City Council - Regular Meeting

Call to order the regular meeting for September 15, 2026. City Clerk, roll call, please.

Council Members, Brighton Booker?

Here.

Alford?

Here.

Morawit?

Here.

Vice Mayor Lackey? Here. Mayor Singh?

I am here. Moving on to invocation and flag salute, we have Tim Todd from Crossroads. Here we go. Council Member Bridenbrook, do you want to lead us in invocation?

Sure. Bow our head. Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for the people that are here in this process. We ask this blessing now on staff, first responders. We ask for wisdom, for our counsel, discernment as we go through the agenda. We just pray now for our country. Watch over us. Keep us safe. We pray these things now in Christ's name. Amen.

Council Member Morwit, Black Sloop. Alright, thank you. That goes ahead and takes us to agenda review and supplemental reports.

Mayor and council, we have the following supplemental reports. Five communications received from the public for item C1. As for agenda review, all city council meetings shall be conducted in an orderly and efficient manner without willful disruption by any person or persons in attendance. The city has also adopted a decorum policy that governs public meetings with states that all city council meeting attendees shall refrain from behavior that threatens to disrupt or to disrupt government city government operations. This includes but is not limited to harassment and or intimidate intimidation of city staff, elected officials or members of the public. Please be advised that should a disruption occur, a member of the city council shall issue the person or persons an initial warning. Should a second disruption occur by the same person or persons, a member of the city council shall ask the person or persons to leave the meeting. Mayor and Council, that's all I have for you tonight.

All right. Thank you, City Clerk. We're moving on to disclosure of ex parte communication. Okay. Seeing none from Council, we will go ahead and move on to presentations. If the Council can join me in the front.

We have three.

Proclamation A1. Proclamation proclaiming September 2026 as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Today we have Samantha and Jackson that will be accepting the proclamation. If you'd like to come on up. No Samantha in Jackson. All right. We'll move on to item A2, proclamation proclaiming September 4th, 2026 as polycystic kidney disease awareness day. And we have Stephanie tonight here to accept.

Whereas polycystic kidney disease, PKD, is a serious genetic condition, an autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, ADPKD, its most common form affects an estimated 12.4 million people worldwide, including more than 500,000 Americans. There is currently no cure for PKD and

Whereas the PKD Foundation, founded in 1982, is dedicated to finding treatments and a cure for PKD through research, advocacy, education, support, and awareness, and?

Whereas the PKD Foundation provides individuals and families affected by PKD with resources to help manage the condition while raising public awareness to support research, improve patients' outcomes, and advance the search for a cure, and?

Whereas recognizing the efforts of the PKD Foundation and supporting its mission is vital to the well-being of those living with PKD and their families and

Now, therefore, I, Gary Singh, Mayor of the City of Manteca, California, on behalf of City Council, do hereby proclaim September 4th, 2026, as Biosecurity Kidney Awareness Day in the City of Manteca, and encourage all citizens to join me in this special observance by supporting efforts to find a cure for PKD, participating in local events, and spreading awareness about this devastating disease. All right, Stephanie, you want to say a few words?

Sure, I appreciate it.

First off, I want to say thank you to the council. This was my third year that I've been here doing this. I'm a little more prepared this time. I do want to share a story. So the story I want to share is actually about my mom. My mom was diagnosed back in 1987 with polycystic kidney disease. In 2001, her kidneys failed. This is a genetic condition, as they mentioned. It affects your kidneys as you age. And in 2001, when she was diagnosed, I was the first one in line to offer a kidney. And that's when I found out that I too have this genetic condition. So my mom actually passed away in 2021 after 20 years of fighting this condition. She got a kidney transplant from a stranger back in 2005, a woman who heard her story. was moved and felt like she needed to give her a kidney and actually did just that. Gave my mom 12 years of life. Additional years she might not have had. And then she ended up back on dialysis, unfortunately. And then in 2021, she passed. But since that time, my husband and I have been advocating for patient rights. I should say living donor rights and protecting patients. And the reason we do that is if a living donor today gives a kidney to someone who needs a kidney, they could actually be penalized. Their insurance premiums could be increased. They could be denied life insurance. And so we're advocating for legislation to protect living donors. We've been doing that now for 10 years. And it's been a fight to get it passed, but that's something that we're going to continue to do to protect living donors, people who want to give life, like Carol did for my mom. So thank you for listening to my story, and thank you to the council for doing this for us.

I'll bring us to item a three proclamation proclaiming September 15, through October 15 2026. As Hispanic Heritage Month, Marin Council tonight we have city staff along with any local community members that would like to accept the proclamation.

Whereas for over 55 years, Hispanic Heritage Month has been celebrated in the United States from September 15th through October 15th, and?

Whereas we begin the observance on September 15th, because it is the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16th and 18th, respectively, and?

Whereas Hispanic Heritage Month uplifts the cultural legacy that shares values rooted in rich traditions that harbor a deep commitment to family and community and?

All right, here we go. Here we go. Whereas, you'll know why I'm laughing here in just a second. Whereas the nationwide observance theme for Hispanic Heritage Month 2026, Together We Are More, Unidos Somos Mas, honoring the diverse stories that strengthen our nation, investing in the future, building a stronger America for all, and congratulations.

Now, therefore, I, Gary Singh, Mayor of the City of Manteca, on behalf of City Council, do hereby proclaim the month of September 2026 as Hispanic Heritage Month. I encourage the community to learn more about the various Hispanic cultures, traditions, and values, and have positively enriched our community and our nation. I'm going to add for Council Member Morwit, food, also to this.

One, two, three.

I was told Marco has a long speech for us.

Good evening, everyone. My name is Marco Martinez. I am the Assistant City Clerk for the City Clerk's Office, and tonight it is an honor to accept this proclamation for Hispanic Heritage Month. On behalf of everyone in the community, as well as all staff here, I just want to say that This recognition is a recognition not just for the average Hispanic, but for Hispanic of all walks of life, including those that are on the street selling their wares and food to the CEOs that are in offices air conditioned. I just want to say that the Hispanic population in the United States, that we are a force and we are contributors to the American way of life. There are approximately 70 million Hispanic Americans in the United States, which comprises about 21% of the population. And if Hispanic Americans were their very own country, we would have a 3.2 trillion GDP, which would make us the fifth largest economy in the world. So We are proud to be Americans, we are proud to be Hispanic Americans, and we are proud to contribute and be here. Thank you. Thank you.

story behind it.

All right. Thank you for that council and everyone. We're going to go ahead and move on to section B, which is public comment.

At this time, you may call for public comment for items not listed on the agenda via zoom webinar or in person public comment is limited to three minutes per person.

All right, let's start with zoom.

I have no hands.

All right. Do you have any comment cards?

I do. My first public comment card is Leanne.

Good evening, mayor and council members. I am Leanne Varletta-Larsen. Today I submitted a formal request to the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office asking for an independent public integrity inquiry into the out front media matter and related city actions. I want the public to understand why. Look at the chain of events. The city initiated litigation involving Outfront's existing billboards. During that dispute, a potential resolution developed involving new digital billboard locations. Then the city changed its sign regulations, including provisions allowing privately owned signs on city property and changing allowable sign height. The city then moved forward with acquiring a property at Atherton Drive connected to a future digital billboard location. Then there is Chamberlain. City records repeatedly describe Chamberlain as a city-initiated annexation of approximately 2.1 acres. It later expanded to approximately 17.4 acres and seven parcels, including private property proposed for general commercial zoning. And that expanded annexation is connected to the proposed Highway 99 billboard location. So follow the sequence. Litigation, new billboard location, changes to city law, public property acquisition, a dramatically expanded annexation involving private commercial property, and now the out front agreement. My question is simple. When were these decisions actually made? And my concern goes beyond out front. I believe there's a broader pattern that deserves independent examination where litigation or anticipated litigation may be creating a pathway for consequential public policy decisions to be developed outside public view. We have seen other major matters involving city property and litigation, including 555 Industrial Park Drive, where significant governmental and infrastructure decisions followed. I'm not alleging tonight that those actions were unlawful. I'm asking whether litigation is being used intentionally or otherwise in a way that allows decisions affecting taxpayers, land use, infrastructure, or private interests to develop without meaningful public scrutiny. That's why I requested an independent review. Litigation may belong behind closed doors. Public policy does not automatically belong there with it. And a public hearing should be where the public can influence a decision, not simply witness the approval of one already made. Thank you.

Thank you. Do we have another comment card?

The next card I have is Mike.

Good evening, Mike DeAnda, Operating Engineers. Tonight, I'd like to speak to you about the article that was published in the Manteca Bulletin on September 3rd, 2026. It had a focus on the higher end wage salary study proposals, mainly the water and wastewater classifications. And some of those were good and great, and they brought them to market. For others, not so good. The article fails to mention the whole picture. The employees who will receive these increases, many of the employees who receive these increases will be well below current inflation. Day one, these employees will start below market and will continue to stay below market for the duration of the contract, which is three years. When we started, it was at 2% in the first year, 2% in the second, 2% in the third year. Current inflation is 3.6% trending up. Fuel cost has just broke $6 a gallon. We all know what's going on in the world. These employees not mentioned deserve to be mentioned as they are not second-class employees. So the OE3 bargaining team did identify this specific matter months ago during negotiations well before the city issued its last best and final offer to us. It's been known by that team for some time. And what you see in this bargaining unit with our informational picketing and the speaking here at council members is a bargaining unit who is united and does not want to leave any employee behind as far as this market study goes. So they're fighting for a contract for everybody in this negotiations. And I also want the citizens to hear that, that the industry requirements and the market dictate salaries and benefits. It's not just the employees. And we all know because of COVID that all city employees are deemed essential. And finishing, I'd like to talk about the water, since the water employees were pointed out in that article. These are highly trained and skilled employees who deliver clean and fresh and safe water citywide. Think about this the next time you're at home drinking or using the water. in your day-to-day life with your family, taking a shower and brushing your teeth, or when you're at a restaurant and drinking their water or having ice in your drinks and your children at school. Clean and safe water. No boil notice is sent out by you to these citizens saying the water is unsafe. So I want you to keep that in mind when these employees are put out there to say that their salaries are very high and lucrative. There is a major, major responsibility set in there. They work 365, seven days a week. So we do meet on Monday. Local rules say that we have to meet one more time because we are an impasse. I'm hopeful for a deal. I hope we don't have to bring a state mediator in. So thank you. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

The next card I have is Brad.

I'm just going to pick up where I left off last meeting. I've got some documents I'm going to enter into the record. The City of Manteca has a non-discretionary obligation under ADA Title II as well as Section 504, ADA Title II, CFR 35.150 and 35.151D to maintain a continuous right-of-way as well as That's not under that title. But anyways, that's not the continuous path of travel. But the problem is they do not provide it. Center Street, the documents I provided, I have information back from 1989 going forward. 2001 to 2002 or three in those documents, you will find information and photos regarding the police department slash sharp expansion over here between the senior citizen center and the police station that I pleaded with the city. There's all kinds of documents here, about $58 worth of copies. And anyways, that and the CDB fund transfers from Center Street at Goodall. That was what they used to construct this parking lot, and under HUD, These are against the law. I can't even read my writing, but anyways, it's under HUD rules, 24 CFR 91.505, 24 CFR 570. Trigger is 24 CFR 91.105C, and timelines rule 24 CFR 570.902. And then we go over here to Magnolia Court. You accepted HUD funding, which was... supposed to include a continuous path of travel from Grant Street, from Magnolia. There's pictures also in here that goes up to down Grant Street. There's a missing sidewalk of about 75 feet on the west side behind the Dribbles Car Wash from Magnolia Court, which is in direct violation of HUD guidelines when you accept a loan for 55 and older, which was completed in 2011. And there's some other things here that I don't know how much time I have, but you guys have filled miserably with the pedestrian right-of-ways and the curb ramps throughout all of these areas, all of the areas that you guys did resurfacing just recently from Cottage Rover. You guys are going to have to remediate each one of those inner curbs throughout each neighborhood due to the violation of ADA Title II, Section 504. It's going to be a multimillion-dollar project, and the city is in a financial catastrophic crisis at this time. You're on notice that you didn't put the curbs in when it's mandated. Each and every one with truncated domes under control. Title 2411B, as well as 504 in Section Title II of the ADA Act. So I recommend that you get with the program, and maybe 10, 3, 13, and Channel 40 will be interested in this. But I think that's all the time I have. Thank you.

Thank you.

The next card I have is John.

Thank you, City Council. You may recall that in responding to a public comment during the June 2nd regarding the policy requesting a waiver of the policy requiring $4 million liability insurance for indoor spaces, like the McFall Community Room at the Manteca Lyre for groups under 50, a statement was made that the amounts are set up by our insurer, MPA, Municipal Pooling Authority, or words to that effect. This is not the case. When in doubt, go to the source of the information. In an email dated Wednesday, August 26, Erwin Chang, General Liability Claims Manager for the Municipal Pooling Authority wrote, MPA supports the use of liability insurance requirements and for third-party use of city property because they help protect a city from claims arising out of an event. However, MPA does not establish facility rental requirements facilities. These are decisions made at the city council. This information was also sent in an email forwarded to the city council, and he also describes that the MPA makes no distinction between indoor and outdoor spaces, as does this current city council. What is our actual experience? In the past three completed fiscal years, the city paid $8.6 million in liability insurance, of which only $355 in claims were made against the Parks and Recreation Department. With such a history of low liability, why does the City of Manteca bother to make such a distinction? This is a decision of the City Council and the City of Manteca. This is not the MPA's decision. I call on the City Council to add the equalization of third-party liability insurance requirements for indoor and outdoor spaces to be the same as an agenda for policy review to remove the requirement for groups under 50 for both indoor and outdoor spaces and allow individuals to rent city facilities without liabilities, as is done for the cities of Stockton, Tracy, Escalon, Linden, and Ripon. If they can do it, we can do it. Thank you very much.

The next part I have is Adam.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council. I'm here to speak to you about our automated traffic enforcement system here in the city of Manteca. I support safe intersections and enforcement against genuinely dangerous red light running. But Manteca should also ask whether automated enforcement is being used for better traffic engineering. could prevent violations in the first place. Consider Yosemite at Commerce and Northwoods next to our Chick-fil-A. During portions of the signal cycle, cross traffic has a protected left turn movement. Pedestrian crossings are stopped in both directions as the city studied whether a protected right turn green arrow could safely operate at the same time. It's a very busy intersection. I think most of us understand intuitively that when the traffic in front of us can safely turn left with a green protected arrow and both crosswalks don't walk, that it's safe to make a right on that red. It could be a green arrow. If that movement can be safely separated, engineering it should be considered before repeatedly issuing $490 moving violations, costing people one point. The economic scale matters. In 2025, City of Manteca reported that it issued 9,824 red light camera violations in about a seven-month enforcement period in 2025, compared with 5,110 citations for all other reasons. At $490 each, those camera citations represent more than $4.8 million in face value penalties against the citizens and visitors of Manteca. And most of that money does not become a city traffic safety resource. Roughly 80% reportedly goes to the courts in the state, while the camera company contract collects up to $873,600 per year. There is another contract provision the council should examine. Normally, if camera revenues are insufficient to pay various invoices, the contract allows the city to defer the shortfall, and an unpaid balance remains when the agreement ends that the city is not responsible for. But the favorable protection requires that the city not waive or failed to timely process more than 10% of the valid violations that Vera recommends to law enforcement. I'm not accusing any officer of approving an improper citation. Residents should question a vendor's contract that creates a financial consequence connected to how frequently the city declines violations presented for approval. And by the way, that requires a business rules that need to be approved by the city. So I would like to see those public, if we could, what the business rules are that we've asked the vendor to enforce against people making turns. Enforcement decisions should be driven solely by the law and our public safety, not by contract economics. So please publish by approach and lane the citation counts, the collision history, the violation types, and the engineering alternatives that were considered. If a particular right turn generates hundreds or thousands of citations but has little corresponding collision history, that deserves an engineering response. This is an election year. Residents should be able to ask our current officials and candidates, what measurable safety improvement are we buying, and why are we not looking at better signaling decisions that can also eliminate these violations? Thank you. Thank you.

The last card I have is Roxy.

Let's give this a try. Okay, good evening, Mayor and City Council. I'm here to speak about what I find to be a great barrier in use of the community room. And I just wanted to share my experience with it. When I retired from nursing, I had an active RN license, as well as an IBCLC, or Internationally Board Certified, lactation consultant certificate. I was trying to set up a breastfeeding mom support group. The first place I approached was the library. I wanted a place that was neutral, that was non-denominational, non-judgmental, private, that women could come in to form friendships with other new moms, get their babies weight checked if necessary. Hopefully I could help troubleshoot. This was not a for-profit thing. This was just, I retired, I didn't really, I wasn't ready to retire, and I love what I do. And I was unable to make it work because of the insurance fee. It was very discouraging. I could not make the idea work. I couldn't find a decent place. I wasn't affiliated with a church, and again, that's denominational. I couldn't find a private neutral place anywhere in town. I've lived here a long time. I never dreamed it would be an issue. But that was my experience with it. So that was, like I said, just my experience with it. Later on, I was trying to put together a scrapbooking crop, if any of you are familiar. It's kind of like an old-fashioned quilting bee, except we don't quilt, we make scrapbooks. And believe me, can we cut paper? But the same thing, we couldn't afford a room. We're just a bunch of gals that get together, but we wanted to have a big gathering. There probably would have been about 35 ladies. And even going, you know, like checking out the halls, the Emory, around town, there was nothing. that was in our price range, which I will admit was pretty low. We ended up teaming up with some other people and using their church fellowship hall. But I just wanted to share my personal experience with how the community room isn't really community accessible. So thank you very much for listening and allowing me to be here.

Thank you.

Mayor, that's all the cards I have.

All right. Anybody else would like to speak on an item that's not on the agenda? Okay. Seeing none, we'll go ahead and move on to the next section, which is consent items. We do have a request to pull C1 from the public. Charlie. Gina.

None.

And Mike?

None.

And I have no need. So if I can get a motion for all items not pulled?

Second.

All right. I have a motion from Vice Mayor Lackey, second from Council Member Brighton-Booker. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. 5-0-C-1.

Adopt a resolution approving the land exchange agreement and joint escrow instructions between the city of Manteca and PD Dana LLC. NPL Dana LLC. authorizing the city manager to execute the agreement and related escrow documents and authorizing staff to undertake all actions necessary to complete the property exchange for future fire station number six. Mayor and Council, tonight we have Deputy Director of Development Services, Jesus Orozco.

Good evening, Mayor, Council. Before you is a land exchange agreement. In summation, the city has two parcels equating to approximately 0.98 acres or less than an acre, which has been negotiated to be exchanged for approximately 1.9 acres or two acres for Fire Station 6. And that's really what the agreement for you this evening is about through a separate agreement. There will be an additional portion that will be included as part of this exchange to have a cumulative or a total of two acres to accommodate for the fire station. That concludes my presentation. Thank you.

I'll go ahead and open up the public comments. And who was it pulled by?

I have two people. The first card is Leanne.

Leanne?

Mayor and council members, at the last city council meeting when a high density residential development came before you, I asked a basic question. Does the school these children would attend actually have room for them? A representative from Manteca Unified told the school there is room today but could not promise there would be still when the development is built. This isn't theoretical. In my neighborhood, a child living approximately 10 houses from his neighborhood school was assigned elsewhere and would have had to take the bus. I intervened on behalf of that child and today he attends his home school. But when schools have limited space, making room for one child can mean another child is assigned elsewhere, and that's wrong too. We cannot solve overcrowding by moving children from school to school. That's not creating capacity. That's moving the problem. and the burden from one family to another. After the meeting, I looked at Manteca Unified's own capacity information for Brock Elliott, the school associated with the development in question. The district's November 2025 capacity analysis listed Brock Elliott at 95% current program utilization. 95%. Yet we're considering additional high-density housing whose children may eventually need seats at that school. There is another issue I believe deserves an answer. Manteca Police Chief Stephen Schuller is also president of the Manteca School Association. Unified Board of Education. At that meeting, Chief Shuler was participating on behalf of the city.

Ms. Larson, can you stay on topic on the agenda item?

It will be germane to that. It will be germane to that. I promise. At that meeting, Chief Shuler was participating on behalf of the city while the council considered development that raises school capacity concerns. I'm not declaring that those two positions automatically constitute an unlawful conflict. I'm asking... How does the city manage the potential conflict between those two institutional responsibilities? This issue became more significant when Mr. Schiller became chief of police. Has the city attorney analyzed whether simultaneously serving as Manteca's police chief and school board president creates incompatible responsibilities? That was my question to you. If so, what was the conclusion? Okay. And most importantly, when approving high-density housing, don't ask only whether a school has room today. Ask whether it is projected to have room when those apartments are actually occupied. Because approving housing today and figuring out where the children will go tomorrow isn't planning. Growth in schools cannot be planned separately. The children who will live in these developments deserve a place in that planning before the buildings go up, not afterwards. Thank you.

The next card I have is Sudhakar.

Good evening, Council. Thank you for the opportunity. Today I'm here to oppose the land, public land being what is that lot line adjustment for a non-public use. Prior to this, the land swap deal or whatever this deal is called, the lot acreage of school district is 15.87 acre with the APN 241, 260, 13 and 11.82 for 241, 260 and 33. So this is the apartment owned by PD, HDR owned by PD Dana. So both accretes together is 27.69. When this deal includes increase for an PQP as quoted, the PQP accrete should be 17.87. And this 17.87 should be the PQP zone. But with this deal, it's not 17.87, but it's 16.87. The reason is the school district deprecated by one acre and will be now, after this deal is approved, would be 14.87. So and the agreement between MUSD and city was that the one acre dedicated is for the sole purpose of fire station a public use. And in that same agreement, it was said, sorry. If the city fails to begin development of one acre of Tara Park property into a fire station within 10 years of the effective date, the city shall convey the one acre Tara Park property by grant deed back to the district. So the purpose of public use is not being done with this lot line adjustment agreement. And it's reducing the public site. So the site that is accrued is by the taxpayer's money, and it was paid in 2014. And if that land is needed in a future purpose and realizes the cost of that would be a huge burden, and it will be lost. And if the 0.82 acre can be utilized by the city, example, for a fire station museum or some other public purpose, that would be beneficial. Thank you.

Thank you. Anybody else would like to speak on this item? OK, seeing none, we'll go ahead and bring it back. Close the public hearing. Jesus, question real quick on this total PQP gain and potentially 16.87, 15.8. Can you kind of enlighten that, what it was before and then after? Of course.

I think there may be some confusion with the land use designation and land ownership. So the current property that's part of the property that's been exchanged with the city was partially designated by density and part of it has been re-designated to PQP, which adds to the total cumulative of the PQP designation. currently assigned for the school MUC owned property. So that's where those numbers come. However, I just want to reiterate that there may be some confusion with land use and land ownership. So there is an increase in PQP land use designation.

Okay, so can you tell me before we did any of this, how much was HDR land and how much is it going to be after and how much was PQP for the school, and how much is it gonna be now?

The Dana property currently is about 11.22 acres. A portion of that has been redesignated to PQP, so if we subtract 11.22, I'm sorry, if we subtract 1.82 acres from that 11.22, we're looking at under 10 acres of high-density residential. The school district has a total of 15.84 acres PQP, and there is no change in designation for that portion with the exception of . . . 0.82 acres for high density residential.

When it's all said and done, what will be each one of them? We'll have two acres for the fire station. What will be left for school and what will be left for HDR?

So will you allow me one minute to do my math?

No problem. We got all night.

So if we subtract one acre from the current 15.87 acres, we're down to 14.87. Point 82 of that will be a designated high density over to the PD Dana portion. And point 18 will be, is designated as PQP for the fire station. So when all it's said and done, The school remains with about 14.05 acres, which is still sufficient according to staff's understanding enough for the school site's needs, which leaves a final of two acres for the fire station and about 10.2 acres of high-density residential.

Okay. Any other questions or comments from council? Council.

Okay.

That'll contain a motion either way.

Move to approve.

Second. We have a motion from Council Member Brighton-Brooker, second from Council Member Morawie. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries 5-0. Okay, that brings us to D1. The cast is very excited.

Bear with me on the title here. Conduct a public hearing and adopt a resolution finding that the energy conservation services provided by the wastewater quality control facility, WQCF, solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage system project is in the best interest of the city of Manteca, finding that the anticipated cost of the project will be less than the anticipated loss cost of the energy that would have been consumed by the WQCF in the absence of the project. Finding that the funds required to repay the project financing and associated project costs are projected to be available from energy cost savings or other funds that would have been used to purchase energy. Finding that as no facility ground lease is proposed, The finding under government code 4217.12 subsection A subsection 2 concerning fair rental value is not applicable. Approving the project and any related agreements pursuant to California government code section 4217 amending the fiscal year 2026-2027 capital improvement program to include the project and assign a new capital improvement project number reallocating $2 million from CIP 12013 in the sewer O&M fund to the project. Approve the PDB agreement for services with Will Dan for an amount not to exceed $15 million with an additional $3 million in contingency available via written authorization for a total not to exceed amount of $18 million. Approving a project contingency of $3 million and authorizing city manager or designee to take all appropriate actions necessary to to carry out the purpose and intent of the resolution. Deputy Director of Engineering Somporn is here for you today.

Thank you, Cass. Good evening, Mayor, City Council. Thank you for... Well, tonight I bring to you a very exciting project to me because it seems like every time I come in front of you, I always ask for more money. This is actually... the one time where this project is potentially going to be generating revenue. And so we're going to be spending money, but over the long term, we're actually going to be saving a ton of money. So just as Cass mentioned, this is the wastewater quality control facility solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage system project. It is planned to be delivered pursuant to government code 4217. And my clicker's not working, is there? I see no off button.

Now, is there an on button?

Next slide. So California Government Code Title 1, Division 5, Chapter 3.2 Energy Conservation Contracts, Subsection 4217 allows the City of Bantika to implement and finance energy conservation through a flexible energy services contracting process. as long as the city can make the falling forward determinations and findings. So first, the project is in the best interest of the city. The energy savings will be greater than the anticipated project cost. The energy savings will also be greater than the total financing plus project cost. And there's no issues with any fair value rental associated with any land lease. So those are the four items that we'll need to reach an agreement on. Next slide, please. The problem that we have right now is our PG&E cost is really, really high. Just sharing some of the data from these last two months, July and August. So just between July and August, we send roughly half a million dollars to PG&E. That's approximately, over the course of a year, $2.5 million every year. Looking at the increase, the average annual increase over the last five years has been roughly 10% every year. That's a total of 61% over the last five years. The increase over the last 10 years averaged 7.5% per year, totaling 206%. The last increase over the last 15 years is the average annual increase over the last 15 years was 6%. So that's a total of 240. Thank you. That's a total of 240, 240% increase. So if we do nothing and we assume that there's no additional PG&E increase, there's no additional increase in power consumption at the plant, we're looking at sending to PG&E $25 million over the next 10 years. So just keep that number in mind. The proposal that we have tonight that we're looking at trying to get done is a floating solar panel system and battery backup. So the plan is to float these solar panels on top of our secondary effluent storage ponds. We're looking at the cost to be somewhere between $15 and $18 million. We're also, if we're able to finish the project by the end of 2027, we'll qualify for up to six million dollars in federal incentives. The return on investment is roughly eight years. The solar panel life expectancy is 25 years, but, and the battery life expectancy is 20 years. When we do our engineering analysis, we always look at a 20 year life. So here's the that we worked with Wilden. If you look at the yellow highlight, that's the 10-year mark. So for a cost-to-benefit ratio to make sense on engineering analysis, we typically look at a return on investment between 7 and 10 years. So that's why I highlighted the 10-year mark. If we 100% pay go, which means we have the cash on hand, we pay for it upfront, there's no financing cost, assuming a 3% inflation rate and assuming PG&E increases their rates every year by 6%, we're looking at a rate of return or return on investment of eight years. So as you look at those numbers, as it goes from red to black, that's when we start the cost of the project starts overcoming the actual savings. So if we do 100% pay go, we're paying it cash upfront, we're looking at a cost savings over the next 20 years of $27 million. If we decide to finance it, it's still a good deal. But if you look at the bottom number on the savings, it's actually only $17 million. So the total financing costs we would accrue over the 20-year life of the project is $10 million. That's money that's going to the banks that are charging us the interest. And this is the final recommendations. I know it's a little long and it's a little small. The important numbers to take a look at there is tonight what we're asking is we're asking appropriation of $2 million. That gets us enough funding to finalize the design and also figure out what the actual cost is going to be and come back for additional ward we are going to be working closely with the finance department to see what option is better for the city if we can postpone some projects move things around and do a pay go that's a huge benefit to the city but if we can't afford and we have to finance obviously the the savings are going to be less so with that I'll I'm available for questions I also have members from Wolden if there's any questions I'm not able to answer

All right. Thank you. I guess the first question I had, can you go back to that? How much money do I have in that 640 fund?

I will defer to Matt.

I'm not sure how much we have in there. I know we currently exceed our reserve requirement. We did have a meeting with our municipal advisor earlier this week just to start review of the project. And as they get more review, we'll have a meeting to figure out what the best financing source for the project is.

And is it finance or pay up front, or can you do a little bit of both?

We're going to be looking at both options. I think right now, if you look at this slide, if I can get the slide back.

Is there a way I can get the slides back?

So this option here, if you look at second to last column at the top, it's $2 million. So assuming we just pay the $2 million and we finance the rest, the total savings is $17 million over the course of the 20 years. There is some beauty to this because it is cash flow positive. So we're spending $2 million, but we're going to be getting potentially up to $6 million in federal incentive. So you're starting your bank account with potentially plus $4 million and you're drawing it down. But as you see, there is quite a bit of a difference in the financing costs. So there's $10 million that could go to the city that would go to the banks.

Right. The reason I ask is... depending on how much we are over our reserve, maybe we take that money, put that as a larger down payment if we were going to do more than $2 million. It could potentially happen, or if we have the money.

Yeah, and I just want to add, tonight's item is just to have the contract with Wildan to start the project, so we'd bring another item before we award construction contracts, and we would have funding and recommendations for that at that time.

Yeah, no, I understand that part. I was just saying something to think about when we are bringing it. Any questions from council before I open it up? OK, we'll go ahead and open up public hearing. Zoom.

I have no hands raised.

Any comment cards?

I have no comment cards.

Hey, anybody would like to speak on this item? Come on up, sir. All right. Pick one. We'll give you both a chance.

This is the first time I'm here to talk. Nanette Garcia. Hello, everybody. My question is for you. Excuse me if I could. How much is this going to cost the residents?

If you can ask us the question.

Well, how much is it going to cost the residents now? We're already paying a lot on our water. And if you're going to put another bill on there, come on. It's getting ridiculous now. For the garbage and the water, there's people that really can't afford that much, especially when you have one person or two persons per household paying the same as eight persons. Now, if you're going to go ahead and do this, but you guys want to pay for it, I'm fine with that. But the residents cannot pay that much for water anymore. The bills are getting too ridiculous. So before you guys vote and go behind there and vote say yes, I'm saying no for right now. I'm saying no. And that's all I have to say.

Okay, thank you. Go ahead, sir.

Thank you, Mayor and council members. I'm Saran. I've been in the floating solar industry for almost like five, six years, and I really support this project to come up and save more energy savings in the bills. And only one question is, I would like to see what would be the capacity that you're planning to put, because it defines the bill savings, and then it defines how much savings you're going to get. Thank you so much.

All right. Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council. So, you know, this is a great program. I was talking to some people about the cost of our of our water and services. And one of the few ways that we can bring those costs down or keep from jumping them up is to really take PG&E out of the equation. We need to be able to subsidize this PG&E bill. PG&E is not going to get cheaper. It's going to continue to get more and more expensive. So if we can pull in solar to do this, I think that this would be one of the best ways help our community not have an increase in these services, water and services fees. Thank you.

Thank you. Anybody else? Everybody.

Good evening. Thank you for the opportunity. So I think in the slide, the

In total of revenue that will be saving is 17 million after 20 years? That's if we finance.

Okay. So will this savings would be given back to residents in terms of the water and sewer bill that increase would be... reduced because of this additional savings. And what would I did not see in the project the cost of repair or maintenance of this and what will be the after 25 or 20 years of the lifespan of this solar panels will what will be the cost of replacement or the maintenance cost? Thank you.

All right, thank you. Anybody else? Okay, seeing none, I'll go ahead and close. And then we got some questions. All right, I guess we'll start with the first one. First of all, this is not for water, this is for sewer, correct? And will this make our bills go up?

This won't make the bill go up or down. The cost savings is going to be paid back to the wastewater fund and what it's more likely going to do is reduce the potential for future hikes. So specifically related to just PG&E costs, if we do nothing PG&E is going to go up, it's going to continue to increase and we're just going to tack on that as part of the cost of service. So this is actually is a good move to keep the cost under control, help keep the energy costs under control.

Yeah, because today built into our rates is the $2.5 million in PG&E costs at the sewer treatment plant, correct? Correct. So this would be to hopefully get rid of that. And it's even going to be a bigger saving as that cost continues to climb.

That's correct. And we only assume a 6%. So if you look at the last five years and assume a 10% increase from PG&E, that savings balloons even higher beyond the $27 million that we talked about.

And yes, and the question was about if we save $17 million or we save $27 million, we're not bringing that back and giving everybody a reduction in bills.

It will be a reduction from future increases.

Because this is over the lifespan of the 25.

Correct. We're going to continue to have additional process upgrades based on regulatory requirements from the state. Those are always going to have a cost impact. So if the question is, are we going to be issuing people refunds, the answer is no. But it's going to help prevent future large increase associated with electrical power.

OK. And then the one gentleman asked about capacity. I think he was asking basically how big the solar system is.

Yes. So we're targeting right now a 2.3 megawatt system. But as we finish the design, as we coordinate with PG&E, as we get pricing that's going to adjust, it can adjust up or down. Right now, the plant uses about three and a half megawatt, and so we intentionally undersize it to make sure that we never export. If we do plan on exporting back into PG&E grids, it's a different level of protection, a different level of review from PG&E, which means we're going to miss our mark for the federal incentive. And so that's one of the goals is trying to keep it just under the threshold where we're meeting the bulk of our usage, but we're still going to be importing something from PG&E.

We're still going to have a PG&E bill.

Yes, there are times when the sun doesn't shine, so I would want to make sure that people are able to flush their toilets when it's a stormy day outside.

That would be a good idea. Okay, I'll go to council if there's any questions. Council Member Alford.

You asked them all. Sorry. You know, it saves somewhere between 17 and 27 million over the course of the contract.

Minimum.

20 years. It was like kind of a no-brainer to me. Going to save money. 20, 25 years, we'll end up having to replace it. But we'll be in the same boat. Whoever's making the decisions in 25 years, we'll be in the same boat. We're going to spend money to save.

Yes, sir. Council Member Brantford.

It is a good project. When we can save money, it's always a good thing. Ms. Garcia, I appreciate you coming up and asking your question today. I hope that answered your question. If not, you can talk to staff after the meeting. With this, it's not going to cost our citizens extra. It's going to help reduce the reduce the future costs. So in that aspect, it is helping. Thank you. All right. Council Member Morwitz.

It's a good solar project. I think it's interesting how they use the water for space. I know we were talking about using it on the ground at the wastewater plant. But once we put it down, then you're tied up to land for 25 years and possibly longer. So this particular design was way different than what we used in other proposals because it floats on the water. And so we already have water there at the waste plant and the water plant. So therefore, we're not using any additional space, which means we could use that land for other uses. So it uses that particular. It's a good way of utilizing what we currently have for land and for the future. And also, at the same time, it's not costing us money. So for the ratepayers, it is a better deal, no different than supplementing your electricity bill at your home with solar. It might not be enough to cover it at all, but it's certainly going to cover a lot more than if we didn't have the solar. So this is an expensive project, but it also pays back expensive wells. So it's sort of a dividend as well. So I'm in favor of the project.

All right. Thank you, Vice Mayor.

I appreciate Ms. Garcia and Sudhakar for coming up and speaking about the future of residence bills. I am in favor of this project. In the past, Well, right now we're seeing that our bills have gone up because there was not any movement in the past to make sure that the future is taken care of when it comes to these big hikes. What this project ultimately is going to do is reduce the amount of the increases in the future. So I like that we are looking toward the future, and this is going to help bring in that revenue for the next 20, 25 years. And I also really like the fact that you're going to make sure the toilet's still flushed on a rainy day. Very important. Thank you for bringing this and for the presentation. I'm glad that we're able to do something that looks toward the future and hopefully helps to reduce some costs down the road.

Thank you, Vice Mayor. One more thing I forgot earlier was it came up about maintenance. So did we include that anywhere?

Can I get the spreadsheet back, ITE? So if you take a look at there, we do have typically at the 10-year mark, the solar inverters tend to start failing. We're not going to replace them all at once. We're going to replace them as they fail, but we put in a plug for $500,000 for that at the 10-year mark. And then we do include also operation maintenance of the battery and also There's a first five years for operation maintenance that's for Will Dan as part of a performance guarantee. So staff will be tracking the production to make sure that we are getting the savings that we're expected to receive. And if not, we're going to be working with Will Dan to make sure they cut us a check for the difference. So there is a performance guarantee.

awesome so yeah no I really like this project I know we've been down the solar road before and it didn't work out last time so I kudos to staff and will then I really like the idea of the floating because we're not taking up any precious land near the treatment plant for future expansion of the battery and I think this is a great project I think you guys have well you got a little bit more work to do until we get to that point but I think this is going to be a win, and also in the future, like we said, it's not going to reduce your rates, but it's not going to make them go high as much because we're reducing our expenses. So kudos to that, and I think I'm ready for a motion.

Motion for approval.

Okay, I have a motion from Council Member Morwitt and a second from Vice Mayor Lackey. TO APPROVE AS PRESENTED. ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE. POST MOTION CARRIES 5-0. ALL RIGHT. WE'RE NOW MOVING ON TO ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER COMMENTS.

Thank you, Mayor, Council. Just a few announcements. So last Friday, there was a shooting at Manteca High School. We are grateful that no one was injured and thankful to the Manteca Police Department for their quick and professional response. We are proud of the officers on scene and the responding patrol officers who worked together to ensure the safety of the students, staff, and community. Park of Palooza was held last Saturday. It was a successful event with a wonderful turnout. A big thank you to our Parks and Recreation Department for putting together such a great event and creating a fun evening for our community. The Way Veteran Village held its Phase 1 Tiny Homes Ribbon Cutting on September 8th. It was a wonderful milestone for our community, celebrating new supportive housing for local veterans and providing a pathway PATHWAY TOWARDS GREATER STABILITY. ON SEPTEMBER 9TH, THE CITY CELEBRATED THE OPENING OF EIGHT NEW TRADITIONAL HOUSING CONTAINERS AND A DEDICATED DOG CONTAINER AT 555 INDUSTRIAL DRIVE, PROVIDING VALUABLE RESOURCES TO SUPPORT INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR PETS AS THEY WORK TOWARDS STABILITY AND PERMANENT HOUSING. The Manteca Fire Department commemorated the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, with observance at all five Manteca Fire Stations. The community joined together to honor the lives lost, recognize the courage and sacrifice of our first responders, and ensure that we never die. Citizens Academy. The Antica's First Citizens Academy is going very well. Session four is this week, and participants continue to learn more about city department services and operations while engaging directly with city staff. On September 17th, from 5 to 6, the city of Antica will celebrate the mural alley ribbon cutting. This event will highlight a vibrant addition to downtown Antigua and celebrate creativity, community spirit, and partnership to help bring the project to life. Please be sure to join us at the event at 105 Sycamore Avenue. Immediately following the ribbon cutting, walk over to Music on Maple, which will be the same night, September 17th, starting at 6 p.m. The theme is Get Down Downtown, Oldies in Florida. On September 26th, From 10 to 5, join the Manteca Parks and Recreation Team and the Manteca Artists Guild for Art in the Park, a fun community event featuring music, dance, art stations, games, and more. This event will be held at Library Park. And on October 7th at 10 a.m., 682 South Main Street for the Manteca Police Department, Groundbreak. As we break ground on the future of public safety in Manteca, this exciting milestone represents an important investment in facilities that will support our police department and the community for years to come. And finally, on October 14th, 10 a.m., the city will celebrate the groundbreaking of Fire Station 6. The new station represents another important investment in public safety and will help build a stronger, safer Manteca for generations to come. That will be at Woodward Avenue and Joshua Street. The next regular city council meeting is scheduled for October 6th at 6 p.m. That concludes the meeting, Mayor.

All right. Thank you, Assistant City Manager. I think there's nothing left. We'll go to council. I think I'll start with Council Member Morwit. Thank you.

Well, just to reiterate some of what the assistant city manager said, September 11th, Fire Station 4, I had the pleasure of being part of the remembrance of September 11th, and I got to speak briefly, and I think it was great on our fire chief's part to have each fire station participate, and a lot of the council members and mayor were able to attend, and it just is one way to show that our city is doing a great job remembering certain areas, certain historical moments. Also, we put out flags for Labor Day, flags for September 11th. So it's a very patriotic city. This Saturday, the Second Harvest Food Bank is going to have their Empty Bowls event, which they do every year. So I'll be attending as well. So other than that, have a good weekend, good week. Thank you.

All right. Okay.

Yeah, he did cover a lot. Thank you. I was out there at the game Friday night, and I want to also extend kudos to Manteca Unified. They did a great job at making sure people got off the field. Manteca PD had six officers at the game. Within a few minutes, they had chased down two of the three suspects and had them in custody. The school district called and canceled the game, and everybody left in an orderly fashion. It was done very well. I just wanted to say that. And so, yeah, it's a bad thing that happens, but that's kind of the world we're living in. Fortunately, they will catch the third suspect, chief. Hopefully they get the third suspect soon. They got the third suspect yet? What'd they do? Oh, okay, good. Thank you. Thank you. I'm sorry. There's so much stuff here. It's already done. Thank you. Even better. Even better. Great. Yeah, the ribbon cutting at the way, that is a project that has been going on now. And the church there has taken it 100%. And the members have really stepped up. The surrounding area has accepted this project, and they're going to be starting work on that. The ribbon cutting for the housing container and the kennel, no, the kennel is not where the homeless are going to be. I received that question on Facebook. No. The kennel, if you haven't seen it, go down there and check it out. It's an air-conditioned unit. There are cages there. Pages inside with openings to the outside. They have artificial grass outside for the pets, so they're not on the asphalt. The pets, they're not on the asphalt. It is a refrigerated unit, so when that air conditioner is on, it stays cool. It's really nice. Today, we all had the honor of attending Franco Torres's retirement, division chief. I remember when he started as a kid as a reserve with our department. He's had a storied career here. There was a lot of love and respect for the man. We can't say enough about him. I got stories, but I can't say enough about him right now. Looking forward to the police station. That is something that this council has been pushing to get, and that'll be a great location at 682. It allows us to keep the navigation center where it is and work on 555. And then the Fire Station 6, the last one was Fire Station 5, and that was in 2019 when they opened that one. So this would be a great addition to the Southwest. It'll help reduce response time and call volume in that area for Station 2. Station 2 has been running the third most calls, I believe, in the county. And that's you know, they're dealing with Stockton. So if you got a station in your community this size, it's running More than a lot of the Stockton stations. You got a busy station. I'm glad that'll be taken care of That's for that. That's it for me.

All right. Thank you.

Council member Halpert Been a busy couple of weeks I had the privilege of participating in the Healthy Rooms Project on Monday where there were four rooms, 12 kids affected. If you've not participated in that project, I would encourage you to do that. It's a great project. Everybody did a good job with the Manteca High shooting, you know, with the three in custody. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, and they were able to evacuate safely. Looking forward to the groundbreaking of the police department. It's been a work in progress for 30 years. It's been a priority of mine, as has been the Station 6. It's been a priority. Looking forward to getting that started and hopefully staffed and operational within the next 18 months. Unfortunately, construction takes a while.

And with that, Vice Mayor, it's all yours.

All right. So we've already touched on a little bit of Friday night's event. But I do want to recognize the neighbors that opened their doors. people seeking shelter the fire station thomas toy community center for opening on saturday for anybody that needed to come in for pastor or counselor services the school district they were on it they made sure that there were services available to their students reading the comments on facebook There were a lot of compliments on how our community came together and helped each other. I did see a few comments that were fearful, and rightfully so. That kind of behavior doesn't belong in any community, much less our community. It doesn't escape me that we felt this fear on 9-11. And there's a significance to me to that because that fear is very real. And anybody that needs to talk about it, go to your church, go to your school, talk to your spouse. Don't keep it in. And check on your kids, their mental well-being. It's been a few days, and it's probably still fresh in their mind. So everybody did a great job coming together, and that's what a community does. And so I really appreciate that. Parkapalooza was great, even though there was wind and smoke. Manteca Parks and Rec really came out and made it happen. And there were people dancing and singing and having a great time, even with those challenges. So that was great. I was at Station 5 for September 11th services, which was fantastic. It was amazing to know that all five stations were coordinated and was able to do it at the exact same time. So there's something special behind that as well. I read today on Facebook that today is National IT Day. So to our IT department, thank you for everything you do because these meetings would not be able to be online or even have a microphone working if it wasn't for you. So thank you very much for everything. And finally, since we won't have another meeting until October 6, the Manteca Pumpkin Fair hosted by Kiwanis will be happening Saturday and Sunday, October 3rd and 4th downtown. So please expect road closures and please come out and enjoy the festival and everything that our local vendors have to bring. Thank you.

All right, thank you. I don't know if there's anything left, really. But I did want to bring a few things that were brought up tonight during public comments and see if we can kind of look at that. The insurance and the community room thing, I know it's brought up by a few people now. I don't know if that's something we can look at, especially the community room at the library. especially with the lady that came in tonight and talked about some of the other things that they would like to do there and the fees that are being charged. So I don't know if staff can look into that and see if it's more manageable and be a true community room. So yeah, and I think that would be Brandy. Okay, Brandy, we'll have to talk about this and see what can happen. Then there was a gentleman that came up about the right turn. I don't know if we've ever looked at Yosemite and Commerce for a dedicated right turn. Mike, if that could be done.

We've had some preliminary discussion, and so I'll get with the staff tomorrow and follow up on that.

Yeah, especially if the space is there and it's already kind of set up with the lights, it might be an easy win to do that. And at the end, it's not about giving red light tickets. It's more of moving traffic efficiently. And if it does that, it'll be actually great in that intersection with In-N-Out and Chick-fil-A. So I think, yeah, I think that's a good idea to look at that. Yeah, let's talk about, you know, the events at Manteca High. I do want to give kudos to everybody, and a lot of them have already been said, but our police department, the school district, Thomas Toy, the neighbors, everybody came together. Also about getting the information out quickly. That was done well as soon as I found out, and getting it out there because otherwise misinformation starts going out there, and then everybody... starts making up their own. Um, so it was good to see that and getting out there with the police department also. So, um, I'm glad that, uh, they're been caught and, um, and it's an unfortunate event, but I'm also glad that nobody got hurt and, um, and everybody made it safely home that night. Um, Park Palooza was awesome. Um, great bands, a lot of good folks out there dancing all the way until the very end at 10 p.m. It was really nice to see. The wind did finally die down about 9 o'clock. just in time for it to end. And then the smoke was even better. So I guess it all came together. And then for 9-11, I went to Station 2. Me and the chief got to share some words there. And it was great to see some of our individuals from our community come out and honor those that lost their lives on 9-11. So great job. And then Yeah, we got a few weeks here of a lot of good stuff coming, and the pumpkin fair should be a really busy one. So thank you for everyone tonight, and great job on the solar project. And we will see everyone at October 6th for our next council meeting. Good night, everyone.