this really signals a good partnership with the city and the county and we want to offer our own support for it to date we've raised over seven thousand dollars in community support largely on brooks efforts that you know will help fill out that library once it's filled with like community amenities and we'll continue raising that funding this is the first time on the budget where our organization has the potential to receive some resources so really appreciate council member arias making a motion to support the establishment of our office on fulton which will be more than an office we already have the The Judging by the Cover bookstore opened. We're working on renovations on the interior, and we have budget to fill out the interior, but we have a shortfall on how we are adjusting for the exterior and making a very welcoming space and mitigating any impacts on the neighborhood. The building's been vacant and is the first building that's been eligible for the vacant building ordinance for the Tower District and piloting that. We've created six jobs in the neighborhood. We own five properties. We have nine new homes in pre-development. So this resources really goes towards supporting that ongoing effort. And we have an impact beyond our own neighborhood. We've provided services for the Southwest Fresno Development Corporation, as well as Highway City, Cabal Medora Station with like public art and affordable housing. So really appreciate your support. Thank you.

All right, next card's going to be for Sarah Reyes. Thank you.

Good afternoon, mayor and council members. My name is Sarah Reyes, and I am the executive director at Shine Together. Shine has been working to respond to a critical need here in Fresno. Fresno County continues to have one of the highest teen birth rates in California, more than double the state average. While teen birth rates have declined nationally, Fresno's rate remains significantly higher than the national average. Behind these numbers are real young people.

Sorry about that.

While many experience the joy of expecting a child, for many young moms that news can be overwhelming and even traumatic. Teenage pregnancy significantly impacts a young mother's health, education, well-being, and also affects the child's development and future opportunities. That's where Shine steps in. Our Shine Young Hub in downtown Fresno is a warm, welcoming space where young parents can build resilience, develop life skills, and connect with peers, helping reduce isolation and strengthen community. Last year, 91% of our Fresno participants graduated high school and remained on track to graduate, compared to about 50% national graduation rates for teen moms. Additionally, 85% enrolled in and completed post-secondary education, and 92% reported increased hope for their future. Today, I am here to respectfully request the City of Fresno's partnership and investment in this work. With your support, we can sustain services and ensure that these resilient young mothers have the opportunity to succeed, not just survive. An investment in Shine is an investment in education, economic mobility, and healthier outcomes for both parents and child, strengthening the future of Fresno. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Next card's gonna be for Vanessa Padilla.

Good morning, mayor and council members.

My name is Vanessa Padilla, and I'm the program supervisor for Shine Together, an organization that serves the youngest families in Fresno. I would like to thank council member Annalisa Perea for bringing forward this motion and for her continued support of young families, as well as the mayor and city council members for the opportunity to speak today. Before serving in this role, I was also a Shine participant. I became a parent at 14 years old. and experience firsthand the challenges of balancing school, parenting, and an uncertain future. With the support and encouragement I received through Shine, I went on to not only earn my high school diploma, but my bachelor's and master's degrees, and now have the privilege of leading the very program that once supported me. Shine currently works alongside more than 60 teen and young parents who are striving to complete their education, pursue careers, and build stable futures for their families. Due to a significant funding cut, Shine Together Fresno is requesting $120,000 in support to help sustain critical services for young families. This investment will help ensure young parents continue to receive educational, parenting, and family support services that help them stay in school, reach their goals, and create brighter future for themselves and their children. It will also allow us to strengthen and expand our young parent hub model, providing a dedicated space where pregnant and parenting young people can access support, resources, and opportunities designed specifically for them and their families. I stand before you today not only as a program supervisor, but as an advocate and former young parent whose life was changed because someone believed I was worth investing in. I now have the privilege of paying that investment forward, and I am living proof that when we invest in young parents, we are not only changing one life, we are changing generations to come. Thank you for your time, consideration, and commitment to Fresno families. Thank you.

Next speaker is going to be Petra Ramirez. Petra. Petra with us, Petra Ramirez. All right, moving on. Next speaker's gonna be Mariela Fernandez. Mariela.

Sorry. Buenos dias. My name is Mariela Fernandez de Vallejo. I live in District 5. And I just want to thank you for the mention that you gave us, for the opportunity that Councilman Brandon is giving us to fix our streets and tell you to please vote for that mention because we've been waiting a long time for the fix of our streets. Next speaker is going to be Lilia Vassaril.

Buenos dias a todos. Mi nombre es Lidia Becerril. Gracias. Antes que todo, este, concejal Brandon Bank y a los que le han dado el apoyo. En este caso, el señor Miguel Arias y la señorita Annalisa Perea. Es muy importante que sepan el trabajo que Familias en Acción está haciendo en la comunidad del sureste de Fresno. Por los últimos años hemos estado trabajando muy arduamente con las limpiezas comunitarias y principalmente en las calles y callejones cercanas a las escuelas educativas. Desde el 2013, Familias en Acción ha estado trabajando muy duro. Fue una iniciativa que hicimos con las madres de la comunidad del sureste de Fresno y la seguimos haciendo actualmente. . . . Hay muchos perros lamentablemente en la calle y son tristemente porque son perros que no son de raza. Si fueran de raza, tuvieran un hogar. Entonces, tenemos que trabajar por esos perros también que están en la calle, que no son de raza, pero que son animalitos y seres vivos. Entonces, otra de las cosas es las personas sin hogar. It is very important that we continue to advocate for homes for homeless people, because, unfortunately, every time we clean our streets, sadly, people will always live in our streets, which are already clean, and they put them back the same. We have to have control over that. We have to put a little more budget to be able to move those homeless people to a place where they are accessible to them. Otra de las cosas es que queremos dar el consejo de liderazgo por el apoyo que nos ha brindado, ya que ellos han sido una base muy fundamental para que Familias en Acción siga proveyendo y ayudando a las familias del sureste de Fresno. Necesitamos, concejal, Brandon Bank. Es importantísimo también. Yo sé que él ha llegado con un entusiasmo muy grande de seguir ayudando. Next speaker is going to be Juana, Juana Aris.

Hola, buenos dias. Mi nombre es Juana Iris Mesa, con Familias en Acción. Estoy aquí porque primeramente quiero darles las gracias al concejal Brandon Vann por todo el trabajo que está haciendo actualmente en las calles del suroeste de Fresno, ya que por muchos años ha sido una comunidad bastante olvidada, ¿verdad? Así es que gracias, concejal, por todo el trabajo que hemos estado siguiendo de cerca, que su equipo está realizando. in esas areas. También quisiera pedir a todo el consejo que apoye a estas mociones que fueron mencionadas anteriormente por el concejal Brandon Ban, ya que eso va a ayudar al embellecimiento de las comunidades del suroeste de Fresno. Ah, otra de las cosas, ah, en la junta pasada, el señor Brandon Bang mencionó sobre una moción para un apoyo de presupuesto para familias en acción. Nos gustaría que todo el consejo apoye esa moción, ya que, como mencionó la señora Lilia Becerril, hemos estado trabajando durante años en esa comunidad sin tener un presupuesto, y aún así seguimos haciendo el trabajo gracias a las familias um All right, next speaker is going to be Arisa. Arisa?

Good morning, City Council. And before I begin my public comment, my name is Arisa, and I'm with Presidents for People's Budget, and I've been a lifelong resident of District 2. And before I again begin my comment, I also want to echo similar sentiments that I saw online. from last week's meeting from other constituents, how these meetings are not really accessible to working class people. The only reason why I'm able to attend and give public comment is because I'm out for the week. So something make these public comment meetings or city council meetings more accessible. accessible. Um, and with that, um, I just wanted to urge a city council to, uh, uh, to oppose, um, the expansion of that heart team. We just heard a brandy give out public comment. Again, the horrors and the brutalizations, the heart team, um, next on, um, our homeless individuals here in Fresno. Um, and, uh, As such, I'm urging the city to invest more in community forward solutions, rather just investing in more cops. Frankly, I believe that investing in a heart team is not only inefficient, but also kind of a tired method, just adding more police to a solution, to a problem. So if we were to invest in better programs such as shelters and transitional housing, rental assistance, and more for the eviction protection program, I believe that that would be a more tangible step forward to a better Fresno. and yeah just listen to your constituents they have been expressing their concerns they've been expressing these stories about how heart team treats their homeless families so thank you no on heart expansion and also i want to reiterate um other echoes have been shared also yes on the library and the tower district thank you all right next speaker is going to be diana alameda

Good morning, Mayor, council members, and staff. My name is Deanna Almeida, and I am a proud resident of the Tower District. I am here today in support of bringing a library to our neighborhood. As you know, a library is more than just a place of books. It's a safe, welcoming community space where children can learn. Students can study, job seekers can access resources, and residents of all ages can connect with educational and cultural opportunities. The Tower District is one of Fresno's most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods, yet many residents must travel outside the area to access library services. A local library would increase access to literacy programs, technology, tutoring, community events, and lifelong learning opportunities right in the heart of our community. As a Tower District resident, I believe the library would strengthen our neighborhood, support our local families, and provide an important resource for current and future generations. I encourage the council to support efforts to bring a library to the Tower District. I would also like to express my support for funding for the South Tower Community Land Trust. As a Tower District resident, I have seen firsthand the positive work they do in our community. They are a dedicated group of great people doing great things for our neighborhood. and their work continues to make a meaningful impact in the Tower District and the surrounding areas. I encourage continued support for their efforts. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Next speaker is going to be Arianna.

Thank you.

Hi, council. My name is Arianna from Fresno's for People's Budget, and I'm here to oppose the addition of a second heart team. Last week, the chief of police said they review the heart footage. It's my understanding the city has not filled the independent auditor role as of the end of March, and I don't know what the update is on that. It's been empty since August 2025 when John Gliata retired. The city of Fresno website still lists him as the independent auditor, even though he is not. So last week and in March and in previous years, When residents express concerns about transparency and where to find that information that is supposed to be available to the public, it's not in the places we've been told by city staff and law enforcement to look. This is what we mean. The Office of Independent Review is tasked with auditing internal affairs investigations, use of force, and citizen complaints. This position is separate from the police force. It entails auditing investigations involving officer-involved shootings, deaths in custody, and severe pursuit collisions. evaluating internal affairs investigations into allegations of officer misconduct, excessive force, and bias, and publishing quarterly reports to promote transparency. The last quarterly report available online is for the second quarter of 2025. We are entering the third quarter of 2026 on July 1st. So who is determining no wrongdoing? We have footage of the Hart team throwing away someone's wheelchair in February 2025. I don't see that in the quarterly report for that period. Also, many unhoused folks don't feel comfortable filing formal complaints for fear of retaliation. Artists who have highlighted issues of policing, such as in the exhibition in Fresno, have written formal statements sharing their own feelings of intimidation and fear. Last week, constituents came in here and said it was their first time speaking because they felt intimidated prior to this. For AB 481, regarding the military equipment and drones the police have, we haven't heard back on whether the police department will include the personnel cost and how equipment was actually used, not just how it's authorized to be used. If they hope to have that for this year's use report ready for next year, they need to be collecting that data now so it's not retroactive. I also want the city to make public the terms of the organized retail theft positions grant extension and the funding remaining in the extended grant, without which there can be no public oversight and no certainty that there will be no cost overruns. The costs of the Second Heart team are listed at $290,000 for the year, which doesn't appear to even clear salaries without benefits for a whole year. So there's some clarity needed around that. Transparency and trust are huge issues here today and have been in the last several years. As folks have pointed out, we don't have metrics for the efficacy and touch points of HART. Who would be responsible for deciding the measures and variables for those deliverables? Service providers say refusal for help is the exception. I don't think HART deserves to get more money this budget. Sometimes discrimination is intentional, and sometimes it's the way we all passively go along with something inhumane and cruel because we've been convinced it's the way it's gotta be. The science shows it doesn't work and that there are better ways that do. Lastly, the police department seems to be overestimating its attrition rate, and the formula used to calculate that is not publicly available or requires a PRA request. There's a lot of issues here this budget cycle, and I think that they need some attention, and there's a lot of other projects that need that money. Thank you.

All right, next speaker is going to be Taylor.

Hi, I am Taylor, and I am a member of District 4. I am a student at Fresno State, and I would like to mention these meetings at 9 a.m. on Tuesdays are structurally inaccessible, making those busy, working, and most impacted by the decisions of Fresno politics less able to pose those decisions. And also I'd like to mention in Visalia, public comment was open at 7 p.m., and I was able to attend after getting off work. I was also told comment could be done at 4 and 5 p.m. in Visalia. I'm coming up here to oppose new funding for the HART program. I also stand in supporting the library and Casita Feliz. Sometimes I'll see an unhoused person going through the trash can behind my apartment. I give them the water, but I think about how I wish the city of Fresno better supported our unhoused community. Instead of allocating more funding to outreach services, low income housing, mental health services, Fresno funds the heart team. The heart team is not an outreach team. The heart team is an extension of the police. They don't know how to deescalate situations and build rapport with our unhoused. We need that money to fund services that prevent crime and prevent people from committing crime. For example, in New York, where Zora and Mamdani was elected, crime went down 8%, and burglary is at a record low, and racial theft is down 25%. This shows that when cities invest in supporting our community, crime goes down. When crime goes down, we don't need to police our community. When we invest in eviction protection, youth services, parks and recreation, job training, we support people in finding their agency to get a good job and make a living. It's not that we don't have the money. It's a matter of what we prioritize. So no, we don't need funding for a golf course or flock cameras or the heart team. We need money for the people. And after all, council members are public servants. So we're in the public, not political or elite interests. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next up, we have Whitney Sandersler, and we will have Erin Foster on deck. Good morning, Whitney.

Good morning, Council. My name is Whitney, and one thing I've learned over this last week from listening to hours of budget presentations and public comments is that we have one department that utilizes one half of the city's resources year after year, while the rest of the city of Fresno operates collectively on the remaining half. Our tax dollars are currently being allocated to protect private interests while public services steadily decline. These corporations should be the ones covering the costs of crime because they created it. We all work hard and we deserve a safe and beautiful city. Instead of using California grant money to make Fresno appear safer through militarization, we should put that money towards meaningful and lasting change. Using last year's budget numbers, I was able to identify 304 million that could have been allocated elsewhere. I took $280 million from the military equipment budget and $23 million from the organized theft retail task force. I don't think presidents care very much about organized retail theft or an arsenal of military equipment. A budget that invests in Fresno's would look more like tackling that $35 million deficit, setting aside 1 million for next year's unforeseen attrition rates, which are consistently unplanned for across all departments' budgets, and contributing likely to future deficits. We could allocate $185 million to parks and associated support departments for programs like First 5 California, Families in Action, Shine, Advanced Peace, and expanding their programs and staffing and facilities and development and training. We could do more public pools, lifeguards, swimming lessons. We could invest in our youth, especially the high risk, by developing their interests. like legal street racing courses, free mechanic school, and professional driving lessons. We need to approach deviant street racers, gang violence, and property damage through proactive programs that encourage kids and young adults to have hobbies and interests and keep them busy instead of punishing and alienating them. We could put $20 million between FACS, Animal Center, and General City Purpose for more updated infrastructure and repairs and projects like libraries and gyms in the areas they're needed and wanted most. We could do $50 million to public utilities to install rooftop gardens and rainwater collection infrastructure because we have some areas of town that get really flooded out and damaged. We could do 30 million to EEOC to expand LGBTQ plus and latchkey after school programs, dance, theater. These plans also include 700 jobs at $50,000 annually. And we still have 33 million more to move around. Obviously these numbers are just to motivate a different image of how we could spend it. They're not exact or correct, but you have the potential.

Good morning. My name is Aaron Foster. I'm the program manager for Advanced Peace Fresno. I live, oh, sorry about that. Let me see here. I'm ready. Okay, I'll say my name, Aaron Foster, program manager of Advance Peace Fresno. I live 2683 South Bardell. Before I even start, I want to say that this is not an attempt to insult or appear ungrateful. I want to start with saying in the very beginning of Advance Peace, it started with, at that time, Chief Dyer. Our first conversation was with Dyer in the very beginning. We didn't have no data to support the program, and he gave us the opportunity to listen to us, but it took council support. The first person to carry the water for Advance Peace was McGill, and then we started developing relationships, like having people, Krabazy, Annalisa, Tyler, come and support this program. So in April, when we got our funding cut, our first funding cut, I asked the mayor for help. He bailed us out. The reason that the door's open is because of that bailout. He put us on the budget without asking. But the thing is, what we have, this million dollars, is great. But if it's spread out over two years, it's not enough. It's enough to keep the staff, and it keeps me with a job, but I don't want a job. I want to make a difference. We don't have the resources that it takes for the people who we engage to fully commit and participate. I believe that the police department does a great job. Advanced Peace gives options and opportunities. But without the people who normally settle these disputes with violence, the city is at risk of losing lives. And this is actually, for me, a life or death situation. So in a perfect world for me, I'm not saying that we don't appreciate the money, the program doors are open, but we want to make a difference. in the community by having these resources. If we could amend that to one year with oversight of the city, everything that we don't spend, it'd be great, but we want to make sure that the reason why Advanced Peace is here is met, and that is to give people opportunities to change and all the mentorship and resources that it needs to facilitate it. And that's just it. I don't talk loud and I don't talk long, but that's what it is. We need enough to make sure that the reason why we're here is being met. And it's just to make sure that we give people options to gun violence. And that's it.

Thank you, Mr. Foster. I'm going to take it back up here to the dais. Council Member Barbasi. Aaron.

Aaron. Thanks. First off, I don't think anyone thinks you're being ungrateful. You're in a tough spot. So tell us a little bit about the funding cuts. So there were some decisions at the federal level that affected your ability to get funding to do what you do.

On April 19th, I remember the day they sent an email saying that today forward, bill is for nothing else. Federal government is moving in a different direction. So that money was off the table. Everything that we didn't spend had to go back, and it was a million dollars close to it. After that, it became a frenzy for funding. So on the state level, because Fresno is doing such a great job, our state said that they want to give it to people who have it. Now, Fresno is different from any other city. We've been decreasing gun violence every year since 2020. On the national level, we're in the top. On the state level, nobody's competing against us. I get it.

You're getting punished for your success, sort of.

Absolutely. Okay. And the thing is... We know that somebody's going to die. Our staff, we lost five people, and we have over 100 gangs in Fresno. That's just the gangs that's on record. That's not the cliques. We have to make sure that we don't reduce the support. That's just the thing. We don't want to bury one person, and it's horrible that we know that we can do things and we're not doing it.

I think it's fair to say, Aaron, and a police chief will vouch for this, you are part of the public safety apparatus of the city. You're a program that makes a difference. So does Fresno County contribute any dollars to this program?

Not a penny.

And that has to change. In the meantime, what is the ask, Aaron? So we're doing a million dollars over two years. You're saying you need that in one year? One year, yes. Okay, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make a motion for it with the warning it's going to be hard to do because we do have a lot of competing interests, but you are an important program. I will move to allocate a million dollars towards advanced piece over one fiscal year.

Yes, thank you.

And thank you for the work you do, Aaron.

Let me add something to this. So the $700,000 that Council Member Arias added from Don, $300,000 this year, that's the $1 million. And then next year we have cannabis money again, which would put it at $1.3. And I believe they have $180,000 in carryover.

I think so.

When we're saying next year and this year, can we clarify?

Fiscals. Just to be clear, so we're shoring up a gap this year, correct, Mayor? Yes.

We're definitely shoring up the gap this year. I believe they had, last I checked, there was 180 in carryover.

Next year.

Okay, that's to July FY27. Yes. And then we have 300,000 already set aside in cannabis for FY27. And then the motion made by the council member was- I'll fill the gaps. $700,000 over those two years. And then on top of that, there's potentially, not potentially, there will be another 300,000 next year. So it'd be about close to 1.5 million for two years.

So to be clear, Aaron, the gap from this year, so our fiscal year ends June 30th, so it's July 1st on. It's kind of weird. That's just the way we do it. So for the rest of this year, we're going to make you whole. Next year, with Council Member Arias' motion, it'll be a million dollars. And then the following year, there's some money. Is that correct, Mayor?

Actually, the money that was available, and Council Member Morris can clarify this, was about $700,000, I believe.

Correct, Mayor. And if I may just make a suggestion, this gets really messy to do the math on the diets. Yes. I think the intent is to make sure the program is fully funded. Yes. Can you guys just work out the numbers with advanced P's and ELC, and then by the time this comes back for a final vote, we have an understanding of the fiscal year's calendars?

Yeah, we actually need to know what the operational budget is. I'm operating in the dark right now. I'm just operating on, you know, money was cut from the feds, but I don't know what their operational budget is that would make them hold.

And, Mayor, I'm a little hesitant to allocate more money because EOC is the largest nonprofit in the whole Central Valley, and I think they, too, need to contribute. They have significant general fund dollars, too. So I'd like you all to take the time over the next couple of days to try and figure out what the best picture is to fully fund them.

I agree.

What I'll do is this. I appreciate that. I agree. And I still think part of the conversation has to be the county stepping up because once again, our residents are county residents and they benefit from this program. Having said that, what I'll do is I'll make my, we don't know what that number is yet. I'll amend my motion so that we can fully fund the program, whatever that gap is. If you negotiate something different, that's fine. We'll amend it. But that's my motion to fully fund advanced peace.

Yeah. And thank you.

At the current operating level.

I really appreciate that and what you said about the county is what we're seeing today and what we've been seeing this fiscal year is a lot of agencies that have been cut by the federal government, first five, a number of them. And whatever that cut is, they're coming to the city for 100% of that funding. And the county, for example, on a couple of the programs that we mentioned, they aren't funding at all. They're the social service body for the county of Fresno. And I would love to see the county step up. Not that we control them, but they got to do their part as well. We'll do our part as a city because we know the impact is great and we don't want to see nonprofits suffer. But we've got to get the county to help out in this endeavor too, just like homeless. We've been funding just about everything on our homeless outreach and efforts for the last five, six years. We have two-thirds of the emergency shelter beds in Fresno County. They don't own a single bed. They fund some, but they don't own one. So we just need to work with the county and see if we can do a better job of partnering on these programs.

And I want to clarify my motion. That's for staffing, fully staffed. But, Aaron, thank you for your work. I hope we do get some more progress getting our other partners involved. There's no question the program has an effect. It reduces violent crime. And you know how I feel about that. So thank you.

I want to say that the staff portion is great, but we really, really need to put a lot of attention into the people that we serve. That's the biggest part because those are the people who really shape what safety is.

Let's do this then. You guys are going to meet. Let us know what you come up with and I'll I'm confident we'll get support to pass whatever it is. We just got to work it out. But we have some time. Not a lot of time, a little bit of time.

In the future, I want to invite Council Member Vang and Council Member Richardson for a ride-along so you guys can see exactly what we do. Thank you for all your support.

Council President, can I just clarify for record? I just want to confirm when we're talking about two years, we mean fiscal year 26 and fiscal year 27.

27, 28 is what I'm hearing.

Okay, thank you. That's not the way we were understanding it, so we appreciate the clarification.

All right, let's snap back into public comment, and then we can continue to have policy debates following if needed. Next comment's going to be from Terry Siegel.

Good morning.

I'm here in support of the South Tower Land Trust and the library in the Tower District, and I feel that there are many benefits that you've already heard, and I'm hoping that you support what I'm... Thank you.

Next speaker is going to be Chris Thompson.

Dear Mayor Dyer and members of the Fresno City Council, my name is Chris Thompson. On behalf of Fresno TNR, we would like to express our sincere appreciation for the partnership between the City of Fresno, the Fresno Animal Center, and Animal Balance. This collaboration has provided valuable opportunities for community cats to receive spay and neuter services, helping reduce pet overpopulation and improve the lives of animals throughout our community. We have seen firsthand the positive impact that accessible spanned-neuter services can have through these efforts. Thousands of cats have been prevented from contributing to this cycle of unwanted litters, reducing the burden on shelters, rescue organizations, and taxpayers. While we are grateful for the current support, the need in our community continues to far exceed the available resources. Every day we encounter residents who are eager to have their pets spayed or neutered but face financial or logistical barriers. We also continue to see large numbers of free roaming cats and unplanned litters throughout Fresno. For this reason, we respectfully encourage the city council to continue to increase funding for community span neuter programs. Prevention remains the most effective and cost efficient solution to reducing shelter intake, lowering euthanasia rates, improving public health, and decreasing long-term animal care costs. By investing additional resources in spay and neuter services, Fresno can make an even greater impact in preventing the overpopulation of both cats and dogs before they enter the shelter system. Fresno TNR stands ready to continue working alongside the Fresno Animal Center, Animal Balance, rescue organizations, and community partners to maximize the effectiveness of these investments. Together we can build on the progress already made and create lasting solutions that benefit animals, residents, and the city of Fresno. Thank you for your continued commitment to animal welfare and for considering increased funding for these vital services.

All right, next speaker is going to be Rain Chamberlain.

My name is Rain Chamberlain. I vote from District 7, but I spend most of my time in the Tower District. Um, you may remember me from a lot of my different advocacy in here for the local homeless population and for housing rights in general. And I came here today to support the tower library, tower district library and South tower community land trust. And that is still accurate. But as I'm sitting here, I'm, I've been out of the loop lately and I'm hearing that you're talking about more funding, more teams for heart, which is. cannot happen, should not happen. So one thing that I do want to talk about is additional costs, things that aren't on your papers in front of you right now. When we have the solution, quote unquote, to homelessness be violence against homeless people, We come in here and talk to you all the time about how this is cruel, about how this is inhumane, about how this doesn't work. We're going to keep coming in here and talking to you. The individual face might change. Some of us end up tired, have to take a break, come back. But we will always be in here. We will always be protesting. We will always be out in the community protesting. Fresno at this point is known far beyond local for how cruel we are to our most disenfranchised members. And it will continue to be known for that. And hopefully, eventually, there will be Nuremberg-style trials. The human rights violations that happen here on a daily basis are beyond words. On the other hand, some of the other things that are listed on your budget, the library, the South Tower Community Land Trust, the park that was being discussed, are things that you're not going to have people in here protesting for. You get to write a budget, pass it off, and at least for the library and the South Tower Community Land Trust, you don't even have to put in the time, effort, and money for the individual staffing and day to day operations. The added cost that's not on your papers will be thanks. You really need to remember that you serve the community. That includes all of us that are here voicing our opinions every day. That includes your homeless community members. That includes all of us. And you need to listen to us.

All right, next speaker is going to be Melanie. I only have a couple of yellow cards left, but if you haven't had the opportunity to speak yet, I encourage you to fill out a yellow card and bring it up here at the basket or to Bernard.

Hi, my name is Melanie. I'm part of District 1. So what we're discussing is the budget, right? So where our money generally goes and where we want it to go. So a lot of people have spoken about where they want it to go and where they don't want it to go. They have all the statistics, they have the money, the numbers to present to you, and they have. And so we want more money toward parks, libraries, green spaces, and less toward heart expansion because they're cruel to the unhoused. And we've made it illegal to be unhoused. And then they're harassed and their stuff is thrown away. So what we do need are libraries, parks, and housing, transitional housing. If we're going to harass people on the street, how about instead we get them into housing? Like, I don't get why. I mean, I get it, but it sucks. So the general fund, right? 48% goes to the cops. Half of it. So why is so small of an amount going to parks, libraries, and housing? Why? Right? So free community spaces mean less crime, more healthy places to go. So instead of funding policing, please can we fund housing, parks, and libraries? Thank you.

Next card is for Marcos Osorio.

Good morning, council members, city staff, and members of the community. My name is Marcos Osorio, and I'm here as a proud father, educator, resident, and board member of the South Tower Community Land Trust. I'm here today in support of three things. With these next two and a half minutes, I want to be very specific. These three are important investments in our community. One, the $250,000 investment towards the South Tower Community Land Trust office. Two, the $50,000 investment towards the tower district library and branch. Excuse me. three, the $2.1 million investment in the Ted C. Wills soccer field and park investments. It's important to recognize that the South Tower Community Land Trust Office is not simply a brick and mortar, a structure in the South Tower. It's also a safe space for the community, a place where residents can gather access resources, organize around neighborhood priorities, and build meaningful connections. The goals of South Tower Community Land Trust are to preserve affordability, strengthen neighborhoods, and promote community ownership so that residents can remain and thrive in the communities that we call home. A dedicated office gives us this work a place and creates a lasting presence for the community we serve. I'm also here speaking for my 10-year-old and my 7-year-old daughter, who wanted me to express specifically their support for the Tower District Library Branch. Thanks to Councilmember Perea for that. Libraries are more than buildings. They are centers of learning, technology access, and opportunity for residents of all ages, creating a space to not only upskill but uplift the community. our community. Likewise, investments in the Tessie Wills soccer field and park create spaces where youth and families can gather, play, and thrive. As a father and educator, I know firsthand the importance of safe, welcoming places where young people can build friendships, develop leadership skills, and create lasting memories. When we invest in community spaces, and I think everyone here knows this, whether it be libraries, parks, or neighborhood organizations, we invest in the future of Fresno. And I'd like to be very clear that I'm asking for you all to invest in the future of Fresno. Thank you for your time and consideration.

All right, next speaker is going to be Harman Singh.

Good morning, council members. There's a serious lack of creativity and vision that you all have been showing for a while. Instead of pouring millions of dollars in heart to bully our unhoused or putting money into a youth curfew that is bullying our youth, I'm going to give you all some suggestions to actually make our neighborhoods better. So I will start off from where I live, around that area, which is Northwest Fresno, west of the 99. I would recommend that there's a road connecting Gettysburg and Polk, Council Member Freya, this is in your area, Gettysburg and Polk to Gettysburg and Golden State. That road has already been built, it just needs to be paved and that can connect the west side community to the other side of the highway where Golden State is. I would ask that that road be built in a way that trucks can't go on it, that it's meant for cars, pedestrians, folks to travel to that part of town. Right now on Veterans in Barstow, there is a park that is proposed to be built. I had the chance to meet Councilmember Kerbasi at the Herndon Barstow school meeting, community meeting. Even there, a resident walked out in anger because he was like, what the hell is going on? You guys are building a park. for children where there's gonna be high speed traffic. So my proposal there, if we're not gonna allocate the 400K right now to put into that park, I would ask that we buy the north lot and the southeast corner lot, so make that a tri-park veterans area for all those corners that are connected to the veterans trail. Additionally, I would ask that money be allocated to the veterans trail going southwest towards Shaw and veterans and put trees, benches, and lamps on that portion of the trail. Additionally, e-bikes are on the rise. Policing is not the solution. Make our roads safer for our children. I would ask that you guys evaluate a mile or two miles surrounding schools, parks, and make all incoming roads, sidewalks, bikes, bike lanes safer. Additionally, I would ask for $20,000 directly to you, Mike Krabasi, or Council Member Krabasi. Two, take care of that land, that unkempt grass that all of our neighbors have been calling you about for years. And, you know, we've been calling about even that Shaw and Polk Road. And, you know, suddenly things always get paved and things always get done during election year. But even that area where the road has been paved, and I'm very grateful for it. If that could be, if we could add some sidewalks and bike lanes there or something there where pedestrians aren't walking on the road to get to the only connecting bus stop. for our side of town. Thank you.

All right, next car is gonna be for Navdeep Kaur.

Hello? Sorry, give me a second. Hi, thank you everyone. And I'd actually like to thank the people of Fresno and the public right now who gave such great points, made such great points and ideas, especially the person who gave us a dollar amount about how much we spend on military police budget and instead what we could spend that money towards to imagine a better Fresno and world for our children and generations to come. A few points. Definitely against the HART team. Nothing has been done to improve anyone's life through the HART team. You know, it's actually caused harm and kept the houseless folks in the cycle of being houseless. So it's just keeping the system in place instead of making anything better. um definitely against that uh fun putting any more funding towards that and uh and also the instead that money or even other money from other places could go towards supporting the tower library and um other great community programs that the uh to keep the youth community safe engaged and thriving Now, the other last point I want to make, I'm from, I live in District D2, District 2, near Veteran and Barstow, where Councilmember Kerbasi has proposed to finally make a neighborhood park, and we appreciate that, and I know you're going to, you said that, we appreciate that. We may not put it into this budget, which is okay like Carmen said But I also encourage that we take the other law across from it because it's such a small area And we're trying to do so many things according to the plans that were brought up in the meeting a couple of weeks ago I encourage that we we in the meantime the city looks into buying the other plot and expanding that. And also figuring out a way, since it is right on Veterans, which is really, really a fast lane, that we figure out a way to make it safe for the kids. And also the the street from Shaw to Veterans that doesn't have sidewalks, that would be greatly appreciated as well. Because you see so many people walking or even e-biking from there, and it's just so unsafe, especially during that curve. You don't know if someone's walking on the street. I mean, I hope the cars slow down, but it's always just unsafe. But yeah, so that's all. Those are my comments. Thank you.

All right, I don't have any more yellow cards, but I will invite any member of the public who has not had the opportunity to provide public comments. Now would be the time. You can either line up here, fill out a yellow card. So I'll invite anyone who has not had the opportunity to speak yet.

Good morning, Council. My name is Alfred Aldretti, proud resident in District 3. I'm going to keep it short as I've been here the last few days kind of beating the same war drum. As many of my constituents and colleagues behind me have stated already, we want to see a new... A new way of imagining how these funds can be reallocated towards real community needs. Once again, thank you for the library, Council Member Perea. I was just at the Board of Supervisors meeting. I did not get to thank Supervisor Chavez. But that's a serious community need that the community has been demanding for quite some time. But there are so many other things that we could really invest in public housing, preventative care. We can look at just really spending this how the public thinks it should be spent, right? Not just how the Board of Supervisors and the council members and our mayor think it should be spent. Secondly, and once again, it's time to deflock Fresno. It's time to seriously look at this flock contract and end this mass surveillance that Fresno has taken part of, because it's only deepening the divide within the... Countries safety here are there their feeling of safety within mass surveillance Thank you guys once again for hearing our concerns, please use your imagination to just go over this budget again to can really Help the community and its needs out.

Thank you All right, and is there any additional public comment come on down Thank You council president

Good morning, council members, mayor, and city staff. My name is Diljold Singh. I would just like to make a comment about bus. We already have a bus stop there, but possibly in addition to the bus stop, if we could get a bench and some shade in front of the Sikh Institute of Fresno on Parkway Drive. That's really all I came to advocate for. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Any additional public comments? Come on down.

Good morning, my name is Brianna, I'm a resident of District 5. Thank you Council Member Perea for the motion regarding the library and Council Member Carbasi for moving to fully fund advance peace. I'm a strong supporter of investments in community that are actually going to address the issues that people face, make us stronger and reduce crime. Um, you know, I wasn't going to make a comment because to be totally honest, I think it's just shouting into the void at this point regarding, um, additional funding for the police and for heart. Um, you know, but I was just sitting here and watch that woman come up with her children. And I was thinking about my own child at home. You know, we, um, I have a baby at home and we read her books about, um, teaching her values, teaching her to be kind to other people in the ways that we're all the same more than we're different. And I wonder how I'm going to talk to her about the way that we treat homeless people in Fresno. There's a lot of unhoused people in my neighborhood. I often see the police harassing them and throwing away their belongings. And I don't know how I'm going to communicate to this precious child who we've tried to create a safe, loving home for her how I'm going to break it to her that the world is fucking cruel. Our police are cruel. How do you expect someone to get a job, to get housed, to do anything when we're throwing away their IDs, their wheelchairs, their bicycles? More heart is not the answer. And again, I don't really think that these arguments are going to make a difference. But I hope that you will at least hear that heart continues to violate the law. They are violating people's constitutional rights. They are violating Fresno's own ordinances in the way that they operate. And you are opening up Fresno to litigation and the cost of that litigation and settling lawsuits. So if you don't care about how inhumane and how much suffering heart is causing, I hope you care about that.

Anyone further? I'll let you down.

Hi. Since my last public comment, I kind of got cut off. So I thought you might be interested. SB 707 goes into July 1st. So if you guys could have that ready, set up. Okay. So you can get everybody's comment. Okay.

All right, any additional public comment?

Anyone who has not had an opportunity yet? Welcome.

Hello, my name is Wendy Crisco and I would like for all of us to support any sort of public project that's going to help the communities in Fresno.

All right, any further public comment? Any member of the public? All right, seeing none, we're gonna go ahead and close public comment, bring it back here to the dais. I've got a couple folks punched up. Council Member Karabasi, followed by Council Member Baradias.

I'll let the Council Member go after him.

Thank you. Thank you, Council President, Council Member Karabasi. I just was reflecting on, this is my seventh and final eighth budget, my eighth and final budget. And since I took office, I've had hundreds of neighborhood meetings IN MY DISTRICT. EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING IS IN THE EVENINGS. WE'VE HAD WEEKEND MEETINGS. AND I REMEMBER MY FIRST BUDGET YEAR, THESE CHAMBERS WERE FULL OF RESIDENTS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASKING FOR US TO FIX THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD. BROKEN STREETS, BROKEN SIDEWALKS, TO FIX OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS. AND TO ACTUALLY PROVIDE SERVICES TO THE UNHOUSED. BACK THEN, WE DID ZERO SERVICES AS A CITY FOR THE UNHOUSED. Didn't have one shelter. We just said that's the role of the churches in our community. And that's all we're going to do. Over the years, we fixed just about every neighborhood in my district has had repairs. Hundreds of millions of dollars of repaved streets, broken sidewalks, trimmed trees. Every neighborhood in my district has been fixed. MILLION DOLLAR PLAYGROUND STRUCTURE, $3 MILLION SPLASH PARK. WE BUILT TWO BRAND NEW PARKS IN THE DISTRICT WITH A THIRD ONE PLANNED AND TWO MAJOR RENOVATIONS LEFT TO DO OVER THE NEXT YEAR OR SO. BUT I'VE ALSO SEEN A CHANGE IN THE REQUEST FROM THE CITY AND FROM RESIDENTS AND THE ADVOCACY ON THE BUDGET. IT SEEMS THAT WE'VE GONE FROM use our city funds to fix our neighborhoods, fix our parks, provide services for our residents to, we want you to step up and do social services, which is a responsibility of the county of Fresno. We'd like you to step up and fund nonprofit organizations, which is a social service responsibility of the county. We've been here receiving criticism of the majority of our budget goes to public safety because that's, per charter, our primary responsibility. JUST LIKE THE MAJORITY OF THE BUDGET FOR THE COUNTY SHOULD BE SOCIAL SERVICES. AS MUCH AS A SUPPORTER AS I AM FOR THE LIBRARY, IT'S ALSO A PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COUNTY OF FRESNO. AND THAT'S WHY WE ALL PAY AN EXTRA TAX FOR THE LIBRARY INITIATIVE. I JUST WANT TO CAUTION US WITH WE HAVE, AS YOU KNOW, LIMITED RESOURCES. AND IF WE CONTINUE TO EXPECT MORE CITY RESOURCES TO GO to functions that are the responsibility of another agency, this body will find itself proposing a new tax to pay for everyone's wishlist of services. I do appreciate everyone's feedback over the years. I think I can recognize two people that have attended the evening meetings that I've had in the district. They've been fruitful. I intentionally have those means prior to the mayor proposing his budget so that the budget requests that I make reflect what I heard directly from each of the neighborhoods in my district. And over the years, we've been able to get those executed. So I just want, again, I appreciate everyone's feedback. I appreciate the staff of work. I've heard some feedback around, we should make these meetings in the evenings so more people who have nine to fives can work. I think what that also misses is a lot of our workers, especially in my district, they work the graveyard shift. They work in the poultry plants. They work in the distribution centers. An evening public hearings would leave them out of the conversation. So whatever additional efforts we make, we now take, and we'll be again taking comments from Zoom so people can give us their feedback from their, you know, computer. We take, I just finished reading the numerous emails that people send electronically on the budget. So we get feedback in person in numerous neighborhood meetings in the evenings. We get them via email. We get them via Zoom. We get them in person during these public hearings. And can we do more? Probably. But the budget is a reflection of our priorities. And I believe that over the seven, eight years that I've been here, those priorities have been a reflection. And each budget has been a reflection of what we've heard from the residents directly. YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT HAVING A LARGE DEBATE OVER BROKEN STREETS BECAUSE WE SPENT SEVEN YEARS FIXING THEM. WE'RE NOT HAVING A DEBATE OVER ADVANCED PEACE BECAUSE I RECALL ME AND MY COLLEAGUES HAD TO SPEND DAYS AND DAYS BEING BEAT UP ON KMJ OVER OUR SUPPORT OF ADVANCED PEACE, A PREVENTION PROGRAM THAT'S DEMONSTRATED ITS EFFECTIVENESS. SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE STAFF AND TO THE MAYOR AND EVERYONE ELSE. I think our first budget had hundreds of changes to the mayor's proposal to reflect more of the neighborhoods priorities. This too will probably end up near a hundred changes, but we will find a way to get a balanced budget and to continuously improve on what we've done at the city. And I just encourage everyone to also equally advocate across the street with the County Board of Supervisors, advocate at the school districts who also have a responsibility, to our neighborhoods and our cities and not just look at City Hall as the only option and the only venue. We do have days of public hearings. I would challenge you to find a county or a school district that spends more days and more hours hearing public input on budget priorities. They typically spend a couple hours on a predetermined budget. So thank you all for the time with that. Council President, I'd like to make a motion to approve all the motions as submitted by the Council.

I have a motion by Council Member Arias, second by Council Member Carabasi. Mayor, you want to say a few words?

i just wanted to add a couple things that councilmember aria said you know i i know a lot of folks don't believe that the city of fresno is doing much to house our homeless and to get them back under their feet but over the last five years our administration and this council has spent over 250 million dollars on services shelter outreach and to have affordable housing in our city, and we spend $150-plus million on prevention of homelessness. When I became the mayor and as council member said, we had zero emergency shelter beds in the city of Fresno. We bought hotels, we took advantage of state funding. We built 840 emergency shelter beds, two thirds of all shelter beds in the county. Today that number stands at 708 beds. We spend over $15 million a year on services. And over the last five and a half years, we have placed into emergency shelter over 12,500 people who were previously unhoused. Of those, 54% have had a safe exit to include going into permanent housing, affordable housing. And of those, two years later, 73% remain housed. So when people say we're not doing anything for the homeless, they're just uninformed or unaware. And in terms of mobile showers, with the support of this council, we bought mobile showers. We take those out in different parts of the city every week, and we provide showers to our unhealth population about 180 a week. um more than any other city probably in the entire state of california and when i hear about we don't need a heart team i think all of you who see the photos every single day of what the heart team does is so important in fact i support the library and we'll figure out a way to fund the library in the tower i'm confident of that But if we don't have a heart team and outreach workers, we will have unhoused people sleeping in front of that library in the Tower District. So it's not either and. In my opinion, it is both. We just gotta figure out a way to get it done, and we gotta figure out a way to engage the county So they're more of a partner on all of these programs. They are the social service providers for Fresno County, not the city. We have done our part. We will continue to do our part. But we're not the only answer.

Thank you. Thank you. Okay. So just want to thank... Council President, Vice President, for all you've done during these budget hearings, and the colleagues, of course. I do want to thank the mayor and staff. We don't get to see all the hours you spend in the months before this process, but we understand all the RFIs you guys prepared. Great job. Thank you, City Manager. I do want to thank the public especially. You know, when you come here, whether it's today or any other day, because like Council Member Arias said, we're probably the only government entity that has as many hours of public comment available. We can't force people to come here, but we can encourage them. It's up to them. I can tell you, public testimony helps a lot. These packets we get of correspondence you send to our clerk's office, we actually do read these things. It is very helpful. And it has helped me shape some of the budget priorities of the past. So this year, we don't have as much money as previous years because all the federal funds during the pandemic have pretty much dried out. So it kind of causes us to tighten our belts a little bit. But so my requests for motions are far less than I've had in previous years because we've scored a lot of wins. I've been able to negotiate a lot. Things like... major repairs do on Shaw Avenue, Herndon Avenue, the Fig Garden Loop, the Pinedale Community Center improvements, a lot of neighborhood infrastructure things. Those are things that we've already funded or that are ongoing that are multi-year projects. So we've tried to keep it very light, a lot more focused on supporting some of the outside groups, because as I've said, government isn't always the answer, but we have a lot of great organizations that do provide a lot of support in this community to our constituents. So hopefully we can help them a little bit more to augment some of the work we do. Regarding the park, the upcoming park at Barstow and Veterans, it'll be a new, only one acre, but a new park west of Highway 99. And so we were able to work with the property owner to secure that site, and they were actually very helpful. We got it for a very fair price that was not above appraisal. And we used a measure of a few dollars, the new park budget, to buy that. The other two parcels are privately owned. They don't want to sell, and they are zoned for housing. It would be difficult for me to take land zoned for housing and convert more to a park as important as it is. I think that we're going to do a lot with this little park in the area. And as the west side grows, there will be more parks built, not with our dollars, but hopefully with the developer dollars. We talked about, sorry, I know this is really boring stuff, but I wanna make sure we have this on the record. So we had a really successful neighborhood meeting about a month ago. Park staff was amazing. And we presented designs. And I thought, oh, the neighborhood will like some of these. And the feedback we got was a whole bunch of ideas I never thought before. This is going to be a community driven event. It's not what I think should be there because I don't live in that neighborhood. It's what the neighbors are going to want. But that process takes time. We haven't even had the second meeting with the new renderings. to really build a consolidated community vision. When that happens, then it will go to design. That's why the funding will be over two years, if necessary, because I don't want to put money in an account, because it's Measure P dollars, it's limited, and take money away that could be used this year for another park site. And that's the reason why it happens over two years, because we would never be able to do the design within one year, unfortunately. It's a very lengthy process, includes a lot of public input and things like that. Yeah, so again, oh, one last thing. There were some comments earlier, and again, we do listen, regarding organized retail crime. I just wanna add, growing up in a small business, one element you see, it's not just about the big box stores that get hit, although when they get hit, what they call shrinkage, that cost, We have to pay for it as customers. But put that aside. There are a lot of small businesses. These are people that are neighbors, people like my dad or people like anyone you know in your families. And when they get hit, it affects their business. And things are so difficult in California where you're probably not going to go to insurance because you don't want to lose your insurance because any claims you do, they're looking to drop clients left and right. but the workers as well. Even the ones in the big box stores. Many of these people live on the margins and when a business has to go down because someone committed a crime or they stole, not for food, but for goods they can sell to make money, there's a cost to the workers and they can't work at that time and they get affected. A good example is copper wire theft. There was a salon that was hit in Northwest Fresno and I get it, getting your hair done or whatever you do there is not a necessity, But for the worker working there, for the single mom that rents space and works there, it is essential. So when it's the summer and this place got hit and they were down for about two weeks, imagine how that affects that parent for that month where they don't have income. That is the cost of organized retail crime. So I get it. I get the frustration. But please consider the full effect that defunding something like efforts to suppress organized retail crime will have on folks like you or me. Thank you.

Council Member Richardson, recognized.

I was a little bit disappointed that there weren't too many residents from District 6 out here talking from the audience today. But to that point, whether it's your council member, it's a specific need, request, or ask, or problem in your district, or it's somewhere else in the city where you see an opportunity that maybe you're passionate about something happening there, I would beseech you to reach out to us the other 51 weeks of the year. Many of you in the audience, I have met with you, and maybe you're my constituent. You're probably not. But our job is to be accessible to you all year round. So just like the council members, it shouldn't be on us to come up with a good idea during budget week or budget month. The same kind of goes for the public as well. We are the most effective. I mean, if you give your council member or the council in its entirety a few months to come up with a plan or six months to address a problem and use some creativity, I think there's probably a lot of opportunity there. That's how I like doing things. We'll be having meetings this summer that all of you will be welcome to to talk about things in the winter and how we're going to fix those. The other thing I'd like to point out, Taylor, just because you brought it up and I appreciated your comments, I think transparency and access to the decision-making bodies in your city, county, and state is super important. I will point out, and this isn't a kind of retcon or anything, Visalia has a volunteer council and a volunteer city government, which means they also all work full-time jobs. So the only time that they can come together is after work, which makes sense. And I commend you for driving all the way to Visalia to have your voice be heard down there. I think that's important. Here, if that were to happen, you got to imagine we'd be having one, a council who only paid attention to city council stuff after they finished their job at the pipe bending factory or at a law firm or whatever. But secondly, when you ask an intelligent question about, hey, public works or utilities or this or that, and we don't have any staff here because they all got off work for the day. We kind of just have to sit here and postulate amongst ourselves and go, huh, that is a good question. I guess I'll ask him on Monday or in the morning or tomorrow and you have to come back. I do think that's important. But just to kind of explain why that works differently in Fresno and some bigger cities than maybe some smaller places. Didn't really have anything else. Thanks to the staff, thanks for all the work. I know you guys put in a lot and I'm sure after all the motions, you'll have a lot more work to go back and more numbers to crunch. I'm sure Ed's gonna be, and Santino are gonna be putting long hours in, so I appreciate that. If you need anything else from District 6, let me know. It's all ahead.

All right, council, anyone else? I don't have anybody punch that. All right, great. Well, we have a motion, we have a second. Is, well, does Council Member Karabasi wanna come in and vote? I wanna see if he's in the hallway. Give him a quick second.

Council President, as the member's making his way back, Mayor, when do you anticipate, or Assistant City Manager, getting a reconciled version to us? What day?

I was just looking at it right now. We should have it for you today, hopefully very shortly.

Yeah, the hope was to get it to you by 1.

I'm talking a proposed balanced budget.

Oh, the balanced budget? We come back before the council on the 23rd.

We'll be back here in one week, 9 AM, 23rd. So when do we anticipate getting the actual documents? I just want to know when to look out for it in my inbox. Between now and then. All right, if you guys can just shoot us an email or let us know. We will.

Thank you. I'll send an email to everyone with the expectations on the timing, thank you.

Tall order. All right, is there any opposition to approving the motion to approve all the motions? All right, seeing none, that passes seven to zero. Let's resume this budget meeting back on the 23rd. We do have council on Thursday, but that will, does that include budget on the 18th, this Thursday? It's entirely separate, yeah. So we'll resume this particular budget meeting next Tuesday, 9 a.m. So for those of you who are interested in the final, final version, we'll see you then. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.