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Oct 22, 2024

city council

The council's largest approval was a three-year contract with MV Transportation, Inc. for Renaissance Transit System operations — $6.85 million for year one, with the vendor appearing across seven line items in this agenda totaling $19.07 million from Proposition A Local Return funds — passed 5-0; the council also approved $1.86 million to MDJ Management LLC for City Hall fire alarm and sprinkler system replacement using ARPA funds, with MDJ appearing in four agenda line items totaling $3.72 million, also 5-0. The council further approved $159,084 to End-Point Wireless Inc. for a security camera system at four locations (CDBG-CV and General Fund, 5-0); a contract amendment adding $283,651 to Mark Thomas & Company's Artesia Bridge agreement plus a $335,333 state grant budget allocation (5-0), with subcontractor Atlas receiving $24,492 — just below the $25,000 approval threshold; and General Fund travel expenses of $725, $315.96, and $292 for a Sacramento Legislative Tour, with four members indicating attendance (vote tally not clearly transcribed). A sheriff substation lease with CLPF Gateway Towne Center LP was approved 5-0 listing $47,001 as an expenditure — just below the $50,000 council approval threshold — though the sheriff's captain stated the current monthly cost to the city is $0, a discrepancy with the structured agenda amount; consent-agenda items included $23,097 to BigBelly Connect Services and a related $23,764 recycling-station purchase, both just below the $25,000 threshold, approved in the omnibus 5-0 consent vote. The First Quarter FY2025 Investment Report — showing the city's $246 million portfolio already exceeding its full-year interest earnings budget projections within three months — was received and filed 5-0 and is a financial reporting item, not a spending approval; the city treasurer stated that interest earnings projections in the budget need to be revised upward.

Jun 25, 2024

city council

The council's largest approved expenditures at its June 25, 2024 meeting were $600,000 to United Pacific Services for tree trimming using ARPA funds (5-0), $322,839 sole-source to CLA-VAL Company for water control valve repairs from ARPA (5-0), $252,405 to Johnson Controls — a vendor the city manager's office stated the city has used for roughly 17 to 18 years — for City Hall HVAC maintenance drawn from Measure P fund balance (5-0), $167,145 to ChargePoint for fleet charging stations (5-0), $100,000 to The Blue Diamond Company for asphalt materials (5-0), and $84,465 to Carson Chevrolet for a 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe for the fire chief (5-0). The council withdrew without a vote the meeting's largest single item — a proposed $1.82 million multi-year agreement with Yunex Traffic for traffic signal and street light maintenance — after members cited service deficiencies and noted only one vendor had responded to the solicitation; a $100,500 investment advisory contract with Chandler Asset Management was also pulled by staff before a vote, and a $763.36 GovConnection computer equipment order was pulled by a council member over invoice calculation discrepancies. Two approved contracts involved split-payment structuring across multiple line items: Govinvest Inc. received $227,056 total for software management services (5-0) and MGT of America Consulting received $48,688 total for Senate Bill 90 consulting (5-0); B-Adair Consulting & Administrative Services was approved on the consent agenda for $24,900 in grant reconciliation services — $100 below the standard $25,000 council approval threshold — as part of a 5-0 consent vote. The FY 2024-2025 budget passed 4-1 with Councilwoman Darden dissenting, fireworks stand permits were approved 4-1 with Mayor Sharif voting no, and approximately 20 residents addressed the council during public comment, raising concerns about fireworks safety, a video shoot that blocked local businesses without advance notice, trash collection reliability, and the recurring selection of the same nonprofit organizations for CDBG grant funding.

May 21, 2024

city council

The council's largest spending approval was a contract amendment with Biggs Cardosa Associates, Inc. for Artesia Boulevard Bridge engineering services totaling $495,870, structured across four separate line items ($271,878, $124,824, and two payments of $49,584 each — one from state grants), with all amounts going to the same vendor under a single agenda item and both $49,584 figures falling just below the $50,000 individual approval threshold; the item passed 5-0 with no council discussion and no public comment. The council also voted 5-0 to release $99,974 in retention to Big Ben Engineering upon acceptance of the Pearl Avenue and Chester Avenue emergency sewer repairs — an amount $26 below the $100,000 approval threshold — after Councilmember Darden, who pulled the item from consent for discussion, confirmed that an independent inspection firm had been engaged to verify completion; a separate $20,000 purchase order to Secure A Door for fire station emergency door repairs was pulled from consent by the same councilmember and approved 5-0 following discussion about whether ARPA funds could be used for full door replacements rather than continued repairs. The council also authorized the county to collect two recurring revenue assessments — approximately $4.19 million for the Lighting and Landscape District and $913,506 in sewer service charges, both for fiscal year 2024-2025, placed on property tax bills — which are revenue collections, not new spending approvals; both passed 5-0. During the two accompanying public hearings, at least six residents questioned where the roughly $20 million collected over five years through the lighting and landscape assessment has gone given the condition of medians and landscaping citywide, and the city manager attributed the funds to recurring operational costs including approximately $1.5 million annually for street lighting electricity, over $700,000 for street sweeping, over $400,000 for tree trimming, staff salaries, and county administrative fees.

Mar 12, 2024

city council

The largest spending approved was $499,462 to L.N. Curtis & Sons for firefighting equipment for four new fire engines and one ladder truck, passed 5-0; the amount sits $538 below a $500,000 threshold, and Councilmember Duhart asked why ARPA funds were not used — the fire chief stated ARPA rules excluded this category of purchase. The council also approved $28,950 to Cevac Facilities Services for emergency sewer pump replacement at City Hall, drawn from the Insurance Recovery Fund, passed 5-0 with a minor clerical date correction; a separate $655,255 item involving Lexington Insurance Company was an insurance recovery receipt — revenue, not a spending approval. A salary range of $60,792–$71,292 was set for the Security Services Supervisor classification as a recurring budget allocation, approved 5-0 with no discussion. Emergency standby council member appointments passed 5-0 for Districts 1 (Patrick Ferguson), 3 (Melanie Franklin Franks), and 4 (Mona Jones); District 2 declined to make an appointment and the mayor deferred hers to the following week. Approximately fourteen members of the public spoke during the comment period on issues including a delayed sheriff welfare check that preceded a resident's death, deteriorating road conditions, and election integrity concerns; the Sister City Seychelles presentation was tabled to the following week.

Jan 23, 2024

city council

The council's largest spending approval was a three-year agreement with General Pump Company for water well and booster pump services, passed 3-0 (Spicer, Darden, and Mayor Sharif yes; Duhart and Bowers absent); the structured agenda shows General Pump Company across three separate line items — $1.62 million, $540,471 (recurring annual), and $194,450 — all drawn from ARPA funds, totaling approximately $2.36 million directed to a single vendor. The council also approved a purchase order with UniFirst Corporation for public works uniforms, with the structured agenda showing two line items totaling $28,258 ($20,000 recurring and $8,258), passed 3-0 on the same vote configuration. A $149,718 HVAC replacement contract for Priority Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc., to be funded from the Insurance Recovery Fund, was continued to a future date because it requires a 4/5 vote and only three of five members were present; a discussion item on the NAACP's request to use council chambers was also continued. Two residents — Lynn Boone and Cordell Marquez — questioned Item 4 during public comment, citing the absence of any public accounting of prior ARPA-funded well work and asking why the contract addresses only a portion of the city's wells; a staff member responded that the agreement covers maintenance across a total of eight wells.

Jan 2, 2024

city council

The council's two approved expenditures at the January 2, 2024 regular meeting were $28,700 to Major League Infields, Inc. for Dodgers Dreamfields maintenance at Gonzalez Park — staff described the amount as covering five months of past-due invoices plus two additional months at the vendor's $4,100/month rate — approved 4-0 with Darden absent, and $20,085 to the State Water Resources Control Board for a state-mandated recurring annual waste discharge permit, also approved 4-0 with Darden absent. Item 5, which would have directed $432,689 in ARPA funds to The Garland Company, Inc. for fire station roofing materials structured across three separate line items ($216,344, $188,126, and $28,219 to the same vendor), was pulled by staff before any vote and tabled to a future meeting. Thirteen residents spoke during public comment, the majority addressing street takeovers and the looting of Ruben's Bakery; the city attorney stated a draft street-takeover ordinance is in process but provided no date for when it would return to the council for a vote. On board matters, Louisa McCrary was removed from the Federal Grants Advisory Board (4-0, Darden absent) and Barbara Baker was appointed to that board (4-0, Darden absent); Councilman Bowers's motion to expand the Public Safety Commission by one seat to add a candidate he described as having over 30 years of public safety experience failed for lack of a second, and the related PSC appointment item also failed for lack of a second.