City Council - Regular Meeting

Right. It having reached the hour of 5.30 p.m., I am calling the September 22nd, 2026 Modesto City Council meeting to order and ask the city clerk to please call the roll.

here. Will everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the invocation from Bill Knoyer Redeemer Church.

Amen. Thank you. Does the city clerk have any announcements?

Thank you. Do any of the council members have any conflicts of interest?

Thank you. Next on the agenda is acknowledgements and presentations. Item one, a proclamation declaring October 2026 as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I will read the proclamation. Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors including psychological, sexual, and physical attacks used by one intimate partner against another to gain control in the relationship. In the United States, one in four women and one in seven men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime. According to the CDC, 20 Americans experience intimate partner violence every minute. In 2025, more than 40% of

All right. Are there any comments from council members? Excuse me, Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, Lisa, for all you do in and around this community to protect those that are in harm's way. So thank you very much.

All right. All right. I appreciate you being here this evening. Always. We are making great strides and exponentially decreasing crime and violence in Modesto by enormous amounts and it's really to be commended. The one area that we still need work in is domestic violence. So I'm grateful that we have this opportunity to highlight this and hopefully provide the support that's needed for people in our community. Thank you again for being here this evening and I'll now bring the proclamation down to present it.

Okay. I neglected to ask for the City Attorney's report out on closed session, so I will do that now.

Thank you very much for that and bringing that to my attention. Next is item two, a proclamation declaring October 4th through 10th, 2026, as National Fire Prevention Week. And I will read the proclamation. The city of Modesto is committed to protecting our residents from the risks of fire hazards. The destruction that results from fires is detrimental and debilitating. During Fire Protection Week, let us honor those we have lost and appreciate the diligent efforts of firefighters and first responders who bravely work to protect our city. The City of Modesto's Fire Department and other local f

Appreciate you. Did you have a comment? In a few words, that's good. All right, appreciate you being here. Are there any council members that have any comments? Council member Scudia Brayton.

Thank you for your service and thank you for making every effort to keep our personal possessions and our families and communities safe.

I thank you for all that you do, just as what Councilwoman Scudia Brayton just mentioned, and I'm sure all of us feel the same way, for the protection that you give each and every one of us, no matter who we are, no matter where we come from, and no matter what our economic status is. So thank you for protecting us.

Thank you, and I appreciate that this focuses on charging our devices, that we take great care in doing it properly and make sure that we replace any cords that are frayed or could otherwise be a hazard. Do you have any comments on that?

Great. Thank you. I appreciate that insight. Again, thank you for being here, and I'll now bring the proclamation down to present it.

We're going to get a picture. Thanks, Sonia. All right, item three, proclamation declaring stormwater awareness week and imagine a day without water. I will read the proclamation. Water is an essential resource that contributes to the sustainability of our city. It plays a crucial role in the quality of life for our residents, and we acknowledge the significant role it plays in our everyday lives. Stormwater Awareness Week, observed September 21st through the 25th, is an opportunity to learn about stormwater management, environmental protection, and sustainable practices. The 2026 theme is ero

Okay, welcome. Drip and Drop and Sheldon, is it?

Thank you very much. Thank you for being here. Any comments from council members? Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. There's some young people in here, and it'd be great if they could join us on the photo. It's up to you. It's your meeting, Mayor. That would be great. But thank you for what you do.

All right, great. Any other comments? All right, seeing none at this time, thank you for being here this evening. We really appreciate it, and I'll now bring the proclamation down and present it. And if there are any children that would feel comfortable joining us, they're invited. I do want to clarify, are the parents with each of the children here?

Okay, you come up here. Sure, I'll get right behind you. Scoot up this way just a little bit. There we go.

All right, next is item four, proclamation declaring September 26, 2026, as history of Lowrider Day. And I will read the proclamation. Lowriders and the greater car culture are a signature part of Modesto's identity. Lowriders have evolved into a celebration of Chicano heritage, local car culture, and generational unity. The Chicano movement that peaked in the 1970s permanently transformed Modesto as it grew from 36,000 residents in 1960 to over 106,000 residents in 1980 to 220,000 today. Thousands of people participated in lowrider culture and cemented lowriders as an iconic part of Modesto's

You're welcome. Please stay here. Appreciate your comments. Thank you so much. Comments from council members. Vice Mayor Williams.

And I look forward to seeing you all Saturday on the 26th at 10 a.m. downtown and hang out for a little while and check out those classic cars. So thank you all who have helped put it together and I look forward to seeing you then.

Thank you. All right. Council Member Scovia Brayton.

Thank you, Mayor. Congratulations, Doug, to you and your committee for representing The Chicano Latino, the Chicano community has really, in my opinion, done very well in evolving into a very respectable contributing members of our Central Valley community in Modesto and being really relevant to our conversation and particularly here with the city council. And that was done by choice and I think that's wonderful. That's a wonderful example for all community organizations to follow. And also to highlight the car culture because it's not only important to this community, but just to California a

Thanks, Mayor. I also, like my colleagues, want to thank you for all your contributions, especially culturally to our community. When I look at downtown now on a weekend and I see all the cars cruising and no longer having to fear enforcement, just being part of the community and just families having a great time cruising their cars, the work that you guys put in changed the fabric of this community and made it a more accepting, welcoming, and fun place to live. And so I appreciate it and I'm looking forward to Saturday as well. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor. Yeah, this is one of those cool moments as serving as a council member, serving in local government. You get to acknowledge things like this. And not only is it cool, you guys as a car community, say you guys, but us, I'm out there, you guys see me and my family, my brother, my dad as well. Many of you guys know my family. But it's not only cool, but you guys have the disposition to change laws. You guys have the disposition to advocate at the state capitol before power, speaking to power, people in positions to literally change laws. And I think you guys have that. that unit

All right, thank you for being here this evening. I have one more thing to say. Oh, sure, go ahead.

Great. Thank you for acknowledging them. And I'll now bring the proclamation down. All right. Thank you.

I was going to say, just like yesterday, I was born in 54, so I remember when I was born. Good job.

All right. Excuse me. Next is item five, a proclamation declaring October 1st through 10th as Modesto Perinatal Mental Health Week. I will read the proclamation. Pregnancy and parenthood are oftentimes an experience filled with joy and wonder. It is also a time of big adjustments. You experience changes to your body, new responsibilities as parents, and different routines. You may also be experiencing a pregnancy loss or navigating complex feelings after adoption. It is normal to have overwhelming feelings as a new parent or after pregnancy, and you are not alone. Perimedial mental health enco

We appreciate you being here this evening. Thank you for being here. Are there any comments from council members? Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. Did you make these personally? Thank you for what you're doing, even through what you had to go through.

Being a mob is probably the least appreciated job out there sometimes, and when you have a health impact like postpartum depression, that kind of stuff, it makes it even harder. And so this, your efforts to bring attention and care to this issue is like, it's critical, and I really appreciate it.

Thank you for being here, and thank you for putting a voice to a subject that didn't have a voice before, at least in this area. So I appreciate that. Thank you, and congratulations in getting to a better place than where you were after you had your baby. Not easy, but you're strong, obviously. Thank you for your service.

All right. Again, thank you for being here this evening, and I'll now bring the proclamation down and present it.

Next on the agenda is public comment. Public comment tonight is available both in person and through Zoom. Thank you for joining us. The city council meetings are a place where everyone is encouraged to share insights, listen, and participate in the decision-making process that benefits our community. To ensure a fair and respectful environment, the mayor is responsible for maintaining order and decorum as outlined in the city charter and the rules of decorum posted at the entrance of the chamber. I ask that we are all respectful of all members of the public, presenters, and council members. A

Next, I still don't see anyone online. So Danielle Morgart.

I do not see anyone online. So Bruce Hammerster, welcome.

All right. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Is there anyone else wishing to speak under public comment in person or online? Okay. Welcome.

You're welcome. Is there anyone else wishing to speak under public comment for items not on tonight's agenda, either in person or online? I do not see anyone online confirming. All right. Thank you, everyone. Next on the agenda is consent items. An item may be removed from consent and discussed at the request of a member of the public or council member. Is there anyone on the council that would like a consent item removed for further discussion? Seeing none, is there anyone in the public that would like an item removed from consent for further discussion or comment?

All right. All right. you are participating remotely please use the raise hand feature now or dial star 9 on a telephone to indicate you wish to remove an item from consent i do not see any online will the city clerk please read the consent items item six consider approving the minutes for the subject

Diane, I might add that it's approving on that one.

Thank you very much. May I have a motion to approve the consent calendar as read? Moved by Council Member Wright, seconded by Council Member Alvarez.

I believe I will go to Item 8 next. Okay, all right. Item eight, consent item eight, consider approving an agreement with the Salvation Army to provide operating, excuse me, well, operating support for the emergency shelter operations in an amount not to exceed $591,000. I notice there's three resolutions. Should I read those and is it one vote or three votes?

Thank you very much for that guidance. Do I have a motion? Moved by Council Member Wright. Second. Second by Council Member Scootia Brayton. And will the clerk call the roll for this item, please?

Aye. Carries 6-0 with one recused. Will someone please invite Vice Mayor Williams back in? Thank you.

All right, next is consent item 17. Consider approving a report on fiscal year 2020, excuse me, item 17, consent item 17. Consider approving a first amendment to the agreement with Brewer and Associates, LLC, Lexington, Kentucky, for the purchase of jackets, hoodies, and beanies, increasing the agreement amount by $54,350 through the duration of the agreement. And we will have a staff report.

Thank you. Any questions from council members regarding consent item 17? Seeing none, any members of the public that would like to come forward or if you are participating remotely, please use the raise hand feature now or dial star nine on the telephone to indicate you wish to speak on this item. Welcome.

All right, thank you. Are there any other members of the public that would like to speak on consent item 17? Seeing none in person, anyone online? No one online. I will close public comments. Are there any comments from council members on this item? Seeing none, I have a resolution approving a first amendment to the agreement with Brewer and Associates, LLC, Lexington, Kentucky, for the purchase of jackets, hoodies, and beanies by $54,350 to a new estimated amount of $77,175, a new total amount not to exceed $154,350 through the term of the agreement, and authorizing the director of finance or

Aye. Carries 7-0. Consent item number 18. Consider approving the purchase of 18 fleet replacements for a total amount not to exceed $1,757,131. And we will have a staff report. Thanks.

All right, thank you. Any questions of staff from council? Seeing none, comments from the public?

Well, you have three minutes, so please go ahead.

You're welcome. Are there any, is there anyone participating remotely? Please use the raise hand feature now or star one on a telephone to indicate you wish to speak on consent item number 18. Seeing none, I will close public comments. Are there any comments from council members regarding consent item 18? Seeing none, and I will clarify with our city attorney if I can just read the, since it's consent item 18, the recommendation, or excuse me, do I need to read the resolutions? It works for the title. Okay, great. Consider approving the purchase for 18 fleet replacements for a total amount not

Aye. Carries unanimously. Council Member Wright, I noticed you, I just noticed your name on there. Did you... Okay, your name was on here for wanting to speak. I hope I didn't miss you. All right, thank you. Next on the agenda is council comments and reports. Does anyone have any comments and reports at this time? Council member Wright?

Thank you, Mayor. I just want to give a little report.

Comments have been online about HopeWorks. It's our new program. As you should know, that street team at the end of the year dissolved. So we have transferred everything over to Gothel Mission and funding them through HopeWorks. They're doing a great job. They have 48 individuals enrolled. in the Hope Works. They have picked up over 64,000 pounds of trash since January, keeping Modesto clean. Ten individuals have secured full-time employment. So not only is it giving them a option to work but it's helping them get full-time appointment at other areas and seven of those individuals have receive

Thank you, Mayor. I would like to thank El Concilio of California for the opportunity and the honor of being named the Amigo of the Year that took place last week at the Doubletree Hotel. And I also want to give honor to those Other individuals who received designations of awards, Amigo of the Year, Maria, it's really hard to say her last name, Aurelio, maybe somebody can help me with that. Thank you. And then also Unsung Hero was Tony Madrigal, as well as the La Raza Award went to Stanislas Latino giving circle and I was accompanied by Council member three counts of four council members. I wa

Thank you, Mayor. I want to start by highlighting some district, what was that? I want to start by highlighting some things I noticed throughout District 2, particularly Mancini Park. There's a new soccer league that launched early this year. It's the first year or one full year in operation. And they practice at Mancini Park. I drove to Mancini Park the other day. And the parking lot is like cracked asphalt and a bunch of just potholes and just unsafe. So I want to highlight that status of the parking lot at Mancini Park. for staff to assess it and see if we can develop a plan. If we already

You're welcome. Council Member Scugia Brayton.

Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to mention an event that Vice Mayor Williams and I attended, which was in recognition of National PACE Month. The PACE program is a program here in Modesto City that offers services to the elderly so that they can remain in their home and be engaged with their community. So we went to the event, and we got to meet many of the patients, participants. There were several hundred there. and they were just all joyfully gathered in community and engaged in various activities, games, and a meal was provided. We had an opportunity to say a few words, but it was just lovely t

Thanks, Mayor. Constantly breathing new life into downtown is a high priority for Modesto, and building new housing downtown is a critical piece of that better future. It creates a community of people who regularly frequent businesses in the downtown core, and it builds vibrant opportunities for both retail and hospitality. Unfortunately, housing projects take years and tens of millions of dollars to make happen. But another option we should explore is creating a van life lot. A van life lot would make downtown Modesto a destination and a friendly temporary base to introduce travelers to our c

You're welcome. I'm going to share some things that I participated in just the last three weeks. And as I think of these, it's really not about me. It's about the people in our community and how engaged they are in making Modesto a better place. attended as I do about every month the first Thursday of every month at 7 a.m. at Crosspoint Church City Ministry Network and they had a presentation from digital nest which is a group of young people that are being helped and to understand and do technology in ways that I probably will never completely understand we also had a Modesto Police Departmen

You're welcome. I appreciate that. All right, next on the agenda is hearings. Item 22, a hearing to approve the City of Modesto's Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report for Program Year 2025-2026. Welcome for staff report.

Right. Thank you for your presentation. Any questions from council on this item? Seeing none, I will now open the public hearing. Are there any members of the public that would like to speak on item 22? If you're participating remotely, please use the raise hand feature now or dial star nine on a telephone to indicate you wish to speak on this item. Seeing no public comments, I will close public comments. Are there any comments from council members? Seeing none, I have a resolution approving the City of Modesto's Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Report for program year 2025 to 2026 a

Motion by Councilmember Scudia Brayton, second by Vice Mayor Williams, and will the clerk please call the roll for this item?

Aye. And Mayor Zwollin. Aye. Carries unanimously. Next is item 23. This is a hearing to consider the appeal for the Final Revenue Audit Report for the period of July 1st, 2024 through June 30th, 2025 for McHenry Business Services LLC doing business as Planet Eights Herbology. Before we begin, I would like to introduce Thomas Terpstra. Welcome. Mr. Terpstra has been retained as independent outside counsel to advise the city council with this appeal. Our city attorney's office assisted the tax administrator on the underlying appeal. Therefore, independent counsel will now assist with this proces

All right. Thank you. So at this time, we will have a staff report.

All right. Thank you. So now we will have questions from council members to staff. Council Member Bavaro.

Thank you, Mayor. The McHenry Comic Management LLC and the MMC Management Services LLC, are they listed on Planet 8's permit?

So if they're not related to the business itself, how then can they receive transfer monies?

But they're not listed on the permit, the Planet Eight permit.

My question is, with those two LLCs, if they're involved in the transfer of funds from a permit, Planet Eights permit, How can they, how are they legally able to, how are they legally able to do that on their permit? Don't have to waive, son. So maybe you can explain that.

Okay, and do you check with the state of California through their statement of information or whatever if they are in good standings with the state of California?

You do believe, but you're not for sure?

Maybe you can provide that to the council at some point. letting us know if they're in good standings, not only Planet 8, but also the two LLCs as well. Thank you, Mayor.

You're welcome. Any other? Councilmember Wright.

Thank you, Mayor. So on the previous findings, were the previous findings the same type of transfers to the same LLCs?

And they went ahead and paid the five they didn't.

Thank you, Mayor. I don't know if this is similar to what Councilmember Rice said, but was there any other discrepancies in the past?

and there hasn't been any out of the three, this is the first one, yes or no?

What is the business relationship between Planet 8 and the two LLCs that they have? What is the purpose of transferring those funds to those other LLCs?

Excuse me. We're going to hear from staff and you will certainly have your opportunity. We look forward to it. You will have your opportunity.

So I guess my question is, what is the purpose of the two extra, the two LLCs and being attached to Planet 8?

multiple cannabis businesses? Correct. So then these two LLCs, are they in the cannabis business? And if so, do they have permits?

And those are cannabis permits? Correct. I thought you said that they didn't have that I thought you said that McHenry Comic Management LLC and MMC Management Services did not have cannabis permits, that it was only Planet 8.

So out of the eight cannabis permits, these three are licensed in Modesto?

Okay, so all three have their own accounting, separate accountings and separate federal ID numbers, correct? Correct. So I guess the question I would like to know, or the answer I'd like to know is, why the transfers between the three LLCs or two LLCs and then Planet 8. I don't know if Planet 8 is an LLC or not. I'd be curious to know why the transfers. Thank you, Mayor.

You're welcome. All right. Any other questions from staff regarding item 23? All right, thank you very much for your report. Seeing none, now I would like to call forward the appellant, Mitchell Davis. Excuse me, first, I'll now open the public hearing. And I'd like to call.

Please speak directly into the microphone so that everyone can hear you online as well.

Excuse me. Be sure and just talk to us. I got upset when I was sitting there. Excuse me, one moment, too. I'm sorry, just one moment. Scott, I did not keep track of any time.

All right. Please stay here for questions from council. At this time, does council have any questions of the appellant? Council member Bavaro.

Thank you, Mary. You just said that there is one owner, correct? One owner.

Prior to that statement, I was told that there were three owners owning... That was incorrect.

It's my time. It's my time. I heard early on, and maybe if the other council members understood what I understood, let me know. If I misunderstood, chirp up and let me know. What I heard was there were three owners. of these three, or two LLCs, I don't know if Planet Eight is an LLC. All three of them are LLCs. And they're one owner. And now you're saying it's one owner, okay.

Remember to speak into the microphone too.

Okay, it's always been one owner. It's my time.

So then on the regulation in the ordinance, it says related entities, if there is a transfer, that is a taxable event. Am I correct?

All right. Any other questions from council members to the appellant at this time? Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. Today, what is your hope to happen in this? Let me finish this question. Hope to happen. What have you learned from this? What do you hope to happen in this? And then how do you proceed in the future to deal with this type of problem?

So the gentleman here is 100% owner, correct? Yes.

So you don't have any ownership and so what is... What's my interest?

I am just a little surprised because If this was my business, I would be standing here speaking on behalf of my business. I would not expect my council member. I just find it odd that you're doing all the speaking where the owner is sitting behind you and he's not.

You were willing to pay the fee, right? Excuse me. Just speak to us. Okay.

Okay, so does council have any questions? You can go ahead and have a seat. Okay. Thank you very much. Appreciate your time.

Thank you. And any questions from the council? Okay, please.

Appreciate your comments. Thank you. Now, Council can ask questions of Mr. Terpstra before we go out to the public for general public comment on everything that we've heard. Any questions? Council Member Bavaro.

Does our ordinance say that related entities that transfer product, that it is a taxable event?

I'm still confused on one issue. On related entities, the LLCs, this is probably a yes or no answer. If they transfer product from From blue truck to red truck because they need to move the product. Their inventory is low here. This has been sitting on the shelf a long time. They're going to take that product and move it over here. Is that a taxable event on that product?

You're hearing a transfer from LLC. one LLC to another LLC from transfer of product. You're not hearing it as a transfer from an LLC to corporation to a member.

What about an LLC with the same owner 100% exclusively? Wouldn't it be defined as the same?

Follow up, Mayor? Yes. Thank you. This is still questions. Yes. Yeah. So what you're saying is by your interpretation of the law, if a LLC transfers product to another LLC, not a member, but to an LLC, that is a taxable event. And regardless on who owns it. Okay. If we were to amend that ordinance, it would be in a future date if we wanted to change that. That is not the issue tonight.

So we would have to follow the ordinance law and if the council so sees in their judgment to make changes, we would direct staff and then in the future that would be corrected.

All right. Remember, this is questions because we still haven't heard from the public about this before we draw any conclusions. Council Member Rickey.

Thanks, Mayor. Yeah, so it sounds like we're, this is all, this is not really a case of evasion, but kind of a case of, like, yeah like weird law you know so like makes the intent here doesn't appear to be nefarious but it does also outline that like our auditors trying that's something I have real concerns overall about taxation with with our cannabis industry We have more or less, we have dramatically reduced the number of smoke shops in our city and yet our taxes haven't been going up, which is super weird. So I don't know how we landed here, spending an hour of our time over six grand. I t

If we change the code to address that issue, we could also change the code to maybe increase the threshold a little bit and save a ton of money.

Yeah, I don't have any desires really. I'm just saying it's an odd situation. Thank you.

All right. Council Member Scootie Brayton.

Thank you, Mayor. I think Mr. Terpstra may have touched on this, but I'm wanting at this time for him to be very clear on his interpretation of the section and the code as it relates specifically to the staff's recommendation on upholding the tax administrator's decision on this issue. SPECIFICALLY, ASIDE FROM ANY POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE COUNCIL TO EXPLORE THE CODE AND THE SECTIONS LANGUAGE TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE DONE. I HEARD PREVIOUSLY THE CONSIDERATION OF DIRECTING STAFF TO CHANGE IT. I DON'T THINK THAT IS WISE TO MAKE THAT RECOMMENDAT

All right, so any other questions at this time from council members? All right, seeing none, I would like to offer the opportunity to Mr. Davis for any rebuttal to anything or clarification that you've heard thus far before we go to the public.

All right. At this time, I'm going to ask if there's any, and council will have our opportunity to make comments. Any members of the public that would like to come forward or if you're participating remotely, please use the raise hand feature now or dial star nine on a telephone to indicate you wish to speak on this item, which is item 23. Is there anyone in person wishing to speak at this time? Seeing none, is there anyone online? All right, seeing none, I will close public comments. Mr. Davis, is there anything else that you would like to briefly respond to before we close? I want to thank t

Thank you. Thank you for your comments. At this time, we will have council comments. Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the other entities, the cannabis, when they had to purchase the other one, they couldn't buy them out 100%. They could only do 80%, and then that left 20% on the other owner. Didn't that happen before?

Okay, we're into comment time. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not sure that we're... I'm going to engage with previous, about previous transactions and votes that we've had. All right. Yeah, I'm not sure that.

What I was saying, what happened on the 80-20, the 80-20 is one bought the other one, but they couldn't buy it 100%. So then those were two entities instead of one owner. And that's why the law or the, you could just call it the law, was in effect of them being able to do what they have been able to do in between the two businesses. And so this would be, I'm asking the question, this would be different because Those are two one LLC and one owner. Yes, sir.

Yeah. Thank you. Councilmember Alvarez. Thank you, Mayor.

I mean, it's a pretty robust conversation we're having. I appreciate the appellant's representation. Nick, I respectfully hear what you said. Henry Ford probably didn't have all the knowledge in the world, but he could call on any expert to speak on his behalf. So I appreciate you for doing that and having the wisdom to tap somebody who can't speak intelligently on your behalf. So I'll say that. Also, I think that you provided a lot of logic rationale, reason. I don't think there's anything nefarious happening here. I do understand that this industry, the cannabis industry statewide and states

Thank you. I hope the record captures it, but I'll summarize. In the future, I don't think that two entities owned exclusively by the same individual movement of goods should not be taxed. I don't think that you see that in, you know, in BevMo, right? If I own two BevMo's, BevMo is a mainstream, you know, liquor and alcohol is a mainstream sector. What we're seeing, you know, in 2020, 2026, is similar to some of the policy and tax strategies and tactics that the government used in prohibition in the 1920s. And liquor now is a mainstream industry. And I think in 15, 20, 25 years, probably short

Council Member Bavaro. Thank you, Mayor. Right from the beginning, this was very confusing. I understand that now that you were the spokesman for Mr. Mercado, but you didn't identify yourself, and I assume that you were the owner. Excuse me, we're just going to hear from us. And so there was a lot of confusion on my part of trying to figure out the ownership and certainly you have a right to speak for him and I understand why you did that now but in the beginning it was confusing and even at the end you did make reference to Deanna telling her thank you for coming to my place You're not the ow

Thank you. Any other comments from council members at this time? I have a comment and it will be very brief. I heard two really important things tonight. One is from Mr. Davis that he recommends that we amend the law. And I will say in response to that, that our staff is extremely responsive to this council and anything that's of importance to us that we hear from the community. So I'm sure we will hear more about that. The second thing was, is I heard Mr. Mercado say he wants to be in compliance. quoting him, I want to be in compliance. So I will be supporting this resolution for tonight and

I just wanted to say that if Council Member Bavaro wanted to transfer his comments into a motion, I would second it.

All right, so any other comments from council members? All right, I have a resolution upholding the tax administrator's decision regarding the final revenue audit report for the period of July 1st, 2024 through June 30th, 2025 for McHenry Business Services LLC DBA Planet Eights Herbology. Do I have a motion? So moved. Moved by council member Wright. Second by Vice Mayor Williams. And will the clerk please call the roll?

Point of clarification, if I may. What I understood the direction it was leaning towards was preempted by a motion that didn't sound like what I heard was correct. going to be the motion. So do we continue on the motion that was blurted out or do we clarify that that is the motion to entertain?

I read the resolution as stated on the agenda. I know, I can read. Thank you, Council Member. And so I read that and I heard a motion and a second and then asked for the vote, as I do always.

I heard you say that you were recommending that Council Member Bovaro do the motion and that you would second it, but when I read it, the motion was, yes, made by someone else and seconded by someone else.

Okay, so the motion we're voting on is to just approve the staff recommendation and it does not include directing the staff to explore the language to be potentially clarified.

That's correct. Okay. That is not on the agenda, but I did not hear that motion.

Right. I did not hear it either. I just wanted to clarify that.

So I just stayed with the motion as the resolution was as stated. All right.

Mayor, point of question or point of inquiry. Is it possible now that this has passed that the council would speak and give their thoughts or their direction to staff on reviewing this ordinance and making recommendations to the council on... No, we didn't do that. We didn't do that. So I guess my point is that I'm going to say that we need to give staff direction to review this ordinance to clean up the language on the transfer of one entity to another entity and not making that a taxable event. I think we need to review that. And so if there's any other council members that would like to spe

Yeah, and I'm very content with what City Manager just said. Thank you.

Owned exclusively by the same owner though, correct?

Well, that will be discussed in a further meeting when there will be much more discussion surrounding this. Thank you. And I do want to thank Mr. Terpstra. I did not realize that you were going to sit here. I would have paused and waited for you to be settled. Thank you for being here this evening. Really appreciate you.

You're very welcome. Thank you. I know the Grovers have been waiting so patiently. So do we need a five-minute break? We do. We need a five-minute break. We will resume at 8.18 PM for item 24. All right, we are resuming back to the Modesto City Council meeting. Next on the agenda is new business, item 24, consider approving the agreement for the furnishing of city-wide landscaping services to Grover Landscape Services Incorporated, Modesto, California, for a total amount not to exceed $17,989,717 over five years. And we will have a staff report.

Thank you for your presentation. Does council have any questions of staff? Council Member Bavaro.

Thank you, Mayor. From 2026, to, I'm sorry, 2016 to 2026, their fees more than doubled. Did their, did Grover's scope of work increase or is it the same, the same scope?

On the five-year agreement or service contract, the first two years are, you have like the first two years, and then after that, the third year comes up separately, the fourth year separately, and the fifth year. So I assume that the first two years, the CPI is going to be part of that contract, correct?

And the third year, we then go to Western Urban CPI, make the adjustments. Same with the fourth year and fifth year. And on the Western Urban CPI, they have the fuel bucket, fuel economic bucket. Are we going to be providing a separate fuel bucket as well in addition to Western Urban CPI?

So you're using, okay, you're not incorporating that, so...

Will the fuel bucket be reviewed the first year and the second year?

Okay. Does that come out of the 8% contingency? The CPI?

I think the city got a good deal on the fuel bucket. You know, I mean, with the, the way diesel prices are going up, and then being able to project the cost of fuel for the next two years, I mean, it's impossible to do that. So I think that's actually a plus to the city. And that was just a statement. I'm pretty much done with my questions. I'll wait until council comment.

All right, Vice Mayor Williams. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you for that presentation. My question is, how many employees per year are working on our services through Grover?

How many employees for our service through Grover that will be working for us?

And then that's also equipment and all the rest of that.

And that includes all emergency services too throughout the year if needed, yes?

All right, thank you. Any other questions from council members regarding item 24? Seeing none, then I will open up to the public. Are there any members of the public that would like to come forward? Or if you are participating remotely, please use the raise hand feature now or dial star 9 on a telephone to indicate you wish to speak on this item. Welcome.

Okay, thank you. Who would you, city manager, who would you suggest respond to that? All right.

I almost remember, but I can't remember for sure. I remember when it happened, but I cannot tell you how many years ago. But it's been a while. Long time.

All right. Thank you. All right. Is there anyone else in person regarding item 24? Seeing none, is there anyone online? I cannot see. All right. No one at this time online to speak on this item. So I will close public comments. Any comments from council members? Council member Scoody Brayton.

Thank you, Mayor. This is a very high number that we're talking about, very high costs to the taxpayer. This item went before the Finance Committee that's made up of Council Member Wright and Council Member Bavaro and myself, and we asked quite a few questions, and we really got into the weeds, no pun intended. But we got into the weeds on this item, and I, for one, asked a tremendous amount of questions in regards to the process of how we ended up with this particular vendor. And the process, I found it to be very fair, very equitable, and very transparent. As was indicated before, we started

Thank you, Mayor. Dittoes to my colleague, Councilwoman Rosa. We actually, during finance committee, we did vet out this process and you know, prior to this contract that we're having tonight, this contract was a citywide landscape maintenance contract and we opened it up to people to bid and it seemed it was only one bidder and that was that bid it on the contract and only because of the size of the contract. This time, this council saw the wisdom to open up the process to get more landscape maintenance companies in the process to be involved in the bidding process and we as a council broke i

Vice Mayor Williams. Thank you, Mayor. The reason why I asked about the employment is because technically, I appreciate Councilwoman Ascudia Brayton and her comments that would be able to help me be able to take this to the next level, and that is because of the fact that You know, we always say jobs, jobs, jobs, bring jobs. And this secures jobs. And those 25 individuals will be able to buy gas here, those that live in the area, buy groceries. And so the money that we're actually spending to do what we need to do to beautify our community comes right back to us by those 25 or those that are s

Thank you. My comment is that I hear all the time that our city really looks great and it's looking better and better and better. So I want to thank you for your work and your efforts in that regard. And I know that it's going to look even better with this somewhat of an increase with medians being addressed and other areas that will just give that extra touch that need the help. So be safe. while you're out there doing it. And thank you very much, and I will also support this resolution. Any other comments? Seeing none at this time, I have a resolution approving the award of proposal and agre

Aye. Carries unanimously. All right, I don't want this meeting to end without acknowledging tonight the two helicopter firefighters that died in Yosemite. And I say we, but it was our Modesto City firefighters that escorted them to our local coroner's facility here in Modesto and stayed on watch with them until their particular agency arrived to stay on watch, which they do, I've learned, 24-7 with them until they are laid to rest, I believe. So I want to acknowledge Chief Evans, who's been here the entire evening, and also our firefighters for paying that attention to them, and we appreciate