The first two Turlock City Council members elected to represent specific districts will be sworn into office on Tuesday, along with incumbent City Treasurer Diana Lewis and new City Clerk Jennifer Land.
The City Council will officially accept the results of the Nov. 8 election at their Tuesday meeting. Following the declaration of election results, District 2 Council member Gil Esquer, District 4 Council member Amy Bublak, along with the City Treasurer and City Clerk will take the Oath of Office.
Bublak won the District 4 race, receiving a total of 2,783 votes to Steven Nascimento's 2,750 and Donald Babadalir's 297 votes. Esquer cemented his victory over Jaime Franco for the District 2 seat, earning 2,201 votes over Franco's 1,234. Lewis will continue to be the City of Turlock Treasurer, after defeating Alex Kiehl 11,778 votes to 8,685.
Along with the elected officials, Turlock will also swear in a new City Clerk following the retirement of Kellie Weaver. Weaver began her career with the City of Turlock as a data entry clerk in the police department in August 1983 and was promoted to Executive Assistant to the City Manager/City Clerk in December 2011.
The Council will present a proclamation in honor of Weaver's retirement. A portion of the proclamation says: "Kellie will take an irreplaceable wealth of knowledge with her and leave behind a legacy of exemplary public service."
The newly seated Council will have two scheduled matters before them on Tuesday:
— The City of Turlock is requesting federal assistance in its efforts to improve and enhance the operation of the Turlock Municipal Airport. There is a need to widen the runway, which does not meet the Federal Aviation Administration's design standards of 60 feet in width.
The FAA will fund up to 90 percent, which is $2,074,044 of the projected costs. The total construction project cost is estimated at $2,304,493, resulting in a balance of $230,449. There is an opportunity for a state grant in the amount of $103,702, requiring the City of Turlock to fund the remaining match in the amount of $126,747.
The limited revenue opportunity at the airport, coupled with the City's current policy of not allocating any General Fund monies to the airport, has created a challenge in the City's ability to cultivate adequate grant match funds within the Airport Enterprise Fund, according to City staff.
City staff are recommending the Council approve appropriating $76,747 from the General Fund reserves to the Airport Enterprise Fund. The Turlock Regional Aviation Association, the nonprofit organization that manages the City-owned airport, is proposing to repay the General Fund reserves matching fund loan at a rate of $5,116 per year for 15 years to allow them to maintain operations of the airport without jeopardizing their financial health in the long run.
— The City of Modesto has offered to sell their three satellite water systems located within and adjacent to Turlock to the City of Turlock for over $750K. Turlock City staff are recommending the City Council reject the City of Modesto's offer for the following reasons:
· The Modesto drinking water systems are past their life expectancy and have a number of known deficiencies;
· Turlock rate payers would be burdened with the cost of a multi-million dollar capital improvement project to upgrade the Modesto systems; and
· The Water Enterprise Fund reserves have been established by existing rate payers to maintain and enhance Turlock's drinking water system, not to upgrade another agency's water system.
The Turlock City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Yosemite Room at City Hall, 156 S. Broadway.
