Fresno County Board of Supervisors

Here you go. Yeah, it's 09:30. Let's get started. Madam Clerk, could you do the roll call please?

Supervisor Chavez.

Here.

Supervisor Magsig.

Here.

Supervisor Mendez. Here. Supervisor Pacheco.

Here.

Chairman Bredefeld.

Here.

All present, thank you.

Good morning. Welcome to the Tuesday, 01/27/2026 meeting of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors. We'll begin today's meeting with the invocation and the flag salute. The invocation will be led by District two. After the invocation, if you would please remain standing for the flag salute.

The invocation will be, done by father Townsend Waddle. Is the father here? Hi, father. Welcome. He's the rector of Saint Michael's Anglican Church in Fresno.

He's been married. He's I'm sorry. He's been ordained for eighteen years. He's lived in Fresno and Clovis for the last sixteen years. I don't know how long you've been married,

but but

he is married. Yes, sir. He is married. He is married to Lisa, who is a teacher at Ranchos Middle School in the Golden Valley Unified School District. He has two sons, Benjamin, who's an electricians mate nuclear on a US Navy submarine.

Love that. Thank you for your service. And William, who is a senior at San Joaquin Memorial High School, please, father. If everybody would stand.

In the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Gracious heavenly father, we thank you for your great providence. We thank you for Jesus Christ to live among us, to die for us, and to rise again the gift of everlasting life. We thank you also for sending us the spirit to dwell in our hearts, to convict us, and to show us your will and for our lives and for this community. We pray your blessing everyone here in the county of Fresno.

We pray for our citizens that they will experience the peace that passes all understanding, the peace come from you. We pray for our county supervisors that earn with wisdom and with courage, the wisdom to discern the best for our county, and the courage to take the right course of action even if it's not always popular. Again, we give you thanks and we get to ask for your grace, your mercy, and your blessings. In the name of the father, of the son, and of the holy spirit. Amen.

Amen. Thank you, father. Please salute. I pledge allegiance

the student flag of The United States

Thank you. Let's, item number approve the agenda. Any comments from the board?

Second. There's

a motion and a second. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? None.

Motion carries. Number two.

Approve consent agenda item numbers 20 through 54. Mr. Chair members of the board per CAO staff item 54 under social services has deleted from your consent agenda.

Okay. Thank you. For every consent, these matters are routine in nature usually approved by a single vote. Would any board member like an item removed from consent for discussion? Would any members of the public like an item removed from the consent for discussion?

Seeing none. Motion approved. Second. All those in favor? Aye.

Any opposed, none. Consent passes unanimously. Item three.

Item number three, under board of supervisors, presentation of retirement plaque to Stephanie Oakley, Department of Social Services, twenty seven years of service. We've informed that Ms. Oakley is unable to attend today's meeting so we'll be mailing her plaque to her. Item number four, presentation of retirement plaque to Lilla Rose A. Bangs, Department of Public Health, thirty four years of service.

Public Health, here to present.

Good morning. I'm Joe Prado, director for Fresno County Department of Public Health. Thank you chairman and fellow board members for this great honor to represent to you Lula Rose Bangs in thirty four years of service. I just want to give you a little background on Lula Rose. It's it's quite amazing here.

Little Rose was assigned to the community health division's childhood lead poisoning program. There where she served fifteen years dedicated to preventing childhood lead poisoning and case managing families with severely lead poisoned children. She built relationships and served her community with passion and tenacity making her mark as a valuable resource to the many families she served. She later received recognition for her role in the lead program. Although great strides were made during her time in the childhood poisoning prevention program, Little Rose's heart yearned to do more for her community, bringing her to the realization that it was time to expand her nursing experience within the department and accepted a position in the foster care program where she served for seven years.

In 2018, Little Rose wanted to share her nursing experience and knowledge that she had gained over the course of her career through mentorship and team development. She accepted the supervising public health nurse position for the Babies First program stationed at the West Fresno Regional Center. There she also oversaw the nursing staff of the perinatal wellness program, a collaboration with the Department of Behavioral Health working closely with mental health therapists to improve the mental health of pregnant and postpartum mothers. During her time at West Fresno, she also served as interim coordinator for the Black Infant Health Program that supports the preterm birth initiative in improving birthing outcomes of our black and African American communities through a group model series and was our maternal child adolescent health coordinator until her retirement. In closing, on behalf of the Department of Public Health, I would like to say thank you to Little Rose for the wonderful thirty four years serving the community and families to prevent illnesses, preterm births, maternal and infant mortality rates, and Fresno County and for serving our country through thirty five years of service in the Navy.

We wish you the very best in the many years ahead, Lola Rose. And you're going to get to meet Lola Rose right now and she's an amazing individual. What I appreciated about her, no matter how difficult the situation was, she always approached things with a very calm demeanor but also very effective in planning out what the next steps to be to really address an issue. So I present to you Lilla Rose Banks. Thank

you. Thank you very much. I just want to say thank you for this award. I enjoyed being a public servant for Fresno County. Love being out there empowering our clients to do the best for themselves.

And I just want to say thank you.

Any comments from the board? What role is did was it said that you were also in the navy as well?

Yes.

And how many years did you serve her?

Thirty five years.

Thirty five years in the navy?

Yes. Thank

you.

You're you're quite a person. That kind of service to this nation as well as now to the county. Thank you for all that you've done.

Thank you.

Any comments from the public? Okay. If none, would you come forward please? We have a plaque and photo with the board. You have family or friends here?

Oh, they're more than welcome. Come on

up. Excellent.

Thirty five years with the baby. Yeah.

Even that out.

Thank you again, Lilla Rose.

We now move to item number five under supervisor proclaim January 2026 as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month in Fresno County.

I'll turn this over to supervisor Maxey.

And I think we have some reps here from EOC as well as breaking the chain so I'd ask for them to come forward. Human trafficking is something which we need to recognize happens everywhere. It happens here in Fresno County, it happens across The United States and there it's reported that around the world there is somewhere around 27,000,000 people who are experiencing modern day slavery. So this is a real problem that is affecting us everywhere and so it needs to be front of mind. So with that, if we could have the EOC share a little bit with us, that would be great.

Thank you. So my name is Evelyn Gonzalez and I currently serve as the outreach coordinator with Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission, Central Rally Against Human Trafficking. Very long name. Thank you for the proclamation and a special thank you to Nathan for supporting us for several years. I began my work in the anti trafficking field around 2013 as a case manager advocate.

And I found myself working alongside many dedicated anti trafficking partners, many of which are here from many different sectors, law enforcement, CBOs, like, yeah, many different sectors. And I began learning about the complex complexities of this crime. So over time, I began providing trainings to the community. What kind of situations to look out for? What can prompt to ask more curious questions?

During these trainings, people often experience moments. You know, that time when something suddenly clicks. I still remember my first moment. I had just moved into my new home in Kerman when a youth came to my door selling magazine subscriptions. Because the neighborhood was new, there had been many solicitors.

So, I had already prepared myself to say no to whatever was being offered. After the third time that I said no, the youth began to cry. It completely took me by surprise. I stayed firm and closed the door reasoning that it might be a sales tactic. Still the moment stayed with me.

I can still picture him, teenage boy, blonde hair, blue eyes standing there crying as I shut the door. I didn't make a report. I didn't follow-up. I didn't ask any curious questions. I told myself that it was probably just he was probably just having a bad day, or maybe he could have been forced to face some consequences for not making that sales quota.

I'll never really know. Another story that had stayed with me came from a district attorney investigator. She told me about going out to locate someone she needed to interview. She found him in a trailer with two men guarding the entrance. After explaining who she was looking for, one of the men unlocked the door from the outside and allowed her to go inside.

She was able to take him, complete her interview, and she returned him back to the site where she found him. No curious questions asked. No report was made, but it left her with an uneasy feeling. Today in January 26, January 2026, we've made huge, huge progress in the identification, but there's still, more training that needs to happen. Many don't know still how to report a tip, how to connect someone to help, or how to recognize when somebody is being coerced to provide some type of service.

Both of these situations may not have been trafficking, but they could have also been. That is why this awareness matters matters. And today, we commend you for your continued support to National Human Trafficking Prevention and Awareness Month. But awareness can't stop here. We ask each of you to stay curious, to pause when something doesn't feel right, to ask questions, to learn the signs, and to know where to report concerns.

Because one call, one question, or one moment of action could change someone's life. Human trafficking often hides in plain sight, and prevention begins with the education and awareness. Let us commit today to not looking away, to not dismissing the uneasy feeling, and to become the part of the solution. Thank you for standing with us and continuing to learn and for helping create a community where exploitation has no place. And if somebody feels that they need to report a tip, they can call the National Human Trafficking hotline at +1 (888) 373-7888.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Again, I would also, on behalf of the organizations represented here today, I believe we have Central La Familia, Central Valley Justice Coalition, of course, Fresno County EOC, breaking the chains, and Fresno Police Department as well as the District Attorney's Office joining us today. I see also Sheriff Zanoni with us. I want to personally thank you. As I try to discuss every year, I'm not only one of the community leaders, I am also someone who's been deeply impacted by human trafficking. Human trafficking has deeply impacted my family for three generations now right here in Fresno.

Most recently, my daughter's life was taken, originally trafficked here by a gang member who took her down to Los Angeles where she was brutally assaulted and then murdered. My hope is that through the stories that you hear and the broad vast amount of trafficking that is happening here, that you will continue to do what I've seen you do. As you begin to address sex offenders within our community. Those who prey on our children and on our communities. That you will allow this to shape the policies, the direction, and the stance that Fresno County takes.

I personally am asking from this board for us to look deeper into demand. You see, what we have to understand is that human trafficking operates like any type of business or organization within our community. It's all about profit and loss, risk and benefit. Our Fresno Police Department and federal authorities have done a tremendous job in addressing human trafficking. And it has actually been one of the honors of my life to be able to stand with them and watch traffickers slowly pushed out of some of our areas.

Although traffickers still persist in some of the most gang impacted and impoverished of our community. But there is one thing that cannot be denied. If we do not swiftly, calculatedly deal with demand, then this cycle will repeat itself. As long as there is money to be made off the backs of our children, women, and those who are most vulnerable, it will continue to persist here in Fresno County. So my hope for 2026 and into 2027 is that some of you step into other positions that I know you will, and those who remain at the head of these seats will continue to keep your ears to the ground, your eyes open for opportunity to support legislation, policy, and city ordinances, and county ordinances that would help drive down demand and keep our children and our community safe.

Thank you again for everything that each and every one of you guys do.

Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Krista Wiens. I'm the executive director of the Central Valley Justice Coalition. Our organization provides prevention and intervention service for Fresno County foster and probation youth and training for those who support them. We've been at this work for fifteen years now here in Fresno County.

The National Trafficking Hotline data indicated that twenty nine percent of California cases involved labor trafficking or both sex and labor trafficking. Top industries were domestic work, restaurant and food service, agriculture and construction. In 2024, there were 20,500,000 reports related to child sexual abuse material made to NCMEC's CyberTipline. This month I echo Deborah's statements that we really do need to address demand. Each member of our community needs to ask ourselves who is driving these numbers?

Who is viewing 20,000,000 images of child abuse? Who benefits from the forced and coerced labor of essential workers? We can only make real progress in preventing trafficking if we all refuse to participate in the economic system that makes it possible. It is sometimes easy to focus only on policy. I believe that is a very important aspect and I am so grateful for the work that you all do and I would also encourage every community member listening, everyone participating in civic government to ask questions about our own community and our own actions and where are the places where we are not seeing it.

Where are the ways that our community is actually profiting off of the forced labor and the sexual abuse of our community members? Thank you so much for your time and your attention today and for your continued work in this effort.

Hi, good morning everyone. My name is Valeria Solorio and I'm in charge of the Department of Protection at the Consulate of Mexico in Fresno. First of all, I want to recognize all of you supervisors who are recognizing this month as the National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Recognitions such as these ones are important and are crucial because human trafficking is way more complex than we think. Public perception option associated with highly visible and extreme scenarios with a focus on sex trafficking.

However, the greatest danger of this crime lies in its subtle and perceptive nature. At the consulate, we have seen a diversity of victims, ones that came following unreal promises of a fantastic job here in The US and who are now living on a permanent debt state. Others who were received, deceived, and under threat and they are not seeing their families again anymore and who also have lost their freedom or even people who trusted their partners and are now used as merchandise. As you can see, we can all become victims of human trafficking. And even though human trafficking has many phases, there are some factors in common.

Victims are usually controlled, isolated, exploited, and dehumanized by their abusers. And even after getting out of this situation, they struggle with depression, anxiety, paranoia, low self esteem, and sometimes even suicidal thoughts. In the fields, we see people who suffer label trafficking without even knowing that they are victims of this cruel crime. That is why it's critical to create awareness and teach our families, our children how to identify these red flags that are in everyday life and also on

the

internet. We need to keep building safe spaces such as this one, such as the consulate, such as this board, and all the organizations that are present today, it is also important to keep working as a team. People who report the part the crime, authorities who investigate and bring justice to them, nonprofits, and also the Consulate of Mexico who assist the victims so they can become survivors. In this tenor, I want to extend my gratitude for all the people present today, to this board, to the agencies and organizations that work every day to help victims to recover from this cruel crime and also to create awareness to prevent this crime from happening ever again. Today, we refine our commitment to the cause and our willingness to keep working hand in hand with all of you to eradicate human trafficking.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Good morning everybody. My name is Martin Rodriguez and I'm with Central La Familia Advocacy Services. All of us standing here work collaboratively to support survivors of trafficking. Each of us bring a unique area of expertise, yet we know we can rely on one another for support and resources when needed. This is the power of working together.

Our shared goal is to help survivors of trafficking succeed and reach a healthier, more stable state of mind. As with any line of work, some cases lead to success while others face setbacks. Some survivors fall through the cracks, later finding the strength to pick themselves back up while others struggle longer. However, as long as we continue doing this work, we will not give up on them. All of us serve both youth and adult survivors of sex trafficking, as well as youth and adults who are victims of labor trafficking.

In my experience, most of the cases I have encountered involve labor trafficking. Some survivors entered the country unlawfully while others entered with a work visa or through what is often referred to as the right way, only to later become trafficked. Many foreign nationals victims of trafficking do not initially realize that what happened to them was a crime. That is where we step in, to educate, to advocate, and provide possible resource so they can have the opportunity to succeed. You see in 2009, Congress passed an immigration relief option that allows survivors of trafficking without legal status in The US to eventually become a lawful permanent residence through the T Visa.

To qualify, survivors must cooperate with law enforcement and remain in The United States rather than return to their home country. I have seen some survivors leave, but I have also seen many persevere and succeed. One example dates back to 2016 when we assisted a mother and daughter who were victims of labor trafficking. They received comprehensive support, including court accompaniment and assistance with immigration benefits. They were eventually granted T Visas which allowed them to enroll in public assistance programs and pursue education.

DSS, like many of us, wants individuals receiving assistance to succeed and become self sufficient. While some individuals take advantage of every opportunity, others do not. However, this mother and daughter fully committed to their journey. They both enrolled in school and worked hard towards their goals. In 2023, when they returned for services to adjust their status from their T visa approval, by the time mother was completing her teaching credential at Fresno State and was already teaching.

Her daughter was in high school and inspired to follow her mother's footsteps and became a teacher. When I closed their case in 2025 and provided them with their green card, the mother had earned her credential and was teaching while the daughter while the daughter was awaiting her acceptance letter from CSU Fresno. These survivors not only overcome trafficking, but are now contributing members of our community and economy. We can only hope for similar outcomes for all survivors we serve regardless of the type of trafficking they experience or their immigration status. The ultimate goal is for survivors to heal, improve their lives, and remain resilient.

Thank you all.

Thank you. I will. Supervisor Majic?

Yep. I think everything has been said. So with that, I'll move for approval of this proclamation.

Any other comments from the board? Any comments, other comments from the public? Okay. A motion and a second by Supervisor Chavez. All those in favor?

Aye. Those opposed? Passes unanimously. Thank you very much. Come on up if you would.

I'll send you one.

Thank you all.

Now move to item number six under human resources, present certificates in recognition of the twenty twenty five Fresno County cohort participants completing the designated number of credits to receive their executive credentials from the California State Association of Counties.

And the HR will present this.

All right. Good morning, Mr. Chairman of the Board, Board members. My name is Jill Barr. I'm the Assistant Director of Human Resources with the County of Fresno.

This item recognizes 18 County of Fresno employees that have put in the time and effort to complete a 10 part leadership development series and earned a California County's executive credential with the CSAC Leadership Institute for Excellence in the County Government. To tell you more about the program, our partnership and those within the County Of Fresno that have reached this career achievement during 2025, it is my pleasure to introduce you to the Chief Operating Officers for the CSAC Leadership Institute, Paul Danshuk.

Thank you. Chairman Bredefeld, supervisor, CEO Nerlid, I just want to thank you for your vision and support in investing in your staff to be able to go through the CSAC Institute. Since 2008, the CSAC Institute has had one mission, and that's to advance excellence in county government through professional development and other services. We're excited today to be able to celebrate and recognize the graduates of the fourth cohort here in the county. Over the last four years, we have had a regional campus in Fresno, most recently in partnership with your neighboring counties, Tulare County, Kings County, and Maderas County to see this regional approach in professional development.

Look, we know professional development works and we know it through the media feedback that we received from our participants as they're going through the program on learning new skills around public service leadership and public service governance and what that means and how it goes into application. We also know through longitudinal studies that the programs work and we see it in folks feeling that it was a worthwhile experience and we also see it in advancements that they receive after having gone through the programs themselves and we see it by the type of information they bring back to their teams to allow professional development to work among them as well. I'm more excited today to be able to recognize 18 graduates who are now joining a cohort of over 2,000 senior exec. Process state who have earned such a credential, and if I may, Mr Chairman names are recognized as folks who graduated. So.

Is Alimont Alabiji from behavioral health, Natalie. From public works, Lemuel Aspreck. Sheriff's office, Valeria Cardenas. From behavioral health, Garee Castro. From social services, Bruno Chavez.

From the Fay Griffin. From general services, Scott Johnson. Defender, Angel Lopez. From the administration office, Gutavaz Galeanes. From the Ministry of Officer, Ministry of Dylan McCulley from behavioral health, Sean Patterson from.

Susan Renfro from the Ministry of Office, Amy Rylis from library Vera Scott Slater from the library, James Tyner From general services, Daniel Vang. And from the sheriffs, Hishan Bob Bob thank you very much, and congratulations to your graduates and your teams.

Any comments from the board? Please. Sure, of course.

I just want to thank Paul for the part we've worked together at the California Counties Foundation as well and to the graduates to congratulate them. You know, we're going through a, if you look at our workforce and you look at the employees in leadership that are gonna be retiring over the next three to five years, we're gonna see sea change as far as needing new leaders to come into that. And so I talked to our employees, we have a new cohort that's now happening. I'd like to just encourage to take advantage of this because, we're gonna need more people who have that leadership background. It gives a framework.

It's quality training. So just congratulations, but also excellent work, Paul, also to HR, to Dave McCurry for the work supporting this. So thank you.

Thank you. Any comments from the public? Okay. I don't believe we need a motion or a second to move this, do we? For certificates?

Okay. Thank you very much. Great. Congratulations to everybody. Great.

Thank you. Thank you.

Number seven under administrative office, consider and take action on request for the donation of public convenience or necessity in regard to application for alcoholic beverage license 20 filed by Pinehurst Market LLC to be used at 53830 North Highway 245, Mira Monte, California 93641.

And I think we have a department presentation. Yeah. That's doesn't is out. We only have one screen.

Good job leading this meeting, Dean. Good morning, supervisors. Ron Alexander with the administrative office. As Dean mentioned, before your board, a type 20, ABC license, which authorizes the off sale of beer and wine, for beer and wine to be consumed off of the premises where sold. Management 24 Management Directive 2,400 states that, to issue this license, it should not be it should not tend to, create a law enforcement problem.

It'll provide a needed service to the community and that it will have a positive impact on the local economy. The applicant has provided a written response addressing those three criteria. The Department of Public Works has been contacted. There are no zoning issues with this location. And the Fresno County Sheriff's Department has been contacted and reviewed this application.

The applicant is in Census Tract 64.11. There are three off sale licenses that are allowed in the Census Tract. There are currently four existing licenses within the Census Tract. Business code states that the ABC may approve this license if your board approves this license. This is a map of the census tract.

The information there in tan, The applicant is listed is shown there with the star with the other applicant the other licenses with the red dots. And this shows the proximity to the applicant for all of those existing licenses. As you can see, the closest is 13.6 miles away. I would like to note here that we've received several letters from the public approving this license. We do have one letter from the public that's in opposition to this license.

That is a local business that was less than 500 feet away from the applicant. It's the Pinehurst Lodge Bar and Grill. They have an existing 47 license which allows for it's an easy to establish, but that license also does allow the sales of beer and wine to be consumed off of the premises. So they're opposing this license. And here is an aerial view of the the applicant's location.

This is the storefront. We have the north view, south view, the east view, and the west view. And, again, here are the three criteria to make the determination of public convenience. I'm available for questions.

Okay. And I I believe this is in supervisor Magsiek's district.

Yeah. Just one thing I wanna point out, and I think highlighted it a little bit, but census tracks in the more rural parts of Fresno County can be enormous and some of the locations that currently have licenses like one that was identified on Piedra Road which turns into Tremor Springs Road is no less than 25 to 30 miles from this proposed location. So I personally have no issues. I haven't been contacted by residents that have concerns about this and I'm not aware of any concerns from law enforcement either. Thank you.

You're welcome.

Any other comments from the board? Any comments from the public? Yes, ma'am.

I'd just

like to say, good morning chair and board. I am Ashley Atkinson, the owner of Pinehurst Market LLC as well as property here at 53830 North Highway 245. Just wanted to let you know that I'm here and I'm available for any questions.

Thank you. Anyone else from the public? Seeing none, I'll bring it back. Is there a motion?

I'll move for approval.

Motion is second. All those in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? None. Passes unanimously.

Item number eight, receive quarterly update on the code enforcement program.

Morning, mister chairman, members of board, Ed Hill, your chief operating officer, I'm joined by miss Ellis Sonia Harrison, the division manager for code enforcement. And today, we're here to provide you a regular update on the code enforcement program. Since our last update, which was in August, we've continued to make significant changes and improvements and progress in the code enforcement program. If you recall, when code enforcement was originally moved under the administrative office back in August, it had a backlog of over 3,000 cases. I'm happy to report that that number is down to 1,600 cases, so almost half, so that's a good progress note.

We have developed response prioritization processes with three tiers. The first tier covers health and safety items, and we strive for initial response of twenty four to forty eight hours. These are for hazardous conditions, unsafe buildings, things along those lines, and we're meeting that metrics about 91% of the time. The second tier is a three day initial response. These are for constructions without permit, illegal dumping, illegal occupancy, and we're meeting that metric about 63% of the time.

The third tier is initial response within three to five days. This is for rubbish and junk in the yards, land use permits violations, abandoned vehicles, things along those lines, meeting that metric 76% of the time. So there's a little bit of work to be done there. We continue the recruitment and training of staff. I'm happy to announce that we are up five code enforcement officers, bringing us to the full 10 as of February.

We'll be fully staffed. We'll move into training those individuals and getting them deployed, and that is always our first focus. We continue to improve and streamline our processes. We did a very deep dive into many of our ordinances and found many areas of overlap and opportunities to streamline them. Thankfully, your board amended those ordinances back in October, which has sped up our code enforcement process through our work.

We've also taken a deep look at how we do work. For instance, in the past, we used to issue multiple notice of violations without progressing through cases. That's what contributed to that back case log. Now we do one notice of violation then move right into abatement notice of orders and abatement warrants to move through the cases. We also are full in implementing our cost recovery system, and thanks to the help from the auditor's office, we do now have special assessments assigned to properties.

I'm happy to announce that this last calendar year, we've issued $168,000 in special assessments and have collected $84,000 So we're starting to see some cost recovery. Thankfully, your board also approved our hourly rate in August. We will start building that hourly rate into our non compliant property owners and violators as we move forward. Our largest challenges moving forward is our staff is still relatively new, so we will have to train them. That takes about six months for them to come up to speed.

Once we do that, the the senior staff that are training them will also be able to start taking on a caseload, so we'll be able to give you a better picture of how long it takes to move through a case progression for our staff. Our data system still needs upgrade. Thankfully, we did complete an RFP process and we'll be bringing the new system, a system that's designed specifically for code enforcement. Hopefully, next month, we'll be able to get better data matrix as well as benchmarking against other organizations and improve our processes. And we're also continuing to look for overlapping responsibilities and ordinances that can be refined, and we will be bringing the board.

We have some on the books that are getting ready to come forward. So we still do have a little bit of challenges, but thankfully to your board's vision, direction, and support, we're moving in a very positive direction for code enforcement. I also wanna take this opportunity to thanks Public Works, Animal Control, Environmental Health, Fresno County Sheriff's Office, our other code enforcement agencies because they've been instrumental in us streamlining these ordinances and moving this progress along. And then once and for all of us, a special thanks to County Council, Mr. Doug Sloan, Kyle Robertson, and Carly Flogger.

They're instrumental in our processes. That concludes my report and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Any questions or comments from the board? Yes, please.

Yeah, just, I wanna thank the Code Enforcement Division. I know that my district has quite a few challenges, but your department is very responsive to my staff and I appreciate the continued improvement that we've seen. So thank you for that.

Mr. Chairman, I would also like to add that I've had some interactions with Ms. Harrison from constituents and very pleased to say that she approaches the violations with a compassionate matter, understanding and an even hand. So I've had nothing but positive responses and think we're light years ahead of where we were just a couple of years ago.

Thank you.

I just wanna you ahead for you and your team. I know that you guys have been kind of flying the plane and building it as it's flying and really appreciate the legwork you've done on it and look forward to working with your team this upcoming year.

Supervisor Mc.

No, thank you for what you've done. I mean, when you go from nothing or almost nothing to something, that's good. But is this still a completely complaint driven?

That's correct, Supervisor Mendez. We are a complaint based system.

So if we see things in our district that we know aren't, you know, right, then we can make the complaint.

Absolutely. You can reach out to myself or Ellisanya will take it.

And I want to thank the sheriff's department for working with you because in the rural areas without them, good luck with trying to get people to conform.

Yeah, they're a huge arm of our process.

Yeah, and I too wanna add congratulations and thanks for all that you do for a CEO, sheriff's department, this board for making it a priority. Everybody's working together to address a long standing problem. You guys are doing an amazing job, and you just need to continue to tell us the resources that you need as we have upcoming budgets so, you know, we can make your job easier and make our constituents happier, is really what it's all about. So thank you and appreciate all the efforts. Absolutely.

Item number nine, receipt presentation from Oh,

let let me interrupt for just a second. Just to interrupt for nine, we have some of our employees from SEIU who need to get back to work. They've requested to speak. There are four or five. I will limit it to two minutes.

One to two minutes, preferably on the one side, but you have two. And then we'll we'll have to move on. If you wanted to wait to public presentation, which you have a trouble, I would give you three. But otherwise, we're at one to two. So four to five people, if you would.

Thank you, chairman. I I had some flattery comments that I wanted to give to the board first, but being the fact I don't have enough time, I'll I'll save

the whole.

You can just do the flattery and forget the rest.

Well, first of all, I mean, I want to appreciate you and supervisor Chavez for adjusting agenda allow our members an opportunity to quickly speak to the board And I want just to once again give my thanks to CAO Merlin, Supervisor Maxak, Mendez and Pacheco for everything you guys have done over the last several years from bringing us back from the time from the great imposition into where employees are now. So I truly appreciate everything you've done. Now onto my prepared statement. Good morning chair, members of the board. My name is Riley Telford, chapter president of SEIU Local five twenty one representing approximately 4,000 county employees.

I'm here today as a concerned representative of employees urging you to take decisive action on a creation of a new retirement tier for Fresno County employees, one that includes a cost of living allowance or COLA. As you know, Fresno County employees retirement association exists to provide retirement security for those who have dedicated their careers to serving our community. However, without a COLA, retirees purchasing power arose year after year due to inflation. This is not just a theoretical concern. Recent years have seen inflation rates above 4% significantly impacting the real value of fixed retirement benefits.

Other California public retirement systems such as CalPERS and other thirty seven thirty seven counties already provide annual COLA adjustments to protect retirees from inflation. In contrast, our current generation of Fresno County workers do not have this protection leaving them vulnerable as the cost of essentials, housing, healthcare, food, and continues to rise. Retirees on fixed incomes are among the most valuable members of our community. Without COLA, many faced difficult choices between paying for medication, groceries, or rent. This is not just a financial issue, it's a matter of dignity and respect for those who have served Fresno County faithfully.

No public servant who keeps our most vulnerable families safe and healthy should have to choose between retiring or dignity of work until they're exhausted.

Thank you, Riley.

Alright. Thank you. Next.

Hi, my name is Dale Holcomb and I am an office assistant with the Department of Social Services and an SEIU member. As we grow older, retiring indignity should be afforded to anyone that serves the public. My concern is for those my concern is for those workers that are on the tier four and five retirement system who have been working to keep Fresno County, families healthy and safe and cannot retire on time without having to work another job. Over 50% of Fresno County employees are on the tier four and five retirement system, which has no cost of living adjustments. That means that after the many years of dedicated service to their communities, what these employees are greeted with is a pension with a pay cut due to, every year due to inflation and the rising cost of living.

I can guarantee you that higher level employees and management are not as worried about retirement unlike these employees on the tier four and five retirement system. I am asking this board of supervisors to take up the challenge of securing a well deserved retirement for these employees on the tier four and five retirement system so that they can retire in dignity after a long career of service. Thank you for hearing me. Thank you.

Hello everyone. My name is Misty Dennis and thank you for this opportunity to speak. I'm a job specialist and I've been employed with Fresno County for eleven years, last six at DSS, like I said, as a job specialist. Love my job, love working here, love serving the public. That's why I'm here.

But I'm going to share just really quick a little bit about my retirement and how this really does affect me. We hear the numbers, but this is how it changes lives. So I started the county. I don't like to say so. It started when I was 40.

I didn't worry at that time what my retirement looked like, but now I'm starting to look at that. So now I'm learning that I'm Tier four or five. We don't get a COLA. We have to complete at least 35 of service to have at least 60% retirement. Plus the retirement when I retire does not pay for my medical insurance.

I have to pay out of my pocket, meaning I won't be able to retire with dignity. I'm going to have to retire here, which I plan to stay at the county until I'm 75. I'm a job specialist, so that's going be a little difficult to do. I have to walk my clients back to my desk, I'm going be with my cane walking, but I'm going to do it with a smile. But anyways, I'm going to be 75 doing that.

When I retire though, I'm going have a limited budget even with my deferred comp. I'm still going to have to consider at 75 maybe getting a second job somewhere and that defeats the whole reason why I decided to come here to work for the county. I came here to work because I wanted to serve my community. I wanted to give back. And then I wanted to have a retirement where I could retire and have time with my grandkids, spend time traveling, spend time gardening, spend time gaming with my husband, things like that.

But at that limited budget, I'll maybe have $2,500 And you got to remember, when I retire at 75, I don't have that COLA. So ten years from then when I'm 85, it's still February even when inflation goes up. And so this is a big issue because I'm going to be at a place where I am going to be a client, potentially be a client. And I worked thirty, thirty five years to serve the community and then now I'm back as a client. And I really think that's really, really ridiculous for somebody who comes here and wants to serve and wants to be a part of the Fresno County employee.

So with that, I just also say, you know, people go, oh, it's 85. People in my family live to be 100. So I'm really looking at the fact that I'm gonna live in to be 100, maybe 103, right? And so that is just food for life because I want to have quality of life when I retire. Thank you for

your time. You.

Good morning, My name is Raymond Fung. I'm an eligibility eligibility worker three at Department of Social Services. I've been working with the county for two years. During these two years, I have been trying my very best to try to certify myself inside the language of my mother and my father just so I could better service our community. I am ashamed to say that as of today, I am still not bilingual certified, so I can still not help my clients that I meet every single day from all backgrounds of life in the language that I know near and dear.

There are times that I wonder why I have not been bilingual certified, and I think surely it's not just me. There has to be others. And I am very unfortunate to tell you that that is correct. There are many people, many eligibility workers in my Department of Social Services that cannot be certified for the language that they know, so we have to use a universal language line service. These services, they vary in quality.

And in more than one occasion, I have been told that there has been detrimental costs and disservices to the families that have been provided simply because the translation provided was not accurate. This is unacceptable because we, as Department of Social Service, can do better by the people that we serve. I believe that we should give the opportunity to every worker to be certified in the language that they know, that we should offer these services to every person that is willing to try. I ask the board to please consider that work with us to try to get the services out to our members so they can better serve our community and the people that deserve it the most. I thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name is William O'Brien. I'm a social worker with the County of Fresno in home support services department for eighteen years. I'm a proud member of SEIU in good standing. And I'm here today to represent IHSS social workers whose caseloads have close to doubled in the past ten years and to advocate for improved staffing levels and retention of social workers for in home supportive services.

Also advocating for a denied flexibility with telework options. If you're not familiar with that, that's the option for folks to work from home and use the provided equipment that we have to work remotely, enabling us to stay more focused, have less distractions in the home environment and to provide better service for our customers, which is our goal. I'm asking the board and upper management to work with us to create practical solutions to strengthen our workforce, to make the staffing more appropriate to the number of people that have now reached this level because of the the silver tsunami that's now upon us. With the aging population, more people are needing in home support services. We're talking about low income families that benefit from this rather than these folks having to go in inpatient.

This is a win win program for the county for sure. It's bringing pay for over 20,000 employees to this county and it enables age blind and disabled people to remain safely in their own homes.

Thank you. Thank you for your comments. We're gonna move on to number nine.

Item number nine under the administrative office received presentation from Townsend Public Affairs, federal lobbyists regarding legislative actions.

And staff will do presentation.

Good morning good morning, chairman Brett Feld and honorable members of the board. I'm Ben Goldeen, the federal advocacy director at Townsend Public Affairs. I'm joined today by my colleague, Spencer Street. And together with our federal advocacy manager, Joseph Mello, we formed the core of the team at Townsend Public Affairs that serves as your federal advocate in Washington DC. It's truly an honor to serve the County Of Fresno.

Both Spencer and I are natives of the San Joaquin Valley. And so we we truly appreciate our partnership with the County and with you and the staff here to advocate for the county's needs and by extension the the residents of Fresno County in Washington DC. Today in our presentation, I'm gonna turn it over to Spencer in his minute to just go over a little bit of who we are as a firm and what services we offer the county out in Washington DC. And then I will do a recap of what happened in Washington DC, what efforts we undertook on behalf of the county over the past year, and then talk a little bit about what to expect in 2026 and what we can what policies we can engage in as a county in DC. So with that, let me turn it over to Spencer.

Thank you, Ben. Thank you, Mr. Chair, members of

the board.

We at Townsend Public Affairs are very proud to represent the county, as Ben had mentioned briefly, on the scope of our engagement with the county. A lot of this starts with information sharing, regular check ins with county staff, and members of the board, to share what's happening in DC, guiding our action in Washington, but then also receiving information from the county about your priorities, your projects, and, what we can do to further and elevate, the county's agenda. A lot of that also stems from the legislative platform, is also before you today, and we are serving as the liaison between the county and your congressional delegation and beyond with the federal administration. A lot of that also involves real time updates. Things in DC happen very quickly.

We're engaging very quickly with staff, sending regular updates, beyond those regular check ins and providing monthly federal update reports. And we're very excited to host the county, for the National Association of Counties conference, later in February. Another, large piece of our engagement with the county is the submission of community project funding requests for, otherwise known as earmarks, for the 2026, fiscal year. We submitted 10 total projects on behalf of the county. Three of those have been progressing in the transportation, housing, and urban development or T HUD appropriations bill.

These projects, starting with the Biola Community Sidewalk, this is a critical long needed project for, for the community of Biola. In Caruthers, we submitted a project for sidewalk street, sidewalk curb and gutter construction, and also a a project for the expansion of the Central California Food Bank. Those projects are currently in the T Hut appropriations bill, which, is moving through the may have heard, events in, Minnesota have the funding for several of these bills. The T HUD bill is caught up in a package appropriations bills along with funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Are indicating a hesitation advancing that funding and Senate Republican to potentially withdraw that, that individual bill which would in turn a return to the House.

Currently, the House is not in session. They come back week. If that amendment is to occur, there will be a brief government funding over the weekend until the house can progress that larger bill. However, these projects are safe in the T. H.

U. D. Bill. The feedback from your members and from members beyond the county to to keep earmarks included in overall appropriate just so thank you, and I'll turn it back over to Ben.

Thank you, Spencer. So we began our service to the back in January 2025, and it's been a busy year. In addition to the community funding requests, we helped advance in the transportation HUD appropriation. We engaged on a number of pieces of legislation move through congress. So I will spend a few minutes to recap that.

We perhaps the largest piece of legislation, not perhaps, largest piece of legislation that moved through congress last year was HR one. The bill has names, so you might hear a few. For simplicity's sake, I'll just HR one. It was an expansive bill that touched on many, aspects of American life, with some impacts on county operations. It made many reforms to the it extended tax cuts, from 2017, the tax cuts and jobs act, while increasing the SALT state and local tax deduction from $10,000 to $40,000 providing tax policies like no tax on tips and a new tax deduction for senior.

In addition to those tax changes, it also provided billions of dollars in for national defense as well as immigration enforcement efforts. And when it comes to direct impacts on the county, there are a few. We've highlighted these throughout the year back in June while the bill was in development. We sent a letter on behalf of the county to the congressional obligation expressing our our needs and some concerns about changes to SNAP administrative, that's the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, administrative cost share, as well as changes to requirements for eligibility verification for Medicaid enrollees. And so those changes were ultimately included as part of HR one.

And now, when that bill was signed into law on July 4, there are a number of implementation milestones to be aware of. Many changes went into effect on July 4 when the bill became law. However, looking at some of the new responsibilities the county will be required to implement as a result of this bill, we're looking at Medicaid reverification, reenrollment eligibility. Those redetermination requirements will begin on 01/01/2027, so in just under just about eleven months. However, later this year, the the very first requirement for the county will kick in on 10/01/2026 when the new changes to the administrative cost share for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will go into And then also on that date, on 10/01/2026, the state of California will be limited in the amount of money it can receive from the Medicaid provider tax, which could lead to changes at the state level in terms of Medicaid reimbursement and funding for the county to perform Medicaid eligibility verifications.

So there are some changes coming to the county in terms of staff work needed to implement this law and we've been we have been working with county staff to make sure they are informed of this timeline and the requirements that it creates. There were a few other legislative items that moved through congress in 2025. First one I wanna highlight is the surface transportation reauthorization. Every approximately every five years, congress reauthorizes federal highway transit rail and and and rail infrastructure programs. And Fresno County has the most miles of county owned roads of any county in the state of California.

So we wanted to make sure that the county was engaged fully on this effort, to reauthorize federal dollars for roads. And so we sent a letter back in May with, advocating for streamlined and improved flexibility in federal funding, greater local control, and funding for continued funding for emission reduction programs that benefit the county. And so this we submitted that letter back in May and we've worked closely with the county's congressional delegation over the course of the year to work on it, including these, items in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill. We I'll talk a little more about timeline in a minute, but we anticipate this bill moving through congress here in the 2026. Some other items I wanted to highlight from our legislative engagement in 2025 was advocacy on the secure rural schools and PILT reauthorizations and funding.

Happy to say that the payment in lieu of taxes, otherwise known as Pilt program, which provides millions of dollars to the county to offset costs from foregone property tax revenues for federal lands, big issue up in the mountains with the federal forest and national parks. This funding was concluded in the March funding bill last year, and funding is again included in the bills that are moving through congress this week. And then we also advocated for reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools program, another program helping our rural areas offset funding provide funding to counties with lots of federal land in rural areas. That program that bill to reauthorize the program was signed into law last month. And finally, I wanna I wanna turn over to look ahead at what is coming down the road here in 2026.

It's gonna be a busy year in Washington DC with a lot of must pass legislation ahead of the end of the year. First item I wanna highlight is the fiscal year 2027 appropriations process. This is an the annual process to fund the federal government, and we have many ways we can engage with congress on this. The most direct way is through the community project funding process, which Spencer mentioned earlier. Those are more colloquially known as earmarks.

We have a 100 about 1,500,000 pending in FY twenty six for the county, and we will look to engage again in fiscal year twenty seven to advance direct funding for the county's infrastructure and programmatic needs. Another big piece of legislation that needs to be reauthorized this year is the Farm Bill. That is the common phrase for the omnibus legislation encompassing all USDA food and nutrition programs. That bill is typically reauthorized every five years, but we last had a full Farm Bill in 2018, and we've been operating under annual extensions for the past two years. The county, obviously, agriculture is number one industry here in Fresno County and throughout the San Joaquin Valley.

The programs related to conservation efforts, price supports, as well as forest management efforts are key aspects of this bill that we will help advance as it moves through congress this year. I mentioned earlier surface transportation reauthorization. Those programs expire on September 30 this of this year. I was in a meeting with the speaker's office yes not yesterday, on Friday, where he talked about a real desire to get this done before the August recess. He also expressed a little bit of skepticism that they could get there, but that was the hope is to get this done by August.

Another item in the same committee as the Surface Transportation Reauthorization is the Water Resources Development Act. This bill is a bit of a misnomer. It's not as expansive as its name would indicate. It is a what it is at its is a US Army Corps of Engineer authorizing bill. And so in a county like Fresno County with lots of Army Corps infrastructure and flood control projects, this bill, which is authorized every two years, is a way to engage with the Army Corps to ensure that, the policies in place, for the Army Corps are are in line with county priorities.

I should stress it's not a funding bill, it's just an authorizing bill, but it can shape policies in ways that are beneficial to the county. And then two other items to highlight before I move on to the timeline. This year, don't really this year, two issues have really begun to dominate Washington DC and those are the issues of of health care and cost of living. And in particular, of living surrounding housing policy. And so while we don't have concrete bills or legislation just yet, speaker Johnson has indicated that he wants to spend the 2026 working on health care legislation.

And then a big push from the administration is to address the cost of living, the cost in in particular the cost of housing. And so we anticipate some action on housing legislation in 2026, something we will be sure to keep you all posted on as those are two big issues here in the county. And then looking a bit at the timeline, as I mentioned, we can expect the the first big timeline, big inflection point, I should say, 2026 hits on Friday where we could see a partial government shutdown. I'm sure you all remember the impacts of the shutdown back in the fall. While that was a complete government shutdown across all federal agencies, Congress since then has passed six of the 12 annual appropriations bills.

However, as spent Spencer mentioned earlier, incidents related to immigration enforcement in Minnesota have led congressional Democrats to oppose moving forward with the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, which had been tied into a package of six bills including transportation, including, the IRS, as well as a few other a handful of other federal agencies. And because all those are packaged into one bill, we could see a lapse in appropriations for those agencies here at the end of the week on January 30. So stay tuned for more on that. Then in February is when we expect some action on the farm bill and we could also see perhaps some action on surface transportation reauthorization as soon as February. March and April is when we see the beginning of the, FY twenty seven appropriations process.

That's when we will be submitting those appropriations requests for the county. Then we don't we don't have strict dates yet, but sometime this spring is when we will see that committee action on the Water Resources Development Act as well as on the surface transportation reauthorization. Summer is so typically, spring is when the committees take action and then in the summer is when the full House and Senate take action on those bills. So there'll be a lot of action to amend legislation and get those passed ahead of the August recess because then quickly in September is when all these programs between surface transportation, the farm bill, and the government funding for fiscal year '26 all expire on September 30. And then congress is set to adjourn for the month of October to go home and campaign ahead of the November election, which is a great segue to my last slide in the presentation, and that is just talk a little bit about the politics of 2026.

Because 2026, as you all know, is an election year, and it is a midterm election year federally. And every decision coming out of Washington DC will be influenced by the politics of the midterm elections. The house both both chambers of congress are are up for election, the entire house representatives, one third of the senate. And the elections have the potential to change majorities in one or both chambers, which will have big implications for legislation going forward. I I just wanna talk a little bit about the local, Fresno County congressional politics because this election will be unique in that we had, for the first time in my lifetime, mid district, mid decade redistricting.

And the County Of Fresno's congressional delegation is set to see some changes come January 2027. So it's important to stress that the current congressional delegation will not change until the new congress starts on 01/03/2027, but members of the house will be running for reelection or in some cases will have new congressional districts altogether who will be running campaigns here in 2026. And so Fresno County currently has four members of the house had four four house members in the congressional delegation. That's congressman McClintock, Costa Fong, and and Adam Gray. But under the new maps in in in implemented by prop 50, we'll see that delegation expand to six, six seats.

The 22nd District currently represented by congressman David Valdeo will, under those new maps expands up into Western Fresno County. And then, the 18th Congressional District, which is currently a San Jose based district, gets extended down through San Benito County and into Extreme Western Fresno County, the part of the county West of I 5, including the city of Coalinga. That's right. So just just wanted to lay that out there because, again, those politics those election year politics, the new congressional districts are all things we take into consideration as we advocate for the county's priorities here in 2026. And before I close and and open it up to questions, I just wanna say two two last things.

One is next item on the agenda is the annual federal legislative platform. Just wanna stress how valuable of a document that is for us as your federal advocates out in Washington DC. It provides us the guidance necessary to act quickly when circumstances change or opportunities arise. So I wanna thank you, members of the board, as well as county staff in the CAO's office for the hard work that goes into developing that platform. It is an invaluable tool for us and our efforts out in Washington DC.

And then I wanna make sure I'm I'm thanking the great staff here at the county from Paul Nerland, the CAO, to Sam Buck, as well as Savag, Tateyoshin. It's been wonderful to work with all of them, and the partnership we have has been very constructive over the past year, and we are looking forward to continuing to serve the county into 2026. So thank you very much. And with that, Spencer and I welcome any questions you may have.

Any questions?

I have to ask you this question because of both your ages. Do you know what regular order is?

It depends. Yes. To some extent. Right?

Yeah. Yeah.

Supervisor Macon.

Just a couple quick questions. First, how's Chris doing?

He's doing well. Thank you. He's, he's not unlike me, he's not snowed in like I was in, in DC. He's enjoying that Southern California weather.

I know a few of us will be in Washington, I think, next month, if I'm not mistaken, for NACO's, legislative conference. So hopefully, we'll have an opportunity to interface when we're back there as well. Looking at spending, you know, there's still a significant deficit spending taking place. Is there any appetite in Washington to try to balance the budget or at least reduce the amount of deficit spending that's taking place?

Deficit deficit reduction, the national debt, our annual deficit is a perennial issue of debate on Capitol Hill. There are very strong and loud voices to address the deficit, but those voices have, at least for the last few years, have have been drowned out by by majorities in both House and Senate to continue the deficit spending. We've seen we've seen the debt increase. We've seen the deficits continue to, be there. So it's, again, an issue of perennial debate, but, the actions we've seen over the past few years have indicated that the, you know, the continued deficit spending is is the way things will be probably here at least in fiscal year twenty seven.

But of course, the election could change things come next year.

Any other comments from the board? Any comments from the public? Seeing none, this was just an informational only item so no motion is necessary. We'll move on to the next item. Thank you very much.

Item number 10, adopt recommended changes to the Fresno County federal legislative platform, authorize the chairman to execute letters of support or opposition in accordance with the platform, and authorize the CAO to work with the county's federal congressional delegation, federal advocates and or other necessary parties to support or oppose legislation in accordance with the platform.

Hi, Sam.

Hi. Good morning chairman, members of the board. Samantha Buck, deputy CAO. The item before your board will adopt the changes to the federal legislative platform for 2026. This is an annual update of the platform.

The last time it went before your board was 02/11/2025. It provides a statement of the goals and priorities of your board, serves as a basis of advocacy efforts with Congress and also federal agencies, and it was updated with input from county departments and our federal advocates. Now for the format of this presentation, I'll provide your board with a high level overview of the changes and I'll walk you through by section what those are. Your board will then have an opportunity to review those changes, discuss, and then adopt the revised platform. I'll move on to highlight the changes by section.

If you reference the legislative platform that has the red track changes, I'll walk you through that. Under major legislative issues, we added language to address the impacts to the County Of HR1, including language opposing federal actions that reduce funding or impose new administrative requirements thereby limiting benefits of Medicaid, TANF and SNAP. We also included language to oppose impacts to the funding or restructuring of Medicaid financing, providing limits on matching funds or the state's flexibility to administer benefits. Under general government and finance, we added language to support the continued restoration of the state and local tax taxes deduction otherwise known as SALT due to the passage of HR1. This increased the SALT deduction as Ben mentioned from 10,000 to 40,000 per year for tax years '25 through '29.

Under social services, we also added language to support restoring federal financial participation for SNAP to 50%. We also revised language to align the changes in the measurements of program outcomes from work participation to family stability. I'd also like to note that during briefings we reviewed additional changes that are needed under public health and as a result of recent board actions. So if you refer to the track changes version on page six, second bullet up from the bottom, the recommended changes to that language are to support comprehensive federal strategies address substance abuse including legislation aimed at a thorough approach to addressing the growing opioid epidemic inclusive of fentanyl and other opioids and robust regulation of designer drugs and emerging psychoactive substances such as kratom and its active alkaloids to protect public health and ensure consumer safety and provide regulatory guidance. This concludes my presentation.

I'm available should your board have questions.

Okay, I will pass it to the board. Supervisor Magsie.

Just to thank you for that last bullet. You know, we've seen the actions that this board

has

taken around kratom and how there isn't, the FDA is not engaged to regulate that substance. So fentanyl, I wanna thank the DA's office because the DA's office has been a real champion around fentanyl awareness. You know, ten years ago, eight years ago, no one had really ever heard of fentanyl. And now with Kratom, I see Kratom being something that is really having a negative effect. So thank you for making those changes.

Yeah, and I also want to

point out this removes the harm reduction program that your board recently took action on.

Excellent. Any other comments from board members? Yeah, I would like to just make one change. This would be the time to put that in? Correct.

I'm glad for removing the harm reduction. I would like to, under criminal justice and public protection, add support support federal laws and immigration and customs enforcement efforts to remove criminal illegal aliens from our community. Do you want me to have that or do you want me to repeat it?

I have, yeah, I have that language it'd be up to the board to discuss it and

We would have to take a vote on that.

You can adopt with the revised changes after discussion.

Okay. Is there any other Let me Yes, go ahead. Supervisor Chavez. So, honing

in on that, what would the language actually say? I'm trying to look at the page It

would say support federal laws, which I think we're all comfortable with, and immigration and custom enforcement efforts to remove criminal illegal aliens criminal illegal aliens from our community.

Posts that have been convicted of crimes, failure, murder, things of that sort.

Yes.

That's what we do too. I just wanna make sure we're cautious that we're not going into the area of SB 54 and that we're in compliance. Don't wanna jeopardize any state funding or anything of that sort. That would be okay legal counsel, on that.

Yes, chair. You're talking about legislative and funding efforts, not so much efforts within the county?

Well, I am I am saying that we wanna support ICE's efforts to remove criminal illegal aliens from our community and support federal laws. It's not saying anything more than that. We have laws that SB 54 is unfortunately part of the books. We understand that. We've been operating that way.

The the sheriff's department's been operating with that restriction where their hands are tied. But I think making this statement, putting this on, is just simply saying we support federal laws and ICE's ICE's effort to remove criminal illegal aliens from our community. I think that's taking that as a just a public statement from our board is is a safe thing. I know, you know, for some, you know, it riles, you know, people's feathers that they're, you know, rounding up people who are not criminal illegal aliens. I'm clearly stating criminal illegal aliens, that is what ICE's efforts are doing and we support that as a body.

So we're distinguishing folks. I mean, I think what would at least for me make me a little bit more comfortable was specifically what we just described where, so I'll make sure our sheriff that's here, maybe can speak to that, folks that right now we are legally allowed turnover with the convicted criminals, right, on specific crimes, violent crimes, rape, murder, child pedophilia. We conclude that, I think that would be

very helpful. I think sheriff Zanoni can speak to that, but I I think we're even restricted, supervisor, from contacting ICE, unless they contact us first. But I've stayed away from SB 54. I don't I don't say, you know, and reject s b four 54. I'm simply just making a statement that we support federal law enforcement officials from removing criminal illegal aliens in our community.

I think we should all be able to say we support that. That's why I'm putting it in there.

We do. The term I think we're getting at is criminals.

Yeah. Right? That's why I put

it in. Because we have that and I wanna hone in and make sure that we're specific and that is compliance. Sheriff Zoni, if you could just maybe for the purpose of the conversation, enter the question, what crime specifically are you allowed right now to work with our and, you know, that would be helpful for the

Well, good morning, chairman Bredefield, members of the board. It really goes back for there's quite a few of them listed on there, and those are the ones that operate with ICE. If we are contacted by them and those individuals and they meet the criteria set forth by SB 54, so compliance with state law. Okay.

What are some examples of those

Or the criteria The criteria.

Well, the criteria when we talk about crimes from murder to assault with a deadly weapon, mage trafficking, being involved in criminal street gangs, firearms, a lot of different felonies including burglary, domestic violence. I believe even if you look at it, potentially violation of certain types of training orders are on there. But I think the safest way so we don't miss something is if it's listed as a crime under SB 54 under state law for a detainer and a transfer to ICE, that is what we would be cooperating with because that is what we do. We follow that law.

But I then ICE has to contact you. You cannot contact ICE.

That's correct. They have to contact us. We are not allowed to contact them because that goes against the language in SB 54 as it was written back in 2017, which, for the record, differs from what CR is allowed to do, within the state of California. They can contact ICE.

Open to codifying that with the the sheriff just described.

What would change?

The the language that specifically outlines those crimes that the sheriff referenced in in in that order on there. Because what I don't want to happen is to go and solicit funds from the federal government and us have to come back and reject money because it doesn't align with what state law is hiring our sheriff to do.

Yeah. I'm not sure really what you're asking me to do. We have criminal illegal aliens. I don't know what you want to define. I mean, I'm open to what you're trying to do.

Exactly what the sheriff just mentioned, those crimes that he listed.

There's a lot of crimes that you listed.

There's actually more than I listed when you look at 54, so I think whatever's listed under that or, you know, that criteria, that should be the guideline as to what we support.

Chair, I might offer a simplification. Yeah. You might just add, do you support these activities consistent with state law?

Consistent with state law. Yeah. I think that covered it. I'd be okay with that.

Consent with state law would mean in some way to suggest we support SB 54, which I don't wanna create that. I don't support SB

Maybe 50 acknowledging state law.

Yeah, because the trickiness to this, and we're kind of in the middle, chair, right? Where we have state law and we have federal law. I don't want us to solicit funds that then don't align and then we have to reject that when we could be going after funding opportunities that could help the sheriff in

Yeah. But I don't think this is about pursuing funds. It's a it's just a policy statement.

How about how about we say we don't have to say we if you don't wanna say support, how about in compliance with state law?

Okay.

Because that is our job as elected officials to comply

And you with have to do that yourself, Sheriff, right, with regards to how you operate your facility and that?

Absolutely. That's why we have the Truth and Values Act presentation with all those that are transferred under SB 54. I think we have it every May. And we we list that. It's it's a public document and it's been very you know, when we give it out to the public, people have been very receptive of it because they see who these criminals are.

Okay. Are are you, other board members comfortable? I know Supervisor Pacheco, you said you were. Yeah.

For me, I concur with the sheriff's remark and for me, just support the criminal element. Right. And I don't wanna stray too far that

No.

Because I don't wanna get into the national debate. Agree. I don't think it's our lane. I wanna stay away from that. I understand what you're trying to do.

Like Supervisor Chavez, I think the sheriff came up with a reasonable compromise to meet your needs as long as we have specified criminals and comply with state law, I would be okay. Anything more than that, then I'm not in support.

Supervisor Partako, Najid?

Yeah, so I would offer up maybe what the bullet point should say is support federal laws removing criminal illegal aliens and leave it at that. And that way, because there's many different agencies that are involved in removing those folks. It's not just immigration and customs. You've got border patrol and others. So I would just

You got the FBI.

You you could actually have Department of Homeland Security, which does a lot with Internet crimes against children. The DEA, they deal a lot with individuals involved in a lot of major drug trafficking and drug trafficking organizations and cartels. So we we have to keep the 100,000 foot view that it's not just ICE. There's many federal law enforcement partners.

Excellent point. So how how would you wanna

Yeah. I would just I would offer up we can have a bullet that says support federal laws removing criminal illegal aliens. That way it leaves it open to all agencies that are involved

in In compliance with state law?

Well, no. Just I would leave the bullet just support federal laws removing criminal illegal aliens. Leave it just leave it at that.

What's the issue with compliance with state law? Because this is

a federal platform. So if we, obviously we take an oath to uphold the state constitution and the federal constitution as well. Sometimes those are in conflict and by us supporting federal laws doesn't mean that we're gonna violate the oath that we take here at the state level. So I like it simple, clean, and we all agree that we wanna remove criminal illegal aliens, so just leave it at that.

I think for me, my comfort level is in compliance with state law just so that we don't put the sheriff in a bad situation, but I respect my colleague's decision.

Do you wanna add, remove criminal illegal aliens from our community or you don't want that part

of I would just generally removing criminal illegal aliens, that way it's broad. I mean, it's everywhere.

Okay. Any other comments from the board? So that is the way we would do it. Any comments from the public? If you just say your name and your comments.

Yes, thank you. Maria Pacheco. I'm just asking that you remove the language or don't consider the language illegal aliens as that is very dehumanizing to humans. Historically, we have had this type of language in our policy and I'm just asking that you don't use that language in this policy. I think that's the only thing that I disagree with.

I think that we all hope that we have a safer community to live in. I'm sure you all know that I don't agree with the way that ICE has been conducting itself. However, I'm just asking that you don't use this language. Thank you.

Thank you.

Gloria Arandes, Mother's Helping Mother Center, California. I have a problem with the lingo, especially the word illegal aliens. These are undocumented people. They're not aliens like Superman is. The second thing is that I don't hear anything about you supporting that these people that you wanna take out have been convicted of a crime.

There's a lot of people in jail that have not gone through the process. And so I like to see some due process respected under our constitution. I like to see some language in there. The other thing is part of your legislative agenda, if I understand, has you supporting some kind of immigration reform, but it doesn't explain which one. There's several bills in front of us that we don't know what you're supporting.

And I'm against the h one program because I know of people in Huron that are under that contract right now. They can't even go to the store by themselves. They're a company. It's like they're slavery. They're not free.

And so my father was a bracero, and it doesn't look good on you to bring it back. These people in some of the legislation platforms that you're trying to endorse, I don't know, don't have an ability after giving their youth and their labor to this country under the program to be able to become citizens. There's no pathway to legalization. The only one is Senator Padilla. That would strengthen a lot if you could look at the individual legislation you're proposing and let the public know what you're exactly you are endorsing.

We could guide you more. These are people that are taxpayers that have been taxpayers for a long time here in the county. They contribute to your county pockets. They contribute to the little cities. They contribute to Measure C.

We all know that. But I don't understand how you can blanketly approve of something when we don't know what you're approving. Thank you. And I just want to remind you, you know, Big Ag is benefiting off the slave labor of the people. A lot of the people have called me from here on that are essential workers that you all recognize back in the COVID days.

They have complaints because they're not getting hired because they're bringing in h one a program people. And I can't even advise them to go to Department of Labor to complain because they don't have status to complain. Yet, they've been paying their taxes. They've been contributing to your county efforts. So please let us know what you're actually voting on when you talk about immigration reform.

Thank you.

Hello, folks. Gonu, sheherhers with Mongolian Rating Politics. I want to say that it would behoove you all to engage in this national discourse that we are not completely separate or individual from everything that's happening on a national scale. There may be an emphasis in on criminal in this court, but I do want to focus that with the lack of due process, I implore you all to reconsider how this bill harms our community significantly more than it protects anybody. And I just want to close saying that let's all just be frank that everything happening with immigration right now is strictly centered in racism.

K. Any what else from the public? Okay. I'm going to close it to the public. Sam, did you have something?

Yeah.

Again, Supervisor Magsie, you wanna read?

Yeah. The line? What I would suggest to try to, again, split the baby, and I'm open to other suggestions, but support federal laws, removing criminal illegal aliens. And I'm open to if that vernacular needs to be modified, I just offer that up as something that's very broad and doesn't name an agency, it's just broad.

It works for me. Yeah, it works for me. Okay, any other comments?

Well, don't we try and again meet them halfway and instead of illegal if that's an issue, why don't you change it to undocumented?

Well, I would with that. I mean, is that a I'm not okay. Issue? You're not okay with it? No.

Because Leave leave it alone, Nathan. I'm good.

Because undocumented is vernacular to, you know, change the topic. The reality is these people here illegally. None of us here are documented. Americans were here legally, and that's the language they wanna use in terms of undocumented. People are here legally or they're here illegally, period.

Yeah, if there's anything

We have to have two motions. One to add this and then one for the deal.

You can do that or you can make a motion to approve it with this change.

Okay. And excuse me, supervisors, it would be with the change, the other one I mentioned earlier to remove the harm reduction and then also Yes. To adopt with revised changes.

Yeah, so I'll make a motion to adopt this document with revised changes that have just been stated.

Okay. I'll second it.

Okay, all those in favor? Aye. Those opposed? No. Okay, two opposed.

Supervisor Pacheco and Chavez passes three to two. Next item.

Item number 11, Board of Supervisors Committee reports and comments.

Anybody with any comments? Okay, Supervisor Magnet.

Yes, thank you. So, I want to remind folks that I think I spoke about this at the last board meeting but this year's point in time count is happening tonight and tomorrow and as you all may be aware, pit is an annual count that helps inform agencies like ours on the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in our region. This event requires hundreds, literally hundreds of participants and volunteers. I want to encourage everyone listening to consider participating this year. If you have any questions or would like to get more information, please call Dylan McCulley from our CAO's office and also the Office of Housing and Homelessness at (559) 600-1225.

I would also like to welcome our new intern, Makayla, who is here in the audience. She's a sophomore at Clovis Community College and is a student with the Matty Institute internship program. And that is all I have.

Supervisor Shepherd?

Yeah, just really briefly, I'll be at the point in time count with the supervisor Magzik tonight and I'll actually be going out myself to count some of our homeless folks out there. Hopefully they don't send me by the freeway, but I'll take whatever assignment we get. And I also want to welcome our intern also from the Maddie Institute at Katana. I think our CAO might have, tried to scare her, but she was ready to do a presentation yesterday. So as you can tell, she's sharp and we welcome her to the to the county.

Thank you.

Supervisor supervisor Mendez. I have, two things. One, regarding, measure c, it, it appears to me that there has been a plan, all along for a citizens initiative to move forward this year instead of a serious attempt to place a renewal of measure c on the ballot that would be acceptable to all 15 cities and the county. This raises several concerns. One, if the initiative committee, utilizes the work product paid for by the public, which by the way was about $925,000 that's been spent to pass this measure c forward through COG.

And that $925,000 of taxpayer money has been wasted, wasted by 11 members out of 11 mayors out of 15 from the COG that voted to well, they didn't actually vote to abandon the measure because the the procedure that they utilized at the last committee meeting, actually was an inappropriate measure, but their effort was to abandon the measure c because they did not want to continue to negotiate with the county and the four other mayors, to come up with, an acceptable Measure C that actually fixed roads and streets. So they abandoned that wasting $925,000 The question I have is if this initiative committee, utilizes this work product paid for by the public, as I understand it, is that a violation of election laws, county council? And two, if that occurs, would the initiative then be deemed a governmental tax rather than a private initiative and then subject to a two thirds voter approval versus a simple majority? I would like to ask county council to research, investigate these issues, and return with legal analysis, including potential litigation and or prosecution. Number two, on a sales tax, I would like to direct the county council and the CAO to return with a legal and fiscal analysis of the county placing a countywide general sales tax on the November ballot, which would require 50% plus one, including the process and fiscal benefits.

The general tax could be used for expenses such as actually repairing and fixing roads, other capital projects, public safety, other critical needs. So how long would that take to come back with those two items?

I think we can do that in forty five days.

Okay. So that would be my direction and I look forward to that analysis and for the board to review it and see where the board should go. I think we really are interested in trying to fix streets and roads throughout the county. And I think all those dollars on a general tax could be utilized throughout the county. Is that accurate?

Also, council, if the general tax passed, it wouldn't just be on an unincorporated areas. It would be throughout the county that those dollars could be used.

It can be countywide. Yes.

Okay. Thank you. Any other comments? Okay, let's move on.

Item number 12, board appointments.

Anybody with any board Supervisor Mendez?

I've got nine.

Nine. You got it. You got the floor too.

Yeah. Appoint Barbara Jean Garcia to the board member position previously held by Lily Rentoria, that's Parlier Cemetery District. Oak Grove Cemetery District reappoint Leroy Mayfield II. Kingsburg Cemetery District reappoint Tamara Jackson. Fowler Cemetery District, reappoint Dwight, I think Claudel, Kalinga Huron Cemetery District, reappoint Virginia.

Gina Lopez. Washington Colony Cemetery, reappoint Denver Wood. Salma Cemetery District, reappoint Rosie Robinson. Reedley Cemetery District reappoint Michael Llewellyn and the Klinga Huron Mosquito Abatement District reappoint Craig Finster. Did you get all that over there?

Okay, thank you.

Anyone else?

I have an easy one, Mr. I have one appointment for Mr. Michael Kelly to the vacant private sector position one on the Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board expiring on 11/01/2027.

Thank you. Anyone else? I I have three. One, reappointing Blair Looney to the Fresno Mosquito and Vector Control District at large position. Two, reappointing Ralph Waterhouse to the Zoo Authority Chairman's nominee at large position.

And three, appointing Jordan Houston to the Housing and Community Development Citizens Advisory Committee, the district two committee member position previously held by Max Kalhammer or Kalhammer. Okay. Thank you. The next item?

If you could do a motion and a second to approve.

Oh, I'm sorry, yes, we do need a motion on that.

I'll move for approval of those.

Second. All those in

favor? Aye.

Any opposed? Passes unanimously.

Item 13, public presentations. This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons desiring to address the board on any matter not on this agenda. In addition, any persons wanting to address the board on any closed session item as items 14 through 19.2 may also do so at this time.

Thank you. Yes. If you'd state your name and you have three minutes.

Good morning, chairman and supervisors. My name is Matt Schmidt. I'm the project manager for the Toro American Landfill Gas Project. We're gonna make some quick statements here for your consideration. This is agenda item 18 under closed session.

Okay? So Toro is in contract with the county to design, build, and operate a landfill gas to energy facility at the landfill. It'll be completed at the sole cost of Toro, the developer. The project's under revenue agreement that was approved by your board. Projects set to start construction by mid year and be operational by 2027.

The county is set to benefit significantly over the initial twenty five year terms of the revenue agreement. Current estimates are sharply higher benefits than was estimated at the time the revenue agreement was approved by your board. It's important to underscore what's at stake here. Pursuant to the revenue agreement, the project will provide the county with 50% of the net proceeds from the sale of gas after deduction of certain operating expenses and finance payments. This increases to 51% over the life of the project.

There's also substantial additional benefits to the county through the pipeline franchise agreement payments that your board approved. The county will collect substantial property tax revenues. Pursuant to the revenue agreement, there's a separate fee paid to the landfill to reduce costs of maintaining and operating the gas collection system. There will also be a measurable reduction in electricity cost at the landfill as a result of idling existing blower and flare equipment while the project's operating. Now these benefits are not theoretical or pie in the sky projections.

These are concrete long term financial gains for the county and its residents. This is achieved 100% by private sector funding. Now we have the highest caliber development team in place with DTE Energy, a Fortune 500 multibillion dollar diverse energy and utility company who set to invest up to $90,000,000 to fund the construction of the project and take the lead on implementation and operations through the term of the revenue agreement. DTE Energy is one of the leaders in the landfill gas industry, and the county would be hard pressed to find a better partner for this project. And we urge the county to take a short pause, first meet with us in an attempt to resolve the issues before the board makes any decisions.

We are very confident there's a reasonable solution to the issues in front of us, which are typical for a project financing and development of this nature. You know, we're on standby to meet with the county on short notice. And my colleagues are gonna make a a short statement, and then we're here to answer any questions if you have any.

Thank you.

Thank you. My name is John Bean. I am with Toro Energy. I have been in the landfill gas business since 1990. Toro Energy was created in 1995.

Between myself and the two principals, we've got over ninety years experience developing landfill gas projects. We've done 65 plus. We're currently in the middle of four more, including American Avenue, and we own and operate an additional four projects around the country. So we are not a shale company by any stretch. Developing landfill gas projects from concept to commercial operations is a time consuming and occasionally frustrating process.

It it takes, years in most cases. After getting the gas rights, which we did, we responded to an RFP that the county put out. We negotiated a revenue agreement. As we were ending that process, we started into the second phase. And that phase is where the real work begins, where you're getting the permitting, you're designing the plant, you're doing gas studies.

We hire local engineers to carry out this this work for us. I mean, there's just it's it's too much for a single individual, so we we have to hire third party consultants, gas study people. So local representation at this point in the process is paramount. We were fortunate to hire Colony to come in and take on that development lead role for us. Toro has maintained a financial interest in the project and as well as managerial oversight.

And third, the final stage that that my colleague mentioned was the financing aspect of this project. DTE is well known and is one of the top developing landfill gas development companies in the world. I worked for them for a couple of years. We know these guys very, very well. We've sold one project in Texas to them.

They they are would be a tremendous part for the next twenty five years for the county. We're they are at the doorstep. We are looking to to move this to the next phase and I her that just take a breath. Let's get in a and talk through these, the few points that Thank you, sir. Thank you.

Good morning, supervisors. Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you. My name is Gwyneth O'Hara and I am appearing today as counsel Energy of California. But I also speak as someone who's worked with public agencies over many years, and so I am intimately aware of the kind of responsibility that you have for the County's interests here and doing something that will best serve everyone. So my colleague letter to the board, I don't know if you've received copies.

I do copies of that here today. As Mr. Schmidt out, there are a range of benefits to this project, to the County, and it's an exceptional financial benefit. I'm not gonna say more about it, but there are a myriad of benefits that I think Mr. Schmidt pointed out.

The project is close to being final. It's months away. And so therefore significant work has already been invested here. So I wanna speak just about the legal issues and the County's interpretation sections of the revenue agreement just don't match what the contract says, what California law allows, or even the County's own actions to date. The agreement requires Toro to proceed with due diligence towards certain actions and it has done that.

It doesn't require that they complete this myriad of governmental approvals within that time period. They just have to proceed with due diligence and they certainly have. Many of the requirements take far longer than a year governmental approvals, and in fact are things that County itself is intimately involved in. So the County's long standing course conduct here is also inconsistent with an idea that there was a year to complete certain activities. There was no notice of default issued at the one year mark.

The County continued to process approvals, accepted and reviewed applications, and even facilitated safe harbor activities for the really important tax credits here. So only late twenty twenty five after Toro had invested significant resources did the county raise any issues. And so this interpretation of the contract just doesn't really line up with the activities that have happened to date. So right now as we sit, I think we're asking you as partners in a shared project to sit down and meet face to face. We believe protracted litigation is not in the interest of the parties here, that really it's time to get in a room and resolve any issues.

We stand prepared for litigation if that's what has to happen, but we're asking for resolution.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Hello. I'm Christine Frazier. I've been a resident here in Fresno for a very long time. I have a autistic son who's gonna be 16, and he's at risk. I did not know what a special commendation letter was, but I did know that he needed a double keyed lock to stay inside.

I have been plagued by fear that he will get out because due to change of management within my dwelling. Now I've had visitors in my home. I've had officers. I've had child services do walk throughs. No one has told me about a special accommodation letter.

Two years, I have been a living lock. So I don't wanna bash your shame. I just wanna put forth a solution. Everybody learns things by stories. And I noticed that apps are not just another app, it's a tool to help really.

So I suggest, and I brought forth a blueprint of having like CART or Fresno State without cost to the county to put forth an app so people can have a solid database. It's really just for modify the home to fit the kid, not modify the kid to fit the home. I've had ABA in my home. Sometimes it's a sensory need. You need that sensory output.

It's very hard. I have to do all my own modifications so then me and the landlord go at it because, you know, I'm not a I'm not a carpenter. I don't know what to do. So and then the other one is a story based telling. These kids are a product of routine.

So state a kid goes to a Dollar Tree all the time, but he has a fit, but he soon becomes an adult, same type of fit. People can pull up that story. The officers, they study those stories, those incidents, so they can identify if it's a kid that is adult, you know, that's special needs or under the influence of else. So I just want to give them a knowledge vest. Also with, I don't get medical at all.

Brain fog is a severe thing. So it has an AI backer to, block that brain fog to help without misdiagnosis. I just wanna do better, be better. I always say those that help and do not hinder deserve respect. I wanna respect my community.

I do not respect that two years I was told to put a bed in front of my door. That's a fire hazard too. So I just wanna help.

Okay. Thank you.

Might I pass these? Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Jeffrey Wood and I reside in Raisin City within District 4, Buddy Mendez office.

And I wanna thank Buddy's office and staff, especially Solomon for their efforts to contact the Special Water District on my behalf and for calling me back. For the rest of the board, what I'm referring to is a pending disagreement between myself and the Raisin City Community Water District, CSA forty three. This disagreement is over whether or not I used almost 200, zero gallons of water over the course of fourteen days. This usage was said to have occurred between March. Suspiciously, the meter was replaced on March 12 and started reading almost 400 gallons per hour immediately.

This amount grew to grew over the course of fourteen days starting 9,000 gallons the first day and exceeding fourteen, zero gallons a day at its peak. We're talking about a single family residence, not a farm, me and my family and there's no way that much water was ever there. The water district suggests a leak, nine gallons per minute average by the way but Denver Wood, the local pastor across the street and member of the community board confirmed in a conference call with the water district that there was no visible leak. It's on the outside corner of the lot is. And the district suggested perhaps a plumbing fixture leaking into a drain but the house utilizes a septic system that can't support fourteen, zero gallons of water, 1,500 gallon tank, mind you.

My efforts to work with the water district has been frustrating, numerous Emails, phone calls, one conference call, forty one minutes long. Nothing but a rejection letter to show for my efforts. Response times are slow or not at all from the water district. In a conference call with the district, I suggested they reconcile the storage tank, pump flow meters with our district to see if there's a discrepancy between what's been pumped and what has been build. They agreed that that would be acceptable.

Do so but that was November 7 and still we have no resolution. Additionally, my neighbor has shared with me two bills that totaled 261, zero gallons of water. It's on the back page following the four month period of the of the change out of the meter. That's $1,700 in charges on widowed woman on a fixed income in our community. So what I would request from the board is that you would direct the Department of Public Works in planning to correct this manner this problem in a timely manner and stop dragging this on.

Now, if the delay is on account that there is no way for them to reconcile the 192,000 gallon tank and the individual meters, there's 68 in the whole community, then, I believe that logic should prevail and my $1,600 charge should be dismissed as well as any other accounts in this district with similar issues be reviewed and corrected. Thank you for your time and your service. Any questions?

We'll look into it.

Thank you, buddy. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Appreciate it. The board is now gonna go into closed session. County council, will we have anything to report out?

I I have a report now, and then we probably will have a report out after closed session also.

Okay. Then we'll be reporting out. And did you say you

were gonna say So then we'll have to adjourn after closed session.

Okay. Is there a motion and a second to adjourn for closed session?

Excuse me?

I think we need to see if anybody in the public wants to comment

on closed session. We already did.

Yeah. Did. Yeah. We did. Okay.

Yeah. Oh, we're just gonna come back out. Okay. So we're not gonna judge. So we can just send okay.

So we don't need to have a motion to close.

One report out from a prior closed session now.

So we will report that when closed and now we're gonna go to closed session?

Yes.

Okay.

So on 10/21/2025, the board in closed session unanimously approved a settlement involving alleged check fraud affecting Fresno Unified School District in which the county is only a pass through and was not involved in or affected by the fraud. The county will not pay or receive money. The agreement was executed as of 01/07/2026. Copies of the agreement can be obtained from the county council's office. That's all.

Okay. So now we will go to closed session. Okay. Okay. Let me know when.

Yeah.

Okay. Yes, Chairman. We have one report out from today in the Tuslokian versus Hernandez case. The board approved five-zero filing a cross complaint against defendant Hernandez. That's all.

You may adjourn now.

Thank you. Can I get a motion? All those in favor? Aye. Those opposed, none.

Pass unanimously. We are adjourned.