On Tuesday, Turlock City Council is scheduled to:

·         Receive the Turlock Police Department’s 2010 annual report.

·         Consider adopting a status quo budget for most non General Fund budgets. The General Fund budgets will be reviewed on April 12 and April 26, if needed.

·         Hold a special, joint meeting with the Development Collaborative Advisory Committee, immediately before the regularly scheduled council meeting. The DCAC will present their annual report, in a meeting rescheduled from Feb. 22 due to improper noticing.
The special meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Yosemite Room of Turlock City Hall.

·         Conduct labor negotiations in closed session with all City of Turlock employee bargaining groups, and unrepresented employees.

·         Adopt new fees for facility rentals and recreation programs, aimed to account for increasing costs to provide programs.
The change would remove some classes from the recreation schedule of fees, including a Young Rembrandts art class, a hula dance class, a preschool class and swim parties. Few rentals would see a mild cost increase, such as a lighting cost increase from $11 per hour to $12 per hour for softball field lighting, a $20 increase to rent picnic area C at Donnelly Park, and a $2 increase to rent picnic area D at Crane Park.
The shift will also look to recover more costs for the city by designating a specific portion of participant fees and rental fees to facility maintenance and repair.

·         Authorize department directors to hire budgeted part-time employees without receiving City Council authorization. Currently, any hire must come before the council as a cost-savings measure, even if the position was included in a council-approved budget, which reduces department flexibility to address pressing needs.

·         Amend the Recreation part-time employee wage scale, eliminating step increases. Some positions would receive mild raises from the previous base starting wage – no more than $1 per hour – but no positions would be eligible for annual raises, which currently range from $.25 per hour to $1 per hour.

·         Approve paying $3,000 to the State Water Pollution Cleanup and Abatement Account as a result of a settlement, related to a Jan. 20, 2010 incident at the Regional Water Quality Control Facility where the state-mandated effluent chlorine discharge limit was momentarily exceeded.

·         Present an award of commendation to David Bell, who noticed three suspicious individuals in a neighbor’s backyard, contacted the police, and watched the suspects until the police arrived. Bell’s action resulted in the trio’s arrest, preventing a residential burglary.

·         Finalize a Turlock Municipal Code amendment, adjusting the claims process which primarily looks to codify the “pay first, litigate later,” practice. The amendment was introduced at the March 8 meeting.

·         Accept a donation of five American flags with wood staffs from Turlock’s Fly the Flag Committee, given in remembrance of the five Turlock Police Department Officers who have given their lives in the line of duty: Officers Lavon New d. 1935, Glenn Winans d. 1949, Joe Kerley d. 1949, George Brendenberg Jr, d. 1949, Raymond Willert d. 1973.

·         Reappoint Victor Pedroza and Aben Williams as alternate members of the Turlock City Planning Commission.

·         Appoint community members Abe Rojas and Ann Strahm, and unidentified council representatives to Turlock’s Community Development Block Grant Selection Committee. The committee will determine how approximately $90,000 in grants will be handed out this year.

·         Appoint a member and an alternate to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

·         Receive an update on Turlock’s verified alarm ordinance from Turlock Police Chief Gary Hampton, which will change how the city responds to alarms at its own facilities.

·         Accept $521.46 in donations to Parks, Recreation, and Public Facilities Division programs, scholarships, and activities, $9,600 in donations to Turlock’s Animal Services Division, and a further $1,300 donation from the Modesto Area Chapter Model A Club in support of Turlock Volunteers in Police Services Programs.

·         Approve a $37,716 increase in construction costs for the Carnegie Arts Center. The cost increases were due to previously unforeseeable conditions and a need to install guardrails for safety reasons.

·         Approve the 2010/2011 Federal Transit Administration Program of Projects for Turlock. The program includes $2.25 million in operating assistance for Turlock’s BLAST bus system, $225,600 for Dial-A-Ride buses, and $508,193 for land acquisition for the new transit hub, planned for the triangle of land bordered by Del’s Lane, Golden State Blvd., and Fulkerth Road.

·         Hear a report on the current status of state laws and city ordinances related to bingo games played for charitable purposes. The report was requested by the Assyrian Civic Club, which wishes to resume hosting bingo games.

·         Renew a Public Dance Hall permit for Wellington’s Pub and Restaurant.

·         Adopt a resolution supporting stationing the new F-35C Joint Strike Fighter at Naval Air Station Lemoore. The JSF will either be stationed at Lemoore or Naval Air Facility El Centro on the West Coast.

The Turlock City Council will begin its regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Yosemite room of Turlock City Hall, located at 156 S. Broadway.

To contact Alex Cantatore, e-mail acantatore@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2005.