Permit for The Pub, COVID-19 on agenda Meeting to be live streamed on Youtube

aespinoza@portervillerecorder.com The Porterville City Council will host its regular meeting on Tuesday night, and will stream the meeting live on Youtube. The meeting can be found on the City’s Youtube channel at https:// www.youtube.com/channel/uc5kuhsrnmnl9nwhjvtnjvva.

The city is requesting anyone who would like to make a public comment for Tuesday’s meeting, submit their comments to Councilmeetingcomments@ci.porterville.ca.us, prior to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening. The city is requesting comments for both public hearings and oral communications be submitted electronically.

The meeting will open a single presentation regarding the Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly report. The Council will then move to oral communications. This is the time in which city staff will read any submitted public comments to the Council.

Once all comments have been read aloud, the Council will move into its routine AB1234 reports. These reports will include updates on the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) Governing Board, the Tulare County Mayor’s COVID-19 meeting, the Tulare County Economic Development Corporation (TCEDC), the Tulare County Task Force on Homelessness, and the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).

After all of the reports from the Council members are complete, they will move to the approval of the consent calendar. Tuesday’s consent calendar sits at 14 items. A complete list of those items can be found at the end of this article. The Council can choose to approve all 14 items in one motion, unless a Council member requests for an item to be pulled for further discussion later in the meeting.

There are three public hearings set for Tuesday night. The first is to discuss the approval of a Conditional Use Permit for the sale of alcohol at The Pub restaurant. This restaurant is to be located at 152 N. Hockett Street, and the proposed hours of operation are from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. The restaurant plans to be open seven days a week. The applicant for The Pub is requesting the restaurant be permitted to host live music, karaoke, DJ’S and dancing. The venue will also be available to rent out for special occasions. City staff is recommending that the Council approve this item.

The second public hearing scheduled for Tuesday night concerns the Central Mutual Water Company Consolidation and Associated Entitlements. The city has been contacted by the Department of Water Resources Division, and were asked to support the consolidation of the Central Mutual Water Company. The Central Mutual Water Company is a small water system that serves approximately 30 residences on South Kessing Street, south of Gibbons Avenue, just outside the city limit. The state has recommended this water system be linked into the city’s main water system, as the water well that services the Central Mutual Water Company has failed several times in the past. This would be a long-term solution to the system’s failures. While the Council will open the public hearing on Tuesday, the item will be continued to the Council meeting on April 21 before the Council takes any action on the item.

The third public hearing slated for Tuesday will most likely be removed for the agenda due to pending litigation. This hearing was set to discuss an administrative hearing for a special assessment on 472 N. Villa Street.

The staff report reads, “In 2015, the City Council directed staff to initiate efforts to mitigate a residence (on 472 N. Villa Street) that through fire, abandonment, and lack of maintenance, had become a public health hazard and nuisance. At that time, the City hired Silver & Wright, LLP as Special Counsel to assist, given the firm’s expertise in resolving such issues through use of receivership.

“Since that time, the property has changed hands multiple times, and numerous court hearings and rulings have been filed to attempt to assure correction of the many property violations. The current Property Owner has finally completed a majority of the improvements required in the Notice and Order initially posted. Accordingly, on February 14, 2020, the City sent the Property Owner an invoice for the fees and costs the City incurred in abating the code violations on the property. Instead of agreeing to pay the City’s fees and costs, the Property Owner filed a new lawsuit against the City for declaratory relief and an accounting of the City’s fees and costs. To avoid public comment on pending litigation, staff requests that the Administrative Hearing scheduled for April 7 be taken off calendar.”

The final item for the night, under the scheduled matters portion of the agenda, will be a discussion concerning the status and review of the proclamation of Local Emergency due to COVID-19. At their previous meeting, the Council approved the declaration of a local emergency in order to receive state and federal support, if needed, during the virus pandemic. Because of the effect the virus has had on the community, the City is anticipating a major negative impact on the local sales tax and transient occupancy tax. However, through conservative stewardship of the City, General Fund reserves for Catastrophic Emergencies and Budget Stabilization allows the City to address the crisis at hand and plan for budgetary accommodations for the City’s essential community services without current modification. City staff is asking for the Council guidance on how to proceed with the declaration of a local emergency.

The following is the list of the consent calendar items up for Council consideration:

1) Authorize the purchase of 22 sets of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from L.N. Curtis at a cost of $52,997.18

2) Authorize the Fire Chief to negotiate with the lowest responsive bidder and approve the necessary repairs to the HVAC unit located at Station 73.

3) Authorize the purchase of communication radios for all sworn in personnel from Cook’s Communications for a total cost of $60,524.88

4) Request authorization to purchase replacement of wear and tear parts on the Huber screw press at the Waste Water Treatment Facility in an amount up to $23,057.12, which includes the repair parts, freight, taxes and a ten percent contingency

5) Authorize refuse truck repair by E.M Tharp at a cost not to exceed $29,921.34

6) Reject all bids for the Public Safety Building Storage Buildings and Painting of Fire Station 71; adopt the draft Resolution authorizing the procurement of bids through an open market process; authorize staff to negotiate and execute contracts at an amount no to exceed $36,000; and authorize staff to make payments up to 100 percent upon satisfactory completion of all work

7) Approve the draft Resolution in support of the Program Supplement to the Cooperative Agreement

8) Authorize the approval of Addendum No. 1 to 4Creeks, Inc. Service Agreement at an agreed upon fee of $51,900 to include recycled water pipe and box culvert bridge design

9) Approval of the Lease Agreement for the operation of professional skydive and parachuting training facilities at the Porterville Municipal Airport, between the City of Porterville and Skydive Elisnore, LLC.

10) Authorize the tenant of 466 E. Putnam Avenue to proceed with a longterm cargo container permit for one cargo container

11) Approval to schedule a Public Hearing on April 21, 2020, to consider the transition from Phase IV to Phase III of the City’s Water Conservation Plan

12) Approve the implementation of Phase 1 - Transit Service Modifications; implement temporary COVID-19 service reductions for fixed route service; start Transport microtransit service; approve a Transport one-way per rider fare; operate the Transport service during the proposed hours; and authorize the City Manager’s discretion and independent authority to approve further service modifications if needed

13) Adopt draft Resolution and set a Public Hearing for June 2, 2020 regarding the Engineer’s Report and proposed assessment for Chelsea Glen

14) Approval of the continuance of the Declaration of Local Emergency: Drought

This meeting is set for Tuesday, April 7, beginning at 6:30 p.m. To watch the meeting live on Youtube, please visit https:// www.youtube.com/channel/uc5kuhsrnmnl9nwhjvtnjvva