Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Okay. Good morning. It's alright.

It's like

a good party. Everybody's had fun. Get

ready. Good morning, everyone. I'd like to call this Board of Supervisory meeting to order. The date is March 3. The time is 09:03AM. I'm going to ask everyone to please stand for the pledge of allegiance and then remain standing for an invocation from Jeff Pischnee with Love Stanislaus County.

Good morning. Before I offer this invocation, I just wanna let you all know, in case you don't, on April 25, there'll be 14 cities and towns in our county, all loving their city, giving back and volunteering, helping making love Patterson, love Turlock, love Oakdale, you name the city a better place. So the end goal of April 25, though, is not just what we do on April 25. It's ongoing pride in our community, ongoing involvement, ongoing volunteerism. And to that end, we created something called Volunteer Central, making it easy for people to sign up all year round to get involved in their community.

So thank you for your support and your encouragement. Let me pray. God, thank you for this community that we live. God, we're not a perfect community for sure, but, man, we're an amazing community. There's some amazing, amazing people and amazing, amazing things going on in in this community.

And so, God, I thank you that this is my home, and this is our home. And, God, I, I thank you for my leaders I stand before right now. God, I pray blessings on each one of them, on their families, on their employment, on their their leadership in in our in their district and as well as in our county as a whole. And, God, I pray that you would give each of them wisdom beyond themselves when it comes to difficult decisions that have to be made and conflicts that have to be resolved. And, God, I pray for, wisdom even today for the decisions and and the discussions that will be made today.

And, God, I pray that you would continue to bless this community that we live. In your name, I pray. Amen. Thank you. So

if you don't know Jeff, he actually started Love Modesto at the time and now it's turned into a countywide. But again, it's not just one day, it's really about volunteerism throughout the year. Appreciate all you've done for the community, Jeff. All right. We're going to move on to Item three, which is Presentations, Employee Service Awards. And the first one up is going to be Sheriff Dirksey.

Good morning, mister chairman, members of the board. Literally, traffic in Empire was not great even when you have the little red and blue lights. Anyway, thank you for this opportunity to honor Dave Hickman for his twenty five years. Dave, come on down, please. Dave is a sergeant with our office.

And, sorry. I'm actually out of breath because I ran here from the parking garage. Sergeant with our office, has done twenty five years. And he, has really done it all, spent a lot of his early time out in Patterson as a patrol deputy and then as a detective and landed in our, major crimes unit, which is our homicide unit as a detective, where he just did years of great work, really handling the the most heinous crimes and most severe crimes, investigating those that, you know, we see. Now he is a sergeant and has done a tremendous job both at patrol at the main office, and now he's up in Riverbank where he is functionally the assistant, chief for Riverbank Police Services and, at the moment, kind of the acting chief due to, a medical absence.

So, Dave, we just wanna thank you for your incredible service. You know, I've often said that the the sergeant is the backbone of the organization, much like it is in the military, that kind of NCL, that first level leader. And, Dave, you've just done tremendous work there. So thank you. And oh, there's me.

Exactly. It's good.

We'll go right out here and then we're gonna get ready to take a picture. So on Saturday night, I went on a ride out with the swing shift, and it's a great reminder for all of us, again, when we do it, how difficult your job is and to put twenty five years in of really dealing with bad guys, good good people, bad people, the gamut, and how you stay focused in. We appreciate everything. I mean, law enforcement is obviously the number one component of our budget, and and we think that it it rises to the top. It's folks like you that have made it possible.

Again, we have so many young people. I think there was a 21 year old deputy that we were out with, and I remind them the bad guys are gonna be here tomorrow. And no bumper cars, but the backbone of the organization are the sergeants because you're the ones training really with these young people who are have zeal for the job, I guess, for lack of a better word. But I appreciate on behalf of the board that what you've committed to Stanislaus County, and we congratulate you on twenty five years.

And I just got out. I'm giving a speech. In the words of multiple partners of mine in the past

thank you.

That's it. No. I'm just kidding. Honestly, I wouldn't be able to do this. I wouldn't have been able to do this twenty five years, and everything is because of my wife. She's the one that pushed me to do this. I started when I was 31. I'm 56 now, and I still have the same drive

that I

used to. So but wouldn't be

right there.

That's why I shave it. Actually, it's

She tells people

She tells people to just hit me in the back of

the head.

So that's why it's easier to stitch me up. But truly, sheriff, thank you for the kind words. Vito, thank you, and I appreciate everything.

Next up, Marissa. I'm sorry.

Good morning, chairman and board of supervisors. We're here to honor Gloria Hermizio today. We know her as Patty, and then she's been with our department for twenty five years. Patty actually began her career with DCSS as a Kelly temp, and she decided in 2000 that she wanted to stay on. So we hired her full time in February 2001 as a legal clerk three, where she typed and processed interjurisdictional legal actions in our interstate unit.

In 2002, she promoted to a legal clerk four and began doing intake interviews in our establishment and case opening unit. And in April 2012, promoted to a child support specialist in our establishment unit, and she's been in that unit ever since. Patty's been described over the years by her supervisors and her managers as someone who has excellent customer service skills, especially with our difficult customers. Patty's been a Spanish interpreter for our department for over a decade. She carries a bilingual caseload, and she's also been a notary for twelve years.

As a specialist, Patty has demonstrated her commitment to the mission of the department in many ways. In particular, it's her building and trusting relationships with our customers. Patty understands that in case initiation and establishment, she's the face the first face of the department and the introduction to our customers with the child support program. So she works hard to ensure that every customer understands the process and knows their rights. Patty's also shown her dedication to our community by volunteering on our outreach committee for the department.

She's been instrumental in the success of our Kids Connect annual event for the last five years. And Patty's beautiful smiling face has been seen checking in customers, handing out backpacks, working the DCSS booth in 80 degree weather, and just in general being anywhere where help is needed. So we're extremely thankful to Patty for all of her work over the years and going above and beyond her casework to serve our community. Patty also enjoys looking to see if he's here. Enjoys spending time with her amazing husband and her adult son and daughter.

She's known her husband since high school and is going to be celebrating twenty five years of marriage this year. So we are super excited to have Patty as part of our team, and we just wanna say thank you for all of your work and your positive impact and congratulations.

Hi, Patty. Hi. Yeah. Says Gloria. I don't have to remember Patty. That's really good. I remember. So when we come in today, I don't know if you heard, there's a lot more excitement when we do, these service awards because you have a lot of staff that come from the departments to support their their folks, and we always love these days. But the most, amazing part to me is always the promotions that people when you make it twenty five years, you've kinda worked your way through the organization, into a position you probably love or, unless you wanna take Marissa's spot. And but it it truly is amazing, people who continue to accomplish.

We wanna congratulate you, Patty, on twenty five years, and congratulations on your twenty five years of marriage, which I love to hear too. I'm working on twenty five combined with the three wives. That is a lie. That is a lie. I just say that for a joke. Honey, you're watching. I'm sorry. You were so much wrong. It's always a running joke. But truly, again, on behalf of the board, we're we're so impressed, but we we thank you for your service to the community. I love that you're bilingual and help out. There's so much need within our organization for bilingual speakers. But, again, on behalf of the board, congratulations.

Thank you

so much.

Well, I was just gonna say thank you. It's definitely flown by. It's a lot of the work I've been loving to do, so it just kinda felt like it's passed through like a breeze. It's amazing. It's been twenty five years. I've worked with amazing people and made some really great friends over the years. It's been an honor. Thank you all.

Next up is Christine.

Good morning, miss Rocha and mister Bose. I'm here to honor Olivia Thompson who's celebrating twenty five years of service. Olivia began her career with Stanislaus County in March 2001, entering the workforce as an eligibility worker one. Her trajectory over the last two get decades has been a testament to her professional growth and commitment to the community services agency in the county as well. After successfully completing her initial training, was promoted to family service specialist in late two thousand one, following a promotion to family service specialist three in 2005.

Since 2020, Olivia has served as a family services supervisor where she currently leads the housing support program within the housing and homeless division. In this capacity, she oversees critical interventions for families facing homelessness, helping them navigate complex path towards permanent housing and self sufficiency. Of note, Olivia was recently honored as the employee of the quarter for the housing and homeless division. Throughout her twenty five year tenure, Olivia has become synonymous with the core value of each person matters. Her leadership style is defined by kindness and proactivity.

She has tirelessly she has a tireless positive spirit, a trait that has led supervisors and managers alike to observe that Olivia always steps up. She is here to support the community without judging their past and helping them to see the possibilities of their future. She personally spearheads the holiday celebration for the two family shelters, c s e CSA overseas, including a gift tree initiative that has provided joy to in house children for the past two years. She also established the hygiene bank at the family housing facility. By staging this resource as a store where families can shop for personal care items at no cost, she has created a welcoming environment that prioritizes human dignity. Congratulations, Olivia.

Thank you.

Another amazing Stanislaus County employee. I love that all the different aspects of services that we provide, but I'll do it with such, with such vigor and and helping the community. So much appreciated, Olivia. I I forgot to ask everyone how much longer they wanna work because when you get to twenty five years, that's that's an inflection point for people who who love their job or don't love their job. And and I don't expect you to answer and not anyone else to answer, but it's it's always a thought in my mind.

And I asked the department heads all the time how much longer they wanna stay with the organization because I think people it's a testament when you when you've been doing this for twenty five years, helping people, again, through all the promotions, getting to a position, maybe that you're you're comfortable in in your goals going forward. But, again, on behalf of the board of supervisors, and I know I go on tangents all the time. Now you know how my brain works. But on behalf of the board of supervisors, congratulations on twenty five years, and keep doing what you do.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I just wanna say thank you to to you all for this recognition. It's really appreciated. I also wanna express my thanks to Christine and all of my CSA family, my managers, my unit, all of my work colleagues that I've come across in my time at CSA. I couldn't have done it without their support. It's been an incredible journey at CSA. I've had a lot of good moments. I've had a lot of bad moments. But at the end of the day, we do some great work there at CSA. I won't say I'm gonna give another twenty years because that's not happening. But my work there at CSA isn't done, so I'm excited for the future. Thank you.

Tom Bose.

Good morning, board. Five years ago, I stood here and reminded you how long Rob has been with the county. That was twenty five years. Today, we're honoring him for thirty years, and I fully expect Rob to be here for thirty five years. I fully expect that.

I have a few comments, but you should you should understand I am an attorney, and a few comments may not be just a few. And what I am working off of is is a product that is prepared as a group project as everything that we do in our office is a group project. So here we go. Good morning. It's a true privilege to recognize thirty years of distinguished public service by our assistant county council, Rob Toro.

Thirty years represents more than just longevity. It reflects dedication to justice, commitment to ethical governance, and a deep belief in serving the public. Rob began his legal career in the late nineteen hundreds.

Yeah. That's my hero.

As a deputy district attorney, in court on behalf of the people, those early years required discipline, preparation, and the courage to make difficult decisions. Those years built judgment. They built integrity, and they built the foundation of a lawyer who understands both the power and the responsibility of the law. In April 2014, Rob transitioned to the office of county council as deputy county council and then promoted in March 2019 to assistant county council. Thank you very much, Rob.

For the last twelve years, he has advised departments, represented the county in litigation, drafted ordinance and agreements, and assisted me, guiding the board through complex legal issues. And as assistant county counsel, I don't think I could have found a better someone who could help me with my job any better. Wow. That was hard. The work of county counsel is often behind the scenes, but is essential.

Good legal counsel protects public resources, ensures transparency, reduces risk, and strengthens governance. Over the course of his year, Rob has worked alongside nine individuals who now serve as judicial officers officers for for the the Santa Claus County Superior Court. That means judges. That's an extraordinary distinction. To practice among colleagues who have ascended to the bench speaks to the caliber of professionalism, intellect, and ethical standards in that circle of lawyers and to the environment Rob helped cultivate and mentor.

One of the many many distinguished accomplishments in his career is obtaining four published opinions. Four, as he reminds us often, in the California Court of Appeals in the 5th Appellate District. A public appellate opinion is a rare and meaningful achievement as he reminds us often. It becomes precedent. It guides courts and public agencies across California.

It is a lasting contribution to the law, one that extends well beyond just a single case. But what defines his thirty year career is not just his achievements, it is his steadiness. Boards change, laws evolve, public, expectations grow. Through it all, Rob has been a thoughtful principle principled and measured adviser. His institutional knowledge is invaluable.

His judgment is trusted. His counsel is steady. And while he is known for his legal rigor, those of us who work closely with him know there's another side, he is without question what we the term we use is the master of robisms. In moments of stress, and as we all know, public law provides plenty of those, he has an uncanny ability to deliver a perfectly timed one liner. One of my personal favorites is when he responds with complete seriousness, who's robbing me?

Because I'll yell out of my office, Rob, who's robbing me? It is that balanced professionalism professionalism paired with levity that makes a long career not only successful but meaningful. He reminds us that even in serious work, we can still share a laugh. Outside the office, he is an avid fisherman, perhaps that is fishing, fitting. Fishing requires patience, preparation, and the ability to read subtle conditions, qualities that also define a skilled attorney. Whether navigating statutory interpretation or casting through decade decades of precedent, he approaches each challenge with strategy and persistence.

Are you okay?

Yeah. Great.

You're I

was waiting for the light to go off.

Public service is not about recognition. It is about stewardship. It is about protecting the integrity of government and serving sometimes larger something larger than oneself. Rob, your work has strengthened this institution and upheld the rule of law with honor. A few more fun things about Rob. He has no patience. He is a farmer by heart. He was a Davis High School graduate where he played on on an undefeated football team. What position did you play? Offensive line. Offensive line.

Practice.

Patience. He attended Sacramento State. There, he participated on the Sac State track team. He was a thrower, hammer, and discus. He married his college sweetheart and has two beautiful daughters, who I might add are amazing athletes as well. He was a claims adjuster for Farmers Insurance prior to becoming an attorney. He was hired by our former district attorney James Braselton. He is a diehard 49ers fan. Still to this day, sports is retro starter forty niners jacket that he wore in high school. I wonder who knew that.

It was purchased from Valley Sporting Goods when it was located downtown on J Street. Somebody really knows something about you. He is also a Golden State Warriors, Red Sox, and Seminoles fan. Did I say that right? Rob, congratulations on thirty remarkable years. May the years ahead include continued success, great fishing stories, and, of course, many more Robisms. Please join me in recognizing and thanking him for three three outstanding decades of service. Thank you,

Rob. Yeah.

Let's go. Okay. Okay.

So first question is, did you write your own bio? No. That was

a lot of knowledge. Right?

That was a lot of knowledge. Mine's not working. So so that was number one. Number two, who's your barber?

I am. I'm seeing one of sergeant Hickman.

That is so funny. So this is the levity, and I I hear amongst the departments. But, Rob grew up on a farm with two of the greatest parents ever. His dad was a Farm Bureau president. And looking back, I probably should have made the same move as you and left the farm. Right? But as we continue to do it. But, we're so appreciative of everything you do. You're in close session a lot along with Tom handling cases, and and so we have a lot of interaction with Rob and county council's office. And your time at the district attorney, I know you've been you had some very successful cases as we talk about.

You have four published papers of which you talk about. And so A lot. Lots of things going on. But once again, if you if you ever sit down and talk to Rob and ask him about time, how long he wants to be here, he's as excited to be here today as he was when I met him. And he has that that that drive, which really helps helps us again as a county. So, again, on behalf of the board of supervisors, congratulations on thirty years. You've set a great example for a lot of people.

Alright. Thank you, mister chairman. Thank you, mister Bose. For those thank you. For those who don't know me, my name is actually Rob Terro, but we'll work on that for the next thirty years. Gives us something to do. But just you know, I've heard other people here. Cassie, just from OES a few weeks ago and chief my friend, chief deputy district attorney Michael Houston. This is a blink of an eye. It it doesn't feel like thirty years, and it's been great. It's because I get to work with all of you and the people before you. And just what a great as as a lawyer, just tremendous opportunities here for the county. I couldn't ask for anything more. So it's really been terrific. Thank you all, and, let's wrap this up.

I just wonder if if I could just ask, you know, a show of hands if there's anybody out there who I have not mispronounced their name. Yeah.

For sure. No. No. Okay. So now we're going to move on to item four, which is public comment period. I would acknowledge I will have a comment during seven one, I did receive that. Public comment period is a time for those in attendance to speak on items not already on today's agenda. Please state your name for the record, direct all comments towards the dais. And so it's fair for every speaker, please keep your comments to five minutes or less. First speaker card I have is Milt Treeweiler.

Good morning, chair, board members, staff, community members, Milt Treeweiler. Every once in a while, it's good to kinda look back on what is going on, how things are taking place, how things are working out. And I think we need to reflect. We all need to do that to make sure we're in the right place. And like the thing today, that that was great to see people who've been here twenty five years.

So this is a time to reflect on yourselves. Honest politicians and honest public employees are defined as unwavering commitment to integrity, prioritizing public welfare over personal gain with constant transparent communication. They hold themselves accountable for mistakes, demonstrate empathy, and process the possess the courage to support right decisions over popular ones, fostering trust through ethical evidence based actions. And there are common qualities. There are key common qualities for this, and one starting with integrity and moral courage.

They maintain an unbendable notion of right and wrong and act ethically even when no one is watching them, often defending unpopular positions that are morally right. They are transparent and accountable. They are open about their actions, decisions, and motivations, and they take full responsibility for mistakes rather than blaming others. They have selfless service. They're not driven by power for the sake of it, but rather to see their position as a duty to better their community and constituents.

Authenticity. They mean what they say and act consistently in both public and private life, avoiding the scripted, insecure, poundering pondering behavior often associated with typical politicians. They are actively listening and with empathy. They are compassionate, seeking to understand the need of people that they represent, particularly the vulnerable, and are willing to change their minds based on new and accurate information. They are consistent.

They maintain their core principles and promises rather than constantly changing their opinions to gain votes. Honest politicians are also demonstrate intellectual curiosity and competence surrounding themselves with knowledgeable, truthful people rather than sycophants or yes, man. So we all have things that we have to strive for. And politicians especially have to strive because it's hard being a politician. It's hard being honest sometimes.

You really have to be honest. You really have to follow these guidelines that are recommended or as idealized for people who are politicians. So I really look forward to seeing all of you doing that, constantly improving yourselves. You're a you're a servant of the public. You're not doing this for Joe Smith or uncle Bill or anyone else. You're doing it for the entire public. And that's what's so important about being good politicians, honest, politicians. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments, Milt. Next up, we have Brian Evette, followed by Ron McMurtry. Brian Evette, how are

you guys doing this day?

Very good, Brian.

Anyway, I just wanna say, follow on him. Be honest. Good politicians. That's what you guys sit here and do. You have to be good politicians. Now that's spending taxpayers' money. That's where it comes. We gotta figure out how to save the taxpayers' money so we all trickles down, and it saves us money. And what what I found here is that even in our homeless, we get all these grants for our homeless, and we spread it around, and we make it sound like it's so great. But, yeah, we build stuff.

40 units, 42 units cost us $3,000,000. And then it's gonna cost us another $3,000,000. You maintain those 40. That's a $120 per square foot per month. And we're going now as a landlord, I'd love to get a $120 per square foot on a house. You know? But, yeah, we're gonna give it to the poor, and we're saying we're helping them. No. We're not helping them. We're only helping supervisors in these positions to gain more money. Now that's just costing taxpayer more money. We'll run for those grants. So we're gonna get the state grants. It still comes from the taxpayers. It doesn't matter.

It starts right here where we can save that money. I mean, if you can get foreclosed homes, we have maybe 785 thou or 785 foreclosed homes. Why don't we turn those back over to the people that are homeless? Maybe it was their families that got foreclosed on it. Maybe they couldn't turn around and get it through probate, but we could put that family back in those homes for a lot less cost because the county's gonna take it.

What are we gonna do? Take that money, sell it, and then give it to the schools, which we wind up taking a billion dollars from the schools for what we call community services and health and safety and forming a better community. Why do we take that billion dollars, basically, 785,000,000? But why do we do that? It doesn't make any sense. I mean, we're blowing it. We've gotta fix this problem. You know? It shouldn't cost us that money to house one person in a 70 square foot building. I mean, we're not even spending that on Hague Bavarian at six what?

67¢ a square foot? Why are we spending a $120 per month per square foot for a shed? It doesn't make any sense. You know? I mean, if we wanna help our poor and our homeless out, we can do a better job than we're doing right now, I mean, with that money. It just doesn't make any sense. And that and technology has gotten to a point that we have AI. Quantum's gonna be coming out. We have sheriffs and police departments that turn around and have kids that don't know the law, but yet AI does. It can take a scenario that that officer went out on, and it can turn around and say, this is what you need to do as an officer.

Even if it's to arrest himself, this is what needs to be done. We need to put our money into that, and we need to get ready. Even our court systems and our attorneys and everything. When quantum comes in, there are, multiple attorneys and judges all with that right there at hand. Hello. This is it. It'll give you the scenario to make that arrest so there isn't problems. Because right now, we'll turn around and arrest the innocent people and let the criminals go the way it's going right now. And I've seen this over and over, and I've been in it myself over and over. And then once you're in the system to get it to dismiss the system because they let the criminals go because they wanna tear us down.

We not we don't need help from you guys to be built up. That's how we get rich in ourselves, just our hearts and everything else. That's what enriches ourselves. And if you guys aren't with it and try to turn around and maintain it, you're just gonna push the factors of taxes higher and higher and push us all out until we're all poor, and then you're gonna get all the money and do what? Put us all in a 70 foot square?

Where's the money gonna come from when we're all in a 70 square foot building? All we got is a bed in the air conditioning. So you need to help the people that are trying to help other people. And sometimes we start with the landlords because those are the ones that are actually bringing our taxes in. Those are the ones that are turning around and fighting, and they have to go through a big fight in everything.

Even to get bad people out, we have to fight. So you're just creating more poor, And that vicious cycle has gotta stop. It's gotta stop somewhere because we can't keep pushing that kind of money out. I mean, if I could get a $120 a square foot for one of my houses per month, I mean, that'd be great. I could take care of those people pretty good that I put in there. You know? But it's the supervisor positions that are costing us too much money. I mean, because there's no way we should be spending that kind of money. Anyway, I'd just like to say that, and I hope that you guys could look at it that way.

Thank you for your comments, Brian. On to Ron McMurtry.

Thank you, mister chairman, members of the board. Ron McMurtry here. I have been mulling some things over. I my this is a big education for me watching what goes on in these meetings, and it's fascinating. And, wow, all the little tendrils that are everywhere. So I have questions. I have concerns. So I think what I want wanna achieve today is just a brainstorming. I I don't know if you're gonna answer back any of this or if you've considered all of this. So I just these are the things I've been thinking about lately I'd like to share and share my opinion.

The whole Western Hills Water District, thing with the Diablo Grande, it just it just kinda it's kinda fishy. And it started with, of course, all those testimonials, the residents who are paying these high water bills looking for relief, and that would be my priority. And I think a couple of members behind the dais up there have expressed those concerns, that's why you continued that. And then but then if you recall the next meeting, we had a gentleman who was, making claims against the water district. And so I I had already my suspicions, and I don't wanna I'm not accusing.

This is just playbook the way things tend to be handled. And then now we hear about the property transfer to the Diablo Grande. I couldn't even look it up. It must be a new organization, Diablo Grandma Citizens something or I don't even remember. That was so recent that it didn't even appear on the treasurer tax collector's summary that we all had last time. So I just you know, I I would like to you know, should we look at the legality of that transfer and so on? And I mostly wanna just share my the testimony. Okay. I did that. Okay.

So my opinion is if we can determine if the residents are going to get relief, then I say, okay. Let's let the wheels continue on, and, hopefully, the county can get its property tax money. But if not, if this is just a cynical tactic to manipulate the board of supervisors, I I I I don't like that, and I I wouldn't mind if maybe, DA should make an investigation for a possible I don't I don't know the situation, so I'm speaking out of turn a little bit, but this this is my opinion. If if there's relief, fine. Let it let it go. If not, yeah, let's let's look at whether there should be some legal action or, you know, whether this bankruptcy is legitimate and the sale and so on. Thank you.

Thank you for your comments. And that's the last speaker card I have. Anyone else for public comment? Seeing none, we're gonna go ahead and close the public comment period. We're gonna move on to the oh, yep. Oops.

Good morning, Board of Supervisors. Good morning. My name is Tom Myers. I'm a long time resident of Modesto and Stanislaus County. I'm also a board member of the Stanislaus Audubon Society.

Can I stop you for one second? Are you trying to speak on item seven one, which is the it's going to be coming up. Yes. So I'm gonna have you hang out for a second. I know you did mark public comment, but it's on Okay. Somewhat or do you have something else to No. It's about Okay. I'm gonna call you up first when we get to item seven one, which should be very quickly. You. Alright. Anyone else for public comment? Seeing none, I'll close the public comment period. Now we'll move on to the consent item. Any board members wanna pull any items? Any public members want to comment on any of the items on today's consent agenda? Seeing none, I'll bring it back to the board.

Motion to remove all consent items. Second.

Have a motion be condense. Second. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries five zero. Okay. We're gonna move on to discussion items. Item number seven, approval to enter into a joint powers agreement between the state California State Parks, Turlock Irrigation District and Stanislaus County, a lease agreement between TID and Stanislaus County, and a public entity agreement between the state of California and Stanislaus County for Turlock Lake State Recreation Area and related matters. Tara Chimley will be presenting with the incomparable Diego at her side.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Sharon Pisa, Supervisors, assistant executive officer, council. I'm Tara Chumley. I'm the director of parks and recreation. Joining me at the staff table today is Diego Casillas, our park manager. Also with us today in the audience is Danielle Garhart, district superintendent for Central Valley District with California State Parks and Paige Huller, the district manager. We're here today to share an exciting opportunity to partner with California State Parks and Turlock Irrigation District. Is the PowerPoint working anywhere?

On the screen. On the screen.

Okay. Perfect. Okay. So let me I'll just start a little bit backwards. We're here today to share an exciting opportunity to partner with California State Parks and Turlock Irrigation District to reopen Turlock Lake State Recreation Area in our community.

Turlock Lake has been a state recreation area since 1950 and closed in 2020 when the concessionaire left. And at that time, TID and the state approached the county to take over recreation. For the county to take over operations, it was critical to evaluate necessary improvements needed to reopen the recreation area. And in 2023, the state funded a facility improvement assessment of the day use areas that included the restrooms, parking, boat launch, pump houses and tank, and maintenance and operation facilities. The facility assessment conducted by the county was concluded in 2024 with a total estimated cost of 7,500,000 in identified improvements.

Opening Turlock Lake to the public will be dependent on the completion of facility improvements and providing a safe and secure facility for the community to enjoy. The county envisions future family friendly recreation at Turlock Lake to include a water park, picnicking, fishing, swimming, non motorized boating such as kayaking, paddle boarding, and canoeing, and small engine motorized boating. As a state recreation area, alcohol will not be permitted. Off season recreation includes fishing, waterfowl hunting, and an opportunity to host community and special events. We anticipate some off season recreation to be available later this year with summer season recreation available in 2027.

Operations projected in year one includes funding from charges for services, one time state revenue, and a contribution of 90,000 of District 2 community development funds. State revenue continues in year two. And in year three operations, it's projected that the, operations be self sustaining. The projected budget includes funding for four full time positions and extra help seasonal staffing to support peak season operations. Existing department position allocation will be evaluated due to the withdrawal of recreation operations at Woodward Reservoir with the potential assignment to support operations at Turlock Lake.

Law enforcement services will be provided by the sheriff's department through a service level agreement with Parks and Recreation, representing continued support from the general fund for services currently being provided at Woodward Reservoir. The partnership will be formalized through three separate agreements for the mutual benefit of ensuring continued public access and recreational opportunities for Turlock Lake, the state, TID, and the county proposed to enter into a joint powers agreement. Under this agreement, TID is the property owner, while the state will provide funding for the necessary park improvements identified in the facility assessment. The county in turn will receive funding from the state to make the improvements and manage recreation operations. The state will also provide future funding to address ADA improvements.

The county and TID proposed to enter into a lease agreement for the county to operate recreation for a term of ten years with an option to extend the lease in increments of ten years. Upon approval, the county will enter into a public entity agreement with the state to receive nearly 8,200,000 of funding for facility improvements and one time startup costs. With that, staff recommend that the board approve a joint powers agreement between state parks at the county and TID and authorize the chairman of the board to enter into and sign the JPA for Turlock Lake State Recreation Area. Also, approve the lease for park and recreation purposes with TID and authorize the general services agency director purchasing agent to enter into and sign the lease. Approve the use of 90,000 of district two community development funds.

Adopt a resolution and authorize the director of parks and recreation execute a public entity agreement with the state for the Turlock Lake improvements and start up operational costs for nearly 8,200,000, and direct the auditor controller to establish an interest bearing fund for Turlock Lake State Recreation Area and increase revenue and appropriations by 8,200,000 in the Turlock Lake budget as included in the budget journal. The partnership and reopening represents more than restored access. It reflects our renewed commitment to providing quality recreational opportunities to our residents that promote health, wellness and connection. We look forward to welcoming the community back and seeing this treasured space once again filled with activity, laughter, and lasting memories. Staff are available to answer any questions.

Thank you.

Thank you. And before we get to questions, I wanna go ahead and see if Paige and Danielle wanna come up and from state parks.

Good morning, chairman and members of the board. Thank you, Tara, for, kicking us off here. I just wanna say that this has been an incredible partnership since 2020, between us and TID and the county, and we're in complete support today to to give this money over to Stanislaus County to reopen Turlock Lake. And we know that this is a huge improvement for the community to reopen this place. We know it's important.

And at California State Parks, we are all about recreation and giving public access to these properties. I wanted to read a little bit about where the funding is coming from. This is part of our Waterways Connections initiative, and the WCI includes a collection of efforts conducted over multiyear implementation period selected and implemented to achieve the WCI goal and objectives. This was established through enabling legislation in 2021. The goal of WCI is to expand inland waterway related outdoor access to priority communities with an emphasis on state parks facilities and partnerships.

And this specific partnership hits exactly on the first objective of WCI, which is to add, improve, or expand outdoor recreational facilities such as campgrounds, day use areas, and trails. And so with that, I'd like to share our support at California State Parks, and thank you for your partnership.

Thank you so much.

Again, I'm Paige Tyler. I'm the, manager of the reverse sector, which includes not excuse me. Six, park units along the 99 Corridor, including Turlock Lake State Recreation Area. I'm also offering my support for including this as another park unit and, in fact, actually, the second, of California State Parks within Stanislaus County. I'll be your local manager. I look forward to working with the partners on this. I also wanna mention that, our our sector includes Dos Rios, which is our newest state park opened in 02/2024. And we're currently in the visioning phase for that as well, looking forward to, developing and encouraging more recreation in both of these park units. Thank you.

Thank you too so much for coming down. Do we have any questions to staff before I go out to the public? Okay. I see now. Let me go ahead and open this up for public comment. And, Tom, you are going to be up first.

Nice to meet you again. Yeah. To board members, my name is Tom Myers. And like I said before, I'm a lifelong resident of Modesto and Stanislaus County. And I'm here to urge you to vote for the proposed agreement with TID and state parks.

I'm a board member of the Stanislaus Audubon Society. And for myself and all members of our group, we are anxious to see this project's completion in the 2027. In the past, oh, maybe three to five years, Dos Rios, which will soon be established as a state park, has received a lot of attention and a lot of money from the state. And it promises to be a great park. It's in an infant stage, and, I think it'll be a real asset for our county.

Now it's Turlock's time. They've we've waited a long time since the pandemic. The park was basically off limits. There was a fair amount of vandalism and trashing of facilities. And it was well, it was basically not able to be used.

Turlock State Recreation Area has a lot of possibilities. This project offers a great picnicking area, play area for and water parks for the kids. There's swimming, fishing, boating, hunting. And as far as I'm concerned, the most important for me would be birding. Since the pandemic, there's been a lack of of visitation to the park on our part as well as everybody else's.

We would really like to continue to have field trips out there, bring people to the park to bird, and enjoy just being outdoors because we understand how important it is to get out and enjoy nature. Not a lot else to say except that this seems like a kind of a win win for everybody. And I have one question that may get answered later in reading all about the park. I haven't found anything out about the status of the campground itself. And I'd like to know more about what's gonna happen with the campground, who's gonna run it, how that's gonna be.

But in conclusion, I just wanna say I urge you to support this project, and it's nice to see a collaboration for a change instead of fighting with other agencies. So your collaboration with TID and the state park system would be very welcomed. Thank you for your attention on this matter.

Tom, thank you very much for taking the time to come in today. There was also, another gentleman, Chet Steiger, who couldn't, stick around. I was gonna try and let him speak earlier, but he was in support. You want it, Milt?

Again, Milt Treeweiler. Yes. This is a very excellent idea, a very good thing, community thing. It's the thing that the board wants to do. Good things make people happy. And think of your constituents. I mean, these Stanislaus County people are your constituents. I lifetime Stanislaus County. I used to go out there all the time and play around and have fun with family and friends, and, that's what it's all about. It's been sad that it's been closed for such a long time, but now it's gonna be reopened with your agreement with the state and making it I mean, setting it up the way it is now is the correct way to do it.

Before, it really wasn't the correct way to do it because it was, you know, placing a lot of a burden on TID, which is not their responsibility to operate a state park. So I'm happy to see this, and I look forward to being out there again. And thank you for being what you should be, good people to the citizens of Stanislaus County.

Alright. Anyone else? Come on up.

Alright, David. It was $8,000,000.

8,200,000.

8,200,000? Yes. Yeah. Do we have any plans on what we're showing the public that we're getting for the

Okay. You go ahead and address the question to me.

Go ahead. She got the answers. Yeah. I just like to see what we're doing for the $8,000,000.

K.

I mean, the place has been there. Are we improving it? Are we building what what are we building for $8,000,000 over there? And the cost? I mean, because right now, I mean, we're even getting costs where if you're gonna put a boat in a lake, it has to be put under a thirty day or three month condition, and then you'll have to pay to have it wired down again. Every In lake you move to, you have to pay that fee, and you have to wait that time. Is it gonna be the same? Every boat where we put into that lake is gonna have to be on a quarantine. Is that gonna happen too just like the other lakes? K.

Because I know that we turn around and I'm with, Poker Flat, so we have 1,100 units basically over there. And we take care of that on a budget of $2,000,000, and that's parks and roads, you know, and the people that are at the docks, and we could handle that on that amount. So we're gonna $8,000,000. What are we getting for $8,000,000? I'd like to see the plans on that one, or is it just back to the old park that we had before with no improvement? Is it all goes to labor, supervisor positions? Where's that money going? I just like to see that. And we should be showing it to the public here. Here's what we're doing.

You know? Because that could make us happy if we see a lot of improvements for the money. But if we're not seeing those improvements for the money, then what's the point of it? It's just more grant money basically coming from the taxpayers to raise their taxes, and California just keeps pushing it up on us. That ain't right. Show us something that you're spending that money on. That's all.

Thank you. Anyone else? Come on up front.

Thank you, mister chairman. Ron McMurtry. I didn't plan to speak, but something caught my attention. Mentioned there's a mention of off season fishing. So I'm just curious. Is this a stocked lake? And if so, is part of the budget to kinda maintain the stocking of the lake? And in either case, do you know what species of fish this lake is known for? Thank you.

Anyone else? Okay. I'm gonna work backwards. First question is going to be Tom's question about the campground.

Yes. So the state and the county are very interested in exploring future options related to that campground, and we have plans to look in that in in year three of the Turlock Lake operations.

So there's not in the current phase Correct. Where we're spending the money. Okay. The $8,000,000 improvements that and how did we get to the $8,000,000 number?

So attached to the agenda item available online is the complete copy of the facility assessment that was conducted, and that is where the $8,200,000 is being spent. 7.5 for the facility assessment, and then the balance is to assist with the onetime startup costs for a year one and year two operations.

An example of something that's going to be improved? Bathroom.

The restrooms, the paving, retaining wall.

Yeah. Security fencing.

Yes. The park will have fencing, pump houses, and tanks.

Okay. And then Stockton Lake.

The Yes. The state stocks this lake with trout every year. So it is a stocked lake.

Okay. That's very good. Alright. I think we got everything covered. Alright. I'm seeing no other comments. I'll bring it back to the board for any comments.

Just real quick. Thank you guys for doing this. Thank you for putting this all together. Thank you for everybody who's been involved in this. I know this has been talked about and worked on for a long time. And then I just wanna thank supervisor Kiesavita for doing this. You've been working on this for a while. And and and as we do stuff here, all of us on the board here, things don't happen just like that. It takes us time. We have to be patient, and sometimes it's very frustrating. But but I know you've you've put your time in on this one and wanted this to happen. I just commend you on all your hard work in making this happen along with everybody else who's been a part of this. So thank you guys all.

Okay. I guess I could just say ditto with that and just congratulate Tara and Vito. I know they worked long and hard on this. Probably almost five years since this project popped up, and I also like to thank the state and TID for being good partners and and seeing this through. So thank you, guys.

Alright. So I wanna give a little historical perspective. Anyone if everyone will give me just a little bit of leeway. The parks department has 22 neighborhood and community parks. We have five regional parks.

And those five regional parks, four of them, we actually charge some revenue and recoup, some of that. But the charge of parks is not to make money off of, everyone. It's to provide opportunities, recreational opportunities, really at a subsidized rate. And when we were going through this, the initial conversation and Danielle reminded me it was six years ago, which is just stunning to me that we had a a circle conversation out there at Turlock Lake, with our former public, parks director. And at the time, it was it was more of a budget issue.

I think about, just short of $6,000,000 is what the general fund contributes to parks, and we didn't know if there was money available to do it. So that was kind of the first slow roll. And but in our conversations with the state of California and Turlock Irrigation District, I was worried when Dos Rios had opened, and I thought maybe the state was going to trade one state park for another one. And that was not the case at all. I've had assurances from day one of the state's commitment to reopening Turlock State Recreation Area, and you guys have been fantastic partners.

So that's first and foremost. We wouldn't have gotten anywhere without your support on the $8,000,000 to bring it up to some sort of standard. I would tell everyone to give the county some grace because when you look at Woodward Reservoir, we're at sixty five years, and, that it took us to get from taking it over into the park it is today. Modesto Reservoir, I'm not even sure how many years we've had it, but decades and decades. So we're going to start and try and build something out there.

We have a vision, but it's one step at a time. And it's gonna be very family friendly in the beginning, and we're gonna try and open in 2027 as Tara had talked about. I want to point out that Woodward Reservoir, this really made it easier for us. Nothing's ever easy for the county, but, South San Joaquin Irrigation District had notified notified us some time ago that they wanted to take Woodward Reservoir back. And so the timing works out really, really well.

I was worried about it, but in conversations we had with SSGID, they're excited to continue park operations. I don't know in, you know, in what capacity, but they've assured us that they wanna continue operating as a park. Unfortunately, they probably don't wanna subsidize like the county subsidizes, so it may change the rate structure and some other things. But that's exciting because it gives us three recreational opportunities instead of two. One in the North, the Northern Triangle, and then a couple of Modesto Reservoir and Turlock Reservoir, but fairly close to each other.

Along with the other two regional parks, Frank Raines up in the Western Foothills and then the LaGrange, off road vehicle park. Again, those are where we charge, just so you know. And and so it's exciting. I wanna make sure everyone understands what collaboration is because someone had said one of the speakers had said that it's it's difficult. We don't do enough collaboration. This has been collaboration all the way through. This is a irrigation lake. It controls irrigation for the Turlock Irrigation District. It is not a part of their federal energy regulatory, FERC licensing, so they have to operate Don Pedro for recreation. It's mandatory, but they don't have to in this case.

And there was actually talk where they were gonna put a fence around the whole place and just operate it as an irrigation holding holding area. And and in discussions, we you know, the majority of the board, I think, that they're voting on it today. So I'm gonna say the majority of board wouldn't have been on the agenda. But, hopefully, on a five o vote, they're going to move forward with their component. But they've been great partners also, to this day.

Their, general manager, Brad, as well as the board members I've talked to the most, Michael France, has been instrumental. This whole idea, I want you to know, came from a constituent in my district, and I'll talk about that person in a second. But first of all, again, I wanna thank the state. Danielle, you've been again, we've had a couple meetings, but you guys have done everything you said you were gonna do, and you've really pushed this forward, to TID and and their whole board. Hopefully, they're taking it up right now to Tara and Diego.

And if you don't know Diego, he operates Woodward Reservoir. He's the lead for Modesto Reservoir and La Grange Off Road Park, and they're not in proximity to each other. So you've been a real champion for parks. I wanna thank you. And now I'm gonna go back to that constituent because this is really amazing.

It was former sheriff Les Weidman, back in 2020, right when the park had shut down. He lives in the Hickman area. He wanted to sit down and talk to me, and we went down to the campground site, which was being taken over and and and the copper was mined from all the folks in our in that side of town. And we just talked about the vision, and I spent a lot of time and like everyone else did at Turlock Lake growing up, so it was important to me. And but he gave me the wherewithal with his vision and the historical perspective and because he'd been around a little bit longer than I have, And it was just it got me jazzed up, and we started these conversations, all from a constituent, you know, bringing something up.

And I asked him to be here today. He couldn't be here today, but I also wanna thank him, profusely because he's he's like the match that lit the fire in the whole thing. So with that, I think this is a a great opportunity for us. I'm very supportive of it, and I'm glad to have done a very little part in all of this because, really, the hard part comes when we open the park. So with that, I'm gonna take a motion, if that's okay.

Motion to recommend or motion to for the all the recommendations.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. All those in favor, aye. Aye. Opposed? Alright. The motion passes five.

Thank you, everyone.

We're gonna take just a quick short break because we're gonna try and troubleshoot this really quick, because our screen's not working, if that's okay. And then we're gonna come back. I'm actually gonna have the parks up first.

Okay.

Thank you. Can follow we'll hear about it. So five minute break. Go backwards. Acceptance of an update on Parks and Recreation Building Community Services Investment.

I gotcha, Tara.

Alright. Good morning again, Chairman Kiesa, supervisors, assistant executive officer, Rocha, and council Bose. I'm Tara Shemley. I'm the director of Parks and recreation. And joining me at the staff table today is Fanal Chan, our administrative manager. We're here this morning to highlight some of the park maintenance and improvement projects our team has accomplished with the support of building community services investment funding of $10,000,000 approved by the board of supervisors in 2022 to enhance county parks.

K. Good morning, everybody. I'll be highlighting some of our projects. So as shown on the screen, park staff have installed new picnic packages throughout our community and neighborhood parks that include a concrete pad with picnic table, barbecues, and trash cans. Additionally, you'll see the basketball court at Mono Park.

That was improved and resurfaced. And currently, solar lights are being installed installed throughout all our community parks with security cameras coming later this year. Next, we have our reservoirs. Staff have placed several picnic tables, barbecue, and fire pits with new concrete tables with the county logo on them. The concrete fire pits and concrete fire pits are higher above the ground and provides a safer experience for our visitors.

The bottom picture on the left and right is the monitoring wells that were installed at each reservoir to replace the existing wells that had become dry due to a regional drop in the water table. As required by the water quality control board, the monitoring wells are used to measure groundwater levels and to collect samples for determining the groundwater quality. Next, b c f BCSI funds also supported the cleanup and debris removal efforts at Kiwanis Camp in La Grange. The miner's shack posed a significant safety hazard due to a structural instability and therefore was demolished to ensure the safety of the site. In Empire, staff made significant repairs to the playground at Empire Park, added new picnic areas and park benches, and installed solar lighting.

The Empire Tot Lot also received an upgrade with the new playground shown in the top right and bottom corners and added picnic areas. With the rising cost of construction, BCSI funding was used as to supplement grant funded park improvement projects for Oregon Park in the near airport neighborhood, Lira Fitzsimmons Memorial Park in Grayson, and Bonita Pool in the community of Crow's Landing. Coming soon, Salida Park will start construction to replace the playground pictured in this or the replace the playground. Pictured is the rendering of what is coming soon. This is supported by grant funding, and Salida Park will be a national demonstration site as part of the play on program, including six essential elements of play, which include balancing, brachiating, climbing, sliding, spinning, and swimming or swinging.

We look forward to opening the new playground in May.

So the board approves a BCSI spending plan in July 2025 that included ADA improvements at Woodward Reservoir. On October, South San Joaquin Irrigation District exercised their early termination of the license agreement, which will result in the county withdrawing operations from Woodward Reservoir effective October. Due to this termination, it is recommended that Woodward Reservoir project funds be redirected to other county ADA improvement projects. This includes Modesto Reservoir ADA Dock and Restroom improvements and Salida Park ADA restroom improvement projects. So with that, staff recommend that the board accepts the update on the Parks and Recreation Building Community Services investment funding report, approve adjustments to the previously approved capital project budget spending plan to remove Woodward Reservoir ADA project and reassign the funds to Modesto Reservoir and Salida Park ADA improvement projects.

Approve the use of 175,000 of GSA ADA budget for the Modesto Reservoir ADA project. A proven increase of 300,000 to the GSA Salida Park improvement capital project and direct the auditor controller to increase the capital project budget by 300,000. Approve an increase of 675,000 in the GSA Modesto reservoir ADA project and direct the auditor controller to also increase that capital project budget by 675,000. And direct the auditor controller to reduce capital outlays and increasing operating transfers out by 600,000 in the parks capital project budget and by 200,000 in the parks and recreation budget. For updates on all of our projects and events, please visit our website and follow us on social social media.

Staff are available to answer any questions. Thank you so much.

Exciting stuff. Thank you very much, Tara and Benel. Any questions, Tara? Okay. I'm going to acknowledge there are no written comments on this item. Open the public comment period. Does anyone in the audience wish to speak on this item? Left, looking right. Alright. Bring it back to the board. For action? Motion to approve. Motion to approve.

Second.

Do we have a second? Thank you again, Tara.

Thank you, guys. You have a great work.

Thank you.

It's kind of a victory lap here. Alright. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries five zero.

Thank you. Thank you, guys.

Now we're

gonna move back up to item seven dash two. It is approval to increase the Keys Community Center Library tenant improvement prod project budget. And

d. Alright. Construction team.

Yes. Absolutely. What a good day. Good morning. I think it's still morning up. Chairman Keiza, County Council Boes, assistant officer Rocha, and all the members of the board of supervisors, Andy Johnson, and Al Valencia here today from team GSA. We always like to start with thank you. We're gonna give an update both on the Keys Community Center project, but as well as the BCSI projects that GSA has had really the privilege to work with the 27 departments. And we really wanna thank the board of supervisors and leadership for putting this program together. When I've met with my colleagues at the California General Services Agency, taking care of our aging infrastructure across the state is not, unique just to Stanislaus County.

So having the opportunity to fix our house, we hope will long term make some of our budgets go down as we respond to to maintenance orders. Alright. So we're gonna start today with a wonderful project in Keyes. And I had the opportunity the other day to go out and actually tour the facility as as what it is today, and we're gonna show you some photos. And there was a group of very energetic young ladies doing Zumba classes in the multipurpose room.

And I don't know. They were quite prepared for me to join in, not knowing me, but I I joined in and danced with them. Keyes is a 7,500 square foot building that was actually constructed in 1968 by a community group, and it was purchased by the county in 1975. Today, it really functions as a home for the Police Activities League who has a contract with Parks and Recreation to provide recreation services. There's a wonderful after school program.

In 2023, the library colocated at this site after moving off of a former school site. And today, they're really operating out of a very small space. And so this project is going to take the building from what it looks like today and really make it kind of the jewel of the Keys community. Here, the next few slides are just kind of photos of what it looks like. You can really kind of tell of the nineteen seventies, nineteen sixties sort of art that's on.

The the restrooms are no longer ADA compliant, and then the photo on the right is really the the big area. The now we've moved to this slide. The photo on the left is an upstairs mezzanine area, which is really how this project came to GSA. We did a community assessment of the building and really went through our facility assessment, and this is no longer allowed to be used. The the structural challenges with the staircase and being able to get in are not there.

And then the picture on the right is really what the library operates out of now. And so when we're done, you're going to see it much more visible as we go forward. The project scope is to really renovate the entire facility. It'll make a dedicated space of 2,000 square feet from the library. So you see before right now, lack of better word, they're operating out of a a kind of an office slash closet space. It'll create a shared community room. It'll make a dedicated space for recreation through the Police Activities League. It'll take care of the necessary ADA improvements, and it'll do those structural upgrades. It'll make that upper floor safe and reusable. So here's the picture.

If you remember the pictures from before, here's what this can look like as we go forward. These are the renderings that the architect has put together. This will be the new shared multipurpose room. And, unfortunately, we don't have good renderings to go to the next one out of what the floor plan is gonna look like, but this is this is the architect's sort of conceptual drawing. On the left, you'll find the dedicated library space, the shared restrooms. And on the right, you'll find the multipurpose room and the dedicated space for the police activities league as we go forward. We have a wonderful project team working on it. You may remember LDA Architects. LDA was our partner in both the Turlock Library and the Empire Library. And so they've been well versed with our team for a number of years.

TNS West is a job order contract we've had. We've had great work with them. And then the project team is really led by GSA, but the wonderful library staff, we've got a great librarian, great vision with that team. And we've been doing so many projects with them. We've now touched Houston and Empire and Turlock and Riverbank and Newman and Salida. It's getting to the point where I can't think of a library we haven't touched. And so we've really integrated with them. If approved today, this is gonna be a really quick one. We'll issue the notice to proceed to the contractor today, and we will start construction on the thirteenth and finish in December. We have a few additional staff recommendations that go along with item.

One is we're asking the board to approve the closure of the Keys Community Center. In all projects, the library has a backup plan on how to continue to service that community. There are libraries in Series, Turlock and Denair that will all provide services to it, and then we'll work with the community as we go forward to make sure that their needs are being met. We're asking to increase our agreement with the Gordian Group. The Gordian Group is the third party administrator of the job order contract program.

And so it's allowed under state code that basically these contractors come to us every year and they agree to all the pricing that's in the Gordian task book. The pricing is then every project we do is first reviewed by Gordian staff. We've done a ton of projects with them over the last five years, so we're asking to extend that for an additional two. It increases the contract with TNS West to the legal maximum for the year so that they can deliver this project. And then it extends the time limited position for the GSA's building service supervisor.

We've had a really great utility player in John Reeser who has come to us for maintenance, and he's he's hung on with us over the years. He's the gentleman that has the keys to the kingdom, so he'll continue to deliver these projects as we go forward. The fiscal impact, the board approved in October 2024 an initial budget of 750,000 funded by GSA's portion of BCSI. This recommendation say ask the board to approve the full project budget of $44,600,000 with 2,600,000 coming from the library and 2,000,000 coming from GSA. And with that, I'm gonna turn it over to Al Valencia, who will talk about our general BCSI program.

As Andy mentioned, my name is Al Valencia. I'm the assistant director for GSA. I do wanna echo the thank you to the board for allocating BCSI funds for improving our existing facilities. I think with those funds, it will allow us to continue building community, right, which is one of the what we wanna continue to do. I will be highlighting some of the projects that we have touched with BCSI funds, and then let us know if you have any questions.

GSA has completed three three projects, 18 total projects. We've currently three projects in construction, the 18 are under warranty phase currently, and we have multiple in the design phase, and we're targeting to complete at the end of fiscal twenty twenty seven next year. Various county projects that we have done. Also, wanna echo that this we have also partnered with the, library department and parks department. We've also managed some of their projects that for their allocation of VCSI funding.

As Andy mentioned, various I don't think we've we've touched all the libraries. The Lida branch library, we did some improvements that have allowed us to shuffle the collection from Modesto Library to that space while that those improvements are being done. Neumann Branch Library, Riverbank Branch Library, Keyes Community Center, as Andy mentioned, and the Downtown Library in Modesto.

Alan and I didn't practice on who was driving before the meeting.

So we

River Riverbank Library. Right? Riverbank and Newman are their mirror image libraries. One of them slightly smaller than the other, but we did a complete refresh on both of them. New desk, new carpet, new paint, new lighting. And the biggest thing is ADA improvements to the restrooms. Here, you could see some pictures, new carpet, new lighting, new fresh paint, brand new desk for services provided. Here's Newman. Here's under construction, and you can see renovations fresh, complete fresh look. Restroom ADA, complete ADA improvements.

We've also allocated a space to our custodial team. Right? Completely dedicated to custodial. A lot of times, they're stuck in closets, they do with what they have, but now they have their own space here. Projects that we have also completed, some of the high big highlights. And Andy and I are just the face for the department. Right? But there's a lot of good people that are doing a lot of hard work out there. 801 11th Street, we completely upgraded the mechanical system. You'll see some photos.

Sheriff's Office Support Services, we recoated their roof, replaced the boiler, replaced water heaters. Sheriff's Office Operations Center, we completely replaced our air conditioning system, and also controls were updated. Gallo Center, we re recoated their roof. Juvenile Justice Center, we reroofed their one of their facilities, and we read their parking lot for staff for a more secure parking lot for their staff. 12th Street office building, we've also replaced their boilers, and we're just finishing replacing their air conditioning systems as well.

Here's a photo of the support services recoating job that we did. Also to mention, we've been very lucky. A lot of these roofs have surpassed their lifespan by 10, sometimes 15. So this will give us a lot more, longevity for the life of these roofs. Here's Gallo Center re re reroof or recoating project. Salida library, we completely redid that roof. Juvenile Hall, as I mentioned, we reroofed that facility as well. Support services, boiler and water heaters. This is brand new state of the art water heaters and boilers. 801 11th Street, which is right down the street from us, we completely redid that mechanical system piping.

And parks and recreation projects that we have touched, Bonita Pool has Tara showed a picture up there. Mero Fitzsimmons. Burbank Park, we did a little bit of sidewalks there. We also there was an Oregon Park, which there were some BCSI funds allocated and the Grange Gowanus cleanup project. Bonita Pool was a big one. Right? A big one for the community out there. We completely renovated that pool. It wasn't just a little bit of work. There was a lot of work that needed to be done.

We renovated the pool. We completely replaced the restrooms, new amenity building, new equipment building. There's the grand opening that we did with the pool. And a little bit of Perfect Park, Oregon Park. Currently, we're in preconstruction Celita Park in Modesto Reservoir for AV improvements.

So as as we close and move into stack recommendations, of the 48 and a half million dollars that the board approved for BCSI funding for all three departments, GSA has is managing approximately 40,000,000 of that, but it doesn't tell the whole story because many of those projects have other funding sources. We didn't touch on the Modesto Library, which is a really big one that's supposed to open in 2026. There was, I believe, a $9,000,000 grant for that. Supervisor c Condit's office got a $3,000,000 grant for Bonita Pool and Leroy Fitzsimmons. So there's millions and millions of dollars on top of the BCSI that have gone into them, both state funds, grant funds, and as well as local funds.

So we ask the board today to approve, I believe it's eight different staff recommendations. The first one is to approve the project budget. The second one is to allow us to use the job order contract program to deliver the Keyes library. The third one allows the project manager to negotiate, and change orders consistent with the public contract code. The fourth is to close the library for nine months, so reopening in December 2026.

The fifth is to, adjust the this one is the technical one, service and supplies, capital outlays by 560,000. The sixth one is to approve the fourth amendment to the agreement with Gordian. The seventh one is to increase the contract with TNS. We call them TNS, but their official name is TNS Intermodal Maintenance Incorporated. And the last one is to extend the salary position for through the end of fiscal 2027.

And because Keyes is gonna be a super fast track project, we are planning or the library is planning to provide some of those services through Houston and Sherlock, which are adjacent branches.

And with that, we welcome any questions or comments?

I'm gonna everyone might notice that this isn't Jody Hayes. Our assistant executive officer, Tina Roche is here with us. And we the one thing I failed to start out with is how the BCSI funds came about and what was their original intent. Now we see the construction, which is good. But just for the public.

Hi. Good morning, Amber. Thank you, chairman. So in 2022, your board, supported this through the adopted budget process, and you decided to leverage about $48,000,000 out of the general fund reserves to put back into the community. So as you heard, there was 10,000,000 that went to the library, dollars 10,000,000 to the parks department, and then another $28,000,000 to the general services agency. In addition, the general services agency was able to leverage another $2,500,000 out of their own budget from ADA funds and deferred maintenance. So you can see what that means to the community, and there's actually still more projects to come. So thank you for that opportunity.

Any questions for Al or Andy?

Just a couple of comments. As Andy and Al, wonderful job. You guys do phenomenal work. Your department in conjunction with Tara and Parks and Rec have just done a phenomenal work over the years. I wanna thank you so much for for taking and utilizing this investment and reinvesting back in the community. And it's just great to see these projects come to fruition. Very excited for the developments in Keyes and can't wait till December.

Thank you.

Very good. For those of you who don't know, the Keyes Library used to be on the corner of the school. And, originally, when I saw it, I thought it was a great place. Right? The kids? But you it's very hard to mix kids from the school and the public, and actually, didn't work out as well as we thought. And this is a great opportunity, and supervisor Condit has been a real supporter of improving that library, which is fantastic. Okay. So now I'm gonna open it up to public comment. Anyone wish to come forward?

A Keyes resident. How I propose.

Famous Keyes resident. Thank

you, mister chairman, and everybody on the board. I'm Steve Morrow, a longtime resident of Keyes, and I'm glad to see that our community, which has had some tough times, is getting our community center and a real good working library space because it's been very tough. So we know that the county has many, many needs, and this money could have been divvied up quite differently. So we're glad to see some of it come to Keyes. So we're just kind of also hoping that when everything is done that I know it's not your department, but we might be able to get some Saturday hours at the Keys Library. But, again, thank you very much.

Thank you. Anyone else? I wanna point out that I just went out to Slide Library and met with the library in Denton. And it is amazing the amount of people that were there. And I know Modesto is closed currently, but it was truly terrific in the library system and the park system are two of the areas where we can proactively help the community. Normally, we're the payer of last resort. We we do with a lot of help. This is a situation where we can get in front of that. So that's another one of the reasons the board originally had decided to invest money into those two areas. Alright.

Any other comments from the board? Alright. There is no written comments, so I'll entertain a motion.

Move to approve. Second.

Motion and a second. All those in favor, aye. Aye. Opposed? Thank you. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you, Andy and Al. Alright. Moving on to correspondence. Acknowledge receipt of the correspondence and refer as recommended on the agenda. I do wanna point out that TID did vote five zero to move forward for the parks. Just was notified. On denying board of supervisor reports, any board members? Seeing none, legislative fiscal management report CEO c acting CEO. There. Rocha.

Okay. Thank you, chairman. Just a quick update. So this past week, the county staff participated in a legislative briefing reviewing recently introduced bills of interest to the counties. Information has been shared out with all of our department directors who will be evaluating potential operational, fiscal, and community impacts within their respective service areas.

We've also are working on our state and federal funding requests. Staff are actively preparing and submitting the county's state and federal request for this week. We're working with our legislative delegation along with our advocacy partners, and this would be to advance projects and services for our residents. And then lastly, the chairman signed several letters this week on behalf of the board of supervisors in support of the Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority requests and, for their application for the transit and inner city rail capital program, which were in alignment with the county's legislative platform. And that concludes my report.

Thank you very much. Deputy Trevino, thank you again for keeping us safe. We do have a closed session. Yes.

We have closed session this morning. The it's only one item. Existing litigation pursuant to government code section five four nine five six point nine subdivision d one, one case, Salvin Singh versus Valley twenty nine Electric LLC, Chase Homan Kunha, County of Stanislaus et al, Stanislaus County Superior Court case number CB25001082. Appropriate for public comment.

Any public comment? Alright. With that, we're adjourned to closed session.