City Council - Regular Meeting

¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. you you Thank you. Thank you.

All right, good morning to everyone. Welcome to City Hall. I'm going to ask if you're a council member, please come on up to the dais. We're going to get this meeting started. We're going to get this meeting started here at 9, 11 a.m. Clerk, if you'd go ahead and please call the roll. I think I saw all the members here in the room.

Good morning. Council Member Perea. Good morning. Council Member Karbasi. Here. Council Member Arias. Vice President Maxwell. Absent. Council Member Vang.

Present.

Council Member Richardson.

Here.

Council President Esparza.

Present.

Six members being present, we have a quorum.

All right, thank you, clerk. Next, we're going to have the invocation. It's going to be followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. So I'll ask if you can stand to please stand. Our invocation this morning will be by Deacon Nancy Key from St. James. Welcome.

Let us be still. Almighty God, source of all wisdom and justice, as the Fresno City Council gathers here this day, keep them mindful of the trust placed in them. Grant them clarity of thought, compassion in deliberation, and courage in decision making. Bless all of this assembly with a spirit of mutual respect that we may listen with open hearts, speak with integrity, and act with fairness for the common good. Guide our minds to seek what is true and our wills to choose what is right, and our hands to work for peace and equity in our community. May all that we do here be to the honor of your holy name and for the welfare of all people. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.

Councilor Radius, will you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance?

Ready?

Ready? Salute. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,

All right, we'll move on to the approval of the agenda next. Clerk, do we have any announcements, changes, items removed, et cetera?

Yes, we do. First of all, I would like to announce that we do have translation and interpretation services available for today's meeting. We are using digital translation in the Spanish and Punjabi languages. Spanish will appear here in the council chambers. If you'd like to make a comment during the public comment portion in a language other than English, you can simply come to the podium and begin speaking in that language and it will be automatically translated both here and online. There's also American Sign Language interpretation that is also broadcast here and we do have interpretation live online in the Hmong language. As to changes for the agenda, ceremonial item ID 26-1226 regarding proclamation for Valley Volleyball Association, the title has been updated to Proclamation for Valley Volleyball Academy. Ceremonial item ID 26-540 regarding Proclamation of Orange Shirt Day. The title has been updated to Proclamation of Orange Shirt Day Honoring Residential School Survivors. Ceremonial item ID 26-1227 regarding Proclamation for Fresno Hmong Nurses Association. The title has been updated to Proclamation for Hmong Nurses Association Fresno Chapter. Items removed from the agenda. The 915 AM number two item, ID 26-1188, regarding hearing to adopt resolutions and ordinance to annex territory and levy a special tax regarding city of Fresno community facilities, district number nine, annexation number 75, has been continued to October 22nd, 2026 meeting, at 9.15 a.m. by staff. Items moved to contested consent for further discussion. Item 2L, ID 26-1164 regarding resolution delegating authority to the city manager to execute agreements of up to $165,000 for cycle two of the expanded access to arts and culture grant program was moved to contested consent by Councilmember Arias. Item 2M, ID 26-1042, regarding approve the second amendment to the service agreement with Pavarello House to extend the term for mobile shower and restroom operations, was moved to contested consent by Council Member Arias. This completes the changes.

All right, Council Member Arias, do you have any other changes? No, thank you. Council Member Perea?

None.

Council Member Vang?

None.

Carl Bossie?

None.

Council Member Richardson? No changes. Okay, great. All right, I don't have any additional changes. I do wanna, I'll go ahead and do a disclosure. I think now would be the time. Item 2J, I'm required to stay on the record. I'm employed by the State Center Community College District, but do not have an interest in this agreement pursuant to Government Code 1091.5. All right, I'll entertain a motion. We have a motion, we have a second for approval of the agenda.

Council or President? Yeah. I'm sorry, I did have one disclosure.

Okay, please.

For item 2H, per recommendation from the CAO, my property is within 1,000 feet of this intersection. At that distance, pursuant to the Political Reform Act, so long as this does not impact, this project does not impact the income-producing potential of this property, then I do not need to recuse myself. So I do not have a conflict. I just wanted to disclose that I do own a property within 1,000 feet of the Clinton-Van Ness intersection.

All right, Council Member Richardson, you recognized? Yeah, I'd just like to register a no vote on Item 2D as in Delta.

That was D. Clerk, got that? All right. Sounds good. All right, we have a motion, we have a second. Is there any opposition to approving the agenda? All right, seeing none, agenda passes six to zero. We'll move on to the fun part of the meeting. The reason I suspect most of the crowd is here today. We're gonna move on to our ceremonial presentations. celebrate different folks and groups here. Our first proclamation on the agenda for this morning is a proclamation for the Valley Volleyball Academy, and that's sponsored by Council Member Vang.

Testing. Testing. Hello, hello. Okay, there we go. I was on recess. Good morning, everybody. Can I have the 2026 AAU 15U VVA National Champions come up here along with the players and coaches. Please come up, guys, and give them a round of applause. Over here. Again, these boys are the 2026 AAU 15U National Champions. This past June and July, they went to Orlando to compete in what I term the Super Bowl of club volleyball. There were over 6,000 teams in a period of four weeks. Over 100,000 players, coaches, and parents attended this event. And this is an annual event. And so these boys represent the Central Valley. They represent Fresno. And they competed in the age category of under 15. And they won their bracket going undefeated in four days of play. They ended up 12 to 0. Yes, give them a round of applause. And that's not the whole story. So club volleyball starts in September, and then it goes to mid-January, and then the kids play regular school, and then they come back and play club volleyball in May all the way to July. And so the conclusion of club volleyball ends in July, and that's where they won the national champion. Now, there's a story behind that. They were ranked number two in their age bracket, The team who they beat ranked number one. Not only that, during the regular season, they went 0-2 against this team. And so they played in the center court, meaning that's the big court where everybody will have an opportunity to watch them. And they put up their very best. They played as a team. And as you know, it takes three touches. or two to get a point. And so it is truly a team effort. And so they took down the number one team, the team that beat them twice in the regular season. So congratulations to you guys. You guys played as a team, yes. And there is one thing that I want to note, and that is we played against some of the best teams in the nation, from Southern California to Northern California to Chicago, Hawaii, etc. And so the team, Team Rockstar, who they beat, is one of the best teams in the nation right now. And I wanted to say this to the audience, and that is when we beat those teams, they came over and they asked players and parents as well, where are you guys from? Where are you guys from? And we told them we're from Fresno. And so these boys put Fresno on the map in Orlando this year. And so we're proud of them, and we're here to honor them. So players, I'm going to give you an opportunity to introduce yourself and the position or positions that you play.

I am Marshall Bunze, and I play outside hitter. Hello, my name is Neo Zhang, and I'm an outside hitter. I'm Edison Yang, and I play right side.

I'm Marshall Vang, I'm a setter.

I'm Isaac Vang, and my position is a defensive specialist.

I'm Heaton Vang, and I play liberal.

I'm Dominic Browning, and I play middle blocker.

I'm Ethan Price, and I play defensive specialist.

I'm Kaden Vu, and I play middle.

I'm Evan Yang, and I play setter.

I'm Cameron Vang, and I play outside hitter. And of course, these boys were able to achieve this championship not by themselves, but because of the coaches. Coach Taylor and Coach Tyler, the mic is yours.

Do you want me to take it? OK, I'll take this. Hi, everybody. I'm Coach Taylor. I'm the head coach of these amazing young men over here. I just want to start off by saying Coach Marcos Oro, he had this group before I did. And Marcos was the person that trained me during high school. So it's kind of one of those things that you can't really write. It just kind of happens by chance. Just amazing works from the Lord and things like that. But it's very special to me that I took these boys probably more than halfway through the season. I didn't have them from the start. And I just got to be with them and continue to build the legacy that Oro had with them in the beginning. And it was just a beautiful thing to witness. I mean, what a better time to put good volleyball together than at a national championship tournament. So 12-0 kind of shows that, but I just want to tell the boys thank you for trusting in me. I know I came late, but, you know, building the legacy that Oro left you guys is important to me, so I wanted to continue to do that. So, yeah.

Just real quick, Taylor said it really well, but I am just very proud of how far these boys have come, not just as volleyball players, but as human beings. I think it's hard with as many coaches that these boys went through that they came out on top and won the national championship. So very proud of them. Don't tell them enough, but they are pretty awesome.

To paraphrase soccer mom, we do have a volleyball mom on this team, and I'm going to hand the mic over to her.

This volleyball mom has to have my speech written on paper, okay? I want to make sure I don't forget anything. But, yes, speaking on behalf of all the parents, we are proud of our boys for winning the championship this past July in Florida. It wasn't easy for them because we were afraid they might be sleepless because of the hour changes, but they were obviously wide awake in Florida, so. Thank you for that. First of all, I would like to thank Brandon Vang as myself being a proud parent of the boys. I am a resident of District 5, so when the boys won, I reached out to Brandon. as my council member, and I asked him that, oh, I would like the boys, if they could have that chance, that opportunity to come down to the city of Fresno, represent the city, and it would be good for them, it would be an achievement, and they would be happy to be down here, to be recognized for the great accomplishment that they've done. We don't know how often this happens for them, so we want to make sure that they enjoy this opportunity. And so being that Brandon was able to get this gather for us. He reached out to Sarah Reinhardt, who is the director at Valley Volleyball Academy, and her and Brandon, we were able to work out a schedule where we were able to bring the boys down here to be recognized for them. So thank you for that, Brandon. As a resident, we are proud that you took the initiative to do this proclamation for the boys, and thank you for that, and I'm sure the boys are proud of that. Lastly, another thing is I do want to thank the coaches on behalf of his parents. We know it wasn't an easy thing. I know the boys sometimes, they do slack off sometimes. Even us parents try to be the best cheerleaders we can on the sidelines sometimes, you know. But there are times it was frustrating. But we're glad that the coaches had that patience more than us. They taught the boys well. And the coaches were able to help the boys pull through this championship. And we just want to thank that. Okay? Thank you.

And most of these players will return as 16 under. And their defense of their national champion starts this weekend. And so good luck, boys. I just wanted to read two paragraphs from this proclamation, whereas the Valley Volleyball Academy boys team stands as an inspiration to young athletes across Fresno and the Central Valley. Now therefore, be it proclaimed that we, Mayor Jerry P. Dyer and the Fresno City Council do hereby proclaim September 17th, 2026 as Valley Volleyball Academy Day in the city of Fresno. Congratulations, guys. Thank you. Clark, could you please read the proclamation into the record? Thank you.

Yes. Whereas Valley Athletics is a sports facility based in Fresno offering quality coaching and opportunities for students across the Central Valley to discover their athletic potential, based in Fresno through its Valley Volleyball Academy, the boys' program has focused on giving local athletes access to high-level training and exposure to national competition without having to leave the Valley. And whereas on July 10th, the team demonstrated their hard work and dedication to the sport, bringing home Valley Volleyball Academy's first national championship in the 15 Premier Division at the AAU Junior National Volleyball Championship, earning the program's first national title and representing Fresno and the Greater Central Valley on a national stage. And whereas the team was originally led by the late Coach Marcos Oro, who instilled values of hard work, discipline, teamwork, and genuine compassion for one another, Coach Taylor and Coach Tyler later carried that foundation forward, developing the boys' skills while preserving the culture Coach Oro established. And whereas the team's success on the national stage was built on the trust and togetherness these young men developed with one another, leaning on each other and competing for their teammates at every point. And whereas the Valley Volleyball Academy boys' team stands as an inspiration to young athletes, across Fresno and the Central Valley, showing through hard work, communication, and love for the sport what is possible when a community invests in its youth. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that we, Mayor Jerry P. Dyer and the Fresno City Council, do hereby proclaim September 17th, 2026 as Valley Volleyball Academy Day in the City of Fresno.

Okay, I'll fill in for the council president. You know, each month we have an opportunity to have our pet of the month. If we could have our pet of the month, please come up. It's a Chihuahua mix. Selena. Selena. Selena. and her siblings were brought in to our animal center. And so we have the opportunity every month to be able to do an adoption. So if somebody here, we have a packed crowd, I know somebody needs a Chihuahua at home. But we are going to be having this beautiful, beautiful puppy adopted. And then we have three more I think we're going to do on Sunday at Fiesta Espatrias. Sometime after probably noon on, we'll have those siblings there as well for adoption. Okay? And I'm going to turn it over to you to talk a little bit more about the animal center. For those of you who don't know, we have an incredible animal center that we invested over $20 million in And we take in the animals from the street, and we care for them. We have a full-time veterinarian, and so we do everything we can to make sure that these dogs find a good home for them.

Hi, everyone. My name is Amber. I'm an Animal Programs Coordinator over at Fresno Animal Center. As you can all see, this is Selena. She does want to know if she can be on the volleyball team. So if anyone knows, just let her know. She makes great water girl. So Selena has three siblings. They are all various levels of beautiful toasty tan brown. And they will all be adoptable this weekend at Fiestas Patrias. Fresno Animal Center will be present in the parade at 11, but we will also be present at our booth from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. We will be, like I said, conducting adoptions. We have a couple of really wonderful adult dogs that will also be adoptable, but her and her three siblings will also be adoptable. Fees will be waived that day at the event. And yeah, we're just really glad to be able to celebrate Fresno. We'll be at the corner of Kern and Fulton, so find us there.

Thank you. Any takers? I see a full house here. If you're interested, go see us at the Animal Center. Thank you so much.

Clerk, anything to read into the record? No? All right, for our next proclamation, sponsored by Council Member Perea, we have California Native American Day.

Okay, where's Roman? There you are. Roman, go ahead and invite up whoever you would like to join us today, please. We'll make room. Where'd you get that shirt from?

big kids in the back of course my pleasure

All right. Good morning, everyone. Council Member Perea, and it's an honor to welcome you all here to City Hall to recognize California Native American Day. For me, today starts with something very simple, and that's respect. Respect for Native people who were here long before Fresno even had a name, long before we even had a city charter. Respect for the elders who spent their lives teaching our younger generations about the history so that it wouldn't be forgotten. And respect for tribal communities and families who are here today and who continue to make their voices heard throughout California and beyond the borders of our great state. But too often our Native history, our Native American history is treated as just something we read in a history book. But the people we recognize today are not simply a chapter from the past. You are here. Your traditions, your families, your leadership, and your connection to this land are here, and they're here to stay. And as a city, we should always be willing to listen and to learn. Recognition is important. but so was making sure that there was a seat at the table and an opportunity to be heard. So today, I especially want to thank the tribal leaders and the elders who are here today standing together. Thank you for being here. Thank you for sharing this day with us. But I want to hand the mic over to Roman. And Roman, anyone else that you would like to say a few words? And I just encourage everyone to please listen and learn from their stories.

Good morning, everybody. Would anybody like to speak first? I'd like to open it up. Anybody, by all means.

Hello, my name is Audrey Osborne. I'm a joint nominee tribe east of Fresno, but now dwell in the city. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everybody on Council. Perea and all the others who support native causes and opportunities throughout the city. Without that support, it really lessens that knowledge of who lives in your community. So I would like to say thank you, and to all of you, from me to you, walk in a good way, all of you.

Good morning. I'm Elizabeth Hutchins. I'm the tribal chairwoman with Big Sandy Rancheria up in Aubury. And I was so glad that I made it here on time. I thought I was going to be late, but it was really cool to see our children being honored this morning. Really awesome to see such an awesome crew. be able to be recognized for their accomplishments. I hope I could stay later to really acknowledge everyone who's here who's also receiving a proclamation, but I'm really proud to be able to stand up here with all our Native brothers and sisters because it takes a lot to be able to get, especially tribal leaders present. I'm in honor to be here with them as well and to stand up here and have, you know, this proclamation being gifted to us. But in a sense, it really should be the tribal nations offering the city of Fresno a proclamation because we acknowledge for their great work that they do for our community as well. But for the most part, I just wanted to say Manohu, good morning, and everyone travel good and on their way home this afternoon and this morning. Thank you.

Hilly, Hilly. Good morning. My name is Deanne Komalani. I'm the tribal chairperson for Piki and Rancheria of the Chikchansi Indians. And I just want to say thank you very much for this honoring today. I appreciate it.

Manahu, good morning. My name is Matthew Munoz. I'm the tribal council secretary for Big Sandy Rancheria, Band of Western Mono Indians. And just following what my chair said, thank you for everyone being here and attendance and safe travels home. Thank you. Aho.

Good morning, everybody. My name is Elaine Bethel Fink. I am the tribal chairwoman for North Fork Rancheria in North Fork. I, too, want to thank everybody for being here. And it's great to see the tribal leaders here and be able to acknowledge this proclamation that I think Native Americans are so deserving for. We are such a generous people. We're such a sharing people. And we're stewards of the land, always have been, always caring for it. Thank you so much.

Many who everyone hello, my name is Christina McDonald. I am the tribal council secretary for the North Fork Rancheria located in North Fork about an hour northeast of here. I want to thank everybody for this opportunity to be here. Being with the tribal leaders here today is very awesome. You know, like Liz was saying, it's hard to get everybody in one room, but when it comes to a special moment like this, it's very Awesome. And just having the national champs here, I mean, that was just a little bonus. So I appreciate everybody. Thank you so much.

Yeah, good morning. My name is Bobby Hale, Norfolk Rancheria, Mono Indians of California, and I'm a tribal council member, my second time around. But no, we really appreciate the crowd we have here this morning, and especially having a crowd like that to honor a national champion team. here from Fresno. That's awesome. It takes a lot to put together a team. And just like us tribal leaders standing up here today to accept this proclamation, we also have to work as a team. Business is business, but with tribal lands and sacred sites and gathering sites and everything, the protection, like Elaine, our chairwoman, was saying, we're stewards of the land. We have to protect our forests. from all these fires that we've been having and we're really working hard on that kind of stuff. And so to be honored in a way like this today shows the work that all the tribal leaders put into this and all the citizens of our tribes. So thank you guys very much.

Hello, I'm Kenneth Woodrow, Waxasha Indian Tribe. We're a Michihei. We're out of the Isham area, Badger. We're not fairly recognized, but we're working on that. I come from a village. I don't come from Rancheria Reservation. We were raised, next to us was our allotment land. And within our tribe, we had 20 members go to boarding school. My own mother attended it. my uncles, my aunts. So when the agenda came for the federal boarding school initiative, I was there, just like the young man was saying, about forestry. We're dealing with that, cultural resources, water, fires. I mean, there's a lot of things that we have to deal with the national parks at a national level and at a state level. Thank you.

Thank you. I'd be remiss if I didn't give it to my elder, Judy.

Good morning. Hit it. Hoyish named Judy Ramirez, Judy Tapolaris Ramirez. I'm from the Wukchumne tribe. I want to welcome everybody here to this land that my ancestors have lived on forever. It's so nice to see the variety of people from, you know, our globe to come and join us here on this area of our land. of our universe um i just wanted to thank councilwoman perea uh to having us here today and to remind people to remember that what what little history that you'd learn of our california people our native people is just a little little tiny couple of sentences compared to a book. So I hope that when you hear Native Americans, people, especially from the area that you live, I hope that you try to learn as much as you can. Thank you very much. And here's my sister and brother.

Good morning, everyone. We are from the tribe, also on my grandmother's side. She was born in the Tule Indian Reservation. So I speak on behalf of my ancestors, my grandmother, my grandfather, all of our people here who prospered from this Central Valley. I want to thank everyone here also. But in regards to our ancestors, they are the ones that gave us the language that we want to pass down, our culture, and all of the love that we share with not only our Native people, but everyone else around us. So thank you all for letting us come here. This is my brother, Ron Tapvers. We are elders of the Walk Chimney Tribe, and thank you very much.

Good morning, everyone. I just want to say thank you for having me here today. And it's amazing to see everyone's wonderful faces here today in this council chamber. And I just want to say that I haven't been in this chamber since I was in preschool. So it's nice to be here on a day like today. And I want to thank Annalisa Perea. Thank you so much for having us. And it's just it's been it's been wonderful. Thank you so much, guys. Thank you.

I want the audience to take a moment to understand how important today is. I know certainly I've never been in the presence of so many tribal leaders, but a few of them spoke about how rare this is. So this is a big deal that you all took the time to come here today, so thank you. Now, therefore, be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry P. Dyer, Councilmember Annalisa Perea, and the entire Fresno City Council proudly recognize and celebrate California Native American Day and honor the Native peoples whose ancestral homelands encompass Fresno, Fresno County, the Central Valley, and lands throughout the entire state of California. and do hereby proclaim Thursday, September 17th, 2026 to be California Native American Day in the city of Fresno. Congratulations. City Clerk.

Thank you. Whereas the state of California annually recognizes the fourth Friday of September as California Native American Day, a day dedicated to honoring the original peoples of these lands and celebrating the enduring cultures, histories, sovereignty, resilience, and contributions of California Native American peoples. And whereas long before the establishment of the state of California, Fresno County, or the city of Fresno, the lands and waters of the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills were and remain the ancestral homelands of diverse native peoples, including Yokuts, Mononome, and neighboring tribal peoples whose communities, cultures, languages, ceremonies, and relationships with these lands continue today. And whereas the City of Fresno recognizes and honors the extraordinary diversity of California native peoples, including federally acknowledged and non-federally acknowledged tribal nations, tribes, bands, and communities, recognizes that federal acknowledgement is a legal and political status that does not determine the cultural identity or continued presence of native peoples and communities. And whereas the history of California native peoples reflects both extraordinary resilience and the profound impacts of colonization, violence, and governmental policies that disrupted tribal communities and traditional ways of life, yet California native peoples have endured and continue to sustain their cultures, languages, ceremonies, and sacred relationships with their ancestral homelands. And whereas, on this historic occasion, the city of Fresno is honored to welcome and recognize the tribal communities represented at today's gathering, including the traditional Choinomne tribe, the Waxatchee tribe of Esham Valley, the Chowchilla tribe of Yokuts, the Wacchumnee tribe, Big Sandy Rancheria, Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians, North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians, the Dupatta Labo Tri Dunlap Band of Mono Indians, the Hazlitt Basin Band of Hocoma Mono and the Cold Springs Rancheria representing both federally acknowledged and non-federally acknowledged tribal communities. And whereas this recognition extends beyond those gathered here today to the tribal nations, tribes, bands, native communities, elders, culture bearers, youth and descendants throughout our region and state, and honors the ancestors who came before us and the elders and culture bearers who carry their knowledge forward and the generations who will continue this legacy. Now therefore be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry P. Dyer, Councilmember Annalisa Perea, and the Fresno City Councilmembers proudly recognize and celebrate California Native American Day and honor the Native peoples whose ancestral homelands encompass Fresno, Fresno County, the Central Valley, and lands throughout California, and do hereby proclaim Thursday, September 17, 2026, to be California Native American Day in the City of Fresno.

We have a taker.

Pet of the month. My little dog was taken by a mountain lion, so I need another little dog.

OK, I'm going to get your contact information.

That's wonderful. So wonderful. Excuse me. A mountain lion.

The chihuahua will scare it off.

The chihuahua will scare off the mountain lion next time. Okay, I'm gonna stand over here, that way I can just, you guys can all stay where you are. I don't see Council President, but the next proclamation is gonna be Orange Shirt Day. Today's recognition carries a responsibility with it, and for far too long, The experiences of Native children and families were left out of stories we told about our history. And that message has been repeated over and over again already this morning. But history does not disappear simply because it's difficult to talk about. History does not disappear simply because it can be difficult to talk about. An Orange Shirt Day honoring residential school survivors gives us an opportunity to listen and to continue to learn from those that were here long before we all were, to listen to survivors, to listen to families, and most importantly, to listen to native and tribal communities who have carried these stories and who have protected their cultures and fought to make sure generations know where they come from. And as a city, we cannot change what happened in the past, but we can decide how we respond to that history today. We can make room for the truth and we can make sure that our recognition is followed by a genuine commitment to always listen and learn and build stronger relationships with our native and indigenous communities. There is also something very simple at the heart of today's proclamation, and that's that a child should never have to surrender who they are in order to belong. Their language matters, their culture matters, their family matters and their identity matters. So to the survivors, families, tribal leaders, and community members who are with us here today, thank you for trusting us with your stories and for allowing me, of all council members, to stand alongside you with this recognition. This truly means the world to me that you all are here today. Where's Michelle? There you are, okay. And I wore my orange today, too, in solidarity. So I'm going to give you the floor to share a little bit more.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Michelle Lira. I am the school community liaison for Fresno Unified School District. And it's been an honor today for myself, all of the tribal members up here, all of the tribal council, and also my coworkers from Fresno Unified. We are the first school district in our area that does an event for Every Child Matters. My father was a survivor from the boarding school, so this means quite a lot to our people and our families here. So thank you so very much. Appreciate it.

As I mentioned earlier that, you know, members of our tribe, 20 of them were sent to boarding school in Nevada. The experiences that my mother told me about, my uncles, my aunts, it wasn't a school. It was a prison camp. And every time she tried to escape, they caught her and they took her, they called it the red line, and they would hit them with sticks and beat them. They tried to adopt her out in Nevada, but being that she was a, how would you say it, a resident of California, they could not adopt her out to send her to Alaska to be a maid. So I went down to Riverside to the archives, retrieved a lot of information of the boarding schools, you know, and personal letters. talking about situations. It wasn't a nice place. I mean, I took her there and she explained to me what it was. You know, Stewart Riverside. It was not a school. Thank you for listening.

I want to thank you all again for sharing your time and your stories with us and I want to thank everyone for taking the time to listen and hopefully learn a little bit more. All right, so now, therefore, be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry P. Dyer, Councilmember Annalisa Perea, and the Fresno City Councilmembers encourage residents to honor survivors, remember the children who never returned home, and recognize the enduring strength and resilience of Native American and Indigenous peoples, and do hereby proclaim Thursday, September 17th, 2026, to be Orange Shirt Day in the City of Fresno. Congratulations.

Whereas Orange Shirt Day is observed annually to honor indigenous children who were taken from their families and communities and forced to attend residential and boarding schools while recognizing the lasting impact these institutions have had on generations of indigenous peoples. And whereas the orange shirt has become a symbol of remembrance and recognition inspired by the experience of Phyllis Webstad, whose orange shirt was taken from her when she arrived at a residential school as a child, and whose story helped inspire the message that every child matters. And whereas generations of Native American children experience separation from their families, suppression of their languages and cultures, and abuse through government supported boarding school policies intended to assimilate indigenous peoples and disrupt their traditional ways of life. And whereas the effects of these policies continue to be felt by native families and communities today, making it important to acknowledge this history, honor survivors, remember the children who never returned home, and recognize the strength and resilience of indigenous peoples. And whereas Orange Shirt Day provides an opportunity for the Fresno community to listen to indigenous voices, learn about the history and legacy of residential and boarding schools, and support the continued preservation of native languages, cultures, traditions, and communities. And whereas the city of Fresno stands with Native American and indigenous communities in honoring survivors, their families, their ancestors, and future generations, while affirming the dignity and value of every indigenous child. Now therefore be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry P. Dyer, Councilmember Annalisa Perea, and the Fresno City Councilmembers encourage residents to honor survivors, remember the children who never returned home, and recognize the enduring strength and resilience of Native American and indigenous peoples. and do hereby proclaim Thursday, September 17th, 2026 to be Orange Shirt Day in the City of Fresno.

All right, great. Our next proclamation is going to be for Constitution Week. That's sponsored by the Office of the Mayor and the City Manager.

And Lisa, take the mic. Where's the other one? Annalisa, did you take the microphone? All right. You know, I'm reminded of how diverse our community is. When you look around, we're the ninth most diverse city in the nation. And we can see it here today with members of our Indian community, with our Hindu population. We have our Southeast American population here. And we just got to see our Native Americans. And We have African American communities and Fresno Latino community. So we are very, very fortunate for that. If I could have Janet Nelson please come up. Thank you for being here. We have the opportunity today to be able to recognize Constitution Week in the city of Fresno. We know that the United States Constitution that was signed in 1787 is the very document that really governs our nation as a people. And it's the very document that created the various branches of government. from judicial to executive to legislative, and how those different groups interact with each other. But all of it's done for the purpose of balancing power and authority within the United States of America. And the U.S. Congress approved in 1956 designated the week of September 15th through the 23rd as constitution week and so we as a city want to celebrate that as well and janet i would love for you to share a little bit more about that please

On behalf of the Daughters of the American Revolution, I want to thank everyone and thank the city for recognizing Constitution Day today, which is September 17th, 2026. The Constitution is an important document and stands as a testament of the tenacity of Americans throughout history to maintain liberties, freedom, and inalienable rights. We celebrate Constitution Week to commemorate its history, importance, and bringing attention to how it serves us today. Thank you.

And I just want to read the last paragraph where it says, now therefore be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry Dyer and members of the Fresno City Council, do hereby proclaim the week of September 17th through 23rd, 2026, to be Constitution Week in the City of Fresno. Congratulations.

Mayor, if you don't mind, can I make a comment real quick? Absolutely. So declaring independence as a nation is great, but that's like jumping off a cliff. The Constitution is the parachute that allows us to safely proceed into the future of our country. Just declaring that you're independent is fantastic, but that's gone quickly if you don't have a set of rules to dedicate yourselves to. Every single one of us up here on the dais, every single elected official at the federal level, every military officer, every person enlisted in our nation's defense takes the same oath to support and defend not a flag, not a politician, not a political party, not the person down the street who doesn't like them. We swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, to bear true faith and lead us to the same, take the obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and to well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which we're about to enter. That right there is what bound us together as a nation in the 1780s, and that is what binds us together as a nation now. So thank you for your dedication to supporting really the parachute that carries this nation forward into the future. Thank you.

I know. I was enamored by that. If I have Councilmember Richardson come up, and then we're going to have members of... Mayor. For the next one. I'm sorry. You want to have the clerk read... Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you read it while we were doing this. I thought Nick did read it.

So go ahead. Thank you. Whereas September 17th is Constitution Day, which commemorates the 1787 signing of the US Constitution in Philadelphia, this year marks the 239th anniversary of that historic day, when 39 delegates at the Constitutional Convention put their signatures on the nation's founding document. And whereas the Constitution is the framework of the nation's government, and it establishes the rights and liberties of US citizens, the document today continues to shape our society, which makes it fitting and proper to give official recognition to this historic day. And whereas a joint resolution of Congress approved in 1956 designated September 17th through 23rd as Constitution Week, the legislation requires the president to issue a proclamation formally recognizing the week and inviting citizens to mark the occasion with ceremonies and educational programs. And whereas on this day and during the ensuing week, we ask citizens to reaffirm the Constitution's ideals as stated by the framers, and to protect the freedoms guaranteed to us through this guardian of our liberties, and to always remember that lost rights may never be regained. Now, therefore, be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry Dyer, and the members of the Fresno City Council, do hereby proclaim the week of September 17th through 23rd, 2026, to be Constitution Week in the City of Fresno. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Council President, for reminding us, and thank you, Amy, for that. And if we could have Mr. Patel please come, and I believe we're going to have as many folks as would like to come forth as possible on the BAPS Swamina Ryan Mander recognition today. So please come up.

Yeah, so his next proclamation is, again, celebrating the Babs Swimmin' Out the End of the Era of Fresno and presented by both the mayor and Council Member Richardson.

Thank you all. As the community is making their way, and you can spread out as much as you want. I think we're going to get fairly large up here. JR, if you want to come on up here. All right. I feel well protected up here with all of you here, so thank you. So we have the opportunity today to be able to celebrate an organization within our community. We have a lot of great organizations, nonprofit organizations. Some of them work out front and people recognize who they are. Others work quietly behind the scenes. And they do incredible work in our community. And that's one of them. And the VAPS Swaminarayan Mandir president will serve the Central Valley now for 25 years. And they foster interfaith, intercultural understanding through educational outreach, community engagement, cultural celebrations, including Diwali. But they also bring together civic leaders, faith communities, and families within Fresno. And they really share mutual respect, unity, and they are governed really by not only the foundation of faith, but the foundation of service to our community. And so we wanted to take the opportunity to be able to recognize them The the last couple of paragraphs and I'll turn the mic over to council member Richardson says where's the city of Fresno recognizes that BAPS so I mean Orion Mandir Fresno BAPS charities and their dedicated volunteers for their civic cultural spiritual and humanitarian contributions to Fresno and the Greater Central Valley. Now, therefore, be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry Dyer and members of the Fresno City Council, do hereby proclaim Thursday, September 17, 2026, to be Babs Wamina Ryan Mendir of Fresno Day in the City of Fresno. Congratulations to all of you. And before I turn the mic over here, I'd like to turn it over to Councilmember Register and say a few words.

So this is not today a recognition of the global BAPS charities. Although the work they do is important, this is specifically recognition to the impact that BAPS here in Fresno has had on Fresno. The BAPS that's over there in District 6 on Maple and Neese, a few things are true. When you leave there, You will never leave bored, you will never leave lonely, and you will never leave hungry. Just things that are true. Now the very first public event that we had when I came into office was a trash cleanup. And that trash cleanup, we had a ton of people show up and volunteer and get out there early in the morning and be uncomfortable and get their hands dirty. And most of the volunteers who were out there were from BAPS. They were from our family here. And it wasn't for recognition. It wasn't so they could proclaim it on social media. It wasn't so they could get any sort of award. It's just because it was the right thing to do. So with their charity outreach work, whether it's medical outreach, or a blood bank, or a food drive, or just showing up to do hard work when hard work needs doing, it's really an amazing organization of people. And it's easy for one group, I mean, the group may be bound together by a common Gujarati language, maybe bound together by a Hindu faith, or maybe even a national origin. But what makes this group so amazing is how they are bound to Fresno by a faith in Fresno, inexorably bound to this community. And that is something that's priceless, and I just wanted to say thank you. We appreciate you, I think, more than you know.

So, Mr. Rattel, if you would come forth and say a few words, please.

Oh, who's going to speak? Okay.

On behalf of BAPS, Sri Swaminarayan Mandir, and our entire Fresno congregation, I want to express our sincere gratitude to Mayor Dyer, our District Six council member, Nick Richardson, the distinguished members of the Fresno City Council and the City of Fresno for this incredible honor. Receiving this proclamation as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Mandir is deeply meaningful to all of us. What began as a small congregation has grown into a vibrant community of hundreds of families who worship here, raise their children here, serve here, and proudly call Fresno home. For 25 years, we've tried to be more than a place of worship. We've strived to be a partner to our community guided by our Hindu faith, and inspired by our spiritual leader, His Holiness, Mahantswami Maharaj, we are taught to live with humility, compassion, and respect for all, and to find joy in the service of others. Councilmember Richardson, as our representative here in District 6, we are especially grateful for your friendship and support of our mandir and congregation. Mayor Dyer and council members, today's recognition tells our families, from those who've helped establish the Mandir 25 years ago, to the children growing up here today, that they are important part of Fresno community. For that, we are truly grateful. I also want to take a moment to recognize Mr. Harjinder Saini. Mr. Saini has stood by our mandir and congregation for many years, lending his time and guidance to countless events, including today's celebration. He was traveling out of town and flew back just last night so that he can be here with us today. Mr. Saini, on behalf of our entire congregation, we sincerely thank you for your years of support and guidance. As we look toward the next 25 years, we look forward to continuing to serve and strengthen the city we are proud to call home. Finally, we warmly invite all of you to join us on Saturday, September 26th at 5 p.m. at the BAPS Sri Swaminarayan Mandir at Maple and Nice for a special cultural celebration of our 25th anniversary. It would be our honor to celebrate this milestone with you. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And anybody else? Is that it? Just going to speak? Okay, you're good. All right, all right. Thank you very much. And with that, we'll have the clerk, if you'd please read the proclamation.

Yes, thank you. Whereas the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandeer of Fresno has served the Central Valley community for 25 years, providing a spiritual home for thousands of devotees while fostering the values of faith, service, volunteerism, and selfless devotion rooted in the Swaminarayan tradition, And whereas throughout its history, the BAPS, Swaminarayan Mandir, and BAPS charities in Fresno have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to humanitarian service through annual walkathons, blood drives, food drives, health and wellness initiatives, and other charitable efforts benefiting Fresno and the surrounding Central Valley communities. And whereas BAPS Fresno has worked alongside local organizations, civic institutions and community partners to address food insecurity, promote health and wellness and support those in need and strengthen bonds that unite our diverse communities. And whereas BAPS Fresno has fostered interfaith and intercultural understanding through educational outreach, community engagement and cultural celebrations including diwali bringing together civic leaders faith communities families and neighbors in a shared spirit of mutual respect unity and service and whereas for a quarter century baps fresno has inspired generations of youth families and volunteers to embrace service strengthen character preserve culture and spiritual traditions and contribute positively to the communities they call home Whereas the celebration of Rajat Jayanti, the silver anniversary, commemorates 25 years of faith, service, and tradition, and reflects the enduring principles of, in the joy of others lies our own, and for the good of society, principles that continue to guide BAP's spirit of selfless service throughout the world. And whereas the City of Fresno recognizes the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir of Fresno, BAPS Charities, and their dedicated, volunteers for their civic, cultural, spiritual, and humanitarian contributions to Fresno and the greater Central Valley. Now, therefore, be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry Dyer, and members of the Fresno City Council, do hereby proclaim Thursday, September 17th, 2026, to be BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir of Fresno Day in the City of Fresno.

Thank you all.

Thank you for coming here. Thank you for what you do for Fresno.

All right, great. Our next proclamation for this morning is going to be a proclamation for the Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band Centennial Celebration. That's sponsored by the Office of the Mayor and City Manager, as well as Vice President Maxwell.

Thank you. Thank you very, very much. And I do know we have some folks here from our Bulldog marching band. Alexis Holliday, Michael Wooten, Steve. Who else is here? There you go. And I know we had, Council Member Maxill was our co-sponsor, but he is not here today, unfortunately. Good morning.

Yes, sir.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

So today we are celebrating 100 years of the Bulldog Marching Band right here in the city of Fresno. And we are very, very fortunate. For any of you that go to our Fresno State Bulldog games, like I do, season ticket holder, and was there this last Saturday night and got to watch our marching band perform at halftime, It is a treat. You know, in a lot of stadiums, when you go to a game at halftime, people use the facilities or go get food, but not at Bulldog Stadium. Generally, the folks wait until after the Bulldog Marching Band performs before they do those things. And at least I know I do, and I know people around me do as well. But we get to celebrate. 100 years of the Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band, which has really been the soundtrack for the Red Wave during those 100 years. And we are very fortunate to have them in our community. I know that they have performed both in 2023 and 2025. in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, which was a big, big honor for our folks. I was there last year in Arizona for the Snoop Dogg Bowl. There was a competition between our bands at the tailgate party. I was right there when you guys outshined them. And you guys made us very, very, very proud as a community. And so what an incredible honor to be able to recognize This marching band today and our Fresno State University, which is absolutely a gem within our community. And I know it's always difficult to have any type of activity at a university because of the funding. And we've been very, very fortunate that people have supported our Bulldog Marching Band here financially, especially one big donor who came in and supported the Bulldog Marching Band. And so with that, I will turn it over to you to say a few words, if you would, Steve. Thank you. Thank you.

Good morning. Thanks for having us. My name is Steve McKeith, and I'm the director of the Bulldog Marching Band. And I just want to say thank you to the city council and the mayor for this honor. And again, 100 years is a lengthy time for any program. I've been lucky to be the steward of that program for the last 14 years. And just a quick... Thank you to our students because I get to work with some of the best people on campus. We are in class three days a week. We rehearse about six and a half hours just during the week and then they'll put in a nine or 10 hour day on a game day. And they get all this for one whole credit of a university credit for a class. So they do it because they love Fresno State. They do it because they love the community. They do it because they have a passion for the history and tradition and the culture that we have with the Bulldog Marching Band. So on behalf of, from my perspective as the director, I'm so thankful that I get to work with incredible students. And so honored that I'm here present to represent the university on the 100th anniversary of the program. So thank you very much.

Thank you, Steve. Appreciate it very much. Just want to read the last couple of paragraphs. Whereas under the current direction of Steve McKeith and associate director of bands, director of athletic bands, the Bulldog Marching Band will celebrate 100 years of tradition and excellence during the fall of 2026 football season with several events commemorating the legacy of the best band in the West for sure. Now therefore, be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry Dyer, and members of the Fresno City Council do hereby proclaim Thursday, September 17, 2026 to be Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band Centennial Celebration Day in the City of Fresno. Congratulations. Clerk?

Thank you. Whereas for 100 years, the Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band has been the soundtrack of the Red Wave and Fresno State's heart and soul. And whereas the first band at Fresno Normal School, which would eventually become California State University Fresno, started in 1926 with a total of 36 members under the direction of Mr. Arthur C. Forsblad. Eight years later, the school officially adopted its fight song, Fight Varsity. And whereas large budget cuts resulted in the unexpected loss of the Bulldog Marching Band program in 1992, but a spirit band was organized by Dr. Lawrence Sutherland, director of bands to perform stand tunes at games. And whereas newly hired associate director of bands, Dr. Gary P. Gilroy, restarted the Bulldog Marching Band in 1993 and installed the Bulldog Beat. These actions led in 1999 to the marching band receiving a million dollar endowment from an anonymous donor. And whereas in 2017, the Bulldog Marching Band earned an Ensemble of Excellence Award from the College Band Directors National Association, which goes to the nation's top eight college marching bands. And whereas the marching band has performed on the world stage, participating in the 2023 and 2025 Rose Parades in Pasadena, as well as the 2023 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin, Ireland. And whereas, in addition to performing at football and bowl games, the Bulldog Marching Band hosts the annual Sierra Cup Classic, an independent high school marching band field show competition at Valley Children's Stadium. and Band Day, an opportunity for high school bands from across California to join the Bulldog Marching Band and experience Bulldog football, putting on a halftime performance for the Red Wave. And whereas under the current direction of Steve McKeithen, Associate Director of Bands, Director of Athletic Bands, the Bulldog Marching Band will celebrate 100 years of tradition and excellence during the fall 2026 football season, with several events commemorating the legacy of the best band in the West. Now, therefore, be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry Dyer, and the members of the Fresno City Council do hereby proclaim Thursday, September 17th, 2026 to be Fresno State Bulldog Marching Band Centennial Celebration Day in the City of Fresno.

All right. All right. Second to last proclamation for the day is going to be a proclamation for Dolly Parton Day. It's sponsored by Vice President Maxwell. I'll be filling in for the Vice President. So I'll welcome down our friends from First Five and the Dolly Parton cutout. Look at that. That's incredible. And while we're on the topic of Vice President Maxwell, he did inform me that he has a family emergency and we'll count that as an excused absence for him for the record.

Morning, morning. All right, fantastic. Where are we going?

All right, that works. Good morning, welcome to City Hall. Great to be here with you all. This proclamation's very timely, given our loss of Dolly Parton just last month, less than a month ago. We're here today to honor her legacy. She founded the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in 1995, marking this year as its 31st year. And that's still a shorter time than when the mayor was at her concert here in Fresno, 41 years ago? 1985, he went to the concert. He was telling me about it a little earlier. So this is something that Vice President Maxwell is very passionate about. He's leaned very heavily into this project with our partners over at First 5. Since its inception, over 332 million books have been gifted and over 3 million children worldwide have been registered. The program is available in our country, as well as in Australia, Canada, Republic of Ireland, and the UK. One in seven children, roughly 14% of children under the age of five in the US receives a book each month from this program. It's a really, really incredible statistic. The program launched in Fresno County here in our home territory back in February of 05. And since then, the program has mailed more than 168,000 books to over 15,000 children throughout our county. So more than 2,000 children have graduated from the program, meaning that they received their final book at the age of five. The program is currently available in 42 counties out of 58 here in California and continues to grow to this day. You know, Dolly Parton originally created the Imagination Library in honor of her father, who was illiterate. She believed that inspiring children to read unlocked doors for them to dream bigger. The program started as a local effort in her hometown out in Tennessee, and the national replication began in 2001, I'm sorry, 2000, but by 2021, had expanded to operating in 11 states across. The Imagination Library also conducts research on its impact and has found that the program is overwhelmingly popular amongst families and amongst community members. No surprise here, but research shows that parents who read aloud more to their children because of this program They have that availability of the books in the households. And it creates a sense of excitement and they look forward, children look forward to receiving their book each month and building up their library at home. So the short-term success of the program shows, you know, earlier onset of caregiver child book reading, increased frequency of children requesting the books be read to them since they're there. and increased reading skill practice. This helps increase literacy skills such as concepts about print, alphabet knowledge, phonetics, and a lot more. And of course that in turn prepares them for kindergarten. And so, you know, I'm passionate about this. I think all of us who have children are passionate about this and know the importance. And I'll pass it off to our partners here at First 5 to say a little bit more.

Thank you so much. Thank you, Council President. You said enough. You said we're here to highlight 925 will be recognized as Dolly Parton's day in the city of Fresno. And I want to remind everybody that in the city of Fresno, 60% of the books that are part of the Fresno County Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, 60% of them are received by children at home here in the city of Fresno. one book a month all the way until they turn five, and the book arrives in the mail with their name on it. And we couldn't have done this without Senator Shannon Grove in California who said, you know, let's have California do this and create a match from the state. And I know that Senator Grove's office is represented here, so we're so grateful for the senator and her legacy to make sure that this lives on. And 9 to 5 is not just about celebrating Dolly, because everybody knows Dolly in so many ways, but it's about carrying her vision forward. And one of the things that Dolly taught us is that small acts can create extraordinary change, just like you said, Council President. She did this to honor her dad, who was illiterate, and now it's turned into a worldwide movement. We're just here to thank you again for helping us ensure that every child has the opportunity to open a mailbox, discover a new story, and dream a little bigger. So thank you very much.

Well, you know, we'll let the clerk read it to the record, but I did just want to read this last part that, therefore, be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry P. Dyer and the Fresno City Council, encourage residents to carry forward Dolly Parton's extraordinary legacy by reading with a child, supporting literacy efforts, and helping place the lifelong gift of books, imagination, and opportunity into the hands of every child. And we do hereby proclaim What would be with a little early Friday, September 25th, 2026, as Dolly Parton Day here in the city of Fresno presented to our friends here at First Five. Nine to five. I like that. Congratulations. And so, clerk, would you please read the proclamation to the record while we take photos with the Dolly Parton cutout here?

Whereas the city of Fresno joins communities across the nation and around the world in mourning the passing of Dolly Parton, a beloved artist, philanthropist, and humanitarian whose extraordinary life and career were distinguished by her boundless generosity and unwavering commitment to uplifting communities and improving the lives of families. And whereas in 1995, Dolly Parton founded Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in honor of her father and with the vision that every young child should have access to books, and the opportunity to develop a lifelong love of reading. And whereas Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has grown into one of the world's largest book giving programs, providing free, age-appropriate books each month to millions of children from birth to age five, regardless of income or background. And whereas through the leadership of First Five Fresno County and Council Member Tyler Maxwell, and with funding provided by community partners, private businesses, community donors, and the state of California, dolly parton's imagination library launched in fresno county in february 2025 and whereas the city of fresno has furthered this shared commitment to children and literacy through its investment in the local imagination library program expanding access to books and supporting school readiness for fresno's youngest residents and whereas since its launch the program has mailed more than 168 000 books to over 15 000 children throughout fresno county helping families build home libraries and making reading a more joyful and accessible experience during their children's earliest years. And whereas this remarkable local impact brings Dolly Parton's founding vision to life in Fresno, where local investment and community partnership are helping families build traditions around reading and encouraging children to imagine and dream. And whereas Dolly Parton will be remembered not only for her unforgettable presence, but also for the communities uplifted by her generosity and the generation of children's inspired to read, imagine and dream because of her. Now therefore be it resolved that we, Mayor Jerry P. Dyer and the Fresno City Council encourage residents to carry forward Dolly Parton's extraordinary legacy by reading with a child, supporting literacy efforts, and helping place the lifelong gift of books, imagination, and opportunity into the hands of every child, and do hereby proclaim Friday, September 25th, 2026, as Dolly Parton Day in the City of Fresno.

So last but not least, we have last proclamation of the day. It's going to be a proclamation for the Fresno chapter of the Hmong Nurses Association. And this is sponsored by Council Member Vang.

Thank you very much, Council President. It is my honor to recognize the Hmong Nurses Association Fresno chapter with this proclamation. Can I have President Julie Tao and members of the HNA come up here, please? Now this is the Hmong Nurses Association Fresno chapter. They started this organization eight years ago. So in terms of nonprofits, this is at the infant stage. And two years later, as you will recall, we had COVID. And so it was at the right place at the right time that we have the Nurses Association Fresno Chapter going out there, educating the community about the dangers of COVID. And so with that effort, I'm sure a lot of people were saved and were prevented from catching COVID. Not only that, the association has zero pay staff. So everything that they've done the last eight years is through volunteer work. And I know how difficult and how timely and how much time and effort you put in to provide the members of the community information about health, and so I am grateful for you. And we are here to honor you, celebrating your eighth year here in the City of Fresno. And I understand that there are other chapters throughout the United States, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Sacramento as well, and it will continue to grow. But here in the City of Fresno, I want to say thank you to HNA President Julie Tao, for investing in this community and educating and informing this community about health. And as I said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And so you and your staff have been doing that for the last eight years, and I want to congratulate and honor you here today. And so here is the HNA president for the Fresno chapter, Julie Tao.

Thank you, Councilman Vey. Good morning. My name is Julie Tao. I'm currently a nurse practitioner at a family health care practice here in Fresno. I'm honored to receive on behalf of my organization, Fresno HNA, Home Nurses Association Chapter of Fresno, that you are acknowledging our eighth year of existence. of our chapter here in Fresno. We're very honored to receive your award and it is through our sponsorships and our donors that continues to make this happen alongside with us too. We cannot do this alone without our sponsors and we want to thank you for believing our mission and trusting in us to deliver our services and providing scholarships to our nursing students and pre-nursing students. and also providing community service to our Central Valley in partnership with our sponsors or community-based organizations too. And I also, not only am I here, a few of my officers and members are here too. And I'd like to hand this microphone over to one of our founders as well, Dr. KK Vang.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Dr. KK Vang. I am one of the founders and executive board of directors for Hmong Nurses Association. It is absolutely incredible to be standing here today because when MoNurses Association was created, it was created with a simple and powerful thought. And that thought came from that representation matters, our community matters, and no one should have to walk in that journey alone. So many of us are standing here today, we became nurses not because it's a profession, it's not because it's something that we enjoy. But we became nurses because we represent our families. Our parents and our families before us, they left Laos and Thailand for the secret war because with very little on their backs, having very little with them, but a huge tremendous ounce of hope that their children and the future before them can be able to be successful here in the United States. Our parents and our grandparents sacrificed so that we can have the opportunities that they never had. And today, their children, grandchildren, are nurses, they're educators, they're leaders, and they're making a huge impact in our community, especially here in Fresno. But as Hmong nurses, many of us know what it feels like to walk into a space where there are people that's in that space does not look like us, does not speak the language that we speak, and does not understand our culture or history. So that is why Hmong Nurses Association was created. We wanted to create a space where Hmong nurses can find a community, where they can find mentorship and leadership, and a sense of belonging. And perhaps most importantly, we want our young people to see that you belong here. You can one day be a nurse, you can one day be a leader, and you can one day carry forward and make the impact in the communities that you live in and the communities that you serve. So today, this proclamation means a lot. It's simply not just a recognition of our organization, but it's a recognition and honor of our nurses. It's a recognition, honor of our families. It honors the generations who came before us and who have sacrificed so much. And it's gonna recognize and honor the generations that's gonna come after us. So on behalf of Moan Nurses Association, we wanna thank the city, the mayor, and the community leaders in this Fresno community. Thank you for seeing us. Thank you for recognizing our contributions and honoring our hard work. We believe this proclamation will bring tremendous, we're gonna bring you a tremendous gratitude and pride and commitment to continue serving our communities and opening the doors of those who comes after us. Thank you.

To put the number into perspective, there are over 35,000 Hmong who call Fresno home. And here in the county, I believe there are over 55,000 Hmong. And so that is a population that is greatly in need of your service. And I appreciate your dedication. Also, they have provided 78 scholarships to nursing students. And some of those have completed their nursing programs. and are coming back to the community and contributing to the community here in the city of Fresno. So thank you very much for what you've done the last eight years, and I wish you the very best for the next eight years. Thank you very much. And before I have the clerk read the proclamation, I just wanted to uh... read two paragraphs whereas the fresno mong nurses association engages with community through educational outreach including local school health fairs career days college nursing orientation days nurses week and the community health disparity panels now therefore be proclaimed that we mayor jerry p dyer and the city of uh... fresno city council do hereby proclaim september seventeenth 2026 as Moan Nurses Association Day in the City of Fresno. Congratulations.

Whereas Hmong Nurses Association HNA Fresno Chapter was founded in September 2018 with over 200 registrants, uniting local Hmong nurses and students to provide mentorship programs, award scholarships, and lead culturally responsive health initiatives that empower the next generation of healthcare professionals while addressing health disparities in the community. And whereas Hmong Nurses Association's goals include uniting Hmong nurses locally and globally recruiting and mentoring individuals interested in the nursing profession, developing programs in nursing leadership, clinical practice, and education, and facilitating networking and collaborative partnerships across the profession. And whereas the Fresno chapter engages with the community through educational outreach, including local school health fairs, career days, and college nursing orientation days, Nurses Week, and community health disparity panels, And whereas as of April 12th, 2026, HNA Fresno has awarded a total of 78 pre-nursing and nursing scholarships, totaling $94,350 to motivated financially disadvantaged students of Hmong descent across the Central Valley. And whereas the Hmong Nurses Association Fresno supports its members in attending national HNA conferences through stipends. And in the fall of 2025, initiated Operation Holiday Bear Hug at Valley Children's Hospital and Tseng Pediatrics. And whereas Hmong Nurses Association Fresno collaborates with HNA National to showcase the Secret War Nurses exhibit, educating the community about the first Hmong nurses and their legacy, and partnered with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses at the California State Chapter's inaugural conference in September 2025 on advancing health equity through diverse nursing perspectives. And whereas the Hmong Nurses Association Fresno continues this work by partnering with other multicultural nursing organizations to host the Central Diversity Nursing Leadership Summit, addressing health disparities and advancing the goals of healthy people 2030. Now therefore be it proclaimed that we, Mayor Jerry P. Dyer and the Fresno City Council do hereby proclaim September 17th, 2026 as Hmong Nurses Association Day in the City of Fresno.

Fantastic. That'll conclude our proclamations. Only an hour and 22 minutes. Not too bad. Council Member Vang, before you leave the chamber, come back up to the microphone here. I was given a tip to ask you from our first proclamation, who was the MVP of that tournament? Yeah, someone told me to ask you that, little birdie.

Hello. I didn't want to bring that up, but we had two who made the all-tournament team. That's Evan Yang and Dominic Browning. And the MVP for the 15-under at the AAU Orlando National, his name is Marshall Vang. And, yes, he is my youngest boy.

Congratulations. Thank you very much, Council President.

Thank you very much for that. I'm very proud of him.

All right, we're going to move on now to our council member reports and comments, and we'll just come down the line here. Council Member Perea.

Thank you, Council President. These comments will be brief. Just want to let residents know that we have movies in the park coming up. It's going to be every Friday at Trolley Park over in the historical Fresno High neighborhood. I want to thank everyone who's taken the time to attend one of our movies in the park. It's brought out hundreds of people to our little neighborhood pocket park, and so I want to thank also Lee's Plumbing Ice Cream Truck for their partnership and handing out the free ice cream. Beginning Friday, October 9th, Movies in the Park will be at Inspiration Park. So we're going to kind of travel around District 1 and offer this amenity to as many residents as we can. Thank you, Council President.

Council Member Arguez.

Thank you, Council President. Quick reminder, Fiestas Patrias is officially going to occur this weekend on Sunday, the PARADE WILL BEGIN 11 O'CLOCK BY THE TRADITIONAL GRITO AND THEN FOOD AND LIVE MUSIC THAT WILL GO TO APPROXIMATELY 10 P.M. ON SUNDAY. SO I INVITE EVERYONE TO ATTEND. A COUPLE OF THANK YOU'S TO THE PUBLIC WORKS TEAM FOR THE REPAVING THAT'S BEEN COMPLETED ON MLK. I KNOW THE MAYOR AND I WERE OUT THERE FOR THE KICKOFF IN THAT SUMMER HEAT. THE PROJECT IS COMPLETE NOW AND EVERYBODY IS APPRECIATIVE OF THE SMOOTH ROAD THAT WE'VE REPLACED AFTER DECADES OF A CRUMBLING STREET. Additionally, we have officially selected a mural design for the Tupman Park mural. It's the tree of life. I want to thank my staff for taking the time to have neighborhood meetings and visit the neighborhood schools and to get directly the neighborhood's feedback on the permanent mural in that area. And city manager, a couple of things for your folks and your team. One is, as you know, we had a neighborhood meeting on the tower district utility art boxes, and you've gotten kind of the feedback from the tower community, which they like to see actual murals painted on those things. So I know you've given us a response. So I'll follow up with you on that. The other items is I want to bring to your attention, our city clerk, if you can pull up the PowerPoint. Over the last few weeks, I've gotten quite a bit of feedback from the public on two main items. One is on the downtown town town roadways. As you know, city manager and mayor, we have spent quite a bit of money THANKS TO THE STATE INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDS ON UPDATING THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN THOSE STREETS. AND WHAT RESIDENTS GET TO SEE BESIDES THE TEMPORARY REROUTES AND PARKING OBSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE NECESSARY, THEY ALSO GET TO SEE THE CONDITIONS OF THE ROADWAYS BEFORE THEY GET PERMANENTLY FIXED. IF YOU CAN, CITY CLERK, THE NEXT COUPLE PAGES. HERE ARE SOME IMAGES OF WHAT'S OUT THERE NOW IN SOME PLACES. WE STILL HAVE METAL PLATES AND OTHER PLACES WE HAVE THE TEMPORARY PAVEMENT. NEXT SLIDE, CITY CLERK. SO I KNOW CITY CLERK AND MAYOR THAT EVENTUALLY WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE PERMANENT PAVEMENT KIND OF SET. BUT WHAT I'M GETTING QUITE A BIT OF QUESTIONS ON IS CONCERNS THAT THESE TEMPORARY PAVEMENT ASPHALT PAVEMENT COVERINGS ARE GOING TO BE THE END PRODUCT. I KNOW THAT'S NOT OUR PLANS, BUT IF YOU CAN PROVIDE US AN UPDATE ON WHEN WE ANTICIPATE GETTING THE PERMANENT PAVEMENT DONE, I WANT TO HAVE AN IDEA OF SPECIFICALLY I KNOW WE DO MOST PAVEMENT PROJECTS IN THE SUMMERTIME SO IT CAN CURE. IF WE RUN INTO THE WINTERTIME AND THE RAINS BEGIN, Do we wait a whole nother season? So if you can just provide us a tentative schedule for when you anticipate doing the permanent repaving so we can tell the residents that those improvements are forthcoming. And even if it's months away, just as long as they know, so they know it's coming. The other item I want to bring to your attention is parking in downtown. I've met with the DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND THE PARKING DIRECTOR. PARKING CONTINUES TO BE A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE FOR A WHOLE LOT OF RESIDENTS IN DOWNTOWN. SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE BUSINESSES AND THEIR EMPLOYEES AND RESIDENTS WHO HAVE NOW BEEN EXPERIENCING A LOT MORE CITATIONS IN DOWNTOWN PRESNO. EVENTS, SPECIAL EVENTS, HAVE BEEN SOMEWHAT CONFUSING. I'M NOT SURE HOW WE'RE MANAGING OR HOW GOOD THE TECHNOLOGY IS, BUT WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF CONFUSION ON WHEN THE SPECIAL EVENT FEE APPLIES AND WHEN IT DOESN'T. NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THE PARKING METERS ARE CONSTANTLY DISPLAYING SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN WHAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING. I DON'T KNOW HOW OFTEN THOSE GET UPDATED OR NOT, BUT THERE'S QUITE A BIT OF CONFUSION IN THAT LAST SLIDE. The other primary complaint we're getting is every time we bag up meters, there seems to be a delay in when we notify businesses that those meters will be bagged. And so they're having to either redirect people. We're also getting quite a bit of complaints on lack of enforcement once we do bag meters. So then it's a free for all since we're not enforcing people parking in back meters, then businesses feel like you're taking my business away and you're not enforcing any of the back meters provisions. So I'm leaving this with you, city manager. I spoke with the planning director and the parking director. I think there ought to be some meeting with the downtown businesses to get their feedback. The good news. is I have yet to receive a complaint from residents in downtown in the cultural arts district. In the past, they were the ones being most impacted by parking citations. It looks like we finally now have a good groove on where they can park, how they can park. The challenge is now we're getting complaints from business owners about employee parking for them. and we're getting complaints around people who come to downtown and weren't expecting the extremely high fee that far away from the stadium. So I know as we bring to garages online and downtown, we're gonna have to do a new readjustment of how we implement and enforce parking. I think we ought to start having conversations now with businesses and tenants about how those changes would be put into effect so we can avoid some confusion. But I'll leave that with you. At this point, I'm simply suggesting that we have some kind of feedback loop with the business owners of downtown and the event holders around how we enforce special events and business parking in that corridor. And I do appreciate, and I've told businesses this, For years, they asked us to fix the infrastructure downtown, to build underpasses, to repave streets, and we're finally doing it, and that creates temporary reduction in parking, and that creates reroutes, and that creates a little bit of headache for everyone. So I have asked them for their patience, but these issues specifically are really around how we enforce the citations and how we do it with some advanced notification for people to know the rules. going forward. On the rest of the stuff, I continue to tell my residents, you have to be patient with this. Construction takes a long time. Replacing water lines and sewer lines takes a while. And you just have to be okay with the temporary inconvenience while we reconstruct downtown Fresno and Chinatown. But I think there is something we can do around enforcement to convince them that it's worth the inconvenience on the short term as we rebuild the core of the city. With that, that's all my comments, Council President, and whoever's next, Council, Vice President.

Thank you very much, Council Member Iris. By seated procedure, in the absence of Council President and Vice President, I assume the President will, in this case, Council Member Richardson. Do you have any comments?

Sure. Thank you to the... to Teens That Care, who put on a lovely 9-11 remembrance ceremony at Todd Beamer Park. Even bigger event than it was last year. Great opportunity for remembrance. We had a Sister Cities meeting this week. And if you're interested in Sister Cities, ask, I don't know, your council member. But my goal is to make the Sister Cities program something that economically benefits the city, right? I want the city to have something that we can take away, whether it's new jobs or new procedures, new ways that we can fast-track things to get Fresno moving based on lessons that have already been learned around the world. So that was the purpose of our meeting the other day. We have a fundraiser coming up to raise funds for Honor Flight at Sequoia Brewing. This is the Sequoia Brewing Company in Tower and the one in Northeast Fresno on Champlain and Perrin. Stand by for more word on that. And then we have new veteran brochures. If you're a veteran or you know a veteran and you're not familiar with these, these are brochures that we put out for all the businesses in the district that offer a veteran's discount or that are veteran-owned. They're great, not just on Veterans Day when we all know that IHOP serves half-off pancakes or whatever, but every single day of the year. So it has every business in here listed that offers a veteran's discount as of this month. and what the discount is. So get some if you are a veteran or you have one in your family or a friend, contact us, get one of these. We have a couple publicly available today. The rest of them, let us know if you want them. We'll be delivering them to veterans places around the city. Happy birthday to my son, Teddy Bean, who's watching this, who's four months old today. And then finally, he's still zero. Don't clap until he turns one. Finally, September is Suicide Awareness Month. One of the most impactful things that I think I did while I was on active duty in the Marine Corps was running our suicide prevention program and really making sure that when you go out to take care of the bad guys the way you do, you're also able to come home and we can take care of the good guys as well. Unfortunately, I made it, unlike last year, I made it all of September 11th without crying somehow. And then immediately after my speech was concluded at Todd Beamer, I was confronted by a dad of one of my good friends that I've known since high school, who's also in the military, let me know that my friend passed away and took his own life. I didn't expect that news. Obviously, it broke me. But I don't want to hear that happening to any of my other friends or any of your friends out there or family members. So if you need help, everybody in the audience, we're going to do a little crowd participation here real quick. I want you to repeat this number after me. We're going to do it a couple times. 9-8-8. No, no, no. Come on. Say it for the people watching at home. 9-8-8. 9-8-8. That is the suicide crisis hotline. So if you need someone to talk to, if you know someone in your family or friend who needs someone to talk to, call that number. If you know me or don't know me or whatever, I'm always willing to listen. Call a family member, call a friend. Don't go through stuff on your own. Suicide is not the way out that you want. It's not the way out that your family wants. We can get through whatever it is. And this month, I just want us to take a second and pay a little attention to that. So nine and eight, rest in peace, Carlos. Let's make sure that it's something we tackle as a community. Cool. That's all I had, Council Member Vang.

Thank you very much, Council Richardson. 988, Council Member Karbassi.

Okay, thank you, Council Member. Sorry for a moment. Okay, lots of activities in the last two weeks. I was able to attend with the Council President the City College State of the College event. where they highlighted a lot of the great contributions they make, a lot of livelihoods and these careers are started at our community college system. And Fresno City College is no exception to that. Thank you so much to the work they're doing over there. Happy Post-Labor Day, everyone. Hopefully everyone had a great time. And it was able to celebrate all the hard work done by the folks that literally build up our community and those folks that serve in the city of Fresno and the dedicated service roles they hold. There was, of course, the 9-11 Memorial Ceremony. I want to thank the 9-11 Memorial Foundation and the Cook family every year. I think this is the largest ceremony outside of Shanksville and the Pentagon and New York that we do in the country. And it's right here in Clovis and Fresno area. We did celebrate the Mexican flag raising for Independence Day yesterday. That was a lot of fun. I hear there's a video out there, Mayor, for something you did that's pretty exciting that Supervisor Chavez couldn't stop talking about. So I'll go and watch that pretty soon. But great comments yesterday at the ceremony, Mayor. Very inclusive. Women's Conference. Unfortunately, I was hoping to go. Mia Hamm was there to speak, but I know a lot of the folks here did go, and she's an incredible athlete. It's great to have her in Fresno, but we did sponsor. And then the... Last part, something that was unfortunately very tragic was Sierra Sky Park. While it is a county pocket in Northwest Fresno, it is definitely a part of our community. And there was a very tragic aviation accident out there a couple of weeks ago where four members of the ED family unfortunately did perish. I do want to thank North Central, Fresno Fire, Fresno Sheriffs, Fresno PD, and our city manager, Georgia Ann White, who were all out there very quickly. to ensure they did everything possible to recover life if that was possible, and also to prevent any further damage happening in the community. I know that there's going to be a memorial in a couple of weeks, and we have arranged for our chaplains to go out there and provide some bereavement as the neighborhood, they're very tight-knit, recover from this. And I just want to thank the city manager and our staff for being so quick to respond. And thank you everyone out there for supporting the family. I know there's a Not a GoFundMe, but there's a support page out there that a lot of folks have been donating to because in the end, there are two siblings who lost their parents and lost their younger siblings. And while the story goes away and the news won't report it anymore, we got to make sure we support the family. So everyone who's donated, thank you for doing that. And that is my council report. Thank you, Council Member Bank. Thank you very much, Council Member Carbasi. Mayor Dyer.

Thank you, Council Member Ring. Yeah, I want to say thank you for representing the Hmong Nurses Association today. You know, I think sometimes we have a tendency to overlook the efforts of our medical profession in our community. And speaking of that, I had the opportunity to be the guest speaker, keynote speaker last Tuesday. At the nursing graduation ceremony, it was the first of its kind where Unitec combined with community health systems to put on a nursing program. And it really was for community hospital employees who were not nurses. And so it was an incredible honor to be able to see that. and they're gonna continue with those programs every single year. And then also last Wednesday, Council Member Arias and I had the opportunity to attend the official ribbon cutting of the first and largest Starbucks in Southwest Fresno, something we've been working on for several years. And we finally got not just a Starbucks, but the largest Starbucks in Fresno was right there in Southwest Fresno. And I also want the folks that live in Southwest to know that I spoke with their manager, the regional manager, and they said this Starbucks is so busy they're having to now hire even more employees than they originally did to keep up with it. So thank you guys for supporting them. And then last Friday, as you heard Council Member Carbasi say, it was our 25th anniversary of September 11th. And we all know what that meant to our country. Most of us remember where we were at at the exact time when we heard that there was a plane that crashed into one of the towers. and then ultimately the second, and what happened along the lines at the Pentagon. And so I had the opportunity to be a part of that ceremony. And I have, in fact, all 25 of them over the years participated in those 911 ceremonies. And then the California Armenian Home in Fresno also had their fourth annual Patriots Day celebration. They asked me to come and speak. on that Friday for luncheon, and they also fed first responders, whether it was American ambulance, firefighters, police officers. They had food for them and provided that to each and every one of them that day. And then that night, I was asked to speak at the CASA fundraising event at Table Mountain, which is court... advocates for our foster kids in Fresno, being their voice. And it was an incredible event. And I want to just say a shout out to CASA for everything that they do for our foster youth in Fresno. And yesterday, As was mentioned, we had the opportunity to raise the Mexican flag here at City Hall for Mexican independence. It's always an honor to be able to do that as we recognize the rich heritage and culture of our Mexican community in Fresno and all the folks that have labored so hard in our fields to feed the country. And I think sometimes we overlook that. And so it was an honor to be able to speak. and to be able to participate in that celebration. And then we do have Fiestas Pateras this Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at Mariposa Plaza. There'll be a parade from 11 to 12. Then we'll have some guest speakers at 12, 12.30, right there at Mariposa Plaza. And that event will again run throughout the day. It's going to be a beautiful celebration. And then today at noon, I have the opportunity of welcoming the Scale Success Summit attendees at the downtown. and will be presenting a proclamation. But they help small businesses, entrepreneurs in Fresno to be successful and to learn to be able to scale up or to grow their businesses. And then this tomorrow, I'll be speaking at the 21st Century Road to Housing Conference in Clovis. And there'll be some state leaders here, Tyrone Williams from our Fresno Housing Authority will be there. And it's gonna be a great event and a lot of folks. And we're gonna talk about our successes that we've been able to have in the affordable housing arena. I think you know, prior to me taking office, we had only done 88 affordable housing units. in our city that prior year. And proud to say this second term of my administration, we will do 2,500 affordable housing homes in the city of Fresno. And God knows we need to be able to meet the incredible housing demand in our city. And then lastly, My chief of staff is heading back from Sacramento right now with two checks in her hand for a total of $100 million. It is the final tranche of money for our state infrastructure budget for our downtown. And so that will be a total of $250 million. And very, very thankful to the governor and to the legislature for what they've done to provide that. It's given us an opportunity to put in, to replace all of our water mains and sewer mains downtown, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, streets, as well as we're building two parking garages right now for just over 1,500 stalls, which are much needed. We have storm drain basin downtown, as well as some green space. and an intermodal transportation hub that will be in downtown as well as Chinatown. And we need that money, and that goes a long way to do that. And we also have $43.7 million from the state that we were awarded on a competitive grant also for infrastructure, all of it to support housing in downtown Fresno and Chinatown. And so very, very grateful for the state of California. And that is it. Thank you.

City Manager?

I think you just came in at the perfect time because I was also going to speak on your behalf, reminding everybody that this coming weekend is the annual Greek Fest celebration. Hours this year are Friday, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday, 11 to 11, Sunday, 11 to 6. I think... Those of you who have attended know that it is a great opportunity to experience the Greek culture in our community and in a variety of ways, whether it be through food, fellowship, dance, touring the church. And it is a good time. I know our council president is usually out there in spirit manning some of the barbecue grills in the back. And so it's a great time and look forward to seeing many of you out there. And then on a completely separate note, what Council Member Carabasi said about the Sierra Sky Park incident, I don't want to go into it any farther other than to say it was a multi-jurisdictional incident. When the incident first happened, it was unknown whether it was city, whether it was county, and it really didn't matter. Everybody, first responders, showed up and got to work. And there was no bickering, there was no arguing. Everybody brought their resources to the table. I think obviously since we're sort of the biggest of the groups, we had the most resources there. But everybody worked very well together. I'm super proud of our team. And not only for what they did on site, but just in the way that they seamlessly worked together with our county partners and North Central partners. So thank you to all of them. And indeed, it was a very sad incident that occurred in our city slash county. And I think with that, Council Member Arias, I just, we'll get into the parking stuff offline and look forward to working with your office, because I want to figure out if we should, if there are specific business owners outside of the PBID, because that's generally where we go is to the PBID, but if there are others that maybe aren't members of the PBID that we need to include, happy to do that. But one little thing I did want to note, because I think there is confusion, meters that get bagged. Many times, the reason why the meters are bagged are for the construction workers. And they actually pay for the bagging of those meters. So they technically are buying them out in order for them to be able to park their construction, have available parking for their construction. So I know it gets very confusing to the businesses who are like, well, why can't we park there and other, but that is a very standard practice in construction. downtown areas where there are parking meters that construction contractors buy out the parking meters in order to provide parking for their construction equipment and vehicles. But we will certainly work together with your office to make sure that we're having conversations with the right people. So thank you very much.

Thank you. And I think the confusion is they're used to seeing construction vehicles park those areas and construction equipment versus passenger vehicles.

Well, unless it's the construction workers, that would definitely be a problem. So, understood.

Yeah, thank you, City Manager, for reminding everyone about Greek Fest. It's a great time. I encourage everyone to get out there. One of the couple times I barbecue every, each year. Council Member Vang, you have not gone yet.

Thank you very much, Council President and Mayor. Thank you very much for your acknowledgement and your comments on the Hmong Nurses Association. It is due. Just a few comments from me. This coming Saturday morning, my office will once again be working with Beautify Fresno at Sanger West High School located on Jensen and Fowler Avenue. So if you are free this coming Saturday morning, come and join my team and the community and perhaps some of the Sanger West students to help clean the surrounding neighborhood at Jensen and Fowler Avenue. The big Fresno Fair is coming up and will start October 7th, running through October 18th. And for this year, we will have the trolley as a free service traveling throughout District 5 to help residents get to and from And so stops will be at or near Fanshawe Creek Town Center, Sunnyside High School, Calvert Elementary. And so my office will be sharing additional details as the days comes by, including the schedules. And so if you are in that part of District 5, you don't need to drive directly and park at the fair. You can take the trolley to and from the fair. and that's starting October 7th through the 18th. Thank you very much, Council President.

Great. All right. 1109, and let's get to city business. Everybody had a chance to give their comments. I've got a request from the city manager. We're going to do the, is it the 920, city manager? We'll go ahead and conduct the 920 AM item, a hearing to consider adoption of a resolution designating a property to the local register of historic resources, 207 East San Joaquin Street. We'll have a brief presentation from staff. Council Member Arias, do we need a presentation? Okay, presentation. Well, we'll go ahead and do the public hearing portion of this. I'm gonna open up the public hearing and public comments for anyone who may have comments on the 9.20 a.m. item regarding designating the property to the local register of historic resources. Any public comment in the chamber?

Members of the church, this would be your time if you're interested in speaking on behalf, not necessary, but if you're interested, this would be the time.

If I may be free to speak, Council President, I simply want for the public's benefit, this is a historic building. It's been here for more than 100 years. It's an active church. And the owners are requesting that we designate the property historic in nature, which I'm fully supportive of, especially when it is the property owners themselves making the request. So I'll hand it off to the church now.

Good morning. My name is Kelvin Scott. I have with me Pastor Monty Mitchell, and we're from Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church, where I'm a deacon at the church. We want to thank you guys for the invitation today to be here. This is a historic moment for us. As you can see, we have members in the back. We had more here, but they had to go for different reasons. If you see the shirts that we have on here, it says 100 years. 100 years. What this signifies or recognize the fact that Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church has been active in the Fresno community for over 100 years. We just celebrated our 100th anniversary two weeks ago. I'm sorry. Mount Pleasant, if you know anything about 207 East San Joaquin and Southwest Fresno, Mount Pleasant is a beacon for the community in that area. What I mean by a beacon, it was predominantly a African American area. Now we are a rich, rich, rich, every you can think of is in that area. And everybody in that area at one time or another comes through Mount Pleasant to either worship to be assisted with food and care. But our main goal is we are to go out there and spread what God has given us to others because we have some less fortunate people that are out there. The reason why we're here today is for years we've been in our church and our church looks just like, if you see the picture on my t-shirt, We have a basement in our church in which we feed and do all our celebrations in. Well, what has happened now, we've modernized our church where we have a ramp where people can walk down. But even like me, 64, I've had two knee replacements and a hip replacement. Going down in that basement gets kind of hard. So what the church has done is we've decided that we want to build on our site a new kitchen facility in the back of the church parking lot, which allow everyone to participate. When I say everyone to participate, coming up, I know my time is limited, but coming up and participating. October 22nd, we'll be having our 27th annual church carnival where we give to the community. We start at 10 in the morning, and we go to 2 in the afternoon. Everything is free. We give away 20 to 30 bikes. We give away food. We give away everything. But I'm here today to say thank you, thank you, thank you. for you guys considering our church as a historical building in the city of Fresno. We do a lot, we've done a lot, but we still have more to do. And I'm going to pass over to the pastor.

Thank you, first of all, for your time, amen, and everything we have heard, we have took in consideration all of the proclamations and things that we have heard. We have sat there quietly and took everything in in consideration. As Brother Calvin has said, I have been pastoring this great church. I've been there four years. I've been pastoring. I'm in my third year of pastoring. And the theme of our church is to trust the process. And that's what we have been doing. Perseverance, 100 years do not come without adversity, trials and all the above, but perseverance is the thing. I have been placed to work with a group of people who love serving, and this is the theme of the whole thing that we are trying to do with this building project is to serve, serve the community, serve those who are less fortunate than we are. And that's what the 100 years of this great church have been about. The legacy, those who have went on, who are looking down, there's some sitting back there who were born and raised in this great church. And their whole goal, our whole goal, is to just trust the process and serve the community. And that's really all we desire to do at Mount Pleasant. Love each other, trust the process, and serve the community. Thank you for your time.

All right, thank you. Any additional public comment from the chamber? Seeing none, we'll go to Zoom. We have one speaker on Zoom so far, Lisa Flores.

Good morning, can you hear me?

Yeah, good morning, Lisa. Yes, we can hear you.

Okay, first off, I originally wasn't going to speak about the church, but just wanted to let you know you guys need to check Facebook because you guys are not coming up on Facebook. And congratulations to Mount Pleasant on 100 years of walking, doing the walk and the talk of Jesus, which is love in our community. And in these trying times, it is just such a wonderful experience testimony to not only them, but also the community. And I look forward to writing a check today to help along with their building funding. I would encourage the community to do it as well. 100 years is a big deal. Congratulations. Thank you for your time.

Any additional public comment either on Zoom or in the chamber regarding the 920 AM item? SEEING NOW WE'RE GOING TO CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THIS ON THIS ITEM COME BACK UP TO COUNCIL.

IF I MAY COUNCIL PRESIDENT BEFORE I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE RECOGNITION OF THE CHURCH AS A HISTORIC DESIGNATION I DO WANT TO JUST SHARE WITH THE PUBLIC ONE FACT THAT RECOGNIZES THEIR PERSEVERANCE AS A CONGREGATION. YOU KNOW THE CHURCH WAS STARTED IN 1926. AND THEY EVENTUALLY BUILT THEIR OWN BUILDING IN 1947. ONLY TO HAVE THE BUILDING TORN DOWN FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE STATE ROUTE 99. EIGHT YEARS AFTER THEY BUILT THEIR CHURCH, THE STATE CAME IN AND SAID WE'RE GOING TO BUILD A FREEWAY ON YOUR LOCATION, WHICH REQUIRED THEM TO BUILD A NEW CHURCH IN 1955, WHICH IS THE CURRENT LOCATION. AND I THINK IT'S JUST ONE MORE REMINDER OF WHAT'S HAPPENED IN PARTS OF OUR CITY FOR GENERATIONS. Complete neighborhoods, assets like, you know, faith-based churches are built only to have the state come and tear everything down and require all of us to rebuild and move. But it is also an example of their perseverance. They continue to, not only did they rebuild the church, but they continue to serve for generations afterwards. not even allowing the state building a freeway in the middle of their neighborhood to stop them from serving the public. And as a council member who represents the area, one of the joys that I have is to have so many historical assets that we are charged with caring for, but most importantly, to see churches that are doing God's work and not simply building massive buildings and great campuses, but actually serving the public. And for that, I am eternally grateful to the members of the church. And I again, praise you for your perseverance to not only rebuild, but to continue serving for generations after we and the state had to come in and relocate the church and your building. With that, I'll make a motion to approve this historic designation.

All right, we have a motion. We have a second. Is there any opposition to approving the 9.20 a.m. item? Seeing none, that passes six to zero. Thank you.

Council President, I asked my staff to come out and get a contact number, but I would like to see what we can do to add some more bicycles to your giveaway. That way we can spread the love even more. So my chief is gonna come get a contact information from one of you. Thank you. Congratulations.

Great, fantastic. All right, thank you all. We'll move on to our 10 a.m. item at an appearance by Neil O'Brien. Neil, are you with us? Welcome on down. You have three minutes.

Good morning. My name is Neil O'Brien. I'm a homeowner at Manchinette Court. In June and August, I showed that Republic Services failed waste collections and billed us fees that do not exist in the city's franchise agreement. Today, I'm here because the default files that they provided the cities do not match what they told the public and the council. In July, Republic Services told the city in writing that it uses GPS tracking, cameras, and AI to perform their work. Their six month complaint log in the default file shows that these tools fail, fail often, and they build the wrong accounts. This is why their GPS tracking video, photos, and AI data that I requested, and they promised me, were never produced. Look at what they said and look at what they filed. They told the Fresno Bee and the city the problems were isolated site conditions and one resident. The complaint log shows 246 complaints over 156 accounts and 93 of those complaints are for missed pickups, 30 of those are from May alone. None of those tickets name our property mansion at court and our complaints were totally hidden from the city. The contract names the occupant as the customer, that's me, and Republic Services stopped communicating with me. Their rule is that they'll only speak with the manager, but that rule is not in the franchise. They promised reliable collections, but on August 14th, they didn't show up again, and there was no same-day recovery, and two miles west of us, In August 28th, they missed collections at Horizons. Their bills show the same container access fee that's not in the contract and not in Exhibit J either. They say they have a plan, that plan is one page, and the progress section is totally blank. The log contains a repeating billing theme here. Listen up. 43 tickets dispute a fee, a credit, an overage, or a contamination charge. 13 tickets say the GPS pinged the wrong stop. Another 13 say the photo or their fee belonged to a neighbor's dumpster. Four blame their artificial intelligence. Republic itself wrote that a customer's charges were incorrectly applied because of their AI. And in March, it removed a container access from a customer's bill that they know does not exist. Republic Services never produced any of the files to support what we were billed and what we disputed. And the contract states that whatever that they withhold is treated as conclusive. And this is what we need from the city. One, serve the 24-hour notice of inspection for digital records and make them show you where our complaints were logged. They're here in the audience. Tell them to stop billing unauthorized fees and tell them to credit back and refund what they already billed us. Three, direct Republic services to answer my questions and start communicating with me as a contract requires and assess all the liquidated damages identified in the default. You don't need my evidence to do any of this. All you need is a Files Republic.

Thank you. All right, next item we're gonna hear is the 9-10 a.m. item to hearing to vacate portions of the city-owned right-of-way northeast corner of Milburn and Dakota for Dolores Huerta Park. Let's see here. No presentation, okay. All right, we'll go out to the public for the public hearing portion here. Open the hearing. Is there anybody who would like to provide public comment in the hearing on the 9-10 a.m. item? either in the chamber or on Zoom. Seeing none, we're gonna close the public hearing for the 9.10 a.m. item. Bring it up to the council.

Thank you, Council President. I was promised by our parks director that we're gonna be doing a groundbreaking by the end of this year for Dolores Huerta Park. Aaron, right? It's okay, you don't have to answer that. I know they're working very diligently to make sure we can do our best to hit that goal. But this is one of the last pieces that we need in order to help us get to that point. So with that, Council President, I'd like to make a motion to approve.

All right, we have a motion. We have a second. Is there any opposition to approving the 9-10 AM item? Seeing none, that passes 6-0. Great. For the timed items, that leaves us the 915, the Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report, the CAPER for HUD. So we'll go ahead and open the hearing on the 915 AM item. If there's any public comment either in the chamber or on Zoom regarding the 915 AM CAPER for HUD. I don't see any in the chamber. On Zoom, we have Brandy Nusviegas. Good morning.

Oh, good morning. I already submitted and thank you for the public comment opportunity to submit. Wanted to thank the Department of Planning and Community Services for their work on these things. Especially want to show my appreciation and the need to continue to fund uh, programs like the Boys and Girls Club and Central Valley Justice Coalition's, um, human trafficking prevention projects, which I've seen, uh, them promoting with the, um, as a ways of building community and building prevention. I'm also thankful to see the amount of the investment in rental assistance and deposit assistance within that. I celebrate the wins for every family and see that As I look at the monthly coordinated entry system reports that the need is great. There's hundreds, nearly 600 to 700 in the rapid rehousing, and we need to continue and increase funding for that as well as work on continue to work on permanent housing as there is a need for those things and appreciate that there is funding for domestic violence as 19% in the pit count have said that they are survivors of domestic violence. I do want to note that With housing, we definitely need to invest more in shelters and in permanent housing as we lost shelter spaces and many of our folks are trying to find a secure place to be to get on their feet as well as permanent housing to go into. I am pleased that there was a employment program that was in the last one and asked that there might be partnerships with EOC and other things to be able to provide access to different types of jobs like construction and whatnot for those who are unhoused. As well, I want to mention that this is something that, as the community needs meetings, is going on. A need to look into that I wanted to ask the council as well as them to consider is a place for those with cars and trailers. This summer, we're trying to help those with trailers find a place to go who have no other home and risk losing the only thing that they have to live in as well as help a couple who had their car towed and need assistance and need a place to safely put their cars as this is A major need, something that helps is really important for those who are trying to get back into housing to have their vehicles and trailers and ask for programs like safe lots as well as assistance with working to pay off registration and other things that might cause them to lose their only home. I also ask that we...

Thank you, Brandi. Thank you. All right, do we have any additional public comment on the 9.15 a.m. hearing item regarding the CAPER for HUD? Consolidated annual performance. Okay, we're gonna go ahead and close the public hearing. Bring it back up to the council. I don't see anyone punched up right now. Does council have any additional questions? Everyone did their homework. Okay, all right. I'll entertain a motion.

Motion to approve.

All right, we have a motion. We have a second on the item. Is there any opposition to approving the 9.15 a.m. item? Seeing none, that passes five to zero. Yeah, five to zero. Okay, that's our timed items. So what we'll do is we'll move to the consent calendar. Before we obviously vote on it, we're gonna take public comments. So at this time, we'll open up the public comments for any item on the consent calendar, contested consent calendar, the closed session agenda, if anybody has public comment. With respect to those items, either in the chamber or on Zoom, you're welcome to provide input at this time. Again, we're on the public comment for consent, contested consent, or closed session. I don't see anyone in the chamber. We're going to come over to Zoom. The first speaker we have is Nikki Reel.

Thank you. I was sort of wondering if there was going to be any presentations to, um, some of the things on the consent calendar. Um, because I would have liked to see a presentation just, um, to get some more info, but, um, I was sort of, um, The mobile showers, I think we're aware like how they got into like a little fender bender a couple weeks ago. But I'm glad to see that you guys put more like structure into the contract and more accountability. So that's good. Yeah, I guess that's it for now.

Thank you. Next speaker on Zoom is going to be Lisa Flores.

Good morning, everybody. Excuse me. I am running so late today. First off, thank you for running late this morning. I mean, I really didn't miss that much of the meeting. So I really do appreciate you guys running late today. Second, once again, is there any way to change how you publish your agendas? You do it. Late on a Friday afternoon, you put mine in the mail. I don't get the agenda until after the meeting is either already started or is done. I didn't get the agenda this morning. So that means I get the agenda after the meeting occurs. And I just think of everybody else that you send out agendas to. And I think about You know, Friday afternoons, Friday evenings, everybody gets their email. And I'm just curious, how come the city does not want to be a little bit more proactive in managing the communications with the public versus doing the bare minimum? I would hope that in the future that you guys could at least cut a day off your agendas and maybe, you know, changing it to Thursdays would be so much better. That would give people a little bit more breathing room that is actually needed and has been actually requested of you guys for a number of years now. That's all. I just want to remind you, don't get the agenda until after the meeting.

Okay, thank you. I don't see anyone punched up on Zoom. Council Member Karbasi?

We really do appreciate Lisa and everyone else that decides to, of course, be able to participate and provide their input. I do always get sensitive when I hear complaints about access and transparency. I would like the clerk to specify exactly how the process works, when the agendas are published, how the public, I get the agenda the same time everyone else does. So can you maybe provide some clarity on how folks can access the agenda, how it's available electronically? I mean, if you participate remotely, the agenda is also available to you. How does that work?

Yes, absolutely. We publish the agenda once it is received by our office and goes through the approval process through the city attorney's office as well as council. As soon as we get the approval on Friday to publish that agenda, which is within the allotted time under the Brown Act and the first municipal code, we immediately publish that digitally. We also send that out via email. I know Ms. Flores does receive a personal email from my office on Friday, and we also do the large print, but it can be accessed digitally as well the digital tools do allow for translation as well as making the document more accessible digitally so it is able to be zoomed on or accessed in a way that would be better for that person is she is on the distribution list if anyone in the public wants to be on the distribution list they can email our office and ask for that and we can also personally email that person so it is also published on our website you can always access the agenda via our website at any time as soon as it is published that means that it is immediately accessible in its full form with attachments and everything else that is part of that item on the website through the granicus system and just to be clear i'm not a part of council leadership so on friday when it's published to the public with all the attachments

That's when I, as a council member, get access to the final agenda too, correct?

Absolutely, that's correct. We don't give it out in its final form to anyone prior to the public receiving that item. Everyone receives it at the same time. Okay, thank you.

Is there additional public comment? There was no one punched up in the chamber or on Zoom. Go ahead and close public comment on the consent calendar, contested consents, and the closed session agenda. Let me see here. Before we vote on the consent calendar, I did have a last minute change. What I wanted to do was... table one of the consent items, item two U. Clerk, attorney, how would I go about doing that since we're kind of late stages here?

I believe that we need a motion to reopen approval of the agenda and then we need to do the tabling and then re-vote on the approval of the agenda.

I'll make a motion to reopen the agenda.

All right, we have a motion to reopen the agenda and a second. Is there any opposition to reopening the approval of the agenda? I see none, this passes six to zero.

I'll make a motion to table item two U from the consent agenda.

Okay, that's unilateral, I believe. All right, so item two U is tabled in addition to everything else that was prior tables. All right, I'll make a motion to approve the agenda as it is. Second. Without two U. All right, we have a motion, we have a second. Any opposition to approval of the agenda? Revised? Oh yeah, everything, yeah, your registered no vote stands. Everything that we did prior still stands. We just did this one amendment in addition to the previous changes. Okay, all right, great. So we have approval of the agenda again. Let's go back to our approval of the consent agenda.

Motion to approve consent.

Second that. We have a motion, we have a second to approve the consent agenda minus the removals and minus the contested consent items. Is there any opposition to approving the consent agenda? Seeing none, the pass is six to zero. We've got some time here, let's dig into the contested consent items. I believe we have two of them, both pulled by Council Member Arias, and we can begin with item 2L.

Thank you, Council President. I just want to thank the administration for the very thorough update on the second round of the cultural arts grant awardees. I did want, for the record, for them to tell us a couple of additional points of information. One, can you provide us a list of all the grantees that declined their award? Do you have it now that you can give it to us on the record?

Yes, Aaron Gary, Parks Director. We can provide you a list of the grantees who declined.

Can you just tell them who they are now?

Yes. I can if that's... Yes. Is that a Brown Act? Are we good with... I think we're okay.

I mean, it's borderline. I think just don't get into any more detail. Just give them the names. I can give you the five folks. Yes, go ahead.

So the first one, fiscal sponsor, St. Agnes Medical Center and Trinity Health. This is for the Southwest Fresno Power. They have declined their recommended funding of $19,000, $660.74. The second fiscal sponsor, Another Level Training Academy. rejected their funding of $14,976.70. The third is the San Joaquin Clay and Glass Association. They have declined their recommendation of $14,471.82. The fourth is Solio de Gloria of San Joaquin Valley. They have declined their $8,873.70. And the final is Fools Collaborative. And they have declined their award amount to $4,250.40. Great.

And my other question for the record, Director, is this agenda item request that we authorize the city manager to approve certain contracts over her limit, I know there's only three of them, right?

Correct. And they're actual settlement agreements. And per the municipal code, city manager only has the authority to approve up to $50,000. So those three exceed that dollar amount.

So for the record, can you tell us which three are being recommended for approval? Absolutely. By the city manager?

Sure. Breakbox Thought Collective in the amount of $164,000. And that's a settlement agreement. West Fresno Family Resource Center, they are $89,999. And then the California Opera Guild is, again, $89,999. Great.

Thank you. And again, thank you to your team for this extremely thorough memo that gives us the status of each of these round two awardees. I appreciate the time and the effort you all put into this. So with that, I'll make a motion to approve.

And I just wanted to quickly, if I can, just thank my team. Shelby McNabb here has been leading this effort with her talented team. So thank you for that. We know Shelby does all the work. Thank you, Shelby. Thank you all.

All right, we have a motion and a second?

I'll second. So we have a motion, we have a second. Is there any opposition to approving item 2L? Seeing none, the pass is six to zero. And we'll move on to item 2M. to Amazon McGill.

Yes, just a simple question, Director. I know that there's been references to the second unit of bathrooms being damaged from an accident. What's the status of the second unit, and when do we anticipate it being back online?

Yeah, Councilmember, thank you. Phil Skye, Assistant Director for Planning and Development Department. It was reported in the news, and I think this body is aware that, quite unfortunately, there was a traffic accident about a week or so ago which impacted our second mobile shower trailer. Unfortunately, we had an adjuster go out and look at it just within the last few days, and it's been deemed a total loss. So what that's going to mean for us is we are now in the process of ordering a new one with new specs. It is an insurance claim. The individual involved in the accident, their insurance is covering this cost. But we are probably looking between six and 12 months of just being down to one trailer, unfortunately.

What does that mean to the schedule and the availability of public restrooms?

Yeah, so we're still going to be able to provide showers and restrooms five days a week, as has been standard. Unfortunately, with only one trailer, you can't cover everything. two different locations daily. We're down to one location daily.

Okay. Thank you for the information. Motion to approve, Council.

All right. We have a motion for this item and a second. Is there any opposition to approving item 2M? 2M is in McGill. Seeing none, that passes six to zero. You know, despite spending an hour and 20 minutes plus on the proclamations, it moved pretty quick through the public agenda. That leaves, I believe, only unscheduled communication for the open session today. And so go ahead and move open to unscheduled communication. I did have one card that I received, but if anyone in the chamber or on Zoom would like to speak with respect to unscheduled communication, now would be the time to punch up or come on up. But the one card I had here in the chamber is for Glen Harrington. Welcome Glen, you have three minutes.

Thank you, everybody. I appreciate your time here. My name is Glen Harrington. Today I'm coming here representing the Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California, which is a very underrepresented disease. For everybody that doesn't know about epilepsy, which is most people, they only know what they've seen in the movies, one in 26 people worldwide will develop epilepsy in their lifetime. One in 10 people will develop, will have a seizure for some reason, be it epileptic or diabetic or some other reason. There is absolutely zero first aid training here in Fresno, okay? There's absolutely zero epilepsy awareness. We're here to change that. I'm letting the council know I am the leader of the Northern California Epilepsy Foundations. push to do this okay we're going to be offering free classes for everybody including council people if they like it we're going to be going to the nurses we are we are we are accredited to add to their continuing education by getting certified in sort of in seizure certification we are also going to be doing all kinds of events coming in 2027. There's going to be a lot of things. We want Fresno to embrace epilepsy because it is such an invisible disease. There are over 40 known seizures. types of seizures. Most people just known the ones where people fall down, they're shaking, and that's the worst one called the tonic-clonic. We don't want to deal with that. We want to teach the police, the sheriffs, and the law enforcement, which is a very specialized type of training for them. for instance, is like, you know, a lot of people might, they might think they're under drugs, but they might be having a seizure, that type of thing. Everybody, so 126 people, think about that. You know somebody who has epilepsy, or you're related to them, okay? It's just the way it is. That's the math, all right? Would you know what to do if somebody had a seizure? How many people out there who have epilepsy don't go out and enjoy our parks, our recreation, won't ride on the bus, won't go out to a restaurant, won't do anything because they're afraid somebody's going to stick something in their mouth like old school, but the tongue is a muscle, right? You're not going to choke on it, but they're going to swallow on their tongue. So there's still these myths out there. We want to break them all. We're offering it for free. We're offering it right now. You can call the foundation. I have a sheet here with some links if you folks are interested in them that you guys are more than welcome to take a look at. Pass it around if you want. But we are the Epilepsy Foundation of Northern California. You can go to that site and you can sign up anytime. We are looking for volunteers. We are looking for facilitators to teach. I am also a facilitator and the leader of this team breaking in. Anything that we can get from the city, we're happy. Anybody wants to join with us, we're going to join with hospitals, law enforcement.

Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate the comment. The training is important. I think some of us have been in that situation before where we're trying to figure out what to do. We want to get that paper, if possible, Council President. Council Member Karabasi, you want the, yes.

Yeah, I'll be very frank. I have a member of my family that suffers from seizures. I thought I knew what to do, and now I'm questioning myself, so we'll take the paper just in case.

We can get a copy of it and get it back to you. You want it back, sir? No, I think he said we can have it. We can have it? Okay, great. Thank you. We'll get copies of that for everybody. Thank you very much.

Yeah.

Okay, great. Anyone else in the chamber who would like to speak with respect to unscheduled communication? Okay, all right, we're gonna move on to the Zoom speakers. We have a few. First speaker's gonna be Joseph Rodriguez. Joseph, are you with us?

Okay. Hello.

Oh, yeah, we can hear you now. Yes.

Okay. I unmuted. Thank you. Hi, Council. This is Joseph Rodriguez. Wanted to reach out to you guys because I wanted to give you an update on the D flock petition that we started. It's up to 2668. And it's all these signatures from people that are saying they don't want block surveillance cameras watching them here in the city of Fresno. We'd appreciate it if you guys really gave the public a chance to speak on this item. We know the renewal is going to be coming up for the flock contract. And we want it to definitely be not renewed. So we want you guys to cancel that flock contract. One reason is, is the contract's terrible. It's definitely protects flock. It costs the city money to rent these cameras. They're on loan. There's so many other things that the police can invest their money in. You know, we have all this investment in the police, in all this personnel, and they don't need this overload of data and cameras that are taking pictures 24-7 of everyone in town. It's so much data, the overload. And then... What we've done is we filed a request for public records. So it's something that we feel like we need to see for ourselves. The public deserves to know what's going on. An audit of three searches for thousands. I mean, it's not even just 1,000. It's thousands of searches. They only have three of those searches audited. It's just not enough. We can't really expect maybe someone to hold themselves accountable. It's definitely got to be independent, you know, public third party. So we just want to let you guys know that. And then also to just to have more information out there for the public of how to talk to you guys. I think someone mentioned earlier, you know, just Sometimes there's this lack of communication between the people and the council. And, you know, we like talking to you guys. We encourage people to reach out to you. We want to be more proactive in building bridges instead of, you know, burning them. And so we hope moving forward, we could just keep the communication channels open. And we thank you guys for your time.

All right, great. Our next speaker on Zoom is going to be Nikki Real.

I wanted to say a second ago when I made a comment about the mobile showers, I was aware that there was an accident and I assume they have insurance to cover it. I didn't like take into consideration that there was two and now there's going to be one. And so I was wondering, um, how that would, although I might be speaking to something that was just in general, like how that would change the contract and employees would that reduce like half the staff or something because all that money is adds up. And as far as, um, I just wanted to mention like, as far as like, we do have like a homeless problem and people who seek social services and assistance who need it at one time or another. I just, this thing that it seems like there's like jobs being made out of, I just like to see more direct, maybe cash assistance because As we've seen, even people who are employees make mistakes or spend the money somehow. It gets spent. You hear about this stuff all the time in the news, embezzlement and all this other stuff. It's so common. But if somebody's going to let somebody decide for their self, we need to give people back their agency because I think a lot of people feel hopeless, like, are helpless trying to get resources. And it's so hard because a lot of it's admin costs. So, yeah.

All right. Thank you. Next speaker is going to be Alfred.

Good morning, city council. Can you hear me? Yes, welcome. Thank you. Good morning. Coming to you from the heart of the beautiful and diverse Tower District. Here will we denounce candidates for City Council like Rob Ice Ice Bobby Fuentes. We know he's your boy Nelson and Dyer's boy. Man, we gotta get him out of here, man. He does not represent what the people here in District 1 desire in leaders as far as him being in federal court representing Ice 124 times. And separating 124 families and you endorsing him, Nelson, and Mayor Dyer says a whole lot, doesn't need to be on city council. We'll just start there. Secondly, we need to do more as a city to ensure that our citizens are protected from ICE. ICE kidnapped an individual at the airport at the end of last month. And even though the city has come out and stated that we do not cooperate with ICE, that we still as citizens and constituents in your different districts feel that there is more to be done on the city's behalf to ensure that abductions are not happening in the streets. And thirdly, I'd like to touch on what my good friend Joseph had mentioned. We have the petition that has reached over 2,600 signatures. urging you guys to deflock Fresno now, to remove this mass surveillance off our streets, these AI-powered cameras off our streets, to save $1.6 million and to reallocate those funds into places that the city can seriously benefit from that type of money. It is your guys' job to reflect the wishes of your constituents. You guys have heard us. We've had a week of Action. Consider we've had plenty of times we've been out there protesting. We are now urging you to have a real public forum with the police department and to end this contract with flock cameras. Please hear us. We're going to continue calling in every two weeks to give you guys your biweekly spanking until it's done, until you guys hear us. I sat a Fresno and deflock Fresno now.

All right, next speaker on Zoom is gonna be Crystal Rocha.

Hello?

Yes, we can hear you, welcome.

Okay, thank you. Hi, my name is Crystal. I'm calling in as a concerned citizen. Twenty-five days ago, I formally filed a public records request with the Fresno Police Department to release their flock data, including audit logs, search logs, and usage reports related to their flock safety system. Your public records department is out of compliance. I have been waiting 25 days with zero updates. When I called this morning to request an update, I was told the Fresno Police Department is two months behind. When I pressed further, I was redirected to someone in FPD records only to be told that my case is actually now with the city attorney whose office does not answer their phone calls. We've got to do better than this. The public is legally entitled to this information. I urge the city council to end the flock contract, stand with the people of Fresno and let the police do the work that we heavily pay into already. Justice cannot happen in the dark and transparency delayed is transparency denied. I demand the immediate release of this flock data unredacted, raw and complete. Show us who has access to our information and how it's being used to target our communities. Compliance with the law is not optional. End the secrecy, uphold the law, and release the flock data. Get the flock out of Fresno. Thank you for your time.

Any additional public comments, Zoom, or in the chamber? We're on unscheduled communication right now. Seeing none, we're going to go to close public comment, close unscheduled communication. That is going to conclude our open session for today. Still got a lot to do in closed session this afternoon. City Attorney, can you please go ahead and read off the closed session agenda? And Council will be back here about 1.30, 1.45, but it will be in closed session that we return.

Good morning. Today in closed session, we have item 5A, Conference with Labor Negotiators, all units listed on the agenda. Item 5B, Conference with Legal Counsel, Existing Litigation, Fitzgerald v. City of Fresno. Item 5C, Conference with Legal Counsel, Existing Litigation, Tetellian v. City of Fresno. Item 5D, conference with legal counsel, anticipated litigation, one potential case. Item 5E, conference with legal counsel, anticipated litigation, one potential case. Item 5F, public employee performance evaluation, city attorney. Item 5G, public employee performance evaluation, city clerk. We may have reportable items after closed session.

All right, thank you, city attorney. Thank you to everybody who participated today, and I'll see you in closed session, counsel.

¶¶ Thank you. . . . . . . . . . . Thank you. Thank you. you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. do do ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ . . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ Thank you. you . . . . Thank you. Thank you. you Thank you. Thank you. so so Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. you Thank you. Bye. Thank you. ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. . . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. . . . . . . . Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ . . . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ so so Bye. ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. do do you Thank you. you Thank you. you Thank you. ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. so so Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. . . . ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. . . . Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. so so Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. you . Thank you. Thank you. ¶¶ ¶¶ . . . Thank you. ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. so so Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. you you you . . . . ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. you Thank you. Thank you. So, Thank you. do do ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. . . ¦ ¦ Thank you. you Thank you. Thank you. . . . . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. so Thank you. Thank you. you you Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you for joining us today. Council is adjourning from closed session at 325 p.m.

Thank you. Thank you. Bye. ¶¶ Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.