City Council - Regular Meeting

All right, here we are. I will call this regularly scheduled meeting to order. If you will join in the salute to our nation's flag. Ready, begin.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

All right, good evening. I'm going to work through these new things here, mayor's script, all this kind of stuff. Let me see if I got it right. Mayor is asking for a clerk for an announcement, or do you want to? Okay, let's do that.

I'll just do a brief announcement. So good evening. Welcome to tonight's council meeting. Before we get started, I wanted to mention that tonight is our first meeting implementing the remote participation in compliance with Senate Bill SB 707. We appreciate everyone's patience tonight. As we roll out this new process, there may be a few hiccups along the way, but we plan to make any necessary improvements with each meeting. For those joining us remotely, participation instructions are available on tonight's agenda on the city's website. At the beginning of the meeting, all virtual hands are going to be lowered. When public comment is open for each item, simply use the raise hand feature on Zoom or press star nine on the phone, and we will call on speakers in the order the hands are raised. For those here in council chambers, we'll begin with up to five speakers who have submitted blue speaker cards and then move to our remote speakers before returning to additional in-person speakers. Thank you for your patience tonight. I appreciate it.

All right. Roll call and declaration of conflicts of interest.

Council Member Abram. Here and none. Council Member Bixle.

Here and none.

Vice Mayor Moniz. Here and none. Council Member Phillips.

Here and none.

Mayor Bublec.

Here and none. All right. Approval agenda as posted or amended. So moved. Second. We have one motion, two seconds. Call the roll.

Council Member Abram. Yes. Council Member Bixle. Yes. Vice Mayor Moniz. Yes. Council Member Phillips. Yes. Mayor Bublec. Yes.

All right. Now we're going to move over to the other office, the Just got a little sweat on it from the 3rd of July. Come on over here. All right, this is super hard to read. Thanks, guys. Wow. So come look and see what we got here.

Oh, my goodness.

Right? It's going to be hard to read. We can't go like this, so we can't make it bigger. But whereas, for nearly five decades, Harry Boucher has faithfully served the Turlock community as a business owner, civic leader, volunteer, and steward of our historic downtown. Through his leadership, generosity, and dedication to community service, he has contributed immeasurably to the vitality, prosperity, and character of the city of Turlock. And that should have been all caps for character. Through both public service and private citizenship, he has exemplified the values of hard work, integrity, compassion, and commitment to the common good. In recognition for these contributions, he was selected as the Grand Marshal of the 2026 Turlock Independence Day. He looked pretty dapper. He had a little hat on there. It was really nice. An honor reserved for those whose service and leadership reflect the very best of our community. So, therefore, let it be known that in recognition of Harry Boucher for helping build a stronger Turlock through a lifetime of service, leadership, and community stewardship, leaving a legacy that reflects the enduring values celebrated throughout our nation's 250th anniversary. So let's hear it for Harry Boucher, please. Thank you. I've been holding this for a long time. All right, speech.

I really don't have a long speech, but I do want to say that, you know, when I started my business in Turlock, it was 1979. The population of Turlock was less than 20,000. What is it now, 80,000? 76,000. So there's been a lot of things happen. I have known Amy since she was in college, and she could really run. I mean, she could run. And I tried to keep up, but my little short legs just wouldn't do it. But I do want to take this minute to say thank you, Mayor. I know that there was times when the city of Turlock were in dire straits. dire straits. And I thank you for your leadership in getting us through that period of time. And it looks to me like it's beaming. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Anthony, come on up.

It wasn't me. It was our team. Our team has done a tremendous job to keep the city going and growing into what it is today. But now, if you would help out. Absolutely.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS, CITY STAFF, AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. THIS EVENING WE ARE PLEASED TO CELEBRATE A NEW TURLOCK BUSINESS THAT HAS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THE TURLOCK PARTNERSHIP INCENTIVE PROGRAM. PLEASE NOTE WHEN THE APPLICATION WAS SUBMITTED ON THIS BUSINESS, IT WAS SPA REM. UPON FULLY OPENING, THE NAME SLIGHTLY CHANGED TO REM HOLISTIC SPA. SO LOCATED AT 624 CRANE AVENUE, REM HOLISTIC SPA SPECIALIZES IN PROFESSIONAL SKIN CARE SERVICES, ADVANCED FACIALS, ACNE TREATMENTS, HYDROFACIALS, PERSONALIZED SKIN CARE SOLUTION. SO WE WISH THIS NEW BUSINESS CONTINUED SUCCESS AND LOOK FORWARD TO WATCHING THEIR BUSINESS THRIVE IN TURLOCK. SO AT THIS TIME, I'D LIKE TO INVITE THE MAYOR, COUNCILMEMBER, CITY MANAGER, AND THE BUSINESS UP FOR A CELEBRATORY PHOTO.

Yes, perfect. One, two, three.

TONIGHT WE ARE ALSO RECOGNIZING GORILLA COATINGS INC. AND ITS OWNERS FOR SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING THE CITY OF TURLOCK'S PARTNERSHIP INCENTIVE PROGRAM LOCATED AT 1140 WEST GLENWOOD AVENUE. GORILLA COATINGS INC. SPECIALIZES IN HIGH PERFORMANCE PROTECTIVE COATINGS FOR COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL HVAC EQUIPMENT. The company serves manufacturers, contractors, schools, hospitals, government facilities, and commercial development throughout California. So we are excited to welcome this new business to our community, and we appreciate their investment in our city. So at this time, I invite you for another celebratory photo and the business owner as well.

One, two, three. One, two, three. Perfect, thank you so much. Fake money. Like Bitcoin, right?

Good stuff. Okay. Consent calendar. At this time, we'll open public comment on the consent calendar. This is your opportunity to comment on any item on the consent calendar or to request from the council that an item be removed for separate consideration. If you are requesting that an item be pulled, please state the item number and briefly explain your request to the council. Public comment on the consent calendar is limited to one minute per speaker. We will begin with five speakers. I'm reading yours. It's not in red. Go ahead.

We will begin with five speakers who have submitted blue speaker cards, then move to five remote speakers before returning to additional in-person speakers. Right now I have one blue card, Sean Sheridan. If you would like to please come to the lectern.

Mayor and Council, the packet for item 6B is materially defective, compromising the administrative record and exposing the city to severe procedural liability. I request item 6B be pulled. First, it conceals my foundational appeal application. Second, instead of my operative 95-page amended addendum, staff unlawfully published and explicitly withdrawn 86-page document. Third, the clerk secreted my June 23rd additional addendum and 22 new exhibits. Fourth, the packet omits official retractions, proving Director Warner's testimony was false. Fifth, it covers up the premature April 21st county filings and fabricated dates within Resolution 2026-085. Voting for 6B finalizes a willfully false public record.

Okay, next we will move on to remote. We have, if anyone from the remote would like to speak, please raise your hand. Okay, seeing no callers, we'll return back to in person. If anyone from a member of the audience would like to speak regarding consent, please come forward to the lectern.

Just a quick comment on 6D. THE WORK FOR THE ANIMAL CONTROL FACILITY. WHEN I POSTED THIS ON SAVE TURLOCK, A LOT OF PEOPLE MADE COMMENTS ABOUT THE SPRAY AND NEUTER, THE NEED FOR THAT, AND TNR. SO, I MEAN, EVERYONE IS SUPPORTING THIS. I SUPPORT THIS. BUT IF WE CAN FIND SOME MONEY SOMEWHERE FOR THAT PROGRAM, THAT NEED, THAT WOULD BE GOOD. I JUST WANTED TO BRING THAT FORWARD. THANK YOU.

Any further comments? Mayor, there's no additional speakers.

Okay. Thank you. Public comment is now closed.

Push motion to approve the consent calendar as written. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Call the roll, please.

Council Member Abram.

Yes.

Council Member Vixell.

Yes.

Vice Mayor Moniz. Yes. Council Member Phillips. Yes. Mayor Buble.

Yes. Passes on a 5-0. Final readings. There are none. Public hearings. Item A. City Attorney. City Attorney. STANDING IN, CITY ATTORNEY. SITTING IN.

ONE NIGHT ONLY. ONE NIGHT ONLY. THANK YOU, MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS. THIS ITEM BEFORE YOU IS THE PUTTING INTO YOUR TURLOCK MUNICIPAL CODE A NEW CHAPTER 29 FOR SIDEWALK VENDORS. IT ALSO AMENDS CHAPTER 17 ON ITINERANT VENDORS, WHICH ARE DOOR-TO-DOOR VENDORS. It largely keeps in place the current itinerant vendors ordinance with some revisions to make sure it matches up properly with the new Chapter 29 on sidewalk vendors. You might recall that last year by resolution the council adopted a new regulatory regime for the sidewalk vendors. This was done, there was a lot of changes to state law, a lot of limitations on what a city can do in regulating sidewalk vendors and the regulation has to be BASICALLY LIMITED TO VERY OBJECTIVE STANDARDS, INCLUDING HEALTH AND SAFETY STANDARDS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. SO YOU DID THAT LAST YEAR BY RESOLUTION. WE DID IT UNDER THE STATE LAW. YOU HAD THE OPTION TO DO IT BY RESOLUTION OR ORDINANCE. WE DID IT BY RESOLUTION BECAUSE THE STATE WAS CONSIDERING YET ADDITIONAL LAWS THAT AFFECTED THE AREA, WHICH WERE PASSED, AND THE LAW HAS SETTLED NOW. SO WE THINK IT'S TIME, STAFF THINKS IT'S TIME TO PUT IT IN THE TURLOCH MUNICIPAL CODE. You've seen it before, so I'm not going to go on and on about it. It's largely the same as last year and passed by resolution. The action tonight also will rescind the resolution when the ordinance becomes effective.

Okay. Do you have any questions? Okay. At this time, I'll open the public hearing and ask the city clerk to facilitate public comment. Each speaker will have three minutes.

Okay, we have no blue cards for this item, so we will go to our remote speakers. If anyone remotely would like to speak, please raise your hand or press star 9. We have no one raising their hand, so we'll return back to in-person. If anyone in the audience would like to comment on this item, please come forward to the podium.

This is the sidewalk?

Oh, I'm sorry.

That's good. NO, AT THE END. THAT'S OKAY. WE'RE DOING IT DIFFERENT.

YOUR MONITOR IS KIND OF BLOCKING HALF YOUR VIEW. LUCKY. YEAH. I JUST WANTED TO... THIS IS ALL GOOD. I SUPPORT IT. I JUST WANTED TO BRING UP... I DON'T KNOW HOW TO PUT THIS. WITH SOME OF THE... SIDEWALK VENDORS AND INTERNET VENDORS, AND THIS WAS IN A, I KNOW ABOUT THIS, BUT IT WAS ALSO IN ONE OF THE NEWS REPORTS ABOUT THIS. YOU KNOW, SOME OF THEM ARE ILLEGALS, OKAY, AND THEY OWE A DEBT TO THEIR COYOTES OR TO THE CARTEL. And they're trying to work off the debt. And so if they have a situation to where their equipment is confiscated, then that just adds to their debt. And I don't know if anything can be done. But when those situations are found out, if somehow we can help these people. I don't like people being exploited, whether they came here legally or not. So I don't know if anything can be done about that. But I don't like people who are effectively slaves being here. I don't think it's right. So I'm sure you agree. Okay, that's all. Thank you.

Is there anyone else who would like to make a comment? Please come up.

No more awards.

I just want to say thank you for this. I have met some of these people eye to eye, and they are under the control of the – they've admitted it to me. So I'm glad you're making this. I hope we can stop it, period. Thank you.

Okay, seeing no further hands or movement, Mayor, there's no additional speakers at this time.

Okay, no further comment. The public hearing is now closed.

Motion to approve 8A.

Second. Motion and second. Will you call the roll, please?

Council Member Abrams? Yes. Council Member Bixels?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Moniz? Yes. Council Member Phillips? Yes. Mayor Buvar?

Yes. Passes on a 5-0. Thank you, Mr. Petrolakis. All right, 9A. We're ensuring utility. We're going for something cool here. Water meters.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNCIL MEMBERS, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. THE ACTION YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU TONIGHT IS THE NEXT STEP IN THE CITY'S WATER METER MODERNIZATION PROJECT. AS YOU MAY RECALL EARLIER IN THIS YEAR, YOU APPROVED THE PURCHASE OF APPROXIMATELY 20,000 BADGER WATER METERS AS PART OF OUR TRANSITION FROM AN AMR SYSTEM, AN AUTOMATED METER READING, TO A MODERN ADVANCED METERING INFRASTRUCTURE AND AMI SYSTEM. TONIGHT'S REQUEST IS FOR THE INSTALLATION OF THE FIRST PHASE OF THOSE METERS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY. SO WE'RE REQUESTING THREE, APPROVAL OF THREE ACTIONS TONIGHT. ONE IS AWARD THE CONTRACT TO INSURE UTILITIES, AND THEY'RE DOING BUSINESSES, PHOENIX WATER SOLUTIONS IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,603,000. $290, THAT INCLUDES 10% CONTINGENCY, AND PLUS A 10% CONTINGENCY, AND ALSO AWARD OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT, A C.M. FIRM TO WILDAN ENGINEERING, THE AMOUNT OF $317,713. AND THEN THE FINAL THING IS ADOPT THE CEQAL CLASS II EXEMPTION. WHY WE'RE DOING THIS? I THINK WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE, BUT THE SYSTEM IS NEARING THE END OF ITS USEFUL LIFE. RADIO END POINTS CONTINUE TO FAIL, AND WE'RE REQUIRING A LOT OF EXTRA EFFORT ON OUR PART TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE GETTING READ, AND IT REALLY JUST BEGINS TO TRANSITION TO A MODERN AMI SYSTEM, AND THAT REALLY IMPROVES EFFICIENCY, BUILDING ACCURACY, LEAK DETECTION, AND CUSTOMER ACCESS TO THEIR OWN WATER USE INFORMATION, SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT UP MANY TIMES. EACH OF THESE METERS WILL BE INSTALLED AND ALSO BE INTEGRATED THROUGH THIS PROJECT THROUGH THE CITY'S NEW WORLD UTILITY BILLING PROGRAM. THIS PROJECT SCOPE IS 4,293 OF THE METERS. THEY RANGE ANYWHERE FROM THREE-QUARTER INCH TO ONE AND A HALF INCH, THE MAJORITY OF THEM BEING THE ONE-INCH METER. I THINK THERE'S ABOUT 3,500 OF THEM THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO WITH THOSE. SO ADDITIONALLY, IN THIS PROJECT, CONTRACTORS ALSO INSPECT THE METER BOXES, THE LIDS, CUSTOMER SHUTOFF VALVES AND REPLACE COMPONENTS WHEN NECESSARY. WE'VE INCLUDED THAT IN THE PROJECT SCOPE. EVERY INSTALLATION WILL BE TESTED FOR ACCURACY, LEAKS, AND ENSURE THAT IT COMMUNICATES. WE BID THIS PROJECT COMPETITIVELY. WE PUBLICLY ADVERTISED IT THROUGH OUR OWN WEBSITE AS WELL AS THE TURLOCK JOURNAL. WE RECEIVED EIGHT BIDS. AFTER REVIEWING RESPONSIVENESS, QUALITICATIONS, LICENSING, REFERENCES, AS WELL AS RESPONSIBILITY, STAFF DETERMINED THAT INSURE UTILITY THAT DOES BUSINESSES PHOENIX WATER SOLUTION SUBMITTED THE LOWEST RESPONSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE BID. ADDITIONALLY, CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT IS A PROCESS. WE'D LIKE TO AWARD THAT TO WILDLAND ENGINEERING. AND THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT REALLY PROVIDES THE DAILY INSPECTIONS, THE QUALITY ASSURANCE. THEY ALSO MONITOR THE SCHEDULE OF LABOR COMPLIANCE, ALL OF THE DOCUMENTATION, AS WELL AS PUBLIC COORDINATION, CHANGE ORDERS, AND THEN FINALLY CLOSE THAT OUT. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS THAT WE'VE INCLUDED IN THIS PROJECT IS RESIDENT NOTIFICATIONS. THEY'LL RECEIVE ADVANCED NOTICES BEFORE THE WORK OCCURS. THIS NOTICE WILL BE BOTH IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH. THE INTERRUPTION IN THEIR SERVICE, THERE WILL BE A SMALL INTERRUPTION IN SERVICE FOR MOST CASES. IT'S GOING TO BE ABOUT 15 TO 30 MINUTES DEPENDING ON IT. IN SOME CASES WHERE ADDITIONAL WORK IS NEEDED, IT MAY BE SLIGHTLY LONGER. We'll also coordinate with the roads program, also with coordinating with our trash pickup and just making sure that it's seamless and it doesn't create a whole bunch of noise in the community, inconveniences. Looking at the final summary, the construction contract is $1,603,000. THE 10% CONTINGENCY IS ABOUT 160,000. THE CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT IS 317,000. AND THOSE ARE THE COSTS THAT YOU'RE APPROVING TONIGHT. BUT I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT APPROXIMATELY 1.77 MILLION IS GOING TO BE SPENT ON THE WATER METERS THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED. AND THAT BRINGS THIS TOTAL PROJECT OF PHASE ONE TO APPROXIMATELY $3.85 MILLION. And then the staff recommends that you approve this milestone, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Director Fisher, is this actually came in under bid, yeah?

It came pretty significantly under bid by the tune of about $1.2 million. I like it.

We've talked a lot about water meters and the need for water meters, but I want to temper expectations a little bit that proportionally these 4,300s, Not everybody's getting a new water meter, right? IS IT 10% OF OUR UTILITY USERS?

THERE'S ABOUT 20,000 UTILITY CONNECTIONS WITHIN THE CITY OF TURLOCK. SOME OF THEM ARE LARGER WATER METERS. THEY'RE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS PROJECT. THEY'RE THE ULTRASONIC TYPE, AND THEY'RE CALIBRATED ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. THOSE ARE OUR SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRIAL USERS. BUT THIS IS PHASE ONE. WE'RE PHASING THIS PROJECT OVER TWO PHASES. ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THAT IS SO THAT WE CAN APPLY FOR ADDITIONAL GRANTS. THIS PROJECT IS INTENDED TO LAST ABOUT 100 WORKING DAYS. SO FAIRLY QUICKLY WE CAN GET THROUGH THIS. OUR ANTICIPATION IS WE'LL GET THROUGH THIS BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR.

I MEAN, TO BE CLEAR, I'M VERY HAPPY THAT PHASE ONE IS HAPPENING, BUT I JUST, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO THINK THAT, LIKE, EVERYBODY'S GETTING A NEW WATER METER. YEAH, ABOUT 20%. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THE NEED FOR THESE WATER METERS IS BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN SOME ESTIMATED BILLING. I'M JUST CURIOUS IF YOU COULD KIND OF COMPLETE THE CIRCLE ON, LIKE, WHAT ELSE WE HAVE DONE TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN PHASE TWO ARE NOT GOING TO FALL INTO THE SAME ISSUES AS BEFORE.

SO WE REVIEWED ALL OF THE ACCOUNTS. THIS PROJECT INCLUDES ALL OF THE METERS THAT ARE HAVING ISSUES OR TROUBLE READING. We'll go through the second phase of that. We'll replace all of these now. It's important to say that our current water or AMR system, they've issued an end-of-life statement. They said they're no longer going to support it in about 18 months. So the timing on this is perfect. We're going to move quickly to the second phase once we get phase one done.

Any other questions? All right. At this time, I'll open the public comment and ask the city clerk to facilitate the public comment. Each speaker will have three minutes.

Okay, we do not have any blue cards, and no one is remote right now, so I will turn to our council chambers. If anyone has not filled out a blue speaker card and would like to speak, please come forward to the lectern.

Good evening, Milt Treeweiler. I did look this over, and I like your explanation. I did have a question. Okay, this is the first phase. So when we do the – and it will be completed, then we'll go to phase two. So at phase two, the same contractor will not be in charge of phase two. This will go out to bid again. So all these bidders will have an opportunity to bid for phase two. Is that correct? I mean, this is not saying that this – Phase one person will get all the jobs all the way through the 20,000 places or 20,000 homes or connections, but he will do or they will do the first 4,000 plus, and then we will bid out the others in another bid. Is that correct? Thank you.

Are there any additional speakers that would like to comment on this item?

John Gebelein. The only question I had was, is there any, since you're going to be doing X amount, where all, are there certain areas where there's lots of problems from different things, and would it be, if we have a crew going in and doing it, couldn't we replace other ones at the same time? And, you know, just saying for economics.

Thank you. Any additional speakers on this item? No. Mayor, there's no additional speakers.

All right. Director, do you have the answers to those questions?

Yes, the current contract is for 4,293 meters, and that's all that that contract is for. It will go out for competitive bidding again. And as far as we focused our efforts on areas or on meters that had problems, then we grouped them by areas. So as they run their crews, obviously they can't run one crew and get 4,293 meters installed in 100 days. So they're going to run multiple crews, and that's how we gained that efficiency. And that's part of the reason it came under bid.

All right. Seeing no further public comment, I am closed public comment.

Move to approve both motions and the resolution contained within 9A.

Second.

Motion is second. Will you call the roll, please?

Council Member Abram? Yes. Council Member Bixle? Yes. Vice Mayor Moniz? Yes. Council Member Phillips? Yes. Mayor Bivlak?

Yes. Passes on 5-0. Thank you, Director.

Thank you.

They'll be done tomorrow? All right. At this time, I will open the general public participation and ask the city clerk to facilitate the public comment. This is the opportunity for members of the public to address the city council on matters that are not on tonight's agenda but are within the council's subject matter jurisdiction. Each speaker will have up to three minutes, and the total time allotted for general public participation is 30 minutes. Madam Clerk?

Okay, we'll begin with the first five speakers who have submitted blue speaker cards. I have four of them. Then we'll go to our remote speakers, which there is zero at this time, and then return back to in-speaker if anyone would like to. So our first comment is Ron Brightgram. If you would like to please come forward.

Good evening. I DO HAVE ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE AGENDA. YOU HAVE THE COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AND FUTURE ITEMS AFTER THE CLOSED SESSION. DOES THAT MEAN THAT THAT WON'T HAPPEN UNTIL AFTER YOU GUYS GO TO CLOSED SESSION AND THEN YOU COME BACK? THE REASON WHY I ASK IS BECAUSE, I MEAN, IT'S INTERESTING AT TIME TO HEAR WHAT YOU SAY AND SOMETIMES YOU REPLY TO THINGS THAT WE ASK THAT YOU CAN'T REPLY TO NOW. AND AT LEAST SOME OF US STAY AROUND TO HEAR IF YOU SAY ANYTHING TO US. SO THAT WAS ONE QUESTION THAT I WOULD HAVE TO THE CITY CLERK. And then I guess the other thing is just me wanting to vent about what I just learned about the lawsuit that was filed by Tullah Gospel Mission against the city. I will... WELL, I GO BACK TO 2016, AND I KNOW THAT I'VE SHOWN THIS BEFORE UP ON THE SCREEN IN TERMS OF THE DEED OF TRUST TO WHERE IT SAYS THAT THE CHELICOSPEL MISSION IS RESPONSIBLE AT THEIR OWN EXPENSE TO MAINTAIN, AND KEEP THE PROPERTY IN GOOD CONDITION AND THAT THE CITY HAS NO RESPONSIBILITY IN ANY OF THESE MATTERS OR FOR MAKING OF IMPROVEMENTS OR ADDITIONS TO THE PROPERTY. I DON'T KNOW HOW WE GOT INTO THIS MESS. WE'VE GONE OVER THIS MANY TIMES BEFORE. I WAS GOING THROUGH MY FILES, AND I SAW QUICKLY A PORTION OF VIDEO BY COUNCILMEMBER BIXEL ASKING IN 2023 IF THE ADDITIONAL $330,000 WOULD COVER EVERYTHING THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE, AND THIS WAS GOING TO BE THE LAST REQUEST. I MEAN, IT WAS A GOOD QUESTION. OKAY. AND YOU GOT THE ANSWER OF YES, IT WAS, AND HERE WE ARE. So I don't know why someone would buy a building that was not in the condition to be used properly. And, oh, by the way, I want to say hi, George. It's nice to see you. I DON'T KNOW. SOME OF THE MISTAKES THAT WERE MADE WAS BECAUSE FOR WHATEVER REASON STAFF DIDN'T GO DOWN THE HALL TO TALK TO SOMEBODY ELSE TO ASK QUESTIONS AND FIND OUT DETAILS THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. I think we need to have an environment here at the city to where staff is encouraged to do that and actually rewarded for doing things like that. And welcome to you, sir.

Next speaker is Gannit Bella to be followed by Chief Jelnik.

Good evening, Mayor and members of the City Council. My name is Gunit Bella and I'm a student from Turlock and the founder of the Remedy Project, which is a youth-led nonprofit dedicated to improving youth health, wellness, and civic engagement throughout our community. First, I would like to sincerely thank the Mayor, City Council, and City staff for taking the time to meet with me and considering the idea of establishing a Turlock Youth Council. I truly appreciate your willingness to listen, engage in thoughtful discussions, and explore new ways to involve young people in shaping the future for our city. Your openness to hearing new ideas from students demonstrates your commitment to building a stronger and more connected community. As I continue researching youth councils across California, I found that the most successful ones don't simply hold meetings. They become a bridge between students, local government, and the community. They provide young people with meaningful opportunities to develop leadership skills, better understand how local government works, participate in community service, and contribute ideas that help improve their city. Most importantly, they create a space where students feel heard and encouraged to become active, lifelong civic leaders. A TURLOCK YOUTH COUNCIL COULD FOCUS ON PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS THAT BENEFIT OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING PROMOTING YOUTH HEALTH AND WELLNESS, EXPANDING VOLUNTEER AND COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES, ENCOURAGING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT, SUPPORTING PARKS, RECREATION AND COMMUNITY EVENTS, INCREASING AWARENESS OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND ADVISING THE CITY ON ISSUES THAT DIRECTLY IMPACT YOUNG PEOPLE AND PROVIDING CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK FROM A YOUTH PERSPECTIVE. These initiatives would not only benefit students, but would also strengthen our community by encouraging young people to become engaged, responsible, and informed citizens who are invested in the future of Turlock. This initiative could also create valuable partnerships with organizations throughout our community. By working together with local schools, the Stanislaus County Office of Education, healthcare providers, nonprofit organizations, colleges and universities, local businesses, and city departments, we can provide students with mentorship, educational workshops, volunteer opportunities, leadership training, and real-world experiences while strengthening connections across our city. These partnerships would allow young people to learn directly from community leaders while giving organizations the opportunity to invest and mentor the next generation. I'll be honored to continue working with city leadership, staff, educators, community organizations, and local partners to develop a thoughtful, sustainable youth council that reflects the needs and strengths of our community. I truly believe by that working together, we can create opportunities that inspire young people to serve, lead, and make a positive difference for generations to come. Thank you for your time, your leadership, and your continued commitment to the young people of Turlock. I sincerely appreciate your consideration and look forward to contributing this conversation as we work together toward a stronger future for our city. Thank you.

Chief Jelinek.

Oh, he's back. GEORGE ANGELNICK?

TWO FOR ONE SPECIAL, FOR SURE. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR, COUNCIL, STAFF, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC. IT'S VERY NICE TO SEE EACH OF YOU ONCE AGAIN. I AM HERE TODAY TO PROUDLY INTRODUCE YOUR NEW DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF, JEFFREY SURFA. CHIEF, WOULD YOU MIND STANDING UP HERE FOR JUST A MOMENT, PLEASE? While he's coming to the podium, I do want to take the time to thank you for my opportunity to serve our community. It was my pleasure and my privilege, and I'm grateful for the experiences and to make some small contributions to move our great fire department forward and make it better than it already is. On behalf of Chief Evans, we also wanted to say thank you to the members of our community panel that helped with the selection of your new fire chief. And I would reminisce without mentioning their names. And so thank you to Dave Larson, the pastor of NLCC, and Mr. Jeffrey Lewis, the CEO for Legacy Health Endowment. So thank you very much for their wisdom and contributions in selecting the best qualified candidate for THE CITY OF TURLOCK AND TURLOCK FIRE. SO STANDING BEFORE ME IS CHIEF JEFFREY SERPA. AND CHIEF SERPA BEGAN HIS CAREER WITH THE ESCALON FIRE DEPARTMENT WAY BACK IN 1994. HE WAS HIRED FULL TIME BY THE RIPPON FIRE DISTRICT IN 1999. AND HE HAS SINCE MOVED FROM THE SERIOUS FIRE DEPARTMENT IN 2003 WHERE HE PROMOTED THROUGH THE RANKS FROM FIREFIGHTER TO CAPTAIN AND THEN TO BATON CHIEF. Chief Serpa came to Modesto Fire through the City of Surrey's full service contract in 2021. And he is well known throughout our county. He's been very actively engaged with the deployment of strike teams and our firefighters throughout the county for nearly two decades. Chief Serpa has a passion for serving the public in their time of need and providing the best possible fire and EMS service to our citizens. And he looks forward to bringing that passion here in service to the Turlock community and Turlock Fire Department. And most importantly, Chief Serpa has been married to his wife, Danielle, for the past 29 years, and he has two grown daughters who are both in service as teachers in our community. So, Chief Serpa, welcome. We have full confidence in you. I'm very excited to see you transition into this role, and I'm very excited about the future, both for you personally and for the City of Turlock and Turlock Fire Department. So thank you very much. Congratulations.

Thank you. I have no additional blue cards. There are no remote speakers. If anyone from the audience would like to please speak, come to the lectern.

All right. Mayor and Council, I am Sean Sheridan, legal agent for the elderly tenant of 290 North Thor Street, Apartment 200. Last week, the Building and Safety Division created a new complaint case number, 26-0756. You may have just voted to rubber stamp the records for Building Permit 25-1123, but the administrative maneuvering did nothing to solve the life safety hazards currently decaying under my mother's feet. not for an agenda item, but rather historical purposes. On June 23rd, this council conducted a fundamentally flawed hearing. In blatant violation of the separation of functions doctrine, you allowed Director Werner to unlawfully present and defend her own department's case. You willfully ignored my asserted rights under Turlock Municipal Code 1-4-06 by refusing to consider my received additional addendum and 22 new exhibits. Your priority was protecting a jurisdictionally void permit, ignoring the physical reality. The stairs and balcony frame are actively splitting because the contractor was allowed to thoroughly ignore the architect's engineered plans and refused to repair the balcony as though it wasn't seen during construction in August and February. The city excused deviations as field changes as though by a novice, but new public records I submitted last week prove otherwise. The contractor, Armando Garcia Jr., operates Westside Landscape and Concrete Incorporated, a corporation that was co-awarded a multi-year, multi-million dollar municipal contract by the Modesto City Council in 2024. I discovered that this is a massive corporate operation that simultaneously claimed a workers' compensation exemption on the Turlock permit. These were not amateur mistakes. They were calculated, dangerous shortcuts taken by a sophisticated municipal contractor that ignored the elderly tenant altogether. Voting to finalize a fabricated appellant record does not grant the city immunity from the physical deterioration you are currently allowing. The city is on actual notice of the contractor's corporate scale and the resulting imminent hazards. The newly filed complaint begins a more scrutinized permitting process with a new renewed expectation that the city will lawfully handle life safety hazards. My mother's safety is not a procedural inconvenience. I expect the city to enforce the building code and state law.

Would anyone else like to speak during public comment? Please come forward, Mr. Truely.

Yes, my comment is, you know, this is new. We're trying this out. This is a new system. We're not trying it out. This is the way it's basically going to be. However, what I've noticed so far is that all the other cities in Stanislaus County, Stanislaus County itself, the Board of Supervisors, all the special Stanislaus County boards are participating. POSITIONING THE PUBLIC PRESENTATION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING. TONIGHT IT REALLY MAKES NO DIFFERENCE OR VERY LITTLE DIFFERENCE. THE MEETING IS VERY SHORT, BUT I CAN IMAGINE DURING A TIME WHEN THE MEETING IS LONG, THIS COULD BE A HARDSHIP ON SOME PEOPLE. THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GET HERE. AGAIN, THEY DO HAVE ZOOM, SO I GUESS THAT'S A POSSIBILITY. when people start using Zoom, but it's possible they will start doing that. So I'm just curious as to how come we are the only public entity in Stanislaus County that I'm aware of that's positioning their public presentation at the end of the meeting. And I think Mr. Bridegroom had a good question too about comments. They were good comments, and I think that was very good for us public people. We need to know what's going on. And if you can't share what's going on, then you shouldn't be serving the public. That's the whole point of being here on this council. You're serving the public. It's not for your personal gain, your personal good. It's for the residents of Turlock, the public good. So I'm hopeful that this is going to work out good, and we can go on and have a pretty good time here. But it just depends. We'll have to wait and see because we don't know yet. Thank you.

Are there any further speakers? Mayor, there's no additional speakers at this time.

Okay. I will now close the public comment. Can you just speak to the...

Yes. The closed session where it's situated currently was an error, so it's not intentional. There are no closed session items today, so we'll move straight to council member comments and adjournments after city manager reports.

Thank you for that. All right. Welcome, Dr. J.J. Murphy. First time. Turlock, let's do it.

Let's do it. First off, I want to welcome Chief Serpa. Chris Fisher and I were also honored to be on that panel. So I look forward to serving side by side with you to support the Turlock Fire Department. Leadership begins with service. I pledge to serve faithfully and tirelessly. My responsibility is to earn the trust of the residents of Turlock, supporting the council and the employees who serve this community, leading with transparency and accountability, and I pledge a long-term commitment to the city's future. As a future-focused leader, I am focused on how we build collaboratively. So it's great to be here.

Welcome. All right. Uh, council member comments, announcements, and future items. Council member Abram.

Um, yes. So just to echo a few things we've said, uh, welcome Dr. Murphy and your new position with us. Um, and then chief Serpa, thank you for joining us. And I know, you know, in the fire department, there are a few, uh, promotions as well. So, you know, congratulations to those, um, who have served Turlock for a long time and are advancing their career with us. Um, I JUST WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO CITY CLERK, THE ADMINISTRATION, ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE AND I.T. FOR MAKING ALL OF THIS HAPPEN BECAUSE THIS WAS NO SMALL FEAT AND IT IS NEW AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, I'M THANKFUL THAT EVERYBODY SEEMS TO BE ACTING LIKE WE'RE GOING TO GIVE EACH OTHER GRACE AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS. I WILL ASK, YOU KNOW, FOR SOME FLEXIBILITY FROM ADMINISTRATION BECAUSE IF IT IS NOT WORKING TO HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE END, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE SHOULD CONSIDER MAKING ADJUSTMENTS AS WE NEED TO. I'LL JUST POINT OUT THAT SOMETHING THAT WAS TAUGHT TO US WHEN YOU BECOME A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER THAT THESE MEETINGS ARE PART BUSINESS MEETING, PART PUBLIC FORUM. SO THERE'S REALLY A FINE LINE TO FOR US TO WALK IN, BEING ABLE TO DO THE CITY'S BUSINESS AND ALSO BE HERE TO LISTEN TO YOU ALL. AND THEN TO THE YOUNG LADY WHO SPOKE ABOUT THE YOUTH COUNCIL, I THANK YOU FOR COMING AND SPEAKING ABOUT THAT. I THINK THAT'S A GREAT IDEA. AND I THINK WHAT, BACK IN THE DAY THERE WAS A MAYOR'S YOUTH CONFERENCE, RIGHT? I THINK I WENT THERE WHEN I WAS IN 7TH GRADE. SO I WOULD LOVE TO TALK TO YOU AFTERWARD.

WELL, I TOO WOULD LIKE TO WELCOME DR. HENRY. And Chief Serpa, welcome and look forward to working with you. And everybody stay cool.

We all can't be as cool as you, Kevin. Miss Bella. You are a vibrant young woman and an excellent public speaker. And you knocked it out of the park up here tonight, down to the second. And your eye contact was excellent. Whatever you do, don't slow down. If that's your mom sitting next to you, she should be so proud of you. Thank you. Okay, I'm really happy to see the water meters going in. Director Fischer, thank you. Everyone was yelling for roads, roads, roads, and roads are moving along very nicely, and now it's I want my water meter fixed, and you're getting that moving along. Thank you very much. It's a long time coming, and I know that was a heavy lift. We appreciate you and your department. Welcome, Chief Serpa. It's nice to have you here, sir, and it was nice to have Chief Jelnik make your introduction. That was a treat. um turlock police department wow um for those of you that don't know approximately three years ago we had a homicide in turlock that rocked our city to the core and it has been unsolved until last week turlock police department in serious collaboration with the stanislaus county probation department have served us well. They have made an arrest and that homicide has been solved. I cannot stress enough because I know in my day job that probation is not just another law enforcement agency. They can help out a lot if the local police departments and the local sheriff department will utilize them. That's exactly what you did. That's what our detective units did. And you guys brought it home for us and for that young man's family. So thank you to Turlock PD. and Stanislaus County probation from the bottom of my heart. Dr. Murphy, yes, we have two new members up here on the dais tonight. For those of you that don't know, Dr. Murphy has a sidekick, and his name is Raider. And I think he's my favorite out of all of us. Just saying, just saying. I hope I didn't miss anybody, but thank you all.

I would just also like to welcome Chief Serpa. I look forward to working alongside you. And JJ, you as well. Welcome to the city of Turlock.

All right. I know you guys are going to be like, dang, I wish I'd said this. But 4th of July, great job done by downtown, by chamber, by everybody. You know, hindsight, you could have done a couple different things. We could have done different things. But overall, it was a home run and good for our community. People were very, very happy. And it was a long time coming. I've been playing with this all night. So if you ride the bus, if you go to the transit center and you ride the bus over to the fair, you get all these little doohiggies, and this one is just... keep you busy, right?

It's a fidget spinner.

It is. I'm a fidgeter. So anyway, it is up like 300% ridership this year for the, I mean, that's just unheard of. And so I asked them if they'd come and give a speech afterwards and tell us exactly how they did it and what made it happen. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, you got the cowboys over there. They're blowing the social media up too. So, I mean, we're just, the city's just prime for people wanting to work here, be here and stay here. So I'm very proud of all those people. And then we look at everything as far as how we set up the time and everything and actually One of the problems in other cities have noticed that maybe you should have one meeting that's like at two o'clock because many people finish their day at five and then they have to take their kids elsewhere. So having Zoom option and putting it to the end actually gives you a little time to get everything situated so that you can participate. So we'll see what happens. I mean, this is all trial and error. It's all new to all of us except for the Assembly and State Senate, but nonetheless. So we do not have any closed session. So at this point, we are adjourned. Thank you.