Los Banos council approves consent items, accepts street project, authorizes radio purchase; announces interim manager appointment

Los Banos City Council on Feb. 5 approved a set of routine and substantive items on the consent calendar, authorized purchase of replacement radios for public safety, accepted the 2025 street rehabilitation project as complete and approved the city’s written response to the Merced County civil grand jury review of ARPA spending. In closed session the council also directed staff to finalize terms to appoint an interim city manager.

The most high‑profile consent item was a resolution authorizing the acting city manager to execute a purchase agreement with Motorola Solutions for APX 8,000 portable radios. The resolution lists the purchase price as $312,765.05; staff said these units are refurbished/demonstration radios that include a three‑year warranty and will meet P25 digital standards now required for interoperability.

Council members questioned why the purchase was not in the adopted budget; staff explained a multi‑year procurement and earlier radio system improvements made the purchase urgent, and said the demonstrator radios…