City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening, everyone. Wonderful to see you all here. It's an honor to welcome you to the regular meeting of the Arvin City Council successor agency to the Arvin Community Redevelopment Agency, Arvin Housing Authority, and the Arvin Public Financing Authority. Today is September 8th, 2026, and I call this meeting to order at 6.01. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance and remain standing for a moment of silence.

Thank you.

Please be seated. Roll call, please.

Council Member Tarver.

Present.

Council Member Horton is absent. However, he indicated he will be running a few minutes late. Council Member Reyes. Present. Mayor Pro Temperez.

Here.

Mayor Calderon. Here.

We'll commence with the first item on the agenda, approval of the agenda as to forum staff. Are there any changes to the agenda?

Yes, Madam Mayor. Staff is requesting to remove item 7C from closed session.

Item 7C, conference with labor negotiations, removed?

Yes.

Thank you for that. Are there any comments from the public at this time on the agenda? Are there any comments from the council? Do we have a motion to approve the agenda with the change of removing item 7C? Do we have a motion? So moved. Do we have a second?

Second.

Motion by Mr. Tarver, seconded by Vice Mayor Perez. Roll call, please.

Yes, and for the record, Council Member Horton has arrived, and this is for approval of the agenda as to form with removal of Item 7C. Council Member Tarver?

Yes.

Council Member Horton?

Yes.

Council Member Reyes? Yes. Mayor Potemperes? Yes. Mayor Calderon? Yes. Motion carries, 5-0.

Thank you. We'll now continue to Item 2A. This is an opportunity for members of the public to address the council on any item that's within our jurisdiction. And please note that public comment should be focused on items that do not appear on the agenda. So if you came to speak on a specific item, you'll have your opportunity to do so on that item when we get to that part of the agenda. Because of restrictions contained in California law, the City Council may not discuss or take action on any item that's not on the agenda, but may respond briefly if we choose to make any statements briefly to provide clarification. The City Council may also request a brief response to a question from staff that's raised during public comment, but is not required to. And we can also place it on a future agenda if the majority of the Council so deems. Individual speakers are asked to limit their comments to two minutes if they do not need translating services. And if they are gonna utilize the assistance of our translator, then your comments are limited to four minutes. Comments, again, shall be directed to the city council, not to city staff or members of the audience. And the public comment to, again, provide input to the city council. and is not intended to be a dialogue, a debate, a question and answer session. So we ask you again to ensure that this is a meeting that's conducted in an orderly fashion, that speakers remain respectful and courteous. So with that, are there any comments from the public? Seeing none, We will move on to the Consent Agenda. The Consent Agenda is items 3A through 3E. Are there any comments from the public on the Consent Agenda? Seeing none, are there any comments from the City Council on the Consent Agenda?

I would like to pull Vendor 1342, 1984, and 1961 for further review.

So you're asking to pull item 3B, which is the payroll register, is that correct? So, okay, so you're asking us to pull the approval of the payroll register from consent to discuss.

Just the three vendors that I mentioned, just to pull them out and to hold payment for further review. Okay.

So we could discuss pulling the payroll register at this time so that you can ask your questions to staff if you need those clarifying questions. Again, we're asking to approve agenda item 3A through 3E. That is item, those items that you're discussing are within item 3B. If you'd like further discussion on that item, we could pull that and then approve the rest of the items.

Are the vendors under the demand register 3A in 1342 and 1984 and 1961? Are those demand register?

I believe those are the demand register. Vendors. The demand register. Right, payroll register.

Oh, sorry, item 3A, the demand register.

Yes, Mayor, so I'd like to approve.

So approve items 3B through 3E and pull item 3A so that the Councilwoman can ask questions. That's the motion, right?

Correct.

Okay, so... Or we, okay. So the motion that you're asking for, can you make your motion clear to us?

My motion is to go ahead. I want to pull out from consent agenda 3A, vendor 1342. vendor 1984, and vendor 1961 to review their backup, their invoices.

So for now, the process would be to pull agenda item 3A for discussion and then approve item 3B through E. And once you approve 3B through E, then we'll head over to 3A and discuss those. That's right. Okay.

Are we clear on the motion? So we are going to pull item 3A, and we're going to approve item 3B to 3E on consent. Do we have a motion?

Make a motion.

Do we have a second?

Second.

Roll call.

Council Member Tarver? Yes. Council Member Horton? Yes. Council Member Reyes? Yes. Mayor Proctor? Yes. Mayor Calderon? Yes. Motion passes 5-0. And now 3A is open for discussion.

Yes, go ahead. On vendor 1342, 1984, 1961, I would request to see, request the records to see the backup. So we have the opportunity to review their backup.

If I may kindly ask, which demand register are you referring to? There are multiple dates. There's not multiple.

There's three on the demand register.

Correct. But we're referring multiple demand registers. So I'm curious which demand register the vendors are on. Give me a second.

There's only two demand registers attached.

He's asking if you could clarify for the record.

Okay, the first one is on. It says AP-827-2026, is that what you're referring to?

Correct, thank you.

And the next one is on the same AP-827-2026. Okay. That's vendor 1961. And I believe that 1342 and 1984 is on the same one as well. I do see a 1384 on the 27th. Do you not see 1342? I do see a 1961 as well.

And let's see, the last one is. 19, I wish these vendor numbers were in order, I apologize. 1984. Page three.

Page three, okay.

Page eight of the full book.

1342 is on 8-19-2026. Oh.

All right, so 1342 is on 1926? Yes, AP 819-2026. Okay.

It's 3A1, 3.A.1. Okay, so 1342 in 1984 on 819, and 1961 on 827, okay? And you're asking for additional backup?

Okay. Okay.

Okay, great. So you would like to hold payment to those vendors until you receive that information. You're prepared to approve all of the under vendor payments. Is that correct? Great. So is that a motion that you're making?

Madam Mayor, I believe the payments for this demand register have already been issued.

Okay, so these have already been paid.

But we can, with that direction, we can look into and provide... Background for the vice mayor? Yes. Okay.

I mean, yeah, to Ms. Reyes. Okay, great. So are you approved to now? I motion for us to approve item 3A, the consent approval of the demand register August 14th, 2025 through September 3rd, 2026. Do I have a second?

Second.

Roll call, please.

Was that Council Member Perez? Mayor Pro Temporez? Second?

I motion to amend. Mr. Horton seconded.

Okay.

Roll call.

Council Member Tarver? Yes. Council Member Horton? Yes. Council Member Reyes? Yes. Mayor Pro Temporez? Yes. Mayor Calderon? Yes. Motion carries 5-0.

Great. We have special guests with us today, and it's always a treat when they're here with us. We have members of CAP-K. and members of the board of CAP-K. Many of you know that we have had a long-standing relationship with Cap-K. It's a nonprofit that provides all sorts of services here in our community, and today this proclamation is specifically focused on the food bank. But Cap-K also provides services for many of our working families. There's a daycare over in Smotherment Park that's also run by Cap-K, and we're so very grateful for that service as well. September 2026 is National Hunger Action Month. And so because of CAP-K's partnership with our city in providing fresh and delicious food for families in need, the proclamation today is declaring National Hunger Action Month 2026, but specifically focused on the work that CAP-K has been doing here in our community to meet the needs of our hungry population. residents who struggle often to put food on the table. So I'm going to go ahead and read this proclamation because I know they're here to make a few comments. And the intention is obviously to also raise awareness about Hunger Month and the way that our residents can also join in this partnership. So, whereas Community Action Partnership of Kern has served Kern County families for nearly 60 years, working to break the cycle of poverty through programs in food security, housing, early childhood education, and family support, Capcase Food Bank is one of the organization's most visible and vital programs serving the county's central hub for food distribution for families in need. And whereas in calendar year 2025, Capcase Food Bank distributed 22 million pounds of food across Kern County through a network of 150 community partners, churches, nonprofits, senior centers, grassroots organizations that serve as neighborhood distribution points. This partnership-driven model allows CAP-K to reach families in every corner of the county, from major cities to all rural communities, ensuring no one has to travel far to put food on the table. And whereas in Arvin, that countrywide, that countywide mission comes to life at the local level in the fiscal year 2025, 458,975,000 pounds of food were here in Arvin for our Arvin residents through the dedicated work of local partner agencies, including at the Arvin VCC, DiGiorgio Park, and Fado Church distribution sites. These partnerships are the backbone of the food bank's success, and Arvin's faith-based and community organizations have shown tremendous commitment to this cause. And whereas September is National Hunger Action Month, time to raise awareness of food insecurity and mobilize communities to take action. It's a fitting moment to recognize the volunteers, staff, and partner agencies who work year-round, not just in September, to keep food on the table for Arvin's families. Whereas CAP-K is also proud to partner with the Blue Zone Project Policy Council. a collaborative effort working to address the root causes of food insecurity in Kern County. Together, this partnership focuses on improving access to healthy, affordable food and building a more resilient, equitable local food system, complementing the immediate relief of the food bank that the food bank provides with longer-term policy and systems change. And whereas community members who want to support this effort can find volunteer opportunities, donation information, and their nearest food distribution site at capk.org. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the City Council of Arvin does hereby proclaim September 2026 as Cap-K Food Bank and Hunger Action Month and calls upon all of our residents to join in the fight against hunger by supporting local hunger relief efforts, advocating for strong systems, and taking meaningful action to ensure every neighbor has access to health and nutritious food. In witness whereof, I have here to set my hand and cause the seal of the city of Arvin, California, on this eighth day of September 2026. So with that, I welcome Kapke to please, you know, say a few words, and then we could take a moment to take a picture together.

Good evening, Mayor Calderon and City Council members. Hunger Action Month is an opportunity to bring attention to an issue affecting far too many of our neighbors here in Kern County, and especially here in Arvin. This evening I'm joined by CAPCASE staff member Annalisa Corona and our board member Rocio Munoz. We just are the opportunity to help raise awareness around the work that we're doing to fight hunger all over Kern County. Changes to SNAP combined with the growing cost of living.

Yeah, it's being recorded in real time in Spanish.

Changes to SNAP combined with the growing cost of living. are putting even greater pressure on household budgets, which disproportionately affects our low-income neighbors and those on fixed incomes, like our senior citizen neighbors. At the Cap Cave Food Bank, as the mayor said earlier, we distribute approximately 1.5 million pounds of food every single month. We do this in partnerships with organizations. Here in Arvin, we're proud to partner with Faro Church and with the Heart of Arvin organization, who each serve hundreds of families every single month. Additionally, our team comes and directly serves approximately 130 senior citizens, many with at-home delivery. Together, over the last year, we distributed more than 450,000 pounds of food here in Arvin, which equates to 376,000 meals. We truly couldn't do this work without the tireless efforts of these great partners who show up for their neighbors, not just in September during Hunger Action Month, but all year long. But our only goal can't be to find more food to keep up with the growing demand. We must also work together to address the root causes of hunger, to not only serve the line, but to work together to address the root causes of hunger so that we can shorten. Hunger is a solvable issue. And as long as I have the privilege to serve in this capacity, every day towards our goal of being the first county in America to end hunger. So thank you for proclaiming September as Hunger Action Month and for standing with us in this fight against hunger. Because in Kern County and in the city of Arvin, if there's food for one, there's food for two.

Thank you so much. Is there anyone else from your organization from the board that will be coming up to say a few remarks?

I don't think so.

Okay, great. Well, why don't you come up here and join us so that we can take a picture together and we have the opportunity to just thank you.

Orange is the color for Hunger Action Month.

I love that.

It's beautiful. Yes, good.

Can you see us?

Yeah? Okay, great. Perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Just one more thing. Part of the thing I wanted to also do is invite everybody out. We have a food drive that we do every year is at the Kern County Fair. And help us to let everybody know that on September 29th, it's called Feed the Need at the Kern County Fair. And if you bring six cans of food, they get into the fair for free. So it's the only night at the fair where you can actually get in for free just by bringing six cans to donate to the food bank. So you're helping your neighbor and saving a little bit getting into the fair. So thanks so much.

Thank you, Kelly. We just want to just say a special thank you. We know that you always go above and beyond for the city. I just want to just thank you so much for your commitment. Whenever there has been any scheduling changes because of the rain, volunteers are out there, as you know, rain or shine. And we just wanted to say thank you for always being accommodating and always finding a way whenever you hear that there's an increased need. So just thank you so much for being those trusted partners. Our nonprofits, obviously, the churches, the students, all of the volunteers, they would not be able to do it without your commitment to bringing the fresh food. And we know that we can always count on those deliveries. So thank you so very, very much because we know the need is great. And I know you could count on our commitment to want to be a part of that solution to say, you know, we can't just be, again, you know this, compassion is more than just throwing coins and just trying to. around the edges, but that there are like these broader systemic changes that we all need to be committed to. Thank you. September 29th, at what time can folks start showing up with the six cans of food?

Yeah, so they can come anytime from four o'clock on and again, get into the fair for free.

Six cans of food and you get into the fair for free?

Yes.

Oh, that's wonderful. Okay. Are there any other comments from the committee before Cap K leaves us today? Yes.

Do you happen to have a flyer that we could share with our residents?

Yes, absolutely. If you go to Cap K Foundation, all of the things are listed there of all the different activities for Hunger Action Month, in addition to the fair thing that I just mentioned. We also have some individual flyers that we'll take a note of and make sure that we can send over to you.

Thank you so much. Any other comments? Seeing none, thank you so much. Okay. We will now be moving on to the first action item on our agenda. And this is the action item to approve our amendment to our current planning service. So this is item 4A, and it's consideration and approval of the first amendment to our professional consultant service agreement between the City of Arvin and Precision Civil Engineering. Planning service staff approval of the first amendment

professionals any comment by the report planning

you The but I call chart general fund awesome first Or that planner would be Marvin I in that interim improve their we only one work and cost longer and says the for the lodging expenses. Fully continue this conference. We have, I did a quick count. The stats suggest that we have over $20,000 in structured products that have been approved to be to within the, so $20,000. So we can get the grants in, structure, improve our streets and things. Thank you.

Thank you. That's the projection.

Do we have Please

And yeah, you know

Thank you. ready what

ordinance that has not been updated since 1978. And is what you'll be coming to us as part of a study session so that we are then all informed on what we're gonna be voting on as we update the ordinance, is that correct?

Correct, thank you. So this is really focusing on California law, just going over the public contracting code and your purchasing ordinance. You'll also see reference to a finance manual that governs in Arvin as well. So with that, part of what you see in any city ordinance related to purchasing is twofold. You're gonna see items related to, or provisions related to public works contracts, and then separate provisions for goods and services. The goods and services is governed by the government code, and public works contracts is governed by the public contracts code. So the legislature, and also you'll notice in your current ordinance, has provided just an overall purpose for these codes. So it's really to focus on city obtaining supplies and services at the lowest practical cost. Your ordinance should always exercise strict financial control over all public purchases. It should clearly define purchasing authority within the city. and it should assure that the quality of goods and services procured are the best for the residents. So your current purchasing process, bidding is required for supplies, equipment, and materials unless specific exemptions apply. These exemptions are, Urgencies or what we call sole source needs. When we say sole source, it means that there is literally only one company that is able to provide that service, so there's no need for a competitive bid. There's only one company that is able to provide whatever services you're looking for. We also have under your provisions open market procedures. So currently purchasing 30,000 or less utilize open market procedures and the city aims to obtain three bids whenever possible. For your formal bidding process, this is for purchases over $30,000. You have multiple steps that take place. So you'll see notice is published to invite competition. Bids are opened in a public forum. Contracts award are to the lowest responsible bidder. And final review of the contract terms and execution are done, whether that's council review or city manager depending on what that is so for professional services this covers specialized expertise you're looking at engineering architecture planning legal and accounting services calls for this

financial you'll see

So petition, accountability, stewardship of funds, and a central decision process. These are just your that we over. What to be proposed um i think that notice that or something where you see a public Department Public construction costs County I'll turn first administrative costs our opportunities contract it really increased efficient fresh action that it's kind of and a couple

and a lot of this is

You'll see we're going to review the actual purchase ordinance and evaluate CUPCA adoption.

We'll go through that process, but we anticipate the actual ordinance being presented and discussed in October. So with that, I'm happy to answer any questions, but that was just a quick overview of what that purchasing ordinance is going to contain.

Thank you for your presentation and for that overview. Are there any comments or questions from the public at this time? Seeing none, are there any comments or questions from the council?

No, I just want to thank you for taking the time to look into this to keep us compliant and to streamline processes. Thank you.

Let's have a quick question. So you stated that on $3,000, you have to take your three bids when you said whenever possible. Can you define, can you be more specific what whenever possible means?

So that language is actually verbatim from your ordinance. The idea behind it is say that it is some sort of service that you could there. I'm just going to use legal because that's easy. But say legal services, you can go out and you can get three different quotes or bids or just information from three different firms because there are multiple firms available and you know that they service this area. It's something different where maybe staff reaches out to three different vendors, but maybe only one replies or two replies. That still is whenever possible. They did try, but we may not have documentation that shows three different bids were received. Okay, thanks.

Any other comments or questions from the council? Seeing none. And we look forward to the study session that's preparing us for this vote in October. With that, we are going to now move to item six, which is council comments. Before we go into discussion, we'll begin with Mr.

I have no comments tonight. Thank you.

Mr. Horton.

I'd like to thank everybody for their time tonight, staff for your reports. I do have one question just to clarify. So during our whole budget workshops, we lost the budget. We had to do some layoffs. Just for clarification, because there's some back and forth going. So public works, we've lost three individuals, correct?

Public works, 2.5.

So the part-time janitor and then two full-time employees.

Correct.

And then they've already been noticed or laid off. They're no longer employed here, correct?

Noticed. The final work date is either Thursday, September 17th, or Friday, September 18th, depending on the work schedule.

Ms. Reyes. Yes.

I do want to make a little comment after I had the attorney look into certain contracts and you give me back your feedback. Is it okay if I make a comment on that?

We do have a comment coming back at the next meeting. It might make more sense to just comment during that time.

Okay. Okay. Vice Mayor Perez. Thank you, staff, for the presentation. I also see that we have one of the founders of the soccer league that's with us here, Mr. Salvador Gomez. And I just want to say thank you. Thank you for starting this. And to work with the city could quickly have the agreement that we had in place so that like the league, the Arvin Soccer League could also count on our parks to be able to be there on bathrooms cleaned and stocked and accessible. for our families and our kids. We know that sports, how important it is for our kids' health, for their well-being, for community. And I just want to say thank you so much for investing in this and for quickly getting those documents to the city so that the council could vote on that agreement today. I know that families have been concerned about the cost-saving measures, the cost. that the council approved in our previous budget. And I just want to reiterate that I know that I can speak for the council when I say that none of us take any pleasure in the significant cuts that this year. You know, we cut almost 10% of our budget. A million dollars were identified in cuts in spending so that we could, again, be responsible with our public finances. We want this to be temporary. The whole intention is that all of these cuts are temporary. When we talk about city services being impacted, Mr. Hornaloo, we're talking about real people. city workers, public servants who have, who are being impacted in a real way. And it's a very painful time. There are layoffs. And so I know that we unanimously counsel to put Measure H on the ballot this November. And so that every voter in the city could have the option to choose whether or not to approve a 1% tax. And so that's up to voters. But we did put that before voters unanimously. so that everyone would have a chance to review and vote on Measure H, which, you know, if you want to go look at those discussions and the staff report on that 1% sales tax increase projected to come in, I invite you all to look at that. The results are available, the presentations are available. And so that that revenue... into the city and that these cuts would be temporary. So with that, thank you again, everyone for your time and for your attention. We are now going to go into closed session. Closed session silence. The meeting is still open and on and two items in closed session. So Madam Attorney, will you please read off those two closed session items?

Yes, thank you, Madam Mayor. The first is conference with legal counsel for anticipated litigation. There are two separate cases that will be discussed. And the second is public employee appointment for the city manager.

We'll now go into closed session. And we will come out if there's any reportable actions to report on. Thank you.